Some music to brighten up your day/ From Wellington’s wonderful bluesman Darren Watson, who’s a friend of Labour. The song is called Planet Key, and the video, by Jeremy Jones, is such fantastic.
Great track. A sure vote winner for Key. The left don’t get humour. The smugness is all on the Left who genuinely think this resonates with voters. All real people see is John Key the success.
Every day on http://archiedarival.blogspot.co.nz/ I’m putting up a new John Key Lie of the Day, with links where you can hear and see Key doing the lying.
Much of the raw material I got from this site, thank you.
Fishyanal you haven’t come up with one funny thing since you have been posting on this site nor have you come up with one original idea..
In the whole World their are no right wing comedians funny that!
Fishy plenty of clowns like yourself though you should be made to watch good morning Vietnam for a week nonstop fitianal you and the right remind me of the jerk that Robin Williams opposed in that movie.
the right are to anally retentive to be funny fishy to busy trying to play monopoly to be team players!
Could Christine Rankin be just the ‘tool’ needed to chisel Epsom from the grasp of ACT, every little bit helps,
Rankin, if She drags in more of the ACT vote than that She takes off of National will make the electorate a much easier ask for Labour and Green supporters in Epsom to use their electorate votes ‘tactically”,
We can only hope that both Parties, Green and Labour, spend plenty of energy in the Epsom electorate this election identifying and convincing their supporters how crucial ‘tactical voting’ could be in September,
Rankin,likely to only be able to scrape a couple of thousand votes from Epsom may like the whole Conservative % of the party vote be a ‘gift’ for the left this election un-thought of a couple of weeks ago…
Hell hath no fury apparently, a Colon scorned is said to be extremely upsetting to the bowels of some, Slippery the Prime Minister might live to regret passing that particular prune in favor of the more ‘known’ quantity of Winston Peters,
Colons Conservatives seem to take votes from across the spectrum, National/Labour/NZFirst, for National and Labour the effect is pretty much neutral, for NZFirst tho, especially if the latest Roy Morgan is anywhere near accurate, the deliberate targeting of the ‘waiting for God vote’ by Craig might well see Winston pushed into enforced retirement…
‘Spankin’ Rankin” has no show but will annoy the Nats one way or another. Lets give Goldsmith the win he so desperately doesn’t want.
2011 Election Results – Epsom Electorate
Candidate Valid Votes Share (%)
BANKS, John (ACT) 15,835 44.10
GOLDSMITH, Paul (NAT) 13,574 37.80
PARKER, David (LAB) 3,751 10.45
HAY, David (GP) 2,160 6.01
KAN, Simon (CNSP) 342 0.95
BRIGHT, Penny (IND) 124 0.35
O’DEA, Pat (MANA) 66 0.18
GOODE, Matthew (IND) 59 0.16
Interestingly ACT came in 5th on the party vote after Nat. Lab., Green and NZ First at just 2.55%.
Christine Rankin is a moron. Nothing do with Conservatives or standing in Epsom, just need to dilute my calling Cumliffe a moron some more.— Perfect Mike Hosking (@MikePerfectHosk) August 4, 2014
Just proves that Mike Hosking is an absolute pratt to putt it mildly. Is his misspelling of David Cunliffe’s surname a typo or deliberate? It appears that the actual graphics haven’t appeared, but it’s a tweet from him.
Poor Jonah. Off the field he was always a hapless, naive fool. Still remember the clinical way in which the narcissistic short man Holmes secured his griefing up over very personal, very private family matters on prime time TV. Duped again it would seem.
Still, there is that spare knighthood floating around somewhere…….the one ThreeHandKey offered to Richie McCaw (who declined bemusedly) and then mouthed off all over town that he’d offered it.
Political value in this latest stunt ? Not much I’d expect. Whom, now, is Jonah Lomu ? I’ll check back after the expected parading of one-time working class hero The Mad Butcher Leitch.
The National Party’s fascination with cheap celebrity what ?
Did the kidnapping of IDF soldier Hadar Goldin cause the breakdown within the hour of the most recent truce or were hostilities resumed to cover up the implementation of the Hannibal directive?.
@ joe90 …it is more sinister than a simple case of retribution….Israels long term strategy …Crimes Against Humanity…Genocide?…there are gas and oil issues in the mix
‘Israel’s Military Strategy:”Obliterate Them Completely”. Overwhelming Evidence of Genocide, Precise Data on Death and Destruction in Gaza’
Death Toll Exceeds that of “Cast Lead”, 2008-2009
By Prof Michel Chossudovsky
“Genocide directed against Palestinians has become a “New Normal” according to the Times of Israel.
Under certain circumstances –according to the Times of Israel article–“Genocide is Permissible” because it is directed against Palestinians who are “terrorists” and who should be “obliterated…..
Breaking what, the truce the IDF broke when troops entered an Hamas tunnel where they met resistance and rather than let Hadar Goldin be kidnapped the Hannibal directive was enacted and he was murdered by his own comrades. That truce?.
Interestingly, he contrasts reaction to that situation to the official outrage voiced over the downing of the Malaysian airliner.
As ever his analysis is intense with a dry sarcasm that strips away the rhetorical veneer of pro-Israeli reactions and exposes all the bald inconsistencies inherent in maintaining that position.
It was interesting to watch Campbell Live on Friday evening (the only time I every watch TV when visiting the olds) and see John Campbell say that after so much bad news it was time for some happy news to end the week with – so far so good.
Then follows a story on a far north century old hotel that has closed down with the land and building now owned by the local iwi who have decided that they don’t want to allow one last drink up by the locals to mark the hotel’s closing as their elders feel alcohol has harmed Maori in the district for such a long time. At this point everyone in New Zealand is invited to give their opinion on whether the local iwi were right or or wrong in turning it down.
Interesting piece of positive news – start a divisive debate along racial lines.
Then it had a weird story about a country school that has gone to almost no students to about 90 in a year or tow, somehow inspired by someone donating some money. However, the amount of money is never disclosed and how this and anything else was done to achieve these results is quite unclear, including just where all these new pupils were coming from. Very odd storyt that seemed to be making some sort of point but delivers no useful information. It was described as a public school but whether it had anything to do with charter schools was kept completely in the dark.
And then, Fambo, there is the story in today’s Herald about marvellous happenings in Kawerau – turning around youth from life of crime etc etc – and comment that similar pilot funding has done the same things in other small towns such as Kaikohe.
Well – I’ve been told the Kaikohe township pilot started off with a coordinator new to the town, that its floundering, and although the local community put up a similar pilot scheme, the funding went to the stooges appointed by the Govt .
What is more, this story appears on the very day that Labour is due to announce its own scheme for turning youth unemployment into a future of hope, apprenticeships, jobs, etc etc.
Surprise, surprise !!
I think the point is that if ‘we’ (presumably the middle/upper classes) don’t run things to ensure democracy for all, then the working classes will rise in violent revolution, and that the GP should be scared of that because they’re so anti-democracy for poor/working people. So yeah, out of context, time wise, geographically, culturally and politically. Or perhaps PR could point to some specific anti-working class policies from the GP.
Yeah. Strange how a bunch of communists realized that to destroy capitalism all they had to do was get rich by denuding economics of any science. ACT are fifth column communists. Force the working classes to hold their guns close and also ramp up debt on them so they rise up and remove the capitalist system.
More that the Greens want to make semi-autos illegal and from there it’ll be a short step to making firearms available to only a select few and then removed completely
Whys it rubbish? They want to get rid of our defence force and make it some sort of “peace keeping” malarky so disarming the entire population isn’t that strange
I don’t agree with everything the NRA says or does (assuming you’re referring to former head of the NRA Charlton Heston) In fact if the USa followed what NZ does they’d be a much better place but as I understand it gun laws are set at State level
There no reason other than ideological for semi-autos to be banned in NZ
Sure do, shooting semi-autos is fun and are not in any way the major firearm used in crime and simply because you don’t like them is no reason to impede on my legal right to do the hobby I enjoy
The firearms laws were changed after Aramoana (which happened over 2 decades ago) which is why the laws don’t need to be changed because they’re working
The Greens want to protect people then they can go and sort out that which kills people more than guns do: health, disease, cars etc etc
Well I’ll be damned …. we have a real live NRA nutter amongst us in puckish rogue, parading all the useless one-liners he can muster in order to “have fun” doing something which only NRA nutters get their rocks off on …. and that is something to be very very afraid of.
“Sure do, shooting semi-autos is fun and are not in any way the major firearm used in crime and simply because you don’t like them is no reason to impede on my legal right to do the hobby I enjoy”
Am curious now. Where do you shoot your semi-automatic rifle? Any reason it can’t be done in a controlled setting like a gun club?
Aramoana. – and other overseas massacres. You want the the time delay of people having to stop and reload. And why would you average citizen need a semiautomatic- you’d hardly go hunting with it.
I’ve been away for a while… is this a known bug? The standard keeps dropping my name and email from the comment fields. Seems to hold them for a period of time, then they’re blank. Blank multiple times over a day so they’re not being held very long. Or is it Firefox?
[lprent: Probably time that cookies are told to remain. I will check after work. ]
Hi Weka,
Oops, filled out my email field incorrectly and went into moderation; yes, have had the fields blanking for 3-4 weeks, and it seems to be affecting other commenters too.
Hi weka. Same, for the last few weeks. I did mention it to Lynn but got distracted for a few days and didn’t go back and check if there was a reply from him.
I have been toying with the idea of having a zany new handle every time.
In 2006, manufacturing was the biggest employment sector in New Zealand with 11.6 per cent of people employed in the sector. The 2013 Census revealed that this figure had dropped to 9.8 per cent of the population, with 29,472 fewer people employed in the sector since 2006.
That could only be breaking news to a typically poorly informed Nat supporter.
Those who are curious about the world and have an interest in history and what others’ think know that people have known about the ever-changing nature of the world for well over two millennium.
There is a US Chamber of Commerce briefing at the MFAT office on Quay St at which Minister of Trade, Tim Groser will be speaking.
TOMORROW: Tuesday 5 August
5pm
139 Quay St Auckland City.
Where’s the ‘People’s Briefing’?
Where’s the ‘open, transparent and democratic accountability’ with these Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPPA) negotiations?
What sort of ‘PARTNERSHIP’ excludes the public?
After 30 years of neo-liberal ‘Rogernomic$’ – haven’t the public learned that what’s good for big business isn’t usually good for the the public majority?
How come over 600 corporate ‘trade advisors’ get to see the TPPA text – but the public don’t?
Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP): Job Loss, Lower Wages and Higher Drug Prices
Have you heard? The TPP is a massive, controversial “free trade” agreement currently being pushed by big corporations and negotiated behind closed doors by officials from the United States and 11 other countries – Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, and Vietnam. In one fell swoop, this secretive deal could:
offshore millions of American jobs,
roll back Wall Street reforms,
sneak in SOPA-like threats to Internet freedom,
ban Buy American policies needed to create green jobs,
jack up the cost of medicines,
expose the U.S. to unsafe food and products,
and empower corporations to attack our environmental and health safeguards.
Although it is called a “free trade” agreement, the TPP is not mainly about trade.
Of TPP’s 29 draft chapters, only five deal with traditional trade issues.
One chapter would provide incentives to offshore jobs to low-wage countries.
Many would impose limits on government policies that we rely on in our daily lives for safe food, a clean environment, and more.
Our domestic federal, state and local policies would be required to comply with TPP rules.
The TPP would even elevate individual foreign firms to equal status with sovereign nations, empowering them to privately enforce new rights and privileges, provided by the pact, by dragging governments to foreign tribunals to demand taxpayer compensation over policies that they claim undermine their expected future profits.
We only know about the TPP’s threats thanks to leaks – the public is not allowed to see the draft TPP text.
Even members of Congress, after being denied the text for years, are now only provided limited access.
Meanwhile, more than 600 official corporate “trade advisors” have special access.
The TPP has been under negotiation for five years, and the Obama administration wants to sign the deal by early 2014.
Opposition to the TPP is growing at home and in many of the other countries involved.
Whose interests are being served by the TPPA?
Follow the dollar ……..
What do you expect from this John Key led National Government, when this ex-Wall Street banker is STILL a shareholder in the Bank of America?
It’s time to ROLLBACK ‘Rogernomic$’ and corrupt corporate control – not extend it.
Open the books!
Cut out the private sector contractors and consultants!
Return essential public services back to direct democratic control, with
‘in-house’ employees, under the ‘public service’ – NOT commercialised or privatised model!
The neo-liberal mantra that ‘public is bad – private is good’ – has been proven over the last 30 years to be a complete and utter rort and fraud perpetrated on the public.
In my considered opinion, the only ones who have benefited from public services being run in a more ‘business-like’ (privatised) way – is those businesses who have secured the contracts.
It’s time for the public majority to benefit from our public monies at central and local government – not a corporate minority – helped by politicians who serve their interests.
The TPPA will extend this corrupt, powerful corporate control, both nationally and internationally.
ENOUGH!
My very clear position as a fiercely independent anti-corruption and anti-privatisation Public Watchdog, is that this NZ National-led Government must NOT sign the TPPA.
Penny Bright
2014 Independent Candidate for the Helensville electorate
2009 Attendee Australian Public Sector Anti-Corruption Conference
2010 Attendee Transparency International Anti-Corruption Conference
2013 Attendee Australian Public Sector Anti-Corruption Conference
2009 Attendee G20 Anti-Corruption Conference
2013 Auckland Mayoral Candidate (polled 4th with 11,723 votes)
@ lprent 2.56
It’s not the end of the world to have to put name/mail in. In Firefox if I forget a get a good service with a notice and then can return and find my comment still there. And on Firefox I have name/mail saved and just have to put the first letter and up comes the details for me to click.
Steven Joyce deserves credit for biting this bullet.
Novopay is sold by Talent2, formerly known as Morgan & Banks.
Andrew Banks graduated from Australia’s National Institute of Dramatic Art, travelled globally, ran a Sydney restaurant, and moved into personnel management to form Morgan & Banks in Sydney.
It coincided with the early application of the internet to job search and competition with sites such as < http://www.seek.com.au > – Melbourne based but with significant investment and involvement by James Packer contributing pressure for M&B to expand beyond Australia.
Strangely, it is now difficult to find anything about this period on the net.
You can’t blame labour for any of this mess as they were going to trial it for 6 months in Canterbury to see if it had any faults and if those faults could be fixed . Nationals Hekia Parata went ahead and fully implemented right across the country knowing full and well it needed trialling HEkia Parata has used Novapay to bully teachers!
I believe that the original contract via Labour was changed and scope extended when National took over. So Labour cannot be blamed as the later Novopay contract had nothing to do with them.
‘Obama said the United States “unequivocally condemned “barbaric” Hamas and the Palestinian factions that were responsible for killing two Israeli soldiers, and abducting a third almost minutes after a ceasefire had been announced”.’
WTF is this man on ? Do we hear him describe as “barbaric” the artillery shelling of a UN establishment offering refuge to 3,000 rendered homeless (15 including children killed) – when the IDF had been given the location co-ordinates of that establishment THIRTY THREE times, the last occasion being only a couple of hours before the hit.
I despise Obama frankly hearing that. Particularly when the US continues to fund the IDF to the tune of $US 3,000,000,000 (3 billion) ANNUALLY.
“Do we hear him describe as “barbaric” the artillery shelling of a UN establishment…”. We also didn’t hear him say anything about the UN envoy who was talking about the rockets found in the Gaza UN school compounds. Bastard isn’t he ? One eyed or what ?
Heard Chris Finlayson on Radio Live tonight with Grant Robertson and Duncan Garner – it seems that Finlayson has decided to copy Steven Joyce’s method of being interviewed – tried to talk right over the top of Grant Robertson and got mighty nasty at times too, he kept on the “xenophobia” rant over the latest farm sale to the Chinese!! Crosby Textor must have had a master class for all the Nats on how to drown out all opposition to their short-sighted policies! No mention of it in the Herald that I saw, and certainly the media aren’t exploring the story of the Conservation Land that the Nats have given to the purchasers of the Crafar Farms!
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/personal-finance/news/article.cfm?c_id=12&objectid=11302589
Assuming these purchases are made in a company the profits are taxed at 43 per cent (being 15 per cent GST and 28 per cent company tax rate). – And Andrew Bruce is knowledgable in the area !!!!!
Well he may not know this but, the coy purchasing the property would be able to claim a refund of 15% of the purchase price from the IRD: reducing their cash cost and the required borrowings. Even if there is no GST applicable to the sale under 2nd Hand Goods GST would still be able to be claimed, and 100% of the income is the companies there is no GST attributable to the rent received. The truth has been lost in this article in its attempt to portray that landlords are paying more than their fair share, also given the $1.2b subsidy from Housing supplements from the govt http://www.interest.co.nz/property/60426/govt-reviewing-accommodation-supplement-rent-subsidy-housing-minister-heatley-says-go
If these did not exist then IMO rents would be dramatically reduced as they allow for a greater rent to be paid that the current tenants would be unable to afford.
InternetMana roadshow in Wellington tonight, 4–500 people, a pretty full house, solid applause for all with especially strong support for both Annette Sykes and Lailla Harre,
More tomorrow when i have sorted the event through in my nut…
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Yesterday Ihumātao's mana whenua reached a consensus that they would like their land back, and asked the government to negotiate with Fletcher's for its return. The government's response? Try and undermine that consensus, while talking about how doing anything would undermine existing Treaty settlements. The first is just more bad ...
Its Suffrage Day, the 126th anniversary of women winning the right to vote (but not stand in elections) in New Zealand. And to celebrate, the government has bought Kate Sheppard's house in Christchurch:The government has bought Kate Sheppard's former home in Christchurch for more than $4 million. The Ilam villa ...
The UN climate summit is happening in new York next week, and unlike previous years, coal-burners and denier-states are not being invited to speak:Leading economies such as Japan and Australia will not be invited to speak at next week’s crunch UN climate change summit, as their continued support for coal ...
Get Back Jojo! The elation in Mayor Phil Goff’s camp may be easily imagined as they watched social media light up in indignation at challenger John Tamihere’s "Sieg Heil to that" quip. Just when JT’s notoriously right-wing, sexist and homophobic stains were beginning to fade back into his ‘colourful’ past, ...
Patrick Gower is good value when he's high. Not that I've ever, you know, got stoned with him. But in the second part of his documentary Patrick Gower on Weed, he does what you'd expect in a modern weed documentary and immerses himself – first with a doctor, then a ...
We surveyed candidates on their attitudes to issues facing the Western Bay Region, find out what they think: “Closing the Gap” Tauranga, one of the area groups of Income Equality Aotearoa NZ Inc., has surveyed all candidates in the three local body elections to discover attitudes to some basic issues ...
Please spread widely, and sign, to support science and rationalism over the new irrationalism sweeping universities and institutions. PROJECT NETTIE Sexual reproduction, the generation of offspring by fusion of genetic material from two different individuals, evolved over 1 billion years ago. It is the reproductive strategy of all higher animals ...
Just when I was thinking that Palmerston North's mayoral race (which includes a convicted child molester / public wanker and a convicted child beater) was the worst in the country, Auckland mayoral candidate John Tamihere opened his mouth:Auckland mayoral candidate John Tamihere is being slammed for using the words "sieg ...
We reprint below an article from the excellent website the Economics of Imperialism by Tony Norfield This is an update of the statistics for my Index of Power, using data for 2018-19 and discussing what a country’s ranking reflects. The major change is that China’s rank has shifted up and ...
The All Blacks have been, for more than a century, arguably the most successful International sports team in the world. But they are more than that; even for those Kiwis who are immune to the charms of rugby (and there are more than a few), the All Blacks are ambassadors ...
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In times of hysteria about the “World coming to an end” and “rising sea levels” so-called ‘Journalists’ who can barely spell words longer than four letters are having a ball! Though the majority of the Public have worked out that manmade climate change is nothing short of pseudo-science, and the ...
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Labour Party president Nigel Haworth resigned yesterday over the party's sexual assault scandal. But while that's good news, its unlikely to take away the stench of a coverup. Because according to Paula Bennett in Parliament yesterday, pretty much everyone in the Prime Minister's office was involved as well:I have been ...
Two-Faced? Labour insiders' commitment to the neoliberal status quo puts them at odds with their party’s membership; its trade union affiliates; and a majority of Labour voters, but this only serves to strengthen the perception they have of themselves as a special elite. Among the lesser breeds, they’ll talk up a ...
There has been a lot of talk about Boris Johnson wanting an election, and he has blustered with great gusto about 'chicken' Jeremy Corbyn refusing one, but I think there are many reasons why he is secretly glad he has been refused the opportunity:The Tories are an utter rabble,tearing themselves ...
Scottish appeal court judges have declared that Boris Johnson’s decision to suspend parliament in the run-up to the October Brexit deadline is unlawful. The three judges, chaired by Lord Carloway, Scotland’s most senior judge, overturned an earlier ruling that the courts did not have the powers to interfere in the prime ...
By Simon Bridges. The following is a press release from the office of Simon Bridges, leader of The National Party. Key ora, New Zealand. Happy Maori Language Week. Look, I’m writing to you today because I want to clear something up. There’s been a lot of kerfuffle around some things ...
I understand there's some stuff going round about how the SIS "was removed from the list of public offices covered by the Public Records Act in 2017". The context of course being their records derived from US torture, which will be disposed of or sealed. The good news is that ...
Dr. Christopher Labos and Jonathan Jarry discuss the recent Canadian fluoride/IQ research. They provide an expert analysis of the paper and its problems. Click on image to go to podcast. The critical debate about the recent ...
Australia is burning down again, and meanwhile its natural disaster minister is denying climate change:Australia’s minister responsible for drought and natural disasters, David Littleproud, has said that he doesn’t “know if climate change is manmade”. Clarifying earlier comments that the question is “irrelevant” when considering the Coalition government’s response to ...
Auckland Philippines Solidarity is excited to host Professor Judy Taguiwalo for a speaking tour of NZ in September. She is a well-known activist in the Philippines and was a political prisoner under the Marcos dictatorship. Professor Taguiwalo briefly served as a Cabinet member under President Duterte but was forced from ...
This open letter to the Green Party was penned after an opinion piece by Jill Abigail, a feminist and founding member of the party, was censored by the Greens’ leadership. (Redline has reprinted her article here).The intolerance of the Green Party leaders and their acceptance of the misogyny of gender ...
Today is a Member's day, and David Seymour's End of Life Choice Bill continues its slow crawl through its committee stage. They're spending the whole day on it today, though the first hour is likely to be spent on voting left over from last time. After that they'll move on ...
An ambitious plan to fly to Los Angeles petered out into a brief sight-seeing trip and a desire to return home and get some sleep before work tomorrow. Air New Zealand has confirmed a flight to Los Angeles last night was turned back about a quarter of the way into ...
There appears to be consensus – by omission – that the concept of indigenous futures should be accepted at face value. So I scavenged the internet to see if I could locate an academic descriptor or a framework around how we think about it as a concept, and whether it ...
Here’s another novelty chocolate to shove in your gob, New Zealand Cadbury could be seeking to make itself great again with a rumoured new release: Pineapple Trumps, a spin on its classic chocolate-encased pineapple treat and do-it-yourself tooth remover. The global confectionery manufacturer and bumbling “before” character in an infomercial, ...
During my time in the Pentagon I had the privilege of sitting down with military leaders and defence and security officials from a variety of Latin American nations. Sometimes I was present as a subordinate assistant to a senior US defence department official, sometimes as part of a delegation that ...
Kia ora, Aotearoa. It’s that magical time of year. Te Wiki o te Reo Māori. In English, the week that frightens talk radio. As you probably know by now, all your favourite media outlets are participating, some more successfully than others. Stuff has changed its name to Puna for the ...
Eighteen months ago, the government promised to strengthen the Bill of Rights Act, by explicitly affirming the power of the courts to issue declarations of inconsistency and requiring Parliament to formally respond to them. So how's that going? I was curious, so I asked for all advice about the proposal. ...
As the Brexit saga staggers on, the focus is naturally enough on the Prime Minister and his attempts to achieve Brexit “do or die”. But the role played by the Leader of the Opposition is of almost equal interest and complexity. The first problem for Jeremy Corbyn is that he ...
Last week, English Prime Minister Boris Johnson boldly declared that he would rather die be dead in a ditch than delay Brexit. Unfortunately for him, the UK parliament accepted the challenge, and promptly dug one for him. The "rebellion bill" requires him to ask for and secure yet another temporary ...
It has been two years since Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern called climate change her generation's nuclear free moment. And on Monday, against a backdrop of global climate protest, she will give the opening speech at the United Nation's climate ...
Finance Minister Grant Robertson is under intense scrutiny. New figures show economic growth has slowed to levels not seen for six years. And he has chosen not to answer questions about when he heard about serious allegations of a sexual assault cover-up ...
NZDF Attends Commemorations to Mark International Mission in East Timor A New Zealand Defence Force (NZDF) contingent participated today in the 20th anniversary commemorations of the International Force East Timor (INTERFET) mission in Dili. The commemoration ...
They’ve only been up and running for a few months, but a New Zealand not-for-profit has already made a big impact on period poverty in New Zealand. ...
The allocation of money for publicly funded broadcasting for election campaigns should be turned on it's head according to Massey University professor of communication design Claire Robinson. ...
Disappointment expressed by Fletcher Building CEO, Ross Taylor, reflects the increasing frustration held by many with this Government’s failure to protect private property rights.[1] ...
The independent Interim Climate Change Committee today launched an eight-week, nationwide call for evidence on options available to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. ...
Social Credit has lodged a complaint with the Ombudsman over the way the Overseas Investment Office is handling its official information request for disclosure of documents on the sale of Westland Milk Products to Chinese company Inner Mongolian ...
This Friday in Solidarity with the Global Climate Strike All of the SodaStream’s e-commerce platforms and head office operations will be closed to kick-off the week-long event, and employees will march the #CLIMATESTRIKE in Auckland on 27 September. ...
Federated Farmers congratulates the Auditor-General’s office on its release today of its report Managing Freshwater Quality: Challenges and Opportunities. ...
Growth has now slowed to a 6-year low, and downside risks are dominating. June quarter GDP growth came in at 0.5%qoq, in line with our expectation, and slightly above consensus. Although there were a few sensational reports of the chance of a negative print. ...
Local Government New Zealand (LGNZ) is calling the release of the National Climate Change Risk Assessment (NCCRA) framework a good first step in balancing New Zealand’s response to climate change. ...
Family First NZ says that a new Colorado report compiled by the Rocky Mountain High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area finds marijuana-positive traffic fatalities, hospitalisations, marijuana use, and illegal market activity have exploded since marijuana legalization. ...
This year’s Ratepayers’ Report , local government league tables released yesterday, reveals which local councils owe the most and which owe the least. ...
Rachel MacGregor welcomes the decision released today by Justice Hinton. The key issue on which all the various litigation has been based is the question, did Colin Craig sexually harass Rachel. That question has been answered – he did. Justice ...
The Rail and Maritime Transport Union (RMTU) has today ratified a ground breaking pay deal with Dunedin Railways which will see all union members being paid a living wage and the lowest paid receiving an 18% wage increase. Higher paid RMTU members ...
Inclusion for trans women/men and non-binary peoples has today been announced as the cornerstone of a new resolution for the National Council of Women New Zealand (NCWNZ). ...
It took a testy Morning Report interview this week to remind me that Simon Bridges was still the Leader of the Opposition. Until then, he had been largely invisible as the events of recent weeks unfolded. ...
The National Council of Women NZ has today welcomed the news that the Government has purchased Kate Sheppard’s house in Christchurch, the base for the NZ suffrage campaign. ...
The Māori Party supports mana whenua of Ihumātao and acknowledges their coming together to reach consensus on the future of their whenua. “We also acknowledge the leadership of the Kīngitanga who have played an important role in supporting ...
The New Zealand Taxpayers’ Union is questioning why, for the second time, Jacinda Ardern has appointed a Crown-owned company Chief Executive to Chair her “Business Advisory Council”, following her announcement that Mercury CEO Fraser Whineray ...
Responding to the Government’s decision to give around $300 million to Amazon as a sweetener for filming a TV series in New Zealand, New Zealand Taxpayers’ Union spokesman Louis Houlbrooke says: “As a matter of simple waste, this is striking, ...
I am very pleased with Air New Zealand’s Decision to backdown and withdraw their application to trademark into a logo Kia Ora. I said at the time that it was an ill conceived idea and poorly thought out – more importantly it should never have been ...
NZEI Te Riu Roa members will be joining with others across the union movement by wearing black and white in support of pay equity on Suffrage Day tomorrow, and urging the Government to commit to a settlement for teacher aides this year. ...
Yesterday’s announcement from the Minister for Immigration, to improve temporary work visas for migrant workers, provides some positive changes but more detail is needed. The Council of Trade Unions fundamentally supports the principle of making ...
FIRST Union today welcomed Westpac’s public admission of the significant gender pay gap in its workforce and reiterated its call for employers to work with unions to close this disparity, arguing that this work must begin at the bottom of the pay ...
Changes to the work visa system announced by the Minister of Immigration are not all positive for employers or migrants, comments Ms June Ranson, chair of the New Zealand Association for Migration and Investment (NZAMI) , a leading voice in the ...
The Dairy Workers Union (DWU) has welcomed the announcement from dairy company, Synlait, that they will be boosting parental leave entitlements significantly for working parents. ...
In June, the Children’s Commissioner announced a thematic review into Oranga Tamariki’s policies, processes and practice relating to care and protection issues for tamariki Māori aged 0-3 months. Today the Children’s Commissioner has released the full ...
“Closing the Gap” Tauranga, one of the area groups of Income Equality Aotearoa NZ Inc., has surveyed all candidates in the three local body elections to discover attitudes to some basic issues of the Western Bay region. We believe that this is ...
In response to DairyNZ's attempt to dismiss an economic report that highlighted dairy's role in the New Zealand economy is only three per cent of GDP, Fish & Game New Zealand Chief Executive Martin Taylor says: "If DairyNZ wishes to reject a report ...
Kiingi Tuuheitia Pootatau Te Wherowhero VII has successfully guided the mana whenua of lhumaatao to reach a consensus on the future of their whenua. ...
Two activists disguised as shareholders interrupted the AGM of a gold mining company in central Auckland this morning to inform shareholders their plans to mine for gold in conservation estate in the Karangahake Gorge were unwelcome. ...
The Capital and Coast District Health Board (CCDHB) has been labelled ‘NATO’ (no action, talk only) when it comes to child mental health, with just 0.6 full time staff (24 hours per week) for inpatient child psychology and just 0.8 full time staff ...
AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL has awarded three New Zealand climate youth groups with its Ambassador of Conscience award, its highest recognition for human rights work, previously given to the likes of Nelson Mandela, Ai Weiwei and Malala Yousafzai. ...
The New Zealand Taxpayers' Union , in partnership with the Auckland Ratepayers’ Alliance , has today published this year's Ratepayers' Report – online local government league tables – at www.ratepayersreport.nz . ...
NZUS Council executive director Jordan Small welcomes the news New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern will meet with US President Donald Trump in New York next week. ...
The recent NZIER report trivialises the significant role the dairy sector plays in New Zealand’s economy – and fails to look at the specifics of the Government’s freshwater package, according to DairyNZ. DairyNZ chief executive Dr Tim Mackle said ...
This week, the New Zealand Parliament and the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) will jointly host a seminar on tackling the global spread of illicit weapons. ...
By Michael Andrew Social media and tech industries have been replicating the ugliest aspects of capitalism from the 1800s, according to an AUT computer science lecturer. Associate Professor Tony Clear says that social media and tech executives are taking advantage of unregulated markets in a similar way as wealthy ...
Covering Climate Now: There’s a range of dairy-free ice creams available these days, but it’s a fair bet none will be as delicious – or satisfying – as making your own. The Spinoff’s participation in Covering Climate Now is made possible thanks to Spinoff Members. Join us here!If the latest stats ...
Covering Climate Action: Ahead of the UN’s Climate Action Summit, artist Joseph Michael and composer Rhian Sheehan teamed up to create Voices For The Future, a 30-minute installation projected onto the UN buildings.The Spinoff’s participation in Covering Climate Now is made possible thanks to Spinoff Members. Join us here!Joseph Michael is ...
New Zealand banning Huawei’s 5G network equipment won’t impact you nearly as much as the US’s recent moves against Huawei phones, writes Henry Burrell. Twenty years ago, you would have shown off your flash new Ericsson or Nokia. How times change. Now, those two entities exist only to provide mobile network ...
Op-Ed by Kaveh Zahedi, Deputy Executive Secretary of the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP)Kaveh Zahedi is Deputy Executive Secretary of the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP).In less than ten days world leaders will be ...
Grant McDougall reviews Kilgour’s new solo album, Bobbie’s A Girl, which sees him reflecting on the deaths of his friend and former bandmate, Peter Gutteridge and his own mother, Helen Kilgour. There is a passage in Shayne Carter’s excellent recent autobiography, Dead People I Have Known, in which he describes ...
New Zealand painter-poet Gregory O’Brien has just published a new collection of essays and art; pitched as a “field notebook … my whale survey”, Always Song in the Water drifts from his own front lawn in Hataitai, up to Northland and way, way across the Pacific. It’s the sort of ...
Ruby Porterlooks into New Zealand’s future when the sea level rises 10, 25 and 80 metres, and finds out how much of Auckland will be left.I grew up in Ponsonby, but the only bay I knew around here was Cox’s. It’s fed by a creek which was once a mahinga ...
Opening up a skid pad, create more housing for single people and make the central city dog friendly: policies from Christchurch's lesser-known mayoral candidates. ...
Josie Adams, Hayden Donnell, and Alice Webb-Liddall read thousands of policy statements to find the climate change deniers, fudgers, prevaricators (and believers) running in our local elections.The Spinoff local election coverage is made possible thanks to The SpinoffMembers. For more about becoming a member and supporting The Spinoff’s journalism click here.One of the problems ...
The paintings of Colin McCahon convey dissonance and uncertainty, writes Shannon Te Ao. So what does this say about us? And why are we maintaining this Pākehā male narrative at the expense of more inclusive representation?Colin McCahon would have turned 100 on August the 1st. If you keep one eye ...
Amanda Thompson spends a day with the New Zealand men’s roller derby squad as they prepare for next year’s world champs in the US.Let’s play a word game. Let’s list some contact sports and the top teams in those codes.Say rugby. Are you thinking about the All Blacks yet? What ...
Covering Climate Now:Dietary Requirements is The Spinoff’s monthly podcast in which we eat, drink and talk about it too, with special thanks to Freedom Farms. This month, we go crazy for crickets in a climate week special.The Spinoff’s participation in Covering Climate Now is made possible thanks to Spinoff Members. ...
To mark International Day of Peace, Dr Rebecca Dudley of the New Zealand Red Cross explores the role that New Zealanders play in the global story of war and peace. Personal stories about war almost always begin with a memory.A humid afternoon in South Sudan.A calm Wednesday evening in Beirut.A bustling ...
The history of tattoo art in Japan is deep-rooted and complex – and so is the cultural aversion to tattooed bodies, explains Brian Ashcraft, the author of a book on subject.Tonight, when the All Blacks take the field, they’ll be covering up. In order not to run afoul of Japanese ...
Covering Climate Now: Saying climate change is important is one thing. So why are we so incapable of having a real conversation about what actually addressing it will mean? Sam McGlennon investigates. The Spinoff’s participation in Covering Climate Now is made possible thanks to Spinoff Members. Join us here!Up until a week ago, ...
"This is what Wellington boy said, after he finished his quick and bloody deed. You know what your problem is? Once a slut, always a slut": a short story by Auckland writer Eileen Merriman. ...
Michael Mann, a climatologist and famous press critic, talks to the Columbia Journalism Review about the dangers of both understating and overstating the dangers of climate change. ...
Ahead of the All Blacks first game Trevor McKewen makes some his fanciful, fraught and some hopefully on-point predictions for the Rugby World Cup.Can you take one for the team? Could you cope with the All Blacks coming up short in achieving an unprecedented third straight World Cup if it ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra [embedded content]University of Canberra Deputy Vice-Chancellor Leigh Sullivan discusses Scott Morrison’s new family law inquiry with Michelle Grattan. They also speak of the developments in the Tamil family from Biloela’s case, and the UN barring ...
Analysis - Jacinda Ardern heads for the UN as the sexual assault scandal rumbles on at home, and Simon Bridges says he isn't going to ease off his personal attacks on the PM. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Dries Verstraete, Senior Lecturer in Aerospace Design and Propulsion, University of Sydney CC BY-NDClimate Explained is a collaboration between The Conversation, Stuff and the New Zealand Science Media Centre to answer your questions about climate change.If you have a question you’d ...
In this episode of our new tarot reading show Wild Card, The Spinoff’s resident psychic divines the outcome of the All Blacks’ opening match against the Springboks on Saturday.In the first and potentially only episode of Wild Card, we have a focus on sport. The Spinoff’s psychic-in-residence, Jo Sees, specialises ...
Recently-retired Sky TV chief executive John Fellet talks to Newsroom business editor Nikki Mandow about baseball, media, goldfish, accountancy - and more baseball. ...
The Real Pod assembles to dissect the week in reality television and real life, with special thanks to Nando’s.With Duncan enjoying a MAFS-style beach holiday in Bali, Alex and Jane are left to cover another crazy week in reality television. Shannon Ryan has gone full beast-mode in Celebrity Treasure Island, Married ...
Dr Bryce Edwards“Diversity” is a central theme of the current local government elections – with the common criticism that incumbent politicians are generally too “stale, male, and pale” (or variations on that). Numerous commentators and candidates have lamented the lack of women, ethnic minorities, and youth in local government. ...
Editor’s Note: Here below is a list of the main issues currently under discussion in New Zealand and links to media coverage.New Zealand Parliament Buildings, Wellington, New Zealand.Today’s content by Dr Bryce Edwards.Climate change, environment Paul Gorman (Stuff): How would you spend an unlimited war chest for ...
A review into the Ministry for Culture and Heritage will look into the relationship between a staffer and the external developer responsible for a massive data breach. ...
Covering Climate Now: The Spinoff crew who took on climate change with a vegan diet for the week reflect on the highs, the lows, the pies and the fries. The Spinoff’s participation in Covering Climate Now is made possible thanks to Spinoff Members. Join us here!As I write, I’m tucking into ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Roger Crisp, Professorial Fellow, Dianoia Institute of Philosophy, Australian Catholic University As world chiefs and youth leaders gather in New York at the United Nations Climate Action Summit, many of us as individuals are feeling powerless and overwhelmed. Making big personal changes ...
The head of one of the country's biggest news media firms is the latest subject of criticism for darkening his face at a staff party he attended dressed as US basketballer Lamar Odom. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Coral Gartner, Associate Professor, School of Public Health, The University of Queensland Health authorities in the United States are investigating 530 cases of lung illness, including seven deaths, reportedly connected to vaping. Some of these patients have been diagnosed with lung inflammation ...
The only published and available best-selling indie book chart in New Zealand is the top 10 sales list recorded every week at Unity Books’ stores in High St, Auckland, and Willis St, Wellington.AUCKLAND1 The Testaments by Margaret Atwood (Chatto & Windus, $48)Obvs. (Read our review by Pip Adam here)2 Three ...
When comedy documentary Funny As was made, a lot of interviews got left on the cutting room floor which NZ On Screen quickly picked up. Here are some of our favourites.We’re a pretty funny bunch us Kiwis. Trapped on a tiny island at the end of the earth it appears ...
Auckland rapper JessB has just released a new EP and wraps up a national mini-tour tonight in her home town. Jogai Bhatt talked to her about her world travels, performing at Ihumātao, and how her community and her music intersect.It’s only been two years since JessB entered the public radar ...
A new poem by Waiheke poet Rata Gordon.PacingA deep bow to NerudaIt so happens I am sick of being a woman. It happens that I walk into BP stations and supermarkets greasy, swollen, like a cow made of soap, losing my way in a field of placentas and pesticides.The smell ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Amanda Gardiner, Lecturer, Edith Cowan University In August, a 24-year-old woman appeared before the Western Australian District Court after pleading guilty to concealing the birth of her newborn baby in 2018. The charge of concealment of birth refers to hiding the dead ...
Voting papers are being sent out today, and lots of people say they won’t fill them out because they don’t know anything about the candidates. Respected website ‘The Spinoff’ is trying to fix that through its Policy Local tool. But it’s not the only one. Catherine Jeffcoat talks to the ...
This week's biggest-selling New Zealand books, as recorded by the Nielsen BookScan New Zealand bestseller list and described by literary editor Steve Braunias ...
Writer and cannabis legalisation expert Russell Brown watched episode two of Patrick Gower on Weed, and found it highly entertaining but dangerously light on facts. Patrick Gower is good value when he’s high. In the second part of his documentary Patrick Gower on Weed, he does what you’d expect in a ...
Sydney shock-jock Alan Jones has written to Jacinda Ardern saying he didn't intend any violence towards her when he said on air that Australia's Prime Minister should "shove a sock down [her] throat". ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Caio Seguin, PhD candidate, University of Melbourne Brain regions exchange information by sending and receiving signals through a network of nerve connections. This exchange is crucial to all aspects of the brain’s functioning, including how we experience the world, form and retrieve ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Miranda Kaye, Senior Lecturer, Faculty of Law, University of Technology Sydney Over the next 12 months, a joint parliamentary committee will examine Australia’s family law system. It will be led by conservative Liberal MP Kevin Andrews and One Nation leader Pauline Hanson. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Barbara Allen, Senior Lecturer in Public Management, Victoria University of Wellington This story is part of Covering Climate Now, a global collaboration of more than 250 news outlets to strengthen coverage of the climate story. For three years in a row, the ...
Open mike 04/08/2014 
Open mike is your post.
Before Jacingrant There Was Gracinda: Grant Robertson and his 2014 running mate, Jacinda Ardern. She stood at his side: loyal and obliging, as she had ever been. The media dubbed this duo “Gracinda” – a sort of political “Brangelina”. The other young people who worked alongside Robertson were also ambitious ...3 hours ago
. . Just when you thought Simon Bridges couldn’t sink any lower – he has. After the March 15th Christchurch terror attack, the (current) Leader of the National Party issued strong committments to support urgently needed gun law reform; “We will be ready and prepared to be constructive and to ...1 day ago
We all know that bad parents simply don’t care about their children’s education. Most truants have loser parents, and grow up to be involved with crime, or in low paid employment usually like their parents. The nonsense so-called “climate strike” coming up will be attended mostly by the least intelligent ...2 days ago
Today is the first day of the global climate strike. Led by schoolkids, people all around the world are going to protest to demand action on climate change. New Zealand isn't doing it till next Friday (join us!), but if you want to get active early, there's plenty to do ...2 days ago
To Protect and Serve: When the Prime Minister finds herself enmeshed in the coils of a full-blown political scandal, her colleagues and party comrades have only one priority: to release her as swiftly – and with as little lasting injury – as possible. Is this what Jacinda Ardern’s colleagues and ...2 days ago
When military leaders cover up and lie to elected civilian authorities, the foundation of democratic civil-military relations is undermined because it is those authorities who are entrusted to hold the military accountable to the public that they mutually serve. But this is only true if civilian political authorities take their ...2 days ago
by Daphna Whitmore The long years of Netanyahu’s reign are drawing to an end. For years he has epitomized reactionary zionism as he oversaw hundreds of thousands of Jewish settlers seize land in the West Bank. There are now 700,000 settlers, putting an end to the myth that Israel was ...2 days ago
BP, Z and Mobil all insist that petrol price hikes are temporary, “in a very literal sense.” The nation’s major petrol providers are trying to allay customer fears over prices, promising that they’ll move to lower them again “immediately” when the Middle East is returned to its formerly peaceful state. ...3 days ago
South African coach Rassie Erasmus says he has no idea what they’re going to do about the boat. In a highly anticipated press conference this afternoon, All Blacks coach Steve Hansen has finally unveiled the team’s boat for its Rugby World Cup 2019 campaign. In a press conference that went ...3 days ago
Get Back Jojo! The elation in Mayor Phil Goff’s camp may be easily imagined as they watched social media light up in indignation at challenger John Tamihere’s "Sieg Heil to that" quip. Just when JT’s notoriously right-wing, sexist and homophobic stains were beginning to fade back into his ‘colourful’ past, ...3 days ago
Patrick Gower is good value when he's high. Not that I've ever, you know, got stoned with him. But in the second part of his documentary Patrick Gower on Weed, he does what you'd expect in a modern weed documentary and immerses himself – first with a doctor, then a ...4 days ago
We surveyed candidates on their attitudes to issues facing the Western Bay Region, find out what they think: “Closing the Gap” Tauranga, one of the area groups of Income Equality Aotearoa NZ Inc., has surveyed all candidates in the three local body elections to discover attitudes to some basic issues ...4 days ago
Why is New Zealand climate change policy so crap? The Herald this morning has a long article on the twists and turns of climate change policy in New Zealand [paywalled / depaywall script], which shows where we've been. The short version is that the government first began worrying about this ...4 days ago
The All Blacks have been, for more than a century, arguably the most successful International sports team in the world. But they are more than that; even for those Kiwis who are immune to the charms of rugby (and there are more than a few), the All Blacks are ambassadors ...4 days ago
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Dangerous Foes: For those readers of Bowalley Road who feel disposed to dismiss any prospect of an Israeli destabilisation of New Zealand politics, the example of the United Kingdom repays close attention. Ever since the election of Jeremy Corbyn as leader of the British Labour Party, the Israelis have sanctioned, funded and ...6 days ago
Make It 16, the youth-led campaign to lower New Zealand's voting age, is holding an official campaign launch at Parliament this Friday from 16:30. If you'd like to attend, you can register using EventBrite here. ...6 days ago
by Don Franks It was a lovely sunny Wellington afternoon with blue skies above the beaches. In Courtenay Place, political activists packed out a stuffy upstairs room for an important meeting. The assembled pacifists, anarchists, communists and independent young radicals of Peace Action Wellington felt the need for a mission ...6 days ago
From the Wall Street Journal:Inside a room of the ornately decorated Hotel du Palais during last month’s Group of Seven summit in Biarritz, France, President Trump awaited a meeting with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al Sisi. Mr. Trump looked over a gathering of American and Egyptian officials and called out in ...1 week ago
Those close to the Police Minister believe the initiative may be the result of Nash “seeing a great deal” on AliExpress. In a move that comes seemingly out of nowhere, Police Minister Stuart Nash announced this afternoon that he expects all frontline staff to don bearskin hats, famously worn by ...1 week ago
Moving And Shaking: There was a time when people spoke matter-of-factly about the “labour movement” – a political phenomenon understood to embrace much more than the Labour Party. Included within the term’s definition was the whole trade union movement – many of whose members looked upon the Labour Party as ...1 week ago
By Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern I am every bit as angry as you are. I am every bit as disappointed as you must be. The people with power, oversight and the ability to do something about these processes within the Labour Party should be ashamed. Whoever those people are, I ...1 week ago
Two-Faced? Labour insiders' commitment to the neoliberal status quo puts them at odds with their party’s membership; its trade union affiliates; and a majority of Labour voters, but this only serves to strengthen the perception they have of themselves as a special elite. Among the lesser breeds, they’ll talk up a ...1 week ago
By Simon Bridges. The following is a press release from the office of Simon Bridges, leader of The National Party. Key ora, New Zealand. Happy Maori Language Week. Look, I’m writing to you today because I want to clear something up. There’s been a lot of kerfuffle around some things ...2 weeks ago
Dr. Christopher Labos and Jonathan Jarry discuss the recent Canadian fluoride/IQ research. They provide an expert analysis of the paper and its problems. Click on image to go to podcast. The critical debate about the recent ... 2 weeks ago
An ambitious plan to fly to Los Angeles petered out into a brief sight-seeing trip and a desire to return home and get some sleep before work tomorrow. Air New Zealand has confirmed a flight to Los Angeles last night was turned back about a quarter of the way into ...2 weeks ago
There appears to be consensus – by omission – that the concept of indigenous futures should be accepted at face value. So I scavenged the internet to see if I could locate an academic descriptor or a framework around how we think about it as a concept, and whether it ...2 weeks ago
Here’s another novelty chocolate to shove in your gob, New Zealand Cadbury could be seeking to make itself great again with a rumoured new release: Pineapple Trumps, a spin on its classic chocolate-encased pineapple treat and do-it-yourself tooth remover. The global confectionery manufacturer and bumbling “before” character in an infomercial, ...2 weeks ago
Kia ora, Aotearoa. It’s that magical time of year. Te Wiki o te Reo Māori. In English, the week that frightens talk radio. As you probably know by now, all your favourite media outlets are participating, some more successfully than others. Stuff has changed its name to Puna for the ...2 weeks ago
On Newshub Nation: Simon Shepherd Interviews The New Zealand Initiative's Executive Director Oliver Hartwich ...1 day ago
By Michael Andrew Social media and tech industries have been replicating the ugliest aspects of capitalism from the 1800s, according to an AUT computer science lecturer. Associate Professor Tony Clear says that social media and tech executives are taking advantage of unregulated markets in a similar way as wealthy ...4 hours ago
Covering Climate Now: There’s a range of dairy-free ice creams available these days, but it’s a fair bet none will be as delicious – or satisfying – as making your own. The Spinoff’s participation in Covering Climate Now is made possible thanks to Spinoff Members. Join us here!If the latest stats ...4 hours ago
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Some music to brighten up your day/ From Wellington’s wonderful bluesman Darren Watson, who’s a friend of Labour. The song is called Planet Key, and the video, by Jeremy Jones, is such fantastic.
Oh I did like the Slug n Smug. A very very good song and video.
Try it for a 🙂 today
Brilliant riffer-just shared on Facebook.
Its BRILLIANT, so cutting! It doesn’t miss it’s targets!! And its really catchy!!
that’s just the best
WOW!!!! Awesome track and amazing video. That is a stunner.
It needs to get ALOT of airplay
Great track. A sure vote winner for Key. The left don’t get humour. The smugness is all on the Left who genuinely think this resonates with voters. All real people see is John Key the success.
He’s an idiot, that Fisiani.
Every day on http://archiedarival.blogspot.co.nz/ I’m putting up a new John Key Lie of the Day, with links where you can hear and see Key doing the lying.
Much of the raw material I got from this site, thank you.
Great tune Darren. Lovely stuff.
Great tune and video. It will win hundreds of votes for John Key. The Left don’t get how to do humour obviously from the comments above.
Which comment are you referring to, srylands?
Fishyanal you haven’t come up with one funny thing since you have been posting on this site nor have you come up with one original idea..
In the whole World their are no right wing comedians funny that!
Fishy plenty of clowns like yourself though you should be made to watch good morning Vietnam for a week nonstop fitianal you and the right remind me of the jerk that Robin Williams opposed in that movie.
the right are to anally retentive to be funny fishy to busy trying to play monopoly to be team players!
Have a chuckle and make your own billboard…
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Im-relaxed/906405082708477
More lols. Excellent!
There’s no satire these days so we to go down the home made road if we are to turn the mirrors back on those in power.
does this remind anyone of anyone..?..
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/08/03/bill-maher-internet-political-correctness_n_5645586.html?ref=topbar
(you know who you are..!..)
“after lamenting the PC culture of the internet where people “lay in wait” to attack someone for saying something they don’t agree with.”
Do you think he includes making passive aggressive attack posts in his piece?
If not, he should, he would have knocked it out of the park.
Being introspective is good for the soul, well done phil
i wonder if this will have the desired effect..?
…(my five cents/tinnys? worth on that med-pot show that screened on sunday last nite..)
http://whoar.co.nz/2014/the-segment-on-medical-marijuana-that-screened-on-sunday-last-nite/
Pretty noisy from the baidu spiders this morning.
Hopefully I have quelled them now.
Could Christine Rankin be just the ‘tool’ needed to chisel Epsom from the grasp of ACT, every little bit helps,
Rankin, if She drags in more of the ACT vote than that She takes off of National will make the electorate a much easier ask for Labour and Green supporters in Epsom to use their electorate votes ‘tactically”,
We can only hope that both Parties, Green and Labour, spend plenty of energy in the Epsom electorate this election identifying and convincing their supporters how crucial ‘tactical voting’ could be in September,
Rankin,likely to only be able to scrape a couple of thousand votes from Epsom may like the whole Conservative % of the party vote be a ‘gift’ for the left this election un-thought of a couple of weeks ago…
Not likely, Epsom will go with Act
Don’t cross Cray-Cray. He’ll send Rankin to spoil your party 😆
Hell hath no fury apparently, a Colon scorned is said to be extremely upsetting to the bowels of some, Slippery the Prime Minister might live to regret passing that particular prune in favor of the more ‘known’ quantity of Winston Peters,
Colons Conservatives seem to take votes from across the spectrum, National/Labour/NZFirst, for National and Labour the effect is pretty much neutral, for NZFirst tho, especially if the latest Roy Morgan is anywhere near accurate, the deliberate targeting of the ‘waiting for God vote’ by Craig might well see Winston pushed into enforced retirement…
‘Spankin’ Rankin” has no show but will annoy the Nats one way or another. Lets give Goldsmith the win he so desperately doesn’t want.
2011 Election Results – Epsom Electorate
Candidate Valid Votes Share (%)
BANKS, John (ACT) 15,835 44.10
GOLDSMITH, Paul (NAT) 13,574 37.80
PARKER, David (LAB) 3,751 10.45
HAY, David (GP) 2,160 6.01
KAN, Simon (CNSP) 342 0.95
BRIGHT, Penny (IND) 124 0.35
O’DEA, Pat (MANA) 66 0.18
GOODE, Matthew (IND) 59 0.16
Interestingly ACT came in 5th on the party vote after Nat. Lab., Green and NZ First at just 2.55%.
Hope this works
Just proves that Mike Hosking is an absolute pratt to putt it mildly. Is his misspelling of David Cunliffe’s surname a typo or deliberate? It appears that the actual graphics haven’t appeared, but it’s a tweet from him.
Shame.
The solution is to stop collecting crime statistics, and tax cuts.
Ha ! SSLands nutting away on Open Mike yesterday about Jonah Lomu’s endorsing TheGodKey.
https://twitter.com/JONAHTALILOMU/status/495059431894155265
Poor Jonah. Off the field he was always a hapless, naive fool. Still remember the clinical way in which the narcissistic short man Holmes secured his griefing up over very personal, very private family matters on prime time TV. Duped again it would seem.
Still, there is that spare knighthood floating around somewhere…….the one ThreeHandKey offered to Richie McCaw (who declined bemusedly) and then mouthed off all over town that he’d offered it.
Political value in this latest stunt ? Not much I’d expect. Whom, now, is Jonah Lomu ? I’ll check back after the expected parading of one-time working class hero The Mad Butcher Leitch.
The National Party’s fascination with cheap celebrity what ?
Did the kidnapping of IDF soldier Hadar Goldin cause the breakdown within the hour of the most recent truce or were hostilities resumed to cover up the implementation of the Hannibal directive?.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hannibal_Directive
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hannibal_Directive#Incidents_where_the_directive_was_invoked
@ joe90 …it is more sinister than a simple case of retribution….Israels long term strategy …Crimes Against Humanity…Genocide?…there are gas and oil issues in the mix
‘Israel’s Military Strategy:”Obliterate Them Completely”. Overwhelming Evidence of Genocide, Precise Data on Death and Destruction in Gaza’
Death Toll Exceeds that of “Cast Lead”, 2008-2009
By Prof Michel Chossudovsky
“Genocide directed against Palestinians has become a “New Normal” according to the Times of Israel.
Under certain circumstances –according to the Times of Israel article–“Genocide is Permissible” because it is directed against Palestinians who are “terrorists” and who should be “obliterated…..
http://www.globalresearch.ca/israels-military-strategyobliterate-them-completely-overwhelming-evidence-of-genocide-precise-data-on-death-and-destruction-in-gaza/5394678
http://www.globalresearch.ca/turning-a-blind-eye-to-israeli-atrocities-middle-east-peace-envoy-tony-blair-parties-as-gaza-burns/5394625
http://www.rense.com/general84/guess.htm
http://washingtonexaminer.com/hamas-keeps-gazas-economic-future-bottled-up-by-blocking-natural-gas-development/article/2551529?custom_click=rss
Yep, the genocide by the jewish nation continues unabated.
Oh, and the infanticide.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/world/middle-east/10343523/Deadly-Israeli-strike-on-UN-school-condemned
Israel is evil.
The arrogant Netanyahu has no intention to make any sort of peace.
http://www.tabletmag.com/scroll/39692/fibi-netanyahu
Netanyahu may be a big man but he is certainly not wise is he….
Ghandi, Mandela, people like this are wise
Netanyahu, H1tler, people like this are fools
Can you blame him when Hamas keeps breaking it?
Breaking what, the truce the IDF broke when troops entered an Hamas tunnel where they met resistance and rather than let Hadar Goldin be kidnapped the Hannibal directive was enacted and he was murdered by his own comrades. That truce?.
Chomsky’s take on the Gaza situation.
Interestingly, he contrasts reaction to that situation to the official outrage voiced over the downing of the Malaysian airliner.
As ever his analysis is intense with a dry sarcasm that strips away the rhetorical veneer of pro-Israeli reactions and exposes all the bald inconsistencies inherent in maintaining that position.
It was interesting to watch Campbell Live on Friday evening (the only time I every watch TV when visiting the olds) and see John Campbell say that after so much bad news it was time for some happy news to end the week with – so far so good.
Then follows a story on a far north century old hotel that has closed down with the land and building now owned by the local iwi who have decided that they don’t want to allow one last drink up by the locals to mark the hotel’s closing as their elders feel alcohol has harmed Maori in the district for such a long time. At this point everyone in New Zealand is invited to give their opinion on whether the local iwi were right or or wrong in turning it down.
Interesting piece of positive news – start a divisive debate along racial lines.
Then it had a weird story about a country school that has gone to almost no students to about 90 in a year or tow, somehow inspired by someone donating some money. However, the amount of money is never disclosed and how this and anything else was done to achieve these results is quite unclear, including just where all these new pupils were coming from. Very odd storyt that seemed to be making some sort of point but delivers no useful information. It was described as a public school but whether it had anything to do with charter schools was kept completely in the dark.
And then, Fambo, there is the story in today’s Herald about marvellous happenings in Kawerau – turning around youth from life of crime etc etc – and comment that similar pilot funding has done the same things in other small towns such as Kaikohe.
Well – I’ve been told the Kaikohe township pilot started off with a coordinator new to the town, that its floundering, and although the local community put up a similar pilot scheme, the funding went to the stooges appointed by the Govt .
What is more, this story appears on the very day that Labour is due to announce its own scheme for turning youth unemployment into a future of hope, apprenticeships, jobs, etc etc.
Surprise, surprise !!
Stumbled onto one of my favourite quotes from Orwell. Thought it was a timely reminder of what happening in the here and now.
“Journalism is printing what someone else does not want printed: everything else is public relations.”
― George Orwell
I prefer:
“That rifle on the wall of the labourer’s cottage or working class flat is the symbol of democracy. It is our job to see that it stays there.”
Take note Greens
what? sounds all out of context and a bit useless
I think the point is that if ‘we’ (presumably the middle/upper classes) don’t run things to ensure democracy for all, then the working classes will rise in violent revolution, and that the GP should be scared of that because they’re so anti-democracy for poor/working people. So yeah, out of context, time wise, geographically, culturally and politically. Or perhaps PR could point to some specific anti-working class policies from the GP.
If wielding firearms = guaranteeing democracy, then the USA sure has one heck of a lot of democracy going on at the moment.
Yeah. Strange how a bunch of communists realized that to destroy capitalism all they had to do was get rich by denuding economics of any science. ACT are fifth column communists. Force the working classes to hold their guns close and also ramp up debt on them so they rise up and remove the capitalist system.
More that the Greens want to make semi-autos illegal and from there it’ll be a short step to making firearms available to only a select few and then removed completely
Rubbish.
Whys it rubbish? They want to get rid of our defence force and make it some sort of “peace keeping” malarky so disarming the entire population isn’t that strange
We need to completely re-purpose our Defence Forces away from imperial interventions to a homeland/Pacific self protection and civil works role.
“They want to get rid of our defence force and make it some sort of “peace keeping” malarky so disarming the entire population isn’t that strange”
Link to actual policy please.
Actual GP policy on gun control:
Gun Control
In order to reduce risks associated with guns and their use in crime, the Green Party will:
Make private ownership of fully functional semi-automatic weapons illegal.Investigate the benefits and costs of a low fee, centralised gun registration system and database.
Reduce the licensing period from ten years to five, in line with practices in the UK, Australia, and Canada.
Review the vetting procedures in the firearms acquisition certificate, to ensure that they are in line with best practice.</i>
https://www.greens.org.nz/policy/justice#P12
“That rifle on the wall of the labourer’s cottage or working class flat is the symbol of democracy. It is our job to see that it stays there.”
from my cold dead hands eh…..
I don’t agree with everything the NRA says or does (assuming you’re referring to former head of the NRA Charlton Heston) In fact if the USa followed what NZ does they’d be a much better place but as I understand it gun laws are set at State level
There no reason other than ideological for semi-autos to be banned in NZ
Do you have something planned because killing lots of things quickly is the only reason one would need a semi-automatic firearm.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aramoana_massacre
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Port_Arthur_massacre_%28Australia%29
Sure do, shooting semi-autos is fun and are not in any way the major firearm used in crime and simply because you don’t like them is no reason to impede on my legal right to do the hobby I enjoy
The firearms laws were changed after Aramoana (which happened over 2 decades ago) which is why the laws don’t need to be changed because they’re working
The Greens want to protect people then they can go and sort out that which kills people more than guns do: health, disease, cars etc etc
Well I’ll be damned …. we have a real live NRA nutter amongst us in puckish rogue, parading all the useless one-liners he can muster in order to “have fun” doing something which only NRA nutters get their rocks off on …. and that is something to be very very afraid of.
“Sure do, shooting semi-autos is fun and are not in any way the major firearm used in crime and simply because you don’t like them is no reason to impede on my legal right to do the hobby I enjoy”
Am curious now. Where do you shoot your semi-automatic rifle? Any reason it can’t be done in a controlled setting like a gun club?
“The Greens want to protect people then they can go and sort out that which kills people more than guns do: health, disease, cars etc etc”
Funnily enough the Greens have lots of policy to sort out cars, but you lot scream like babies every time they’re mentioned.
Aramoana. – and other overseas massacres. You want the the time delay of people having to stop and reload. And why would you average citizen need a semiautomatic- you’d hardly go hunting with it.
I’ve been away for a while… is this a known bug? The standard keeps dropping my name and email from the comment fields. Seems to hold them for a period of time, then they’re blank. Blank multiple times over a day so they’re not being held very long. Or is it Firefox?
[lprent: Probably time that cookies are told to remain. I will check after work. ]
My name and email has been dropping out that way for 3-4 weeks, and it seems to have affected others as well.
Hi Weka,
Oops, filled out my email field incorrectly and went into moderation; yes, have had the fields blanking for 3-4 weeks, and it seems to be affecting other commenters too.
thanks ER. Has anyone said anything to Lynn?
Hi weka. Same, for the last few weeks. I did mention it to Lynn but got distracted for a few days and didn’t go back and check if there was a reply from him.
I have been toying with the idea of having a zany new handle every time.
Not meant to be happening. Will look at after I get home.
Ta 🙂
Move on, nothing to see..
/
In 2006, manufacturing was the biggest employment sector in New Zealand with 11.6 per cent of people employed in the sector. The 2013 Census revealed that this figure had dropped to 9.8 per cent of the population, with 29,472 fewer people employed in the sector since 2006.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=11303447
National party slogans:
“Facts don’t count”
“Analysis of the facts doesn’t count”
“We are the ones that get to say what reality is”
“There are no problems in NZ if we shut our eyes”
“It is all good here because we say so.”
“Don’t listen to the truth – buy our unique brand of fiction”
“Ban education for all”
“Sweet lies are preferable than having a grasp on reality”
“Vote for Sweet Lies”
“Go back to sleep”
Breaking News:
The World Changes!
That could only be breaking news to a typically poorly informed Nat supporter.
Those who are curious about the world and have an interest in history and what others’ think know that people have known about the ever-changing nature of the world for well over two millennium.
FYI
There is a US Chamber of Commerce briefing at the MFAT office on Quay St at which Minister of Trade, Tim Groser will be speaking.
TOMORROW: Tuesday 5 August
5pm
139 Quay St Auckland City.
Where’s the ‘People’s Briefing’?
Where’s the ‘open, transparent and democratic accountability’ with these Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPPA) negotiations?
What sort of ‘PARTNERSHIP’ excludes the public?
After 30 years of neo-liberal ‘Rogernomic$’ – haven’t the public learned that what’s good for big business isn’t usually good for the the public majority?
How come over 600 corporate ‘trade advisors’ get to see the TPPA text – but the public don’t?
http://www.citizen.org/TPP
Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP): Job Loss, Lower Wages and Higher Drug Prices
Have you heard? The TPP is a massive, controversial “free trade” agreement currently being pushed by big corporations and negotiated behind closed doors by officials from the United States and 11 other countries – Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, and Vietnam. In one fell swoop, this secretive deal could:
offshore millions of American jobs,
roll back Wall Street reforms,
sneak in SOPA-like threats to Internet freedom,
ban Buy American policies needed to create green jobs,
jack up the cost of medicines,
expose the U.S. to unsafe food and products,
and empower corporations to attack our environmental and health safeguards.
Although it is called a “free trade” agreement, the TPP is not mainly about trade.
Of TPP’s 29 draft chapters, only five deal with traditional trade issues.
One chapter would provide incentives to offshore jobs to low-wage countries.
Many would impose limits on government policies that we rely on in our daily lives for safe food, a clean environment, and more.
Our domestic federal, state and local policies would be required to comply with TPP rules.
The TPP would even elevate individual foreign firms to equal status with sovereign nations, empowering them to privately enforce new rights and privileges, provided by the pact, by dragging governments to foreign tribunals to demand taxpayer compensation over policies that they claim undermine their expected future profits.
We only know about the TPP’s threats thanks to leaks – the public is not allowed to see the draft TPP text.
Even members of Congress, after being denied the text for years, are now only provided limited access.
Meanwhile, more than 600 official corporate “trade advisors” have special access.
The TPP has been under negotiation for five years, and the Obama administration wants to sign the deal by early 2014.
Opposition to the TPP is growing at home and in many of the other countries involved.
Whose interests are being served by the TPPA?
Follow the dollar ……..
What do you expect from this John Key led National Government, when this ex-Wall Street banker is STILL a shareholder in the Bank of America?
http://www.parliament.nz/resource/en-nz/00CLOOCMPPFinInterests20141/2e04287ad20ee5da12a308149e59bb16d7f47ce5
“Rt Hon John Key (National, Helensville)
2 Other companies and business entities
Little Nell – property investment, Aspen, Colorado
Bank of America – banking ”
“The will of the people is the basis of the authority of government”!
NO PUBLIC SAY – NO TPPA!
https://www.facebook.com/ItsOurFutureNZ
It’s time to ROLLBACK ‘Rogernomic$’ and corrupt corporate control – not extend it.
Open the books!
Cut out the private sector contractors and consultants!
Return essential public services back to direct democratic control, with
‘in-house’ employees, under the ‘public service’ – NOT commercialised or privatised model!
The neo-liberal mantra that ‘public is bad – private is good’ – has been proven over the last 30 years to be a complete and utter rort and fraud perpetrated on the public.
In my considered opinion, the only ones who have benefited from public services being run in a more ‘business-like’ (privatised) way – is those businesses who have secured the contracts.
It’s time for the public majority to benefit from our public monies at central and local government – not a corporate minority – helped by politicians who serve their interests.
The TPPA will extend this corrupt, powerful corporate control, both nationally and internationally.
ENOUGH!
My very clear position as a fiercely independent anti-corruption and anti-privatisation Public Watchdog, is that this NZ National-led Government must NOT sign the TPPA.
Penny Bright
2014 Independent Candidate for the Helensville electorate
2009 Attendee Australian Public Sector Anti-Corruption Conference
2010 Attendee Transparency International Anti-Corruption Conference
2013 Attendee Australian Public Sector Anti-Corruption Conference
2009 Attendee G20 Anti-Corruption Conference
2013 Auckland Mayoral Candidate (polled 4th with 11,723 votes)
If you are able to join the protest there at 5pm at 139 Quay St, Auckland then this would be fantastic.
It’s our future website has a good rundown on the positions taken on the TPPA by the political parties.
http://www.itsourfuture.org.nz/elections-2014-voting-against-the-tppa/
any chance of anyone leaving a mike in the room accidentally? or will an OIA get the speech
Looks like there is an issue with the cron picking up the feeds. Drat…
@ lprent 2.56
It’s not the end of the world to have to put name/mail in. In Firefox if I forget a get a good service with a notice and then can return and find my comment still there. And on Firefox I have name/mail saved and just have to put the first letter and up comes the details for me to click.
National has just Nationalised Novopay.
Steven Joyce deserves credit for biting this bullet.
Novopay is sold by Talent2, formerly known as Morgan & Banks.
Andrew Banks graduated from Australia’s National Institute of Dramatic Art, travelled globally, ran a Sydney restaurant, and moved into personnel management to form Morgan & Banks in Sydney.
It coincided with the early application of the internet to job search and competition with sites such as < http://www.seek.com.au > – Melbourne based but with significant investment and involvement by James Packer contributing pressure for M&B to expand beyond Australia.
Strangely, it is now difficult to find anything about this period on the net.
http://www.about-monster.com/content/tmp-worldwide-acquires-morgan-banks
http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:9jT0btMJA7MJ:www.nida.edu.au
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Novopay#Talent2_background
Both major parties in NZ are implicated in one way or another.
Joyce has done the right thing, but it exposes the small pond of people and ideas that is NZ politics.
If ‘Talent2′ cannot get it right in NZ, what are their prospects to do this globally ?
We look forward to seeing Steven Joyce crossing the house on other matters of national importance.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/business/industries/10344928/Questions-remain-about-Novopay-deal
You can’t blame labour for any of this mess as they were going to trial it for 6 months in Canterbury to see if it had any faults and if those faults could be fixed . Nationals Hekia Parata went ahead and fully implemented right across the country knowing full and well it needed trialling HEkia Parata has used Novapay to bully teachers!
I believe that the original contract via Labour was changed and scope extended when National took over. So Labour cannot be blamed as the later Novopay contract had nothing to do with them.
This is President Obama in the last day or so:
‘Obama said the United States “unequivocally condemned “barbaric” Hamas and the Palestinian factions that were responsible for killing two Israeli soldiers, and abducting a third almost minutes after a ceasefire had been announced”.’
WTF is this man on ? Do we hear him describe as “barbaric” the artillery shelling of a UN establishment offering refuge to 3,000 rendered homeless (15 including children killed) – when the IDF had been given the location co-ordinates of that establishment THIRTY THREE times, the last occasion being only a couple of hours before the hit.
I despise Obama frankly hearing that. Particularly when the US continues to fund the IDF to the tune of $US 3,000,000,000 (3 billion) ANNUALLY.
“Do we hear him describe as “barbaric” the artillery shelling of a UN establishment…”. We also didn’t hear him say anything about the UN envoy who was talking about the rockets found in the Gaza UN school compounds. Bastard isn’t he ? One eyed or what ?
Latest from Snowden- US implicated
Cash, Weapons and Surveillance: the U.S. is a Key Party to Every Israeli Attack
https://firstlook.org/theintercept/2014/08/04/cash-weapons-surveillance/
Heard Chris Finlayson on Radio Live tonight with Grant Robertson and Duncan Garner – it seems that Finlayson has decided to copy Steven Joyce’s method of being interviewed – tried to talk right over the top of Grant Robertson and got mighty nasty at times too, he kept on the “xenophobia” rant over the latest farm sale to the Chinese!! Crosby Textor must have had a master class for all the Nats on how to drown out all opposition to their short-sighted policies! No mention of it in the Herald that I saw, and certainly the media aren’t exploring the story of the Conservation Land that the Nats have given to the purchasers of the Crafar Farms!
From 4-5pm on newstalk Mr. Slater employed the same technique. Almost makes you want to switch over to listen to Jono playing this …
It is because they have no answer and nothing decent to say
So they begin to shout like drunks in a pub
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/personal-finance/news/article.cfm?c_id=12&objectid=11302589
Assuming these purchases are made in a company the profits are taxed at 43 per cent (being 15 per cent GST and 28 per cent company tax rate). – And Andrew Bruce is knowledgable in the area !!!!!
Well he may not know this but, the coy purchasing the property would be able to claim a refund of 15% of the purchase price from the IRD: reducing their cash cost and the required borrowings. Even if there is no GST applicable to the sale under 2nd Hand Goods GST would still be able to be claimed, and 100% of the income is the companies there is no GST attributable to the rent received. The truth has been lost in this article in its attempt to portray that landlords are paying more than their fair share, also given the $1.2b subsidy from Housing supplements from the govt
http://www.interest.co.nz/property/60426/govt-reviewing-accommodation-supplement-rent-subsidy-housing-minister-heatley-says-go
If these did not exist then IMO rents would be dramatically reduced as they allow for a greater rent to be paid that the current tenants would be unable to afford.
InternetMana roadshow in Wellington tonight, 4–500 people, a pretty full house, solid applause for all with especially strong support for both Annette Sykes and Lailla Harre,
More tomorrow when i have sorted the event through in my nut…