Hmm, I think you may get very little response to your challenge, there Bored.
Banks claimed exactly the same thing for Don Brash during the election campaign. At least once during every public speech in defence of his embattled and unpopular leader, Banks would proclaim that Don Brash is a patriot who loves his country.
Unfortunately to my ears it sounded like faint praise at the time, and indeed it was, as revealed in the teapot tapes.
Apart from loving their country, no one, not even their supporters, can point to any other positive quality that these individuals possess.
When people, start spouting about how patriotic they are, I am always reminded of Oscar Wilde’s statement about refuges and scoundrels.
I have a funny feeling that ACT might be stuffed full of such patriots.
Well they certainly got given all the credit for taking out the Seal Team 6, in a “revenge attack”. You simply would never “give” your “enemy” that sort of PR “victory”
Can’t recall Iran getting credit for taking out the drone, it was deny deny deny!
Digitized “letters” of OBL “fretting”.
You could not make this stuff up…woops hold on, they’re digital, of course you can!
The scrapped TVNZ7 channel will be replaced with a “plus one” channel that will be a duplicate of TV One run an hour later.
The new channel will start broadcasting on July 1 and will mirror the equivalent TV3 Plus 1 channel.
I am glad that the channel remains in TVNZs hands, and hope this means it would be relatively easy to re-purpose it as a PBS channel at a later date….?
I also like the +1 concept. I use TV3+1 sometimes – e.g. if I miss the news, or there is a clash of programmes on at the same time. Often the small number of dramas I DO watch are all on at the same time, with nothing worth watching at other times – and I can only record one channel showing on Freeview at a time, using my DVD recorder.
But my much preferred option is for a channel that is developed s a significant public service channel.
He’s not my boss and I only partly agree with him. TVNZ is terrible and I rarely watch it and they self celebratise far too much.
But I don’t think TV7 is the best use of resources. If they put some effort into having watchable programs on TV1 they wouldn’t have needed TV7 in the first place.
+1 is an ok idea for a bit of flexibility in watching, especially for times they have 60 minutes and Close Up (is that what that one’s called?) clash as they make sure they do – but repeating what mostly seems to be repetitive rubbish is a waste of time.
Its a nice safe protest – pitching as the ‘reasonable man’, that somehow by design sort of can’t in this case actually do anything about it – but its great to be able to pretend to have a different view from National! The question is still whether he will listen to his own poll and vote against the second reading of the privatising of strategic New Zealand assets. . .
Yeah, the usual criticised if he says nothing, criticised if he says something. Do you think he shouldn’t comment on anything?
On asset sales I think he’s likely to listen to his pre-election and post-election commitments. If he didn’t do that he’d get lambasted from certain quarters, who lambast him when he does. At least he’s consistent, the lambast brigade aren’t.
I would prefer a better ondemand offer, and a bigger, better public service channel. But I do find +1 can be useful sometimes.
I watch ondemand a bit, but often find the programmes I want to pick up there aren’t offered – House, lately for instance, and the programmes that run quite late like Damages.
Also I find TV3s videos often freeze on me. I do find it a better experience to watch programmes on my TV than on ondemand. And there’s been 1 or 2 occasions when I’ve watched the start of a movie on TV3, switched to watch another programme at 9.30pm, then switched onto TV3 +1 to watch the end of the movie.
I do watch dramas and the best ones always seem to be put up against each other, sometimes on 3 different channels. That doesn’t happen a lot, but when it does +1 can be helpful. Maybe that’s not a problem to people with “my sky” or “my freeview”. But I just have a DVD recorder and a freeview box.
And it does help with watching some key bit of news on TV3 that was on before I got home, but everyone is talking about online.
The +1 concept works when you have content which has value.
Like Sky Movies running blockbusters at a +1 delay across their channels, because maybe you have something else to watch at 8:30 but still want to catch the movie (or, these days, you’re MySkying too many things at 8:30…)
I simply cannot name any piece of TVOne content I care enough about to be grateful it’ll be on an hour later if I need it. But at least their utterly pointless “do a news show at 4.30 to prove we’re totally cooler than Prime even though it makes zero sense” news show will be bumped to a more plausible timeslot …
“New Zealanders told us they were uncomfortable about the rate of borrowing… They saw this as borrowing to invest and they didn’t like that.
“We have listened.
“That’s why I won’t continue with Labour’s previous policy to restore contributions to the Cullen Super Fund until I think we can afford it.
“It wouldn’t have increased net debt because it gave us an asset that matched the liability. However, New Zealanders saw this as borrowing to invest and they didn’t like that,” Mr Shearer said.
“We’ve decided that until we are back in surplus, any new spending will have to be paid for out of existing budget provisions, new revenue, or by re-prioritising.”
Trevor Mallard on Tuesday speaking in the House:
“I note that it has been the policy of the government to not put money into the Cullen Fund.
“And that, of course, is something that works against the development of capital in New Zealand. I think that has been a short-term approach,”
Maybe Mallard has since come on board with his leader’s plans.
ha ha, that is telling. I sometimes purposely take money out of my pockets so nothing can be spent and it is also quite the liberating thing. Try it next time you head somewhere. I do often carry a pocket-knife though.
It’s an amusing read. So many people who loved National and their cutbacks – until it affects them.
You might think it would make a lefty happy to see people turning against the Government, but it only made me sad. So many educated people who don’t give a shit about others, only about themselves.
Particularly like the 27yo grad earning $110k suggesting that government instead needs to be cutting welfare and raising the retirement age. Middle-class welfare is apparently more productive.
You might think it would make a lefty happy to see people turning against the Government, but it only made me sad. So many educated people who don’t give a shit about others, only about themselves.
It makes me sad to see solecisms such as “Pay check” sprinkled in amongst the comments. (That happens here as well, but after being being denigrated for saying anything, had vowed not to express how my head aches so much, seeing American spellings larded in amongst what would decades ago, have been NZ usage. Ah, heck with it, a young Island man once told my brother that his ambition was to “go to the Capital, man”. When my brother pointed out that they were both in Wellington, the youth said “I mean the capital, Washington”. That was 10 years back, and it seems everyone thinks that we live in the USA now.
muzza
2 May 2012 at 9:23 am
So the $NZ rises when the US data is bad, or they “QE”, and the $NZ also rises when the US data is favourable
“The New Zealand dollar rose after better-than-expected US manufacturing data reignited investors optimism that the world’s largest economy is on track, boosting demand for growth-linked assets such as the kiwi”
So in the next day or so, look out from data which obcures, or confuses sentiments about the “investors optimism that the world’s largest economy is on track”
So now if you go to a rugby match there’s always the chance that some security camera operator is reading your texts. Apparently a police officer who saw it happen thought there “might be privacy issues” (considering the source, that’s a major flag).
A variation on the “nothing to hide” argument in favour of big brother?
The point isn’t whether they’re interested – the point is whether you’ve got a right to sext your boyfriend or say the game of rugby is shit, without becoming the next target of a club bouncer who wants to get on tv.
Coupled with that is the fact that the harm of invasions of privacy isn’t the objective, in context meaning of the full text message, it’s the partial snapshot out of context that is used to colour in a pixelated image that exists solely in the mind of the privacy intruder – whether that being a camera operator taking home a copy to stroke off to, or an armed police officer operating under a misapprehension and shooting a Brazilian electrician in the head.
Anyone worried about their privacy has not been paying attention over the past 10-15 years primarily, but in reality its much longer than that…
Your privacy is not a consideration, in fact your privacy, and protection of your data is , not only for sale, but publically available freely, thanks to social networking!
We lost that battle long ago, and most had no idea it was even happening.
There’s a lot of difference between anonymised aggregate data and random datapoints being permanently and possibly erroneously attributed to an individual.
It’s like pollution – yeah, it’s all around, but that doesn’t mean we can’t clean up the worst bits to a reasonable standard.
“Your privacy is not a consideration, in fact your privacy, and protection of your data is , not only for sale, but publically available freely, thanks to social networking!”
Sorry, but that is such a crock. RNZ’s tech expert said the other day the old chestnut about how unencrypted emails are just like a postcard. If that’s true that means that the staff at vodafone can read my emails in the same way that the sorters and posties at NZPost can read a postcard I send. Is that true?
Do you know who I am? No? Then I have a degree of privacy that I enjoy and want to keep. How is my identity “publically available freely”?
I agree with you that many people have made choices about technology without understanding the implications very well. But that’s completely different than saying that we have no privacy anymore. Privacy is not an absolute.
The thing is that the postal worker sorting a postcard does not automatically store the entire contents and file it with every other piece of data that travelled through the sorting room that day. Then another dude runs a search and finds something to sell to an insurance company, or put on the interwebz, or decides that “great cocktails” was a reference to an improvised munition so puts you on a watch list / raid list.
No, that’s right. So the analogy (and the fearmongering) is wrong (or at least, it’s the wrong fearmongering). Worse than people not knowing what is going on, is people who do know putting out misleading and confusing information that makes it impossible for lay people to make good choices.
So who is storing my emails and then using them to spam me?
Well, facebook for one – only they call it “targeted advertising”.
But I’m not sure who mentioned emails. But I have been in CCTV ops rooms where the operator has cycled the monitor to the camera which shows the hot woman in a low-cut top. And then there’s the entire pan/tilt/zoom issue. ISTR Princess Diana had an issue with that on more than one occasion.
I don’t see why they would stop there. Facebook of course denies they are using the functionality even though they designed it in. In other words, they are saying that they did not inhale.
So what about your leader announcing that a future Labour government would freeze payments to the Superfund?
How about that for copying National after all the protests that Labourites and its MPs hurled at the government?
And how about his private dinner with that SKY lobbyist?
Clare Curran must be spitting chips!
so what about it?
do you think other people are mindreaders or your own prose is so riveting that the menaings are clear and evident to anyone with an iq under 70.
yah yah yah.
Oops Anne. Mr Key reckoned to a bunch of 10year olds yesterday, that his best channel was TV 1. Perhaps Pete and John could have a quiet cup of tea and agree.
Huge moon this weekend. One such that the moonman said would create another time of increased risk of earthquake activity. Let’s see what happens this time. Put the breakables away and fill the car with fuel Cantabrians…
That’s bold Lanth. Even bolder then the moonman. Remember he got the March 20 ones.
If the moon’s extra gravity can pull giant oceans that much further than it usually can surely there is substantial increased force exterted on everything upwards and sideway? After all, the oceans can react to it. We will probably all weigh both less and more this weekend.
Size of moon. It is a strange thing that again an astronomer says that a moon at moonrise is the same size as the moon high in the sky. He said this morning that it is just a trick and he can’t explain it. He says that high tech measuring gear shows that the moon is the same at rise as high.
Another astronomer reckoned that it was an illusion because at rise, there are land based things like hills and buildings for the eye to measure against and they are missing high in the sky.
Place your bets. Moon @ rise same size as high in the sky? Yes. No.
This is a well-known and well-studied phenomenon, and it is true that astronomers, and more relevantly psychologists, cannot adequately explain why the human brain interprets a moon low on the horizon as being apparently larger than one up high in the sky. There are many many theories for it, but as I understand none of them has been conclusively shown to be the best description. Most likely it’s a whole bunch of different factors all playing different roles.
Bad Astronomy puts forward an idea that might explain it unfortunately he puts the idea forward as fact when there’s still doubt. Wikipedia mentions this stuff to.
I did not see anyone mention a Sextant. It is a hi-tech instrument that has been used by navigators for measuring celestial objects for 100’s of years. I believe James Cook was skilled at using it. It was still being used 30 years ago. Nor did anyone refer to the refraction of light. A beautiful example of this is the primary and secondary Rainbow. In the case of the moon, light from a rising moon is travelling at an angle from space into the atmosphere. From a “less dense” to a “more dense” medium. In doing so the light changes direction. Something Navigators, Astronomers, etc. can measure. This does have an effect on the observed diameter of the moon when it is close to the horizion.
Regarding the possiblity of an eathquake, I will not be sleeping under the table but I do have an Emergency Kit at the end of the bed. Baden Powell’s motto for the Scouts.”Be Prepared”.
Why Cantabrians? They’re not the only ones with a moon this weekend. Why doesn’t everyone hop in their cars and get away to somewhere safe from the moon?
Where would you go? About the furthest from anywhere is the middle of the Southern Alps, why not try that?
Don’t want to be too close to the coast though, or somewhere with lots of hills (sorry Pete). They reckon Invercargill is one of the safer places to be in an earthquake (despite being near the sea) – it’s flat, not too many big buildings, not too close to major faults.
I was looking at the moon last night, high in the sky, and thinking shit that’s big this month, imagine what it will look like on the horizon when its full. It will be worth going out for.
I lost the piece of carpet from just inside my front door the other month,a close up of Slippery’s nut on Campbell live tonight tends to suggest that Slippery has glued it on to hide a bad spot of hair loss,
When asked if He knows anything about the missing carpet piece or anything else, Slippery sez He doesn’t know…
I am back to thinking that Labour should roll Shearer sooner rather than later, I look on today’s granny Herald and hello here’s a story of Dave having dinner with Rupert Murdoch’s paid mouth-piece in New Zealand, business as usual obviously,
Next I turn on Prime and catch the Labour leader on the news there,Shearer sez that under a Government He lead the Cullen Super fund was a dead duck until such time as it was affordable to put money into it,which under the current tax regime that Dave doesn’t appear to be about to change will be like the Minister of Guessing Bill English’s balancing of the books, the stuff of fairy tales,
Gets better tho,Dave is going to look for cross party support to raise the age of national super to 67, I doubt that one Dave, not that you and the Treasury want to raise the age of the pension to 67 instead of raising the taxes to pay for it,
I doubt with such policy Labour are going to be governing any time soon…
The difficulty with him accepting the need to with hold payments until the country returns to surplus is that it is accepting National’s argument that the budget needs to be balanced before new spending can be promised.
The difficulty is that from now on National can hold this principle against Labour every time they come out with a new policy. They will be asked, ‘where is the money coming from?’, ‘what are you cutting to get the money for this new policy?’.
It will be a lot harder for Shearer to come up with an answer that satisfies his own supporters and the general voter. (It is a realistic policy to have – he had no choice)
This will make the 2014 election very interesting – how will Shearer (if he is still the leader) differentiate himself from Key with economic policy? If the economy does start to pick up in 2013 & and early 2014, Key will be able to say, ‘ I told you so. We have seen NZ through the tough times, and now economic growth is returning.’
How will Shearer (or Cunliffe/Robertson) counter this?
Needed to happen???dont think there is any such need, Nationals wonky tax changes simply make the Cullen super fund unaffordable even if economic activity was to pick up to 3% growth,
Instead of manning up with a realistic progressive tax policy Shearer is playing lets not scare the horses hoping to ride high in the polls off of the back of Slippery and Nationals sleazy behaviour,
Dave thinks He can sleep walk the Labour Party into Government to implement an economic policy written by the Treasury…
If the economy does start to pick up in 2013 & and early 2014, Key will be able to say, ‘ I told you so. We have seen NZ through the tough times, and now economic growth is returning.’
How will Shearer (or Cunliffe/Robertson) counter this?
There will be no sustained per capita economic growth. Ever.
Labour has finally admitted today that it wont put contributions into the Super fund it has done a Flip Flop on its election promise. As John Key said it has only taken them 3 years to work out that its not good fiscal management to borrow money to invest it on the share market. The rest of New Zealand worked that out straight away .Good to see Labour admitting they were going to make yet another economic blunder if the did do it. Must be a sign of things to come under New Labour. The capital gains tax will be gone next
The shareprice of infrastructure companies Infratil, Contact Energy and Trustpowerare probably lower than they otherwise would be, given the appetite for low risk investments stemming from global financial unease.
The explanation given by a sharebroker is that the prices are down due to a reduction in demand from potential infrastructure investors who are waiting for Mighty River Power shares to be available to them at a discount.
This would mean investors are expecting to buy Mighty River Power shares on the cheap.
The Government, I suspect is going to sell them cheaper than they are worth to encourage investment away from residential property and to stoke confidence in the NZX.
The Government is appealing to investor’s greed, where they should be encouraging them to take a longer view and forego the chance of a quick buck.
I suspect they have swallowed the false doctrine that “greed is good”.
Encouraging long term investment in companies that are good employers and produce goods and services that are beneficial to people and not irreversibly harmfull to the environment should be the basis of goverment policy in this sphere.
“If someone were to give you an assignment and say, ‘Go write a guide book on how to drive from San Francisco to Monterey,’ and everybody could sit down and write their own two-page thing on that, there would be some similarities. But the idea is not protected,” Alsup said in court last Friday.
“Implementations are not derivative works. They are independent works, that simply start with the idea of the specification,” he argued. “When somebody looks at a specification, and says, this is the input, and these are the outputs… programmers each use their own creativity” to implement it. This line of argument may lead Alsup to conclude that the “sequence, structure, and organization” of APIs are not copyrightable.
Such a finding could possibly break open software monopolies such as Windows.
Labour absolutely smashing the Tories and the Lib Dems in the council elections. SNP also looking solid north of Hadrian’s Wall.
Jack Straw:
“It is a matter of record that I didn’t vote for Ed Miliband for leader but I think he is doing increasingly well. But I also think the scales are falling from people’s eyes about Mr Cameron, who has enjoyed quite high ratings above his own party for some time. But since the budget people have seen the real David Cameron and the real George Osborne and they are not terribly keen on what they see.”
Labour will be doing well if they manage to hold Glasgow. All the talk was that it would fall to SNP. So far 9-7 to Lab. It’s being seen as a key indicator after the debacle of the general election.
Overall, it looks like the Lib Dems are the biggest losers, Wales in particular going red again. Good job, too. They did have the option of going with Labour once Brown said he wouldn’t carry on, but they chose Cameron. So yah boo sucks to them.
+1 I think the true understanding between the 2 Oxbridge boys decided that set of negotiations.
Also
It looks as if SNP has conceded it cannot win outright in Glasgow. Labour will be relieved and hopefully it won’t harm the independence vote ( keep your feet on the ground Alex Salmond).
Boris will win the London mayoralty it seems. He’s done well to position himself as a Cameron dissenter.
Edit: from the Guardian – “1.12pm: Labour have now won so many seats that the number (1,404, since you ask) is having trouble fitting into its box in our graphic.” 🙂
But it makes no difference does it, what colour has how ever many…
New Labout did a good job in centrasl power didn’t they under Blair and Brown!
What point in time will people accept by giving their energy to politics, they are being taken for a ride, and endorsing by playing along, as if it make a differnece!
Newsflash, : It makes no difference, your government is not making the decisions, rather certain that this is painfully obvious by now…
We had a unexpected glitch last night with adding new posts. I’m trying to find out what the problem is. FYI: it uses all available memory when putting up the page before dying – classic bug.
In the meantime OpenMike for today will be delayed.
5 May
A pleasure to listen to Radionz interview Kim and documentary maker on our economics which has a go at the mess. On now till about 8.40 am Ross Ashcroft: renegade economics.
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Our trust in our political institutions is fast eroding, according to a Maxim Institute discussion paper, Shaky Foundations: Why our democracy needs trust. The paper – released today – raises concerns about declining trust in New Zealand’s political institutions and democratic processes, and the role that the overuse of Parliamentary urgency ...
This article was prepared for publication yesterday. More ministerial announcements have been posted on the government’s official website since it was written. We will report on these later today …. Buzz from the BeehiveThere we were, thinking the environment is in trouble, when along came Jones. Shane Jones. ...
New Zealand now has the fourth most depressed construction sector in the world behind China, Qatar and Hong Kong. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: These are the six things that stood out to me in news and commentary on Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy at 8:46am on Thursday, May 2:The Lead: ...
Hi,I am just going to state something very obvious: American police are fucking crazy.That was a photo gracing the New York Times this morning, showing New York City police “entering Columbia University last night after receiving a request from the school.”Apparently in America, protesting the deaths of tens of thousands ...
Winston Peters’ much anticipated foreign policy speech last night was a work of two halves. Much of it was a standard “boilerplate” Foreign Ministry overview of the state of the world. There was some hardening up of rhetoric with talk of “benign” becoming “malign” and old truths giving way to ...
Graham Adams assesses the fallout of the Cass Review — The press release last Thursday from the UN Special Rapporteur on violence against women and girls didn’t make the mainstream news in New Zealand but it really should have. The startling title of Reem Alsalem’s statement — “Implementation of ‘Cass ...
This open-for-business, under-new-management cliché-pockmarked government of Christopher Luxon is not the thing of beauty he imagines it to be. It is not the powerful expression of the will of the people that he asserts it to be. It is not a soaring eagle, it is a malodorous vulture. This newest poll should make ...
The latest labour market statistics, showing a rise in unemployment. There are now 134,000 unemployed - 14,000 more than when the National government took office. Which is I guess what happens when the Reserve Bank causes a recession in an effort to Keep Wages Low. The previous government saw a ...
Three opinion polls have been released in the last two days, all showing that the new government is failing to hold their popular support. The usual honeymoon experienced during the first year of a first term government is entirely absent. The political mood is still gloomy and discontented, mainly due ...
National's Finance Minister once met a poor person.A scornful interview with National's finance guru who knows next to nothing about economics or people.There might have been something a bit familiar if that was the headline I’d gone with today. It would of course have been in tribute to the article ...
Rob MacCulloch writes – Throughout the pandemic, the new Vice-Chancellor-of-Otago-University-on-$629,000 per annum-Can-you-believe-it-and-Former-Finance-Minister Grant Robertson repeated the mantra over and over that he saved “lives and livelihoods”.As we update how this claim is faring over the course of time, the facts are increasingly speaking differently. NZ ...
Chris Trotter writes – IT’S A COMMONPLACE of political speeches, especially those delivered in acknowledgement of electoral victory: “We’ll govern for all New Zealanders.” On the face of it, the pledge is a strange one. Why would any political leader govern in ways that advantaged the huge ...
Bryce Edwards writes – The list of former National Party Ministers being given plum and important roles got longer this week with the appointment of former Deputy Prime Minister Paula Bennett as the chair of Pharmac. The Christopher Luxon-led Government has now made key appointments to Bill ...
TL;DR: These are the six things that stood out to me in news and commentary on Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy at 10:06am on Wednesday, May 1:The Lead: Business confidence fell across the board in April, falling in some areas to levels last seen during the lockdowns because of a collapse in ...
Over the past 36 hours, Christopher Luxon has been dong his best to portray the centre-right’s plummeting poll numbers as a mark of virtue. Allegedly, the negative verdicts are the result of hard economic times, and of a government bravely set out on a perilous rescue mission from which not ...
Auckland Transport have started rolling out new HOP card readers around the network and over the next three months, all of them on buses, at train stations and ferry wharves will be replaced. The change itself is not that remarkable, with the new readers looking similar to what is already ...
Completed reads for April: The Difference Engine, by William Gibson and Bruce Sterling Carnival of Saints, by George Herman The Snow Spider, by Jenny Nimmo Emlyn’s Moon, by Jenny Nimmo The Chestnut Soldier, by Jenny Nimmo Death Comes As the End, by Agatha Christie Lord of the Flies, by ...
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 ...
Have a story to share about St Paul’s, but today just picturesPopular novels written at this desk by a young man who managed to bootstrap himself out of father’s imprisonment and his own young life in a workhouse Read more ...
The list of former National Party Ministers being given plum and important roles got longer this week with the appointment of former Deputy Prime Minister Paula Bennett as the chair of Pharmac. The Christopher Luxon-led Government has now made key appointments to Bill English, Simon Bridges, Steven Joyce, Roger Sowry, ...
Newsroom has a story today about National's (fortunately failed) effort to disestablish the newly-created Inspector-General of Defence. The creation of this agency was the key recommendation of the Inquiry into Operation Burnham, and a vital means of restoring credibility and social licence to an agency which had been caught lying ...
Holding On To The Present:The moment a political movement arises that attacks the whole idea of social progress, and announces its intention to wind back the hands of History’s clock, then democracy, along with its unwritten rules, is in mortal danger.IT’S A COMMONPLACE of political speeches, especially those delivered in ...
Stuck In The Middle With You:As Christopher Luxon feels the hot breath of Act’s and NZ First’s extremists on the back of his neck and, as he reckons with the damage their policies are already inflicting upon a country he’s described as “fragile”, is there not some merit in reaching out ...
The unpopular coalition government is currently rushing to repeal section 7AA of the Oranga Tamariki Act. The clause is Oranga Tamariki's Treaty clause, and was inserted after its systematic stealing of Māori children became a public scandal and resulted in physical resistance to further abductions. The clause created clear obligations ...
Buzz from the Beehive The government’s official website – which Point of Order monitors daily – not for the first time has nothing much to say today about political happenings that are grabbing media headlines. It makes no mention of the latest 1News-Verian poll, for example. This shows National down ...
It Takes A Train To Cry:Surely, there is nothing lonelier in all this world than the long wail of a distant steam locomotive on a cold Winter’s night.AS A CHILD, I would lie awake in my grandfather’s house and listen to the traffic. The big wooden house was only a ...
Packing A Punch: The election of the present government, including in its ranks politicians dedicated to reasserting the rights of the legislature in shaping and determining the future of Māori and Pakeha in New Zealand, should have alerted the judiciary – including its anomalous appendage, the Waitangi Tribunal – that its ...
Dead Woman Walking: New Zealand’s media industry had been moving steadily towards disaster for all the years Melissa Lee had been National’s media and communications policy spokesperson, and yet, when the crisis finally broke, on her watch, she had nothing intelligent to offer. Christopher Luxon is a patient man - but he’s not ...
Chris Trotter writes – New Zealand politics is remarkably easy-going: dangerously so, one might even say. With the notable exception of John Key’s flat ruling-out of the NZ First Party in 2008, all parties capable of clearing MMP’s five-percent threshold, or winning one or more electorate seats, tend ...
Bryce Edwards writes – Polling shows that Wellington Mayor Tory Whanau has the lowest approval rating of any mayor in the country. Siting at -12 per cent, the proportion of constituents who disapprove of her performance outweighs those who give her the thumbs up. This negative rating is ...
Luxon will no doubt put a brave face on it, but there is no escaping the pressure this latest poll will put on him and the government. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: These are the six things that stood out to me in news and commentary on Aotearoa-NZ’s political ...
Ministers must front up about which projects it will push through under its Fast Track Approvals legislation, Labour environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said today. ...
The Government is again adding to New Zealand’s growing unemployment, this time cutting jobs at the agencies responsible for urban development and growing much needed housing stock. ...
With Minister Karen Chhour indicating in the House today that she either doesn’t know or care about the frontline cuts she’s making to Oranga Tamariki, we risk seeing more and more of our children falling through the cracks. ...
The Labour Party is saddened to learn of the death of Sir Robert Martin, a globally renowned disability advocate who led the way for disability rights both in New Zealand and internationally. ...
Labour is calling for the Government to urgently rethink its coalition commitment to restart live animal exports, Labour animal welfare spokesperson Rachel Boyack said. ...
Today’s Financial Stability Report has once again highlighted that poverty and deep inequality are political choices - and this Government is choosing to make them worse. ...
The Green Party is calling on the Government to do more for our households in most need as unemployment rises and the cost of living crisis endures. ...
Unemployment is on the rise and it’s only going to get worse under this Government, Labour finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds said. Stats NZ figures show the unemployment rate grew to 4.3 percent in the March quarter from 4 percent in the December quarter. “This is the second rise in unemployment ...
The New Zealand Labour Party welcomes the entering into force of the European Union and New Zealand free trade agreement. This agreement opens the door for a huge increase in trade opportunities with a market of 450 million people who are high value discerning consumers of New Zealand goods and ...
The National-led Government continues its fiscal jiggery pokery with its Pharmac announcement today, Labour Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall says. “The government has increased Pharmac funding but conceded it will only make minimal increases in access to medicine”, said Ayesha Verrall “This is far from the bold promises made to fund ...
This afternoon’s interim Waitangi Tribunal report must be taken seriously as it affects our most vulnerable children, Labour children’s spokesperson Willow-Jean Prime. ...
Te Pāti Māori are demanding the New Zealand Government support an international independent investigation into mass graves that have been uncovered at two hospitals on the Gaza strip, following weeks of assault by Israeli troops. Among the 392 bodies that have been recovered, are children and elderly civilians. Many of ...
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. ...
Tonight’s court decision to overturn the summons of the Children’s Minister has enabled the Crown to continue making decisions about Māori without evidence, says Te Pāti Māori spokesperson for Children, Mariameno Kapa-Kingi. “The judicial system has this evening told the nation that this government can do whatever they want when ...
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. ...
The government's decision to reintroduce Three Strikes is a destructive and ineffective piece of law-making that will only exacerbate an inherently biased and racist criminal justice system, said Te Pāti Māori Justice Spokesperson, Tākuta Ferris, today. During the time Three Strikes was in place in Aotearoa, Māori and Pasifika received ...
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. ...
Te Pāti Māori is disgusted at the confirmation that hundreds are set to lose their jobs at Oranga Tamariki, and the disestablishment of the Treaty Response Unit. “This act of absolute carelessness and out of touch decision making is committing tamariki to state abuse.” Said Te Pāti Māori Oranga Tamariki ...
The Government has delivered on its election promise to provide a financially sustainable model for Auckland under its Local Water Done Well plan. The plan, which has been unanimously endorsed by Auckland Council’s Governing Body, will see Aucklanders avoid the previously projected 25.8 per cent water rates increases while retaining ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters discussed the need for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, and enhanced cooperation in the Pacific with German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock during her first official visit to New Zealand today. "New Zealand and Germany enjoy shared interests and values, including the rule of law, democracy, respect for the international system ...
The Minister Responsible for RMA Reform, Chris Bishop today released his decision on four recommendations referred to him by the Western Bay of Plenty District Council, opening the door to housing growth in the area. The Council’s Plan Change 92 allows more homes to be built in existing and new ...
Thank you, John McKinnon and the New Zealand China Council for the invitation to speak to you today. Thank you too, all members of the China Council. Your effort has played an essential role in helping to build, shape, and grow a balanced and resilient relationship between our two ...
The Government is modernising insurance law to better protect Kiwis and provide security in the event of a disaster, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly announced today. “These reforms are long overdue. New Zealand’s insurance law is complicated and dated, some of which is more than 100 years old. ...
The coalition Government is refreshing its approach to supporting pay equity claims as time-limited funding for the Pay Equity Taskforce comes to an end, Public Service Minister Nicola Willis says. “Three years ago, the then-government introduced changes to the Equal Pay Act to support pay equity bargaining. The changes were ...
Structured literacy will change the way New Zealand children learn to read - improving achievement and setting students up for success, Education Minister Erica Stanford says. “Being able to read and write is a fundamental life skill that too many young people are missing out on. Recent data shows that ...
Trade Minister Todd McClay says Canada’s refusal to comply in full with a CPTPP trade dispute ruling in our favour over dairy trade is cynical and New Zealand has no intention of backing down. Mr McClay said he has asked for urgent legal advice in respect of our ‘next move’ ...
The rights of our children and young people will be enhanced by changes the coalition Government will make to strengthen oversight of the Oranga Tamariki system, including restoring a single Children’s Commissioner. “The Government is committed to delivering better public services that care for our most at-risk young people and ...
The Government is making it easier for minor changes to be made to a building consent so building a home is easier and more affordable, Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk says. “The coalition Government is focused on making it easier and cheaper to build homes so we can ...
New Zealand lost a true legend when internationally renowned disability advocate Sir Robert Martin (KNZM) passed away at his home in Whanganui last night, Disabilities Issues Minister Louise Upston says. “Our Government’s thoughts are with his wife Lynda, family and community, those he has worked with, the disability community in ...
Good evening – Before discussing the challenges and opportunities facing New Zealand’s foreign policy, we’d like to first acknowledge the New Zealand Institute of International Affairs. You have contributed to debates about New Zealand foreign policy over a long period of time, and we thank you for hosting us. ...
From today, passengers travelling internationally from Auckland Airport will be able to keep laptops and liquids in their carry-on bags for security screening thanks to new technology, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Creating a more efficient and seamless travel experience is important for holidaymakers and businesses, enabling faster movement through ...
People with an interest in the health of Northland’s marine ecosystems are invited to a public meeting to discuss how to deal with kina barrens, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. Mr Jones will lead the discussion, which will take place on Friday, 10 May, at Awanui Hotel in ...
Kiwi exporters are $100 million better off today with the NZ EU FTA entering into force says Trade Minister Todd McClay. “This is all part of our plan to grow the economy. New Zealand's prosperity depends on international trade, making up 60 per cent of the country’s total economic activity. ...
There are heartening signs that the extractive sector is once again becoming an attractive prospect for investors and a source of economic prosperity for New Zealand, Resources Minister Shane Jones says. “The beginnings of a resurgence in extractive industries are apparent in media reports of the sector in the past ...
The return of the historic Ō-Rākau battle site to the descendants of those who fought there moved one step closer today with the first reading of Te Pire mō Ō-Rākau, Te Pae o Maumahara / The Ō-Rākau Remembrance Bill. The Bill will entrust the 9.7-hectare battle site, five kilometres west ...
Energy Minister Simeon Brown has announced 25 new high-speed EV charging hubs along key routes between major urban centres and outlined the Government’s plan to supercharge New Zealand’s EV infrastructure. The hubs will each have several chargers and be capable of charging at least four – and up to 10 ...
The coalition Government will not proceed with the previous Government’s plans to regulate residential property managers, Housing Minister Chris Bishop says. “I have written to the Chairperson of the Social Services and Community Committee to inform him that the Government does not intend to support the Residential Property Managers Bill ...
The Government has announced an independent review into the disability support system funded by the Ministry of Disabled People – Whaikaha. Disability Issues Minister Louise Upston says the review will look at what can be done to strengthen the long-term sustainability of Disability Support Services to provide disabled people and ...
Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith has attended the Universal Periodic Review in Geneva and outlined the Government’s plan to restore law and order. “Speaking to the United Nations Human Rights Council provided us with an opportunity to present New Zealand’s human rights progress, priorities, and challenges, while responding to issues and ...
The Government and Rotorua Lakes Council are committed to working closely together to end the use of contracted emergency housing motels in Rotorua. Associate Minister of Housing (Social Housing) Tama Potaka says the Government remains committed to ending the long-term use of contracted emergency housing motels in Rotorua by the ...
Trade Minister Todd McClay heads overseas today for high-level trade talks in the Gulf region, and a key OECD meeting in Paris. Mr McClay will travel to Riyadh to meet with counterparts from Saudi Arabia and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). “New Zealand’s goods and services exports to the Gulf region ...
Education Minister Erica Stanford has outlined six education priorities to deliver a world-leading education system that sets Kiwi kids up for future success. “I’m putting ambition, achievement and outcomes at the heart of our education system. I want every child to be inspired and engaged in their learning so they ...
The new NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) App is a secure ‘one stop shop’ to provide the services drivers need, Transport Minister Simeon Brown and Digitising Government Minister Judith Collins say. “The NZTA App will enable an easier way for Kiwis to pay for Vehicle Registration and Road User Charges (RUC). ...
Whānau with tamariki growing up in emergency housing motels will be prioritised for social housing starting this week, says Associate Housing Minister Tama Potaka. “Giving these whānau a better opportunity to build healthy stable lives for themselves and future generations is an essential part of the Government’s goal of reducing ...
Racing Minister Winston Peters has paid tribute to an icon of the industry with the recent passing of Dave O’Sullivan (OBE). “Our sympathies are with the O’Sullivan family with the sad news of Dave O’Sullivan’s recent passing,” Mr Peters says. “His contribution to racing, initially as a jockey and then ...
Assalaamu alaikum, greetings to you all. Eid Mubarak, everyone! I want to extend my warmest wishes to you and everyone celebrating this joyous occasion. It is a pleasure to be here. I have enjoyed Eid celebrations at Parliament before, but this is my first time joining you as the Minister ...
Associate Health Minister David Seymour has announced Pharmac’s largest ever budget of $6.294 billion over four years, fixing a $1.774 billion fiscal cliff. “Access to medicines is a crucial part of many Kiwis’ lives. We’ve committed to a budget allocation of $1.774 billion over four years so Kiwis are ...
Hon Paula Bennett has been appointed as member and chair of the Pharmac board, Associate Health Minister David Seymour announced today. "Pharmac is a critical part of New Zealand's health system and plays a significant role in ensuring that Kiwis have the best possible access to medicines,” says Mr Seymour. ...
Hundreds of New Zealand families affected by Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) will benefit from a new Government focus on prevention and treatment, says Health Minister Dr Shane Reti. “We know FASD is a leading cause of preventable intellectual and neurodevelopmental disability in New Zealand,” Dr Reti says. “Every day, ...
Regional Development Minister Shane Jones today attended the official opening of Kaikohe’s new $14.7 million sports complex. “The completion of the Kaikohe Multi Sports Complex is a fantastic achievement for the Far North,” Mr Jones says. “This facility not only fulfils a long-held dream for local athletes, but also creates ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters’ engagements in Türkiye this week underlined the importance of diplomacy to meet growing global challenges. “Returning to the Gallipoli Peninsula to represent New Zealand at Anzac commemorations was a sombre reminder of the critical importance of diplomacy for de-escalating conflicts and easing tensions,” Mr Peters ...
Ambassador Millar, Burgemeester, Vandepitte, Excellencies, military representatives, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen – good morning and welcome to this sacred Anzac Day dawn service. It is an honour to be here on behalf of the Government and people of New Zealand at Buttes New British Cemetery, Polygon Wood – a deeply ...
Distinguished guests - It is an honour to return once again to this site which, as the resting place for so many of our war-dead, has become a sacred place for generations of New Zealanders. Our presence here and at the other special spaces of Gallipoli is made ...
Mai ia tawhiti pamamao, te moana nui a Kiwa, kua tae whakaiti mai matou, ki to koutou papa whenua. No koutou te tapuwae, no matou te tapuwae, kua honoa pumautia. Ko nga toa kua hinga nei, o te Waipounamu, o te Ika a Maui, he okioki tahi me o ...
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 ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Adrian Beaumont, Election Analyst (Psephologist) at The Conversation; and Honorary Associate, School of Mathematics and Statistics, The University of Melbourne I covered the May 2 United Kingdom local government elections for The Poll Bludger. The Blackpool South parliamentary byelection was also held, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Deanna Grant-Smith, Professor of Management, University of the Sunshine Coast The federal government has announced a “Commonwealth Prac Payment” to support selected groups of students doing mandatory work placements. Those who are studying to be a teacher, nurse, midwife or social ...
We round up everything coming to streaming services this week, including Netflix, Amazon Prime, Disney+, Apple TV+, ThreeNow, Neon and TVNZ+. If you love a dark comedy: Bodkin (Netflix, May 9)An English podcaster, an Irish podcaster and American podcaster walk into a pub and…make a TV show? ...
By Eleisha Foon, RNZ Pacific senior journalist A Pacific regionalism academic has called out New Zealand’s Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters for withholding information from the public on AUKUS and says the security deal “raises serious questions for the Pacific region”. Auckland University of Technology academic Dr Marco de Jong ...
How worried should we be about the cloud? This is an excerpt from our weekly environmental newsletter Future Proof. Sign up here. I currently have a few thousand unread emails languishing in my inbox, mostly old marketing newsletters and piles of unread science journal press releases. I have a similar number ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Nuurrianti Jalli, Assistant Professor of Communication Studies College of Arts and Sciences Department of Languages, Literature, and Communication Studies, Northern State University Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, Southeast Asian governments not only have to deal with the virus but also with the false ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By David Murakami Wood, Professor of Critical Surveillance and Securities Studies, L’Université d’Ottawa/University of Ottawa The skyline of Riyadh, the capital and largest city of the Kingdom of Saudia Arabia.(Shutterstock) There is a long history of planned city building by both governments ...
The LIVE Recording of A View from Afar podcast will begin today at 12:45pm May 6, 2024 (NZST) which is Sunday evening, 8:30pm (USEST). In an analytical essay titled ‘A moment of friction’ political scientist Dr Paul Buchanan wrote how we are living within a decisive moment of ...
The Boil Up’s Lucinda Bennett considers the oyster – from freshness to pearls to the joy of shucking your own. This is an excerpt from our weekly food newsletter, The Boil Up. In Carmen Maria Machado’s short story ‘Eight Bites’, a woman begins her last supper before bariatric surgery with “a cavalcade ...
Asia Pacific Report A group of 65 Auckland University academics have written an open letter to vice-chancellor Dawn Freshwater criticising the institution’s stance over students protesting in solidarity with Palestine. They have called on her administration to “support” the students who were denied permission to establish an “overnight encampment” by ...
The Student Volunteer Army is on the march, generating approximately 1.6 million hours of volunteering from roughly 35,000 secondary school students in just five years. For Rebekah Brown, the pathway to volunteering started with her singing coach. With a passion for the arts, the suggestion to volunteer at Acting Antics, ...
Keeping up with online communication can be exhausting, so Fran Barclay enlisted the help of Meta’s new ‘intelligent assistant’ to respond to all her messages. Could her mates tell the difference? For centuries, technology has ruled the ways in which we communicate. From the dawn of written language, to the ...
Jamie Arbuckle, a councillor who has become an member of parliament, says he has settled into having two roles so comfortably he's going to keep both pay cheques. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Luis Gómez Romero, Senior Lecturer in Human Rights, Constitutional Law and Legal Theory, University of Wollongong Fifty years ago, Australian feminist Anne Summers denounced “the ideology of sexism” governing over so many women’s lives. Unfortunately, sexism is as lethal today as it ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jose Antonio Lara-Hernandez, Senior Researcher in Architecture, Auckland University of Technology Getty Images The COVID-19 pandemic and the hybrid work patterns it fostered have changed the way we think about office space, and central business districts in general. While fears ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Dale Boccabella, Associate Professor of Taxation Law, UNSW Sydney There’s a good reason your local volunteer-run netball club doesn’t pay tax. In Australia, various nonprofit organisations are exempt from paying income tax, including those that do charitable work, such as churches. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Marina Deller, Casual Academic, Creative Writing and English Literature, Flinders University NetflixComedy is opening up spaces for silences to be broken and trauma stories to be told. In 2018, Hannah Gadsby started a revolution with Nanette, asking audiences to rethink ...
The workplace can be a minefield of bad comms and passive aggression. Kinksters can help you navigate it. A friend and colleague recently gave me a compliment I loved. They told me I’d always been good at emotional communication and making people feel comfortable. “But I feel like it’s really ...
Even if some students are now just texting on their laptops. Stewart Sowman-Lund writes in this excerpt from The Bulletin, The Spinoff’s morning news round-up. To receive The Bulletin in full each weekday, sign up here. ...
Councils from Horowhenua, Kāpiti, Wairarapa, the Hutt Valley, Porirua and Wellington City will meet this Friday to work together on a plan for a Greater Wellington region water deal. ...
Renowned musician, advocate, and proud born and raised daughter of Tauranga, Ria Hall, is announcing her candidacy for Mayor of Tauranga and Pāpāmoa Ward for the upcoming election on July 20th. ...
The new Aotearoa histories curriculum is rich with potential. There’s still work to be done, but the education minister’s criticisms about ‘balance’ miss the mark, argues primary school teacher Jessie Moss. In 2015, Ōtorohanga College students presented to parliament a petition signed by more than 10,000 people calling for a ...
For too long our so-called national bird has maintained its stranglehold on the economy of regional New Zealand. Thanks to the fast track legislation, we will have our revenge. Theories abound on what ails New Zealand’s economy. National leader Chris Luxon has posited that we’re negative, wet, whiny, and inward-looking; ...
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For the past 12 years, Georgia-Rose Brown has balanced on the brink of making an Olympic Games – but always landed gracefully on the wrong side. Reaching the Olympics is a dream the gymnast has harboured since she was a six-year-old; a dream that would dwindle every four years, yet ...
Late one afternoon in March 1860 a man in a thin green velveteen jacket and a wide-awake hat arrived on foot at a sheep station named Glenmark, about 65 kilometres north of Christchurch. The man was in his mid-fifties but he looked older. Several people who met him that day ...
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The number one reason to keep John Banks on (from todays Herald)….
Mr Wall said he was a “good friend” of Mr Banks and had little to say. “He’s a patriot who has given 40 years of service to his country.”
Jeez thats funny! Any advances?
Service? Emptying troughs?
“He’s a patriot”
Hmm, I think you may get very little response to your challenge, there Bored.
Banks claimed exactly the same thing for Don Brash during the election campaign. At least once during every public speech in defence of his embattled and unpopular leader, Banks would proclaim that Don Brash is a patriot who loves his country.
Unfortunately to my ears it sounded like faint praise at the time, and indeed it was, as revealed in the teapot tapes.
Apart from loving their country, no one, not even their supporters, can point to any other positive quality that these individuals possess.
When people, start spouting about how patriotic they are, I am always reminded of Oscar Wilde’s statement about refuges and scoundrels.
I have a funny feeling that ACT might be stuffed full of such patriots.
or
Samuel Johnson, 1775
Bin Laden’s inner circle also was frustrated when, in 2010, attention in the US shifted to the weak economy without apparently crediting al Qaeda for the economic damage that terrorist attacks had caused.
Well they certainly got given all the credit for taking out the Seal Team 6, in a “revenge attack”. You simply would never “give” your “enemy” that sort of PR “victory”
Can’t recall Iran getting credit for taking out the drone, it was deny deny deny!
Digitized “letters” of OBL “fretting”.
You could not make this stuff up…woops hold on, they’re digital, of course you can!
I can’t believe the shit they come up with!! Here is my two cents on it: On Osama, Obama and diaries. If you still believe this BS you have not been paying attention
I have mixed feelings about this announcement:
http://www.stuff.co.nz/entertainment/tv/6857009/TVNZ7-scrapped-in-favour-of-repeats-channel
I am glad that the channel remains in TVNZs hands, and hope this means it would be relatively easy to re-purpose it as a PBS channel at a later date….?
I also like the +1 concept. I use TV3+1 sometimes – e.g. if I miss the news, or there is a clash of programmes on at the same time. Often the small number of dramas I DO watch are all on at the same time, with nothing worth watching at other times – and I can only record one channel showing on Freeview at a time, using my DVD recorder.
But my much preferred option is for a channel that is developed s a significant public service channel.
You like the +1 concept? Man, I think its such a hideous waste of broadcasting time
+1
Those resources would be better put into on demand viewing.
Yes, and spreading publicly funded programmes around channels that can attract a few more viewers.
OMG – PG your boss has finally said something worthwhile and for once I agree with him. http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=10803512
He’s not my boss and I only partly agree with him. TVNZ is terrible and I rarely watch it and they self celebratise far too much.
But I don’t think TV7 is the best use of resources. If they put some effort into having watchable programs on TV1 they wouldn’t have needed TV7 in the first place.
+1 is an ok idea for a bit of flexibility in watching, especially for times they have 60 minutes and Close Up (is that what that one’s called?) clash as they make sure they do – but repeating what mostly seems to be repetitive rubbish is a waste of time.
Its a nice safe protest – pitching as the ‘reasonable man’, that somehow by design sort of can’t in this case actually do anything about it – but its great to be able to pretend to have a different view from National! The question is still whether he will listen to his own poll and vote against the second reading of the privatising of strategic New Zealand assets. . .
+1
Yeah, the usual criticised if he says nothing, criticised if he says something. Do you think he shouldn’t comment on anything?
On asset sales I think he’s likely to listen to his pre-election and post-election commitments. If he didn’t do that he’d get lambasted from certain quarters, who lambast him when he does. At least he’s consistent, the lambast brigade aren’t.
I would prefer a better ondemand offer, and a bigger, better public service channel. But I do find +1 can be useful sometimes.
I watch ondemand a bit, but often find the programmes I want to pick up there aren’t offered – House, lately for instance, and the programmes that run quite late like Damages.
Also I find TV3s videos often freeze on me. I do find it a better experience to watch programmes on my TV than on ondemand. And there’s been 1 or 2 occasions when I’ve watched the start of a movie on TV3, switched to watch another programme at 9.30pm, then switched onto TV3 +1 to watch the end of the movie.
I do watch dramas and the best ones always seem to be put up against each other, sometimes on 3 different channels. That doesn’t happen a lot, but when it does +1 can be helpful. Maybe that’s not a problem to people with “my sky” or “my freeview”. But I just have a DVD recorder and a freeview box.
And it does help with watching some key bit of news on TV3 that was on before I got home, but everyone is talking about online.
The +1 concept works when you have content which has value.
Like Sky Movies running blockbusters at a +1 delay across their channels, because maybe you have something else to watch at 8:30 but still want to catch the movie (or, these days, you’re MySkying too many things at 8:30…)
I simply cannot name any piece of TVOne content I care enough about to be grateful it’ll be on an hour later if I need it. But at least their utterly pointless “do a news show at 4.30 to prove we’re totally cooler than Prime even though it makes zero sense” news show will be bumped to a more plausible timeslot …
Unless it’s alive broadcast, I find the whole concept of watching something at a specific designated time quite odd these days.
Another disconnect within Labour?
No Cullen Fund restart until surplus, says Shearer– but did he tell his MPs?
David Shearer today:
Trevor Mallard on Tuesday speaking in the House:
Maybe Mallard has since come on board with his leader’s plans.
There will not be a reply forthcoming.
I see a round of Labour party BBQs coming up and Labour’s “Hollow Man” will not be invited.
Of course, it was more of a grilling than he gets from the New Zealand media:
http://www.stuff.co.nz/dominion-post/news/politics/6857056/PM-gets-grilling-but-emerges-unscathed
Telling answer here:
What do you always carry in your pocket?
Money, “Cause you never know when you’ll need to buy something … and my wife takes the money from my wallet”.
Let them eat cake, eh?
ha ha, that is telling. I sometimes purposely take money out of my pockets so nothing can be spent and it is also quite the liberating thing. Try it next time you head somewhere. I do often carry a pocket-knife though.
National’s announcement around student loans and allowances seems to have hit a nerve, if the Stuff comments are anything to go by:
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/education/6853057/Student-loan-repayments-hiked-allowances-restricted
It’s an amusing read. So many people who loved National and their cutbacks – until it affects them.
You might think it would make a lefty happy to see people turning against the Government, but it only made me sad. So many educated people who don’t give a shit about others, only about themselves.
Particularly like the 27yo grad earning $110k suggesting that government instead needs to be cutting welfare and raising the retirement age. Middle-class welfare is apparently more productive.
It makes me sad to see solecisms such as “Pay check” sprinkled in amongst the comments. (That happens here as well, but after being being denigrated for saying anything, had vowed not to express how my head aches so much, seeing American spellings larded in amongst what would decades ago, have been NZ usage. Ah, heck with it, a young Island man once told my brother that his ambition was to “go to the Capital, man”. When my brother pointed out that they were both in Wellington, the youth said “I mean the capital, Washington”. That was 10 years back, and it seems everyone thinks that we live in the USA now.
Solecism – my new word for the day, thank you Vicky.
The New Zealand dollar fell below 80 US cents for the first time since January after weaker-than-expected US data and a surprise gain in local unemployment stoked bets the Reserve Bank may cut interest rates
Yup, just like I said 2 days ago!
Are SOEs covered by the OIA? Just been told by one that they’re a private company and therefore an OIA request won’t do any good.
Yes, they are except the ports for some reason.
Ta.
So now if you go to a rugby match there’s always the chance that some security camera operator is reading your texts. Apparently a police officer who saw it happen thought there “might be privacy issues” (considering the source, that’s a major flag).
Unlawful interception of a communication, anyone?
I dont think the cops are very interested in anything I have to say.
A variation on the “nothing to hide” argument in favour of big brother?
The point isn’t whether they’re interested – the point is whether you’ve got a right to sext your boyfriend or say the game of rugby is shit, without becoming the next target of a club bouncer who wants to get on tv.
Coupled with that is the fact that the harm of invasions of privacy isn’t the objective, in context meaning of the full text message, it’s the partial snapshot out of context that is used to colour in a pixelated image that exists solely in the mind of the privacy intruder – whether that being a camera operator taking home a copy to stroke off to, or an armed police officer operating under a misapprehension and shooting a Brazilian electrician in the head.
Anyone worried about their privacy has not been paying attention over the past 10-15 years primarily, but in reality its much longer than that…
Your privacy is not a consideration, in fact your privacy, and protection of your data is , not only for sale, but publically available freely, thanks to social networking!
We lost that battle long ago, and most had no idea it was even happening.
Too busy lusting after the “amazing gadgets”
There’s a lot of difference between anonymised aggregate data and random datapoints being permanently and possibly erroneously attributed to an individual.
It’s like pollution – yeah, it’s all around, but that doesn’t mean we can’t clean up the worst bits to a reasonable standard.
“Your privacy is not a consideration, in fact your privacy, and protection of your data is , not only for sale, but publically available freely, thanks to social networking!”
Sorry, but that is such a crock. RNZ’s tech expert said the other day the old chestnut about how unencrypted emails are just like a postcard. If that’s true that means that the staff at vodafone can read my emails in the same way that the sorters and posties at NZPost can read a postcard I send. Is that true?
Do you know who I am? No? Then I have a degree of privacy that I enjoy and want to keep. How is my identity “publically available freely”?
I agree with you that many people have made choices about technology without understanding the implications very well. But that’s completely different than saying that we have no privacy anymore. Privacy is not an absolute.
The thing is that the postal worker sorting a postcard does not automatically store the entire contents and file it with every other piece of data that travelled through the sorting room that day. Then another dude runs a search and finds something to sell to an insurance company, or put on the interwebz, or decides that “great cocktails” was a reference to an improvised munition so puts you on a watch list / raid list.
No, that’s right. So the analogy (and the fearmongering) is wrong (or at least, it’s the wrong fearmongering). Worse than people not knowing what is going on, is people who do know putting out misleading and confusing information that makes it impossible for lay people to make good choices.
So who is storing my emails and then using them to spam me?
Well, facebook for one – only they call it “targeted advertising”.
But I’m not sure who mentioned emails. But I have been in CCTV ops rooms where the operator has cycled the monitor to the camera which shows the hot woman in a low-cut top. And then there’s the entire pan/tilt/zoom issue. ISTR Princess Diana had an issue with that on more than one occasion.
Do you mean that FB has the ability to collect email content that has nothing to do with FB, from people with FB accounts?
Nah. Just that large-scaledata-matching is their business, often in ways that aren’t plainly obvious to their users.
What’s the line – “if you’re not paying for their product, then you are their product”?
For email intercepts, most intelligence organisations do that as a matter of course – e.g. Echelon.
weka – Facebook app on smartphones IS accessing your personal txts.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/technology/digital-living/6485221/Facebook-app-accessing-texts-report
I don’t see why they would stop there. Facebook of course denies they are using the functionality even though they designed it in. In other words, they are saying that they did not inhale.
Captian Cook
That exactly what the unsuspecting Jewish people said in Germany in he 1930s
So what about your leader announcing that a future Labour government would freeze payments to the Superfund?
How about that for copying National after all the protests that Labourites and its MPs hurled at the government?
And how about his private dinner with that SKY lobbyist?
Clare Curran must be spitting chips!
I’m glad. It was a stupid policy, especially when National were beating the drum about fiscal competence.
so what about it?
do you think other people are mindreaders or your own prose is so riveting that the menaings are clear and evident to anyone with an iq under 70.
yah yah yah.
Try replying to the post you are referring to and then we might know what you are talking about (or maybe not).
Wow! Peter Dunne has come out spitting tacks and I agree with every word he says. Why didn’t he say it sooner.
http://www.3news.co.nz/Peter-Dunne-slams-TV-One/tabid/1607/articleID/252973/Default.aspx
Oops Anne. Mr Key reckoned to a bunch of 10year olds yesterday, that his best channel was TV 1. Perhaps Pete and John could have a quiet cup of tea and agree.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/science/6858916/Super-moon-bad-news-for-Tuvalu
Huge moon this weekend. One such that the moonman said would create another time of increased risk of earthquake activity. Let’s see what happens this time. Put the breakables away and fill the car with fuel Cantabrians…
I predict no big earthquakes, here or anywhere else.
That’s bold Lanth. Even bolder then the moonman. Remember he got the March 20 ones.
If the moon’s extra gravity can pull giant oceans that much further than it usually can surely there is substantial increased force exterted on everything upwards and sideway? After all, the oceans can react to it. We will probably all weigh both less and more this weekend.
It’s not bold. It’s an understanding of science and statistical probabilities.
Size of moon. It is a strange thing that again an astronomer says that a moon at moonrise is the same size as the moon high in the sky. He said this morning that it is just a trick and he can’t explain it. He says that high tech measuring gear shows that the moon is the same at rise as high.
Another astronomer reckoned that it was an illusion because at rise, there are land based things like hills and buildings for the eye to measure against and they are missing high in the sky.
Place your bets. Moon @ rise same size as high in the sky? Yes. No.
I think the moon is the same size all the time 😉
This is a well-known and well-studied phenomenon, and it is true that astronomers, and more relevantly psychologists, cannot adequately explain why the human brain interprets a moon low on the horizon as being apparently larger than one up high in the sky. There are many many theories for it, but as I understand none of them has been conclusively shown to be the best description. Most likely it’s a whole bunch of different factors all playing different roles.
Bad Astronomy puts forward an idea that might explain it unfortunately he puts the idea forward as fact when there’s still doubt. Wikipedia mentions this stuff to.
I did not see anyone mention a Sextant. It is a hi-tech instrument that has been used by navigators for measuring celestial objects for 100’s of years. I believe James Cook was skilled at using it. It was still being used 30 years ago. Nor did anyone refer to the refraction of light. A beautiful example of this is the primary and secondary Rainbow. In the case of the moon, light from a rising moon is travelling at an angle from space into the atmosphere. From a “less dense” to a “more dense” medium. In doing so the light changes direction. Something Navigators, Astronomers, etc. can measure. This does have an effect on the observed diameter of the moon when it is close to the horizion.
Regarding the possiblity of an eathquake, I will not be sleeping under the table but I do have an Emergency Kit at the end of the bed. Baden Powell’s motto for the Scouts.”Be Prepared”.
I predict at least one mag6.0 or greater somewhere on the Pacific Rim within 5 days of perigee.
Why Cantabrians? They’re not the only ones with a moon this weekend. Why doesn’t everyone hop in their cars and get away to somewhere safe from the moon?
Where would you go? About the furthest from anywhere is the middle of the Southern Alps, why not try that?
Don’t want to be too close to the coast though, or somewhere with lots of hills (sorry Pete). They reckon Invercargill is one of the safer places to be in an earthquake (despite being near the sea) – it’s flat, not too many big buildings, not too close to major faults.
To the centre of the earth!
Isn’t that where all the weird bacteria live?
I was looking at the moon last night, high in the sky, and thinking shit that’s big this month, imagine what it will look like on the horizon when its full. It will be worth going out for.
I saw it about a week ago on the horizon and thought it looked unusually large then.
ipredict that mathew hootn will take the elevator lifts out of his shoes when john banks leaves parliament.
Key will front on Campbell Live tonight. He must be worried!
Under what conditions? That Campbell rolls over and treats Key “nice”?
I lost the piece of carpet from just inside my front door the other month,a close up of Slippery’s nut on Campbell live tonight tends to suggest that Slippery has glued it on to hide a bad spot of hair loss,
When asked if He knows anything about the missing carpet piece or anything else, Slippery sez He doesn’t know…
I am back to thinking that Labour should roll Shearer sooner rather than later, I look on today’s granny Herald and hello here’s a story of Dave having dinner with Rupert Murdoch’s paid mouth-piece in New Zealand, business as usual obviously,
Next I turn on Prime and catch the Labour leader on the news there,Shearer sez that under a Government He lead the Cullen Super fund was a dead duck until such time as it was affordable to put money into it,which under the current tax regime that Dave doesn’t appear to be about to change will be like the Minister of Guessing Bill English’s balancing of the books, the stuff of fairy tales,
Gets better tho,Dave is going to look for cross party support to raise the age of national super to 67, I doubt that one Dave, not that you and the Treasury want to raise the age of the pension to 67 instead of raising the taxes to pay for it,
I doubt with such policy Labour are going to be governing any time soon…
Shearer’s change of policy on Cullen fund contributions may end up being a millstone around his (and Labour’s) neck. (even though it needed to happen)
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/politics/news/article.cfm?c_id=280&objectid=10803473
The difficulty with him accepting the need to with hold payments until the country returns to surplus is that it is accepting National’s argument that the budget needs to be balanced before new spending can be promised.
The difficulty is that from now on National can hold this principle against Labour every time they come out with a new policy. They will be asked, ‘where is the money coming from?’, ‘what are you cutting to get the money for this new policy?’.
It will be a lot harder for Shearer to come up with an answer that satisfies his own supporters and the general voter. (It is a realistic policy to have – he had no choice)
This will make the 2014 election very interesting – how will Shearer (if he is still the leader) differentiate himself from Key with economic policy? If the economy does start to pick up in 2013 & and early 2014, Key will be able to say, ‘ I told you so. We have seen NZ through the tough times, and now economic growth is returning.’
How will Shearer (or Cunliffe/Robertson) counter this?
Needed to happen???dont think there is any such need, Nationals wonky tax changes simply make the Cullen super fund unaffordable even if economic activity was to pick up to 3% growth,
Instead of manning up with a realistic progressive tax policy Shearer is playing lets not scare the horses hoping to ride high in the polls off of the back of Slippery and Nationals sleazy behaviour,
Dave thinks He can sleep walk the Labour Party into Government to implement an economic policy written by the Treasury…
There will be no sustained per capita economic growth. Ever.
Labour has finally admitted today that it wont put contributions into the Super fund it has done a Flip Flop on its election promise. As John Key said it has only taken them 3 years to work out that its not good fiscal management to borrow money to invest it on the share market. The rest of New Zealand worked that out straight away .Good to see Labour admitting they were going to make yet another economic blunder if the did do it. Must be a sign of things to come under New Labour. The capital gains tax will be gone next
Labour has finally accepted that it will always be NACT Lite and continue to push the unsustainable Ponzi scheme that is capitalism.
The shareprice of infrastructure companies Infratil, Contact Energy and Trustpowerare probably lower than they otherwise would be, given the appetite for low risk investments stemming from global financial unease.
The explanation given by a sharebroker is that the prices are down due to a reduction in demand from potential infrastructure investors who are waiting for Mighty River Power shares to be available to them at a discount.
This would mean investors are expecting to buy Mighty River Power shares on the cheap.
The Government, I suspect is going to sell them cheaper than they are worth to encourage investment away from residential property and to stoke confidence in the NZX.
The Government is appealing to investor’s greed, where they should be encouraging them to take a longer view and forego the chance of a quick buck.
I suspect they have swallowed the false doctrine that “greed is good”.
Encouraging long term investment in companies that are good employers and produce goods and services that are beneficial to people and not irreversibly harmfull to the environment should be the basis of goverment policy in this sphere.
Swallowed it? The government and their ilk are the type of people who invented it.
Now this is interesting:-
Such a finding could possibly break open software monopolies such as Windows.
Labour absolutely smashing the Tories and the Lib Dems in the council elections. SNP also looking solid north of Hadrian’s Wall.
Jack Straw:
“It is a matter of record that I didn’t vote for Ed Miliband for leader but I think he is doing increasingly well. But I also think the scales are falling from people’s eyes about Mr Cameron, who has enjoyed quite high ratings above his own party for some time. But since the budget people have seen the real David Cameron and the real George Osborne and they are not terribly keen on what they see.”
Labour will be doing well if they manage to hold Glasgow. All the talk was that it would fall to SNP. So far 9-7 to Lab. It’s being seen as a key indicator after the debacle of the general election.
Overall, it looks like the Lib Dems are the biggest losers, Wales in particular going red again. Good job, too. They did have the option of going with Labour once Brown said he wouldn’t carry on, but they chose Cameron. So yah boo sucks to them.
+1 I think the true understanding between the 2 Oxbridge boys decided that set of negotiations.
Also
It looks as if SNP has conceded it cannot win outright in Glasgow. Labour will be relieved and hopefully it won’t harm the independence vote ( keep your feet on the ground Alex Salmond).
Boris will win the London mayoralty it seems. He’s done well to position himself as a Cameron dissenter.
Edit: from the Guardian – “1.12pm: Labour have now won so many seats that the number (1,404, since you ask) is having trouble fitting into its box in our graphic.” 🙂
Forget the politics, it’s Boris on a bike and his orangutan fan club you’ve got to check out 😉
http://www.buzzfeed.com/greggdd69/15-orangutans-that-look-like-london-mayor-boris-jo-5v0w
But the apes do way better with ipads than Boris. Can’t find any images of Boris using one.
http://www.torontolife.com/daily/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/Toronto-Zoo-orangutans-ipad.jpg
But it makes no difference does it, what colour has how ever many…
New Labout did a good job in centrasl power didn’t they under Blair and Brown!
What point in time will people accept by giving their energy to politics, they are being taken for a ride, and endorsing by playing along, as if it make a differnece!
Newsflash, : It makes no difference, your government is not making the decisions, rather certain that this is painfully obvious by now…
We had a unexpected glitch last night with adding new posts. I’m trying to find out what the problem is. FYI: it uses all available memory when putting up the page before dying – classic bug.
In the meantime OpenMike for today will be delayed.
5 May
A pleasure to listen to Radionz interview Kim and documentary maker on our economics which has a go at the mess. On now till about 8.40 am Ross Ashcroft: renegade economics.