Yeah, too subtle for him or her to get the irony of those two statements.
The other thing about this excitement people have house prices going up in their area. – Unless they are going to sell and downscale and take the profit how do they think the money will actually materialise? Or do they think the value is a tangible thing?
How is in increased house value going to make you any wealthier?
In our case, our increasing house value is making us poorer as our rates have gone up $400 in 4 years due to an artificial increase. The bank has told me our house prices have gone up because the large houses on the new development around us have a high value and that is pushing ours up.
Its all fake. The way the housing market works is rigged against housing being an accessible affordable necessity for all.
Rosie
Increased valuation means an increased lending limit – which feels like wealth to the shortsighted. The rates downside is something that drives residents out of communities and frees their properties for landbankers to acquire.
“Increased valuation means an increased lending limit –”
Ok, got that. btw, when a I was shopping around for a new fixed mortgage rate I was looking an offer from another bank. Although the QV valuation had said the house had an increased by $30K the person at the bank who told me the banks uses a different approach to valuation (?!?) said our valuation had gone up by $60K! so based on that we had enough equity for that bank to take us on as a home loan customer. (I didn’t go with it, I got my bank to match it as much as they could – too much hassle otherwise)
So suddenly there is extra lending opportunities. I see what you are saying. But this is just daft. Why would you willingly take on more debt, eg trade up to bigger flasher house just because you could. You’d be a fool as you’d be more indebted no?
Rosie, changing banks is a piece of cake these days. When I changed a couple of years ago, mortgage, credit card, savings and cheque was all done by my new bank. Just had to go in and sign some paperwork.
Thing is it was going to cost. There was the cost of leaving the other bank which the new bank would only partially cover, and I also didn’t want to take my other accounts and insurance to the new bank, which was a condition of them giving me a home loan.
Lol, I did make them earn their money. It basically got down to the two banks trying to out do each other with reducing that fee and giving that incentive etc but in the end, it was easier to stay with kiwibank and get a fixed rate of 4.25% down from 5.25%. BNZ had offered 4.19% so it worked out pretty well.
The whole exercise was really to get my bank to sit up and take me seriously, I never fully intended to move. I also didn’t want to move to a foreign owned bank either. One of the main reasons I’m with Kiwibank is because we own it.
Rosie: “Why would you willingly take on more debt, eg trade up to bigger flasher house just because you could. You’d be a fool as you’d be more indebted no?”
Not only that, Rosie, but when the bubble bursts, those sitting on a mortgage for what was a 2 million house will lose a helluva lot more than those sitting on the mortgage for what was a half-million house.
AND they’ll still have the original mortgage to pay, even though its now worth more than the house.
Affordable good housing must be the corner stone of any modern democracy without it we are no more than serfs https://t.co/w2sh8hgNQu— Harry Leslie Smith (@Harryslaststand) March 3, 2016
interesting article looking at the rise of Trump . . .
Various pundits have pointed out that Donald Trump is a nightmare of the Republican Party’s own making. Since Richard Nixon first began exploiting the ‘culture wars’ to deliberately woo socially conservative Democrat voters in the early 1970s, the GOP’s dependence on reactionary populism has grown increasingly dangerous. The racial dog-whistles have become more audible and the anger of the ‘angry white men’ harder to contain within a political machine whose ultimate purpose is to defend corporate and elite interests.
The contradiction that was brilliantly papered-over by the likes of Reagan, Gingrich and Rove, between alienated grass-roots conservatives and big money, has broken cover. One of Trump’s main virtues in the eyes of his supporters is that he ‘says what he thinks’, and the fact that it is incoherent is only further proof of his honesty. Coherence is viewed as an artefact of political management, and the Republican hardcore have had enough of that . . .
“Because her name was already known to the offender, and Corrections used generic work email addresses, Mr Davis did not feel he had revealed any new information, or put the officer in any danger”
Yeah I can just imagine the left letting this one go if it had been a National MP that had done this
We probably would because we have such an abundance of material. The Key government is frankly a disaster for New Zealand, there is no metric upon which they are not a disaster, we don’t have to beat up pitiful shite like this.
What you have here is a fatuous accusation like the Clark forgery bullshit and you cackle like a goose up to its ankles in good luck. To attain any level of credibility you must look objectively at what is happening.
No doubt the tame MSM can be stimulated to make disapproving noises – but Collins complaining about impropriety is like Tamerlane reproaching someone for unnecessary roughness.
Context is everything – was the Whale recommending peace and civility? And what did the staffer have to say about it all – Collins is quite capable of taking umbrage over a non-issue for her own purposes.
Collins …………….. who’s friends with Cameron Slater and has been sacked from cabinet once already.
I would rate this ex tax lawyer the most corrupt justice and police minister we have ever had ………………
Seems like her free-styling make it up as you go approach is still the same …..
“Its a pretty obvious effort to front-foot and limit the bad publicity bubbling out of her portfolio. Its also illegal. Section 161 of the Corrections Act 2004 gives MP’s an absolute right to visit prisons and talk to prisoners at any time. This right is not subject to Ministerial approval or prior notification, and for good reason: its to ensure independent eyes on the system and to allow problems to be exposed” http://norightturn.blogspot.co.nz/
Does illegal mean competent in PukeR speak ???????
“Tonight’s Politics Panel talks about yesterday’s Super Tuesday results, how Hillary advisers are trying to appeal to Trump supporters, and whether Trump is holding Chris Christie hostage. Thom discusses the presidential candidates’ economic policies with economist Marshall Auerback and in tonight’s Daily Take Thom debunks the myth that Democrats are bad for business.”
I agree PR, although would seem highly unusual for a sitting member to be deselected. I would have thought their instinct would be to ride it out and hope it blows over as per Bill English’s “nothing to see here” comments. Clearly the local media down here know there is more to run on this or they would not be giving it so much oxygen.
Yes, quite happy to discuss employment matters when it is seen to corroborate his version of events. Amateur mistake that calls into question his suitability for role. Luckily for him the local Nats have kept their public discipline.
So to recap. A total of three staff have resigned, there is something about a secret recording which some National Party members would like to get to the bottom of and to top it off the kid releases private and confidential employment documents, a resignation letter, to the media. (See BLiP 6.2)
Great stuff there kiddo. Well on your way as a Dirty Politics cadet. To pass on private communications you’d either have to be ignorant of the way such comms should be appropriately handled, which he shouldn’t be, as he has worked at Parliament and would understand protocols. OR you are wanting to turn the view around and make it look like you’re the victim and act in a way that is in keeping with the DP handbook?
Listening to the crowd it seems America is ready to elect a president who makes blowjob jokes about his political opponents.
All class.
/
Thursday, blasting the former Massachusetts governor for “begging” for his endorsement four years ago only to sharply criticize him now.
“I don’t know what happened to him,” Trump said during a rally in Portland, Maine. “You can see how loyal he is. He was begging for my endorsement. I could have said, ‘Mitt, drop to your knees.’ He would have dropped to his knees.”
Y’know, I can see Trump doing the ponytail thing, publicly talking about peeing in the shower and “feeding the chickens”, really off jokes to foreign heads of state, no problem. I still can’t picture Trump climbing into a cage to “pick up the soap” though.
He could’ve meant either. It’s being interpreted as a BJ reference by some reporters.
He’ll get away with it because like you say it’s interpreted by what’s in the mind of the listener/reader. I shudder to think Trump might become POTUS but as a GOP candidate he’s endlessly entertaining. 🙂
The GOP establishment’s wheeled Mitt Romney out with a robotic script delivery I guess as their first shot across the bows of Donald J. He’s already blown Mitt out of the water.
How outrageous!!! How can the council pursue costs when the commissioners said the river needed greater environmental protection?
More info please.
Also looking forward to seeing how much legal fees the council have spent pursuing a few individuals who appear to be trying to make the water safer for the community the council are supposed to work for!
The council has apparently spent almost $300,000 attacking this group. Group has also just won a big environmental award. Something seriously wrong in regional government in Taranaki.
Ok. Well, If it’s any reassurance at all, Iain Lee Galloway used to be an organiser for the NZNO, so he has some sympathies in that area.
I understand your reluctance to trust Labour on working with the National government on a major piece of employment legislation when Andrew Little rang alarm bells last year with his mention of “tweaking” the 90 day act, when addressing a bunch of business people in the Hutt.
It took me two weeks to get an answer from Grant Robertson – I was asking him to clarify Labour’s poistion, and I still felt uneasy about the response.
Believe me, as a former union organiser myself as a job seeker in today’s use and abuse job market I’m hypersensitive to how such talks with National will proceed. The framework that Iain provided did give me some reassurance that they are at least approaching this the right way.
Legislation is only part of addressing the wrongs that are occurring however. There must be employer cultural change and employees must learn to regain their self respect and dignity – we’ve been brutalised for years and to a certain degree given up on the belief we can have better work lives.
All the above will take years and it will be a difficult transition for some.
Mr Galloway would do well to come on this site and explain himself.
Labour have no digital means of engaging since they shut down Red Alert.
So they may as well actually front up here.
I have received no other communications from Labour about why they are cutting a deal with National on our employment law. Their media releases on the matter were raw spin.
I’m not interested in cultural change: legislative change is the only thing that will lead cultural change in this area.
Suggestion for a new slogan for Labour, since it’s supposed to be “rebranding” itself this year:
“Sprinkling the very best glitter on National’s turds.”
A bit more seriously, again, I think that it’s indicative of Labour’s closed-door culture and Little’s past as a negotiator who worked as part of a hierarchically-structured organisation on behalf of subscribers.
In essences, it’s “trust us, we’ll get you the best deal, then you can vote.” Public, democratic politics is messier, more overtly populist, more dynamic.
Closed-door dealmaking only alienates the base. Bloviating press releases like Iain L-G’s go straight into the recycling bin.
That alienation is only going to get worse with a younger generation who actually knows how to use social media. Little wouldn’t dream of tweeting from a meeting, a millennial wouldn’t dream of not doing business that way.
Hi Ad. That link I sent WAS Labour fronting up on this site. Iain Lees Galloway explained their strategy. If you’re a Labour party member you should have received an email earlier this week – explaining their position.
Agree that legislative change must come first to then filter down to cultural change. Of course it does.
As a vulnerable worker in often precarious work situations I know first hand how the culture has changed as a direct result of legislation. But employers won’t change their attitudes based on new rules – their workers have to hold them to account and push for their rights – this is culture change and it HAS to happen. Believe me, even the ads posted for jobs these days are hostile, insulting and patronising. Thats to do with culture, not legislation.
You may not interested in culture change, but as someone hugely affected by employer attitudes I am.
Rosie, Labour wants to remove the ability for employers to put people on contracts where they are on call with no permanent hours. Implying, apart from being given a number of permanent hours, Labour are not seeking compensation for workers being on call.
If this is the case, this is insufficient protection for workers, thus far from reassuring.
Valid point re the compensation for on call workers. As far as I know they were using “set minimum hours” as a base. I don’t know what happens after that.
Maybe email Iain himself. From time to time I email MP’s when something isn’t clear. Sometimes you need to give them a prod as a reminder to respond.
I don’t know what to say. It was just a practical suggestion, regardless of what anyone’s expectations might be of their MP’s, you know, things like responding to questions in public forum.
If you do email him, you can copy his answer into a comment of Open Mike and then we’ll all know.
It’s sort of like Labour has sold the essence of its very name. “Labour” was formed to represent workers, and here we have it supporting a bit of legislation by its polar opposite that concerns the very people it was formed to represent.
Worse, i read someplace that fair compensation shoul be paid, and so all Labour needed to do was speak to that, in parliament. i.e more than the dole, less that the minimum wage per hour to wait. But not it has to be a fight not a principled negoiation.
Years ago, Jim Mora called that bag of wind Barack Obama “the leading
orator of our time”; now look at who he’s calling “quite a thinker”. The Panel, RNZ National, Friday 4 March 2016
Jim Mora, Ali Jones, Selwyn Manning, Zara Potts
This piece of penetrating analysis occurred about halfway through the program….
JIM MORA: It’s interesting, all these secret Trump supporters. An Hispanic woman whose family escaped from Castro’s Cuba says she will vote for Trump and so will all her acquaintances. She said political correctness is the beginning of the end. And you know, she’s quite a thinker. …
ALI JONES: He’s a racist bully.
MORA: But they aren’t all, by any means, the red-necked owners of guns…..
Piss off Soper…….what evidence is there that ‘Prince Max’ is being cyberbullied……none except the whining of an effete daddy grasping at the straws of political lift, off the back of his own blood if needs be. That’s no evidence. Daddy’s doing a number – that’s all that whining amounts to.
In any event, Max is right into it. “Me asleep on Air Force One” as he Instagrams an obviously staged pic’ of himself. What ? The son of PMONZ trying to put himself across the son of POTUS. Gimme a break !
You’re boring and unartful Soper, even to yourself. That’s why you’re driven to make yourself part of the story. Winston Peters had your measure years ago in John McCain’s office in Washington DC. Remember that one Soper……? You didn’t learn did ya ? Still the old wahanui.
This excerpt from 1943 in the Evening Post just about sums up this govt of today and there attitude Just change the names as you see fit to today’s world
This is the shit that Key bastard wants to keep going
“Because of the attacks made on the trade union movement by the Nationalists during the election campaign it appears necessary to express the views on this point of an organisation which represents 38,000 workers,” said Mr. F. P. Walsh, president of the Wellington Trades Council of the New Zealand Federation of Labour, in a statement today.
“Mr. Holland’s attack on the trade union leaders reveals that he is fundamentally opposed to industrial unionism,” said Mr. Walsh. “Like his political ancestors throughout the past century Mr. Holland would be delighted with a leaderless trade union movement. The Nationalists, like all Tories of the past, hate the leaders of trade unions because the activities of those leaders, and their insistence on fair play for the workers, disturb the tranquillity of those who enjoy easy profits and big dividends from organised business. “Members of trade unions throughout the country have had to put up with a great deal of abuse of their leaders, whom the Nationalists term ‘Labour bosses.’ That Nationalist attitude was also adopted by the Lee Party. They side-stepped the fact that the trade union movement, by reason of its constitution, rules, and love of liberty, has no dictators. Its leaders are elected annually on democratic principles. “What the trades union movement has accomplished on behalf of the workers and the people as a whole, not only in ameliorating labour conditions, but in social services generally, is appreciated by everybody. But we realise that a victory of the Fascist Powers in the present war would destroy all that has been achieved, and we are wholeheartedly behind the Government in its administration of the war effort of the Dominion. THE WAR EFFORT. “Yet the attitude taken up by the Nationalists during the election has been definitely damaging to that war effort. For political gain and to help the employing class the Nationalists advocated a reduced military effort. To catch a few votes they set out to capitalise on the furlough draft, regardless of the fact that the course they advocated would have jeopardised the chances of any further men being granted a well-earned holiday in New Zealand. “The Nationalists also attempted to weaken New Zealand’s war effort on the home front. They attacked every law and every provision for maintaining full efficiency in defence and in military training for overseas. They endeavoured to” turn people’s wartime sacrifices, and wartime shortages of commodities, and inevitable wartime inconveniences into political grievances. They tried to convince the people that they would be better off if all the measures for their protection against wartime difficulties were removed. They advocated that prices should be left to the will of private enterprise, and that nothing should be protected except the old Tory privilege of grabbing all the good things of life. “In all of these actions the Nationalists sapped the morale of the nation. “Another enemy of our war effort was the doctrine that the war could be paid for without any cost to the people of the country. “The people showed by their votes that they are not so gullible as the glib but muddle-headed apostles of easy money who contested the election. The people of New Zealand showed that they have a true understanding of the fact that the war has to be paid for by ourselves, out of the goods and services that we produce, and that no jugglery can avoid it. INDUSTRIAL LABOUR’S PLEDGE. “The workers of New Zealand are, therefore, determined to work wholeheartedly to increase their production and thus do all that is in their power towards achieving victory. •’They are convinced also that the I industrial conditions under which they can do their best are only possible under the Labour Government. “The whole of organised industrial labour, therefore, gives its pledge that it will continue to work to its utmost to increase the production of the Dominion, and to support the Labour Government in its policy of carrying on the war without any relaxation, and at the same time maintaining the highest possible standard of living in fair play to all sections of the community.”
The war being today, the TPPA
We are going to get that little tory prick one way or another
Sorry – as I do appreciate that OM is special and not a tech forum !
However it is difficult to be anywhere else on TS using FireFox 44.0.2 on FC2x – just renders a “Content Encoding Error”.
This message is posted using IE11 on Windows8.1 – not where I wish to be – get me out of here please !
And Chrome 48.0.2564.116 (64-bit) on FC2x
ERR_CONTENT_DECODING_FAILED
Was all good till today
No cache/cookies retained in either FC2x browser and W8/IE11 VM uses the same network and ISP
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In 2016, Aotearoa shockingly plunged to fourth place in the Transparency International Corruption Perceptions Index. Nine years later, and we're back there again: New Zealand has seen a further slip in its global ranking in the latest Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI). [...] In the latest CPI New Zealand's score ...
1. You’ve started ranking your politicians on how much they respect the rule of law2. You’ve stopped paying attention to those news publications3. You’ve developed a sudden interest in a particular period of history4. More and more people are sounding like your racist, conspiracist uncle.5. Someone just pulled a Nazi ...
Transforming New Zealand: Brian EastonBrian Easton will discuss the above topic at 2/57 Willis Street, Wellington at 5:30pm on Tuesday 26 February at 2/57 Willis Street, WellingtonThe sub-title to the above is "Why is the Left failing?" Brian Easton's analysis is based on his view that while the ...
Salvation Army’s State of the Nation 2025 report highlights falling living standards, the highest unemployment rates since the 1990s and half of all Pacific children going without food. There are reports of hundreds if not thousands of people are applying for the same jobs in the wake of last year’s ...
Mountain Tui is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.Correction: On the article The Condundrum of David Seymour, Luke Malpass conducted joint reviews with Bryce Wilkinson, the architect of the Regulatory Standards Bill - not Bryce Edwards. The article ...
Tomorrow the council’s Transport, Resilience and Infrastructure Committee meet and agenda has a few interesting papers. Council’s Letter of Expectation to Auckland Transport Every year the council provide a Letter of Expectation to Auckland Transport which is part of the process for informing AT of the council’s priorities and ...
All around in my home townThey're trying to track me down, yeahThey say they want to bring me in guiltyFor the killing of a deputyFor the life of a deputySongwriter: Robert Nesta Marley.Support Nick’s Kōrero today with a 20% discount on a paid subscription to receive all my newsletters directly ...
Hi,I think all of us have probably experienced the power of music — that strange, transformative thing that gets under our skin and helps us experience this whole life thing with some kind of sanity.Listening and experiencing music has always been such a huge part of my life, and has ...
Business frustration over the stalled economy is growing, and only 34% of voters are confidentNicola Willis can deliver. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāLong stories short, the top six things in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, climate and poverty on Wednesday, February 12 are:Business frustration is growing about a ...
I have now lived long enough to see a cabinet minister go both barrels on their Prime Minister and not get sacked.It used to be that the PM would have a drawer full of resignations signed by ministers on the day of their appointment, ready for such an occasion. But ...
This session will feature Simon McCallum, Senior Lecturer in Engineering and Computer Science (VUW) and recent Labour Party candidate in the Southland Electorate talking about some of the issues around AI and how this should inform Labour Party policy. Simon is an excellent speaker with a comprehensive command of AI ...
The proposed Waimate garbage incinerator is dead: The company behind a highly-controversial proposal to build a waste-to-energy plant in the Waimate District no longer has the land. [...] However, SIRRL director Paul Taylor said the sales and purchase agreement to purchase land from Murphy Farms, near Glenavy, lapsed at ...
The US Foreign Corrupt Practices Act has been a vital tool in combatting international corruption. It forbids US companies and citizens from bribing foreign public officials anywhere in the world. And its actually enforced: some of the world's biggest companies - Siemens, Hewlett Packard, and Bristol Myers Squibb - have ...
December 2024 photo - with UK Tory Boris Johnson (Source: Facebook)Those PollsFor hours, political poll results have resounded across political hallways and commentary.According to the 1News Verizon poll, 50% of the country believe we are heading in the “wrong direction”, while 39% believe we are “on the right track”.The left ...
A Tai Rāwhiti mill that ran for 30 years before it was shut down in late 2023 is set to re-open in the coming months, which will eventually see nearly 300 new jobs in the region. A new report from Massey University shows that pensioners are struggling with rising costs. ...
As support continues to fall, Luxon also now faces his biggest internal ructions within the coalition since the election, with David Seymour reacting badly to being criticised by the PM. File photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāLong stories short, the top six things in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, climate ...
Not since 1988 when Richard Prebble openly criticised David Lange have we seen such a challenge to a Prime Minister as that of David Seymour to Christopher Luxon last night. Prebble suggested Lange had mental health issues during a TV interview and was almost immediately fired. Seymour hasn’t gone quite ...
Three weeks in, and the 24/7 news cycle is not helping anyone feel calm and informed about the second Trump presidency. One day, the US is threatening 25% trade tariffs on its friends and neighbours. The reasons offered by the White House are absurd, such as stopping fentanyl coming in ...
This video includes personal musings and conclusions of the creator climate scientist Dr. Adam Levy. It is presented to our readers as an informed perspective. Please see video description for references (if any). Wherever you look, you'll hear headlines claiming we've passed 1.5 degrees of global warming. And while 2024 saw ...
“The ACT Party can’t be bothered putting an MP on one of the Justice subcommittees hearing submissions on their own Treaty Principles Bill,” Labour Justice Spokesperson Duncan Webb said. ...
The Government’s newly announced funding for biodiversity and tourism of $30-million over three years is a small fraction of what is required for conservation in this country. ...
The Government's sudden cancellation of the tertiary education funding increase is a reckless move that risks widespread job losses and service reductions across New Zealand's universities. ...
National’s cuts to disability support funding and freezing of new residential placements has resulted in significant mental health decline for intellectually disabled people. ...
The hundreds of jobs lost needlessly as a result of the Kinleith Mill paper production closure will have a devastating impact on the Tokoroa community - something that could have easily been avoided. ...
Today Te Pāti Māori MP for Te Tai Tokerau, Mariameno Kapa-Kingi, released her members bill that will see the return of tamariki and mokopuna Māori from state care back to te iwi Māori. This bill will establish an independent authority that asserts and protects the rights promised in He Whakaputanga ...
The Whangarei District Council being forced to fluoridate their local water supply is facing a despotic Soviet-era disgrace. This is not a matter of being pro-fluoride or anti-fluoride. It is a matter of what New Zealanders see and value as democracy in our country. Individual democratically elected Councillors are not ...
Nicola Willis’ latest supermarket announcement is painfully weak with no new ideas, no real plan, and no relief for Kiwis struggling with rising grocery costs. ...
Half of Pacific children sometimes going without food is just one of many heartbreaking lowlights in the Salvation Army’s annual State of the Nation report. ...
The Salvation Army’s State of the Nation report is a bleak indictment on the failure of Government to take steps to end poverty, with those on benefits, including their children, hit hardest. ...
New Zealand First has today introduced a Member’s Bill which would restore decision-making power to local communities regarding the fluoridation of drinking water. The ‘Fluoridation (Referendum) Legislation Bill’ seeks to repeal the Health (Fluoridation of Drinking Water) Amendment Act 2021 that granted centralised authority to the Direct General of Health ...
New Zealand First has introduced a Member’s Bill aimed at preventing banks from refusing their services to businesses because of the current “Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) Framework”. “This Bill ensures fairness and prevents ESG standards from perpetuating woke ideology in the banking sector being driven by unelected, globalist, climate ...
Erica Stanford has reached peak shortsightedness if today’s announcement is anything to go by, picking apart immigration settings piece by piece to the detriment of the New Zealand economy. ...
Our originating document, theTreaty of Waitangi, was signed on February 6, 1840. An agreement between Māori and the British Crown. Initially inked by Ngā Puhi in Waitangi, further signatures were added as it travelled south. The intention was to establish a colony with the cession of sovereignty to the Crown, ...
Te Whatu Ora Chief Executive Margie Apa leaving her job four months early is another symptom of this government’s failure to deliver healthcare for New Zealanders. ...
The Green Party is calling for the Prime Minister to show leadership and be unequivocal about Aotearoa New Zealand’s opposition to a proposal by the US President to remove Palestinians from Gaza. ...
The latest unemployment figures reveal that job losses are hitting Māori and Pacific people especially hard, with Māori unemployment reaching a staggering 9.7% for the December 2024 quarter and Pasifika unemployment reaching 10.5%. ...
Waitangi 2025: Waitangi Day must be community and not politically driven - Shane Jones Our originating document, theTreaty of Waitangi, was signed on February 6, 1840. An agreement between Māori and the British Crown. Initially inked by Ngā Puhi in Waitangi, further signatures were added as it travelled south. ...
Despite being confronted every day with people in genuine need being stopped from accessing emergency housing – National still won’t commit to building more public houses. ...
The Green Party says the Government is giving up on growing the country’s public housing stock, despite overwhelming evidence that we need more affordable houses to solve the housing crisis. ...
Before any thoughts of the New Year and what lies ahead could even be contemplated, New Zealand reeled with the tragedy of Senior Sergeant Lyn Fleming losing her life. For over 38 years she had faithfully served as a front-line Police officer. Working alongside her was Senior Sergeant Adam Ramsay ...
Green Party co-leader Marama Davidson will return to politics at Waitangi on Monday the 3rd of February where she will hold a stand up with fellow co-leader Chlöe Swarbrick. ...
Te Pāti Māori is appalled by the government's blatant mishandling of the school lunch programme. David Seymour’s ‘cost-saving’ measures have left tamariki across Aotearoa with unidentifiable meals, causing distress and outrage among parents and communities alike. “What’s the difference between providing inedible food, and providing no food at all?” Said ...
The Government is doubling down on outdated and volatile fossil fuels, showing how shortsighted and destructive their policies are for working New Zealanders. ...
Green Party MP Steve Abel this morning joined Coromandel locals in Waihi to condemn new mining plans announced by Shane Jones in the pit of the town’s Australian-owned Gold mine. ...
The Green Party is calling on the Government to strengthen its just-announced 2030-2035 Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) under the Paris Agreement and address its woeful lack of commitment to climate security. ...
The Government’s commitment to get New Zealand’s roads back on track is delivering strong results, with around 98 per cent of potholes on state highways repaired within 24 hours of identification every month since targets were introduced, Transport Minister Chris Bishop says. “Increasing productivity to help rebuild our economy is ...
The former Cadbury factory will be the site of the Inpatient Building for the new Dunedin Hospital and Health Minister Simeon Brown says actions have been taken to get the cost overruns under control. “Today I am giving the people of Dunedin certainty that we will build the new Dunedin ...
From today, Plunket in Whāngarei will be offering childhood immunisations – the first of up to 27 sites nationwide, Health Minister Simeon Brown says. The investment of $1 million into the pilot, announced in October 2024, was made possible due to the Government’s record $16.68 billion investment in health. It ...
New Zealand’s strong commitment to the rights of disabled people has continued with the response to an important United Nations report, Disability Issues Minister Louise Upston has announced. Of the 63 concluding observations of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD), 47 will be progressed ...
Resources Minister Shane Jones has launched New Zealand’s national Minerals Strategy and Critical Minerals List, documents that lay a strategic and enduring path for the mineral sector, with the aim of doubling exports to $3 billion by 2035. Mr Jones released the documents, which present the Coalition Government’s transformative vision ...
Firstly I want to thank OceanaGold for hosting our event today. Your operation at Waihi is impressive. I want to acknowledge local MP Scott Simpson, local government dignitaries, community stakeholders and all of you who have gathered here today. It’s a privilege to welcome you to the launch of the ...
Racing Minister, Winston Peters has announced the Government is preparing public consultation on GST policy proposals which would make the New Zealand racing industry more competitive. “The racing industry makes an important economic contribution. New Zealand thoroughbreds are in demand overseas as racehorses and for breeding. The domestic thoroughbred industry ...
Business confidence remains very high and shows the economy is on track to improve, Economic Growth Minister Nicola Willis says. “The latest ANZ Business Outlook survey, released yesterday, shows business confidence and expected own activity are ‘still both very high’.” The survey reports business confidence fell eight points to +54 ...
Enabling works have begun this week on an expanded radiology unit at Hawke’s Bay Fallen Soldiers’ Memorial Hospital which will double CT scanning capacity in Hawke’s Bay to ensure more locals can benefit from access to timely, quality healthcare, Health Minister Simeon Brown says. This investment of $29.3m in the ...
The Government has today announced New Zealand’s second international climate target under the Paris Agreement, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. New Zealand will reduce emissions by 51 to 55 per cent compared to 2005 levels, by 2035. “We have worked hard to set a target that is both ambitious ...
Nine years of negotiations between the Crown and iwi of Taranaki have concluded following Te Pire Whakatupua mō Te Kāhui Tupua/the Taranaki Maunga Collective Redress Bill passing its third reading in Parliament today, Treaty Negotiations Minister Paul Goldsmith says. “This Bill addresses the historical grievances endured by the eight iwi ...
As schools start back for 2025, there will be a relentless focus on teaching the basics brilliantly so all Kiwi kids grow up with the knowledge, skills and competencies needed to grow the New Zealand of the future, Education Minister Erica Stanford says. “A world-leading education system is a key ...
Housing Minister Chris Bishop and Associate Agriculture Minister Mark Patterson have welcomed Kāinga Ora’s decision to re-open its tender for carpets to allow wool carpet suppliers to bid. “In 2024 Kāinga Ora issued requests for tender (RFTs) seeking bids from suppliers to carpet their properties,” Mr Bishop says. “As part ...
Associate Education Minister David Seymour has today visited Otahuhu College where the new school lunch programme has served up healthy lunches to students in the first days of the school year. “As schools open in 2025, the programme will deliver nutritious meals to around 242,000 students, every school day. On ...
Minister for Children Karen Chhour has intervened in Oranga Tamariki’s review of social service provider contracts to ensure Barnardos can continue to deliver its 0800 What’s Up hotline. “When I found out about the potential impact to this service, I asked Oranga Tamariki for an explanation. Based on the information ...
A bill to make revenue collection on imported and exported goods fairer and more effective had its first reading in Parliament, Customs Minister Casey Costello said today. “The Customs (Levies and Other Matters) Amendment Bill modernises the way in which Customs can recover the costs of services that are needed ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jennifer Stone, Principal Research Fellow, School of Population and Global Health, The University of Western Australia Gorodenkoff/Shutterstock Having dense breasts is a clear risk factor for breast cancer. It can also make cancers hard to spot on mammograms. Yet you ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra The National Anti-Corruption Commission will finally investigate whether six people referred to it by the royal commission into Robodebt engaged in corrupt conduct. This follows an independent reconsideration by former High Court judge Geoffrey ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By John Blaxland, Professor, Strategic and Defence Studies Centre, Australian National University Last week in Europe, the United States sent some very strong messages it is prepared to upend the established global order. US Vice President JD Vance warned a stunned Munich ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra The Reserve Bank has delivered the expected modest rate cut of a quarter of a percentage point, and we’re set for the predictable frenzy of speculation about an April election. The cut is unlikely to ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By John Hawkins, Senior Lecturer, Canberra School of Politics, Economics and Society, University of Canberra The Reserve Bank cut official interest rates on Tuesday, the first decrease in four years, saying inflationary pressures are easing “a little more quickly than expected”. However, the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra The Reserve Bank has delivered the expected modest rate cut of a quarter of a percentage point, and we’re set for the predictable frenzy of speculation about an April election. The cut is unlikely to ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Allan Fels, Professor Allan Fels, Professor of Law, Economics and Business at the University of Melbourne and Monash University., The University of Melbourne Australia is creeping towards adding a divestiture power to its Competition and Consumer Act. Under such a law, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Arjen Vaartjes, PhD Student, Quantum Physics, UNSW Sydney Dmitriy Rybin / Shutterstock What makes something quantum? This question has kept a small but dedicated fraction of the world’s population – most of them quantum physicists – up at night for decades. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Mary Anne Kenny, Associate Professor, School of Law, Murdoch University Australia’s minister for home affairs announced on Sunday that the federal government has struck a deal with Nauru to “resettle” three non-citizens from what’s come to be known as the “NZYQ cohort”. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Matt Fitzpatrick, Professor in International History, Flinders University (From left to right): Neville Chamberlain, Édouard Daladier, Adolf Hitler, Benito Mussolini, and Italian Foreign Minister Galeazzo Ciano before signing the Munich Agreement, which gave the Sudetenland to Germany.German Federal Archives/Wikimedia Commons Ukraine ...
The purpose was to establish the facts and provide an independent assessment of government agency activity in relation to allegations that personal data may have been misused during the 2023 General Election. ...
Privacy Commissioner Michael Webster said he is carefully reviewing the referrals raised in the two reports. That work will be done in the context the Privacy Act and the need to ensure individuals’ rights to privacy is protected and respected. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Bhavna Middha, ARC DECRA Senior Research Fellow, Centre for Urban Research, RMIT University The average Australian household size has decreased from 4.5 people per household in 1911 to 2.5 people in 2024. At the same time, the average house size has increased, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Catherine Page Jeffery, Lecturer in Media and Communications, University of Sydney suriyachan/Shutterstock When the Australian government passed legislation in November last year banning young people under 16 from social media, it included exemptions for platforms “that are primarily for the purposes ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Leslie Roberson, Postdoctoral research fellow, Centre for Biodiversity and Conservation Science, The University of Queensland If you’ve ever been stopped by quarantine officers at the airport, you might think Australia’s international border is locked down like a fortress. But when it comes ...
Duncan Sarkies’ latest novel, Star Gazers, is about the collapse of democracy in a society of alpaca breeders. Here are some things his intensive research revealed. 1 How greed works, psychologicallyYes, I guess I already understood greed, but I could never understand why people who already have everything they ...
The proposed cuts would see only two full time Telehealth data and digital roles, and one Planning, Funding and Outcomes (PFO) role remain, reduced from 17 Telehealth support roles (including vacant roles). Roles proposed to be cut include Telehealth ...
The Taxpayers’ Union is calling for Ministers to end funding for Te Kurahuna programmes and workshop grifters that have received millions in taxpayer funding, despite the Government’s supposed focus on cutting costs. ...
By Caleb Fotheringham, RNZ Pacific journalist, in Avarua, Rarotonga More than 400 people have taken to the streets to protest against Cook Islands Prime Minister Mark Brown’s recent decisions, which have led to a diplomatic spat with New Zealand. The protest, led by Opposition MP and Cook Islands United Party ...
In the second episode, Brynley Stent and Kura Forrester unearth some truths about dating on a dance floor in South Canterbury. Bryn & Ku’s Singles Club is a brand new documentary series for The Spinoff following award-winning comedians and friends Brynley Stent and Kura Forrester as they embark ...
The first half of a billion-dollar pipe that will drastically reduce wastewater overflows in the Auckland isthmus is now in operation. As I biked south, I thought about all the poo sloshing beneath my wheels. Tubes of it disgorging from U-bends, into wastewater pipes laid under our streets that become ...
🚐 The vulnerability continues as the pair head to the Hunt Ball in South Canterbury in search of a rich farmer, before getting some sage relationship advice from Brynley’s Dad and Oma. ❣️ Bryn & Ku’s Singles Club follows comedians Brynley Stent and Kura Forrester as they head out on ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Joel Garrett, Lecturer in Exercise Science and Physiology, Griffith University Australia’s love affair with the major football codes – the Australian Football League (AFL) and National Rugby League (NRL) – is well documented. However, one aspect that stands out to many observers, ...
The White Lotus is back for season three. Here’s what we made of episode one. The third White Lotus season rinses and repeats – and thank God for that. Turns out there is enough comedic and dramatic juice in resort-set ensemble satires on privilege in the modern world, ...
Founder, journalist and author Tim Burrowes joins Duncan Greive to discuss a torrid decade in Australian media and whether there are reasons to be optimistic amid the carnage. Tim Burrowes is the author of a book and a Substack called Unmade, which are truly essential guides to media in ...
The self-appointed apostle says he could be to Christopher Luxon what Elon Musk is to Donald Trump, and his track record speaks for itself.Who is New Zealand’s answer to Elon Musk? The Herald’s tech insider, Chris Keall, put the question to his LinkedIn acolytes the other day. “If Luxon ...
The last good thing at the supermarket is gone. Mad Chapman mourns the Cadbury mini egg cartons. When life is overwhelming and it feels like every story around you is a bad news story, there are a few things that can be relied upon to instil a sense of calm, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Stephen Parker, Honorary Professorial Fellow, Melbourne CSHE, The University of Melbourne Shutterstock Judges in Australian courtrooms have a lot of power. They can decide on someone’s guilt and the punishment for it, including lengthy prison time. But what if they get ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Louise Birrell, Researcher, Matilda Centre for Research in Mental Health and Substance Use, University of Sydney Pixel-Shot/Shutterstock Australians are waiting an average of 12 years to seek treatment for mental health and substance use disorders, our new research shows. While ...
rwnj coworker, yesterday: “awesome, property prices in my suburb are shooting up and i am going to make 500k woohoo!”
rwnj coworker, later: “i hate paying taxes to lazy bludgers that never get off their arses”
my reply: “white collar criminals are the real problem mate”. Too subtle?
Best answer to the second drivel is to point out that there are always so many more bludgers under National.
Reply to rwnj
“How are your kids going to buy a house?”
Yeah, too subtle for him or her to get the irony of those two statements.
The other thing about this excitement people have house prices going up in their area. – Unless they are going to sell and downscale and take the profit how do they think the money will actually materialise? Or do they think the value is a tangible thing?
How is in increased house value going to make you any wealthier?
In our case, our increasing house value is making us poorer as our rates have gone up $400 in 4 years due to an artificial increase. The bank has told me our house prices have gone up because the large houses on the new development around us have a high value and that is pushing ours up.
Its all fake. The way the housing market works is rigged against housing being an accessible affordable necessity for all.
Rosie
Increased valuation means an increased lending limit – which feels like wealth to the shortsighted. The rates downside is something that drives residents out of communities and frees their properties for landbankers to acquire.
+1
“Increased valuation means an increased lending limit –”
Ok, got that. btw, when a I was shopping around for a new fixed mortgage rate I was looking an offer from another bank. Although the QV valuation had said the house had an increased by $30K the person at the bank who told me the banks uses a different approach to valuation (?!?) said our valuation had gone up by $60K! so based on that we had enough equity for that bank to take us on as a home loan customer. (I didn’t go with it, I got my bank to match it as much as they could – too much hassle otherwise)
So suddenly there is extra lending opportunities. I see what you are saying. But this is just daft. Why would you willingly take on more debt, eg trade up to bigger flasher house just because you could. You’d be a fool as you’d be more indebted no?
Rosie, changing banks is a piece of cake these days. When I changed a couple of years ago, mortgage, credit card, savings and cheque was all done by my new bank. Just had to go in and sign some paperwork.
Make them earn their money I say.
Thing is it was going to cost. There was the cost of leaving the other bank which the new bank would only partially cover, and I also didn’t want to take my other accounts and insurance to the new bank, which was a condition of them giving me a home loan.
Lol, I did make them earn their money. It basically got down to the two banks trying to out do each other with reducing that fee and giving that incentive etc but in the end, it was easier to stay with kiwibank and get a fixed rate of 4.25% down from 5.25%. BNZ had offered 4.19% so it worked out pretty well.
The whole exercise was really to get my bank to sit up and take me seriously, I never fully intended to move. I also didn’t want to move to a foreign owned bank either. One of the main reasons I’m with Kiwibank is because we own it.
Rosie: “Why would you willingly take on more debt, eg trade up to bigger flasher house just because you could. You’d be a fool as you’d be more indebted no?”
Not only that, Rosie, but when the bubble bursts, those sitting on a mortgage for what was a 2 million house will lose a helluva lot more than those sitting on the mortgage for what was a half-million house.
AND they’ll still have the original mortgage to pay, even though its now worth more than the house.
And what a hard lesson in greed that would be!
This discussion reminds of a book I haven’t read yet. Jane Kelseys F.I.R.E book about our finance, insurance and real estate industries.
Anyone read it?
should have asked him if he would have enough money to buy another house in the same neighbourhood were he to sell his house.
This:
‘
interesting article looking at the rise of Trump . . .
http://www.perc.org.uk/project_posts/trump-and-the-charisma-of-unreason/
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/politics/news/article.cfm?c_id=280&objectid=11599390
I don’t think Kelvin Davis is going to be making easy hits now that someone competent is in charge of corrections
Who would that be? I thought it was Collins.
“Because her name was already known to the offender, and Corrections used generic work email addresses, Mr Davis did not feel he had revealed any new information, or put the officer in any danger”
Yeah I can just imagine the left letting this one go if it had been a National MP that had done this
We probably would because we have such an abundance of material. The Key government is frankly a disaster for New Zealand, there is no metric upon which they are not a disaster, we don’t have to beat up pitiful shite like this.
What you have here is a fatuous accusation like the Clark forgery bullshit and you cackle like a goose up to its ankles in good luck. To attain any level of credibility you must look objectively at what is happening.
No doubt the tame MSM can be stimulated to make disapproving noises – but Collins complaining about impropriety is like Tamerlane reproaching someone for unnecessary roughness.
So basically if National does it = bad but if Labour does it = its ok because National does it as well
I’m sure I’ve heard that claim somewhere before
No you read it – that meme’s on your tr0ll instruction sheet – you’re not supposed to put that online, they’ll probably dock your pay now.
Naah I’m in tight with the smoking room so its all good, nepotism is a wonderful thing 🙂
Instamax – it’s you! I guess it was inevitable what with the DJ thing not panning out.
Witness the wailing and gnashing of teeth when Cameron Slater published Nicki Hager’s address (even though he’s in the phone book)!
Context is everything – was the Whale recommending peace and civility? And what did the staffer have to say about it all – Collins is quite capable of taking umbrage over a non-issue for her own purposes.
Collins …………….. who’s friends with Cameron Slater and has been sacked from cabinet once already.
I would rate this ex tax lawyer the most corrupt justice and police minister we have ever had ………………
Seems like her free-styling make it up as you go approach is still the same …..
“Its a pretty obvious effort to front-foot and limit the bad publicity bubbling out of her portfolio. Its also illegal. Section 161 of the Corrections Act 2004 gives MP’s an absolute right to visit prisons and talk to prisoners at any time. This right is not subject to Ministerial approval or prior notification, and for good reason: its to ensure independent eyes on the system and to allow problems to be exposed”
http://norightturn.blogspot.co.nz/
Does illegal mean competent in PukeR speak ???????
I didn’t know that National had outsourced the Minister of Corrections to a party of the Left.
‘Is Trump holding Christie hostage?’
https://www.rt.com/shows/big-picture/334370-super-tuesday-presidential-candidates/
“Tonight’s Politics Panel talks about yesterday’s Super Tuesday results, how Hillary advisers are trying to appeal to Trump supporters, and whether Trump is holding Chris Christie hostage. Thom discusses the presidential candidates’ economic policies with economist Marshall Auerback and in tonight’s Daily Take Thom debunks the myth that Democrats are bad for business.”
The continuing saga of Todd Barclay.
http://www.odt.co.nz/news/politics/375242/claim-secret-recording
Time to cut him loose, its a safe seat so it should go to someone deserving
I agree PR, although would seem highly unusual for a sitting member to be deselected. I would have thought their instinct would be to ride it out and hope it blows over as per Bill English’s “nothing to see here” comments. Clearly the local media down here know there is more to run on this or they would not be giving it so much oxygen.
I’ll also add someone local and deserving
‘
So, Todd Barclay can’t talk about employment matters but he can release a resignation letter to the media. What a creepy chap he is.
http://www.odt.co.nz/news/politics/375034/barclay-apologises-release-letter
Yes, quite happy to discuss employment matters when it is seen to corroborate his version of events. Amateur mistake that calls into question his suitability for role. Luckily for him the local Nats have kept their public discipline.
So to recap. A total of three staff have resigned, there is something about a secret recording which some National Party members would like to get to the bottom of and to top it off the kid releases private and confidential employment documents, a resignation letter, to the media. (See BLiP 6.2)
Great stuff there kiddo. Well on your way as a Dirty Politics cadet. To pass on private communications you’d either have to be ignorant of the way such comms should be appropriately handled, which he shouldn’t be, as he has worked at Parliament and would understand protocols. OR you are wanting to turn the view around and make it look like you’re the victim and act in a way that is in keeping with the DP handbook?
Nice new mobile site, soo much faster and cleaner. Thanks lprent
Listening to the crowd it seems America is ready to elect a president who makes blowjob jokes about his political opponents.
All class.
/
Thursday, blasting the former Massachusetts governor for “begging” for his endorsement four years ago only to sharply criticize him now.
“I don’t know what happened to him,” Trump said during a rally in Portland, Maine. “You can see how loyal he is. He was begging for my endorsement. I could have said, ‘Mitt, drop to your knees.’ He would have dropped to his knees.”
http://edition.cnn.com/2016/03/03/politics/donald-trump-mitt-romney-would-have-dropped-to-his-knees-for-my-endorsement/
Y’know, I can see Trump doing the ponytail thing, publicly talking about peeing in the shower and “feeding the chickens”, really off jokes to foreign heads of state, no problem. I still can’t picture Trump climbing into a cage to “pick up the soap” though.
Gosh joe90.
I thought he meant go down on your knees and beg.
To the pure all things are pure I guess.
He could’ve meant either. It’s being interpreted as a BJ reference by some reporters.
He’ll get away with it because like you say it’s interpreted by what’s in the mind of the listener/reader. I shudder to think Trump might become POTUS but as a GOP candidate he’s endlessly entertaining. 🙂
The GOP establishment’s wheeled Mitt Romney out with a robotic script delivery I guess as their first shot across the bows of Donald J. He’s already blown Mitt out of the water.
Please will people help the Waitara Three. Being sued for bankruptcy by a very vindictive regional council run by a Fonterra man https://givealittle.co.nz/cause/supportthewaitara3/
+100 Sirenia
How outrageous!!! How can the council pursue costs when the commissioners said the river needed greater environmental protection?
More info please.
Also looking forward to seeing how much legal fees the council have spent pursuing a few individuals who appear to be trying to make the water safer for the community the council are supposed to work for!
The council has apparently spent almost $300,000 attacking this group. Group has also just won a big environmental award. Something seriously wrong in regional government in Taranaki.
I just wondering if people in the round world have heard of this new threat ;
http://thehackernews.com/2016/03/drown-attack-openssl-vulnerability.html
Should be in the news. Cybersecurity is one of the Govt.s focus points is it not?
If TRP is out there could I please get an opinion on Labour’s stance on this new National employment legislation?
I just detest the idea of Labour agreeing with National about any kind of employment legislation.
I would hate to think it’s a precursor to the ‘flexibility’ Labour will espouse from Robertson’s ridiculous ‘Future Of Work’.
Check this out – from the horses mouth. Iain Lees Galloway talks us through Labour’s strategy.
http://thestandard.org.nz/iain-lees-galloway-were-winning-on-zero-hour-contracts/
I was looking for a union view.
I don’t yet trust Labour on this issue after folding on 90 day fire at will.
Ok. Well, If it’s any reassurance at all, Iain Lee Galloway used to be an organiser for the NZNO, so he has some sympathies in that area.
I understand your reluctance to trust Labour on working with the National government on a major piece of employment legislation when Andrew Little rang alarm bells last year with his mention of “tweaking” the 90 day act, when addressing a bunch of business people in the Hutt.
It took me two weeks to get an answer from Grant Robertson – I was asking him to clarify Labour’s poistion, and I still felt uneasy about the response.
Believe me, as a former union organiser myself as a job seeker in today’s use and abuse job market I’m hypersensitive to how such talks with National will proceed. The framework that Iain provided did give me some reassurance that they are at least approaching this the right way.
Legislation is only part of addressing the wrongs that are occurring however. There must be employer cultural change and employees must learn to regain their self respect and dignity – we’ve been brutalised for years and to a certain degree given up on the belief we can have better work lives.
All the above will take years and it will be a difficult transition for some.
Mr Galloway would do well to come on this site and explain himself.
Labour have no digital means of engaging since they shut down Red Alert.
So they may as well actually front up here.
I have received no other communications from Labour about why they are cutting a deal with National on our employment law. Their media releases on the matter were raw spin.
I’m not interested in cultural change: legislative change is the only thing that will lead cultural change in this area.
Front up someone.
He fronted up the other day.
I was hoping for a reply, but have yet to receive one. Which, is far from reassuring.
Cheers, didn’t realize that he’d come on.
I stand corrected.
“Cheers, didn’t realize that he’d come on.’
Well, that’s exactly what I clearly pointed out to you in my link provided to you 20 minutes after you suggested Labour needed to front up.
Maybe I’m just talking to a brick wall.
Why am I not surprised?
OK, because I’m a cynical bastard.
Suggestion for a new slogan for Labour, since it’s supposed to be “rebranding” itself this year:
“Sprinkling the very best glitter on National’s turds.”
A bit more seriously, again, I think that it’s indicative of Labour’s closed-door culture and Little’s past as a negotiator who worked as part of a hierarchically-structured organisation on behalf of subscribers.
In essences, it’s “trust us, we’ll get you the best deal, then you can vote.” Public, democratic politics is messier, more overtly populist, more dynamic.
Closed-door dealmaking only alienates the base. Bloviating press releases like Iain L-G’s go straight into the recycling bin.
That alienation is only going to get worse with a younger generation who actually knows how to use social media. Little wouldn’t dream of tweeting from a meeting, a millennial wouldn’t dream of not doing business that way.
Hi Ad. That link I sent WAS Labour fronting up on this site. Iain Lees Galloway explained their strategy. If you’re a Labour party member you should have received an email earlier this week – explaining their position.
Agree that legislative change must come first to then filter down to cultural change. Of course it does.
As a vulnerable worker in often precarious work situations I know first hand how the culture has changed as a direct result of legislation. But employers won’t change their attitudes based on new rules – their workers have to hold them to account and push for their rights – this is culture change and it HAS to happen. Believe me, even the ads posted for jobs these days are hostile, insulting and patronising. Thats to do with culture, not legislation.
You may not interested in culture change, but as someone hugely affected by employer attitudes I am.
Rosie, Labour wants to remove the ability for employers to put people on contracts where they are on call with no permanent hours. Implying, apart from being given a number of permanent hours, Labour are not seeking compensation for workers being on call.
If this is the case, this is insufficient protection for workers, thus far from reassuring.
Still waiting for Iain to clear this up.
Valid point re the compensation for on call workers. As far as I know they were using “set minimum hours” as a base. I don’t know what happens after that.
Maybe email Iain himself. From time to time I email MP’s when something isn’t clear. Sometimes you need to give them a prod as a reminder to respond.
In regards to emailing him, It’s Iain’s job to inform the public on such matters. Not just individuals that can be bothered to email him.
Moreover, he chose to utilize this site, but failed to keep up with communications.
He really needs to clear this matter up.
Furthermore, what with the 90 days and TPP, they can’t afford to mess this up.
I don’t know what to say. It was just a practical suggestion, regardless of what anyone’s expectations might be of their MP’s, you know, things like responding to questions in public forum.
If you do email him, you can copy his answer into a comment of Open Mike and then we’ll all know.
And get this, the Greens claim to not have seen the changes made. What happen to working closer together with their potential coalition partners?
I’m still awaiting his reply to my questions.
It’s sort of like Labour has sold the essence of its very name. “Labour” was formed to represent workers, and here we have it supporting a bit of legislation by its polar opposite that concerns the very people it was formed to represent.
Natbour.
Labours argument is voting against it would mean leaving thousands of New Zealanders stuck in zero hour contracts.
However, If zero hour contracts remain, they will vote against it. Go figure?
There seems to be no discussion on attaining fiscal compensation for those on-call.
Worse, i read someplace that fair compensation shoul be paid, and so all Labour needed to do was speak to that, in parliament. i.e more than the dole, less that the minimum wage per hour to wait. But not it has to be a fight not a principled negoiation.
Don’t blame Robertson, blame the writer for The Economist he plagiarised.
https://garethsworld.com/blog/health/pharmac-and-the-crazies-john-key-admits-mistake-andrew-little-looks-to-repeat-it/
Normally I’d be using it as proof that Littles stuffed up again but since its Gareth Morgan saying it…
Racist cops deny problem. They’ll deal with it as well as they deal with their internal rape culture no doubt.
http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/national/298060/police-reject-africans'-claims-of-racial-abuse
Watch this go through the usual stages:
1. “No problem”, belittle the victim.
2. Under duress, pretend to hold an inquiry and issue new “guidelines.”
3. Claim that the new guidelines have solved the problem.
4. “No problem, we dealt with it long ago, it’s historical.” Belittle the victim.
In the interests of efficiency, the current government will allow them to go directly from stage 1 to 4.
Some monkeys were bypassed by evolution alright – so they shaved and put on blue suits.
Years ago, Jim Mora called that bag of wind Barack Obama “the leading
orator of our time”; now look at who he’s calling “quite a thinker”.
The Panel, RNZ National, Friday 4 March 2016
Jim Mora, Ali Jones, Selwyn Manning, Zara Potts
This piece of penetrating analysis occurred about halfway through the program….
JIM MORA: It’s interesting, all these secret Trump supporters. An Hispanic woman whose family escaped from Castro’s Cuba says she will vote for Trump and so will all her acquaintances. She said political correctness is the beginning of the end. And you know, she’s quite a thinker. …
ALI JONES: He’s a racist bully.
MORA: But they aren’t all, by any means, the red-necked owners of guns…..
Haha some of my mates think I should buy this piece of history.
Of course I see it as history showing Tory Prime Minister getting benefits from socialist ownership.
Of course the Tory’s win when it’s in private ownership as well.
It’s just the rest of us that miss out when stuff is sold off.
Muldoons free NZR pass.
http://www.trademe.co.nz/a.aspx?id=1044490240
On a more serious note some time back there were some posts referring to the Ottoman massacre of Armenians.
This photographer has increased awareness of this in a pretty cool way.
http://www.dianamarkosian.com/pages/1915
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/politics/news/article.cfm?c_id=280&objectid=11599987
Piss off Soper…….what evidence is there that ‘Prince Max’ is being cyberbullied……none except the whining of an effete daddy grasping at the straws of political lift, off the back of his own blood if needs be. That’s no evidence. Daddy’s doing a number – that’s all that whining amounts to.
In any event, Max is right into it. “Me asleep on Air Force One” as he Instagrams an obviously staged pic’ of himself. What ? The son of PMONZ trying to put himself across the son of POTUS. Gimme a break !
You’re boring and unartful Soper, even to yourself. That’s why you’re driven to make yourself part of the story. Winston Peters had your measure years ago in John McCain’s office in Washington DC. Remember that one Soper……? You didn’t learn did ya ? Still the old wahanui.
Interesting, http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/mar/03/secret-donald-trump-voters-speak-out?CMP=twt_gu
wow
This excerpt from 1943 in the Evening Post just about sums up this govt of today and there attitude Just change the names as you see fit to today’s world
This is the shit that Key bastard wants to keep going
“Because of the attacks made on the trade union movement by the Nationalists during the election campaign it appears necessary to express the views on this point of an organisation which represents 38,000 workers,” said Mr. F. P. Walsh, president of the Wellington Trades Council of the New Zealand Federation of Labour, in a statement today.
“Mr. Holland’s attack on the trade union leaders reveals that he is fundamentally opposed to industrial unionism,” said Mr. Walsh. “Like his political ancestors throughout the past century Mr. Holland would be delighted with a leaderless trade union movement. The Nationalists, like all Tories of the past, hate the leaders of trade unions because the activities of those leaders, and their insistence on fair play for the workers, disturb the tranquillity of those who enjoy easy profits and big dividends from organised business. “Members of trade unions throughout the country have had to put up with a great deal of abuse of their leaders, whom the Nationalists term ‘Labour bosses.’ That Nationalist attitude was also adopted by the Lee Party. They side-stepped the fact that the trade union movement, by reason of its constitution, rules, and love of liberty, has no dictators. Its leaders are elected annually on democratic principles. “What the trades union movement has accomplished on behalf of the workers and the people as a whole, not only in ameliorating labour conditions, but in social services generally, is appreciated by everybody. But we realise that a victory of the Fascist Powers in the present war would destroy all that has been achieved, and we are wholeheartedly behind the Government in its administration of the war effort of the Dominion. THE WAR EFFORT. “Yet the attitude taken up by the Nationalists during the election has been definitely damaging to that war effort. For political gain and to help the employing class the Nationalists advocated a reduced military effort. To catch a few votes they set out to capitalise on the furlough draft, regardless of the fact that the course they advocated would have jeopardised the chances of any further men being granted a well-earned holiday in New Zealand. “The Nationalists also attempted to weaken New Zealand’s war effort on the home front. They attacked every law and every provision for maintaining full efficiency in defence and in military training for overseas. They endeavoured to” turn people’s wartime sacrifices, and wartime shortages of commodities, and inevitable wartime inconveniences into political grievances. They tried to convince the people that they would be better off if all the measures for their protection against wartime difficulties were removed. They advocated that prices should be left to the will of private enterprise, and that nothing should be protected except the old Tory privilege of grabbing all the good things of life. “In all of these actions the Nationalists sapped the morale of the nation. “Another enemy of our war effort was the doctrine that the war could be paid for without any cost to the people of the country. “The people showed by their votes that they are not so gullible as the glib but muddle-headed apostles of easy money who contested the election. The people of New Zealand showed that they have a true understanding of the fact that the war has to be paid for by ourselves, out of the goods and services that we produce, and that no jugglery can avoid it. INDUSTRIAL LABOUR’S PLEDGE. “The workers of New Zealand are, therefore, determined to work wholeheartedly to increase their production and thus do all that is in their power towards achieving victory. •’They are convinced also that the I industrial conditions under which they can do their best are only possible under the Labour Government. “The whole of organised industrial labour, therefore, gives its pledge that it will continue to work to its utmost to increase the production of the Dominion, and to support the Labour Government in its policy of carrying on the war without any relaxation, and at the same time maintaining the highest possible standard of living in fair play to all sections of the community.”
The war being today, the TPPA
We are going to get that little tory prick one way or another
Sorry – as I do appreciate that OM is special and not a tech forum !
However it is difficult to be anywhere else on TS using FireFox 44.0.2 on FC2x – just renders a “Content Encoding Error”.
This message is posted using IE11 on Windows8.1 – not where I wish to be – get me out of here please !
All was good till 44.0.2 upgrade yesterday.
And Chrome 48.0.2564.116 (64-bit) on FC2x
ERR_CONTENT_DECODING_FAILED
Was all good till today
No cache/cookies retained in either FC2x browser and W8/IE11 VM uses the same network and ISP
Change the flag for a bag of of DAGS