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!
From 4-5pm on newstalk Mr. Slater employed the same technique. Almost makes you want to switch over to listen to Jono playing this … https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=202fjZZO-tI
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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A listing of 23 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, January 5, 2025 thru Sat, January 11, 2025. This week's roundup is again published soleley by category. We are still interested in feedback to hone the categorization, so if ...
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This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections Much like 2023, many climate and energy records were broken in 2024. It was Earth’s hottest year on record by a wide margin, breaking the previous record that was set just last year by an even larger margin. Human-caused climate-warming pollution and ...
Submissions on National's racist, white supremacist Principles of the Treaty of Waitangi Bill are due tomorrow! So today, after a good long holiday from all that bullshit, I finally got my shit together to submit on it. As I noted here, people should write their own submissions in their own ...
Ooh, baby (ooh, baby)It's making me crazy (it's making me crazy)Every time I look around (look around)Every time I look around (every time I look around)Every time I look aroundIt's in my faceSongwriters: Alan Leo Jansson / Paul Lawrence L. Fuemana.Today, I’ll be talking about rich, middle-aged men who’ve made ...
A listing of 26 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, December 29, 2024 thru Sat, January 4, 2025. This week's roundup is again published soleley by category. We are still interested in feedback to hone the categorization, so if ...
Hi,The thing that stood out at me while shopping for Christmas presents in New Zealand was how hard it was to avoid Zuru products. Toy manufacturer Zuru is a bit like Netflix, in that it has so much data on what people want they can flood the market with so ...
And when a child is born into this worldIt has no conceptOf the tone of skin it's living inAnd there's a million voicesAnd there's a million voicesTo tell you what you should be thinkingSong by Neneh Cherry and Youssou N'Dour.The moment you see that face, you can hear her voice; ...
While we may not always have quality political leadership, a couple of recently published autobiographies indicate sometimes we strike it lucky. When ranking our prime ministers, retired professor of history Erik Olssen commented that ‘neither Holland nor Nash was especially effective as prime minister – even his private secretary thought ...
Baby, be the class clownI'll be the beauty queen in tearsIt's a new art form, showin' people how little we care (yeah)We're so happy, even when we're smilin' out of fearLet's go down to the tennis court and talk it up like, yeah (yeah)Songwriters: Joel Little / Ella Yelich O ...
Open access notables Why Misinformation Must Not Be Ignored, Ecker et al., American Psychologist:Recent academic debate has seen the emergence of the claim that misinformation is not a significant societal problem. We argue that the arguments used to support this minimizing position are flawed, particularly if interpreted (e.g., by policymakers or the public) as suggesting ...
What I’ve Been Doing: I buried a close family member.What I’ve Been Watching: Andor, Jack Reacher, Xmas movies.What I’ve Been Reflecting On: The Usefulness of Writing and the Worthiness of Doing So — especially as things become more transparent on their own.I also hate competing on any day, and if ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by John Wihbey. A version of this article first appeared on Yale Climate Connections on Nov. 11, 2008. (Image credits: The White House, Jonathan Cutrer / CC BY 2.0; President Jimmy Carter, Trikosko/Library of Congress; Solar dedication, Bill Fitz-Patrick / Jimmy Carter Library; Solar ...
Morena folks,We’re having a good break, recharging the batteries. Hope you’re enjoying the holiday period. I’m not feeling terribly inspired by much at the moment, I’m afraid—not from a writing point of view, anyway.So, today, we’re travelling back in time. You’ll have to imagine the wavy lines and sci-fi sound ...
Completed reads for 2024: Oration on the Dignity of Man, by Giovanni Pico della Mirandola A Platonic Discourse Upon Love, by Giovanni Pico della Mirandola Of Being and Unity, by Giovanni Pico della Mirandola The Life of Pico della Mirandola, by Giovanni Francesco Pico Three Letters Written by Pico ...
Welcome to 2025, Aotearoa. Well… what can one really say? 2024 was a story of a bad beginning, an infernal middle and an indescribably farcical end. But to chart a course for a real future, it does pay to know where we’ve been… so we know where we need ...
Welcome to the official half-way point of the 2020s. Anyway, as per my New Years tradition, here’s where A Phuulish Fellow’s blog traffic came from in 2024: United States United Kingdom New Zealand Canada Sweden Australia Germany Spain Brazil Finland The top four are the same as 2023, ...
Completed reads for December: Be A Wolf!, by Brian Strickland The Magic Flute [libretto], by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Emanuel Schikaneder The Invisible Eye, by Erckmann-Chatrian The Owl’s Ear, by Erckmann-Chatrian The Waters of Death, by Erckmann-Chatrian The Spider, by Hanns Heinz Ewers Who Knows?, by Guy de Maupassant ...
Well, it’s the last day of the year, so it’s time for a quick wrap-up of the most important things that happened in 2024 for urbanism and transport in our city. A huge thank you to everyone who has visited the blog and supported us in our mission to make ...
Leave your office, run past your funeralLeave your home, car, leave your pulpitJoin us in the streets where weJoin us in the streets where weDon't belong, don't belongHere under the starsThrowing light…Song: Jeffery BuckleyToday, I’ll discuss the standout politicians of the last 12 months. Each party will receive three awards, ...
Hi,A lot’s happened this year in the world of Webworm, and as 2024 comes to an end I thought I’d look back at a few of the things that popped. Maybe you missed them, or you might want to revisit some of these essay and podcast episodes over your break ...
Hi,I wanted to share this piece by film editor Dan Kircher about what cinema has been up to in 2024.Dan edited my documentary Mister Organ, as well as this year’s excellent crowd-pleasing Bookworm.Dan adores movies. He gets the language of cinema, he knows what he loves, and writes accordingly. And ...
Without delving into personal details but in order to give readers a sense of the year that was, I thought I would offer the study in contrasts that are Xmas 2023 and Xmas 2024: Xmas 2023 in Starship Children’s Hospital (after third of four surgeries). Even opening presents was an ...
Heavy disclaimer: Alpha/beta/omega dynamics is a popular trope that’s used in a wide range of stories and my thoughts on it do not apply to all cases. I’m most familiar with it through the lens of male-focused fanfic, typically m/m but sometimes also featuring m/f and that’s the situation I’m ...
Hi,Webworm has been pretty heavy this year — mainly because the world is pretty heavy. But as we sprint (or limp, you choose) through the final days of 2024, I wanted to keep Webworm a little lighter.So today I wanted to look at one of the biggest and weirdest elements ...
A listing of 23 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, December 22, 2024 thru Sat, December 28, 2024. This week's roundup is the second one published soleley by category. We are still interested in feedback to hone the categorization, ...
We’ll have a climate change ChristmasFrom now until foreverWarming our hearts and mindsAnd planet all togetherSpirits high and oceans higherChestnuts roast on wildfiresIf coal is on your wishlistMerry Climate Change ChristmasSong by Ian McConnellReindeer emissions are not something I’d thought about in terms of climate change. I guess some significant ...
KP continues to putt-putt along as a tiny niche blog that offers a NZ perspective on international affairs with a few observations about NZ domestic politics thrown in. In 2024 there was also some personal posts given that my son was in the last four months of a nine month ...
The Green Party has welcomed the provisional ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas, and reiterated its call for New Zealand to push for an end to the unlawful occupation of Palestine. ...
The Green Party welcomes the extension of the deadline for Treaty Principles Bill submissions but continues to call on the Government to abandon the Bill. ...
Complaints about disruptive behaviour now handled in around 13 days (down from around 60 days a year ago) 553 Section 55A notices issued by Kāinga Ora since July 2024, up from 41 issued during the same period in the previous year. Of that 553, first notices made up around 83 ...
The time it takes to process building determinations has improved significantly over the last year which means fewer delays in homes being built, Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk says. “New Zealand has a persistent shortage of houses. Making it easier and quicker for new homes to be built will ...
Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden is pleased to announce the annual list of New Zealand’s most popular baby names for 2024. “For the second consecutive year, Noah has claimed the top spot for boys with 250 babies sharing the name, while Isla has returned to the most popular ...
Work is set to get underway on a new bus station at Westgate this week. A contract has been awarded to HEB Construction to start a package of enabling works to get the site ready in advance of main construction beginning in mid-2025, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says.“A new Westgate ...
Minister for Children and for Prevention of Family and Sexual Violence Karen Chhour is encouraging people to use the resources available to them to get help, and to report instances of family and sexual violence amongst their friends, families, and loved ones who are in need. “The death of a ...
Uia te pō, rangahaua te pō, whakamāramatia mai he aha tō tango, he aha tō kāwhaki? Whitirere ki te ao, tirotiro kau au, kei hea taku rātā whakamarumaru i te au o te pakanga mo te mana motuhake? Au te pō, ngū te pō, ue hā! E te kahurangi māreikura, ...
Health Minister Dr Shane Reti says people with diabetes and other painful conditions will benefit from a significant new qualification to boost training in foot care. “It sounds simple, but quality and regular foot and nail care is vital in preventing potentially serious complications from diabetes, like blisters or sores, which can take a long time to heal ...
Associate Health Minister with responsibility for Pharmac David Seymour is pleased to see Pharmac continue to increase availability of medicines for Kiwis with the government’s largest ever investment in Pharmac. “Pharmac operates independently, but it must work within the budget constraints set by the government,” says Mr Seymour. “When this government assumed ...
Mā mua ka kite a muri, mā muri ka ora e mua - Those who lead give sight to those who follow, those who follow give life to those who lead. Māori recipients in the New Year 2025 Honours list show comprehensive dedication to improving communities across the motu that ...
Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden is wishing all New Zealanders a great holiday season as Kiwis prepare for gatherings with friends and families to see in the New Year. It is a great time of year to remind everyone to stay fire safe over the summer. “I know ...
From 1 January 2025, first-time tertiary learners will have access to a new Fees Free entitlement of up to $12,000 for their final year of provider-based study or final two years of work-based learning, Tertiary Education and Skills Minister Penny Simmonds says. “Targeting funding to the final year of study ...
By Koroi Hawkins, RNZ Pacific editor in Port Vila More than 180,000 registered voters are expected to cast their votes today with polls now open in Vanuatu. It is remarkable the snap election is even able to happen with Friday marking one month since the 7.3 magnitude earthquake struck the ...
New Zealand needs to boost its productivity growth and become more attractive and accessible as a workplace in order to fix its labour market woes, a recruitment agency says.Commenting on new salary survey results from Robert Walters, Shay Peters, the company’s Australia and New Zealand chief executive, says the Government ...
Comment: When Newsroom’s editor Jonathan Milne invited me to write one of two special pieces for the summer break, I faced quite the conundrum. My options were to either review a work of non-fiction or write a column about hope and optimism for 2025.I initially misread Jonathan’s request to review ...
By Daniel Perese of Te Ao Māori News Māori politicians across the political spectrum in Aotearoa New Zealand have called for immediate aid to enter Gaza following a temporary ceasefire agreement between Hamas and Israel. The ceasefire, agreed yesterday, comes into effect on Sunday, January 19. Foreign Minister Winston Peters ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Alexandra Sherlock, Lecturer, School of Fashion and Textiles, RMIT University Australian-owned brand UGG Since 1974 has announced it will change its name to “Since 74” for sales outside Australia and New Zealand. There has been a long-running battle over the rights ...
The committee has agreed to split into two sub-committees to increase the number of people it can hear from in the time available. Each sub-committee will meet for 30 hours total, together making up 60 of the 80 planned hours of hearings. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ian Parmeter, Research scholar, Middle East studies, Australian National University The ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas, to come into effect on Sunday, has understandably been welcomed by the overwhelming majority of Israelis and Palestinians. Israelis are relieved that a process for ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Christine Carson, Senior Research Fellow, School of Medicine, The University of Western Australia Over the past several days, the world has watched on in shock as wildfires have devastated large parts of Los Angeles. Beyond the obvious destruction – to landscapes, homes, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Rose Cairns, Senior Lecturer in Pharmacy, NHMRC Emerging Leadership Fellow, University of Sydney AtlasStudio/Shutterstock TikTok and Instagram influencers have been peddling the “Barbie drug” to help you tan. But melanotan-II, as it’s called officially, is a solution that’s too good to ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Paula Jarzabkowski, Professor in Strategic Management, The University of Queensland A series of wildfires in Los Angeles County have caused widespread devastation in California, including at least 24 deaths and the destruction of more than 12,000 homes and structures. Thousands of residents ...
COMMENTARY:By Monika Singh The lack of women representation in parliaments across the world remains a vexed and contentious issue. In Fiji, this problem has again surfaced for debate in response to Deputy Prime Minister Manoa Kamikamica’s call for a quota system to increase women’s representation in Parliament. Kamikamica was ...
What compels someone of significant status in society to break the law, repeatedly, might be the same reason I did as a poor teenager. Former Green MP Golriz Ghahraman, who left parliament a year ago today following revelations of shoplifting, is now at the centre of another shoplifting complaint. As ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kath Albury, Professor of Media and Communication and Associate Investigator, ARC Centre of Excellence for Automated Decision-Making + Society, Swinburne University of Technology natamrli/Shutterstock Last week, social media giant Meta announced major changes to its content moderation practices. This includes an ...
"Gisborne has suffered from housing underdevelopment and a lack of supply, coupled with damage from severe weather events," Minister Tama Potaka says. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Marta Andhov, Associate Professor, Law School, University of Auckland, Waipapa Taumata Rau Iconic Bestiary/Shutterstock They say a picture is worth a thousand words. But in the world of legal contracts, pictures can be worth even more by making complicated concepts more ...
Asia Pacific Report The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) has called on Egyptian, Palestinian and Israeli authorities to allow foreign journalists into Gaza in the wake of the three-phase ceasefire agreement set to to begin on Sunday. The New York-based global media watchdog urged the international community “to independently investigate ...
The agreement will ease Palestinians’ suffering, but international agencies will struggle to meet the massive need for humanitarian relief. This is an excerpt from The World Bulletin, our weekly global current affairs newsletter exclusively for Spinoff Members. Sign up here. We start the World Bulletin’s year with a rare piece of ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Marika Sosnowski, Postdoctoral research fellow, The University of Melbourne After 467 days of violence, a ceasefire agreement between Hamas and Israel has been reached and will come into effect on Sunday, pending Israeli government approval. This agreement will not end the ...
We love to suffer through tramps to enjoy natural beauty… except when we don’t.It can feel a bit shitty to stay inside and wallow all day when it’s nice out. Hot sunlight hits your window and your mum’s voice rings around in your head: get outside and enjoy the ...
Requests for official information involving potentially damning correspondence are totally legitimate – but have been put in the ‘too hard basket' by officials refusing to properly follow the Local Government Official Information and Meetings ...
With the local body elections in October, a long-awaited upgrade of Courtenay Place, and big changes for water, housing and the economy, it’s set to be another dramatic year for the capital city. The Golden Mile Conservative city councillors made a last-minute attempt in November to scrap the Golden Mile ...
I’ve already broken most of my resolutions, and it’s only January. How do I salvage my clean slate? Want Hera’s help? Email your problem to helpme@thespinoff.co.nz Dear Hera,It’s only 6 days into the new year, and I’m already ready for 2026. I made five resolutions and have already broken ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Samuel Cornell, PhD Candidate, UNSW Beach Safety Research Group + School of Population Health, UNSW Sydney byvalet/Shutterstock Australia is considered a nation of beach lovers. But with all this water surrounding us, drownings remain tragically common. At least 55 people have ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Uri Gal, Professor in Business Information Systems, University of Sydney Sergii Gnatiuk/Shutterstock Over the past two years, generative artificial intelligence (AI) has captivated public attention. This year signals the beginning of a new phase: the rise of AI agents. AI ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Dorina Pojani, Associate Professor in Urban Planning, The University of Queensland shisu_ka/Shutterstock A wide range of voices in the Australian media have been sounding the alarm about the phenomenon of “forever-renting”. This describes a situation in which individuals or families ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Liz Giuffre, Senior Lecturer in Communication, University of Technology Sydney Originally known as 2JJ, or Double Jay, when it launched in Sydney at 11am on January 19 1975, Triple J has since become the national youth network. The station now encompasses broadcast ...
Currently, under 18s are legally allowed to buy Lotto tickets. That’s about to change, explains The Bulletin’s Stewart Sowman-Lund. To receive The Bulletin in full each weekday, sign up here. ...
The anonymised database is crucial to the government's social investment approach to funding programmes - but was incapable of doing so without extra investment. ...
Opinion: 2025 is a critical year for Aotearoa New Zealand’s natural world. With the entire environmental management system slated for reform, it’s the most important year in decades. If the hot-headed excesses of last year’s law-making continue, it will lead to terrible long-term outcomes. But if sense prevails, we could ...
Opinion: As I reflect on the tumultuous year that has passed and look forward to the year ahead, I wonder what it will hold.For me I can’t look past the middle of February right now as that is when my dissertation must be submitted, hopefully completing my master’s degree. It ...
An anticipated move to tax charities’ business operations would reduce charitable activity and may cause businesses to leave New Zealand, a lawyer warns. In a push to find new sources of revenue the Government is looking at implementing a charity tax, which would see the business arm of companies such as ...
As parliamentary staff start to read through thousands of submissions on the Treaty principles bill, Shanti Mathias explores how submitting became the go-to way to engage with politics – and asks whether it makes a difference. While the exact number is currently being confirmed, it seems almost certain that submissions ...
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 …
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=202fjZZO-tI
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…