I am looking for a piece of Remuera road verge or similar, or perhaps friendly resident who might allow me to ask the Auckland Council for a consent to “frack” on their patch. The interesting bit will be the responses in objection and their reasons. Anybody interested?
Is Collins and the ACC just the tip of a much bigger problem? Why not put the blowtorch to the whole Government iceburg? Maybe then David Shearer will be even more “interested to see what actually happens” when it’s politics as usual rather than his short lived “new kind of politics”.
Wave the mouse over the link. The browser will show the address of the link when you hover. Usually in the bottom left of the browser window. Doesn’t work in iPad damnit as it can’t detect my finger hovering.
Even better just post and comment on your own site PG, you’ll always agree with yourself, you reduce the risk of being seen as a hypocrite with limited knowledge of law and governmrnt process and we’ll never have to read anymore of your banal and self serving comments.
Petey: Small issue of semantics just to start here – David Shearer is part of the body that forms Parliament however he is not part of the body that forms the Government. That would be John Key, Banksie, the MP and the wig.
When you can’t even get basic terminology right, how can you be expected to be taken seriously?
Maybe it’s a small issue of lack of clarity or misunderstanding. Shearer seems to have bought into the blowtorch on the Government approach to politics.
Could any minister (or MP for that matter) be in Collins’ position simply with a choice hit squad focus and a helping leak or two?
It would be easy to target someone, blow up a storm, make a range of accusations and see if any chinks appear. With enough exposure, examination, conjecture, misinformation accusation and staring down wouldn’t any MP be vulnerable? Even if there’s nothing to start with they will end up cracking and making a mistake, or “perception of error”.
All they need o do is blink (like Collins with her questionable defamation threat) and it becomes a possible political victory.
Is this what people really want MPs to spend a lot of time on?
“It would be easy to target someone, blow up a storm, make a range of accusations and see if any chinks appear. With enough exposure, examination, conjecture, misinformation accusation and staring down wouldn’t any MP be vulnerable? Even if there’s nothing to start with they will end up cracking and making a mistake, or “perception of error”.”
It would be easy?
And credible?
How many times do you think you could do that Pete before people started ignoring you?
BBC interview has revealed that the intelligence (on which the invasion of Iraq was based) was a fabrication and puts Helen Clark’s stance in an even better light and makes Key’s assertion that New Zealand was “missing in action” even more pathetic, n’est–ce pas?
And as he will be well aware, the prospect of a federal Liberal/NCP landslide, along Queensland lines, seems more likely as time goes on. But is Abbott really The Man? Many Liberals must be wondering.
Perhaps not surprisingly, the wealthy were the most heavily implicated. Among those who made fortunes from the kipper- und wipperzeit were the Duke of Alva—supreme commander of Spanish forces in the Low Countries—and the Polish Duke Januz of Ostrog, who on his death left a fortune consisting of 600,000 ducats, 290,000 mixed coins, 400,000 crowns and 30 barrels of broken silver. Perhaps the greatest of the profiteers was Albrecht Von Wallenstein, who during the Thirty Years’ War became not only a great prince, but also generalissimo of all the imperial forces in Europe in large part as a result of the fortune he made during the inflationary period. Wallenstein achieved this by investing the fortune he inherited from his dead wife in a mint lease covering Bohemia, Moravia and Lower Austria, profiting hugely from churning out debased coinage and then using those profits to snap up the estates of dispossessed Protestant noblemen after the Defenestration of Prague sparked war in 1618—transactions that were, naturally, completed in dodgy kippergeld. The prince was one of the few nobles able to finance his own private mercenary army at a time when other princes had trouble merely feeding their troops.
joe90
Nostalgia. The honours roll of the scamlist rolls on from way back with additions to this minute.
I happened on info that the Vanderbilts at the start of the USA had more money than the government coffers. Pretty rich eh! They have lost most of it now through lavish spending apparently. They should have been sent to scamschool or such to learn the basic skills for grabbing and holding their heritage from an early date.
Overseas, and here?, the wealthy do funny things with their children though, like ignoring them muchly and penning them up in a nursery block with viewings of Mum and occasionally Dad at set times. Ted Turner’s father sent him off to military school at age nine I think, probably one of the older newbies. We don’t breed ourselves to be tough and crafty enough to match the old aristos. No wonder the French used their new humane people dispatcher so readily.
“Why does being able to buy more stuff make up for husbands and wives being able to see less of each other, having less time with the kids, having a lot more trouble getting together with your friends…”
* The super-rich will make more, much much more, and the rest of you will scramble for the crumbs that are left.
* Everyone must work! Mom, Dad, the teenagers in the house! Dad, you work a second job! Kids, here’s your latch-key! Your parents might be home in time to put you to bed.
* 50 million of you must go without health insurance! And health insurance companies: you go ahead and decide who you want to help — or not.
* Unions are evil! You will not belong to a union! You do not need an advocate! Shut up and get back to work! No, you can’t leave now, we’re not done. Your kids can make their own dinner.
* You want to go to college? No problem — just sign here and be in hock to a bank for the next 20 years!
* What’s “a raise”? Get back to work and shut up!
“Why does being able to buy more stuff make up for husbands and wives being able to see less of each other, having less time with the kids, having a lot more trouble getting together with your friends…”
Or, to put it another way, to have a life of his or her own. Having time to be the person you are, or to find out what you could be, and attend to the tasks that person needs to achieve, seems basic to being a human operating at each level of Maslow’s hierarchy.
Ahh Maslow. So much for self-actualisation (To develop or achieve one’s full potential) when many are struggling to meet the basic necessities of healthy food in their bellies and a roof over their heads. And what about affordable health and dental care? Where is NZ heading? So many stranded on the bottom tiers and more heading that way…not a lot of time for much else.
The Pike River enquiry has heard from CTU that a crime of corporate manslaughter should be introduced in New Zealand. That makes good sense for the same range of reasons that personal manslaughter exists – a duty of care exists to such an extent that if that duty is breached and people die then a conviction of the crime of manslaughter results. Simple.
And here is something else equally simple and applicable…
Political manslaughter.
Applied at Pike River the politics decreed that health and safety mechanisms could be amended to a different and lower standard. They were so amended and this led directly to people dying (this is what people knew before the hearings, this is what the commission has heard and imo this is what the commission will find, among much else).
A breach of the duty of care at a political level led to death.
A breach of the duty of care at a corporate level led to death.
A breach of a duty of care to fellow manwoman at a personal which leads to death is manslaughter.
I see National-lite are being as useless as usual.
The red neoliberials also want to also attack students, but just not hit them quite as hard.
No wonder NZ continues to be happy to get shafted by the blue neolibs.
Good luck getting students to vote on election day…why would they bother?
The charging of interest on student loans is totally wrong IMO as NZ benefits from having an educated society and the scheme when implemented was essentially a transfer of the costs of education from the state to to individual. I would even go further and say that the scheme and the debt needs to be written off and replaced with a universal student allowance and heavily subsidised fees to ensure affordable access to tertiary education and to rectify the historic injustice of the loan scheme. However I do concede that the benefit to NZ is lost if the student leaves NZ after studying not to return – this scenario does require a bit of thought as to how some benefit to NZ may be generated.
There was no talk in the article that you linked to of Labour supporting Nationals as yet unannounced plan to reintroduce interest on residents loans – nor would I expect there to be when it is announced.
What I don’t like to see is people pushing the old ‘why bother voting’ BS – voting is the only way we have of getting National out of office and it is National that is the greatest threat to students financial well being at present. You may feel cynical but do us all a favour and keep it to yourself – the rest of us want to get on with the job of getting the Nats out of office and comments like yours do nothing to assist nor do they help the students that you supposedly care about.
Funnily enough, if NZ was a country where your kids could get a free education (not to mention access to other social services), fewer people would leave permanently.
“What I don’t like to see is people pushing the old ‘why bother voting’ BS – voting is the only way we have of getting National out of office and it is National that is the greatest threat to students financial well being at present. You may feel cynical but do us all a favour and keep it to yourself – the rest of us want to get on with the job of getting the Nats out of office and comments like yours do nothing to assist nor do they help the students that you supposedly care about.”
My comment was “why would THEY bother”…I’m talking about the swing voters…the voters who might just flag voting cause a BBQ is on. This is the issue for Labour, they do not need to take many votes from National, they need to motivate their possible voters.
The so called ‘why bother voting BS’ is real and it should be of major concern to Labour, it is shortsighted to ignore it, its the reason why they continue to be in opposition.
The article states that Labour was going to agree to lowering it to 2 years, rather than one…so I think my post is fair. 2 years vs 1 year is like horse shit vs dog shit…
How can you not be cynical after your first paragraph? Trust me, I hate National just as much as you, that’s why I want to see an alternative that will move towards what we both believe in (see your paragraph 1).
“However I do concede that the benefit to NZ is lost if the student leaves NZ after studying not to return – this scenario does require a bit of thought as to how some benefit to NZ may be generated.”
McFlock is exactly right…I would throw in house prices there too
fatty – Labour withdrew their support for the Bill. You are criticising wrong people – however I’m sure your concern is noted. The real battle meanwhile is still being fought:
David Shearer was interviewd on TV3 this morning: .
The interview of David Shearer by Rachel Smalley on TV 3 this morning had four interesting points. Firstly, Shearer acknowledges that Mallard & Little were acting under his directions and had been since the matter arose. He then stated that there was no obligation on them to “man up” and show what facts they relied upon to substantiate the allegations. He stated that they did not have to do anything unless and until Collins pursued the defamation proceedings. The third point was that if Collins does proceed, every e-mail and every phone call would then be put on record and this is what they wanted from the start.
These 3 points are significant because they suggest an orchestrated strategy. There is a very strong suggestion that Mallard & Little were motivated by improper purposes. It has been sometime since I looked at the cases relating to the use of documents disclosed on “discovery” but I am quite sure that Mallard & Little cannot use them for political purposes and, I rather suspect, that these documents would never become part of a public record unless they substantiated or refuted the specific issues.
The interview suggests that Mallard & Little (more correctly, the Labour Party) are prepared to let the defamatory comments stand so that they can extract documentation which they will use to prove political points.
Shearer said that the proposed proceedings were without precedent. In the sense that few MPs have been stupid enough to repeat allegations outside the house, he may be correct. The interview today however suggests that it may not necessarily have been stupidity that lead them to make the comments but a planned out strategy.
Is this a fair reflection of the interview? (I didn’t see it). If so then Shearer was obviously at least supportive of the whole orchestrated “gotcha Collins” campaign.
What’s this “gotcha” meme you keep trying to plant? Is it something to do with the Slater child and his “gotcha” website?
It seems odd that you, who so often talks about cleaning up politics, wouldn’t want to get to the bottom of this matter as soon as possible. I would’ve expected you to be fully supportive of efforts to hold Collins to account, and to get all the facts on the table and in the light of day.
Why just this very morning you were suggesting that we “put the blowtorch to the whole Government iceburg”, something I was happy to fully support you on.
“I’m not the kind of leader who believes in rival tribes playing ‘gotcha’, where bickering and partisanship are prized. Of course that’s what a lot of people look for. They want to score the game, give points for the best smart remark in Parliament. But that’s not what most New Zealanders want,” Mr Shearer told an Auckland Grey Power meeting yesterday.
His consistent line that he doesn’t want to get involved in the usual bickering and partisanship (“rival tribes playing gotcha”) will be going over well with the public – “Shearer not buying into ‘gotcha’ politics“.
Anyone else picked up on this press release?
“John Key’s admission today that he chaired the committee which appointed his own electorate chair Stephen McElrea to the board of NZ on Air directly links the Prime Minister to allegations of cronyism and political interference, says Labour’s Broadcasting spokesperson Clare Curran.”
While I haven’t seem anything on Stuff or the Herald site as yet, RNZ National covered this in its news bulletins last night and it was also one of the top stories on Checkpoint, including an interview with Clare Curran. Here is the 17 minute Checkpoint item
Thanks deuto and Ben. Seems very clear and a case to answer.
Dr Smith tended his resignation for a conflict of interest. The PM accepted that.
If a conflict of interest is proven, then will the PM accept the resignation of John Key?
I heard the item on RNZ. Like most “scandals” this wouldn’t have come to light, except for McElrea drawing attention to himself with his comments. Silly thing to do.
This might be a valid issue to shine more light on, but how far? Both National and Labour have histories of making appointments that could attract accusations of “cronyism and political interference”.
A case could potentially be made to accuse the accusers of attempting political inteference.
Should no appointments be made of anyone who has (or has had) an involvement in politics?
Sure, you could make an absurd reduction of the principle and say that.
Probably more helpful to look at things that have actually happened though.
By which I mean yes, politically aligned or experienced people in a small country are inevitably going to be in these sorts of positions, but it usually doesn’t seem to cause too many problems.
It’s not really a matter of keeping you head down though as you imply. As long as you don’t do anything stupid or potentially corrupt like abuse your position in a public institution and make political decisions to spend public money in ways that favour your own party, you’ll probably be ok.
The event centre itself may not be viable in the current economical climate, and unless things improve, the costs will outweigh the benefits. The National government should concentrate on fixing the economy instead of making dirty deals with the gambling industry…
Back befor the House is the Fonterra bill,(sorry we forgot the actual title and are too lazy right now to dig it out),
There seems on the part of National an unholy haste to have this particular piece of legislation which pits the rights of Productive Capitalists against the wants of Speculative Capitalists,
The ”Fonterra Legislation” seems innocuous on the surface simply changing the law to allow dairy farmer suppliers to be able to trade shares in the company they own,Fonterra,in a yet to be established market between each other,
We,along with a large number of the dairy farming shareholders of Fonterra simply see this present piece of rushed legislation as the next attempt in a series of failed attempts to have the shares of the dairy giant Fonterra listed on the NZ Stock Exchange,
Having been rebuffed in their prior attempts at gaining such a listing of Fonterra by the share-holding Productive Capitalists,(the dairy farmers),the Speculative Capitalists have now opted for the ”new” approach of legislation which will allow those dairy farmers to trade the shares among one another thus we assume trying to create such a trading mentality within the dairy farming community,
The end game tho is still to have the Fonterra shares listed on the NZ Stock exchange,the Speculative Capitalists now realizing that this will have to be achieved with the slowly slowly approach if they are to have the dairy farming community kow-tow to their wishes of having the control of the company they own wrested from their hands by speculative capital…
Sounds like the time has arrived in Aotearoa New Zealand for farmers, townies, tangata whenua, greenies, and leftists together with traditional rightists (ie sans neo-cons) to come together and forge a new social contract for the nation to reject crony and speculative capitalism typified so much by the John Key government.
Smarmy boy Weldon’s NZX went around hoovering up Rural publications a few years back probably to stem this sort of inconvenient opinion as they were attempting to get in on the NZX back then.
Just when Fonterra,s ”milk in schools” program had us thinking that once they clean up the act around what gets leached or dropped into the waterways we could over time develop a grudging respect for the dairy giant the veil is lifted,
Here we were telling each other the other night that if Fonterra were to roll out ”milk in schools” nation-wide we would in all probability have forgiven them the over-pricing of dairy products we all here in New Zealand suffer via the forward contracts that Fonterra has with various Speculative Capitalists who have very cleverly,(without publicity),managed to insert themselves into the dairy supply chain between Fonterra and the points of retail,
There was even the suggestion here that should such a nation-wide milk in schools roll-out occur it would be impossible for any of us to entertain any thought of Fonterra at any time without also having pictures of little floating hearts occupy our minds,
However,as the cost of legislation for SkyCity to be able to install 500 extra pokie machines at its premises would seem to be the erection of an unwanted convention centre in the city of Auckland we now have to start asking about the price of such legislation as the Fonterra bill now befor the House and is there any connection between the ”milk in schools” roll-out in its oh so pretty small blue cartons…
bad 12. In the nature of trying to help, put a space after each comma.
And for apostrophes like “Fonterra,s” try using the apostrophe which on my keyboard is up one row of keys and at the end of the row. Thus “Fonterra’s”. OK?
Umm yeah ok,we give you express permission to reproduce our posts with what you see as the neccessary punctuation to make it intelligble to you,without having changed the meaning and intent of such posts as we produced them,
However,we write how we write and it all makes perfect sense to us and we dont propose to get into the same old arguments about our treatment of the English language we have had with others on other sites where we have commented,
We suppose that if the lack of punctuation,or,its over-supply from and by us causes too much angst and heart-ache at our treatment of the English language we will eventually be suitable moderated…
What makes perfect sense to you mightn’t appear that way to others. Poorly punctuated text is less likely to be read through and if it’s read it’s less likely to be understood or remembered by the reader.
The natural inference from the fact that you comment at all is that you wish to communicate some idea or another.
Effective communication requires common language – the greater the number of language features shared between communicator and audience, the more subtle points can be communicated efficiently. This includes not just syntactic consistency in the language (“let’s eat Derek” vs “let’s eat, Derek”), but also the likelihood of misinterpretation due to poor eyesight, small screens, vibrating vehicles, or divided attention. Particularly as in this medium we already tend to automatically substitute expected words to accommodate typos etc.
That’s why punctuation is more than just pretty pictures. Just FYI.
I agree with Pete for the second(!) time today. It’s not a matter of what rules of language and grammer are “correct”, it’s just a matter of whether you want to get your message across.
Translated would be ”havnt got the nous to enter the debate with anything constructive,(or destructive),concerning that debate,attack the messenger and not the message”…
It’s not attacking the messenger/s here, just passing on advice that you can choose to take notice of or ignore.
How information is presented can make a big difference to how it’s digested (or ignored). Punctuation is a part of that. We don’t read each letter and word, we look at groups of word patterns along with punctuation. If there are unfamiliar patterns it confuses, and distracts the brain from the meaning. Two much clashing and people give up reading. The PhilU style is a good (or bad) example.
Exactly our point Felix,we have noticed that you and most of those barking in criticism over our use of punctuation post quite frequently but dont actually say anything of interest…
We have no comment to make on We accept to say that We are here to discuss,politicians,politics and policies and any mention of We in the context of such discussion is limited to having done so to illuminate some point We are attempting to make…
If that means that you and the others chirping about a missing comma will take a hike and annoy someone else if we dont ”take on-board the above comments” then we definitely choose that option,
Your wee quisle of a post when translated reads thus,”say what we want to hear in a fashion of type that we want to see or we wont communicate with you”,
As above,if there,s a price we are expected to pay to enter into conversation with the likes of you then we will happily not engage…
Oh ffs, no-one’s chirping at you and no-one’s attacking you. You’ve got interesting info to share and that’s great, we’re just trying to help you do that more effectively.
Was going to ignore it, but this sort of nonsense comment is really not necessary….
Maybe if you were out contributing to real life, you would not be so rediculously petty over such trivial punctuation issues. The usual predatory, territiorial attack dogs chime in. FFS try focus on some actual problems why don’t you!
Come on you fullas , you can do better than that surely…maybe not, it’s just a blog site right!
muzza
To me this isn’t just a site to go to and fill in time idly speculating about life, though I do sometimes. But I mainly come here to read what people think and what they’ve read and the links they provide to other coherent thinkers. I think people here blog because they want to discuss society with a view to seeing it and the planet going in a direction that leads to good outcomes for all.
Wanting people to put up something coherent in a way that shows they want their points to be read and understood is not ‘ridiculously petty’. I like to read informed opinions and good rants. If I just wanted to fill my time with others’ half-digested mumblings there is the big wide world for that.
Any reasonable person would understand that the Greenpeace advertisement was concerned with total avian deaths from the Rena oil spill, of which only an educated estimate can be provided…
We already know the Nats love to mine. The PM recently signaled that as-yet undefined relationships with Google are going to be an ever-increasing part of the Government’s service provider policies. If we consider the proposed Cloud-mining, the recent steps by Facebook and Google to incorporate Suicide Hotline services, the massively intrusive nature of the amended Search & Surveillance Bill, the inflation only increases of Health budgets, the MSD nannystate paycards and the overall lack of human compassion expressed by this Government’s members you may understand how a person could be pressed to highlighting the fact there is a very large information void that begs the question:
What exactly are the Government plans for dealing with mental health in NZ?
Auditor-General to audit aspects of ACC governance
Was half listening to RNZ National 4pm news and heard something about the Auditor-General going to do an audit of ACC.
The following is now up on the RNZ National website
The auditor-general is to investigate aspects of how the ACC board deals with risks such as conflicts of interest.
It comes as a result of the recent release of confidential information and ACCs dealings with a claimant, Bronwyn Pullar.
The auditor-general will investigate aspects of governance at ACC not currently covered by other inquiries being carried out by the Privacy Commissioner and the ACC board itself.
3 April 2012 Last updated at 22:58 GMT Israeli PM seeks delay of Hebron settler eviction
Israel’s prime minister has asked his defence minister to delay the eviction of Jewish settlers who took over a house in the Arab part of Hebron.
Benjamin Netanyahu wants the settlers to be able to stay in the building while they “make their legal case”.
Ehud Barak had ordered the settlers out of the house in the West Bank city on Tuesday because they had not received the military’s approval to purchase it.
The settlers say they bought the house from its Palestinian owners legally.
But local Palestinian police disputed the validity of the deal, saying the building had more than 50 owners, only one of whom sold his share.
Mr Netanyahu’s move comes a week after his government unsuccessfully sought to delay an order from the Supreme Court to dismantle an illegal settlement outpost in the West Bank.
‘Provocation’
About 20 settlers moved into the two-storey house in Hebron on Thursday night, seeking to expand the settlement of some 500 families in the heart of the city, home to 180,000 Palestinians.
On Monday, the Israeli military told the settlers they had until 15:00 (12:00 GMT) on Tuesday to leave the house or prove it was theirs, after which the authorities would “act to restore the building to its previous state”.
“After examining all the evidence that was handed over and after considering all the circumstances of the incident, it was decided to return to the situation which existed before,” the military order said. The settlers did not obtain military approval to buy the house and their takeover constituted a provocation, it added.
But overnight, Mr Netanyahu “asked the defence minister to allow the settlers in the building to have time to make their legal case”, officials in the prime minister’s office said.
After the deadline passed, Hebron settlers’ spokesman David Wilder told AFP news agency they were awaiting the outcome of Mr Netanyahu’s meeting with senior ministers.
“There is nothing new, we are waiting for a decision by the ministers,” he said.
About 500,000 Jews live in more than 100 settlements built since Israel’s 1967 occupation of the West Bank and East Jerusalem. The settlements are considered illegal under international law, though Israel disputes this.
PRESS RELEASE
The Union Report – starts 8pm Monday 23rd April:
{…]
a new current affairs show that looks at the news week through the lens of industrial relations.
Hosted by blogger and controversial broadcaster Martyn Bradbury, the show will bring together dispute insiders, Union leaders and political commentators and politicians to provide an alternative analysis to traditional mainstream media coverage.
Council of Trade Union President Helen Kelly, commentators Chris Trotter and Mike Williams will be joined by a changing panel of guests from EPMU, PSA, NZNO, Unite, First Union, SFWU, MUNZ, PPTA and CTU affiliates to discuss the weeks industrial activity from the worker’s perspective
One of the most troubling aspects of all the media coverage of an attack on Iran is that it can make a radically destabilizing act of unprovoked war seem like just another policy choice.
I thought of this when I saw a PBS NewsHour segment (3/28/12) that set out to ponder the consequences of an Israeli attack on Iran. PBS reporter Margaret Warner oddly framed Israeli public opinion this way:
Though the Iranian regime has vowed to destroy the Jewish state, recent polls in Israel show only 19 percent would support their government attacking Iran unilaterally.
Hearing that, you might wonder why there’s a segment of Israeli society that doesn’t support their own self-defense. It’s not clear what Iranian vow Warner might be talking about (presumably not their pledge to not develop nuclear weapons). It’s possibly a reference to the contested translation of Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s comment about wiping Israel “off the map.” Or it could be a reference to more recent comments from Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. He called Israel a “cancerous tumor” in February, and vowed to support those fighting Israel. Given that the Israeli government is openly speaking about the need to attack Iran sooner rather than later, and does not exactly deny a role in the killings of Iranian scientists, one could just easily be talking about Israeli belligerence. But that’s rarely the subject.
Then look at the experts PBS lined up to talk about Iran: Hawkish Atlantic reporter Jeffrey Goldberg (who served in the Israeli army), a Columbia University defense analyst who speaks of Israeli weapons capabilities (“The Israelis have a really robust military capability”), an analyst from the right-leaning Washington Institute for Near East Policy and a fellow at the right wing American Enterprise Institute (who says that if Iran were attacked it would “depict itself as a victim of Israeli aggression”).
To the extent that there’s any debate at all, it’s mostly about whether or not Iran will retaliate, and where. And then there is some talk about the technical difficulties for Israel in successfully carrying out this massive unprovoked act of war (something we’ve discussed before).
Goldberg sees the possibility of an accidental escalation from Iran–”one hyperactive commander acting on his own to ram or try to ram a U.S. ship”–and it is there that the segment closes, with Warner saying, “It is just this unpredictability that keeps Washington policymakers and many Israeli citizens up at night.”
The calculations and worries of Beltway insiders and Israeli political leaders are well-represented here–but very little else. It’d be nice for discussions about launching a war to include some voices from outside those elite circles–especially when the discussion is happening on public television.
John Key: “It (the mental health package) sends a strong message to young New Zealanders : we value you and will help you succeed”
If I were a young person I would be very suspicious about the intent of a “strong message” from a rich speculator, who’s current hobby (sorry “job”) is playing Prime Minister of New Zealand.
I would wonder who the “we” are who are supposed to value me so much and I would fight tooth and nail to avoid the kind of success I think they have in mind for me.
The message avoids the reasons for a lot of mental suffering, which are feeling of not belonging, being sort of separate and not really respected by the people who seem to know so much more than me and to know better than me how to live, and so deserving of their wealth, unlike me.
The wealth gap needs to shrink – as has been pointed out many times on this site and elsewhere.
The wealthy in NZ have too much to spend and the poor have too little.
A real Prime Minister would be devoting everey fibre of his being to trying to fix that.
The New Zealand Initiative (the takeover of the mantle of the NZ Institute by utter right wing ideologues) has launched with Oliver Hartwich at the helm. Here’s a little sample of the wisdom this recycled Australian climate change sceptic will be pushing…
Dr Hartwich:
“To begin with, “consensus” is a term which is alien to science. It is a
concept from sociology which describes only that a general agreement
has been reached, a process of collective decision-making, if you will. In
science, however, such a process could never be understood as a means
of establishing “truth”, for it would not only require the individual sci-
entist to submit himself to a majority view, but it would make that con-
sensually achieved view virtually unassailable.Thus, establishing a scientific consensus is incompatible with the way that science has evolved,
from the Age of Reason to Karl Popper’s theory of critical rationalism.
One would be well advised then to treat the talk about a “climate
change consensus” as what it is: not as a scientific consensus about climate
change but at most as a political agreement to act and speak as if the major
questions surrounding climate change had already been answered. In
reality, however, there are very few things on which the majority climate
scientists would readily agree.8
Dealing with those issues on which there is agreement is very simple,
for they are few. First, the average global temperature has risen by
approximately 0.7 degrees centigrade since 1860. Second, an ever
increasing world population has an influence on the climate through
increased energy and land use. Everything else in the climate change
debate is highly controversial. Has the climate of the past millennium
always been colder than today or not? How much of an effect on the cli-
mate does atmospheric carbon dioxide have? Do rising carbon dioxide
concentrations lead us to a point of no return? Or are there self-regulat-
ing mechanisms which will slow, halt, or even reverse the process? For
each question one finds much disagreement among climatologists. Such
disagreement should be welcomed, for it is what science is all about. Far
from any clear-cut consensus then, there is a debate amongst experts
about the various aspects of climate change. Puzzling, then, that most of
what we hear in the public domain gives the impression that the case is
quite the opposite.
etc
“Hartwich demonstrates his passion for the polemic; he sows the seed of doubt among the populace to ensure the flows of riches to his already wealthy supporters’ remain uninterrupted … Hartwich and his cronies would have us maximise their annual profits at the expense of our grandchildren and then our granchildren’s grandchildren. … Hartwich, the Centre for Independent Studies and other right-wing thoughtless-tanks are working hard to guarantee your children and grandchildren will suffer. We cannot let these (insanely wealthy) people dictate our future.”
Corey J.A. Bradshaw and Paul R. Ehrlich, 12 November 2010
“Oliver Marc Hartwich … arguably sets a new benchmark in fact-free opinion journalism.”
Ken Parish, Club Troppo, 8 November 2010
“One has to assume that Dr. Hartwich is not stupid, which forces one to accept that he is being intentionally deceitful and misleading.”
Reader comment on BusinessSpectator.com.au, 7 October 2010
“Hartwich is just a shill for the old and now totally discredited Neo-Liberal economic theology. Everything he says … needs to be seen through the distorted and now cracked prism of that ideology.”
“Oliver Hartwich – well known Randian paper shuffler, formerly adviser to a Tory Lord, snout in the trough of a right-wing big-business-funded “think-tank” (read propoganda outlet)”
Reader comments on the National Times website, 23 June 2010
oh, so he’s a narcissist as well… uses the the Oscar Wilde quote about the not being talked about at all as his rationale…
It's hard times try to make a livingYou wake up every morning in the unforgivingOut there somewhere in the cityThere's people living lives without mercy or pityI feel good, yeah I'm feeling fineI feel better then I have for the longest timeI think these pills have been good for meI ...
In 1974, the US Supreme Court issued its decision in United States v. Nixon, finding that the President was not a King, but was subject to the law and was required to turn over the evidence of his wrongdoing to the courts. It was a landmark decision for the rule ...
Every day now just seems to bring in more fresh meat for the grinder.In their relentlessly ideological drive to cut back on the “excessive bloat” (as they see it) of the previous Labour-led government, on the mountains of evidence accumulated in such a short period of time do not ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Megan Valére SosouMarket gardening site of the Itchèléré de Itagui agricultural cooperative in Dassa-Zoumè (Image credit: Megan Valère Sossou) For the residents of Dassa-Zoumè, a city in the West African country of Benin, choosing between drinking water and having enough ...
Buzz from the Beehive Melissa Lee – as may be discerned from the screenshot above – has not been demoted for doing something seriously wrong as Minister of ...
Morning in London Mother hugs beloved daughter outside the converted shoe factory in which she is living.Afternoon in London Travelling writer takes himself and his wrist down to A&E, just to be sure. Read more ...
Mike Grimshaw writes – The recent announcement of the University Advisory Group, chaired by Sir Peter Gluckman, makes very clear where the Government’s focus and priorities lie. The remit of the Advisory Group is that Group members will consider challenges and opportunities for improvement in the university sector including: ...
Eric Crampton writes – The Reserve Bank of New Zealand desperately wants to find reasons to have workstreams in climate change. It makes little sense. They’ve run another stress test on the banks looking to see if they could find a prudential regulation case. They couldn’t. They ...
Rob MacCullough writes – Pundits from the left and the right are arguing that National’s Fast Track Bill that is designed to speed up infrastructure decisions could end up becoming mired in a cesspool of corruption. Political commentator ...
Looking at the headlines this morning it’s hard to feel anything other than pessimistic about the future of humanity.Note that I’m not speaking about the future of mankind, but the survival of our humanity. The values that we believe in seem to be ebbing away, by the day.Perhaps every generation ...
Swabbing mixed breed baby chicks to test for avian influenzaUh oh. Bird flu – often deadly to humans – is not only being transmitted from infected birds to dairy cows, but is now travelling between dairy cows. As of last Friday, Bloomberg News reports, there were 32 American dairy herds ...
On February 14, 2023 we announced our Rebuttal Update Project. This included an ask for feedback about the added "At a glance" section in the updated basic rebuttal versions. This weekly blog post series highlights this new section of one of the updated basic rebuttal versions and serves as a ...
What is it with the mining industry? Its not enough for them to pillage the earth - they apparently can't even be bothered getting resource consent to do so: The proponent behind a major mine near the Clutha River had already been undertaking activity in the area without a ...
Photo # 1 I am a huge fan of Singapore’s approach to housing, as described here two years ago by copying and pasting from The ConversationWhat Singapore has that Australia does not is a public housing developer, the Housing Development Board, which puts new dwellings on public and reclaimed land, ...
Buzz from the Beehive Reactions to news of the government’s readiness to make urgent changes to “the resource management system” through a Bill to amend the Resource Management Act (RMA) suggest a balanced approach is being taken. The Taxpayers’ Union says the proposed changes don’t go far enough. Greenpeace says ...
I’m starting to wonder if Anna Burns-Francis might be the best political interviewer we’ve got. That might sound unlikely to you, it came as a bit of a surprise to me.Jack Tame can be excellent, but has some pretty average days. I like Rebecca Wright on Newshub, she asks good ...
Chris Trotter writes – Willie Jackson is said to be planning a “media summit” to discuss “the state of the media and how to protect Fourth Estate Journalism”. Not only does the Editor of The Daily Blog, Martyn Bradbury, think this is a good idea, but he has also ...
Graeme Edgeler writes – This morning [April 21], the Wellington High Court is hearing a judicial review brought by Hon. Karen Chhour, the Minister for Children, against a decision of the Waitangi Tribunal. This is unusual, judicial reviews are much more likely to brought against ministers, rather than ...
Both of Parliament’s watchdogs have now ripped into the Government’s Fast-track Approvals Bill. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāMy pick of the six newsey things to know from Aotearoa’s political economy and beyond on the morning of Tuesday, April 23 are:The Lead: The Auditor General,John Ryan, has joined the ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Sarah SpengemanPeople wait to board an electric bus in Pune, India. (Image credit: courtesy of ITDP) Public transportation riders in Pune, India, love the city’s new electric buses so much they will actually skip an older diesel bus that ...
The infrastructure industry yesterday issued a “hurry up” message to the Government, telling it to get cracking on developing a pipeline of infrastructure projects.The hiatus around the change of Government has seen some major projects cancelled and others delayed, and there is uncertainty about what will happen with the new ...
Hi,Over the weekend I revisited a podcast I really adore, Dead Eyes. It’s about a guy who got fired from Band of Brothers over two decades ago because Tom Hanks said he had “dead eyes”.If you don’t recall — 2001’s Band of Brothers was part of the emerging trend of ...
Buzz from the Beehive The 180 or so recipients of letters from the Government telling them how to submit infrastructure projects for “fast track” consideration includes some whose project applications previously have been rejected by the courts. News media were quick to feature these in their reports after RMA Reform Minister Chris ...
It would not be a desirable way to start your holiday by breaking your back, your head, or your wrist, but on our first hour in Singapore I gave it a try.We were chatting, last week, before we started a meeting of Hazel’s Enviro Trust, about the things that can ...
Calling all journalists, academics, planners, lawyers, political activists, environmentalists, and other members of the public who believe that the relationships between vested interests and politicians need to be scrutinised. We need to work together to make sure that the new Fast-Track Approvals Bill – currently being pushed through by the ...
Feel worried. Shane Jones and a couple of his Cabinet colleagues are about to be granted the power to override any and all objections to projects like dams, mines, roads etc even if: said projects will harm biodiversity, increase global warming and cause other environmental harms, and even if ...
Bryce Edwards writes- The ability of the private sector to quickly establish major new projects making use of the urban and natural environment is to be supercharged by the new National-led Government. Yesterday it introduced to Parliament one of its most significant reforms, the Fast Track Approvals Bill. ...
Michael Bassett writes – If you think there is a move afoot by the radical Maori fringe of New Zealand society to create a parallel system of government to the one that we elect at our triennial elections, you aren’t wrong. Over the last few days we have ...
Without a corresponding drop in interest rates, it’s doubtful any changes to the CCCFA will unleash a massive rush of home buyers. Photo: Lynn GrievesonTL;DR: The six things that stood out to me in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, poverty and climate on Monday, April 22 included:The Government making a ...
Sunday was a lazy day. I started watching Jack Tame on Q&A, the interviews are usually good for something to write about. Saying the things that the politicians won’t, but are quite possibly thinking. Things that are true and need to be extracted from between the lines.As you might know ...
In our Weekly Roundup last week we covered news from Auckland Transport that the WX1 Western Express is going to get an upgrade next year with double decker electric buses. As part of the announcement, AT also said “Since we introduced the WX1 Western Express last November we have seen ...
TL;DR: The six key events to watch in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy in the week to April 29 include:PM Christopher Luxon is scheduled to hold a post-Cabinet news conference at 4 pm today. Stats NZ releases its statutory report on Census 2023 tomorrow.Finance Minister Nicola Willis delivers a pre-Budget speech at ...
A listing of 29 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, April 14, 2024 thru Sat, April 20, 2024. Story of the week Our story of the week hinges on these words from the abstract of a fresh academic ...
The ability of the private sector to quickly establish major new projects making use of the urban and natural environment is to be supercharged by the new National-led Government. Yesterday it introduced to Parliament one of its most significant reforms, the Fast Track Approvals Bill. The Government says this will ...
This is a column to say thank you. So many of have been in touch since Mum died to say so many kind and thoughtful things. You’re wonderful, all of you. You’ve asked how we’re doing, how Dad’s doing. A little more realisation each day, of the irretrievable finality of ...
Identifying the engine type in your car is crucial for various reasons, including maintenance, repairs, and performance upgrades. Knowing the specific engine model allows you to access detailed technical information, locate compatible parts, and make informed decisions about modifications. This comprehensive guide will provide you with a step-by-step approach to ...
Introduction: The allure of racing is undeniable. The thrill of speed, the roar of engines, and the exhilaration of competition all contribute to the allure of this adrenaline-driven sport. For those who yearn to experience the pinnacle of racing, becoming a race car driver is the ultimate dream. However, the ...
Introduction Automobiles have become ubiquitous in modern society, serving as a primary mode of transportation and a symbol of economic growth and personal mobility. With countless vehicles traversing roads and highways worldwide, it begs the question: how many cars are there in the world? Determining the precise number is a ...
Maintaining a safe and reliable vehicle requires regular inspections. Whether it’s a routine maintenance checkup or a safety inspection, knowing how long the process will take can help you plan your day accordingly. This article delves into the factors that influence the duration of a car inspection and provides an ...
Mazda Motor Corporation, commonly known as Mazda, is a Japanese multinational automaker headquartered in Fuchu, Aki District, Hiroshima Prefecture, Japan. The company was founded in 1920 as the Toyo Cork Kogyo Co., Ltd., and began producing vehicles in 1931. Mazda is primarily known for its production of passenger cars, but ...
Your car battery is an essential component that provides power to start your engine, operate your electrical systems, and store energy. Over time, batteries can weaken and lose their ability to hold a charge, which can lead to starting problems, power failures, and other issues. Replacing your battery before it ...
In most states, you cannot register a car without a valid driver’s license. However, there are a few exceptions to this rule. Exceptions to the RuleIf you are under 18 years old: In some states, you can register a car in your name even if you do not ...
Mazda, a Japanese automotive manufacturer with a rich history of innovation and engineering excellence, has emerged as a formidable player in the global car market. Known for its reputation of producing high-quality, fuel-efficient, and driver-oriented vehicles, Mazda has consistently garnered praise from industry experts and consumers alike. In this article, ...
Struts are an essential part of a car’s suspension system. They are responsible for supporting the weight of the car and damping the oscillations of the springs. Struts are typically made of steel or aluminum and are filled with hydraulic fluid. How Do Struts Work? Struts work by transferring the ...
Car registration is a mandatory process that all vehicle owners must complete annually. This process involves registering your car with the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) and paying an associated fee. The registration process ensures that your vehicle is properly licensed and insured, and helps law enforcement and other authorities ...
Zoom is a video conferencing service that allows you to share your screen, webcam, and audio with other participants. In addition to sharing your own audio, you can also share the audio from your computer with other participants. This can be useful for playing music, sharing presentations with audio, or ...
Building your own computer can be a rewarding and cost-effective way to get a high-performance machine tailored to your specific needs. However, it also requires careful planning and execution, and one of the most important factors to consider is the time it will take. The exact time it takes to ...
Sleep mode is a power-saving state that allows your computer to quickly resume operation without having to boot up from scratch. This can be useful if you need to step away from your computer for a short period of time but don’t want to shut it down completely. There are ...
Introduction Computer-Assisted Translation (CAT) has revolutionized the field of translation by harnessing the power of technology to assist human translators in their work. This innovative approach combines specialized software with human expertise to improve the efficiency, accuracy, and consistency of translations. In this comprehensive article, we will delve into the ...
In today’s digital age, mobile devices have become an indispensable part of our daily lives. Among the vast array of portable computing options available, iPads and tablet computers stand out as two prominent contenders. While both offer similar functionalities, there are subtle yet significant differences between these two devices. This ...
A computer is an electronic device that can be programmed to carry out a set of instructions. The basic components of a computer are the processor, memory, storage, input devices, and output devices. The Processor The processor, also known as the central processing unit (CPU), is the brain of the ...
Voice Memos is a convenient app on your iPhone that allows you to quickly record and store audio snippets. These recordings can be useful for a variety of purposes, such as taking notes, capturing ideas, or recording interviews. While you can listen to your voice memos on your iPhone, you ...
Laptop screens are essential for interacting with our devices and accessing information. However, when lines appear on the screen, it can be frustrating and disrupt productivity. Understanding the underlying causes of these lines is crucial for finding effective solutions. Types of Screen Lines Horizontal lines: Also known as scan ...
Right-clicking is a common and essential computer operation that allows users to access additional options and settings. While most desktop computers have dedicated right-click buttons on their mice, laptops often do not have these buttons due to space limitations. This article will provide a comprehensive guide on how to right-click ...
Powering up and shutting down your ASUS laptop is an essential task for any laptop user. Locating the power button can sometimes be a hassle, especially if you’re new to ASUS laptops. This article will provide a comprehensive guide on where to find the power button on different ASUS laptop ...
Dell laptops are renowned for their reliability, performance, and versatility. Whether you’re a student, a professional, or just someone who needs a reliable computing device, a Dell laptop can meet your needs. However, if you’re new to Dell laptops, you may be wondering how to get started. In this comprehensive ...
Two-thirds of the country think that “New Zealand’s economy is rigged to advantage the rich and powerful”. They also believe that “New Zealand needs a strong leader to take the country back from the rich and powerful”. These are just two of a handful of stunning new survey results released ...
In today’s digital world, screenshots have become an indispensable tool for communication and documentation. Whether you need to capture an important email, preserve a website page, or share an error message, screenshots allow you to quickly and easily preserve digital information. If you’re an Asus laptop user, there are several ...
A factory reset restores your Gateway laptop to its original factory settings, erasing all data, apps, and personalizations. This can be necessary to resolve software issues, remove viruses, or prepare your laptop for sale or transfer. Here’s a step-by-step guide on how to factory reset your Gateway laptop: Method 1: ...
“You talking about me?”The neoliberal denigration of the past was nowhere more unrelenting than in its depiction of the public service. The Post Office and the Railways were held up as being both irremediably inefficient and scandalously over-manned. Playwright Roger Hall’s “Glide Time” caricatures were presented as accurate depictions of ...
Roger Partridge writes – When the Coalition Government took office last October, it inherited a country on a precipice. With persistent inflation, decades of insipid productivity growth and crises in healthcare, education, housing and law and order, it is no exaggeration to suggest New Zealand’s first-world status was ...
Rob MacCulloch writes – In 2022, the Curriculum Centre at the Ministry of Education employed 308 staff, according to an Official Information Request. Earlier this week it was announced 202 of those staff were being cut. When you look up “The New Zealand Curriculum” on the Ministry of ...
Chris Bishop’s bill has stirred up a hornets nest of opposition. Photo: Lynn Grieveson for The KākāTL;DR: The six things that stood out to me in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, poverty and climate from the last day included:A crescendo of opposition to the Government’s Fast Track Approvals Bill is ...
Monday left me brokenTuesday, I was through with hopingWednesday, my empty arms were openThursday, waiting for love, waiting for loveThe end of another week that left many of us asking WTF? What on earth has NZ gotten itself into and how on earth could people have voluntarily signed up for ...
Hello! Here comes the Saturday edition of More Than A Feilding, catching you up on the past week’s editions.State of humanity, 20242024, it feels, keeps presenting us with ever more challenges, ever more dismay.Do you give up yet? It seems to ask.No? How about this? Or this?How about this?Full story Share ...
Determining the hardest sport in the world is a subjective matter, as the difficulty level can vary depending on individual abilities, physical attributes, and experience. However, based on various factors including physical demands, technical skills, mental fortitude, and overall accomplishment, here is an exploration of some of the most challenging ...
The allure of sport transcends age, culture, and geographical boundaries. It captivates hearts, ignites passions, and provides unparalleled entertainment. Behind the spectacle, however, lies a fascinating world of financial investment and expenditure. Among the vast array of competitive pursuits, one question looms large: which sport carries the hefty title of ...
Introduction Pickleball, a rapidly growing paddle sport, has captured the hearts and imaginations of millions around the world. Its blend of tennis, badminton, and table tennis elements has made it a favorite among players of all ages and skill levels. As the sport’s popularity continues to surge, the question on ...
Abstract: Soccer, the global phenomenon captivating millions worldwide, has a rich history that spans centuries. Its origins trace back to ancient civilizations, but the modern version we know and love emerged through a complex interplay of cultural influences and innovations. This article delves into the fascinating journey of soccer’s evolution, ...
Our two-tiered system for veterans’ support is out of step with our closest partners, and all parties in Parliament should work together to fix it, Labour veterans’ affairs spokesperson Greg O’Connor said. ...
Stripping two Ministers of their portfolios just six months into the job shows Christopher Luxon’s management style is lacking, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said. ...
It appears Nicola Willis is about to pull the rug out from under the feet of local communities still dealing with the aftermath of last year’s severe weather, and local councils relying on funding to build back from these disasters. ...
The Government is making short-sighted changes to the Resource Management Act (RMA) that will take away environmental protection in favour of short-term profits, Labour’s environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said today. ...
Labour welcomes the release of the report into the North Island weather events and looks forward to working with the Government to ensure that New Zealand is as prepared as it can be for the next natural disaster. ...
The Labour Party has called for the New Zealand Government to recognise Palestine, as a material step towards progressing the two-State solution needed to achieve a lasting peace in the region. ...
Some of our country’s most important work, stopping the sexual exploitation of children and violent extremism could go along with staff on the frontline at ports and airports. ...
The Government’s Fast Track Approvals Bill will give projects such as new coal mines a ‘get out of jail free’ card to wreak havoc on the environment, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said today. ...
Cuts to frontline hospital staff are not only a broken election promise, it shows the reckless tax cuts have well and truly hit the frontline of the health system, says Labour Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall. ...
The Green Party has joined the call for public submissions on the fast-track legislation to be extended after the Ombudsman forced the Government to release the list of organisations invited to apply just hours before submissions close. ...
New Zealand’s good work at reducing climate emissions for three years in a row will be undone by the National government’s lack of ambition and scrapping programmes that were making a difference, Labour Party climate spokesperson Megan Woods said today. ...
More essential jobs could be on the chopping block, this time Ministry of Education staff on the school lunches team are set to find out whether they're in line to lose their jobs. ...
The Government is trying to bring in a law that will allow Ministers to cut corners and kill off native species, Labour environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said. ...
Cancelling urgently needed new Cook Strait ferries and hiking the cost of public transport for many Kiwis so that National can announce the prospect of another tunnel for Wellington is not making good choices, Labour Transport Spokesperson Tangi Utikere said. ...
A laundry list of additional costs for Tāmaki Makarau Auckland shows the Minister for the city is not delivering for the people who live there, says Labour Auckland Issues spokesperson Shanan Halbert. ...
The Green Party has today launched a step-by-step guide to help New Zealanders make their voice heard on the Government’s democracy dodging and anti-environment fast track legislation. ...
The National Government’s proposed changes to the Residential Tenancies Act will mean tenants can be turfed from their homes by landlords with little notice, Labour housing spokesperson Kieran McAnulty said. ...
Green Party co-leader Marama Davidson is calling on all parties to support a common-sense change that’s great for the planet and great for consumers after her member’s bill was drawn from the ballot today. ...
A significant milestone has been reached in the fight to strike an anti-Pasifika and unfair law from the country’s books after Teanau Tuiono’s members’ bill passed its first reading. ...
New Zealand has today missed the opportunity to uphold the right to a clean, healthy, and sustainable environment, says James Shaw after his member’s bill was voted down in its first reading. ...
Today’s advice from the Climate Change Commission paints a sobering reality of the challenge we face in combating climate change, especially in light of recent Government policy announcements. ...
Minister for Disability Issues Penny Simmonds appears to have delayed a report back to Cabinet on the progress New Zealand is making against international obligations for disabled New Zealanders. ...
The Government’s newly announced review of methane emissions reduction targets hints at its desire to delay Aotearoa New Zealand’s urgent transition to a climate safe future, the Green Party said. ...
The Government must commit to the Maitai School building project for students with high and complex needs, to ensure disabled students from the top of the South Island have somewhere to learn. ...
Paul Goldsmith will take on responsibility for the Media and Communications portfolio, while Louise Upston will pick up the Disability Issues portfolio, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon announced today. “Our Government is relentlessly focused on getting New Zealand back on track. As issues change in prominence, I plan to adjust Ministerial ...
Recreational catch limits will be reduced in areas of Fiordland and the Chatham Islands to help keep those fisheries healthy and sustainable, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. The lower recreational daily catch limits for a range of finfish and shellfish species caught in the Fiordland Marine Area and ...
Energy Minister Simeon Brown has welcomed an important milestone in New Zealand’s hydrogen future, with the opening of the country’s first network of hydrogen refuelling stations in Wiri. “I want to congratulate the team at Hiringa Energy and its partners K one W one (K1W1), Mitsui & Co New Zealand ...
The coalition Government is delivering on its commitment to improve resource management laws and give greater certainty to consent applicants, with a Bill to amend the Resource Management Act (RMA) expected to be introduced to Parliament next month. RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop has today outlined the first RMA Amendment ...
Overseas models for regulating the oil and gas sector, including their decommissioning regimes, are being carefully scrutinised as a potential template for New Zealand’s own sector, Resources Minister Shane Jones says. The Coalition Government is focused on rebuilding investor confidence in New Zealand’s energy sector as it looks to strengthen ...
Emergency Management and Recovery Minister Mark Mitchell has today released the Report of the Government Inquiry into the response to the North Island Severe Weather Events. “The report shows that New Zealand’s emergency management system is not fit-for-purpose and there are some significant gaps we need to address,” Mr Mitchell ...
Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith is today travelling to Europe where he’ll update the United Nations Human Rights Council on the Government’s work to restore law and order. “Attending the Universal Periodic Review in Geneva provides us with an opportunity to present New Zealand’s human rights progress, priorities, and challenges, while ...
Associate Agriculture Minister, Mark Patterson, formally reopened the world’s largest wool processing facility today in Awatoto, Napier, following a $50 million rebuild and refurbishment project. “The reopening of this facility will significantly lift the economic opportunities available to New Zealand’s wool sector, which already accounts for 20 per cent of ...
Hon Andrew Bayly, Minister for Small Business and Manufacturing At the Southland Otago Regional Engineering Collective (SOREC) Summit, 18 April, Dunedin Ngā mihi nui, Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Ko Whanganui aho Good Afternoon and thank you for inviting me to open your summit today. I am delighted ...
The Government is delivering on its commitment to bring back the Three Strikes legislation, Associate Justice Minister Nicole McKee announced today. “Our Government is committed to restoring law and order and enforcing appropriate consequences on criminals. We are making it clear that repeat serious violent or sexual offending is not ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has today announced four new diplomatic appointments for New Zealand’s overseas missions. “Our diplomats have a vital role in maintaining and protecting New Zealand’s interests around the world,” Mr Peters says. “I am pleased to announce the appointment of these senior diplomats from the ...
New Zealand is contributing NZ$7 million to support communities affected by severe food insecurity and other urgent humanitarian needs in Ethiopia and Somalia, Foreign Minister Rt Hon Winston Peters announced today. “Over 21 million people are in need of humanitarian assistance across Ethiopia, with a further 6.9 million people ...
Minister for Arts, Culture and Heritage Paul Goldsmith is congratulating Mataaho Collective for winning the Golden Lion for best participant in the main exhibition at the Venice Biennale. "Congratulations to the Mataaho Collective for winning one of the world's most prestigious art prizes at the Venice Biennale. “It is good ...
The Government is reforming financial services to improve access to home loans and other lending, and strengthen customer protections, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly and Housing Minister Chris Bishop announced today. “Our coalition Government is committed to rebuilding the economy and making life simpler by cutting red tape. We are ...
“China remains a strong commercial opportunity for Kiwi exporters as Chinese businesses and consumers continue to value our high-quality safe produce,” Trade and Agriculture Minister Todd McClay says. Mr McClay has returned to New Zealand following visits to Beijing, Harbin and Shanghai where he met ministers, governors and mayors and engaged in trade and agricultural events with the New ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has completed a successful trip to Singapore, Thailand and the Philippines, deepening relationships and capitalising on opportunities. Mr Luxon was accompanied by a business delegation and says the choice of countries represents the priority the New Zealand Government places on South East Asia, and our relationships in ...
New Zealand is demonstrating its commitment to reducing global greenhouse emissions, and supporting clean energy transition in South East Asia, through a contribution of NZ$41 million (US$25 million) in climate finance to the Asian Development Bank (ADB)-led Energy Transition Mechanism (ETM). Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Climate Change Minister Simon Watts announced ...
The Government is today releasing a list of organisations who received letters about the Fast-track applications process, says RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop. “Recently Ministers and agencies have received a series of OIA requests for a list of organisations to whom I wrote with information on applying to have a ...
Attorney-General Judith Collins today announced the appointment of Wellington Barrister David Jonathan Boldt as a Judge of the High Court, and the Honourable Justice Matthew Palmer as a Judge of the Court of Appeal. Justice Boldt graduated with an LLB from Victoria University of Wellington in 1990, and also holds ...
Education Minister Erica Stanford will lead the New Zealand delegation at the 2024 International Summit on the Teaching Profession (ISTP) held in Singapore. The delegation includes representatives from the Post Primary Teachers’ Association (PPTA) Te Wehengarua and the New Zealand Educational Institute (NZEI) Te Riu Roa. The summit is co-hosted ...
A stopbank upgrade project in Tairawhiti partly funded by the Government has increased flood resilience for around 7000ha of residential and horticultural land so far, Regional Development Minister Shane Jones says. Mr Jones today attended a dawn service in Gisborne to mark the end of the first stage of the ...
Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters will represent the Government at Anzac Day commemorations on the Gallipoli Peninsula next week and engage with senior representatives of the Turkish government in Istanbul. “The Gallipoli campaign is a defining event in our history. It will be a privilege to share the occasion ...
Science, Innovation and Technology and Defence Minister Judith Collins will next week attend the OECD Science and Technology Ministerial conference in Paris and Anzac Day commemorations in Belgium. “Science, innovation and technology have a major role to play in rebuilding our economy and achieving better health, environmental and social outcomes ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon held a bilateral meeting today with the President of the Philippines, Ferdinand Marcos Jr. The Prime Minister was accompanied by MP Paulo Garcia, the first Filipino to be elected to a legislature outside the Philippines. During today’s meeting, Prime Minister Luxon and President Marcos Jr discussed opportunities to ...
The Government has announced that $20 million in funding will be made available to Westport to fund much needed flood protection around the town. This measure will significantly improve the resilience of the community, says Local Government Minister Simeon Brown. “The Westport community has already been allocated almost $3 million ...
The Government is proud to support the first ever Repco Supercars Championship event in Taupō as up to 70,000 motorsport fans attend the Taupō International Motorsport Park this weekend, says Economic Development Minister Melissa Lee. “Anticipation for the ITM Taupō Super400 is huge, with tickets and accommodation selling out weeks ...
Local Government Minister Simeon Brown has announced an increase to the Rates Rebate Scheme, putting money back into the pockets of low-income homeowners. “The coalition Government is committed to bringing down the cost of living for New Zealanders. That includes targeted support for those Kiwis who are doing things tough, such ...
The Coalition Government is investing in a project to boost survival rates of New Zealand mussels and grow the industry, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones has announced. “This project seeks to increase the resilience of our mussels and significantly boost the sector’s productivity,” Mr Jones says. “The project - ...
Benefit figures released today underscore the importance of the Government’s plan to rebuild the economy and have 50,000 fewer people on Jobseeker Support, Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston says. “Benefit numbers are still significantly higher than when National was last in government, when there was about 70,000 fewer ...
The Government’s commitment to doubling New Zealand’s renewable energy capacity is backed by new data showing that clean energy has helped the country reach its lowest annual gross emissions since 1999, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. New Zealand’s latest Greenhouse Gas Inventory (1990-2022) published today, shows gross emissions fell ...
The Government is bringing the earthquake-prone building review forward, with work to start immediately, and extending the deadline for remediations by four years, Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk says. “Our Government is focused on rebuilding the economy. A key part of our plan is to cut red tape that ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and his Thai counterpart, Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin, have today agreed that New Zealand and the Kingdom of Thailand will upgrade the bilateral relationship to a Strategic Partnership by 2026. “New Zealand and Thailand have a lot to offer each other. We have a strong mutual desire to build ...
RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop and Transport Minister Simeon Brown have today announced the Coalition Government’s intention to extend port coastal permits for a further 20 years, providing port operators with certainty to continue their operations. “The introduction of the Resource Management Act in 1991 required ports to obtain coastal ...
Today’s announcement that inflation is down to 4 per cent is encouraging news for Kiwis, but there is more work to be done - underlining the importance of the Government’s plan to get the economy back on track, acting Finance Minister Chris Bishop says. “Inflation is now at 4 per ...
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Associate Agriculture Minister Mark Patterson is speaking at the International Wool Textile Organisation Congress in Adelaide, promoting New Zealand wool, and outlining the coalition Government’s support for the revitalisation the sector. "New Zealand’s wool exports reached $400 million in the year to 30 June 2023, and the coalition Government ...
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Until this month, Auckland swimmer Hazel Ouwehand had never met a qualifying time in an Olympic event for a New Zealand team, even as a junior. Now she’s very likely off to the Paris Olympics after swimming well under the qualifying standard in the 100m butterfly twice – both in ...
While Anzac Day has experienced a resurgence in recent years, our other day of remembrance has slowly faded from view.The Sunday Essay is made possible thanks to the support of Creative New Zealand. Original illustrations by Hope McConnell.First published in 2022.The high school’s head girl and ...
Australian and New Zealand volunteers fought together in the Waikato War, yet still its place in the Anzac tradition is unacknowledged by our defence forces or Returned Services Association.First published in 2018.When I was a boy cub I attended Anzac Day services in the South Auckland suburb of ...
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Asia Pacific Report Students and activist staff at Australia’s University of Sydney (USyd) have set up a Gaza solidarity encampment in support of Palestinians and similar student-led protests in the United States. The camp was pitched as mass graves, crippled hospitals, thousands of civilian deaths and the near-total destruction of ...
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Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Cally Jetta, Senior Lecturer and Academic Lead; College for First Nations, University of Southern Queensland Australian War MemorialAboriginal and Torres Strait Islander readers are advised this article contains names and images of deceased people, as well as sensitive historical information ...
RNZ News Melissa Lee has been ousted from New Zealand’s coalition cabinet and stripped of the Media portfolio, and Penny Simmonds has lost the Disability Issues portfolio in a reshuffle. Climate Change and Revenue Minister Simon Watts will take Lee’s spot in cabinet. Simmonds was a minister outside of cabinet. ...
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Analysis - Christopher Luxon framing the demotion of two ministers as the portfolios getting "too complex" is a charitable way of saying they weren't up to the job. ...
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Analysis: Melissa Lee has lost the media portfolio and her spot in Cabinet after multiple failed attempts to find solutions for a media industry in crisis. On Wednesday, the Prime Minister announced Lee would be losing her spot in Cabinet along with her media and communications ministerial portfolio. The job ...
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Welcome to The Spinoff Books Confessional, in which we get to know the reading habits and quirks of New Zealanders at large. This week: writer and one of Time Magazine’s 100 most influential people of 2024, Lauren Groff.The book I wish I’d writtenIf I wish I’d written a ...
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With its clear mandate for police use, political nuances, and nuanced public trust, Denmark's insights provide valuable considerations for Australia and New Zealand. ...
Books editor Claire Mabey reviews poet Louise Wallace’s debut novel. A famous poet once said to me that he’s always suspicious when a poet publishes a novel. I never really understood why but maybe it’s something to do with cheating on your first form. Louise Wallace is a poet. She’s ...
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A new survey says ‘outlook not great’ for those charged with building infrastructure, while RMA changes delight farmers and depress environmentalists, writes Anna Rawhiti-Connell in this excerpt from The Bulletin, The Spinoff’s morning news round-up. To receive The Bulletin in full each weekday, sign up here. First RMA changes announced ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Olli Hellmann, Associate Professor of Political Science, University of Waikato Getty Images When New Zealanders commemorate Anzac Day on April 25, it’s not only to honour the soldiers who lost their lives in World War I and subsequent conflicts, but also ...
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The following interview with former Green Party MP Sue Kedgley came about because she features in the new memoir Hine Toa by activist Ngāhuia te Awekōtuku; the two knew each other at the University of Auckland in the early 70s, when they were both took on leadership roles in the ...
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I am looking for a piece of Remuera road verge or similar, or perhaps friendly resident who might allow me to ask the Auckland Council for a consent to “frack” on their patch. The interesting bit will be the responses in objection and their reasons. Anybody interested?
haha I think you’ll find that NIMBY! will be the response. But they might invest in your proposal if you do find someone a bit further away.
Is Collins and the ACC just the tip of a much bigger problem? Why not put the blowtorch to the whole Government iceburg? Maybe then David Shearer will be even more “interested to see what actually happens” when it’s politics as usual rather than his short lived “new kind of politics”.
It would be much more courteous of you, if you did not link ever to your own website from your posts here.
I have no desire to ever go there on purpose and dislike going there accidentally because I assume your link is to a newspaper article.
Wave the mouse over the link. The browser will show the address of the link when you hover. Usually in the bottom left of the browser window. Doesn’t work in iPad damnit as it can’t detect my finger hovering.
Apple should fix that – implanted GPS chip in your fingertip perhaps?
Would save also those fingerprints on the screen as well.
Not if you are on a mobile device. You don’t have that facility.
Plenty of people here link to their own sites and make it obvious.
It’s not that hard.
The solution is what slashdot does: put the domain name in a bracket after the link, eg
“Is Collins and the ACC just the tip of a much bigger problem? [yournz.org]”
That is a thought. Ummm.
I made a fatal mistake and clicked through. Now my brain really hurts …
Even better just post and comment on your own site PG, you’ll always agree with yourself, you reduce the risk of being seen as a hypocrite with limited knowledge of law and governmrnt process and we’ll never have to read anymore of your banal and self serving comments.
WIN WIN !
Ditto DOS and thank you lprent for that very useful piece of advice. Learn something new everyday!
Petey: Small issue of semantics just to start here – David Shearer is part of the body that forms Parliament however he is not part of the body that forms the Government. That would be John Key, Banksie, the MP and the wig.
When you can’t even get basic terminology right, how can you be expected to be taken seriously?
Maybe it’s a small issue of lack of clarity or misunderstanding. Shearer seems to have bought into the blowtorch on the Government approach to politics.
Could any minister (or MP for that matter) be in Collins’ position simply with a choice hit squad focus and a helping leak or two?
It would be easy to target someone, blow up a storm, make a range of accusations and see if any chinks appear. With enough exposure, examination, conjecture, misinformation accusation and staring down wouldn’t any MP be vulnerable? Even if there’s nothing to start with they will end up cracking and making a mistake, or “perception of error”.
All they need o do is blink (like Collins with her questionable defamation threat) and it becomes a possible political victory.
Is this what people really want MPs to spend a lot of time on?
I agree.
The whole of the government must be held to rigourous standards.
I think you’re starting to get the hang of opposition Pete. Is that because you’re quitting United Future?
“It would be easy to target someone, blow up a storm, make a range of accusations and see if any chinks appear. With enough exposure, examination, conjecture, misinformation accusation and staring down wouldn’t any MP be vulnerable? Even if there’s nothing to start with they will end up cracking and making a mistake, or “perception of error”.”
It would be easy?
And credible?
How many times do you think you could do that Pete before people started ignoring you?
BBC interview has revealed that the intelligence (on which the invasion of Iraq was based) was a fabrication and puts Helen Clark’s stance in an even better light and makes Key’s assertion that New Zealand was “missing in action” even more pathetic, n’est–ce pas?
Curveball interview (subtitled Arabic) and transcript here.
AFAIK, it’s a series, and it’s excellent! Many of us suspected as much from the start, but it’s very good to have it confirmed…
A thoughtful view on the US from a genuinely Liberal Oz politician, ousted by wingnuts himself.
http://www.theage.com.au/opinion/political-news/turnbull-laments-state-of-us-politics-20120403-1wavb.html
And as he will be well aware, the prospect of a federal Liberal/NCP landslide, along Queensland lines, seems more likely as time goes on. But is Abbott really The Man? Many Liberals must be wondering.
Never a dull moment.
Related article on the unravelling of the US economy and the political system that’s making things worse. .
http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/2/7a39bdc4-7940-11e1-9f0f-00144feab49a.html#axzz1qltAOv00
Sounds familiar.
“Kipper und Wipper”: Rogue Traders, Rogue Princes, Rogue Bishops and the German Financial Meltdown of 1621-23
Perhaps not surprisingly, the wealthy were the most heavily implicated. Among those who made fortunes from the kipper- und wipperzeit were the Duke of Alva—supreme commander of Spanish forces in the Low Countries—and the Polish Duke Januz of Ostrog, who on his death left a fortune consisting of 600,000 ducats, 290,000 mixed coins, 400,000 crowns and 30 barrels of broken silver. Perhaps the greatest of the profiteers was Albrecht Von Wallenstein, who during the Thirty Years’ War became not only a great prince, but also generalissimo of all the imperial forces in Europe in large part as a result of the fortune he made during the inflationary period. Wallenstein achieved this by investing the fortune he inherited from his dead wife in a mint lease covering Bohemia, Moravia and Lower Austria, profiting hugely from churning out debased coinage and then using those profits to snap up the estates of dispossessed Protestant noblemen after the Defenestration of Prague sparked war in 1618—transactions that were, naturally, completed in dodgy kippergeld. The prince was one of the few nobles able to finance his own private mercenary army at a time when other princes had trouble merely feeding their troops.
joe90
Nostalgia. The honours roll of the scamlist rolls on from way back with additions to this minute.
I happened on info that the Vanderbilts at the start of the USA had more money than the government coffers. Pretty rich eh! They have lost most of it now through lavish spending apparently. They should have been sent to scamschool or such to learn the basic skills for grabbing and holding their heritage from an early date.
Overseas, and here?, the wealthy do funny things with their children though, like ignoring them muchly and penning them up in a nursery block with viewings of Mum and occasionally Dad at set times. Ted Turner’s father sent him off to military school at age nine I think, probably one of the older newbies. We don’t breed ourselves to be tough and crafty enough to match the old aristos. No wonder the French used their new humane people dispatcher so readily.
Following the above links I thought this article also from Oz was much more more aligned to my thinking.
I would stop shops trading on Sunday and Saturday afternoon in a heartbeat.
http://www.theage.com.au/opinion/politics/workers-pay-the-penalty-for-oneway-flexibility-20120403-1wakl.html
This paragraph sums it up nicely:
“Why does being able to buy more stuff make up for husbands and wives being able to see less of each other, having less time with the kids, having a lot more trouble getting together with your friends…”
This.
http://ucimc.org/content/patco-30-years-ago-today-day-middle-class-died
* The super-rich will make more, much much more, and the rest of you will scramble for the crumbs that are left.
* Everyone must work! Mom, Dad, the teenagers in the house! Dad, you work a second job! Kids, here’s your latch-key! Your parents might be home in time to put you to bed.
* 50 million of you must go without health insurance! And health insurance companies: you go ahead and decide who you want to help — or not.
* Unions are evil! You will not belong to a union! You do not need an advocate! Shut up and get back to work! No, you can’t leave now, we’re not done. Your kids can make their own dinner.
* You want to go to college? No problem — just sign here and be in hock to a bank for the next 20 years!
* What’s “a raise”? Get back to work and shut up!
DoS
Or, to put it another way, to have a life of his or her own. Having time to be the person you are, or to find out what you could be, and attend to the tasks that person needs to achieve, seems basic to being a human operating at each level of Maslow’s hierarchy.
Ahh Maslow. So much for self-actualisation (To develop or achieve one’s full potential) when many are struggling to meet the basic necessities of healthy food in their bellies and a roof over their heads. And what about affordable health and dental care? Where is NZ heading? So many stranded on the bottom tiers and more heading that way…not a lot of time for much else.
The Pike River enquiry has heard from CTU that a crime of corporate manslaughter should be introduced in New Zealand. That makes good sense for the same range of reasons that personal manslaughter exists – a duty of care exists to such an extent that if that duty is breached and people die then a conviction of the crime of manslaughter results. Simple.
And here is something else equally simple and applicable…
Political manslaughter.
Applied at Pike River the politics decreed that health and safety mechanisms could be amended to a different and lower standard. They were so amended and this led directly to people dying (this is what people knew before the hearings, this is what the commission has heard and imo this is what the commission will find, among much else).
A breach of the duty of care at a political level led to death.
A breach of the duty of care at a corporate level led to death.
A breach of a duty of care to fellow manwoman at a personal which leads to death is manslaughter.
Tell me I’m wrong.
I see National-lite are being as useless as usual.
The red neoliberials also want to also attack students, but just not hit them quite as hard.
No wonder NZ continues to be happy to get shafted by the blue neolibs.
Good luck getting students to vote on election day…why would they bother?
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10796533&ref-fbheadline
The charging of interest on student loans is totally wrong IMO as NZ benefits from having an educated society and the scheme when implemented was essentially a transfer of the costs of education from the state to to individual. I would even go further and say that the scheme and the debt needs to be written off and replaced with a universal student allowance and heavily subsidised fees to ensure affordable access to tertiary education and to rectify the historic injustice of the loan scheme. However I do concede that the benefit to NZ is lost if the student leaves NZ after studying not to return – this scenario does require a bit of thought as to how some benefit to NZ may be generated.
There was no talk in the article that you linked to of Labour supporting Nationals as yet unannounced plan to reintroduce interest on residents loans – nor would I expect there to be when it is announced.
What I don’t like to see is people pushing the old ‘why bother voting’ BS – voting is the only way we have of getting National out of office and it is National that is the greatest threat to students financial well being at present. You may feel cynical but do us all a favour and keep it to yourself – the rest of us want to get on with the job of getting the Nats out of office and comments like yours do nothing to assist nor do they help the students that you supposedly care about.
Funnily enough, if NZ was a country where your kids could get a free education (not to mention access to other social services), fewer people would leave permanently.
Campbell Larsen:
“What I don’t like to see is people pushing the old ‘why bother voting’ BS – voting is the only way we have of getting National out of office and it is National that is the greatest threat to students financial well being at present. You may feel cynical but do us all a favour and keep it to yourself – the rest of us want to get on with the job of getting the Nats out of office and comments like yours do nothing to assist nor do they help the students that you supposedly care about.”
My comment was “why would THEY bother”…I’m talking about the swing voters…the voters who might just flag voting cause a BBQ is on. This is the issue for Labour, they do not need to take many votes from National, they need to motivate their possible voters.
The so called ‘why bother voting BS’ is real and it should be of major concern to Labour, it is shortsighted to ignore it, its the reason why they continue to be in opposition.
The article states that Labour was going to agree to lowering it to 2 years, rather than one…so I think my post is fair. 2 years vs 1 year is like horse shit vs dog shit…
How can you not be cynical after your first paragraph? Trust me, I hate National just as much as you, that’s why I want to see an alternative that will move towards what we both believe in (see your paragraph 1).
“However I do concede that the benefit to NZ is lost if the student leaves NZ after studying not to return – this scenario does require a bit of thought as to how some benefit to NZ may be generated.”
McFlock is exactly right…I would throw in house prices there too
fatty – Labour withdrew their support for the Bill. You are criticising wrong people – however I’m sure your concern is noted. The real battle meanwhile is still being fought:
http://thestandard.org.nz/open-mike-29032012/#comment-452528
The sound of one worm turning. Or in petespeak, pragmatically reversing a previously pragmatic position in the interests of pragmatism going forward.
“Mr Robertson poked fun at Mr Dunne because he introduced the three-year holiday in 2007 as Revenue Minister in the then Labour-led Government.
Mr Dunne referred to it then as a pragmatic way to deal with the problem of the tradition of the OE.
‘Mr Dunne has changed his mind.’ ”
(From fatty’s stuff link)
David Shearer was interviewd on TV3 this morning: .
Is this a fair reflection of the interview? (I didn’t see it). If so then Shearer was obviously at least supportive of the whole orchestrated “gotcha Collins” campaign.
What’s this “gotcha” meme you keep trying to plant? Is it something to do with the Slater child and his “gotcha” website?
It seems odd that you, who so often talks about cleaning up politics, wouldn’t want to get to the bottom of this matter as soon as possible. I would’ve expected you to be fully supportive of efforts to hold Collins to account, and to get all the facts on the table and in the light of day.
Why just this very morning you were suggesting that we “put the blowtorch to the whole Government iceburg”, something I was happy to fully support you on.
Shearer started “gotcha” himself:
Anyone else picked up on this press release?
“John Key’s admission today that he chaired the committee which appointed his own electorate chair Stephen McElrea to the board of NZ on Air directly links the Prime Minister to allegations of cronyism and political interference, says Labour’s Broadcasting spokesperson Clare Curran.”
Bet you won’t read about that in the DomPost.
Here’s the press release:
http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA1204/S00027/pm-has-questions-to-answer-over-nz-on-air-link.htm
While I haven’t seem anything on Stuff or the Herald site as yet, RNZ National covered this in its news bulletins last night and it was also one of the top stories on Checkpoint, including an interview with Clare Curran. Here is the 17 minute Checkpoint item
http://www.radionz.co.nz/national/programmes/checkpoint/audio/2514808/labour-accuses-pm-of-conflict-of-interest.asx
Thanks deuto and Ben. Seems very clear and a case to answer.
Dr Smith tended his resignation for a conflict of interest. The PM accepted that.
If a conflict of interest is proven, then will the PM accept the resignation of John Key?
LOL – don’t hold your breath!
I heard the item on RNZ. Like most “scandals” this wouldn’t have come to light, except for McElrea drawing attention to himself with his comments. Silly thing to do.
This might be a valid issue to shine more light on, but how far? Both National and Labour have histories of making appointments that could attract accusations of “cronyism and political interference”.
A case could potentially be made to accuse the accusers of attempting political inteference.
Should no appointments be made of anyone who has (or has had) an involvement in politics?
Sure, you could make an absurd reduction of the principle and say that.
Probably more helpful to look at things that have actually happened though.
By which I mean yes, politically aligned or experienced people in a small country are inevitably going to be in these sorts of positions, but it usually doesn’t seem to cause too many problems.
It’s not really a matter of keeping you head down though as you imply. As long as you don’t do anything stupid or potentially corrupt like abuse your position in a public institution and make political decisions to spend public money in ways that favour your own party, you’ll probably be ok.
Nats gambling addiction
The event centre itself may not be viable in the current economical climate, and unless things improve, the costs will outweigh the benefits. The National government should concentrate on fixing the economy instead of making dirty deals with the gambling industry…
Back befor the House is the Fonterra bill,(sorry we forgot the actual title and are too lazy right now to dig it out),
There seems on the part of National an unholy haste to have this particular piece of legislation which pits the rights of Productive Capitalists against the wants of Speculative Capitalists,
The ”Fonterra Legislation” seems innocuous on the surface simply changing the law to allow dairy farmer suppliers to be able to trade shares in the company they own,Fonterra,in a yet to be established market between each other,
We,along with a large number of the dairy farming shareholders of Fonterra simply see this present piece of rushed legislation as the next attempt in a series of failed attempts to have the shares of the dairy giant Fonterra listed on the NZ Stock Exchange,
Having been rebuffed in their prior attempts at gaining such a listing of Fonterra by the share-holding Productive Capitalists,(the dairy farmers),the Speculative Capitalists have now opted for the ”new” approach of legislation which will allow those dairy farmers to trade the shares among one another thus we assume trying to create such a trading mentality within the dairy farming community,
The end game tho is still to have the Fonterra shares listed on the NZ Stock exchange,the Speculative Capitalists now realizing that this will have to be achieved with the slowly slowly approach if they are to have the dairy farming community kow-tow to their wishes of having the control of the company they own wrested from their hands by speculative capital…
Letters to the editors in the rural press have been pretty blunt about this. Not happy.
Sounds like the time has arrived in Aotearoa New Zealand for farmers, townies, tangata whenua, greenies, and leftists together with traditional rightists (ie sans neo-cons) to come together and forge a new social contract for the nation to reject crony and speculative capitalism typified so much by the John Key government.
Smarmy boy Weldon’s NZX went around hoovering up Rural publications a few years back probably to stem this sort of inconvenient opinion as they were attempting to get in on the NZX back then.
Just when Fonterra,s ”milk in schools” program had us thinking that once they clean up the act around what gets leached or dropped into the waterways we could over time develop a grudging respect for the dairy giant the veil is lifted,
Here we were telling each other the other night that if Fonterra were to roll out ”milk in schools” nation-wide we would in all probability have forgiven them the over-pricing of dairy products we all here in New Zealand suffer via the forward contracts that Fonterra has with various Speculative Capitalists who have very cleverly,(without publicity),managed to insert themselves into the dairy supply chain between Fonterra and the points of retail,
There was even the suggestion here that should such a nation-wide milk in schools roll-out occur it would be impossible for any of us to entertain any thought of Fonterra at any time without also having pictures of little floating hearts occupy our minds,
However,as the cost of legislation for SkyCity to be able to install 500 extra pokie machines at its premises would seem to be the erection of an unwanted convention centre in the city of Auckland we now have to start asking about the price of such legislation as the Fonterra bill now befor the House and is there any connection between the ”milk in schools” roll-out in its oh so pretty small blue cartons…
bad 12. In the nature of trying to help, put a space after each comma.
And for apostrophes like “Fonterra,s” try using the apostrophe which on my keyboard is up one row of keys and at the end of the row. Thus “Fonterra’s”. OK?
Umm yeah ok,we give you express permission to reproduce our posts with what you see as the neccessary punctuation to make it intelligble to you,without having changed the meaning and intent of such posts as we produced them,
However,we write how we write and it all makes perfect sense to us and we dont propose to get into the same old arguments about our treatment of the English language we have had with others on other sites where we have commented,
We suppose that if the lack of punctuation,or,its over-supply from and by us causes too much angst and heart-ache at our treatment of the English language we will eventually be suitable moderated…
What makes perfect sense to you mightn’t appear that way to others. Poorly punctuated text is less likely to be read through and if it’s read it’s less likely to be understood or remembered by the reader.
Punctuation: the difference between knowing your shit and knowing you’re shit.
lolz
And yet, and yet – I get attacked for similar pleas to people about their language usage. How does that work, hey?
Yeah it’s a hard road being a punctuation naz1 in a world of thumbs.
Also related: A wee vodka and soda is not the same as a wee, vodka and soda.
And we would take the slightest bit of notice of anything you have to say vis a vis our writing style(or lack of it),why???…
The natural inference from the fact that you comment at all is that you wish to communicate some idea or another.
Effective communication requires common language – the greater the number of language features shared between communicator and audience, the more subtle points can be communicated efficiently. This includes not just syntactic consistency in the language (“let’s eat Derek” vs “let’s eat, Derek”), but also the likelihood of misinterpretation due to poor eyesight, small screens, vibrating vehicles, or divided attention. Particularly as in this medium we already tend to automatically substitute expected words to accommodate typos etc.
That’s why punctuation is more than just pretty pictures. Just FYI.
I agree with Pete for the second(!) time today. It’s not a matter of what rules of language and grammer are “correct”, it’s just a matter of whether you want to get your message across.
Translated would be ”havnt got the nous to enter the debate with anything constructive,(or destructive),concerning that debate,attack the messenger and not the message”…
It’s not attacking the messenger/s here, just passing on advice that you can choose to take notice of or ignore.
How information is presented can make a big difference to how it’s digested (or ignored). Punctuation is a part of that. We don’t read each letter and word, we look at groups of word patterns along with punctuation. If there are unfamiliar patterns it confuses, and distracts the brain from the meaning. Two much clashing and people give up reading. The PhilU style is a good (or bad) example.
You think I’m attacking you, bad12?
Get a fucking grip.
(See how easy that was to read?)
Exactly our point Felix,we have noticed that you and most of those barking in criticism over our use of punctuation post quite frequently but dont actually say anything of interest…
Good for you bad12, I suggest you stop reading my comments as soon as you can.
bad12 What’s this royal ‘we’? We are not amused at your intransigence about clarity.
We have no comment to make on We accept to say that We are here to discuss,politicians,politics and policies and any mention of We in the context of such discussion is limited to having done so to illuminate some point We are attempting to make…
If you want others to engage with you, then take on-board the above comments.
If that means that you and the others chirping about a missing comma will take a hike and annoy someone else if we dont ”take on-board the above comments” then we definitely choose that option,
Your wee quisle of a post when translated reads thus,”say what we want to hear in a fashion of type that we want to see or we wont communicate with you”,
As above,if there,s a price we are expected to pay to enter into conversation with the likes of you then we will happily not engage…
Oh ffs, no-one’s chirping at you and no-one’s attacking you. You’ve got interesting info to share and that’s great, we’re just trying to help you do that more effectively.
Wrong end of the stick buddy.
I agree with felix but i cannot stand the royal wee, nevertheless – wrong end of the stick buddies.
Yeah, bad’s content is interesting, but the royal “we” and “our” gets really irritating to read.
Was going to ignore it, but this sort of nonsense comment is really not necessary….
Maybe if you were out contributing to real life, you would not be so rediculously petty over such trivial punctuation issues. The usual predatory, territiorial attack dogs chime in. FFS try focus on some actual problems why don’t you!
Come on you fullas , you can do better than that surely…maybe not, it’s just a blog site right!
muzza
To me this isn’t just a site to go to and fill in time idly speculating about life, though I do sometimes. But I mainly come here to read what people think and what they’ve read and the links they provide to other coherent thinkers. I think people here blog because they want to discuss society with a view to seeing it and the planet going in a direction that leads to good outcomes for all.
Wanting people to put up something coherent in a way that shows they want their points to be read and understood is not ‘ridiculously petty’. I like to read informed opinions and good rants. If I just wanted to fill my time with others’ half-digested mumblings there is the big wide world for that.
Greenpeace wronged by ASA
Any reasonable person would understand that the Greenpeace advertisement was concerned with total avian deaths from the Rena oil spill, of which only an educated estimate can be provided…
Rebecca Macfie is live tweeting from the pike river hearing, here:
https://twitter.com/#!/rebeccamacfie
Shorter version: PRC lawyer sez not Board or CEO’s fault, it’s his fault and his fault and their fault, also possibly Jesus’ fault.
Sounds Like Commissioner Pankhurst is none too impressed with PRCs lawyer’s arguments
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10796661
We already know the Nats love to mine. The PM recently signaled that as-yet undefined relationships with Google are going to be an ever-increasing part of the Government’s service provider policies. If we consider the proposed Cloud-mining, the recent steps by Facebook and Google to incorporate Suicide Hotline services, the massively intrusive nature of the amended Search & Surveillance Bill, the inflation only increases of Health budgets, the MSD nannystate paycards and the overall lack of human compassion expressed by this Government’s members you may understand how a person could be pressed to highlighting the fact there is a very large information void that begs the question:
What exactly are the Government plans for dealing with mental health in NZ?
Auditor-General to audit aspects of ACC governance
Was half listening to RNZ National 4pm news and heard something about the Auditor-General going to do an audit of ACC.
The following is now up on the RNZ National website
The auditor-general is to investigate aspects of how the ACC board deals with risks such as conflicts of interest.
It comes as a result of the recent release of confidential information and ACCs dealings with a claimant, Bronwyn Pullar.
The auditor-general will investigate aspects of governance at ACC not currently covered by other inquiries being carried out by the Privacy Commissioner and the ACC board itself.
Edit: More detail:
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/6694431/ACC-leadership-to-be-investigated
Things just aren’t going the Slippery way are they? “No need for another inquiry” says Slippery. “Yeah right” says the Auditor General.
BBC’s Concept of Balance–“The settlements are considered illegal under international law, though Israel disputes this”:
Or, “The world is considered round under the laws of gravity, though the Flat-Earth Society disputes this.”
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-17596199
3 April 2012 Last updated at 22:58 GMT
Israeli PM seeks delay of Hebron settler eviction
Israel’s prime minister has asked his defence minister to delay the eviction of Jewish settlers who took over a house in the Arab part of Hebron.
Benjamin Netanyahu wants the settlers to be able to stay in the building while they “make their legal case”.
Ehud Barak had ordered the settlers out of the house in the West Bank city on Tuesday because they had not received the military’s approval to purchase it.
The settlers say they bought the house from its Palestinian owners legally.
But local Palestinian police disputed the validity of the deal, saying the building had more than 50 owners, only one of whom sold his share.
Mr Netanyahu’s move comes a week after his government unsuccessfully sought to delay an order from the Supreme Court to dismantle an illegal settlement outpost in the West Bank.
‘Provocation’
About 20 settlers moved into the two-storey house in Hebron on Thursday night, seeking to expand the settlement of some 500 families in the heart of the city, home to 180,000 Palestinians.
On Monday, the Israeli military told the settlers they had until 15:00 (12:00 GMT) on Tuesday to leave the house or prove it was theirs, after which the authorities would “act to restore the building to its previous state”.
“After examining all the evidence that was handed over and after considering all the circumstances of the incident, it was decided to return to the situation which existed before,” the military order said. The settlers did not obtain military approval to buy the house and their takeover constituted a provocation, it added.
But overnight, Mr Netanyahu “asked the defence minister to allow the settlers in the building to have time to make their legal case”, officials in the prime minister’s office said.
After the deadline passed, Hebron settlers’ spokesman David Wilder told AFP news agency they were awaiting the outcome of Mr Netanyahu’s meeting with senior ministers.
“There is nothing new, we are waiting for a decision by the ministers,” he said.
About 500,000 Jews live in more than 100 settlements built since Israel’s 1967 occupation of the West Bank and East Jerusalem. The settlements are considered illegal under international law, though Israel disputes this.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-17596199
This looks promising for those of us who get Triangle…. hopefully the shows will also be put online:
http://www.tumeke.blogspot.co.nz/2012/04/press-release-union-report-new-tv-show.html
When War Is in the Air on PBS
Posted on 04/03/2012 by PETER HART
http://www.fair.org/blog/
One of the most troubling aspects of all the media coverage of an attack on Iran is that it can make a radically destabilizing act of unprovoked war seem like just another policy choice.
I thought of this when I saw a PBS NewsHour segment (3/28/12) that set out to ponder the consequences of an Israeli attack on Iran. PBS reporter Margaret Warner oddly framed Israeli public opinion this way:
Though the Iranian regime has vowed to destroy the Jewish state, recent polls in Israel show only 19 percent would support their government attacking Iran unilaterally.
Hearing that, you might wonder why there’s a segment of Israeli society that doesn’t support their own self-defense. It’s not clear what Iranian vow Warner might be talking about (presumably not their pledge to not develop nuclear weapons). It’s possibly a reference to the contested translation of Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s comment about wiping Israel “off the map.” Or it could be a reference to more recent comments from Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. He called Israel a “cancerous tumor” in February, and vowed to support those fighting Israel. Given that the Israeli government is openly speaking about the need to attack Iran sooner rather than later, and does not exactly deny a role in the killings of Iranian scientists, one could just easily be talking about Israeli belligerence. But that’s rarely the subject.
Then look at the experts PBS lined up to talk about Iran: Hawkish Atlantic reporter Jeffrey Goldberg (who served in the Israeli army), a Columbia University defense analyst who speaks of Israeli weapons capabilities (“The Israelis have a really robust military capability”), an analyst from the right-leaning Washington Institute for Near East Policy and a fellow at the right wing American Enterprise Institute (who says that if Iran were attacked it would “depict itself as a victim of Israeli aggression”).
To the extent that there’s any debate at all, it’s mostly about whether or not Iran will retaliate, and where. And then there is some talk about the technical difficulties for Israel in successfully carrying out this massive unprovoked act of war (something we’ve discussed before).
Goldberg sees the possibility of an accidental escalation from Iran–”one hyperactive commander acting on his own to ram or try to ram a U.S. ship”–and it is there that the segment closes, with Warner saying, “It is just this unpredictability that keeps Washington policymakers and many Israeli citizens up at night.”
The calculations and worries of Beltway insiders and Israeli political leaders are well-represented here–but very little else. It’d be nice for discussions about launching a war to include some voices from outside those elite circles–especially when the discussion is happening on public television.
http://www.fair.org/blog/
John Key: “It (the mental health package) sends a strong message to young New Zealanders : we value you and will help you succeed”
If I were a young person I would be very suspicious about the intent of a “strong message” from a rich speculator, who’s current hobby (sorry “job”) is playing Prime Minister of New Zealand.
I would wonder who the “we” are who are supposed to value me so much and I would fight tooth and nail to avoid the kind of success I think they have in mind for me.
The message avoids the reasons for a lot of mental suffering, which are feeling of not belonging, being sort of separate and not really respected by the people who seem to know so much more than me and to know better than me how to live, and so deserving of their wealth, unlike me.
The wealth gap needs to shrink – as has been pointed out many times on this site and elsewhere.
The wealthy in NZ have too much to spend and the poor have too little.
A real Prime Minister would be devoting everey fibre of his being to trying to fix that.
+1
The New Zealand Initiative (the takeover of the mantle of the NZ Institute by utter right wing ideologues) has launched with Oliver Hartwich at the helm. Here’s a little sample of the wisdom this recycled Australian climate change sceptic will be pushing…
The current planning system is an outdated straitjacket on economic growth, contends Dr Oliver Marc Hartwich of Policy Exchange
http://www.oliver-marc-hartwich.com/publications/wasteland
Dr Hartwich:
“To begin with, “consensus” is a term which is alien to science. It is a
concept from sociology which describes only that a general agreement
has been reached, a process of collective decision-making, if you will. In
science, however, such a process could never be understood as a means
of establishing “truth”, for it would not only require the individual sci-
entist to submit himself to a majority view, but it would make that con-
sensually achieved view virtually unassailable.Thus, establishing a scientific consensus is incompatible with the way that science has evolved,
from the Age of Reason to Karl Popper’s theory of critical rationalism.
One would be well advised then to treat the talk about a “climate
change consensus” as what it is: not as a scientific consensus about climate
change but at most as a political agreement to act and speak as if the major
questions surrounding climate change had already been answered. In
reality, however, there are very few things on which the majority climate
scientists would readily agree.8
Dealing with those issues on which there is agreement is very simple,
for they are few. First, the average global temperature has risen by
approximately 0.7 degrees centigrade since 1860. Second, an ever
increasing world population has an influence on the climate through
increased energy and land use. Everything else in the climate change
debate is highly controversial. Has the climate of the past millennium
always been colder than today or not? How much of an effect on the cli-
mate does atmospheric carbon dioxide have? Do rising carbon dioxide
concentrations lead us to a point of no return? Or are there self-regulat-
ing mechanisms which will slow, halt, or even reverse the process? For
each question one finds much disagreement among climatologists. Such
disagreement should be welcomed, for it is what science is all about. Far
from any clear-cut consensus then, there is a debate amongst experts
about the various aspects of climate change. Puzzling, then, that most of
what we hear in the public domain gives the impression that the case is
quite the opposite.
etc
http://www.oliver-marc-hartwich.com/publications/science-vs-superstition—the-case-for-a-new-scientific-enlightenment
More on Oliver Hartwich, quotes he collates on his own webpage. http://www.oliver-marc-hartwich.com/or-loathe-me
“Hartwich demonstrates his passion for the polemic; he sows the seed of doubt among the populace to ensure the flows of riches to his already wealthy supporters’ remain uninterrupted … Hartwich and his cronies would have us maximise their annual profits at the expense of our grandchildren and then our granchildren’s grandchildren. … Hartwich, the Centre for Independent Studies and other right-wing thoughtless-tanks are working hard to guarantee your children and grandchildren will suffer. We cannot let these (insanely wealthy) people dictate our future.”
Corey J.A. Bradshaw and Paul R. Ehrlich, 12 November 2010
“Oliver Marc Hartwich … arguably sets a new benchmark in fact-free opinion journalism.”
Ken Parish, Club Troppo, 8 November 2010
“One has to assume that Dr. Hartwich is not stupid, which forces one to accept that he is being intentionally deceitful and misleading.”
Reader comment on BusinessSpectator.com.au, 7 October 2010
“Hartwich is just a shill for the old and now totally discredited Neo-Liberal economic theology. Everything he says … needs to be seen through the distorted and now cracked prism of that ideology.”
“Oliver Hartwich – well known Randian paper shuffler, formerly adviser to a Tory Lord, snout in the trough of a right-wing big-business-funded “think-tank” (read propoganda outlet)”
Reader comments on the National Times website, 23 June 2010
oh, so he’s a narcissist as well… uses the the Oscar Wilde quote about the not being talked about at all as his rationale…