It is mildly reassuring that as Wall St slides down into negative figures for the last year (after a euphoric rise based upon simple wishful thinking) that the local district has been occupied by the young of the American nation. Around 700 were arrested yesterday but the protesters are still there. http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/02/opinion/sunday/kristof-the-bankers-and-the-revolutionaries.html?_r=1&src=ISMR_HP_LO_MST_FB
What is really interesting is how long they have been there and how long it has taken the MSM to notify us. Says it all.
Iterestimg article on the impitus and organisation behind
#occupyeverywhere and the fact that those demanding specific demands miss the point of participatory democracy.
I think some of the people criticising the lack of coherent or specific demands from the occupy movement, are just trying to undermine what is clearly a movement that has struck a chord and is gaining momentum. This morning I watched a heated discussion on Inside Story on Al Jazeera. A right wing guy kept saying the occupy movements criticisms of “Wall Street” made no sense and was silly because these institutions and entrepreneurs are the wealth creators and the market needs to be free from government regulation to create wealth, jobs etc for all….yadda yadda yadda. He stuck to his “senseless” mantra even when another guy gave examples showing that the right-wing mantra and slogans didn’t match the reality.
I saw the same type of “debate” on RTS…some Tea Party tinder dry and a New York liberal flagellating the subject matter to no great effect. All pretty laughable really.
There is a man called http://www.alastairmcintosh.com/ who fought some substantial corporate interests to save his beloved Skye. He made the point that successful protest CANNOT engage its opponents using the opponents LANGUAGE and INSTITUTIONS. Best to do it on your own terms, redefine the language and institutions. On that basis why should the OWSers define their “demands” in a language that sets out to control them?
Make the bastards talk in your terms, your way at your behest.
Read http://www.kunstler.com today, he sites an OWSER (occupier) with a sign saying:
$70,000 College Debt
$12,000 Medical Bills
I’m 22
Where’s My Bailout?
Reading last night a journalist talking about being in the cells post Brooklyn bridge, she note that the arrests had the unintended consequences of putting the relatively wet behind the airs actinides with experienced activists, who were essentially given a forum within which to teach activism.
Posted this late last night, so for those who missed it..
Can’t post the pictures of these t-shirts obviously and no web site unfortunately. But those familiar with Sex Pistols fashion can probably get the picture, just swap Queenie for Key n bobs your uncle.
“Hello fellow Hobbits my name is John Key and I am here
to sell off your land and assets to foreign corporations,
privatise your water, jails, schools, hospitals under TPPA
public private partnerships and basically leave you up a
proverbial (effluent infested) river without a paddle.
I am proud to say that during my term as Prime Sinister I’ve:
• Doubled NZ’s international debt to $36+ billion
• Provided excellent tax cuts to the rich, helping increase
the top 150 peoples wealth last year by $7 billion
• Made inflation go up to 5.3% by introducing
a GST rise to 15% last year
• Helped triple the number of people receiving
unemployment benefits
• Passed 17 pieces of undemocratic emergency
legislation without any form of public debate
• Helped oversee a massive rise in child poverty
• Made sure 7000 families won’t be eligible for
Working for Families tax credits next year
• Dished out a 5 year deepsea exploratory oil permit
to Petrobras which has absolutely no conditions for
environmental protection, and that would leave the
NZ tax payer to pay the clean up bill for any oil leak
• Agreed to not mine the National Parks, yet changed the
boundary of the Oteake Conservation Park to exclude
a 195 hectare area over the Hawkdun lignite deposit
As you can see I am a great choice to lead you forward
into oblivion, so I really hope you will support me by
purchasing one of these campaign t-shirts I have had kindly
donated by the kind folks at Anarkey & Lovely Ltd.
If you could be so kind as to spread the good word about
these I’d be most grateful. As an extension of my thanks
I personally promise to gift you an extra dollar per week
in the next round of tax cuts, should we be reelected.
God Save New Zealand T-Shirts
> 100% organic non-bleached cotton tees
> Available in Sml, Med, Lge, XL, XXL
> $30 +postage (or free pick up)
For orders email godsavenz@gmail.com
or contact Roxanne on 021 701 494″
A brief mention on the early RNZ news today that a record 100,000+ hectares of NZ land was approved and sold off overseas in the last year. This included dairy farms to German and other European interests and large areas of Ngai Tahu forests. This is asset selling on a large scale, and also questions the assumption that Maori corporates care about the environment.
I expect we will now see some serious examination of the issues on prime time public television, such as Close Up or Sunday.
Interesting that it’s German and other (northern?) European interests. Watching Al Jazeera, I keep hearing complaints from Germans and other northern European countries complaining that they are being asked to pay for Greece’s bad financial/economic management. But wasn’t it German and other financial corporations that were profiteering from investments in Greece before the financial problems were acknowledged? Why were they investing in or lending to a country that they claim was being badly managed in the first place?
Exactly Carol. Various politicians bemoan the recent penchant for borrowing. But wtf do they expect? The stupid lenders lent the stuff. They should bemoan the lenders and their drug-dealer like parasitic nature – get someone loaded up and hooked knowing full well that they will not be able to dig themselves out of their hole thereby opening the way to take assets and other items in exchange. The lenders are sick parasites.
we’ve not seen Maori corporates care about the people working their commercial fisheries, and working closely together with the Michael Fay types. Why would they hold environmental values higher than other corporates in the money chase?
I would like to know who is on the Overseas Investment commission, what their qualifications are and what are the terms of reference? Does protecting the environment figure at all?
Criminologist expert from victoria university this morning was saying that the drop in crime stats has been seen in other western countries recently too, and suggests that part of it is going to be demographic change with an aging population.
In general he thought there wasn’t much that the government could specifically take credit for, and specifically not the 3 strikes law.
Well the Select Committee has reported back on the Video Search and Surveillance (Temporary Measures) Bill and it has benefitted from the select committee process. The retrospective effect with one important exception has been removed. Powers of search have been reduced. The Bill if enacted will only be in effect for 6 months.
But there is one dead rat lurking in the Bill. The power to appeal a conviction because of video surveillance evidence being improperly admitted has been removed. Previously an appeal could be lodged on the basis that Hamed represents a change in the law. Generally the chances of an appeal succeeding are poor, it has to be shown that there was a miscarriage of justice. As shown in Hamed the Court has a discretion to admit otherwise improperly acquired evidence.
But the Rule of Law requires that access to the courts is maintained and the effect of a law change not be retrospective unless there are good reasons. As far as I can see no estimate of the number of cases that may have been affected was made and I suspect it would be few. But Parliament should not shut off chances of an appeal on the basis that it may not like the decision. Besides historical cases only would be affected and there would be no implications for current video surveillance.
Labour went along with it. They have improved the bill greatly but I am sure the Nats put this dead rat in so that Labour would be tainted.
Keith Locke is right. He said:
The bill retrospectively denies any person already convicted the right to use the Hamed decision as part of an appeal. That is contrary to a fundamental legal principle, that people engaged in court proceed- ings have resort to the law as it applied at the time of the alleged offence …
Just wondering, but weren’t “criminals are going to go free” comment taints the chance of
a fair trial. Surely juries will now debate video evidence for its legacy to their personal
rights?
On 9toNoon Kathryn Ryan has interviewed a US patriot who is programmed to see politics and economics in the world from the glamor spin of his US viewpoint. He has managed to stuff double the content normally in an interview because he is such a fast, manic speaker. Kathryn managed to rein in and interrupt some of his statements to ascertain the bias and the reality behind his rhetoric.
He sounds robotised, angry, and obssessed with US might and achievement all at the same time – really unbalanced with a skewwhiff approach to both the US and the rest of the world. It’s enlightening and frightening and it is no wonder that after our nuclear protest we couldn’t get heard in the States if the officials there think like this zealot..
10:05 The Rise of Asia – is China’s economic boom sustainable?
China’s economic boom and America’s political and economic paralysis have some predicting that the US is on the slide and that this will be the Chinese century — yet NZ is dependent in different ways on both, so what will it mean for us?
Dr Dan Twining is a former Foreign Policy Advisor to Senator John McCain, and an expert on Asia’s political and economic relationships. Dan is in NZ speaking about US policy and ongoing US engagement in the Asia Pacific – China’s rise and the “return” of Asia, plus Asia’s economic/political future and the implications for New Zealand.
Kathryn managed to rein in and interrupt some of his statements to ascertain the bias and the reality behind his rhetoric.
Your assessment of Ryan’s performance is extraordinarily indulgent. She couldn’t even handle Hekia “ummmm, errrr, ahhh, ummm” Parata a few weeks back, and she certainly lacks the wherewithal to seriously challenge someone like Twining.
Originally eleven ships consisting of nine passenger boats and two cargo ships, carrying 200 activists from all over the world intended to participate in the second Freedom Flotilla…
“The Treasury: Implementing and managing the Crown Retail Deposit Guarantee Scheme.
On Sunday 12 October 2008, at the peak of the global financial crisis, the Government decided that it needed to implement a form of retail deposit guarantee scheme to avoid a flight of funds from New Zealand institutions to those in Australia. It needed to do this urgently: the Crown Retail Deposit Guarantee Scheme (the Scheme) was designed and announced that same day.
The Scheme offered a Crown guarantee over the money that people deposited or invested with financial institutions – specifically banks and “non-bank deposit takers”, which is a group that includes finance companies and savings institutions (such as building societies and credit unions). If a financial institution in the Scheme failed, the Crown would repay all of the money that eligible people had deposited or invested, up to a cap of $1 million each.
This was a major decision in both financial and policy terms. In financial terms, this decision resulted in the Crown guaranteeing up to $133 billion in investor funds. In policy terms, it was a significant departure from the longstanding setting in New Zealand of minimal state intervention in the market. However, the Government considered the Scheme necessary to maintain depositor and public confidence in our financial markets.
I considered it important to tell the story of this Scheme, because it was so significant to our economy and because it was designed and implemented with such speed. After any crisis, there is value in pausing to reflect on how the response was managed and what lessons can be learned……
………………………………..
Overall, the Scheme achieved its goal. No banks in New Zealand failed, and there was no run on banks. Many of the other finance institutions also survived the global financial crisis. The economy was stabilised.
However, there have been costs. Nine finance companies in the Scheme failed, causing the Crown to pay out about $2 billion to depositors. It will be some time before the various receiverships are completed and the total amount recovered from the finance companies is known. Expected recoveries are currently estimated at about $0.9 billion…………..”
WHO exactly were these Treasury officials who were responsible for ‘implementing and managing the Crown Retail Deposit Guarantee Scheme?
WHAT were their connections (if any) with the ‘finance industry’?
” Nine finance companies in the Scheme failed, causing the Crown to pay out about $2 billion to depositors.”
YAY ‘Nanny State’?
Penny Bright
Independent ‘Public Watchdog’.
Candidate for Epsom
There is a power of difference between a deposit guarantee scheme that protects:
* small deposit holders… the genuine rank and file of us, you, me, the average Joes so we can spend our cash at the supermarket and perhaps put aside a little to help us get ahead.
AND
* those institutions and those individuals who took a calculated risk with their investments, and who in general have substantially more than the rest of us.
What National have chosen to do is to lump us all together to justify the saving of risky deposits for the wealthy AT THE EXPENSE OF THE REST OF US. Socialising the pain, privatising the gain. Our taxes paid to bail out those who got tax cuts. I am disgusted.
Treasury should be disbanded they employ rwnjs and claim to know whats good for the economy all they have done is promote Nact policy and look at their track record SFO should investigate.THEN they should be all sacked we would be better off without this politically motivated Govt dept.
Getting the money back isn’t entirely straight forward or easy, but I’d imagine a fair way to go about doing it would just be to reduce the total kitty by $500,000 for the next 5 years before divvying it up between the schools. That way they’d each feel only a very small amount of pain over a period of 5 years. I guess inflation would have eaten a lot of the value out by then, but surely a better plan than simply writing it off. I mean, we could have gotten a whole ‘nother tupperwaka for that kind of coin.
a bit of a ramble.
Labour has done it at last. I’m a 54 year old, lifetime Labour voter, but this latest bullshit with video surveilance bill is the last straw. Never again will I vote for labour. I like the policies they are putting out, hell I’m one of the few who like Phil Goff. But this anti bill of rights bullshit has broken me. I will, from here untill I die vote Greens.
I see Smile and Wave is accusing the previous Labour Government for our credit downgrade. WTF three years in and it’s still their fault? Seriously, 3 yeaars in and his government has nothing to do with the state of the countries books? If a National Government is votedin this November then the idiots who did it, given that the majority of people who vote in any govt are working class, then they absolutely deserve what they get. Unfortunately, those of us who don’t vote for the thieves get the same crap. Ah well, as a Transexual at least I’m used to wearing other people’s crap.
More to come, some time. right now I have cats to feed.
A sad, sad day when Labour vote for this disgusting loss of civil liberties after all but 1 or 2 submission were opposed, once again they show that they are eletist and don’t understand that they are our servants, NOT our rulers
Hi CV
Gee, no spine eh. ah ok then I guess I’m like the parliamentary Labour party. After all they’ve been a completely useless opposition for the last 3 years constantly giving into the Govt when ever Jokey wanted to pass another law under urgency to take away our civil liberties
CV, I very much doubt that the Greens willgo into coalition with National. Even if they did it would be more honest than the faux grand coalition with national that labour has been conducting over the last 2.5 years. I used to be a labour member in years past, before I was Joanne, my input didn’t make a great deal of difference, doubt that it would now
final straw, indicates lots of other straws. See my response to cv. what isa wrong withe video surveillance bill is this. It’s purpose is to legitrimize the illegal activities of police and, whilst the retrospectivity has gone they have denied those covicted using illegally collected video evidence the right to challenge that in court. Seems to be a conflict there with a) the rule of law and b) the BOR. But what would I know,I am apparently a spineless troll.
By the way, my name is Joanne, it is not a psuedonym, I live in Kilbirnie and drive buses for a living. I’m fat and ugly so feel free to greet me next time you’re travelling on my bus.
Video evidence was always going to be admissible in court if the charges were serious enough under the Evidence Act. The issue was that the cowboys in the police were using it whenever they had a vague idea that they didn’t like someone. Which appears to have been the case with dicks for brains special unit cops at Otahuhu who seem to have initiated the operation 8 and other legal debacles over the last decade.
The real problem was that it’s use was unregulated. The police were setting up continuous video surveillance on the most tenuous theories, invading private property without owner permissions to do it, and generally acting like boys with new toys. All it winds up doing is wasting the time of the courts, police sources, and probably most pertinently keeping scores of police in essentially useless anti terrorism units from being assigned to more productive tasks. They practice on activists. Any activists. Without any more reason than they are trying to change society peaceably.
The activities have to be regulated. This act even after having most of the absolute crap stripped out is definitely not perfect – but at least it has some pretty clear rules in it.
The search and survelliance bill is better – but even after languishing around the order paper for something like five years will not get passed until next year. Personally I would like to have parliament revisit that bill with changes before it is passed. There is a lot more evidence about abuses by the police that could and should be limited with some penalties. Perhaps give the IPCA some teeth to directly lay criminal charges on offenders in the police for abuses of process.
According to Radio Live, the PM’s Hour had nothing to do with the staged licence fee arrangement. They put forward a strong argument against such paranoia:
“That is not true.”
Also:
“It has nothing to do with radio spectrum licensing payments.”
I’m convinced.
I’m also convinced that they hope this will be an annual event regardless of who is PM.
“Friday’s show was the first broadcast of what we hope will become an annual event for Radio Live.”
I wonder if the timing will always ensure that it will be during an election campaign? I also wonder for how many years this annual event will occur – I guess, being a business, they can’t guarantee anything. It was just that, right now, for some inexplicable, random reason some ‘body’ at Radio Live thought it would be a good idea.
Apparently:
“The idea is loosely based on an overseas example I heard about earlier in the year and which has been developed by my team at Radio Live.” (Who is ‘I’ here?)
I wish people would stop treating me as if I’m a mushroom.
People have been criticising Labour’s ‘comms,’ but whoever wrote this really needs some lessons in how to sound convincing.
If I wasn’t already, I’m definitely suspicious now.
Seeing as how the staged licence fee arrangement is with the parent company Mediaworks, and this “RadioLive Press Release” deals with that very arrangement, it must’ve been issued by someone in a position to speak for both organisations.
Someone who can refer to themselves as “I” when speaking on behalf of the company.
Only one person I can think of who fits that description and he happens to be John Key’s buddy.
As an aside, seriously – am I the only one thinking that this is the most corrupt govt since at least muldoon (even he’s doubtful as such)?
I mean simply on decisions that seem to have apparent coincidental connections to family members (eCan), personal funding (double dipton), non-tendered appointments (ahem), new support from honours recipients (guess), or “free” airtime.
I was a bit young for Lange govt, but Bolger – even Shipley – at least appeared to be more misguided than downright corrupt. The worst accusation tories can come up with about clark is that they were as bad at electoral funding accounting as every other party at the time (not minimising the principle, just putting into perspective against apparent quid pro quo). But the current fuckers seem to be running the country like a fiefdom.
The owner of the El Faro Spanish Tapas bar in the Elliott Stables, Mark Ansley, said the whole industry was talking about the tournament having a detrimental effect.
“I’ve spoken to people at the Wynyard Quarter, the Viaduct, people in the CBD; I’ve spoken to a lot of restaurateurs to gauge what’s happening – and everyone’s saying it’s down big-time,” Mr Ansley said.
“I’m sure we would be busier if the World Cup wasn’t on.”
But businesses should have known what was coming, Mr Ansley said.
“Anyone who was sucked into the hype is an idiot. The council wants to make its books look better so it was always going to funnel all the customers into the fan zone it set up.”
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This story was originally published by Capital & Main and is part of Covering Climate Now, a global journalism collaboration strengthening coverage of the climate story. Within just a week, the sheer devastation of the Los Angeles wildfires has pushed to the fore fundamental questions about the impact of the climate crisis that have been ...
In this world, it's just usYou know it's not the same as it wasSongwriters: Harry Edward Styles / Thomas Edward Percy Hull / Tyler Sam JohnsonYesterday, I received a lovely message from Caty, a reader of Nick’s Kōrero, that got me thinking. So I thought I’d share it with you, ...
In past times a person was considered “unserious” or “not a serious” person if they failed to grasp, behave and speak according to the solemnity of the context in which they were located. For example a serious person does not audibly pass gas at Church, or yell “gun” at a ...
Long stories short, the top six things in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, climate and poverty on Thursday, February 13 are:The coalition Government’s early 2024 ‘fiscal emergency’ freeze on funding, planning and building houses, schools, local roads and hospitals helped extend and deepen the economic and jobs recession through calendar ...
For obvious reasons, people feel uneasy when the right to be a citizen is sold off to wealthy foreigners. Even selling the right to residency seems a bit dubious, when so many migrants who are not millionaires get turned away or are made to jump through innumerable hoops – simply ...
A new season of White Lotus is nearly upon us: more murder mystery, more sumptuous surroundings, more rich people behaving badly.Once more we get to identify with the experience of the pampered tourist or perhaps the poorly paid help; there's something in White Lotus for all New Zealanders.And unlike the ...
In 2016, Aotearoa shockingly plunged to fourth place in the Transparency International Corruption Perceptions Index. Nine years later, and we're back there again: New Zealand has seen a further slip in its global ranking in the latest Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI). [...] In the latest CPI New Zealand's score ...
1. You’ve started ranking your politicians on how much they respect the rule of law2. You’ve stopped paying attention to those news publications3. You’ve developed a sudden interest in a particular period of history4. More and more people are sounding like your racist, conspiracist uncle.5. Someone just pulled a Nazi ...
Transforming New Zealand: Brian EastonBrian Easton will discuss the above topic at 2/57 Willis Street, Wellington at 5:30pm on Tuesday 26 February at 2/57 Willis Street, WellingtonThe sub-title to the above is "Why is the Left failing?" Brian Easton's analysis is based on his view that while the ...
Salvation Army’s State of the Nation 2025 report highlights falling living standards, the highest unemployment rates since the 1990s and half of all Pacific children going without food. There are reports of hundreds if not thousands of people are applying for the same jobs in the wake of last year’s ...
Mountain Tui is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.Correction: On the article The Condundrum of David Seymour, Luke Malpass conducted joint reviews with Bryce Wilkinson, the architect of the Regulatory Standards Bill - not Bryce Edwards. The article ...
Tomorrow the council’s Transport, Resilience and Infrastructure Committee meet and agenda has a few interesting papers. Council’s Letter of Expectation to Auckland Transport Every year the council provide a Letter of Expectation to Auckland Transport which is part of the process for informing AT of the council’s priorities and ...
All around in my home townThey're trying to track me down, yeahThey say they want to bring me in guiltyFor the killing of a deputyFor the life of a deputySongwriter: Robert Nesta Marley.Support Nick’s Kōrero today with a 20% discount on a paid subscription to receive all my newsletters directly ...
Hi,I think all of us have probably experienced the power of music — that strange, transformative thing that gets under our skin and helps us experience this whole life thing with some kind of sanity.Listening and experiencing music has always been such a huge part of my life, and has ...
Business frustration over the stalled economy is growing, and only 34% of voters are confidentNicola Willis can deliver. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāLong stories short, the top six things in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, climate and poverty on Wednesday, February 12 are:Business frustration is growing about a ...
I have now lived long enough to see a cabinet minister go both barrels on their Prime Minister and not get sacked.It used to be that the PM would have a drawer full of resignations signed by ministers on the day of their appointment, ready for such an occasion. But ...
This session will feature Simon McCallum, Senior Lecturer in Engineering and Computer Science (VUW) and recent Labour Party candidate in the Southland Electorate talking about some of the issues around AI and how this should inform Labour Party policy. Simon is an excellent speaker with a comprehensive command of AI ...
The proposed Waimate garbage incinerator is dead: The company behind a highly-controversial proposal to build a waste-to-energy plant in the Waimate District no longer has the land. [...] However, SIRRL director Paul Taylor said the sales and purchase agreement to purchase land from Murphy Farms, near Glenavy, lapsed at ...
The US Foreign Corrupt Practices Act has been a vital tool in combatting international corruption. It forbids US companies and citizens from bribing foreign public officials anywhere in the world. And its actually enforced: some of the world's biggest companies - Siemens, Hewlett Packard, and Bristol Myers Squibb - have ...
December 2024 photo - with UK Tory Boris Johnson (Source: Facebook)Those PollsFor hours, political poll results have resounded across political hallways and commentary.According to the 1News Verizon poll, 50% of the country believe we are heading in the “wrong direction”, while 39% believe we are “on the right track”.The left ...
A Tai Rāwhiti mill that ran for 30 years before it was shut down in late 2023 is set to re-open in the coming months, which will eventually see nearly 300 new jobs in the region. A new report from Massey University shows that pensioners are struggling with rising costs. ...
As support continues to fall, Luxon also now faces his biggest internal ructions within the coalition since the election, with David Seymour reacting badly to being criticised by the PM. File photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāLong stories short, the top six things in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, climate ...
Not since 1988 when Richard Prebble openly criticised David Lange have we seen such a challenge to a Prime Minister as that of David Seymour to Christopher Luxon last night. Prebble suggested Lange had mental health issues during a TV interview and was almost immediately fired. Seymour hasn’t gone quite ...
Three weeks in, and the 24/7 news cycle is not helping anyone feel calm and informed about the second Trump presidency. One day, the US is threatening 25% trade tariffs on its friends and neighbours. The reasons offered by the White House are absurd, such as stopping fentanyl coming in ...
This video includes personal musings and conclusions of the creator climate scientist Dr. Adam Levy. It is presented to our readers as an informed perspective. Please see video description for references (if any). Wherever you look, you'll hear headlines claiming we've passed 1.5 degrees of global warming. And while 2024 saw ...
“The ACT Party can’t be bothered putting an MP on one of the Justice subcommittees hearing submissions on their own Treaty Principles Bill,” Labour Justice Spokesperson Duncan Webb said. ...
The Government’s newly announced funding for biodiversity and tourism of $30-million over three years is a small fraction of what is required for conservation in this country. ...
The Government's sudden cancellation of the tertiary education funding increase is a reckless move that risks widespread job losses and service reductions across New Zealand's universities. ...
National’s cuts to disability support funding and freezing of new residential placements has resulted in significant mental health decline for intellectually disabled people. ...
The hundreds of jobs lost needlessly as a result of the Kinleith Mill paper production closure will have a devastating impact on the Tokoroa community - something that could have easily been avoided. ...
Today Te Pāti Māori MP for Te Tai Tokerau, Mariameno Kapa-Kingi, released her members bill that will see the return of tamariki and mokopuna Māori from state care back to te iwi Māori. This bill will establish an independent authority that asserts and protects the rights promised in He Whakaputanga ...
The Whangarei District Council being forced to fluoridate their local water supply is facing a despotic Soviet-era disgrace. This is not a matter of being pro-fluoride or anti-fluoride. It is a matter of what New Zealanders see and value as democracy in our country. Individual democratically elected Councillors are not ...
Nicola Willis’ latest supermarket announcement is painfully weak with no new ideas, no real plan, and no relief for Kiwis struggling with rising grocery costs. ...
Half of Pacific children sometimes going without food is just one of many heartbreaking lowlights in the Salvation Army’s annual State of the Nation report. ...
The Salvation Army’s State of the Nation report is a bleak indictment on the failure of Government to take steps to end poverty, with those on benefits, including their children, hit hardest. ...
New Zealand First has today introduced a Member’s Bill which would restore decision-making power to local communities regarding the fluoridation of drinking water. The ‘Fluoridation (Referendum) Legislation Bill’ seeks to repeal the Health (Fluoridation of Drinking Water) Amendment Act 2021 that granted centralised authority to the Direct General of Health ...
New Zealand First has introduced a Member’s Bill aimed at preventing banks from refusing their services to businesses because of the current “Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) Framework”. “This Bill ensures fairness and prevents ESG standards from perpetuating woke ideology in the banking sector being driven by unelected, globalist, climate ...
Erica Stanford has reached peak shortsightedness if today’s announcement is anything to go by, picking apart immigration settings piece by piece to the detriment of the New Zealand economy. ...
Our originating document, theTreaty of Waitangi, was signed on February 6, 1840. An agreement between Māori and the British Crown. Initially inked by Ngā Puhi in Waitangi, further signatures were added as it travelled south. The intention was to establish a colony with the cession of sovereignty to the Crown, ...
Te Whatu Ora Chief Executive Margie Apa leaving her job four months early is another symptom of this government’s failure to deliver healthcare for New Zealanders. ...
The Green Party is calling for the Prime Minister to show leadership and be unequivocal about Aotearoa New Zealand’s opposition to a proposal by the US President to remove Palestinians from Gaza. ...
The latest unemployment figures reveal that job losses are hitting Māori and Pacific people especially hard, with Māori unemployment reaching a staggering 9.7% for the December 2024 quarter and Pasifika unemployment reaching 10.5%. ...
Waitangi 2025: Waitangi Day must be community and not politically driven - Shane Jones Our originating document, theTreaty of Waitangi, was signed on February 6, 1840. An agreement between Māori and the British Crown. Initially inked by Ngā Puhi in Waitangi, further signatures were added as it travelled south. ...
Despite being confronted every day with people in genuine need being stopped from accessing emergency housing – National still won’t commit to building more public houses. ...
The Green Party says the Government is giving up on growing the country’s public housing stock, despite overwhelming evidence that we need more affordable houses to solve the housing crisis. ...
Before any thoughts of the New Year and what lies ahead could even be contemplated, New Zealand reeled with the tragedy of Senior Sergeant Lyn Fleming losing her life. For over 38 years she had faithfully served as a front-line Police officer. Working alongside her was Senior Sergeant Adam Ramsay ...
Green Party co-leader Marama Davidson will return to politics at Waitangi on Monday the 3rd of February where she will hold a stand up with fellow co-leader Chlöe Swarbrick. ...
Te Pāti Māori is appalled by the government's blatant mishandling of the school lunch programme. David Seymour’s ‘cost-saving’ measures have left tamariki across Aotearoa with unidentifiable meals, causing distress and outrage among parents and communities alike. “What’s the difference between providing inedible food, and providing no food at all?” Said ...
The Government is doubling down on outdated and volatile fossil fuels, showing how shortsighted and destructive their policies are for working New Zealanders. ...
Green Party MP Steve Abel this morning joined Coromandel locals in Waihi to condemn new mining plans announced by Shane Jones in the pit of the town’s Australian-owned Gold mine. ...
The Green Party is calling on the Government to strengthen its just-announced 2030-2035 Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) under the Paris Agreement and address its woeful lack of commitment to climate security. ...
The Government’s commitment to get New Zealand’s roads back on track is delivering strong results, with around 98 per cent of potholes on state highways repaired within 24 hours of identification every month since targets were introduced, Transport Minister Chris Bishop says. “Increasing productivity to help rebuild our economy is ...
The former Cadbury factory will be the site of the Inpatient Building for the new Dunedin Hospital and Health Minister Simeon Brown says actions have been taken to get the cost overruns under control. “Today I am giving the people of Dunedin certainty that we will build the new Dunedin ...
From today, Plunket in Whāngarei will be offering childhood immunisations – the first of up to 27 sites nationwide, Health Minister Simeon Brown says. The investment of $1 million into the pilot, announced in October 2024, was made possible due to the Government’s record $16.68 billion investment in health. It ...
New Zealand’s strong commitment to the rights of disabled people has continued with the response to an important United Nations report, Disability Issues Minister Louise Upston has announced. Of the 63 concluding observations of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD), 47 will be progressed ...
Resources Minister Shane Jones has launched New Zealand’s national Minerals Strategy and Critical Minerals List, documents that lay a strategic and enduring path for the mineral sector, with the aim of doubling exports to $3 billion by 2035. Mr Jones released the documents, which present the Coalition Government’s transformative vision ...
Firstly I want to thank OceanaGold for hosting our event today. Your operation at Waihi is impressive. I want to acknowledge local MP Scott Simpson, local government dignitaries, community stakeholders and all of you who have gathered here today. It’s a privilege to welcome you to the launch of the ...
Racing Minister, Winston Peters has announced the Government is preparing public consultation on GST policy proposals which would make the New Zealand racing industry more competitive. “The racing industry makes an important economic contribution. New Zealand thoroughbreds are in demand overseas as racehorses and for breeding. The domestic thoroughbred industry ...
Business confidence remains very high and shows the economy is on track to improve, Economic Growth Minister Nicola Willis says. “The latest ANZ Business Outlook survey, released yesterday, shows business confidence and expected own activity are ‘still both very high’.” The survey reports business confidence fell eight points to +54 ...
Enabling works have begun this week on an expanded radiology unit at Hawke’s Bay Fallen Soldiers’ Memorial Hospital which will double CT scanning capacity in Hawke’s Bay to ensure more locals can benefit from access to timely, quality healthcare, Health Minister Simeon Brown says. This investment of $29.3m in the ...
The Government has today announced New Zealand’s second international climate target under the Paris Agreement, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. New Zealand will reduce emissions by 51 to 55 per cent compared to 2005 levels, by 2035. “We have worked hard to set a target that is both ambitious ...
Nine years of negotiations between the Crown and iwi of Taranaki have concluded following Te Pire Whakatupua mō Te Kāhui Tupua/the Taranaki Maunga Collective Redress Bill passing its third reading in Parliament today, Treaty Negotiations Minister Paul Goldsmith says. “This Bill addresses the historical grievances endured by the eight iwi ...
As schools start back for 2025, there will be a relentless focus on teaching the basics brilliantly so all Kiwi kids grow up with the knowledge, skills and competencies needed to grow the New Zealand of the future, Education Minister Erica Stanford says. “A world-leading education system is a key ...
Housing Minister Chris Bishop and Associate Agriculture Minister Mark Patterson have welcomed Kāinga Ora’s decision to re-open its tender for carpets to allow wool carpet suppliers to bid. “In 2024 Kāinga Ora issued requests for tender (RFTs) seeking bids from suppliers to carpet their properties,” Mr Bishop says. “As part ...
Associate Education Minister David Seymour has today visited Otahuhu College where the new school lunch programme has served up healthy lunches to students in the first days of the school year. “As schools open in 2025, the programme will deliver nutritious meals to around 242,000 students, every school day. On ...
Minister for Children Karen Chhour has intervened in Oranga Tamariki’s review of social service provider contracts to ensure Barnardos can continue to deliver its 0800 What’s Up hotline. “When I found out about the potential impact to this service, I asked Oranga Tamariki for an explanation. Based on the information ...
Comment: The recent attack by Destiny Church front groups on a Drag science show at Te Atatū library crossed a line. This wasn’t the first time that Brian Tamaki, the multimillionaire self-appointed ‘apostle’, has ordered acts of aggression against the queer community. Last year, Drag Story Time events were targeted, ...
Martina Salmon is well versed in the fast-paced action on a netball court, but even she was caught by surprise with the speed at which her career changed tack last year.Staying in the fast lane is only part of her drive this season.Fresh off a nine-day camp in Sydney with ...
Last night I may as well have been in Taihape. Or, closer to home, for me at least, somewhere in the Wairarapa. Or Tūrangi, even – which is near where we used to spend the summer when I was a child. For there was that same gorgeous small town feeling ...
Having Auckland’s food scraps dumped onto your rural backyard sounds scandalous, but in the North Island town of Reporoa there’s no fuss about the thousands of tonnes carted here every week.From the same site as one truck drops the waste, another truck picks up fertiliser to spread on local sheep ...
Negotiating rights over freshwater in Treaty settlement negotiations could have extended negotiations a decade, a Ngāi Tahu leader says.Tribal leaders, and its umbrella body, Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu, have taken the Attorney-General to court in a bid to have the Crown recognise its rangatiratanga (chiefly authority) over wai māori ...
Analysis: Poor safeguarding of New Zealanders’ data could be a widespread practice within the public service and certainly within the health system, according to the findings of an independent inquiry into allegations of misused census and Covid-19 vaccination information.The Public Service Commission’s review, led by consultant Pania Gray and former ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jennifer Stone, Principal Research Fellow, School of Population and Global Health, The University of Western Australia Gorodenkoff/Shutterstock Having dense breasts is a clear risk factor for breast cancer. It can also make cancers hard to spot on mammograms. Yet you ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra The National Anti-Corruption Commission will finally investigate whether six people referred to it by the royal commission into Robodebt engaged in corrupt conduct. This follows an independent reconsideration by former High Court judge Geoffrey ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By John Blaxland, Professor, Strategic and Defence Studies Centre, Australian National University Last week in Europe, the United States sent some very strong messages it is prepared to upend the established global order. US Vice President JD Vance warned a stunned Munich ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra The Reserve Bank has delivered the expected modest rate cut of a quarter of a percentage point, and we’re set for the predictable frenzy of speculation about an April election. The cut is unlikely to ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By John Hawkins, Senior Lecturer, Canberra School of Politics, Economics and Society, University of Canberra The Reserve Bank cut official interest rates on Tuesday, the first decrease in four years, saying inflationary pressures are easing “a little more quickly than expected”. However, the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra The Reserve Bank has delivered the expected modest rate cut of a quarter of a percentage point, and we’re set for the predictable frenzy of speculation about an April election. The cut is unlikely to ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Allan Fels, Professor Allan Fels, Professor of Law, Economics and Business at the University of Melbourne and Monash University., The University of Melbourne Australia is creeping towards adding a divestiture power to its Competition and Consumer Act. Under such a law, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Arjen Vaartjes, PhD Student, Quantum Physics, UNSW Sydney Dmitriy Rybin / Shutterstock What makes something quantum? This question has kept a small but dedicated fraction of the world’s population – most of them quantum physicists – up at night for decades. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Mary Anne Kenny, Associate Professor, School of Law, Murdoch University Australia’s minister for home affairs announced on Sunday that the federal government has struck a deal with Nauru to “resettle” three non-citizens from what’s come to be known as the “NZYQ cohort”. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Matt Fitzpatrick, Professor in International History, Flinders University (From left to right): Neville Chamberlain, Édouard Daladier, Adolf Hitler, Benito Mussolini, and Italian Foreign Minister Galeazzo Ciano before signing the Munich Agreement, which gave the Sudetenland to Germany.German Federal Archives/Wikimedia Commons Ukraine ...
The purpose was to establish the facts and provide an independent assessment of government agency activity in relation to allegations that personal data may have been misused during the 2023 General Election. ...
Privacy Commissioner Michael Webster said he is carefully reviewing the referrals raised in the two reports. That work will be done in the context the Privacy Act and the need to ensure individuals’ rights to privacy is protected and respected. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Bhavna Middha, ARC DECRA Senior Research Fellow, Centre for Urban Research, RMIT University The average Australian household size has decreased from 4.5 people per household in 1911 to 2.5 people in 2024. At the same time, the average house size has increased, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Catherine Page Jeffery, Lecturer in Media and Communications, University of Sydney suriyachan/Shutterstock When the Australian government passed legislation in November last year banning young people under 16 from social media, it included exemptions for platforms “that are primarily for the purposes ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Leslie Roberson, Postdoctoral research fellow, Centre for Biodiversity and Conservation Science, The University of Queensland If you’ve ever been stopped by quarantine officers at the airport, you might think Australia’s international border is locked down like a fortress. But when it comes ...
Duncan Sarkies’ latest novel, Star Gazers, is about the collapse of democracy in a society of alpaca breeders. Here are some things his intensive research revealed. 1 How greed works, psychologicallyYes, I guess I already understood greed, but I could never understand why people who already have everything they ...
The proposed cuts would see only two full time Telehealth data and digital roles, and one Planning, Funding and Outcomes (PFO) role remain, reduced from 17 Telehealth support roles (including vacant roles). Roles proposed to be cut include Telehealth ...
The Taxpayers’ Union is calling for Ministers to end funding for Te Kurahuna programmes and workshop grifters that have received millions in taxpayer funding, despite the Government’s supposed focus on cutting costs. ...
By Caleb Fotheringham, RNZ Pacific journalist, in Avarua, Rarotonga More than 400 people have taken to the streets to protest against Cook Islands Prime Minister Mark Brown’s recent decisions, which have led to a diplomatic spat with New Zealand. The protest, led by Opposition MP and Cook Islands United Party ...
In the second episode, Brynley Stent and Kura Forrester unearth some truths about dating on a dance floor in South Canterbury. Bryn & Ku’s Singles Club is a brand new documentary series for The Spinoff following award-winning comedians and friends Brynley Stent and Kura Forrester as they embark ...
The first half of a billion-dollar pipe that will drastically reduce wastewater overflows in the Auckland isthmus is now in operation. As I biked south, I thought about all the poo sloshing beneath my wheels. Tubes of it disgorging from U-bends, into wastewater pipes laid under our streets that become ...
🚐 The vulnerability continues as the pair head to the Hunt Ball in South Canterbury in search of a rich farmer, before getting some sage relationship advice from Brynley’s Dad and Oma. ❣️ Bryn & Ku’s Singles Club follows comedians Brynley Stent and Kura Forrester as they head out on ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Joel Garrett, Lecturer in Exercise Science and Physiology, Griffith University Australia’s love affair with the major football codes – the Australian Football League (AFL) and National Rugby League (NRL) – is well documented. However, one aspect that stands out to many observers, ...
The White Lotus is back for season three. Here’s what we made of episode one. The third White Lotus season rinses and repeats – and thank God for that. Turns out there is enough comedic and dramatic juice in resort-set ensemble satires on privilege in the modern world, ...
It is mildly reassuring that as Wall St slides down into negative figures for the last year (after a euphoric rise based upon simple wishful thinking) that the local district has been occupied by the young of the American nation. Around 700 were arrested yesterday but the protesters are still there. http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/02/opinion/sunday/kristof-the-bankers-and-the-revolutionaries.html?_r=1&src=ISMR_HP_LO_MST_FB
What is really interesting is how long they have been there and how long it has taken the MSM to notify us. Says it all.
Iterestimg article on the impitus and organisation behind
#occupyeverywhere and the fact that those demanding specific demands miss the point of participatory democracy.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/ezra-klein/post/youre-creating-a-vision-of-the-sort-of-society-you-want-to-have-in-miniature/2011/08/25/gIQAXVg7HL_blog.html
I think some of the people criticising the lack of coherent or specific demands from the occupy movement, are just trying to undermine what is clearly a movement that has struck a chord and is gaining momentum. This morning I watched a heated discussion on Inside Story on Al Jazeera. A right wing guy kept saying the occupy movements criticisms of “Wall Street” made no sense and was silly because these institutions and entrepreneurs are the wealth creators and the market needs to be free from government regulation to create wealth, jobs etc for all….yadda yadda yadda. He stuck to his “senseless” mantra even when another guy gave examples showing that the right-wing mantra and slogans didn’t match the reality.
I saw the same type of “debate” on RTS…some Tea Party tinder dry and a New York liberal flagellating the subject matter to no great effect. All pretty laughable really.
There is a man called http://www.alastairmcintosh.com/ who fought some substantial corporate interests to save his beloved Skye. He made the point that successful protest CANNOT engage its opponents using the opponents LANGUAGE and INSTITUTIONS. Best to do it on your own terms, redefine the language and institutions. On that basis why should the OWSers define their “demands” in a language that sets out to control them?
Make the bastards talk in your terms, your way at your behest.
Read http://www.kunstler.com today, he sites an OWSER (occupier) with a sign saying:
$70,000 College Debt
$12,000 Medical Bills
I’m 22
Where’s My Bailout?
http://wilderside.wordpress.com/2011/09/22/occupy-wall-street-finally-releases-their-one-demand/
p
Reading last night a journalist talking about being in the cells post Brooklyn bridge, she note that the arrests had the unintended consequences of putting the relatively wet behind the airs actinides with experienced activists, who were essentially given a forum within which to teach activism.
And it’s not just #occupytheworld. Imagine if all American port were shut down.
http://www.truth-out.org/longshore-workers-make-stand-labor/1317217164
Posted this late last night, so for those who missed it..
Can’t post the pictures of these t-shirts obviously and no web site unfortunately. But those familiar with Sex Pistols fashion can probably get the picture, just swap Queenie for Key n bobs your uncle.
“Hello fellow Hobbits my name is John Key and I am here
to sell off your land and assets to foreign corporations,
privatise your water, jails, schools, hospitals under TPPA
public private partnerships and basically leave you up a
proverbial (effluent infested) river without a paddle.
I am proud to say that during my term as Prime Sinister I’ve:
• Doubled NZ’s international debt to $36+ billion
• Provided excellent tax cuts to the rich, helping increase
the top 150 peoples wealth last year by $7 billion
• Made inflation go up to 5.3% by introducing
a GST rise to 15% last year
• Helped triple the number of people receiving
unemployment benefits
• Passed 17 pieces of undemocratic emergency
legislation without any form of public debate
• Helped oversee a massive rise in child poverty
• Made sure 7000 families won’t be eligible for
Working for Families tax credits next year
• Dished out a 5 year deepsea exploratory oil permit
to Petrobras which has absolutely no conditions for
environmental protection, and that would leave the
NZ tax payer to pay the clean up bill for any oil leak
• Agreed to not mine the National Parks, yet changed the
boundary of the Oteake Conservation Park to exclude
a 195 hectare area over the Hawkdun lignite deposit
As you can see I am a great choice to lead you forward
into oblivion, so I really hope you will support me by
purchasing one of these campaign t-shirts I have had kindly
donated by the kind folks at Anarkey & Lovely Ltd.
If you could be so kind as to spread the good word about
these I’d be most grateful. As an extension of my thanks
I personally promise to gift you an extra dollar per week
in the next round of tax cuts, should we be reelected.
God Save New Zealand T-Shirts
> 100% organic non-bleached cotton tees
> Available in Sml, Med, Lge, XL, XXL
> $30 +postage (or free pick up)
For orders email godsavenz@gmail.com
or contact Roxanne on 021 701 494″
Thanks..Fantastic summary. I am ordering my T-shirt stat!
Ah, the power of blogs to influence the lazy reef fish of the media…
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10756375
“…Their opponents are calling it desperate opportunism..,”
By which Derek Cheng actually means “I logged into kiwiblog then wrote this story”.
A brief mention on the early RNZ news today that a record 100,000+ hectares of NZ land was approved and sold off overseas in the last year. This included dairy farms to German and other European interests and large areas of Ngai Tahu forests. This is asset selling on a large scale, and also questions the assumption that Maori corporates care about the environment.
I expect we will now see some serious examination of the issues on prime time public television, such as Close Up or Sunday.
Interesting that it’s German and other (northern?) European interests. Watching Al Jazeera, I keep hearing complaints from Germans and other northern European countries complaining that they are being asked to pay for Greece’s bad financial/economic management. But wasn’t it German and other financial corporations that were profiteering from investments in Greece before the financial problems were acknowledged? Why were they investing in or lending to a country that they claim was being badly managed in the first place?
Exactly Carol. Various politicians bemoan the recent penchant for borrowing. But wtf do they expect? The stupid lenders lent the stuff. They should bemoan the lenders and their drug-dealer like parasitic nature – get someone loaded up and hooked knowing full well that they will not be able to dig themselves out of their hole thereby opening the way to take assets and other items in exchange. The lenders are sick parasites.
we’ve not seen Maori corporates care about the people working their commercial fisheries, and working closely together with the Michael Fay types. Why would they hold environmental values higher than other corporates in the money chase?
Maori corporates have the same psychopathic profile as every other corporate.
I would like to know who is on the Overseas Investment commission, what their qualifications are and what are the terms of reference? Does protecting the environment figure at all?
BLingish will love this
These new crimes stats seem a little too good to be true.
http://www.odt.co.nz/news/dunedin/180655/recorded-crime-falls-103-south
As they say on The Wire – “Juking the Stats”:
My guess is that senior police in NZ are more like Rawls than Daniels.
Criminologist expert from victoria university this morning was saying that the drop in crime stats has been seen in other western countries recently too, and suggests that part of it is going to be demographic change with an aging population.
In general he thought there wasn’t much that the government could specifically take credit for, and specifically not the 3 strikes law.
And on nine-to-noon, it was reported that there has been an increase in (reported) sexual assaults.
Well the Select Committee has reported back on the Video Search and Surveillance (Temporary Measures) Bill and it has benefitted from the select committee process. The retrospective effect with one important exception has been removed. Powers of search have been reduced. The Bill if enacted will only be in effect for 6 months.
But there is one dead rat lurking in the Bill. The power to appeal a conviction because of video surveillance evidence being improperly admitted has been removed. Previously an appeal could be lodged on the basis that Hamed represents a change in the law. Generally the chances of an appeal succeeding are poor, it has to be shown that there was a miscarriage of justice. As shown in Hamed the Court has a discretion to admit otherwise improperly acquired evidence.
But the Rule of Law requires that access to the courts is maintained and the effect of a law change not be retrospective unless there are good reasons. As far as I can see no estimate of the number of cases that may have been affected was made and I suspect it would be few. But Parliament should not shut off chances of an appeal on the basis that it may not like the decision. Besides historical cases only would be affected and there would be no implications for current video surveillance.
Labour went along with it. They have improved the bill greatly but I am sure the Nats put this dead rat in so that Labour would be tainted.
Keith Locke is right. He said:
The bill retrospectively denies any person already convicted the right to use the Hamed decision as part of an appeal. That is contrary to a fundamental legal principle, that people engaged in court proceed- ings have resort to the law as it applied at the time of the alleged offence …
Politics is a absolute mud pit sometimes …
Just wondering, but weren’t “criminals are going to go free” comment taints the chance of
a fair trial. Surely juries will now debate video evidence for its legacy to their personal
rights?
Quiz time
the link is faulty, it heads to homepage
Fixed.
Thanks. Didn’t realise that the original link didn’t have the http:/ in it.
On 9toNoon Kathryn Ryan has interviewed a US patriot who is programmed to see politics and economics in the world from the glamor spin of his US viewpoint. He has managed to stuff double the content normally in an interview because he is such a fast, manic speaker. Kathryn managed to rein in and interrupt some of his statements to ascertain the bias and the reality behind his rhetoric.
He sounds robotised, angry, and obssessed with US might and achievement all at the same time – really unbalanced with a skewwhiff approach to both the US and the rest of the world. It’s enlightening and frightening and it is no wonder that after our nuclear protest we couldn’t get heard in the States if the officials there think like this zealot..
10:05 The Rise of Asia – is China’s economic boom sustainable?
China’s economic boom and America’s political and economic paralysis have some predicting that the US is on the slide and that this will be the Chinese century — yet NZ is dependent in different ways on both, so what will it mean for us?
Dr Dan Twining is a former Foreign Policy Advisor to Senator John McCain, and an expert on Asia’s political and economic relationships. Dan is in NZ speaking about US policy and ongoing US engagement in the Asia Pacific – China’s rise and the “return” of Asia, plus Asia’s economic/political future and the implications for New Zealand.
Kathryn managed to rein in and interrupt some of his statements to ascertain the bias and the reality behind his rhetoric.
Your assessment of Ryan’s performance is extraordinarily indulgent. She couldn’t even handle Hekia “ummmm, errrr, ahhh, ummm” Parata a few weeks back, and she certainly lacks the wherewithal to seriously challenge someone like Twining.
Flotilla for Freedom
Originally eleven ships consisting of nine passenger boats and two cargo ships, carrying 200 activists from all over the world intended to participate in the second Freedom Flotilla…
http://kochbrothersexposed.com/education/
How competent and fiscally responsible were the NZ Treasury in October 2008 when implementing and managing the Crown Retail Deposit Guarantee Scheme?
The Auditor-General’s report:
http://www.oag.govt.nz/2011/treasury
“The Treasury: Implementing and managing the Crown Retail Deposit Guarantee Scheme.
On Sunday 12 October 2008, at the peak of the global financial crisis, the Government decided that it needed to implement a form of retail deposit guarantee scheme to avoid a flight of funds from New Zealand institutions to those in Australia. It needed to do this urgently: the Crown Retail Deposit Guarantee Scheme (the Scheme) was designed and announced that same day.
The Scheme offered a Crown guarantee over the money that people deposited or invested with financial institutions – specifically banks and “non-bank deposit takers”, which is a group that includes finance companies and savings institutions (such as building societies and credit unions). If a financial institution in the Scheme failed, the Crown would repay all of the money that eligible people had deposited or invested, up to a cap of $1 million each.
This was a major decision in both financial and policy terms. In financial terms, this decision resulted in the Crown guaranteeing up to $133 billion in investor funds. In policy terms, it was a significant departure from the longstanding setting in New Zealand of minimal state intervention in the market. However, the Government considered the Scheme necessary to maintain depositor and public confidence in our financial markets.
I considered it important to tell the story of this Scheme, because it was so significant to our economy and because it was designed and implemented with such speed. After any crisis, there is value in pausing to reflect on how the response was managed and what lessons can be learned……
………………………………..
Overall, the Scheme achieved its goal. No banks in New Zealand failed, and there was no run on banks. Many of the other finance institutions also survived the global financial crisis. The economy was stabilised.
However, there have been costs. Nine finance companies in the Scheme failed, causing the Crown to pay out about $2 billion to depositors. It will be some time before the various receiverships are completed and the total amount recovered from the finance companies is known. Expected recoveries are currently estimated at about $0.9 billion…………..”
WHO exactly were these Treasury officials who were responsible for ‘implementing and managing the Crown Retail Deposit Guarantee Scheme?
WHAT were their connections (if any) with the ‘finance industry’?
” Nine finance companies in the Scheme failed, causing the Crown to pay out about $2 billion to depositors.”
YAY ‘Nanny State’?
Penny Bright
Independent ‘Public Watchdog’.
Candidate for Epsom
There is a power of difference between a deposit guarantee scheme that protects:
* small deposit holders… the genuine rank and file of us, you, me, the average Joes so we can spend our cash at the supermarket and perhaps put aside a little to help us get ahead.
AND
* those institutions and those individuals who took a calculated risk with their investments, and who in general have substantially more than the rest of us.
What National have chosen to do is to lump us all together to justify the saving of risky deposits for the wealthy AT THE EXPENSE OF THE REST OF US. Socialising the pain, privatising the gain. Our taxes paid to bail out those who got tax cuts. I am disgusted.
Actually, it was Labour – National just carried it on and gave it to finance companies that it shouldn’t have.
Treasury should be disbanded they employ rwnjs and claim to know whats good for the economy all they have done is promote Nact policy and look at their track record SFO should investigate.THEN they should be all sacked we would be better off without this politically motivated Govt dept.
Ta-Nehisi Coates: ‘Niggerhead’.
http://problembanklist.com/
I heard about this last week on Morning Report, and now there’s a handy stuff article on it.
Turns out the government overpaid private schools by $2.5M this year. And they’re letting them keep it.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/education/5722674/Ministry-mishap-turns-into-2-5m-bonus-for-schools
I heard about it too.
Now, if that was a beneficiary being overpaid …
Getting the money back isn’t entirely straight forward or easy, but I’d imagine a fair way to go about doing it would just be to reduce the total kitty by $500,000 for the next 5 years before divvying it up between the schools. That way they’d each feel only a very small amount of pain over a period of 5 years. I guess inflation would have eaten a lot of the value out by then, but surely a better plan than simply writing it off. I mean, we could have gotten a whole ‘nother tupperwaka for that kind of coin.
Various Occupy events planned for New Zealand.
Start your search for a local meeting here
a bit of a ramble.
Labour has done it at last. I’m a 54 year old, lifetime Labour voter, but this latest bullshit with video surveilance bill is the last straw. Never again will I vote for labour. I like the policies they are putting out, hell I’m one of the few who like Phil Goff. But this anti bill of rights bullshit has broken me. I will, from here untill I die vote Greens.
I see Smile and Wave is accusing the previous Labour Government for our credit downgrade. WTF three years in and it’s still their fault? Seriously, 3 yeaars in and his government has nothing to do with the state of the countries books? If a National Government is votedin this November then the idiots who did it, given that the majority of people who vote in any govt are working class, then they absolutely deserve what they get. Unfortunately, those of us who don’t vote for the thieves get the same crap. Ah well, as a Transexual at least I’m used to wearing other people’s crap.
More to come, some time. right now I have cats to feed.
A sad, sad day when Labour vote for this disgusting loss of civil liberties after all but 1 or 2 submission were opposed, once again they show that they are eletist and don’t understand that they are our servants, NOT our rulers
What’s wrong with the surveillance bill? It’s not retroactive and only has a 6-month time frame.
I think Joanne is a concern troll
It does seem rather strange for that to be the straw that broke the camels back.
Don’t think she had much of a spine to start with.
Hey Joanne you gonna be one of those Green voters who approves of a coalition with The Tories?
Hi CV
Gee, no spine eh. ah ok then I guess I’m like the parliamentary Labour party. After all they’ve been a completely useless opposition for the last 3 years constantly giving into the Govt when ever Jokey wanted to pass another law under urgency to take away our civil liberties
Hey Joanne Bus Driver answer the question, you gonna be one of those Green-National supporters now?
I am in there getting change happening in Labour and making sure the party goes left left left.
You are a professional driver, why didn’t you do the same before bailing.
CV, I very much doubt that the Greens willgo into coalition with National. Even if they did it would be more honest than the faux grand coalition with national that labour has been conducting over the last 2.5 years. I used to be a labour member in years past, before I was Joanne, my input didn’t make a great deal of difference, doubt that it would now
final straw, indicates lots of other straws. See my response to cv. what isa wrong withe video surveillance bill is this. It’s purpose is to legitrimize the illegal activities of police and, whilst the retrospectivity has gone they have denied those covicted using illegally collected video evidence the right to challenge that in court. Seems to be a conflict there with a) the rule of law and b) the BOR. But what would I know,I am apparently a spineless troll.
By the way, my name is Joanne, it is not a psuedonym, I live in Kilbirnie and drive buses for a living. I’m fat and ugly so feel free to greet me next time you’re travelling on my bus.
Video evidence was always going to be admissible in court if the charges were serious enough under the Evidence Act. The issue was that the cowboys in the police were using it whenever they had a vague idea that they didn’t like someone. Which appears to have been the case with dicks for brains special unit cops at Otahuhu who seem to have initiated the operation 8 and other legal debacles over the last decade.
The real problem was that it’s use was unregulated. The police were setting up continuous video surveillance on the most tenuous theories, invading private property without owner permissions to do it, and generally acting like boys with new toys. All it winds up doing is wasting the time of the courts, police sources, and probably most pertinently keeping scores of police in essentially useless anti terrorism units from being assigned to more productive tasks. They practice on activists. Any activists. Without any more reason than they are trying to change society peaceably.
The activities have to be regulated. This act even after having most of the absolute crap stripped out is definitely not perfect – but at least it has some pretty clear rules in it.
The search and survelliance bill is better – but even after languishing around the order paper for something like five years will not get passed until next year. Personally I would like to have parliament revisit that bill with changes before it is passed. There is a lot more evidence about abuses by the police that could and should be limited with some penalties. Perhaps give the IPCA some teeth to directly lay criminal charges on offenders in the police for abuses of process.
Fracking coming to Canterbury…
http://www.radionz.co.nz/national/programmes/checkpoint/audio/2499474/fracking-could-be-coming-to-the-outskirts-of-chch.asx
According to Radio Live, the PM’s Hour had nothing to do with the staged licence fee arrangement. They put forward a strong argument against such paranoia:
“That is not true.”
Also:
“It has nothing to do with radio spectrum licensing payments.”
I’m convinced.
I’m also convinced that they hope this will be an annual event regardless of who is PM.
“Friday’s show was the first broadcast of what we hope will become an annual event for Radio Live.”
I wonder if the timing will always ensure that it will be during an election campaign? I also wonder for how many years this annual event will occur – I guess, being a business, they can’t guarantee anything. It was just that, right now, for some inexplicable, random reason some ‘body’ at Radio Live thought it would be a good idea.
Apparently:
“The idea is loosely based on an overseas example I heard about earlier in the year and which has been developed by my team at Radio Live.” (Who is ‘I’ here?)
I wish people would stop treating me as if I’m a mushroom.
People have been criticising Labour’s ‘comms,’ but whoever wrote this really needs some lessons in how to sound convincing.
If I wasn’t already, I’m definitely suspicious now.
Hmm.
Seeing as how the staged licence fee arrangement is with the parent company Mediaworks, and this “RadioLive Press Release” deals with that very arrangement, it must’ve been issued by someone in a position to speak for both organisations.
Someone who can refer to themselves as “I” when speaking on behalf of the company.
Only one person I can think of who fits that description and he happens to be John Key’s buddy.
Funny that.
Yeh, I’m laughing. On the inside.
As an aside, seriously – am I the only one thinking that this is the most corrupt govt since at least muldoon (even he’s doubtful as such)?
I mean simply on decisions that seem to have apparent coincidental connections to family members (eCan), personal funding (double dipton), non-tendered appointments (ahem), new support from honours recipients (guess), or “free” airtime.
I was a bit young for Lange govt, but Bolger – even Shipley – at least appeared to be more misguided than downright corrupt. The worst accusation tories can come up with about clark is that they were as bad at electoral funding accounting as every other party at the time (not minimising the principle, just putting into perspective against apparent quid pro quo). But the current fuckers seem to be running the country like a fiefdom.
We can learn a lot from Europe as regards transport and sophisticated lifestyles:
http://localbodies-bsprout.blogspot.com/2011/10/green-transport-and-green-ties.html
RWC inflicting massive pain on small businesses
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=10756611