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
Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: My top six things to note around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the week to July 27 were:1. The Minister for Ford Rangers strikes againTransport Minister Simeon Brown was again the busiest of the Cabinet ministers this week, announcing an ...
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TL;DR: I’m casting around for new ideas and ways of thinking about Aotearoa’s political economy to find a few solutions to our cascading and self-reinforcing housing, poverty and climate crises.Associate Professor runs an online masters degree in the economics of sustainability at Torrens University in Australia and is organising ...
The Finance and Expenditure Committee has reported back on National's Local Government (Water Services Preliminary Arrangements) Bill. The bill sets up water for privatisation, and was introduced under urgency, then rammed through select committee with no time even for local councils to make a proper submission. Naturally, national's select committee ...
Some years ago, I bought a book at Dunedin’s Regent Booksale for $1.50. As one does. Vandrad the Viking (1898), by J. Storer Clouston, is an obscure book these days – I cannot find a proper online review – but soon it was sitting on my shelf, gathering dust alongside ...
History is not on the side of the centre-left, when Democratic presidents fall behind in the polls and choose not to run for re-election. On both previous occasions in the past 75 years (Harry Truman in 1952, Lyndon Johnson in 1968) the Democrats proceeded to then lose the White House ...
This is a free articleCoverageThis morning, US President Joe Biden announced his withdrawal from the Presidential race. And that is genuinely newsworthy. Thanks for your service, President Biden, and all the best to you and yours.However, the media in New Zealand, particularly the 1News nightly bulletin, has been breathlessly covering ...
A homeless person’s camp beside a blocked-off slipped damage walkway in Freeman’s Bay: we are chasing our tail on our worsening and inter-related housing, poverty and climate crises. Photo: Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The top six things I’ve noted around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy ...
What has happened to it all?Crazy, some'd sayWhere is the life that I recognise?(Gone away)But I won't cry for yesterdayThere's an ordinary worldSomehow I have to findAnd as I try to make my wayTo the ordinary worldYesterday morning began as many others - what to write about today? I began ...
TL;DR: My pick of the top six links elsewhere around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day or so to 7:00 am on Monday, July 22 are:Today’s Must Read: Father and son live in a tent, and have done for four years, in a million ...
TL;DR: As of 7:00 am on Monday, July 22, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:US President Joe Biden announced via X this morning he would not stand for a second term.Multinational professional services firm ...
A listing of 32 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, July 14, 2024 thru Sat, July 20, 2024. Story of the week As reflected by preponderance of coverage, our Story of the Week is Project 2025. Until now traveling ...
This weekend, a friend pointed out someone who said they’d like to read my posts, but didn’t want to pay. And my first reaction was sympathy.I’ve already told folks that if they can’t comfortably subscribe, and would like to read, I’d be happy to offer free subscriptions. I don’t want ...
National: The Party of ‘Law and Order’ IntroductionThis weekend, the Government formally kicked off one of their flagship policy programs: a military style boot camp that New Zealand has experimented with over the past 50 years. Cartoon credit: Guy BodyIt’s very popular with the National Party’s Law and Orderimage, ...
Day one of the solo leg of my long journey home begins with my favourite sound: footfalls in an empty street. 5.00 am and it’s already light and already too warm, almost.If I can make the train that leaves Budapest later this hour I could be in Belgrade by nightfall; ...
Do you remember Y2K, the threat that hung over humanity in the closing days of the twentieth century? Horror scenarios of planes falling from the sky, electronic payments failing and ATMs refusing to dispense cash. As for your VCR following instructions and recording your favourite show - forget about it.All ...
Climate Change Minister Simon Watts being questioned by The Kākā’s Bernard Hickey.TL;DR: My top six things to note around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the week to July 20 were:1. A strategy that fails Zero Carbon Act & Paris targetsThe National-ACT-NZ First Coalition Government finally unveiled ...
Summary:As New Zealand loses at least 12 leaders in the public service space of health, climate, and pharmaceuticals, this month alone, directly in response to the Government’s policies and budget choices, what lies ahead may be darker than it appears. Tui examines some of those departures and draws a long ...
The Minister of Housing’s ambition is to reduce markedly the ratio of house prices to household incomes. If his strategy works it would transform the housing market, dramatically changing the prospects of housing as an investment.Leaving aside the Minister’s metaphor of ‘flooding the market’ I do not see how the ...
As previously noted, my historical fantasy piece, set in the fifth-century Mediterranean, was accepted for a Pirate Horror anthology, only for the anthology to later fall through. But in a good bit of news, it turned out that the story could indeed be re-marketed as sword and sorcery. As of ...
An employee of tobacco company Philip Morris International demonstrates a heated tobacco device. Photo: Getty ImagesTL;DR: The top six things I’ve noted around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy on Friday, July 19 are:At a time when the Coalition Government is cutting spending on health, infrastructure, education, housing ...
TL;DR: My pick of the top six links elsewhere around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day or so to 8:30 am on Friday, July 19 are:Scoop: NZ First Minister Casey Costello orders 50% cut to excise tax on heated tobacco products. The minister has ...
Kia ora, it’s time for another Friday roundup, in which we pull together some of the links and stories that caught our eye this week. Feel free to add more in the comments! Our header image this week shows a foggy day in Auckland town, captured by Patrick Reynolds. ...
TL;DR : Here’s the top six items climate news for Aotearoa this week, as selected by Bernard Hickey and The Kākā’s climate correspondent Cathrine Dyer. A discussion recorded yesterday is in the video above and the audio of that sent onto the podcast feed.The Government released its draft Emissions Reduction ...
Save some money, get rich and old, bring it back to Tobacco Road.Bring that dynamite and a crane, blow it up, start all over again.Roll up. Roll up. Or tailor made, if you prefer...Whether you’re selling ciggies, digging for gold, catching dolphins in your nets, or encouraging folks to flutter ...
Waiting In The Wings:For truly, if Trump is America’s un-assassinated Caesar, then J.D. Vance is America’s Octavian, the Republic’s youthful undertaker – and its first Emperor.DONALD TRUMP’S SELECTION of James D. Vance as his running-mate bodes ill for the American republic. A fervent supporter of Viktor Orban, the “illiberal” prime ...
TL;DR: As of 6:00 am on Friday, July 19, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:The PSAannounced the Employment Relations Authority (ERA) had ruled in the PSA’s favour in its case against the Ministry ...
Te Rangi e tu nei (The sky above us) Te Papa e takoto nei (The land beneath us) Tatou katoa te hunga ora (To us all the living) Tena koutou katoa (Greetings) ...
A late change to charter school legislation will cheat educators out of fair pay and negotiating power proving charter schools are just a vehicle to make profit out of our education system. ...
In 2004 te iwi Māori rallied against the Crown’s attempt to confiscate our coastlines and moana with the Foreshore and Seabed Act. This led to the largest hīkoi of a generation and the birth of Te Pāti Māori. 20 years later, history is repeating itself. Today the government has announced ...
It has been five and a half years since the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care was established to investigate the abuse of children, young people, and vulnerable adults within state and faith-based institutions. Yesterday, the final report - Whanaketia through pain and trauma, from darkness to light ...
The Green Party is calling on the Government to take action off the back of the International Court of Justice ruling on Israel’s illegal occupation of Palestine. ...
On Friday the International Court of Justice reaffirmed what Palestinian’s have been telling us for decades: that the occupation and colonisation of Palestinian lands by Israel is illegal and must end immediately. They also called for reparations for Palestinian’s who have lived under Israeli occupation since it began in 1967. ...
Labour calls on the Government to act after the International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruled that Israel’s occupation of Palestinian Territories is illegal. ...
The 53.7 percent rise in benefit sanctions over the last year is more proof of this Government’s disdain for our communities most in need of support. ...
Aotearoa could be a country where every child grows up feeling safe, loved and with a sense of belonging in their whānau and community. But for some of our children, this is far from reality. Instead, they are trapped in a maze of intergenerational harm that they can’t escape on ...
Te Pāti Māori are calling for David Seymour to resign as Associate Health Minister in response to his call for Pharmac to ignore the Treaty of Waitangi. “This announcement is just another example of the government’s anti-Tiriti, anti-Māori agenda.” Said Co-leader and spokesperson for health, Debbie Ngarewa-Packer. “Seymour thinks it ...
The soaring price of renting is driving the rise of inflation in this country - with latest figures from Stats NZ showing rents are up 4.8 per cent on average while annual inflation is at 3.3 per cent. ...
National’s Emissions Reduction Plan will take New Zealand further from the economy we need to ensure the next generation has a stable climate and secure livelihoods. ...
Following consultation with named parties and thorough consideration of privacy interests, the Green Party is in a position to release the Executive Summary of the final report from the independent investigation into Darleen Tana. ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon should be asking serious questions of his Minister for Resources Shane Jones now it’s been revealed he misled the public about a dinner with mining companies that he didn’t declare and said wasn’t pre-arranged. ...
Te Pāti Māori have submitted to the Justice Select Committee against the Sentencing (Reinstating Three Strikes) Amendment Bill. The bill will further entrench racism in our justice system and fails to focus on rehabilitation. “Reinstating Three Strikes will empower a systematically racist system and exacerbate the overrepresentation of Māori in ...
The Transport and Infrastructure Committee is set to make a determination on the Residential Tenancies Amendment (RTA) Bill in the coming weeks. “This legislation will give landlords the power to kick our whānau out onto the street for no reason” said Housing spokesperson, Mariameno Kapa-Kingi. “Their solution to the housing ...
“National’s campaign was about tackling crime and the best they can do is a two-year long Ministerial Advisory Group,” Labour justice spokesperson Duncan Webb said. ...
“There are more examples of charter schools failing their students than there are success stories. The coalition Government is driving to dismantle our public school system and instead promote a privatised, competitive structure that puts profits before kids,” Jan Tinetti said. ...
“This government is choosing to deliberately mislead and withhold information, keeping our people in the dark about this government’s agenda and the future of our mokopuna,” said co-leader and spokesperson for Health, Debbie Ngarewa-Packer. The call comes after the demand from the Chief Ombudsman that Associate Minister of Health, Casey ...
“Today’s climate announcement by Simon Watts makes clear the National Government is simply paying lip service to meeting its climate change targets,” Megan Woods said. ...
National is choosing to make life harder for workers by taking away the rights our communities have fought hard for. Here's how they’re taking workers backwards. ...
Australia, Canada and New Zealand today issued the following statement on the need for an urgent ceasefire in Gaza and the risk of expanded conflict between Hizballah and Israel. The situation in Gaza is catastrophic. The human suffering is unacceptable. It cannot continue. We remain unequivocal in our condemnation of ...
Attorney-General Judith Collins today reminded all State and faith-based institutions of their legal obligation to preserve records relevant to the safety and wellbeing of those in its care. “The Abuse in Care Inquiry’s report has found cases where records of the most vulnerable people in State and faith‑based institutions were ...
Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden says the Government’s online safety website for children and young people has reached one million page views. “It is great to see so many young people and their families accessing the site Keep It Real Online to learn how to stay safe online, and manage ...
Tēnā tātou katoa, Ngā mihi te rangi, ngā mihi te whenua, ngā mihi ki a koutou, kia ora mai koutou. Thank you for the opportunity to be here and the invitation to speak at this 50th anniversary conference. I acknowledge all those who have gone before us and paved the ...
New Zealand’s payroll providers have successfully prepared to ensure 3.5 million individuals will, from Wednesday next week, be able to keep more of what they earn each pay, says Finance Minister Nicola Willis and Revenue Minister Simon Watts. “The Government's tax policy changes are legally effective from Wednesday. Delivering this tax ...
An experimental vineyard which will help futureproof the wine sector has been opened in Blenheim by Associate Regional Development Minister Mark Patterson. The covered vineyard, based at the New Zealand Wine Centre – Te Pokapū Wāina o Aotearoa, enables controlled environmental conditions. “The research that will be produced at the Experimental ...
The Coalition Government has confirmed the indicative regional breakdown of North Island Weather Event (NIWE) funding for state highway recovery projects funded through Budget 2024, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Regions in the North Island suffered extensive and devastating damage from Cyclone Gabrielle and the 2023 Auckland Anniversary Floods, and ...
Indonesia’s Foreign Minister, Retno Marsudi, will visit New Zealand next week, Foreign Minister Winston Peters has announced. “Indonesia is important to New Zealand’s security and economic interests and is our closest South East Asian neighbour,” says Mr Peters, who is currently in Laos to engage with South East Asian partners. ...
He aha te kai a te rangatira? He kōrero, he kōrero, he kōrero. The government has reaffirmed its commitment to supporting the aspirations of Ngāti Maniapoto, Minister for Māori Development Tama Potaka says. “My thanks to Te Nehenehenui Trust – Ngāti Maniapoto for bringing their important kōrero to a ministerial ...
Transport Minister Simeon Brown has thanked outgoing Chair of the Civil Aviation Authority, Janice Fredric, for her service to the board.“I have received Ms Fredric’s resignation from the role of Chair of the Civil Aviation Authority,” Mr Brown says.“On behalf of the Government, I want to thank Ms Fredric for ...
The Government is proposing legislation to overturn a Court of Appeal decision and amend the Marine and Coastal Area Act in order to restore Parliament’s test for Customary Marine Title, Treaty Negotiations Minister Paul Goldsmith says. “Section 58 required an applicant group to prove they have exclusively used and occupied ...
Regulation Minister David Seymour says that opposition parties have united in bad faith, opposing what they claim are ‘dangerous changes’ to the Early Childhood Education sector, despite no changes even being proposed yet. “Issues with affordability and availability of early childhood education, and the complexity of its regulation, has led ...
After receiving more than 740 submissions in the first 20 days, Regulation Minister David Seymour is asking the Ministry for Regulation to extend engagement on the early childhood education regulation review by an extra two weeks. “The level of interest has been very high, and from the conversations I’ve been ...
The Coalition Government is investing $802.9 million into the Wairarapa and Manawatū rail lines as part of a funding agreement with the NZ Transport Agency (NZTA), KiwiRail, and the Greater Wellington and Horizons Regional Councils to deliver more reliable services for commuters in the lower North Island, Transport Minister Simeon ...
Local Government Minister Simeon Brown has announced his intention to appoint a Crown Manager to both Hawke’s Bay Regional and Wairoa District Councils to speed up the delivery of flood protection work in Wairoa."Recent severe weather events in Wairoa this year, combined with damage from Cyclone Gabrielle in 2023 have ...
Mr Speaker, this is a day that many New Zealanders who were abused in State care never thought would come. It’s the day that this Parliament accepts, with deep sorrow and regret, the Report of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care. At the heart of this report are the ...
For the first time, the Government is formally acknowledging some children and young people at Lake Alice Psychiatric Hospital experienced torture. The final report of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in State and Faith-based Care “Whanaketia – through pain and trauma, from darkness to light,” was tabled in Parliament ...
The Government has acknowledged the nearly 2,400 courageous survivors who shared their experiences during the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Historical Abuse in State and Faith-Based Care. The final report from the largest and most complex public inquiry ever held in New Zealand, the Royal Commission Inquiry “Whanaketia – through ...
With a week to go before hard-working New Zealanders see personal income tax relief for the first time in fourteen years, 513,000 people have used the Budget tax calculator to see how much they will benefit, says Finance Minister Nicola Willis. “Tax relief is long overdue. From next Wednesday, personal income ...
Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Brooke van Velden says a bill that has passed its first reading will improve parental leave settings and give non-biological parents more flexibility as primary carer for their child. The Regulatory Systems Amendment Bill (No3), passed its first reading this morning. “It includes a change ...
Two Bills designed to improve regulation and make it easier to do business have passed their first reading in Parliament, says Economic Development Minister Melissa Lee. The Regulatory Systems (Economic Development) Amendment Bill and Regulatory Systems (Immigration and Workforce) Amendment Bill make key changes to legislation administered by the Ministry ...
New legislation paves the way for greater competition in sectors such as banking and electricity, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly says. “Competitive markets boost productivity, create employment opportunities and lift living standards. To support competition, we need good quality regulation but, unfortunately, a recent OECD report ranked New ...
Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden says lotteries for charitable purposes, such as those run by the Heart Foundation, Coastguard NZ, and local hospices, will soon be allowed to operate online permanently. “Under current laws, these fundraising lotteries are only allowed to operate online until October 2024, after which ...
The Coalition Government is accelerating work on the new four-lane expressway between Auckland and Whangārei as part of its Roads of National Significance programme, with an accelerated delivery model to deliver this project faster and more efficiently, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “For too long, the lack of resilient transport connections ...
Sir Don McKinnon will travel to Viet Nam this week as a Special Envoy of the Government, Foreign Minister Winston Peters has announced. “It is important that the Government give due recognition to the significant contributions that General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong made to New Zealand-Viet Nam relations,” Mr ...
Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden says newly appointed Commissioner, Grant Illingworth KC, will help deliver the report for the first phase of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into COVID-19 Lessons, due on 28 November 2024. “I am pleased to announce that Mr Illingworth will commence his appointment as ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters travels to Laos this week to participate in a series of Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)-led Ministerial meetings in Vientiane. “ASEAN plays an important role in supporting a peaceful, stable and prosperous Indo-Pacific,” Mr Peters says. “This will be our third visit to ...
Construction of a new mental health facility at Te Nikau Grey Hospital in Greymouth is today one step closer, Mental Health Minister Matt Doocey says. “This $27 million facility shows this Government is delivering on its promise to boost mental health care and improve front line services,” Mr Doocey says. ...
New Zealand is committing nearly $50 million to a package supporting sustainable Pacific fisheries development over the next four years, Foreign Minister Winston Peters and Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones announced today. “This support consisting of a range of initiatives demonstrates New Zealand’s commitment to assisting our Pacific partners ...
Associate Education Minister David Seymour says proposed changes to the Education and Training Amendment Bill will ensure charter schools have more flexibility to negotiate employment agreements and are equipped with the right teaching resources. “Cabinet has agreed to progress an amendment which means unions will not be able to initiate ...
In response to serious concerns around oversight, overspend and a significant deterioration in financial outlook, the Board of Health New Zealand will be replaced with a Commissioner, Health Minister Dr Shane Reti announced today. “The previous government’s botched health reforms have created significant financial challenges at Health NZ that, without ...
Minister for Space and Science, Innovation and Technology Judith Collins will travel to Adelaide tomorrow for space and science engagements, including speaking at the Australian Space Forum. While there she will also have meetings and visits with a focus on space, biotechnology and innovation. “New Zealand has a thriving space ...
Climate Change Minister Simon Watts will travel to China on Saturday to attend the Ministerial on Climate Action meeting held in Wuhan. “Attending the Ministerial on Climate Action is an opportunity to advocate for New Zealand climate priorities and engage with our key partners on climate action,” Mr Watts says. ...
Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones is travelling to the Solomon Islands tomorrow for meetings with his counterparts from around the Pacific supporting collective management of the region’s fisheries. The 23rd Pacific Islands Forum Fisheries Committee and the 5th Regional Fisheries Ministers’ Meeting in Honiara from 23 to 26 July ...
The Government today launched the Military Style Academy Pilot at Te Au rere a te Tonga Youth Justice residence in Palmerston North, an important part of the Government’s plan to crackdown on youth crime and getting youth offenders back on track, Minister for Children, Karen Chhour said today. “On the ...
The Government has welcomed news the NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) has begun work to replace nine priority bridges across the country to ensure our state highway network remains resilient, reliable, and efficient for road users, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says.“Increasing productivity and economic growth is a key priority for the ...
Acting Prime Minister David Seymour has been in contact throughout the evening with senior officials who have coordinated a whole of government response to the global IT outage and can provide an update. The Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet has designated the National Emergency Management Agency as the ...
New Zealand and Japan will continue to step up their shared engagement with the Pacific, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says. “New Zealand and Japan have a strong, shared interest in a free, open and stable Pacific Islands region,” Mr Peters says. “We are pleased to be finding more ways ...
New developments in the heart of North Island forestry country will reinvigorate their communities and boost economic development, Regional Development Minister Shane Jones says. Mr Jones visited Kaingaroa and Kawerau in Bay of Plenty today to open a landmark community centre in the former and a new connecting road in ...
President Adeang, fellow Ministers, honourable Diet Member Horii, Ambassadors, distinguished guests. Minasama, konnichiwa, and good afternoon, everyone. Distinguished guests, it’s a pleasure to be here with you today to talk about New Zealand’s foreign policy reset, the reasons for it, the values that underpin it, and how it ...
Last summer when Matairangi burned, Ginny and Tom stood at the window of their lounge, watching kākā shoot skyward from the burning trees. From the distance, they looked to Ginny like pages torn from books and thrown into a bonfire. It was Tom, voice tight, who told her it was ...
Opinion: The Canadian short story writer Alice Munro – winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2013 – died in May at the age of 92. Her work was about “the damage people inflict on one another in the name of love”, Deborah Treisman wrote in the New Yorker. ...
This month marks two years since the most powerful telescope ever built sent its first pictures back to earth. From its lofty vantage point, beyond the moon in orbit around the sun, the James Webb Space Telescope was tuned to observe the first stars and galaxies being born soon after ...
Comment: After Climate Change Minister Simon Watts’ preview several weeks ago, I had some optimism about the Government’s emissions reduction plan. Now I’ve read the discussion document, that hope has been dashed. How can the Government propose a plan that wants to take New Zealand taxpayers’ hard-earned money, and spend ...
Christopher Luxon: hurdles The little man from National jumps hurdles in his sleep. He’s quite good at it in his dreams and even though the reality doesn’t quite match up you have to give him credit for getting up every morning and crashing into the very first hurdle of the ...
Comment: It was a good two hours into the conversation when Tyrone Marks raised the most basic of questions when I first spoke to him in 2017. “They didn’t explain the things they did to me. They never told me why. And they still haven’t. There’s no explanation for it. ...
Madeleine Chapman rounds out Death Week on The Spinoff with a final recommendation. You can read all of our Death Week coverage here. Nothing forces you to reflect on your life and relationships quite like proximity to death. For those whose nearest and dearest have died, there are reasonably obvious ...
Whitney Greene takes us through her life in television, including the TV character she’d like to plan a funeral for and her cow lung catastrophe on The Traitors NZ. “If the phone rings, I have to answer it,” Whitney Greene from The Traitors NZ warns as we begin our My ...
Maddie Ballard reviews the debut essay collection of Pōneke writer Flora Feltham.In ‘The Raw Material’, the longest essay in Flora Feltham’s dazzling debut collection, the author heads out for a run after hours of weaving and sees the world turn to textile. “Pounding along the Parade, I saw the ...
Andy Christiansen, one half of the experimental rock-pop duo TRiPS, shares the tunes inspiring the band’s perfect weekend and new release. “Good speakers, good food, good music, no distractions”: that’s all you need to enjoy the psychedelic stylings of TRiPS, a new band formed by Fly My Pretties’ Barnaby Weir ...
Celebrating our quadrennial opportunity to become experts in a bunch of sports we never normally watch.The games of the XXXIII Olympiad are upon us. Paris will host this year’s showcase of sporting and athletic prowess, which means some late-night and early-morning viewing for us in Aotearoa.But what sports ...
The photograph is striking and beautiful, but also disturbing – a reminder that my love for John was often entangled in shame.The Sunday Essay is made possible thanks to the support of Creative New Zealand.In the spring of 1980, in Dunedin, shortly before his death, someone took a photograph ...
Get to know Babushka, our latest Dog of the Month. This feature was offered as a reward during our What’s Eating Aotearoa PledgeMe campaign. Thank you to Babu’s humans, Jo and Isabel, for their support. Dog name: Babushka (Babu for short) Age: 2Breed: Border Collie X poodleIf rescued, ...
Pacific Media Watch A Lebanese photojournalist who was severely wounded during an Israeli air strike in south Lebanon carried the Olympic torch in Paris this week in honour of her peers who have been wounded and killed in the field — especially in Gaza and Lebanon. Christina Assi of Agence ...
The first report in a five-part web series focused on the 15th Triennial Conference of Pacific Women taking place in the Marshall Islands this week.SPECIAL REPORT:By Netani Rika in Majuro Women continue to fight for justice 70 years after the first nuclear tests by the United States caused ...
Christopher Luxon has joined with Australia and Canada's leaders in voicing support for US President Joe Biden's ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra The 2022 election brought the “teal wave” into parliament. The next election will test whether teals, who occupy what were Liberal seats, and other independents can maintain their momentum. Joining us on the Podcast ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ian Musgrave, Senior lecturer in Pharmacology, University of Adelaide Pixavri/Shutterstock A major Federal Court class action has been dismissed this week after Justice Michael Lee ruled there was not enough evidence to prove the weedkiller Roundup causes cancer. Plaintiff Kelvin ...
In The Week in Politics: politicians have to decide what to do about child abuse, Health NZ is booked in for major surgery and Darleen Tana returns. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Clare Corbould, Associate Professor, Contemporary Histories Research Group, Deakin University Mainstream media are surprisingly muted at the prospect of the world’s most powerful nation being led for the first time by a woman – specifically a woman of colour, Vice President Kamala ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Rebecca Bennett, PhD Student, Associate Research Fellow, Deakin University Last week, a drone delivery company called Wing (owned by Google’s parent company, Alphabet) started operating in Melbourne. Some 250,000 residents in parts of the city’s eastern suburbs can now order food from ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jonathan Foo, Lecturer, Physiotherapy, Monash University pikselstock/Shutterstock In the next 40 years in Australia, it’s predicted the number of Australians aged 65 and over will more than double, while the number of people aged 85 and over will more than triple. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Katrina Grant, Research Associate, Power Institute for Arts and Visual Culture, University of Sydney Jonas Åkerström’s 1790 work, Session of the Accademia dell’Arcadia on August 17 1788.Nationalmuseum/Cecilia Heisser Ever wondered whether you’d have a better chance at winning an Olympic gold ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Alexandra Jones, Program Lead, Food Governance, George Institute for Global Health wavebreakmedia/Shutterstock On Thursday, Australian and New Zealand food ministers at state, federal and national levels met to thrash out what’s next for health star ratings on packaged foods. Now, after ...
The Abuse in Care report found many Pacific survivors lost their connections to their culture and language, resulting in trauma that has been carried from generation to generation. ...
In the regulatory review, ECC intends to suggest that ERO focus on curriculum delivery reviews rather than the Ministry, because it’s not efficient or effective to have two agencies with radically different approaches climbing over each other. ...
Te Rūnanga Nui o Ngā Kura Kaupapa Māori invites the current government to work in partnership with them to develop a pathway forward, including the development of a parallel pathway and meaningful policy and strategy for Kura Kaupapa Māori ...
If you haven’t started watching yet, Tara Ward begs you to reconsider. This is an excerpt from our weekly pop culture newsletter Rec Room. Sign up here. In the world of New Zealand reality television, we have many gems in our crown. There’s the delicious second season of the Celebrity Treasure ...
A new poem by Fiona Kidman. The clothes of the dead I did not keep my mother’s furry red beret for long nor the stringy scarves that adorned the necks of my aunts, although I have kept tag ends of gold, the rings and trinkets they wore, the brooches no ...
The government’s announcement that it will re-open the foreshore and seabed controversy by changing the rules on recognising centuries-old Māori customary title for a third time goes against the rule of law and New Zealand values,” Mr Tipa says. ...
The only published and available best-selling indie book chart in New Zealand is the top 10 sales list recorded every week at Unity Books’ stores in High St, Auckland, and Willis St, Wellington.AUCKLAND1 Lioness by Emily Perkins (Bloomsbury, $25) Roarrrr! Perkins’ brilliant, award-winning, Marian-Keyes anointed, darkly funny, long ...
The 2004 Act vested ownership of the foreshore and seabed in the Crown, extinguishing any Māori claims to ownership and causing widespread outrage and protests among Māori communities. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Antje Deckert, Associate Professor (Criminology), Auckland University of Technology Getty Images Despite the connection between institutional harm and gang membership made clear in this week’s mammoth royal commission abuse-in care report, the government seems unlikely to soften its “get tough on ...
From Lewis Clareburt in the swimming to the start of the rowing – the first seven days of Paris 2024 promise to be big for New Zealand. There are few events that bring the country together quite like an Olympic Games. Nothing quite matches the excitement of getting up in ...
Groundbreaking local science just showed up in the most surprising of places: the season finale of The Kardashians. In the season five finale of The Kardashians last night, several members of the family gathered together in one of their signature empty, cream-coloured rooms to hear test results that had been ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Amin Saikal, Emeritus professor of Middle Eastern and Central Asian Studies, Australian National University The Middle East is on the brink of a possibly devastating regional war, with hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah reaching an extremely dangerous level. Washington has engaged in ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Laura Elizabeth Eades, Rheumatologist, Monash University Lupus is an inflammatory autoimmune illness, where the body’s immune system mistakenly attacks itself. Lupus can affect virtually any part of the body, although it most commonly affects the skin, joints and kidneys. The symptoms ...
A law firm that specialises in working with survivors of abuse in State care is disappointed that the Government fails to recognise that its boot camps can be directly compared to previous boot camps from the 1990s and 2000s. ...
Dying is a natural part of life, like updating your Wof or seeing your hairdresser, but without the word-of-mouth recs that help guarantee a good service. What if we changed that? Dying Reviews received by The Spinoff have had the names of organisations redacted while Hospice NZ collects further data. ...
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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