I watched the movie “Game Change” which follows John McCain’s 2008 Presisential campaign from his selection of Sarah Palin as his running mate to his ultimate defeat by Obama. A great movie.
Pailin and the McCain/Palin relationship has many parallels with Parata and her relationship with Key, IMO.
Fantastic film, really shows the grind that campaigning can do. In the end I actually felt sorry for the old bugger McCain, though he still chose her, so not that sorry.
Ought to be a bottom line that foreign corporates are not allowed to sue New Zealand if they think that we are hindering their ability to rape and plunder by exercising our democratic right to rule our country.
The first translated means she’s miffed that the Nats aren’t including her or Labour in the negotiations. The second kinda suggests that Pharmac is the only thing they’re really fixated on and everything else is on the table.
Been interesting following the Apple vs Samsung patents battle, gives an idea on what’s in store when the Nats adopt the US patent laws via the TTPA.
Today’s ‘paper was saying one of Apple’s patents is zooming an image by tapping the screen with finger. Zooming with a click of the mouse has been around since long before the iphone so it should never been accepted as a patent just on prior use grounds.
Agreed. The Nats are supporting software patents which would be a disaster for the local software industry. Anytime someone gets moderately successful they’ll attract the attention of the US patent trolls & be subjected to lawsuits.
There’s really nothing you can patent in software, copyright covers it not patents.
An employer could make employees redundant, but it had to be for a legitimate reason, the employment law specialist said.
“It looks like they possibly made him redundant, although it doesn’t look like the positions have gone.”
All employers needed to follow the proper process when making staff redundant, including giving reasons and consulting with the affected workers, he said.
Well, not really. If this gets taken to the tribunal, the employer will lose. If there was a few months between employing more and making redundancies, they would be ok.
You bet me to it. Gonna be a PG in here somewhere…but win the battle, lose the war b/c the company could go under due to the cost of compensation. Why can’t employers get things right?
in haste, told him he had to sign a four-month fixed-term and back-dated contract on the spot or he would not be kept or paid.
Somehow this seems like it was inevitable. The beneficiary advocacy service in Auckland has had its funding cut.
Service manager Karen Pattie said the service needed about $100,000 annually and would cease operations within three weeks without further funding.
Ms Pattie said the service, which currently served 400 clients, had been one of the victims in the Government’s decision to cut funding for agencies providing advocacy work.
The push was now for the work to be delivered through Work and Income staff and ensuring beneficiaries were “accountable” for receiving their benefits.
emboldening mine.
Hey, let’s go the wholoe hog and save money by having the prosecution represent the defense in the criminal justice system. Employers could advocate for aggrieved employees in industrial disputes…..
This idea has huge potential for the government in so many areas.
Later this month climate change sceptic an English lord, Chris Moncton, a former adviser to Margret Thatcher will be traveling around New Zealand giving public debates on climate change. He starting in Northland, which is no surprise given the Governments intentions to mine & drill in the region.
I would like to know who is sponsoring this English Toff? The Government? Mining & drilling companies? Keys rich mates? ACT? Just who is behind this guys visit?
Also was mining & drilling our national parks really plan A of the Government till public outrage, including the thousands who marched in protest ‘stalled’ their intentions & was asset sales plan B? And are we seeing the reverse plans with mining & drilling being the plan B now?
Are we being feed more lies by Key as he has said if asset sales were foiled there was no plan B?
Thanks QoT armed with that info we will be heading along to the bar where Lord Haw-Haw is performing and heckle him and his mates. Should be entertaining may even take some rotten eggs just in case the ACT crew front up.
I would like to know who is sponsoring this English Toff? The Government? Mining & drilling companies? Keys rich mates? ACT? Just who is behind this guys visit?
It’ll be the Climate Science Coalition and I want to know how much he’s being paid. It seems his job these days is nothing but getting paid huge amounts to lie about climate science.
Hard to find out about that sort of thing these days. Conservatives are too ashamed to do it publicly. In 2007, some US outfit going by the name Heartland Institute channelled funds to bozos here like the New Zealand Climate “Science” Coalition. NZCSC member Owen McShane received $US25,000. while member Terry Dunleavy received $US45,000. That’s what a quick search shows up anyway. Last year there was a bit of an issue when the Heartland Institute went particularly rabid so other corporates stepped up. I think it would be reasonable to suspect that Lord Monkeybrain is on the billionaire denialist gravy train, the cash circuitously making its way down to the clowns like him.
Mind you, New Zealand has its own clowns, chief among them Auckland University Associate Professor Chris De Freitas. Should I be surprised to see the New Zealand Fox News Herald continue to give space to him, as recently as today? Perhaps not.
Ian Wishart is also involved. It’s the basic wingnut welfare crew, wouldn’t be surprised t find that under all the ‘brought to you by’ fluff is a handout from Gibbs.
Datacom was just as bad. They did nurses pay. At north shore where my wife worked for 2 years, not once was her pay right. She complained to the union rep. Did it hit the headlines, did the union make a fuss, not likely. The difference, the nurses union was led by Liala Harrell there was a l
Labour Government, and she was sweating on her list position with the Labour party?
No mention of your wife complaining to the boss, Addison. In your summary, it’s all the union’s fault for some reason. What years are we talking about?
my my, that is a glaringly obvious example of Ministerial manipulation to gain the desired outcome. i.e: Talent 2’s positing of a messiah vendor we lovingly call NovaPay
one thing i still wonder is, if NovaPay was about to make Talent2 so much money, why did banksie jump ship ?
Yep, which was why I asked Addison the years he was talking about. I was hoping to award Addison the stupidity trifecta: getting the relevant Nurses Organisation National Secretary wrong, putting Laila in the wrong party, and claiming the bosses mistakes were the fault of the union. However, I note from Addison’s contributions over the weekend that he doesn’t like answering direct questions. Presumably because the answers would show the vast void that is his factual ignorance is filled by hot air, right wing talking points and anti-worker prejudice.
Rubbish trp I always try and answer questions unless they are of a personal nature and go too far. I have had very little argument against my opinions, usually just the copout of playing the man not the ball. If you want a sensible debate try doing it without insulting those who offer opinions contrary to your own. Or are you of the view that chanting Maggie out over and over is a sensible debate(perhaps Key Out in a Kiwi context)
I don’t give a flying one about your opinions, Addison. I and others have simply demonstrated this morning (and on Saturday) that you don’t know what you are talking about. Every supposed fact in your wee rant this morning has been disproven.
The thing is, you are entitled to put your opinions forward and promote the ideas and philosophies behind them. You’ll find plenty of healthy debate. But when you claim as fact things that are not fact round here, you will be shredded everytime.
To summarise:
Datacom’s problems did make the media. You said they didn’t.
Laila Harre did not hide the Datacom issue because of personal ambition as you falsely claimed. She was never on Labour’s list, she was, in fact, an MP for a party born in opposition to the LP.
Laila Harre did not even work for the NO at the time you claim she did.
How about you just come out and say “I got all that wrong. Sorry”?
I looked at the comment, including the misspelling of Laila’s name and the required incorrect fact every sentence. I was considering writing a reply or a note to point this out preemptively. But then I thought that people would be in wanting to play at squashing this guy’s ego soon enough. Why should I spoil the fun? 😈
2001 to 2002,and yes she did complain to her line manager and was told to refer the complaint to the Union rep. And if you read my post a bit more carefully I am not blaming the union or the Labour government, the fault lay with datacom. The poing is that the unions are all over nova pay and National but were ominously silent over datacoms faults. I am suggesting Harre was quiet because she didn’t want to rock her Labour Party mates whilste she was angling for her party place. A new twist to the old line; the working class can kiss my ass, I have a list seat at last!;-)
not at all. not blaming the union for the pay mess up. Blaming the union for their inaction about the matter. PS I apologise I did not realise Harre resigned from Labour in 1989. Therefore cannot blame her inaction for political ambitions.
Cool, so Harre, who was not NO Nat Sec at the time, kept quiet about an issue she was unaware of to keep her mates in the party she left in disgust years earlier happy? How is life on Planet Key? Oxygen on short supply?
i call BS Addison, you have one isolated example, well i also have relatives and friends in that industry and recently talked with them specifically on the NovaPay issue, as the health sector seemed to handle the complicated task with competence and certitude. Each and every one of the half dozen i spoke to said the occassional blip happened , as it does in any payroll, and would be resolved in reasonable timeframes. They also made a point of mentioning that there is no comparison to the over-arching scale of the Talent2 / Novapay swindle that has been played on NZ Education.
Lucky them, but pay matters were a joke at Northsore when my wife was there over a 2 year period. They were always corrected but it was a fortnightly occurrence.
‘Open Letter/ OIA request to NZ Prime Minister John Key – how can the Government ‘get a good price for Mighty River Power, when thousands ‘Switch Off Mercury Energy’?
Dear Prime Minister,
Please be advised of the founding aim of the ‘Switch Off Mercury Energy’ community group, of which I am a Spokesperson:
“MINUTES(CONFIRMED) FOUNDING MEETING OF ‘SWITCH OFF MERCURY ENERGY’
15 August 2012 Grey Lynn Community Centre 510 Richmond Rd Grey Lynn.
HELP STOP THE PRIVATISATION OF MIGHTY RIVER POWER BY SWITCHING OFF MERCURY ENERGY! (100% owned by Mighty River Power)
AIM: To help stop the privatisation of public assets – particularly the proposed privatisation of the first of the electricity State-Owned Assets (SOEs), Mighty River Power, by FOCUSING ON getting 100,000 customers to SWITCH OFF Mercury Energy (100% owned by Mighty River Power). Fewer customers equals less profits which equals a less attractive investment and jeopardises the Governments proposed agenda.
“Let me make it quite clear. If the Government doesn’t get a good price – the Government isn’t going to sell” (Tony Ryall, Minister of SOE’s 17/6/2012 NBR
The Government has no right to sell our public assets.
PRECEDENT: In 2008, Contact Energy (already privatized) doubled their directors fees and raised their prices 12%.In 6 months, more than 40,000 customers switched from Contact Energy and their profits were halved.
1) Please confirm that the publicly-stated position stated by the Minister of State-Owned Eneterprises Tony Ryall, is unchanged:
“Let me make it quite clear. If the Government doesn’t get a good price – the Government isn’t going to sell” (Tony Ryall, Minister of SOE’s 17/6/2012
2) Please provide the information which confirms HOW a ‘good price’ for Mighty River Power is/has been calculated.
3) Please provide the information which confirms WHO has/is responsible for the calculation of a ‘good price’ for Mighty River Power.
4) Please provide the information which confirms that has/is responsible for the calculation of a ‘good price’ for Mighty River Power, are independent, and professionally competent, and do not have any untoward ‘ conflicts of interest’ / vested interests in the sale of Mighty River Power.
5) Please confirm that you are aware of your statutory duties arising from the Public Records Act 2005
(a)to provide for the continuation of the repository of public archives called the National Archives with the name Archives New Zealand (Te Rua Mahara o te Kāwanatanga); and
(b)to provide for the role of the Chief Archivist in developing and supporting government recordkeeping, including making independent determinations on the disposal of public records and certain local authority archives; and
(c)to enable the Government to be held accountable by—
(i)ensuring that full and accurate records of the affairs of central and local government are created and maintained; and
(ii)providing for the preservation of, and public access to, records of long-term value; and
(d)to enhance public confidence in the integrity of public records and local authority records; and
(e)to provide an appropriate framework within which public offices and local authorities create and maintain public records and local authority records, as the case may be; and
(f)through the systematic creation and preservation of public archives and local authority archives, to enhance the accessibility of records that are relevant to the historical and cultural heritage of New Zealand and to New Zealanders’ sense of their national identity; and
(g)to encourage the spirit of partnership and goodwill envisaged by the Treaty of Waitangi (Te Tiriti o Waitangi), as provided for by section 7; and
(h)to support the safekeeping of private records.
Yours sincerely,
Penny Bright
A Spokesperson for the Switch Off Mercury Energy community group.
I am one who has been surprised by the government’s and Key’s continued popularity in spite of all of the problems they have encountered and which are chronicled at length here.
So I was very interested last night to meet for the person time a person of the class responsible for the phenomenon.
Most people I know are now and have always been right wing. I know fewer people who are and have always been left wing. Here, I am exposed to the rabid left, who I never encounter in the real world.
But last night I met a devoted John Key fan. A 50 year old gay man of modest means who had voted Labour his whole life until 2008 and, indeed, had been a card carrying member and volunteered and canvassed for them in the late 80’s and early 90’s.
He has voted National the last two elections and does not regret it. His vote was essentially for Key who he remains very taken with. Part of the appeal, it seems, is the story of the struggle from modest circumstances to great wealth and then public service.
This is only an anecdote and, as such, has very limited value. But I found it very interesting to meet for the first time such a person.
Jesus Mary and Joseph I am agreeing with Gormless Fool.
Key has a very good back story and a lot of charm. To counter him Labour needs a leader who will outpoint him in an area. He needs to be smarter or gutsier or more passionate or be able to speak better but he needs to be different.
Shearer is not that person.
I also agree with Caleb Morgan that the dominant clique in the Labour Caucus is one that prefers Key to Cunliffe (or Chauvel or Dalziel or anyone of the left) to be next Prime Minister.
I don’t know why the Govt uses the likes of Deloittes for IT consultancy, they’re grossly overpriced and since a lot of IT work is labour charges the Govt is paying far too much for IT outsourcing.
Deloittes are principally an accounting firm and I wouldn’t hire accountants to advise me on IT stuff, don’t know why they get so much Govt work when we’ve got the likes of Datacom who are genuinely IT people.
Just how do Deloitte *win* all those juicy central/local government contracts, and service agreements etc!
They’re feasting aggresively on the public purse, at all levels, all around the country’s, local/central bodies!
One needs to investigate little snippets like the following statement:
Following a claim that Housing NZ corporate services director Roy Baker was a relative of a senior manager at Deloitte, former Housing NZ chairman Pat Snedden called then housing minister Phil Heatley to assure him any conflicts of interest had been properly managed. The conflict of interest had been declared.
Tracking the relationships and work history, of former and current Deloitte employees, is a good place to start!
Four Housing NZ executives, including Baker, left the corporation in 2009 and set up a private consultancy that named the ETP’s British software supplier, Northgate, as a partner
On Morning report Goff raised some issues. Deployment was two months longer than usual, (which may have increased fatigue), additional training required for the deployment was cut short by two weeks and an inquest is required.
I hope that Goff also gets a full independent inquiry. The ANZAC Day airforce deaths were suppose to be investigated by the Labour Department, not just by the airforce. The army are not independent.
Your eyes will roll at this. Chris Hipkins put up a story on Red Alert called CONTEMPT FOR DEMOCRACY on Saturday here http://tinyurl.com/cdekas6
Yesterday Chris deleted comments asking him if he thought the title was a bit hypocritical because he has been so criticized for his reaction to the democracy remits at the NZ Labour conference. Trevor
or Clare might have done the deleting…
My comment never got through. I wasn’t even getting smart. I just said I thought it might be better to take critics on. Still in moderation or deleted though?!
I have screen captures of two other comments that were deleted. Anyone know how to post screen captures here at TS…
I had seen TS comments saying how Red Alert is censored like mad but I had not seen it myself. Do MP’s think you can censor voters when they go to vote? Daft.
There is a high degree of moderation at Red Alert. There has to be, otherwise you’d have trolls from both all directions spending much of their time slagging the MP’s and drowning out discussion. The problem is, as you point out, that the moderation often drowns out actual comments.
I can testify that as a moderator after reading hundreds of thousands of comments here (and previous net experiences) with an enormous variety of trolling approaches, that after a while everything starts to look “deeply suspicious”. It is actually quite hard to restrain yourself from just moderating everything and stifling actual discussion.
The local equivalent is trying to tell us how to run our site or telling us what we should write. It is a very fast way to picking up a ban and if repeated, a fast way to lose the ability to comment here. Why? Because we’re doing the damn job and critics who are not are usually just a pain in the arse because they are not. We just tell them that they need time to start up and run their own site where they can run it the way they like – including getting their own audience. And attacking authors personally is just not tolerated at all because while there are a lot of commentators, there are only a relatively few people with both the skills in writing and who are willing to be authors.
Basically it is house rules when it comes to moderation at various sites. As a commentator you kind of have to live with them.
I think everyone here is kind of aware of the moderation policies at RA
And to be fair to Red Alert, I posted a comment a few months ago suggesting Clare Curren should apologise for bullying CV and I was pleasantly surprised it wasn’t moderated in any way.
Helen Kelly’s criticism of the lack of care for forest workers safety is really needed. It seems to me though that there is a barrier in NZ to insisting on safety regulations and controls backed by law and regular inspections.
This morning’s comment from an adventure tourism spokesperson on the man falling and dying at an adventure business referred to businesses being very concerned and setting standards. It sounded to me that they are left to get on with it, perhaps after drawing up plans but saying and knowing isn’t doing.
What we need is a feisty little shit from the Department of Labour and Safety going round asking questions, checking the equipment and generally setting the owner’s teeth on edge. Instead we get growing risky behaviours from owners and avoidable deaths that amount to manslaughter by wilful neglect of owners and their staff. Owners should spend some time in jail if any fault can be found. A month for each fault perhaps. Faults of frayed ropes, poor maintenance, lax controls and methods, etc.
yes, also on the rise on RNZ
-Aukland house prices continuing up the spiral
-Aussie climate on “steroids” now
anyway,
some parting shots for The Village round-heads across the bow (eggs and omelettes and all that butter, i know, lets call it a master-craftsman class)
subjective self-identification is the outcome of subjection to a pre-existing order that includes language, law, admin, production, distribution, and exchange.
Husband, and cultivate and tailor a world to your proclivities and context.
1. World-making heart- and-mind. heart-and-mind shaping world. think and speak a novel world into being. way-making=also affection-an epistemology of caring. empathetic feeling. tick
2.it is sage not to coerce; disseminate teachings that go beyond what can be said. binaries require other for completion. enable each participant to contribute fully to “dramatic” performance.tick
3. keep the “hawkers” of knowledge at bay. celebrate the bravery, patience and kindness of the ordinary person. allow character of community to emerge synergistically out of associated living.
tick
4.way-making of undetermined nature; swinging gateway of experience opens and novelty emerges spontaneously. experience is appropriate object of awe and deference. tick
5.not institutionalized morality but superior communal morality. tick
6. the fecundity of emptiness. tick
7.withdraw, yet out in front.through unselfishness needs met. nature / Christ as mentor. persons perceived, needs met.tick
8.dwell in places loathed by crowds. giving authoritatively. speak credibly. act timely. water flows everywhere. tick
9. retire from excess. how to manage fullness; a measure of ignorance to cope with intelligence that vies with wisdom. humility to cope with accomplishments. a measure of timidity to cope with courage pervading an entire age. measure of frugality to cope with wealth that fills the four seas.
tick
10. the nature of the world is to transform. real wisdom-shaping penetrating insight into the present moment engaging with the unique circumstances at play. tick
12. easier to satiate the abdomen, difficult to satiate the wandering eye through which the spirit can leak away. distractions. no crime more onerous than greed. no misfortune more devastating than avarice. no calamity with more grief than insatiability. know when enough is enough= satisfaction. tick
13. value anxieties. those who value care of own body more than running the world can be entrusted with the world; begrudging person= authority of the world; worldly favour-patronage will be followed by disgrace as favour “withdrawn”. faithful with little, self, then faithful with responsibilities and world. value ones’ person and love ones’ person in thorough-going integration with ones’ field of experience. tick
14. hold tightly to way-making in the present to manage what happens now to understand where it began in the distant past= the draw-string of way-making. master draws me forward a step at a time, broadens my culture, disciplines my behaviour through the observance of ritual propriety; even if I wanted to quit, I could not.-Yan Hui (we supported a Mob hui after church; is broad)
tick
15. reluctance as at a winters’ stream crossing. vigilance towards surrounding neighbours.dignified as an invited guest. yielding as ice to thaw. solid like un-worked wood. murky like muddy waters when stilled clear. settled when agitated comes to life. not seek fullness, remaining hidden and unfinished. tick
-epistemology of feeling in which the quality of understanding is a function of the immediacy and intensity of what is felt. way always under construction. many hands at work. a punctuation of consummating events, as paragraphs yet a never-ending story. tick
16. reversion-returning to the root, is what is called equilibrium. common sense- accommodation-tolerance -kingliness . tian cumulative cultural legacy focused by the spirit and spirituality of those who have come before. the way made is enduring, not self divided against self. s. like a mirror; not see things off or go to meet them. respond without storing anything up thus not injured by the myriad transformations they undergo. not passive or quiet but synergistically and organically responsive. accommodation is the source of fullness of strength, influence timeliness and efficacy. extension through deference, trunk branches from the roots. tick
17. during periods of decadence and social decline philosophers arise to proclaim the obvious of exacerbating problems by institutionalizing artificial alternatives, dominion, principalities and powers- educated morality and its vocabulary of ” right and wrong” “good and evil”. tick
20. Preferable to the marble 😉 of learning is the rich temple of immediate experience and unmediated feeling.
Do I really care what others think of me? I don’t think so. the worm has turned; Time for some
Wood Oil. (I would not be surprised if National gets another term or not) There’s some newsology for yas’ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Noology
What a great country? By l*ck it is! Go luck yourselves out.
“ha ha ha said the laughing gnome…”
now, where’d i secrete my Crossbow and bolts.
“guess I’ll see you, yes I’ll see you, see you on the other-side.”
This morning on Radio NZ this USA woman was interesting. She has been thoughtful and politically aware since a young age. She said that she considers the USA to be a pluralism of wealthy groups not a democracy.
10-11am: Feature interview – Cisco Systems co-founder and Jane Austen expert Sandy Lerner
I put item about Sandy Lerner on OpenMike 3/3 by mistake. I tried to delete it because I wanted it to go in today’s only, but the delete function doesn’t work and neither does my edit function.
I have just heard Mike Williams criticise the Labour Party… saying they need to spend less time on the internal infighting and more time attacking the government. Two minutes later following a question by Lyn Freeman on the subject of Charles Chauvel’s speech, he is belittling Chauvel and accusing him of having a tantrum (I paraphrase) when he made exactly the same point.
He claims Charles Chauvel has done himself no good by saying what he did
This isn’t the first time Williams has contradicted himself like this and it won’t be the last. The man is shaping up to be even more of a ‘fake’ leftie than Josie Pagani.
He also claimed Shearer’s reshuffle was very fair. The MPs who Shearer promoted deserved it and were the best performers in the party (words to that effect anyway). He intimated those who were demoted were simply not good enough, and he’s sorry to have to say this blah blah… but they simply didn’t come up to scratch. So, we take it from the guru himself that David Cunliffe and Lianne Dalziel were just not up to it folks .
Why are types such as Williams, *allowed* on the radio you think..
Forget buying into the charade around the re-shuffle, and empty spaces like Williams commenting on it, these are all just pawns in a game, the game is called, *distract/fool the public*!
Age old game, which is still working wonders it seems!
Bryce Edwards: Opposition is failing NZ voters, low polls a threat to Shearer
Dr Edwards says voters don’t see enough difference between the two major parties to bother shaking up the status quo.
“I think we are looking at what political scientists call democratic deficit, where voters are turned off politics because they just can’t see meaningful differences between political parties and reasons to vote either way.
“At the last election we had the lowest turnout in about 100 years – it could be even worse at the next election because people just don’t see the point.”
its ANARCHY i tells ya, ANARCHY! (have you seen the ways in which people are choosing to die these days? Hemlock would be a lot more gentle; they are even falling out of the sky. very sad, particularly these young people driving themselves into the wall)
Agree that it is a travesty that Mike Williams continues to be used as a Labour Party commentator – Charles was only calling it like it is. If the hierarchy don’t like the infighting, manage it, don’t just try to ignore it. They are missing the first fundamental rule of politics! Doesn’t bode well for Government
Yes Anne, when Williams says “less time on the internal infighting and more time attacking the government” he apparently isn’t talking about the leadership cartel around Shearer who have been responsible for all the leaking, backstabbing, media bitching and vote spying, and who are supposed to be the ones responsible for fighting the government.
he’s talking about those dumb-bunny members and conference delegates who had the effrontary to think they were deserving of a say in the leadership of the parliamentary party. I mean the parliamentary party belongs to us – the elite – not them. They have no right to poke their noses into our business. We decide what’s good for us the party not them.
As for the bunch of treacherous MPs who had the gall to back the members. We have no choice but to continue to punish them until they show contrition and promise they will never betray us the party again.
A problem with prescribing “less time on the internal infighting and more time attacking the government” is the diminishing range of issues over which a forthright attack on the government would enjoy the full backing of the present Labour caucus. Even following the prescription may well reveal us as “the enemy within,” should our critique of the government fail to be sufficiently circumscribed and nuanced.
If Cunliffe is so hopeless – why is he trouncing every other Labour MP on YouTube’s Inthehouse channel at the moment? Seems to me, he’s the only performing with any talent in the House, for a start.
[lprent: Don’t dick about with your handles. Each handle has to be approved the first time it is used. Try using too many and we’ll conclude that you are deliberately wasting our time and ban you. Read the policy about wasting moderators time. ]
I gave up on whaleoil to many biggots and rednecks. Sadly giving up here to many socialist facist thugs who are left overs from from the 30s in Germany, and think socialism is about having the power to ban opposition.
Goodby and good luck I am sure you will do wonders for the political LEFT IN nz
No, you’re giving up because virtually everything you’ve written here has been shown to be bullshit.
And enough of the dramatic exits, everyone knows you’ll be back in no time with a new name and a new back story to peddle the same old lies and propaganda.
That’s a pity. You screwed yourself up today big time, but you’ve made a few neo-lib arguments that National’s opposition parties need to be prepared to counter in the spin wars.
Help me, help me, help me sail away,
Well give me two good reasons why I oughta stay.
‘Cause I love to live so pleasantly,
Live this life of luxury,
Lazing on a sunny afternoon.
In the summertime
In the summertime
In the summertime …
upon reflection, I do find it somewhat illuminating that Addison reckons some here want to ban opposition, and that’s why he chooses to withdraw.
Secondly, I also think it’s a bit of an alien concept for me to not get worked up and passionate about politics. Even basic roading policies have a good chance of being life or death decisions. Yes, the mods here keep a handle on threats etc, but with a wide range of folk of course a bit of personal abuse or the occasional f-bomb will occur, especially if one acts like a dick. To expect a prim and proper “Midsomer Murders”-style conversation about policies that might e.g. kill kids (or simply choose which people will die, but hopefully a lower number than plan B) is pretty unrealistic.
I’ve been following the “New” Left wing blog the Daily Blog for a couple of days and I have come to the conclusion that it’s just another version of Pundit (with more pictures) staying well within the expected paradigm and I suspect it will fall by the way side soonish. I have also been following something of what is happening in Italy and while our “Lefty/Greeny” politicians are talking about money printing and the first victims of using prisoners as cheap labor are presenting themselves I thought I’d put a link here for those of you who want to know how it’s done in Italy. Enjoy!
Julia Hartley Moore on Jim Mora was saying with approval that one of the good things that the government has done is enabled free cello lessons somewhere in her manor. This morning I listened on Radionz to a worker on a benefit advocacy group which may have to close (it’s the only one for a huge area of Auckland) because the government has withdrawn the $50,000 part of the $100,000 they need and they can’t provide the service without it.
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Introduction Automobiles have become ubiquitous in modern society, serving as a primary mode of transportation and a symbol of economic growth and personal mobility. With countless vehicles traversing roads and highways worldwide, it begs the question: how many cars are there in the world? Determining the precise number is a ...
Maintaining a safe and reliable vehicle requires regular inspections. Whether it’s a routine maintenance checkup or a safety inspection, knowing how long the process will take can help you plan your day accordingly. This article delves into the factors that influence the duration of a car inspection and provides an ...
Mazda Motor Corporation, commonly known as Mazda, is a Japanese multinational automaker headquartered in Fuchu, Aki District, Hiroshima Prefecture, Japan. The company was founded in 1920 as the Toyo Cork Kogyo Co., Ltd., and began producing vehicles in 1931. Mazda is primarily known for its production of passenger cars, but ...
Your car battery is an essential component that provides power to start your engine, operate your electrical systems, and store energy. Over time, batteries can weaken and lose their ability to hold a charge, which can lead to starting problems, power failures, and other issues. Replacing your battery before it ...
In most states, you cannot register a car without a valid driver’s license. However, there are a few exceptions to this rule. Exceptions to the RuleIf you are under 18 years old: In some states, you can register a car in your name even if you do not ...
Mazda, a Japanese automotive manufacturer with a rich history of innovation and engineering excellence, has emerged as a formidable player in the global car market. Known for its reputation of producing high-quality, fuel-efficient, and driver-oriented vehicles, Mazda has consistently garnered praise from industry experts and consumers alike. In this article, ...
Struts are an essential part of a car’s suspension system. They are responsible for supporting the weight of the car and damping the oscillations of the springs. Struts are typically made of steel or aluminum and are filled with hydraulic fluid. How Do Struts Work? Struts work by transferring the ...
Car registration is a mandatory process that all vehicle owners must complete annually. This process involves registering your car with the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) and paying an associated fee. The registration process ensures that your vehicle is properly licensed and insured, and helps law enforcement and other authorities ...
Zoom is a video conferencing service that allows you to share your screen, webcam, and audio with other participants. In addition to sharing your own audio, you can also share the audio from your computer with other participants. This can be useful for playing music, sharing presentations with audio, or ...
Building your own computer can be a rewarding and cost-effective way to get a high-performance machine tailored to your specific needs. However, it also requires careful planning and execution, and one of the most important factors to consider is the time it will take. The exact time it takes to ...
Sleep mode is a power-saving state that allows your computer to quickly resume operation without having to boot up from scratch. This can be useful if you need to step away from your computer for a short period of time but don’t want to shut it down completely. There are ...
Introduction Computer-Assisted Translation (CAT) has revolutionized the field of translation by harnessing the power of technology to assist human translators in their work. This innovative approach combines specialized software with human expertise to improve the efficiency, accuracy, and consistency of translations. In this comprehensive article, we will delve into the ...
In today’s digital age, mobile devices have become an indispensable part of our daily lives. Among the vast array of portable computing options available, iPads and tablet computers stand out as two prominent contenders. While both offer similar functionalities, there are subtle yet significant differences between these two devices. This ...
A computer is an electronic device that can be programmed to carry out a set of instructions. The basic components of a computer are the processor, memory, storage, input devices, and output devices. The Processor The processor, also known as the central processing unit (CPU), is the brain of the ...
Voice Memos is a convenient app on your iPhone that allows you to quickly record and store audio snippets. These recordings can be useful for a variety of purposes, such as taking notes, capturing ideas, or recording interviews. While you can listen to your voice memos on your iPhone, you ...
Laptop screens are essential for interacting with our devices and accessing information. However, when lines appear on the screen, it can be frustrating and disrupt productivity. Understanding the underlying causes of these lines is crucial for finding effective solutions. Types of Screen Lines Horizontal lines: Also known as scan ...
Right-clicking is a common and essential computer operation that allows users to access additional options and settings. While most desktop computers have dedicated right-click buttons on their mice, laptops often do not have these buttons due to space limitations. This article will provide a comprehensive guide on how to right-click ...
Powering up and shutting down your ASUS laptop is an essential task for any laptop user. Locating the power button can sometimes be a hassle, especially if you’re new to ASUS laptops. This article will provide a comprehensive guide on where to find the power button on different ASUS laptop ...
Dell laptops are renowned for their reliability, performance, and versatility. Whether you’re a student, a professional, or just someone who needs a reliable computing device, a Dell laptop can meet your needs. However, if you’re new to Dell laptops, you may be wondering how to get started. In this comprehensive ...
Two-thirds of the country think that “New Zealand’s economy is rigged to advantage the rich and powerful”. They also believe that “New Zealand needs a strong leader to take the country back from the rich and powerful”. These are just two of a handful of stunning new survey results released ...
In today’s digital world, screenshots have become an indispensable tool for communication and documentation. Whether you need to capture an important email, preserve a website page, or share an error message, screenshots allow you to quickly and easily preserve digital information. If you’re an Asus laptop user, there are several ...
A factory reset restores your Gateway laptop to its original factory settings, erasing all data, apps, and personalizations. This can be necessary to resolve software issues, remove viruses, or prepare your laptop for sale or transfer. Here’s a step-by-step guide on how to factory reset your Gateway laptop: Method 1: ...
“You talking about me?”The neoliberal denigration of the past was nowhere more unrelenting than in its depiction of the public service. The Post Office and the Railways were held up as being both irremediably inefficient and scandalously over-manned. Playwright Roger Hall’s “Glide Time” caricatures were presented as accurate depictions of ...
Roger Partridge writes – When the Coalition Government took office last October, it inherited a country on a precipice. With persistent inflation, decades of insipid productivity growth and crises in healthcare, education, housing and law and order, it is no exaggeration to suggest New Zealand’s first-world status was ...
Rob MacCulloch writes – In 2022, the Curriculum Centre at the Ministry of Education employed 308 staff, according to an Official Information Request. Earlier this week it was announced 202 of those staff were being cut. When you look up “The New Zealand Curriculum” on the Ministry of ...
Chris Bishop’s bill has stirred up a hornets nest of opposition. Photo: Lynn Grieveson for The KākāTL;DR: The six things that stood out to me in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, poverty and climate from the last day included:A crescendo of opposition to the Government’s Fast Track Approvals Bill is ...
Monday left me brokenTuesday, I was through with hopingWednesday, my empty arms were openThursday, waiting for love, waiting for loveThe end of another week that left many of us asking WTF? What on earth has NZ gotten itself into and how on earth could people have voluntarily signed up for ...
Hello! Here comes the Saturday edition of More Than A Feilding, catching you up on the past week’s editions.State of humanity, 20242024, it feels, keeps presenting us with ever more challenges, ever more dismay.Do you give up yet? It seems to ask.No? How about this? Or this?How about this?Full story Share ...
Determining the hardest sport in the world is a subjective matter, as the difficulty level can vary depending on individual abilities, physical attributes, and experience. However, based on various factors including physical demands, technical skills, mental fortitude, and overall accomplishment, here is an exploration of some of the most challenging ...
The allure of sport transcends age, culture, and geographical boundaries. It captivates hearts, ignites passions, and provides unparalleled entertainment. Behind the spectacle, however, lies a fascinating world of financial investment and expenditure. Among the vast array of competitive pursuits, one question looms large: which sport carries the hefty title of ...
Introduction Pickleball, a rapidly growing paddle sport, has captured the hearts and imaginations of millions around the world. Its blend of tennis, badminton, and table tennis elements has made it a favorite among players of all ages and skill levels. As the sport’s popularity continues to surge, the question on ...
Abstract: Soccer, the global phenomenon captivating millions worldwide, has a rich history that spans centuries. Its origins trace back to ancient civilizations, but the modern version we know and love emerged through a complex interplay of cultural influences and innovations. This article delves into the fascinating journey of soccer’s evolution, ...
Tinting car windows offers numerous benefits, including enhanced privacy, reduced glare, UV protection, and a more stylish look for your vehicle. However, the cost of window tinting can vary significantly depending on several factors. This article provides a comprehensive guide to help you understand how much you can expect to ...
The pungent smell of gasoline in your car can be an alarming and potentially dangerous problem. Not only is the odor unpleasant, but it can also indicate a serious issue with your vehicle’s fuel system. In this article, we will explore the various reasons why your car may smell like ...
Tree sap can be a sticky, unsightly mess on your car’s exterior. It can be difficult to remove, but with the right techniques and products, you can restore your car to its former glory. Understanding Tree Sap Tree sap is a thick, viscous liquid produced by trees to seal wounds ...
The amount of paint needed to paint a car depends on a number of factors, including the size of the car, the number of coats you plan to apply, and the type of paint you are using. In general, you will need between 1 and 2 gallons of paint for ...
Jump-starting a car is a common task that can be performed even in adverse weather conditions like rain. However, safety precautions and proper techniques are crucial to avoid potential hazards. This comprehensive guide will provide detailed instructions on how to safely jump a car in the rain, ensuring both your ...
Graham Adams writes about the $55m media fund — When Patrick Gower was asked by Mike Hosking last week what he would say to the many Newstalk ZB callers who allege the Labour government bribed media with $55 million of taxpayers’ money via the Public Interest Journalism Fund — and ...
Note: this blog post has been put together over the course of the week I followed the happenings at the conference virtually. Should recordings of the Great Debates and possibly Union Symposia mentioned below, be released sometime after the conference ends, I'll include links to the ones I participated in. ...
The following was my submission made on the “Fast Track Approvals Bill”. This potential law will give three Ministers unchecked powers, un-paralled since the days of Robert Muldoon’s “Think Big” projects.The submission is written a bit tongue-in-cheek. But it’s irreverent because the FTAB is in itself not worthy of respect. ...
One Could Reduce Child Poverty At No Fiscal CostFollowing the Richardson/Shipley 1990 ‘redesign of the welfare state’ – which eliminated the universal Family Benefit and doubled the rate of child poverty – various income supplements for families have been added, the best known being ‘Working for Families’, introduced in 2005. ...
Buzz from the Beehive A few days ago, Point of Order suggested the media must be musing “on why Melissa is mute”. Our article reported that people working in the beleaguered media industry have cause to yearn for a minister as busy as Melissa Lee’s ministerial colleagues and we drew ...
1. What was The Curse of Jim Bolger?a. Winston Peters b. Soon after shaking his hand, world leaders would mysteriously lose office or shuffle off this mortal coilc. Could never shake off the Mother of All Budgetsd. Dandruff2. True or false? The Chairman of a Kiwi export business has asked the ...
Jack Vowles writes – New Zealand is said to be suffering from ‘serious populist discontent’. An IPSOS MORI survey has reported that we have an increasing preference for strong leaders, think that the economy is rigged toward the rich and powerful, and political elites are ignoring ‘hard-working people’. ...
Chris Trotter writes – MELISSA LEE should be deprived of her ministerial warrant. Her handling – or non-handling – of the crisis engulfing the New Zealand news media has been woeful. The fate of New Zealand’s two linear television networks, a question which the Minister of Broadcasting, Communications ...
TL;DR: The podcast above features co-hosts and , along with regular guests Robert Patman on Gaza and AUKUS II, and on climate change.The six things that mattered in Aotearoa’s political economy that we wrote and spoke about via The Kākā and elsewhere for paying subscribers in the ...
Policymakers rarely wish to make plain or visible their desire to dismantle environmental policy, least of all to the young. Photo: Lynn GrievesonTL;DR: Here’s the top five news items of note in climate news for Aotearoa-NZ this week, and a discussion above between Bernard Hickey and The Kākā’s climate correspondent ...
I like to keep an eye on what’s happening in places like the UK, the US, and over the ditch with our good mates the Aussies. Let’s call them AUKUS, for want of a better collective term. More on that in a bit.It used to be, not long ago, that ...
TL;DR: The global economy will be one fifth smaller than it would have otherwise been in 2050 as a result of climate damage, according to a new study by the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK) and published in the journal Nature. (See more detail and analysis below, and ...
New Zealand is said to be suffering from ‘serious populist discontent’. An IPSOS MORI survey has reported that we have an increasing preference for strong leaders, think that the economy is rigged toward the rich and powerful, and political elites are ignoring ‘hard-working people’. The data is from February this ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters is understood to be planning a major speech within the next fortnight to clear up the confusion over whether or not New Zealand might join the AUKUS submarine project. So far, there have been conflicting signals from the Government. RNZ reported the Prime Minister yesterday in ...
Life throws curveballs, and sometimes, those curveballs necessitate wiping your iPhone clean and starting anew. Whether you’re facing persistent software glitches, preparing to sell your device, or simply wanting a fresh start, knowing how to factory reset iPhone without a computer is a valuable skill. While using a computer with ...
Gone are the days when communication was limited to landline phones and physical proximity. Today, computers have become powerful tools for connecting with people across the globe through voice and video calls. But with a plethora of applications and methods available, how to call someone on a computer might seem ...
Open access notables Glacial isostatic adjustment reduces past and future Arctic subsea permafrost, Creel et al., Nature Communications:Sea-level rise submerges terrestrial permafrost in the Arctic, turning it into subsea permafrost. Subsea permafrost underlies ~ 1.8 million km2 of Arctic continental shelf, with thicknesses in places exceeding 700 m. Sea-level variations over glacial-interglacial cycles control ...
The operating system (OS) is the heart and soul of a computer, orchestrating every action and interaction between hardware and software. But have you ever wondered where on a computer is the operating system generally stored? The answer lies in the intricate dance between hardware and software components, particularly within ...
Laptops have become essential tools for work, entertainment, and communication, offering portability and functionality. However, with rising energy costs and growing environmental concerns, understanding a laptop’s power consumption is more important than ever. So, how many watts does a laptop use? The answer, unfortunately, isn’t straightforward. It depends on several ...
Screen recording has become an essential tool for various purposes, such as creating tutorials, capturing gameplay footage, recording online meetings, or sharing information with others. Fortunately, Dell laptops offer several built-in and external options for screen recording, catering to different needs and preferences. This guide will explore various methods on ...
A cracked or damaged laptop screen can be a frustrating experience, impacting productivity and enjoyment. Fortunately, laptop screen repair is a common service offered by various repair shops and technicians. However, the cost of fixing a laptop screen can vary significantly depending on several factors. This article delves into the ...
Gaming laptops represent a significant investment for passionate gamers, offering portability and powerful performance for immersive gaming experiences. However, a common concern among potential buyers is their lifespan. Unlike desktop PCs, which allow for easier component upgrades, gaming laptops have inherent limitations due to their compact and integrated design. This ...
The annual inventory report of New Zealand's greenhouse gas emissions has been released, showing that gross emissions have dropped for the third year in a row, to 78.4 million tons: All-told gross emissions have decreased by over 6 million tons since the Zero Carbon Act was passed in 2019. ...
Experiencing a locked computer can be frustrating, especially when you need access to your files and applications urgently. The methods to unlock your computer will vary depending on the specific situation and the type of lock you encounter. This guide will explore various scenarios and provide step-by-step instructions on how ...
While the world has largely transitioned to digital communication, faxing still holds relevance in certain industries and situations. Fortunately, gone are the days of bulky fax machines and dedicated phone lines. Today, you can easily send and receive faxes directly from your computer, offering a convenient and efficient way to ...
In our increasingly digital world, home computers have become essential tools for work, communication, entertainment, and more. However, this increased reliance on technology also exposes us to various cyber threats. Understanding these threats and taking proactive steps to protect your home computer is crucial for safeguarding your personal information, finances, ...
In the ever-evolving world of technology, server-based computing has emerged as a cornerstone of modern digital infrastructure. This article delves into the concept of server-based computing, exploring its various forms, benefits, challenges, and its impact on the way we work and interact with technology. Understanding Server-Based Computing: At its core, ...
The absolute brass neck of this guy.We want more medical doctors, not more spin doctors, Luxon was saying a couple of weeks ago, and now we’re told the guy has seven salaried adults on TikTok duty. Sorry, doing social media. The absolute brass neck of it. The irony that the ...
Buzz from the Beehive Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones relishes spatting and eagerly takes issue with environmentalists who criticise his enthusiasm for resource development. He relishes helping the fishing industry too. And so today, while the media are making much of the latest culling in the public service to ...
Having written, taught and worked for the US government on issues involving unconventional warfare and terrorism for 30-odd years, two things irritate me the most when the subject is discussed in public. The first is the Johnny-come-lately academics-turned-media commentators who … Continue reading → ...
Eric Crampton writes – Kainga Ora is the government’s house building agency. It’s been building a lot of social housing. Kainga Ora has its own (but independent) consenting authority, Consentium. It’s a neat idea. Rather than have to deal with building consents across each different territorial authority, Kainga Ora ...
Muriel Newman writes – The Coalition Government says it is moving with speed to deliver campaign promises and reverse the damage done by Labour. One of their key commitments is to “defend the principle that New Zealanders are equal before the law.” To achieve this, they have pledged they “will not advance ...
Chris Trotter writes – The absence of anything resembling a fightback from the public servants currently losing their jobs is interesting. State-sector workers’ collective fatalism in the face of Coalition cutbacks indicates a surprisingly broad acceptance of impermanence in the workplace. Fifty years ago, lay-offs in the thousands ...
The Green Party has joined the call for public submissions on the fast-track legislation to be extended after the Ombudsman forced the Government to release the list of organisations invited to apply just hours before submissions close. ...
New Zealand’s good work at reducing climate emissions for three years in a row will be undone by the National government’s lack of ambition and scrapping programmes that were making a difference, Labour Party climate spokesperson Megan Woods said today. ...
More essential jobs could be on the chopping block, this time Ministry of Education staff on the school lunches team are set to find out whether they're in line to lose their jobs. ...
The Government is trying to bring in a law that will allow Ministers to cut corners and kill off native species, Labour environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said. ...
Cancelling urgently needed new Cook Strait ferries and hiking the cost of public transport for many Kiwis so that National can announce the prospect of another tunnel for Wellington is not making good choices, Labour Transport Spokesperson Tangi Utikere said. ...
A laundry list of additional costs for Tāmaki Makarau Auckland shows the Minister for the city is not delivering for the people who live there, says Labour Auckland Issues spokesperson Shanan Halbert. ...
The Green Party has today launched a step-by-step guide to help New Zealanders make their voice heard on the Government’s democracy dodging and anti-environment fast track legislation. ...
The National Government’s proposed changes to the Residential Tenancies Act will mean tenants can be turfed from their homes by landlords with little notice, Labour housing spokesperson Kieran McAnulty said. ...
Green Party co-leader Marama Davidson is calling on all parties to support a common-sense change that’s great for the planet and great for consumers after her member’s bill was drawn from the ballot today. ...
A significant milestone has been reached in the fight to strike an anti-Pasifika and unfair law from the country’s books after Teanau Tuiono’s members’ bill passed its first reading. ...
New Zealand has today missed the opportunity to uphold the right to a clean, healthy, and sustainable environment, says James Shaw after his member’s bill was voted down in its first reading. ...
Today’s advice from the Climate Change Commission paints a sobering reality of the challenge we face in combating climate change, especially in light of recent Government policy announcements. ...
Minister for Disability Issues Penny Simmonds appears to have delayed a report back to Cabinet on the progress New Zealand is making against international obligations for disabled New Zealanders. ...
The Government’s newly announced review of methane emissions reduction targets hints at its desire to delay Aotearoa New Zealand’s urgent transition to a climate safe future, the Green Party said. ...
The Government must commit to the Maitai School building project for students with high and complex needs, to ensure disabled students from the top of the South Island have somewhere to learn. ...
Mental Health Minister Matt Doocey and his Government colleagues have made a meal of their mental health commitments, showing how flimsy their efforts to champion the issue truly are, says Labour Mental Health spokesperson Ingrid Leary. ...
Māori are yet to see anything from this Government except cuts, reversals and taking our people backwards, Māori Development spokesperson Willie Jackson said. ...
The Coalition Government’s refusal to commit to ongoing funding for social housing is seeing the sector pull back on developments and families watch their dreams of securing a home fade away, says Labour Housing spokesperson Kieran McAnulty. ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has completed a successful trip to Singapore, Thailand and the Philippines, deepening relationships and capitalising on opportunities. Mr Luxon was accompanied by a business delegation and says the choice of countries represents the priority the New Zealand Government places on South East Asia, and our relationships in ...
New Zealand is demonstrating its commitment to reducing global greenhouse emissions, and supporting clean energy transition in South East Asia, through a contribution of NZ$41 million (US$25 million) in climate finance to the Asian Development Bank (ADB)-led Energy Transition Mechanism (ETM). Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Climate Change Minister Simon Watts announced ...
The Government is today releasing a list of organisations who received letters about the Fast-track applications process, says RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop. “Recently Ministers and agencies have received a series of OIA requests for a list of organisations to whom I wrote with information on applying to have a ...
Attorney-General Judith Collins today announced the appointment of Wellington Barrister David Jonathan Boldt as a Judge of the High Court, and the Honourable Justice Matthew Palmer as a Judge of the Court of Appeal. Justice Boldt graduated with an LLB from Victoria University of Wellington in 1990, and also holds ...
Education Minister Erica Stanford will lead the New Zealand delegation at the 2024 International Summit on the Teaching Profession (ISTP) held in Singapore. The delegation includes representatives from the Post Primary Teachers’ Association (PPTA) Te Wehengarua and the New Zealand Educational Institute (NZEI) Te Riu Roa. The summit is co-hosted ...
A stopbank upgrade project in Tairawhiti partly funded by the Government has increased flood resilience for around 7000ha of residential and horticultural land so far, Regional Development Minister Shane Jones says. Mr Jones today attended a dawn service in Gisborne to mark the end of the first stage of the ...
Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters will represent the Government at Anzac Day commemorations on the Gallipoli Peninsula next week and engage with senior representatives of the Turkish government in Istanbul. “The Gallipoli campaign is a defining event in our history. It will be a privilege to share the occasion ...
Science, Innovation and Technology and Defence Minister Judith Collins will next week attend the OECD Science and Technology Ministerial conference in Paris and Anzac Day commemorations in Belgium. “Science, innovation and technology have a major role to play in rebuilding our economy and achieving better health, environmental and social outcomes ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon held a bilateral meeting today with the President of the Philippines, Ferdinand Marcos Jr. The Prime Minister was accompanied by MP Paulo Garcia, the first Filipino to be elected to a legislature outside the Philippines. During today’s meeting, Prime Minister Luxon and President Marcos Jr discussed opportunities to ...
The Government has announced that $20 million in funding will be made available to Westport to fund much needed flood protection around the town. This measure will significantly improve the resilience of the community, says Local Government Minister Simeon Brown. “The Westport community has already been allocated almost $3 million ...
The Government is proud to support the first ever Repco Supercars Championship event in Taupō as up to 70,000 motorsport fans attend the Taupō International Motorsport Park this weekend, says Economic Development Minister Melissa Lee. “Anticipation for the ITM Taupō Super400 is huge, with tickets and accommodation selling out weeks ...
Local Government Minister Simeon Brown has announced an increase to the Rates Rebate Scheme, putting money back into the pockets of low-income homeowners. “The coalition Government is committed to bringing down the cost of living for New Zealanders. That includes targeted support for those Kiwis who are doing things tough, such ...
The Coalition Government is investing in a project to boost survival rates of New Zealand mussels and grow the industry, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones has announced. “This project seeks to increase the resilience of our mussels and significantly boost the sector’s productivity,” Mr Jones says. “The project - ...
Benefit figures released today underscore the importance of the Government’s plan to rebuild the economy and have 50,000 fewer people on Jobseeker Support, Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston says. “Benefit numbers are still significantly higher than when National was last in government, when there was about 70,000 fewer ...
The Government’s commitment to doubling New Zealand’s renewable energy capacity is backed by new data showing that clean energy has helped the country reach its lowest annual gross emissions since 1999, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. New Zealand’s latest Greenhouse Gas Inventory (1990-2022) published today, shows gross emissions fell ...
The Government is bringing the earthquake-prone building review forward, with work to start immediately, and extending the deadline for remediations by four years, Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk says. “Our Government is focused on rebuilding the economy. A key part of our plan is to cut red tape that ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and his Thai counterpart, Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin, have today agreed that New Zealand and the Kingdom of Thailand will upgrade the bilateral relationship to a Strategic Partnership by 2026. “New Zealand and Thailand have a lot to offer each other. We have a strong mutual desire to build ...
RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop and Transport Minister Simeon Brown have today announced the Coalition Government’s intention to extend port coastal permits for a further 20 years, providing port operators with certainty to continue their operations. “The introduction of the Resource Management Act in 1991 required ports to obtain coastal ...
Today’s announcement that inflation is down to 4 per cent is encouraging news for Kiwis, but there is more work to be done - underlining the importance of the Government’s plan to get the economy back on track, acting Finance Minister Chris Bishop says. “Inflation is now at 4 per ...
Refreshed health guidance released today will help parents and schools make informed decisions about whether their child needs to be in school, addressing one of the key issues affecting school attendance, says Associate Education Minister David Seymour. In recent years, consistently across all school terms, short-term illness or medical reasons ...
Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones is streamlining high-level oceans management while maintaining a focus on supporting the sector’s role in the export-led recovery of the economy. “I am working to realise the untapped potential of our fishing and aquaculture sector. To achieve that we need to be smarter with ...
Associate Agriculture Minister Mark Patterson is speaking at the International Wool Textile Organisation Congress in Adelaide, promoting New Zealand wool, and outlining the coalition Government’s support for the revitalisation the sector. "New Zealand’s wool exports reached $400 million in the year to 30 June 2023, and the coalition Government ...
The Government is making legislative changes to make it easier for new early learning services to be established, and for existing services to operate, Associate Education Minister David Seymour says. The changes involve repealing the network approval provisions that apply when someone wants to establish a new early learning service, ...
Changes to the Resource Management Act will align consenting for coal mining to other forms of mining to reduce barriers that are holding back economic development, Resources Minister Shane Jones says. “The inconsistent treatment of coal mining compared with other extractive activities is burdensome red tape that fails to acknowledge ...
Trade, Agriculture and Forestry Minister Todd McClay has concluded productive discussions with ministerial counterparts in Beijing today, in support of the New Zealand-China trade and economic relationship. “My meeting with Commerce Minister Wang Wentao reaffirmed the complementary nature of the bilateral trade relationship, with our Free Trade Agreement at its ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon today paid tribute to Singapore’s outgoing Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong. Meeting in Singapore today immediately before Prime Minister Lee announced he was stepping down, Prime Minister Luxon warmly acknowledged his counterpart’s almost twenty years as leader, and the enduring legacy he has left for Singapore and South East ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon held a bilateral meeting today with Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong. While in Singapore as part of his visit to South East Asia this week, Prime Minister Luxon also met with Singapore President Tharman Shanmugaratnam and will meet with Deputy Prime Minister Lawrence Wong. During today’s meeting, Prime Minister Luxon ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has made further appointments to the Board of Antarctica New Zealand as part of a continued effort to ensure the Scott Base Redevelopment project is delivered in a cost-effective and efficient manner. The Minister has appointed Neville Harris as a new member of the Board. Mr ...
Finance Minister Nicola Willis will travel to the United States on Tuesday to attend a meeting of the Five Finance Ministers group, with counterparts from Australia, the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom. “I am looking forward to meeting with our Five Finance partners on how we can work ...
The coalition Government has today announced purrfect and pawsitive changes to the Residential Tenancies Act to give tenants with pets greater choice when looking for a rental property, says Housing Minister Chris Bishop. “Pets are important members of many Kiwi families. It’s estimated that around 64 per cent of New ...
State Highway 1 (SH1) through Wellington City is heavily congested at peak times and while planning continues on the duplicate Mt Victoria Tunnel and Basin Reserve project, the Government has also asked NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) to consider and provide advice on a Long Tunnel option, Transport Minister Simeon Brown ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Foreign Minister Winston Peters have condemned Iran’s shocking and illegal strikes against Israel. “These attacks are a major challenge to peace and stability in a region already under enormous pressure," Mr Luxon says. "We are deeply concerned that miscalculation on any side could ...
Hundreds of people in little over a week have turned out in Northland to hear Regional Development Minister Shane Jones speak about plans for boosting the regional economy through infrastructure. About 200 people from the infrastructure and associated sectors attended an event headlined by Mr Jones in Whangarei today. Last ...
Health Minister Dr Shane Reti has today thanked outgoing Health New Zealand – Te Whatu Ora Chair Dame Karen Poutasi for her service on the Board. “Dame Karen tendered her resignation as Chair and as a member of the Board today,” says Dr Reti. “I have asked her to ...
The NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) has signalled their proposed delivery approach for the Government’s 15 Roads of National Significance (RoNS), with the release of the State Highway Investment Proposal (SHIP) today, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Boosting economic growth and productivity is a key part of the Government’s plan to ...
New Zealand is renewing its connections with a world facing urgent challenges by pursuing an active, energetic foreign policy, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says. “Our country faces the most unstable global environment in decades,” Mr Peters says at the conclusion of two weeks of engagements in Egypt, Europe and the United States. “We cannot afford to sit back in splendid ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has announced the Australian Governor-General, His Excellency General The Honourable David Hurley and his wife Her Excellency Mrs Linda Hurley, will make a State visit to New Zealand from Tuesday 16 April to Thursday 18 April. The visit reciprocates the State visit of former Governor-General Dame Patsy Reddy ...
Associate Health Minister David Seymour has announced that Medsafe has approved 11 cold and flu medicines containing pseudoephedrine. Pharmaceutical suppliers have indicated they may be able to supply the first products in June. “This is much earlier than the original expectation of medicines being available by 2025. The Government recognised ...
New Zealand and the United States have recommitted to their strategic partnership in Washington DC today, pledging to work ever more closely together in support of shared values and interests, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says. “The strategic environment that New Zealand and the United States face is considerably more ...
April 11, 2024 Joint Declaration by United States Secretary of State the Honorable Antony J. Blinken and New Zealand Minister of Foreign Affairs the Right Honourable Winston Peters We met today in Washington, D.C. to recommit to the historic partnership between our two countries and the principles that underpin it—rule ...
By Koroi Hawkins, RNZ Pacific editor in Honiara Solomon Islands’ incumbent prime minister Manasseh Sogavare has been re-elected in the East Choiseul constituency. It is the opening move in the political chess match to form the country’s next government. Returning officer Christopher Makoni made the declaration late last night after ...
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The Fast-track Bill, if passed, would allow three Ministers, unchallenged and unchecked, to approve the immediate extraction and exhaustion of one-off resources. ...
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Zoë Colling’s favourite piece in the ‘That’s So Last Century’ collection is a lubrication chart for a sewing machine from the ’60s. It’s about the size of a postcard, and carefully maintained. “I like it that this piece of ephemera highlights that manual and technical side of the skill involved ...
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With submissions closing today, Macassey-Pickard says groups around the country have been supporting a huge range of people to make their submissions. ...
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The new ‘Fast-track Approvals Bill’ would give just three Ministers the power to approve or deny development projects. They would avoid the usual checks and balances that are in place to protect rivers, land, the ocean, and communities. ...
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http://www.hbo.com/movies/game-change/index.html
Hekia Parata and John Key.
I watched the movie “Game Change” which follows John McCain’s 2008 Presisential campaign from his selection of Sarah Palin as his running mate to his ultimate defeat by Obama. A great movie.
Pailin and the McCain/Palin relationship has many parallels with Parata and her relationship with Key, IMO.
Fantastic film, really shows the grind that campaigning can do. In the end I actually felt sorry for the old bugger McCain, though he still chose her, so not that sorry.
http://iforce.co.nz/i/uaa0wf32.ivg.jpg
What sort of mine is this, and where is it located?
No idea, but what an amazing photo.
Reverse image search indicates a diamond mine in Northern Canada.
Here’s a shot of it in winter:
http://www.diavik.ca/ENG/media/1157_photo_listing_1544.asp
Cheat 😛
As shown on Whaleoil yesterday
http://www.whaleoil.co.nz/2013/03/photo-of-the-day-153/
What is Labour’s stance on the Trans-Pacific Partnership?
Whatever he said…..unless trevor disagrees
Goff strongly pro TPPA, AFAIK
Ought to be a bottom line that foreign corporates are not allowed to sue New Zealand if they think that we are hindering their ability to rape and plunder by exercising our democratic right to rule our country.
Ought to be a bottom line that the NZ govt cannot sign agreements that the public, including other political parties, doesn’t know about.
The only thing I could find was this vague piece by Maryan street:
http://www.labour.org.nz/node/3254
and this:
http://www.labour.org.nz/node/4334
“The only thing I could find was this vague piece by Maryan street:
http://www.labour.org.nz/node/3254”
and this:
http://www.labour.org.nz/node/4334”
Not a lot is it.
The first translated means she’s miffed that the Nats aren’t including her or Labour in the negotiations. The second kinda suggests that Pharmac is the only thing they’re really fixated on and everything else is on the table.
Been interesting following the Apple vs Samsung patents battle, gives an idea on what’s in store when the Nats adopt the US patent laws via the TTPA.
Today’s ‘paper was saying one of Apple’s patents is zooming an image by tapping the screen with finger. Zooming with a click of the mouse has been around since long before the iphone so it should never been accepted as a patent just on prior use grounds.
There’s so many patents around like that now it’s just not funny and they’re all being used to stiffle innovation and make money from nothing.
Agreed. The Nats are supporting software patents which would be a disaster for the local software industry. Anytime someone gets moderately successful they’ll attract the attention of the US patent trolls & be subjected to lawsuits.
There’s really nothing you can patent in software, copyright covers it not patents.
Make of this what you will, apparently a Kaiapoi Labourer had to train prisoners who took his job after he was laid off:
http://www.stuff.co.nz/business/rebuilding-christchurch/8376234/Labourers-lose-jobs-to-prisoners
Another good reason to join a union.
Well, not really. If this gets taken to the tribunal, the employer will lose. If there was a few months between employing more and making redundancies, they would be ok.
I was pointing out that the union would know the laws whereas often the employee often doesn’t. It’s that point about specialisation.
Not to mention unions being far more likely to have the resources to support taking cases to the tribunal than an individual.
You bet me to it. Gonna be a PG in here somewhere…but win the battle, lose the war b/c the company could go under due to the cost of compensation. Why can’t employers get things right?
in haste, told him he had to sign a four-month fixed-term and back-dated contract on the spot or he would not be kept or paid.
Should have signed it and the document being completely incriminating in itself, taken the employer to court.
Yep. heard that across the wire alex
Great little article in the Guardian: “How shaming the poor became a new bloodsport!”
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2013/mar/03/blame-poor-poverty-barbara-ellen
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10868943
Somehow this seems like it was inevitable. The beneficiary advocacy service in Auckland has had its funding cut.
Service manager Karen Pattie said the service needed about $100,000 annually and would cease operations within three weeks without further funding.
Ms Pattie said the service, which currently served 400 clients, had been one of the victims in the Government’s decision to cut funding for agencies providing advocacy work.
The push was now for the work to be delivered through Work and Income staff and ensuring beneficiaries were “accountable” for receiving their benefits.
emboldening mine.
Hey, let’s go the wholoe hog and save money by having the prosecution represent the defense in the criminal justice system. Employers could advocate for aggrieved employees in industrial disputes…..
This idea has huge potential for the government in so many areas.
We used to have that sort of system, back before the Magna Carta. That should give you some idea as to how far back in time National want to take us.
We could even make MPs accountable, especially for screw ups. Lets start with Novopay…
Later this month climate change sceptic an English lord, Chris Moncton, a former adviser to Margret Thatcher will be traveling around New Zealand giving public debates on climate change. He starting in Northland, which is no surprise given the Governments intentions to mine & drill in the region.
I would like to know who is sponsoring this English Toff? The Government? Mining & drilling companies? Keys rich mates? ACT? Just who is behind this guys visit?
Also was mining & drilling our national parks really plan A of the Government till public outrage, including the thousands who marched in protest ‘stalled’ their intentions & was asset sales plan B? And are we seeing the reverse plans with mining & drilling being the plan B now?
Are we being feed more lies by Key as he has said if asset sales were foiled there was no plan B?
Why the fuck would anyone want to listen an english lord?
Anyone in such circles cannot by default be trusted one little bit.
VTO it’s a debate ‘not’ a lecture cobber.
Fair enough but the point still stands.
What qualifications make him worth listening to or debating, especially given that his position as a lord starts him in a negative position?
Well, if it helps, while Monckton is a viscount, he’s not actually a member of the House of Lords, as he is known to claim.
Dammit, links aren’t showing again. Should be:
http://thestandard.org.nz/denier-dissected-2/
Thanks QoT armed with that info we will be heading along to the bar where Lord Haw-Haw is performing and heckle him and his mates. Should be entertaining may even take some rotten eggs just in case the ACT crew front up.
It’ll be the Climate Science Coalition and I want to know how much he’s being paid. It seems his job these days is nothing but getting paid huge amounts to lie about climate science.
.
Hard to find out about that sort of thing these days. Conservatives are too ashamed to do it publicly. In 2007, some US outfit going by the name Heartland Institute channelled funds to bozos here like the New Zealand Climate “Science” Coalition. NZCSC member Owen McShane received $US25,000. while member Terry Dunleavy received $US45,000. That’s what a quick search shows up anyway. Last year there was a bit of an issue when the Heartland Institute went particularly rabid so other corporates stepped up. I think it would be reasonable to suspect that Lord Monkeybrain is on the billionaire denialist gravy train, the cash circuitously making its way down to the clowns like him.
Mind you, New Zealand has its own clowns, chief among them Auckland University Associate Professor Chris De Freitas. Should I be surprised to see the New Zealand Fox News Herald continue to give space to him, as recently as today? Perhaps not.
Ian Wishart is also involved. It’s the basic wingnut welfare crew, wouldn’t be surprised t find that under all the ‘brought to you by’ fluff is a handout from Gibbs.
Yes Gibbs fits in there nicely he may try to use this as a platform to reignite ACT through this characters roadshow?
We could even make MPs accountable, especially for screw ups. Lets start with Novopay…
Datacom was just as bad. They did nurses pay. At north shore where my wife worked for 2 years, not once was her pay right. She complained to the union rep. Did it hit the headlines, did the union make a fuss, not likely. The difference, the nurses union was led by Liala Harrell there was a l
Labour Government, and she was sweating on her list position with the Labour party?
No mention of your wife complaining to the boss, Addison. In your summary, it’s all the union’s fault for some reason. What years are we talking about?
MAF – More Addison Fiction
quite correct CV – it’s fiction that Datacom stuff-ups never hit the headlines.
Here we go – Datacom featured twice in two days:
From the Otago Daily Times February 15 2008 – Datacom’s payroll problems plague schools
From Scoop February 14 2008
hey joe, busted link, goes to nowhere land
Yes – unfortunate that the edit function is not working – see Prism @ 17 – otherwise I would have fixed it. Here’s the link:
http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PO0802/S00155.htm
[lprent: I have three plugins with conflicting JQueries. Trying to get them to a common compatible version is a pain. ]
my my, that is a glaringly obvious example of Ministerial manipulation to gain the desired outcome. i.e: Talent 2’s positing of a messiah vendor we lovingly call NovaPay
one thing i still wonder is, if NovaPay was about to make Talent2 so much money, why did banksie jump ship ?
and see page 2 on this site:
http://old.nzei.org.nz/site/nzeite/files/rou%20rou/RR_2008_06.pdf
http://www.odt.co.nz/news/national/1111/payroll-problem-plagues-schools
Or just remove the apostrophe at the end of the link.
I didn’t say datycom never hit the headlines. I am saying Harre didn’t rock Labours boat because she was looking after NO1 not her union members.
And what you are saying is rubbish. Harre was busy being an Alliance MP at the time your wife was working at North Shore hospital.
Harre was not connected with the Labour Party.
Yep, which was why I asked Addison the years he was talking about. I was hoping to award Addison the stupidity trifecta: getting the relevant Nurses Organisation National Secretary wrong, putting Laila in the wrong party, and claiming the bosses mistakes were the fault of the union. However, I note from Addison’s contributions over the weekend that he doesn’t like answering direct questions. Presumably because the answers would show the vast void that is his factual ignorance is filled by hot air, right wing talking points and anti-worker prejudice.
Rubbish trp I always try and answer questions unless they are of a personal nature and go too far. I have had very little argument against my opinions, usually just the copout of playing the man not the ball. If you want a sensible debate try doing it without insulting those who offer opinions contrary to your own. Or are you of the view that chanting Maggie out over and over is a sensible debate(perhaps Key Out in a Kiwi context)
Get fucked addison.
All you ever write here is anecdata about your own life (lolz).
You don’t get to complain about people “not playing the ball” when all you have presented is the man.
there we go again your first line says it all
No, it doesn’t. You need to read further than that.
I think we might be getting to the problem though…
I don’t give a flying one about your opinions, Addison. I and others have simply demonstrated this morning (and on Saturday) that you don’t know what you are talking about. Every supposed fact in your wee rant this morning has been disproven.
The thing is, you are entitled to put your opinions forward and promote the ideas and philosophies behind them. You’ll find plenty of healthy debate. But when you claim as fact things that are not fact round here, you will be shredded everytime.
To summarise:
Datacom’s problems did make the media. You said they didn’t.
Laila Harre did not hide the Datacom issue because of personal ambition as you falsely claimed. She was never on Labour’s list, she was, in fact, an MP for a party born in opposition to the LP.
Laila Harre did not even work for the NO at the time you claim she did.
How about you just come out and say “I got all that wrong. Sorry”?
I looked at the comment, including the misspelling of Laila’s name and the required incorrect fact every sentence. I was considering writing a reply or a note to point this out preemptively. But then I thought that people would be in wanting to play at squashing this guy’s ego soon enough. Why should I spoil the fun? 😈
he’s a disease i tells ya, a disease
the more dense a tory’s shell is, the more it protects their over-inflated ego.
2001 to 2002,and yes she did complain to her line manager and was told to refer the complaint to the Union rep. And if you read my post a bit more carefully I am not blaming the union or the Labour government, the fault lay with datacom. The poing is that the unions are all over nova pay and National but were ominously silent over datacoms faults. I am suggesting Harre was quiet because she didn’t want to rock her Labour Party mates whilste she was angling for her party place. A new twist to the old line; the working class can kiss my ass, I have a list seat at last!;-)
“did the union make a fuss, not likely. ”
“I am not blaming the union”
communication 101: these are what are known as contradictory statements
not at all. not blaming the union for the pay mess up. Blaming the union for their inaction about the matter. PS I apologise I did not realise Harre resigned from Labour in 1989. Therefore cannot blame her inaction for political ambitions.
Did you ever thank the union for the excellent pay and conditions your wife enjoyed in the first place?
Course not, that’s all down to the benevolence of the bosses.
But not paying wages correctly and on time, that’s the fucking union’s job eh?
was your wife a member of the union, btw?
Cool, so Harre, who was not NO Nat Sec at the time, kept quiet about an issue she was unaware of to keep her mates in the party she left in disgust years earlier happy? How is life on Planet Key? Oxygen on short supply?
I stand coorected,i didn’t know she left Labour in 1989. Aplogies for that.
And how about all the other factual inaccuracies, care to apologise for those too?
i call BS Addison, you have one isolated example, well i also have relatives and friends in that industry and recently talked with them specifically on the NovaPay issue, as the health sector seemed to handle the complicated task with competence and certitude. Each and every one of the half dozen i spoke to said the occassional blip happened , as it does in any payroll, and would be resolved in reasonable timeframes. They also made a point of mentioning that there is no comparison to the over-arching scale of the Talent2 / Novapay swindle that has been played on NZ Education.
Lucky them, but pay matters were a joke at Northsore when my wife was there over a 2 year period. They were always corrected but it was a fortnightly occurrence.
that a person’s pay would be in error every fortnight for two years does beggar belief, sure you are not exaggerating just a tad?
Yes addison, no doubt there were thousands of others this was happening to as well as your made up wife, but the union kept it all secret.
Because that’s what they do, unions. They exist to make sure no-one finds out about workers not getting paid.
FFS can we get some better tr0lls please?
4 March 2013
‘Open Letter/ OIA request to NZ Prime Minister John Key – how can the Government ‘get a good price for Mighty River Power, when thousands ‘Switch Off Mercury Energy’?
Dear Prime Minister,
Please be advised of the founding aim of the ‘Switch Off Mercury Energy’ community group, of which I am a Spokesperson:
“MINUTES(CONFIRMED) FOUNDING MEETING OF ‘SWITCH OFF MERCURY ENERGY’
15 August 2012 Grey Lynn Community Centre 510 Richmond Rd Grey Lynn.
___________________________________________________________________________________________
HELP STOP THE PRIVATISATION OF MIGHTY RIVER POWER BY SWITCHING OFF MERCURY ENERGY! (100% owned by Mighty River Power)
AIM: To help stop the privatisation of public assets – particularly the proposed privatisation of the first of the electricity State-Owned Assets (SOEs), Mighty River Power, by FOCUSING ON getting 100,000 customers to SWITCH OFF Mercury Energy (100% owned by Mighty River Power). Fewer customers equals less profits which equals a less attractive investment and jeopardises the Governments proposed agenda.
“Let me make it quite clear. If the Government doesn’t get a good price – the Government isn’t going to sell” (Tony Ryall, Minister of SOE’s 17/6/2012 NBR
http://www.nbr.co.nz/article/govt-wont-sell-assets-if-it-cant-get-good-price-ryall-ck-121435
The Government has no right to sell our public assets.
PRECEDENT: In 2008, Contact Energy (already privatized) doubled their directors fees and raised their prices 12%.In 6 months, more than 40,000 customers switched from Contact Energy and their profits were halved.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/droughts/news/article.cfm?c_id=180&objectid=10590906&pnum=0 ……………”
____________________________________________________________________________________
Please provide the following information:
1) Please confirm that the publicly-stated position stated by the Minister of State-Owned Eneterprises Tony Ryall, is unchanged:
“Let me make it quite clear. If the Government doesn’t get a good price – the Government isn’t going to sell” (Tony Ryall, Minister of SOE’s 17/6/2012
2) Please provide the information which confirms HOW a ‘good price’ for Mighty River Power is/has been calculated.
3) Please provide the information which confirms WHO has/is responsible for the calculation of a ‘good price’ for Mighty River Power.
4) Please provide the information which confirms that has/is responsible for the calculation of a ‘good price’ for Mighty River Power, are independent, and professionally competent, and do not have any untoward ‘ conflicts of interest’ / vested interests in the sale of Mighty River Power.
5) Please confirm that you are aware of your statutory duties arising from the Public Records Act 2005
http://www.legislation.govt.nz/act/public/2005/0040/latest/DLM345536.html
Purposes of Act
The purposes of this Act are—
(a)to provide for the continuation of the repository of public archives called the National Archives with the name Archives New Zealand (Te Rua Mahara o te Kāwanatanga); and
(b)to provide for the role of the Chief Archivist in developing and supporting government recordkeeping, including making independent determinations on the disposal of public records and certain local authority archives; and
(c)to enable the Government to be held accountable by—
(i)ensuring that full and accurate records of the affairs of central and local government are created and maintained; and
(ii)providing for the preservation of, and public access to, records of long-term value; and
(d)to enhance public confidence in the integrity of public records and local authority records; and
(e)to provide an appropriate framework within which public offices and local authorities create and maintain public records and local authority records, as the case may be; and
(f)through the systematic creation and preservation of public archives and local authority archives, to enhance the accessibility of records that are relevant to the historical and cultural heritage of New Zealand and to New Zealanders’ sense of their national identity; and
(g)to encourage the spirit of partnership and goodwill envisaged by the Treaty of Waitangi (Te Tiriti o Waitangi), as provided for by section 7; and
(h)to support the safekeeping of private records.
Yours sincerely,
Penny Bright
A Spokesperson for the Switch Off Mercury Energy community group.
http://www.facebook.com/SwitchOffMercuryEnergy/info
‘Anti-corruption campaigner’
I am one who has been surprised by the government’s and Key’s continued popularity in spite of all of the problems they have encountered and which are chronicled at length here.
So I was very interested last night to meet for the person time a person of the class responsible for the phenomenon.
Most people I know are now and have always been right wing. I know fewer people who are and have always been left wing. Here, I am exposed to the rabid left, who I never encounter in the real world.
But last night I met a devoted John Key fan. A 50 year old gay man of modest means who had voted Labour his whole life until 2008 and, indeed, had been a card carrying member and volunteered and canvassed for them in the late 80’s and early 90’s.
He has voted National the last two elections and does not regret it. His vote was essentially for Key who he remains very taken with. Part of the appeal, it seems, is the story of the struggle from modest circumstances to great wealth and then public service.
This is only an anecdote and, as such, has very limited value. But I found it very interesting to meet for the first time such a person.
Jesus Mary and Joseph I am agreeing with Gormless Fool.
Key has a very good back story and a lot of charm. To counter him Labour needs a leader who will outpoint him in an area. He needs to be smarter or gutsier or more passionate or be able to speak better but he needs to be different.
Shearer is not that person.
I also agree with Caleb Morgan that the dominant clique in the Labour Caucus is one that prefers Key to Cunliffe (or Chauvel or Dalziel or anyone of the left) to be next Prime Minister.
http://cutyourhair.wordpress.com/2013/03/01/where-is-christchurch-in-the-labour-reshuffle/
A preference to be in charge of a losing Labour Party, as opposed to being not in control of a winning Labour Party?
Yep, that seems to be it. Apparently, the ABCs think having power in the party is more important than the party or the country.
FIFY
I mean real, as opposed to virtual. No offence to the rabid left intended.
There are those who get into cargo cult very, very easily.
These deals are annoying & becoming too common….
http://www.stuff.co.nz/business/industries/8376186/Questions-raised-over-Deloitte
I don’t know why the Govt uses the likes of Deloittes for IT consultancy, they’re grossly overpriced and since a lot of IT work is labour charges the Govt is paying far too much for IT outsourcing.
Deloittes are principally an accounting firm and I wouldn’t hire accountants to advise me on IT stuff, don’t know why they get so much Govt work when we’ve got the likes of Datacom who are genuinely IT people.
Just how do Deloitte *win* all those juicy central/local government contracts, and service agreements etc!
They’re feasting aggresively on the public purse, at all levels, all around the country’s, local/central bodies!
One needs to investigate little snippets like the following statement:
Tracking the relationships and work history, of former and current Deloitte employees, is a good place to start!
Open the door, let them in, then join them!
http://m.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10868979
Coroner who declined inquest into death of gay soldier made submission against gay marriage.
First, WTF was he doing making a submission?
Second, his decision needs to be reviewed.
Yeah, that is pretty galling.
On Morning report Goff raised some issues. Deployment was two months longer than usual, (which may have increased fatigue), additional training required for the deployment was cut short by two weeks and an inquest is required.
I hope that Goff also gets a full independent inquiry. The ANZAC Day airforce deaths were suppose to be investigated by the Labour Department, not just by the airforce. The army are not independent.
Ah. Now THAT begins to smell…
Your eyes will roll at this. Chris Hipkins put up a story on Red Alert called CONTEMPT FOR DEMOCRACY on Saturday here http://tinyurl.com/cdekas6
Yesterday Chris deleted comments asking him if he thought the title was a bit hypocritical because he has been so criticized for his reaction to the democracy remits at the NZ Labour conference. Trevor
or Clare might have done the deleting…
My comment never got through. I wasn’t even getting smart. I just said I thought it might be better to take critics on. Still in moderation or deleted though?!
I have screen captures of two other comments that were deleted. Anyone know how to post screen captures here at TS…
I had seen TS comments saying how Red Alert is censored like mad but I had not seen it myself. Do MP’s think you can censor voters when they go to vote? Daft.
Labour MPs certainly think that they can censor and censure Labour Party members for speaking their mind.
There is a high degree of moderation at Red Alert. There has to be, otherwise you’d have trolls from both all directions spending much of their time slagging the MP’s and drowning out discussion. The problem is, as you point out, that the moderation often drowns out actual comments.
I can testify that as a moderator after reading hundreds of thousands of comments here (and previous net experiences) with an enormous variety of trolling approaches, that after a while everything starts to look “deeply suspicious”. It is actually quite hard to restrain yourself from just moderating everything and stifling actual discussion.
The local equivalent is trying to tell us how to run our site or telling us what we should write. It is a very fast way to picking up a ban and if repeated, a fast way to lose the ability to comment here. Why? Because we’re doing the damn job and critics who are not are usually just a pain in the arse because they are not. We just tell them that they need time to start up and run their own site where they can run it the way they like – including getting their own audience. And attacking authors personally is just not tolerated at all because while there are a lot of commentators, there are only a relatively few people with both the skills in writing and who are willing to be authors.
Basically it is house rules when it comes to moderation at various sites. As a commentator you kind of have to live with them.
I think everyone here is kind of aware of the moderation policies at RA
And to be fair to Red Alert, I posted a comment a few months ago suggesting Clare Curren should apologise for bullying CV and I was pleasantly surprised it wasn’t moderated in any way.
Helen Kelly’s criticism of the lack of care for forest workers safety is really needed. It seems to me though that there is a barrier in NZ to insisting on safety regulations and controls backed by law and regular inspections.
This morning’s comment from an adventure tourism spokesperson on the man falling and dying at an adventure business referred to businesses being very concerned and setting standards. It sounded to me that they are left to get on with it, perhaps after drawing up plans but saying and knowing isn’t doing.
What we need is a feisty little shit from the Department of Labour and Safety going round asking questions, checking the equipment and generally setting the owner’s teeth on edge. Instead we get growing risky behaviours from owners and avoidable deaths that amount to manslaughter by wilful neglect of owners and their staff. Owners should spend some time in jail if any fault can be found. A month for each fault perhaps. Faults of frayed ropes, poor maintenance, lax controls and methods, etc.
yes, also on the rise on RNZ
-Aukland house prices continuing up the spiral
-Aussie climate on “steroids” now
anyway,
some parting shots for The Village round-heads across the bow (eggs and omelettes and all that butter, i know, lets call it a master-craftsman class)
subjective self-identification is the outcome of subjection to a pre-existing order that includes language, law, admin, production, distribution, and exchange.
Husband, and cultivate and tailor a world to your proclivities and context.
1. World-making heart- and-mind. heart-and-mind shaping world. think and speak a novel world into being. way-making=also affection-an epistemology of caring. empathetic feeling. tick
2.it is sage not to coerce; disseminate teachings that go beyond what can be said. binaries require other for completion. enable each participant to contribute fully to “dramatic” performance.tick
3. keep the “hawkers” of knowledge at bay. celebrate the bravery, patience and kindness of the ordinary person. allow character of community to emerge synergistically out of associated living.
tick
4.way-making of undetermined nature; swinging gateway of experience opens and novelty emerges spontaneously. experience is appropriate object of awe and deference. tick
5.not institutionalized morality but superior communal morality. tick
6. the fecundity of emptiness. tick
7.withdraw, yet out in front.through unselfishness needs met. nature / Christ as mentor. persons perceived, needs met.tick
8.dwell in places loathed by crowds. giving authoritatively. speak credibly. act timely. water flows everywhere. tick
9. retire from excess. how to manage fullness; a measure of ignorance to cope with intelligence that vies with wisdom. humility to cope with accomplishments. a measure of timidity to cope with courage pervading an entire age. measure of frugality to cope with wealth that fills the four seas.
tick
10. the nature of the world is to transform. real wisdom-shaping penetrating insight into the present moment engaging with the unique circumstances at play. tick
12. easier to satiate the abdomen, difficult to satiate the wandering eye through which the spirit can leak away. distractions. no crime more onerous than greed. no misfortune more devastating than avarice. no calamity with more grief than insatiability. know when enough is enough= satisfaction. tick
13. value anxieties. those who value care of own body more than running the world can be entrusted with the world; begrudging person= authority of the world; worldly favour-patronage will be followed by disgrace as favour “withdrawn”. faithful with little, self, then faithful with responsibilities and world. value ones’ person and love ones’ person in thorough-going integration with ones’ field of experience. tick
14. hold tightly to way-making in the present to manage what happens now to understand where it began in the distant past= the draw-string of way-making. master draws me forward a step at a time, broadens my culture, disciplines my behaviour through the observance of ritual propriety; even if I wanted to quit, I could not.-Yan Hui (we supported a Mob hui after church; is broad)
tick
15. reluctance as at a winters’ stream crossing. vigilance towards surrounding neighbours.dignified as an invited guest. yielding as ice to thaw. solid like un-worked wood. murky like muddy waters when stilled clear. settled when agitated comes to life. not seek fullness, remaining hidden and unfinished. tick
-epistemology of feeling in which the quality of understanding is a function of the immediacy and intensity of what is felt. way always under construction. many hands at work. a punctuation of consummating events, as paragraphs yet a never-ending story. tick
16. reversion-returning to the root, is what is called equilibrium. common sense- accommodation-tolerance -kingliness . tian cumulative cultural legacy focused by the spirit and spirituality of those who have come before. the way made is enduring, not self divided against self. s. like a mirror; not see things off or go to meet them. respond without storing anything up thus not injured by the myriad transformations they undergo. not passive or quiet but synergistically and organically responsive. accommodation is the source of fullness of strength, influence timeliness and efficacy. extension through deference, trunk branches from the roots. tick
17. during periods of decadence and social decline philosophers arise to proclaim the obvious of exacerbating problems by institutionalizing artificial alternatives, dominion, principalities and powers- educated morality and its vocabulary of ” right and wrong” “good and evil”. tick
here, have some ‘morality”
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slave_morality
20. Preferable to the marble 😉 of learning is the rich temple of immediate experience and unmediated feeling.
Do I really care what others think of me? I don’t think so. the worm has turned; Time for some
Wood Oil. (I would not be surprised if National gets another term or not) There’s some newsology for yas’ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Noology
What a great country? By l*ck it is! Go luck yourselves out.
“ha ha ha said the laughing gnome…”
now, where’d i secrete my Crossbow and bolts.
“guess I’ll see you, yes I’ll see you, see you on the other-side.”
Epitaph Writer :
FXDX.
excuse me while I get back to Job.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ZXpqhXSDrE 😉
This morning on Radio NZ this USA woman was interesting. She has been thoughtful and politically aware since a young age. She said that she considers the USA to be a pluralism of wealthy groups not a democracy.
10-11am: Feature interview – Cisco Systems co-founder and Jane Austen expert Sandy Lerner
As a founder of Cisco she’d be a multi-millionaire, too…
I read that when she was forced out of Cisco Systems her husband and her liquidated their stock for US$170M.
In the interview she says that she studied communism and marxist economics at univeristy.
I put item about Sandy Lerner on OpenMike 3/3 by mistake. I tried to delete it because I wanted it to go in today’s only, but the delete function doesn’t work and neither does my edit function.
Astonishing!
I have just heard Mike Williams criticise the Labour Party… saying they need to spend less time on the internal infighting and more time attacking the government. Two minutes later following a question by Lyn Freeman on the subject of Charles Chauvel’s speech, he is belittling Chauvel and accusing him of having a tantrum (I paraphrase) when he made exactly the same point.
He claims Charles Chauvel has done himself no good by saying what he did
This isn’t the first time Williams has contradicted himself like this and it won’t be the last. The man is shaping up to be even more of a ‘fake’ leftie than Josie Pagani.
He also claimed Shearer’s reshuffle was very fair. The MPs who Shearer promoted deserved it and were the best performers in the party (words to that effect anyway). He intimated those who were demoted were simply not good enough, and he’s sorry to have to say this blah blah… but they simply didn’t come up to scratch. So, we take it from the guru himself that David Cunliffe and Lianne Dalziel were just not up to it folks .
Beggars belief.
I was also amazed/disgusted by Williams’ comments, Anne. Your summary is spot on.
Here is the link if others did not hear it.
http://www.radionz.co.nz/national/programmes/ninetonoon/audio/2548073/politics-with-matthew-hooton-and-mike-williams.asx
The discussion on the partial sale of Mighty River is also worth listening to in the link.
—————————-
Also here is the link to the excellent Sandy Lerner interview mentioned by Prism at 16 and 17 above – well worth listening to.
http://www.radionz.co.nz/national/programmes/ninetonoon/audio/2548070/feature-guest-sandy-lerner.asx
I think I’ll use my limited time this afternoon to listen to Sandy Lerner. Thanks vv.
Williams wanking and Hootons Horseshit Or Sandy Lerner? well thats no contest.
Why are types such as Williams, *allowed* on the radio you think..
Forget buying into the charade around the re-shuffle, and empty spaces like Williams commenting on it, these are all just pawns in a game, the game is called, *distract/fool the public*!
Age old game, which is still working wonders it seems!
Bryce Edwards: Opposition is failing NZ voters, low polls a threat to Shearer
http://www.3news.co.nz/Opposition-failing-voters—Edwards/tabid/1607/articleID/288865/Default.aspx
And what happens when the nation has become so disenfranchised by the *democratic political system*, due to it being completely corrupted!
Take a good look in the rear view mirror!
its ANARCHY i tells ya, ANARCHY! (have you seen the ways in which people are choosing to die these days? Hemlock would be a lot more gentle; they are even falling out of the sky. very sad, particularly these young people driving themselves into the wall)
Agree that it is a travesty that Mike Williams continues to be used as a Labour Party commentator – Charles was only calling it like it is. If the hierarchy don’t like the infighting, manage it, don’t just try to ignore it. They are missing the first fundamental rule of politics! Doesn’t bode well for Government
Yes Anne, when Williams says “less time on the internal infighting and more time attacking the government” he apparently isn’t talking about the leadership cartel around Shearer who have been responsible for all the leaking, backstabbing, media bitching and vote spying, and who are supposed to be the ones responsible for fighting the government.
Correct felixviper:
he’s talking about those dumb-bunny members and conference delegates who had the effrontary to think they were deserving of a say in the leadership of the parliamentary party. I mean the parliamentary party belongs to us – the elite – not them. They have no right to poke their noses into our business. We decide what’s good for
usthe party not them.As for the bunch of treacherous MPs who had the gall to back the members. We have no choice but to continue to punish them until they show contrition and promise they will never betray
usthe party again.A problem with prescribing “less time on the internal infighting and more time attacking the government” is the diminishing range of issues over which a forthright attack on the government would enjoy the full backing of the present Labour caucus. Even following the prescription may well reveal us as “the enemy within,” should our critique of the government fail to be sufficiently circumscribed and nuanced.
Clearly one man’s infighter is another man’s senior whip.
If Cunliffe is so hopeless – why is he trouncing every other Labour MP on YouTube’s Inthehouse channel at the moment? Seems to me, he’s the only performing with any talent in the House, for a start.
[lprent: Don’t dick about with your handles. Each handle has to be approved the first time it is used. Try using too many and we’ll conclude that you are deliberately wasting our time and ban you. Read the policy about wasting moderators time. ]
Average Fortune 500 CEO pay is 200x their median worker
I personally think ~10x to 15x is reasonable. This ratio is common in Japan and various countries in the EU.
http://www.payscale.com/ceo-income
I gave up on whaleoil to many biggots and rednecks. Sadly giving up here to many socialist facist thugs who are left overs from from the 30s in Germany, and think socialism is about having the power to ban opposition.
Goodby and good luck I am sure you will do wonders for the political LEFT IN nz
No, you’re giving up because virtually everything you’ve written here has been shown to be bullshit.
And enough of the dramatic exits, everyone knows you’ll be back in no time with a new name and a new back story to peddle the same old lies and propaganda.
That’s a pity. You screwed yourself up today big time, but you’ve made a few neo-lib arguments that National’s opposition parties need to be prepared to counter in the spin wars.
Help me, help me, help me sail away,
Well give me two good reasons why I oughta stay.
‘Cause I love to live so pleasantly,
Live this life of luxury,
Lazing on a sunny afternoon.
In the summertime
In the summertime
In the summertime …
Ray? Is that you ya old crooner?
http://24.media.tumblr.com/f57b0d94ce4e855c44891a68b21abe20/tumblr_mexpafJ5851rouyxzo1_500.gif
Is “addison” the so-called British retiree really gone now? A shame I say, a crying shame.
a little Norman at last
lol
Maybe there’s a fluffy kitten blog Addison would enjoy?
It’s the internet: of course there is
out the bach o’ the shed?
upon reflection, I do find it somewhat illuminating that Addison reckons some here want to ban opposition, and that’s why he chooses to withdraw.
Secondly, I also think it’s a bit of an alien concept for me to not get worked up and passionate about politics. Even basic roading policies have a good chance of being life or death decisions. Yes, the mods here keep a handle on threats etc, but with a wide range of folk of course a bit of personal abuse or the occasional f-bomb will occur, especially if one acts like a dick. To expect a prim and proper “Midsomer Murders”-style conversation about policies that might e.g. kill kids (or simply choose which people will die, but hopefully a lower number than plan B) is pretty unrealistic.
Facist? How dare you. I love all faces equally.
I’ve been following the “New” Left wing blog the Daily Blog for a couple of days and I have come to the conclusion that it’s just another version of Pundit (with more pictures) staying well within the expected paradigm and I suspect it will fall by the way side soonish. I have also been following something of what is happening in Italy and while our “Lefty/Greeny” politicians are talking about money printing and the first victims of using prisoners as cheap labor are presenting themselves I thought I’d put a link here for those of you who want to know how it’s done in Italy. Enjoy!
Where’s the link?
Oh sorry my bad: Here it is Beppe Grillo
Yeah right we all really understand spoken Italian, no sub-titles evident…
As the post states the subtitles start at 0:1:48 into the video but reading English is not one of your fortés either I take it
Didn’t start any minutes into my viewing of the vid, while talking shit is obviously one of your overt skills right…
Subtitles appeared on time but they were in feckin Italian. I used the translate facility and selected English but I just got comedic translations.
Arfamo, you might find this link to be interesting as well. A more nuanced leftist take on what is happening in Italy
http://overland.org.au/blogs/garibaldis-statue/2013/03/this-is-the-new-italy/
Thanks Pascal. That was interesting and thought-provoking.
The Return of the Anti-Christ
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Antichrist_%28book%29
(it’s complicated)
The movie was good too.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antichrist_(film)
Might Just take Your Life
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/environment/news/article.cfm?c_id=39&objectid=10868977
coronarias Redig
http://bdeeppurplefanforum.runboard.com/t13386
Julia Hartley Moore on Jim Mora was saying with approval that one of the good things that the government has done is enabled free cello lessons somewhere in her manor. This morning I listened on Radionz to a worker on a benefit advocacy group which may have to close (it’s the only one for a huge area of Auckland) because the government has withdrawn the $50,000 part of the $100,000 they need and they can’t provide the service without it.
We need bread AND roses (or music).
Swiss voters overwhelmingly pass ‘Corporate Fat Cats’ law allowing shareholders to veto excessive corporate pay.
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2013-03-03/swiss-fat-cats-clobbered-70-just-say-nonneinno-excessive-executive-pay
Fixed the time up. Looks like the ntp.ubuntu.com got a wee bit off.
“you are posting comments too quickly, slow down”
Wtf is this? Are you giving the righties a headstart now?
Inequality visualised.
I’d like to see the figures for NZ represented in that form.
+1
Smile or DIE!!!
RSAnimate video.
+1 Very good. Reality Check time.