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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by Don Franks In 1957, E M Forster wrote, of his greatest work: “The India described in ‘A Passage to India’ no longer exists either politically or socially. Change had begun even at the time the book was published ( 1924) and during the following quarter of a century it ...
The Referendums Framework Bill was due back from select committee today. But there's no report on it. Instead, the bill has been bounced back to the House under Standing order 29593) because the Committee didn't bother to produce one. They probably tried. But given the membership of the committee (which ...
Two years into New Zealand’s Labour-led government, the long-delayed Zero Carbon Bill became law on 7 November. Passed essentially unanimously, the lengthy public debates and political manoeuvring faded away until the final passage was even anticlimactic: Flipping through the @nzstuff@DomPost I was starting to wonder if I’d dreamt ...
Now the Zero Carbon Bill is law, what's next? Obviously, the ETS changes currently before select committee are going to be the next battleground. But we're also going to get a good idea of where we're going, and if the progress the Zero Carbon Act promises is good enough, during ...
Grant PearceThe effects of the current Australian bushfires in New South Wales and Queensland (and also again in California) are devastating and far-reaching. To date, the fires have resulted in several lives being lost and many homes and properties destroyed. Here in New Zealand, the impacts have been only ...
A passing comment in a post the other day about the labour force participation rates of older people prompted me to pull down the fuller data and see what we could see about various participation rates over the decades since the HLFS began in 1986. As it happens, the ...
Distract And Divert: The rise of what we have come to call “Identity Politics” represents the ideological manifestation of the ruling class’s objective need to destroy class politics, and of the middle-class’s subjective need to justify their participation in the process.THE RELIEF of the ruling class can only be imagined. ...
"I saw a newspaper picture,From the political campaignA woman was kissing a child,Who was obviously in pain.She spills with compassion,As that young child'sFace in her hands she gripsCan you imagine all that greed and avariceComing down on that child's lips?" ...
Dr Matt Boyd, Prof Michael Baker, Prof Nick WilsonThe Global Health Security Index which considers pandemic threats has just been published. Unfortunately, NZ scores approximately half marks (54/100), coming in 35th in the world rankings – far behind Australia. This poor result suggests that the NZ Government needs to ...
The Zero Carbon Act is inadequate, with a weak methane target designed to give farmers a free ride. But it turns out it could have been worse: Climate Change Minister James Shaw was so desperate to get National on board, he wanted to gut that target, and leave it in ...
The Herald reprints an Australian story on a couple of tragic deaths in Bali from drinking cocktails that had methanol in them. The story argues that methanol is likely the result of home distillation. But what the young tourists were experiencing was far from a hangover. They’d consumed a toxic cocktail ...
Last month, the police announced a trial of specialist roaming armed units, which would drive round (poor, brown) areas in armoured SUVs, armed to the teeth. When they announced the trial, they told us it was about having armed police "ready to attend major incidents at any time if needed". ...
Spain went to the polls today in the second elections this year, after the Socialists (who had come to power in a confidence vote, then gone to the polls in April) rejected the offer of a coalition with the left-wing PoDemos, and instead decided to gamble n a better outcome ...
A couple of days ago I attended (and spoke at) the University of Waikato’s “LearnFest” event. There were lots of talks and sessions on very diverse aspects of teaching, mostly at tertiary level. One was by Myra Williamson from Te Piringa Faculty of Law here at Waikato, on Contract Cheating ...
There will be a transit of Mercury – the planet Mercury will pass across the face of the Sun – taking place at sunrise in New Zealand on Tuesday, 12th November. It was by observing such an event 250 years ago that James Cook and his scientist colleagues were able ...
Since becoming the world’s first openly transexual mayor and member of parliament, Georgina Beyer has been recognised as a trailblazer for trans rights. Daphna Whitmore talks with her about where she sees the current trans movement We start out talking about legislation the government put on hold that would have ...
If FFNZ really put their faith in “Top Medical Journals” they would now be amending their billboards to recognise new research results. Image from FFNZ but updated to agree with the latest research. ...
National Messiah? Chris Luxon identifies himself as an evangelical Christian. If he is genuine in this self-characterisation, then he will take every opportunity his public office provides to proselytise on behalf of his faith. He will also feel obliged to bear witness against beliefs and practices he believes to be ...
I'm going to make a Reckless Prediction™ that the Tories have 'topped out' in the 'poll of polls' / Britain Elects multipoll tracker at about 38%, and in the next week we will start to see Labour creep up on them.In fact, we might just be seeing the start of ...
by The Council of Disobedient Women Lizzie Marvelly: “I may have missed this… has @afterellen gone all terf-y? Or am I reading something incorrectly? “ https://twitter.com/LizzieMarvelly/status/1191840059105742849 After Ellen is a lesbian website that is unashamedly pro-lesbian, as you’d expect. So why is Ms Marvelly so bothered about lesbians having their ...
Did you know there once was a time when it was illegal to be a gypsy (aka Romani) in Britain?That was between 1530, when the Egyptians Act was passed, and 1856, when it was repealed.Amongst other things, the act forbade the entry of 'Egyptians' into England, ordered those already there ...
Some days I sit and think, “what will I write…?” What do you say when you get to 1000 posts? Maybe you just start where you are, diverge to where this all began, then offer a collection of reader’s favourite posts, and a few of your own? (And throw in ...
Counter-Puncher: The “activists” and “radicals” (his own words) from the Indian community who took such strong exception to Shane Jones’ remarks about Immigration NZ’s treatment of arranged marriages, may end up bitterly regretting their intervention. Jones is not the sort of person who turns the other cheek to his critics.SHANE ...
In the spirit of Remember, remember the fifth of November, let's keep this in mind FOREVER.
Oh dear. Extraordinary interview on PM with Andrew Bridgen and @EvanHD just now. Bridgen was defending Jacob Rees Mogg’s Grenfell comments. Evan asked him if JRM had meant to say he would have left ...
New Zealand First are celebrating the announcement of an investment of $3.5 million into five new trapping devices. These are a range of bait and trap devices, all designed to be left unattended for long periods of time. NZ First conservation spokesperson Jenny Marcroft says that this latest development will ...
Clayton Mitchell, Spokesperson for Consumer Affairs The ‘wheel clamping’ Bill that will cap clamper fees to $100 passed its third readinginParliament today. New Zealand First welcomes The Land Transport (Wheel Clamping) Amendment Bill to combat predatory wheel clamping behaviour in what is currently a largely unregulated business. Cowboy clampers are: gouging ...
Jenny Marcroft, Spokesperson for Health New Zealand First welcomes the passage of the Mental Health and Wellbeing Commission Bill through its first reading in Parliament. “Today’s progress takes serious action on the mental health and addiction crisis the country is facing,” says New Zealand First Health Spokesperson Jenny Marcroft. “The re-establishment ...
Mark Patterson, Spokesperson for Primary Industries Today the Government announced the delivery of the promise to protect New Zealand interests by applying a new National Interest Test to the sales of our most sensitive and high risk assets to overseas buyers. This further strengthening of the Overseas Investment Act will ...
The Coalition Government is delivering on its promise to protect New Zealanders’ interests by applying a new national interest test to the sales of our most sensitive and high-risk assets to overseas buyers. Under current Overseas Investment Act (OIA) rules, assets such as ports and airports, telecommunications infrastructure, electricity and ...
Rt Winston Peters, Leader of New Zealand First Allegations raised this morning by Stuff Limited / Fairfax concern a party matter but I am confident that New Zealand First has operated within electoral laws, now and for the last 27 years. Declarable donations were declared to the Electoral Commission. Our ...
The chairman of the Upper North Island Supply Chain Strategy (UNISCS) working group, Wayne Brown, has hit back at critics of his group’s recommendations to relocate the Ports of Auckland cargo operations to Whangarei’s deepwater port of Northport. The working group's recommendation to close Auckland waterfront to all but cruise ...
Jenny Marcroft MP, Spokesperson for Health New Zealand First backs the public to decide on the End of Life Choice Bill via a referendum at the 2020 General Election. The Bill, with New Zealand First’s referendum provision incorporated, passed its final reading in Parliament this evening. New Zealand First Spokesperson for ...
Darroch Ball, Spokesperson for Justice New Zealand First is proud that a key Coalition Agreement commitment which will provide for a more transparent and effective criminal justice system has been realised. Legislation to establish the Criminal Cases Review Commission, an independent body focused on identifying and responding to possible miscarriages of ...
"Today we have made a choice that will leave a legacy... I hope that means that future generations will see that we, in New Zealand, were on the right side of history." - Jacinda Ardern, Third Reading of the Zero Carbon Bill ...
Darroch Ball, New Zealand First List MP A Member’s bill has been proposed that would provide income tax exemptions for all New Zealand Defence Force (NZDF) personnel while on operational deployment overseas. The Income Tax (Exemption for Salary or Wages of NZDF Members on Active Deployment) Amendment Bill proposed by New Zealand First ...
Rt Hon Winston Peters, New Zealand First Leader New Zealand First is proud to have brought common sense to the Climate Change Response (Zero Carbon) Amendment Bill, which passed its final reading in Parliament today. Party Leader Rt Hon Winston Peters says months of hard work went into negotiating a balanced ...
Jenny Marcroft MP, Spokesperson for Health New Zealand First has listened to calls to recognise paramedics as registered health professionals under the Health Practitioners’ Competence Assurance Act (the Act).Today, the Coalition Government announced plans for paramedics to be registered as health practitioners under the Act, and the establishment of a ...
The Coalition commitment to add 1800 new Police officers to frontline policing has been achieved with the graduation of 59 constables from the Royal New Zealand Police College today. Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters say today’s graduation means 1825 new Police have been deployed all ...
Ensuring APEC work gets input from diverse New Zealand business and trade interests is behind three new appointments to the APEC Business Advisory Council (ABAC), Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern says. Rachel Taulelei, Malcolm Johns and Toni Moyes have been appointed to represent New Zealand on the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) ...
Nau mai, haere mai. Tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou, tēnā tatou katoa. Thank you for having me to speak today. To start, I’d like to acknowledge Sharron Lloyd, the General Manager of the Trans–Tasman Business Circle, the partners for this event Westpac’s David McLean, and Derek McCormack from AUT, and, of course ...
A four-month investigation by former Environment Court judge Professor Peter Skelton found that Otago’s freshwater planning system is not fit for purpose to manage the region’s rivers, lakes and aquifers and that the Council has inadequate rules for the taking of water and the discharge of nutrients. “Existing planning provisions ...
Introduction Thank you for the invitation to speak to you today. This is the first opportunity I’ve had to speak to an LGNZ meeting since the local elections, and I’m delighted to see the fresh faces of newly elected mayors. To returning mayors here today, as well as chief ...
Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters departs New Zealand today to attend the G20 Foreign Ministers’ Meeting in Nagoya at the invitation of this year’s G20 President, Japan. “This is the first time New Zealand will attend a G20 Foreign Ministers’ Meeting and we are deeply honoured that it is at ...
Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters today announced the appointment of diplomat Carl Reaich as New Zealand’s next Ambassador to the European Union. “The Ambassador to the EU is one of the most important and senior roles in New Zealand’s foreign service, advocating for New Zealand’s interests with the EU institutions,” Mr ...
Innovation and technology are behind five new tools to give nature a helping hand by helping eliminate predators, funded through the Provincial Growth Fund (PGF), Minister for Conservation Eugenie Sage and Parliamentary Under-Secretary for Regional Economic Development Fletcher Tabuteau announced today. “The new tools will be trialled in ...
Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters has welcomed the first reading of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation 2021 (APEC 2021) Bill in Parliament today. The temporary bill supports New Zealand’s security preparations for hosting the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Forum in 2021. “APEC is the leading economic and trade forum ...
The Government is making progress on improving the wellbeing of the one million New Zealanders under the age of 18,” Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said on World Children’s Day. The Government has today recommitted to the most widely ratified human rights treaty in history – the United Nation’s Convention on ...
Minister for Women Julie Anne Genter has released a new report celebrating the contribution of Māori women in business across Aotearoa New Zealand. “Māori women are leaders in our communities, they employ many people and support our economy and our communities,” Julie Anne Genter said. The report, Ngā wāhine kaipakihi: ...
Four parcels of land have been bought in Omokoroa, in the Western Bay of Plenty District, for an education facility that will accommodate both a primary and secondary school on a campus-like facility, Education Minister Chris Hipkins said today. Two parcels were acquired from private land owners and two were ...
1 million New Zealanders warmed by the Winter Energy Payment 36,000 families bank the Best Start Payment in first year 6,000 more families received the Family Tax Credit, 220,600 in total They receive an increase too – from an average of $117 to $157 a week for Inland Revenue clients, ...
New rules to clamp down on overzealous wheel clamping and extortionate fees charged in order to release a vehicle have passed their final stage in Parliament today. The Land Transport (Wheel Clamping) Amendment Bill has now passed its third reading. “These changes mean $100 will be the maximum wheel clamping ...
An independent Mental Health and Wellbeing Commission is a step closer after it unanimously passed its first vote in Parliament today. The Mental Health and Wellbeing Commission Bill lays the groundwork for establishing the Commission as a fully independent crown entity – delivering on a key recommendation of He Ara ...
We’ve improved border security with the NZeTA, New Zealand Electronic Travel Authority, which helps us to screen travellers for border and immigration risks off-shore before they travel to New Zealand. It was launched in August and became mandatory on 1 October 2019. More than 500,000 NZeTAs have been issued since ...
A proposed national plan of action to reduce the number of seabirds caught in fisheries is being circulated for public feedback. Fisheries Minister Stuart Nash and Conservation Minister Eugenie Sage say New Zealand is a global centre of seabird diversity with about 145 species in our waters. It has more ...
The Government is delivering on its promise to protect New Zealanders’ interests by applying a new national interest test to the sales of our most sensitive and high risk assets to overseas buyers. Associate Finance Minister David Parker said under current Overseas Investment Act rules, assets such as ports and ...
The Government is building special housing to accommodate one of Aotearoa’s greatest taonga- our kaumātua, says the Minister for Māori Development, Hon Nanaia Mahuta. Speaking at a National Kaumātua Service Providers Conference in Rotorua today, the Minister reinforced the importance kaumātua play in maintaining and passing on mātauranga Māori, knowledge, ...
Eleven men from a pilot forestry training programme for prisoners in Northland now have full time jobs or job offers upon release, Corrections Minister Kelvin Davis and Forestry Minister Shane Jones announced today. The ‘release to work’ programme was a collaboration between Te Uru Rākau and the Department of Corrections, ...
Minister of State Services Chris Hipkins today introduced into Parliament a Bill that will make it easier for the public service to tackle the biggest challenges facing Governments. The Bill represents the most significant change in the public service in 30 years. The State Sector Act 1988 will be repealed ...
The families of more than 416,000 students will be better off next year as their schools have signed up to the Government’s donations scheme, Education Minister Chris Hipkins said today. The scheme will see almost $62.5 million in additional Government funding go to schools nationwide next year. “I’m really pleased ...
Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters has announced further support as the Government of Samoa responds to a serious measles outbreak. “New Zealand will deploy a further 18 vaccination nurses, bringing the total to 30 working in Samoa over the next four weeks,” Mr Peters said. “A New Zealand Medical Assistance ...
Fa’atalofa atu, malo e lelei, Kia ora koutou katoa Thank you to the Child Poverty Action Group for asking me to be here today to provide an update on some of the things that have been happening across my the social development portfolio. Can I firstly acknowledge the vast ...
***Please check against delivery*** Good morning everyone. It is a pleasure to be with you this morning to open this year’s New Zealand Thoroughbred Racing Conference and AGM. Firstly, thank you Dr Alan Jackson, NZTR Chair for your introduction. And let us acknowledge also: The NZTR Board; Dean McKenzie, Chair ...
The Government has delivered on its promise to the over one million New Zealanders who now rent to make it fairer and more secure, Associate Minister of Housing (Public Housing) Kris Faafoi has announced today. Both renters and landlords will benefit from the suite of practical changes to the Residential ...
A marine conservation milestone - the 20th anniversary of the establishment of Te Tapuwae o Rongokako Marine Reserve - is being celebrated today at a community event in Tairāwhiti/East Coast attended by the Minister of Conservation, Eugenie Sage. “The creation of this marine reserve in November 1999 was a game ...
The Government is asking the food industry to step up work to tackle obesity including reducing sugar, fat and salt in their products, better information for consumers, and tighter restrictions on advertising to children. Health Minister David Clark and Food Safety Minister Damien O’Connor have responded to a ...
ew, modern emergency department and outpatient facilities at Queenstown’s Lakes District Hospital mean better emergency care for the growing tourist mecca’s visitors and locals, says Health Minister David Clark. Today Dr Clark officially opened the hospital’s redeveloped Emergency Department and Outpatient facilities. The new facilities include: • An extended Emergency Department ...
Associate Health Minister Julie Anne Genter says today’s release of sexual and reproductive health data reinforces the significance of the Government’s commitment to providing free or very low-cost contraception. The Ministry of Health today published statistics from the Ministry of Health’s 2014/15 Health Survey. “It is important people can make ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has announced that at the request of the Samoan Government, New Zealand will be providing further support to Samoa as it faces a worsening measles outbreak. “In response to a request from the people of Samoa, New Zealand is providing 3000 measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) ...
“The new Disability Action Plan 2019–2023 moves us towards the inclusive and accessible New Zealand that this government has committed to,” Minister for Disability Issues Carmel Sepuloni announced today. “The Action Plan was designed by disabled people, their family and supporters, the disability sector and government agencies. It will ensure ...
Third Singapore-New Zealand Defence Ministers’ Meeting 14 November 2019 Joint Statement 1. Defence Ministers Ron Mark and Dr Ng Eng Hen today conducted their third annual Singapore-New Zealand Defence Ministers’ Meeting in Singapore. 2. Building on the Enhanced Partnership signed between both countries in May this year, this annual meeting ...
A Bill to improve the court system’s response to sexual violence has passed its first reading in Parliament today. Justice Minister Andrew Little says the Sexual Violence Legislation Bill will reduce the trauma sexual violence complainants experience in court, while maintaining defendants’ fundamental rights and making sure the trial process ...
Streamlined payment practices are a step closer for Kiwi businesses with the formal launch of New Zealand’s e-Invoicing framework. Small Business Minister Stuart Nash says the government has now established the structure to enable automated and direct data exchange between the accounting systems of buyers and sellers. “The move to ...
Another 51 quarantine officers and four new biosecurity detector dog teams will help protect New Zealand from invasive pests and diseases this summer, says Biosecurity Minister Damien O’Connor. “The Government is delivering on its commitment to strengthen New Zealand’s biosecurity system and support our valuable primary sector “New Zealand’s flora, fauna ...
A new report has found New Zealand’s space sector contributed $1.69 billion to the economy in the last financial year and employs 12,000 people, Minister for Economic Development Phil Twyford announced today. The report by Deloitte was commissioned by the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment and shows New Zealand ...
Judge Coral Shaw has been appointed as the new Chair of the Royal Commission into Historical Abuse in State Care and in the Care of Faith-based Institutions, Internal Affairs Minister Tracey Martin announced today. "Judge Shaw, who is currently one of the inquiry commissioners, is extremely well qualified for the ...
The Government has confirmed its third major mental health facility upgrade since the Budget, this time at Palmerston North Hospital. The Prime Minister and Health Minister today visited MidCentral DHB to announce that $30 million has been allocated to upgrade its acute mental health facility. It follows earlier announcements in ...
The roll out of the National Bowel Screening Programme has reached the halfway mark, with 10 out of 20 District Health Boards now part of the programme. MidCentral DHB, which covers Palmerston North, Manawatu and surrounding districts, this week became the latest to DHB to offer free bowel screening to ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Peter Christoff, Associate Professor, School of Geography, University of Melbourne A new United Nations report shows the world’s major fossil fuel producing countries, including Australia, plan to dig up far more coal, oil and gas than can be burned if the world ...
New Zealand First leader and Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters with Governor General Dame Patsy Reddy and Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern.New Zealand is officially one of the least corrupt countries in the world. But it could be argued that our political system is still biased in favour of the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Scott Hamilton, Strategic Advisory Panel Member, Australian-German Energy Transition Hub, University of Melbourne The possibilities presented by hydrogen are the subject of excited discussion across the world – and across Australia’s political divide, notoriously at war over energy policy. Read more: Hydrogen ...
The Real Pod assembles to dissect the week in reality television and real life, with special thanks to Nando’s.We’re still buzzing after the rip-roaring success of the Corny Christmas party this week and we won’t even let a rogue earwig in the studio dampen our spirits. There’s a lot of exciting ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Heidi Norman, Professor, Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, University of Technology Sydney Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander readers are advised this article contains images and names of deceased people.Review: Linear, Powerhouse Museum, Sydney The value of Australian First Peoples’ scientific ...
Sam Brooks reviews the latest generation of the Pokémon games which finally hits the big-ish screen.“I love Pokémon but I wish I could play it on my TV.”I’ve been playing Pokémon for 20 years and that’s been the main thing I’ve heard from my fellow Pokémon friends/fans. The games have been engrossing, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Helen Dickinson, Professor, Public Service Research, UNSW National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) Minister Stuart Robert this month announced a number of “practical changes” to the scheme. Acknowledging the NDIS is not consistently living up to expectations, he said these improvements will put ...
The trustee of the New Zealand First Foundation and Winston Peters' personal lawyer has threatened a $30 million lawsuit against a National MP, in the latest twist of the donations scandal. ...
The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) is a regional economic forum based in the Asia-Pacific Region. New Zealand will host APEC 2021 in November 2021, with related events running for a year from December 2020 until November 2021. ...
Business is Boring is a weekly podcast series presented by The Spinoff in association with Callaghan Innovation. Host Simon Pound speaks with innovators and commentators focused on the future of New Zealand. This week he talks to Dr Brian Ward of soft-tissue repair company Aroa.Dr Paul Callaghan, who inspired Callaghan ...
Emerging political leaders from 15 Pacific countries and territories will be in New Zealand next week to meet with one and other, and their New Zealand counterparts, to discuss major challenges and opportunities in the Pacific. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Anthony Billingsley, Senior Lecturer, School of Social Sciences, UNSW The small number of Australians being held in prison camps in northern Syria has been an ongoing, albeit low-level, challenge for the Australian government. There are believed to be eight Australian fighters for ...
Louise Mensch is set to hit New Zealand airwaves this evening. Who is this conspiracy theorist and what could she possibly be saying to Lisa Owen?Who is Louise Mensch?She’s a former Tory MP, founder of the Rupert Murdoch-funded “no safe spaces” website Heat Street, a romance novelist, and a conspiracy ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Dennis McNevin, Professor of Forensic Genetics, University of Technology Sydney Designer baby, anyone? A New Jersey startup company, Genomic Prediction, might be able to help you. Genomic Prediction claims to be able to use DNA testing to predict disease risk in an ...
Marion McLeod revels in the return of Olive Kitteridge, the compassionate curmudgeon who won Elizabeth Strout a Pulitzer Prize. It’s the year of the sequel: My Big Fat Greek Wedding 3, Toy Story 4, Rambo 5 … Do movies ever make it to double figures? Books and miniseries certainly do. Genre ...
National is questioning those in charge of the Provincial Growth Fund after it was revealed a NZ First-linked forestry company made an application to the fund, headed by NZ First MP Shane Jones. ...
James Borrowdale spent the last cricket season examining Neil Wagner and his unique approach to bowling. Today, in the first test of the Black Caps’ summer, Wagner returns.Neil Wagner has a wicket. He freezes mid-pitch, fists clenched at his side, knees slightly bent, a roar on his lips. His brows ...
A record volume of resales of units in its retirement villages has boosted Ryman's first half profit with the second half expected to be stronger than the first, the company says. ...
The main problem with HIV today is stigma – and it is almost entirely based on outdated information and fear, says Mark Fisher of HIV+ support organisation Body Positive ahead of the World AIDS Day Festival which opens in Auckland tomorrow.A person living with HIV on effective treatment cannot pass ...
The Department of Conservation (DOC) is hoping floating platforms will help to keep the chicks of a central Christchurch colony of critically endangered tarāpuka/black-billed gulls from drowning this breeding season. ...
The Foundation Against Islamophobia and Racism (FAIR) is a newly formed NZ-based independent Muslim human rights advocacy organisation. One of the key projects of FAIR is to provide a Report Islamophobia ( http://report.islamophobia. ) portal where ...
The Royal Commission held its fourth hui with the Muslim Community Reference Group in Christchurch this month as part of an ongoing discussion with Muslim communities. ...
The Spinoff presents the premiere of buzzed-about Auckland post-punk band Daffodils’ new music video ‘Boys’.Theo Spike Salmon says:I wrote ‘Boys’ two years ago, around the end of high school. We’ve revised stuff, and played around with slightly different structuring, but it’s honestly not changed much at all. When I wrote ...
A Waikato stud owner Garry Chittick reveals as a New Zealand First donor says he doesn't care how the money got to the party, as long as it was used to benefit it. ...
In the wake of Wellington City Councillors voting for a 28 per cent increase in their base salaries , the New Zealand Taxpayers’ Union is questioning Iona Pannett’s decision to take a second salary. Taxpayers’ Union Executive Director Jordan Williams ...
For nearly six years, Laura Giddey has been a permanent house sitter in Auckland. Here, she explains why she does it and how it’s changed her life for the better. It all began in December 2013. I had a friend whose husband was in the navy and was going away for ...
A Waikato stud owner revealed as a New Zealand First donor says he doesn't care how the money got there, as long as it was used to benefit the party. ...
The Point of Order Trough Monitor, programmed to alert us to ministerial handouts, nevertheless sounded the alarm when the latest Provincial Growth Fund spending was announced by a politician further down in the pecking order. Accordingly we have learned that the Provincial Growth Fund (PGF) has allocated $3.5 million to develop ...
Fonterra’s farmer shareholders might have been stung by pangs of envy as they looked into the next paddock, and discovered how another company in the same industry is racking up huge revenue gains from the same markets in which their co-op is competing. But A2 Milk, a company founded in ...
In the 1970s, agriculture made the largest single contribution to New Zealand’s economy, but other industries, especially services, have become more dominant in recent years, Stats NZ said today. ...
Government finance statistics (general government) gives an economic representation of New Zealand's central and local government financial activity. ...
The government should look at an unemployment insurance scheme and add new benefits to help support people who lose their jobs, the Productivity Commission suggests. ...
Today Hāpai Te Hauora’s Māori Public Health Team launches "Tobacco is Not Our whakapapa" a series of video clips which seeks to re-center whakapapa in the narrative of tobacco harm minimisation. ...
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.NZ First Matt Shand (Stuff): Who are the donors behind the NZ First Foundation? Matt ...
A leaked email from prominent share broking firm Forsyth Barr perpetuates a tediously old-fashioned idea of the way people think – and it isn’t even salvaged by wit or originality, writes business editor Maria Slade.Investment manager Forsyth Barr’s daily market commentary came with a seasonal extra on November 1. Atop ...
Newly released documents reveal Cabinet considered whether immigrants should be forced to take their elderly parents with them if they leave the country. ...
More than 640 letters in parcels filled with nonrecyclable single-use plastics have been mailed to MPs in Parliament via freepost since the plastic2parliament initiative started in mid-October. Another 125 plastic-stuffed letters were directed to National ...
Agrochemical company Ravensdown is risking potentially disruptive direct action by refusing to allow port workers to register their protest at the importing of Blood Phosphate from the Western Sahara, says the Rail and Maritime Transport Union (RMTU). ...
A few days ago, Fanimals announced it would not be returning for another season. Emily Writes, and her kids, are heartbroken.On my list of things I might write about one day it simply said ‘Fanimals’ sandwiched between ‘How old is BeckBroJack?’ and ‘Is Peter Krause the most dad-like dad on television?’I ...
Family First says that the trend to extend daycare times, and its role to be virtually de facto parents, is concerning, ignores the real needs of children, and reinforces the need for more support to be given to parents with young children. “Babies are ...
Donors to NZ First’s slush fund believed they were making political donations to the party itself in accordance with the law – especially as an NZ First MP organised some of the donations. ...
When the current coalition government was formed, there was some comment that this was perhaps New Zealand First's last chance at political redemption. The party's two previous stints in government had failed to last three years. The 1996-98 coalition ...
Newly released documents reveal the cabinet considered whether immigrants should be forced to take their elderly parents with them if they leave the country. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Gavin Rowell, Associate Professor in High Energy Astrophyics, University of Adelaide The brightest fireworks in the universe are called gamma-ray bursts and are created by the death throes of certain kinds of stars. These intense blasts release as much energy in one ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Peter McPhee, Emeritus professor, University of Melbourne We live in a world of violent challenges to the status quo, from Chile and Iraq to Hong Kong, Catalonia and the Extinction Rebellion. These protests are usually presented in the media simply as expressions ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Nicole Sadler, Associate Professor, Department of Psychiatry, University of Melbourne A career in the Australian Defence Force (ADF), or the armed forces in any country, can be rewarding, but also demanding. Challenges include the rigorous training, frequent moves, and maintaining social connections. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Aniko Blanka Toth, Postdoctoral Fellow, Macquarie University As the world grapples with an extinction crisis, our large mammals are among the most endangered. These threatened species – rhinos, pandas, tigers, polar bears and the like – greatly influence their ecosystems. So what ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Benjamin Nickl, Lecturer in International Comparative Literature and Translation Studies, University of Sydney In September, the Fair Work commission rejected an unfair dismissal claim by a BP worker who made a Downfall video meme about his boss. Fair Work called it “inappropriate ...
Good morning and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Dozens of electorates will have boundary changes, Zespri launches legal action over special kiwifruit, and more tumbles out of NZ First Foundation.Dozens of electorates will see their boundaries change, and a whole new electorate will be created in Auckland, if ...
Back from a freak injury, White Ferns quick bowler Lea Tahuhu continues to make the most of her "gift" as the world's fastest woman with a cricket ball ...
On a farm near Rotorua, breeding rams are having their methane-laced burps measured - so the next generation of lambs can be bred from climate-friendlier fathers. ...
NZ phone companies and the government are setting up a system that will identify scam callers within hours and, they hope, stop them in their tracks, the Spinoff can reveal.We’ve all received them. The calls from strange corners of the world at odd times of the day. After I made ...
The process to appoint Steve Hansen looks increasingly like a farce as quality candidate after quality candidate rule themselves out. Was it all preordained, asks Jamie Wall.For an awful lot of 2019, I was one of the select few that sat in a room with Steve Hansen several times a ...
News that one big publisher wants to buy the other, giving the state a Kiwishare to avoid regulatory objections, complicates a media crisis the government hasn't yet addressed. ...
Open mike 04/08/2014 
Open mike is your post.
Apparently, some people enjoy washing their cars. Each to his or her own, I suppose. I mean, some people like duck shooting, some people follow Coronation Street, and some people’s idea of a good day out is to sit on a grass bank at Seddon Park and watch cricket all ...3 hours ago
Last week we learned that New Zealand First had apparently tried to enrich itself from public office, with a dodgy forestry company linked to a number of NZ First figures sticking its hand out repeatedly for government money. Today in Question Time Regional Economic Development Minister Shane Jones had his ...3 hours ago
13 hours ago
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On both sides of the Atlantic, some purportedly “contentious” and “difficult to deal with” leadership contenders to lead the US and UK, as President and Prime Minister respectively, seem to have thrown a few spanners into the works of the normal messaging most are used to hearing constantly. Except they’re ...1 day ago
It has been revealed that firing ranges used by the NZDF while deployed to the Provincial Reconstruction Team (PRT) in Bamyan Province, Afghanistan, contained unexploded ordnance that caused numerous deaths and injuries after the NZDF withdrew the PRT in April 2013. In 2014 seven children were killed when an unidentified ...1 day ago
by Gearóid Ó Loingsigh Initially it was reported that in an aerial bombardment that took place on August 30th seven children were massacred; the figure then went up to eight and then on November 11th Noticias Uno reported that, according to people from the community in close proximity to the ...3 days ago
MediaWorks announced in October 2019 that it intended to sell off its struggling television business and cancel or cut back on several popular local programmes, including New Zealand Today, Married at First Sight New Zealand and 7 Days. Its radio and outdoor advertising arms are currently performing well, but MediaWorks’ ...4 days ago
There is an article in The Conversation, written by Jeremy P. Shapiro (Adjunct Assistant Professor of Psychological Sciences, Case Western Reserve University), about what he sees as the psychologically-based underpinnings of three main matters that seem to vex people all around the planet. The article is titled “The Thinking ...5 days ago
. . Blogger Martyn Bradbury has won his case against unreasonable search and surveillance against the NZ Police; and subsequent Police attempts to produce evidence in secrecy, in a closed Court. His case highlights a disturbing growing trend in Aotearoa New Zealand for State power to be used against ...5 days ago
by The Council of Disobedient Women In her excellent oral submission to the Abortion reform select committee on 31st October on behalf of Otago University’s Department of Public Health, historian and public health researcher Hera Cook stated: “We would ask that the committee not use the term ‘pregnant persons’ and ...1 week ago
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After days of tricky questions about the NZ First Foundation, the PM and her deputy have earned a respite - but not for long. ...35 mins ago
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Sam Brooks reviews the latest generation of the Pokémon games which finally hits the big-ish screen.“I love Pokémon but I wish I could play it on my TV.”I’ve been playing Pokémon for 20 years and that’s been the main thing I’ve heard from my fellow Pokémon friends/fans. The games have been engrossing, ...2 hours ago
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Rarely does a troubled stock market float tell us so much about the world. ...3 hours ago
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The Point of Order Trough Monitor, programmed to alert us to ministerial handouts, nevertheless sounded the alarm when the latest Provincial Growth Fund spending was announced by a politician further down in the pecking order. Accordingly we have learned that the Provincial Growth Fund (PGF) has allocated $3.5 million to develop ...7 hours ago
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Back from a freak injury, White Ferns quick bowler Lea Tahuhu continues to make the most of her "gift" as the world's fastest woman with a cricket ball ...14 hours ago
The University of Otago's Jacob Edmond discusses how poetry continues to play a vital role in modern society. ...14 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…