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.”
Buzz from the Beehive Transport Minister Simeon Brown dutifully issued advice to all road users to keep safe on our roads during the Easter weekend. He encouraged them to stay safe, plan their journeys ahead of time, and be patient with other drivers while travelling around this Easter long weekend. ...
Oliver Hartwich writes – New Zealanders recently learned about a new feature film. It will be about former Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern – and taxpayers will subsidise it to the tune of NZ$800,000. Ardern had nothing personally to do with either the film or the subsidy. But her government’s ...
TL;DR: Here’s the top six news items of note in climate news for Aotearoa-NZ this week, and a discussion above that was recorded yesterday afternoon above between and The Kākā’s climate correspondent : An independent review panel into the emergency response to Cyclone Gabrielle in Hawkes Bayconcluded “that ...
There are now only a few days left to give feedback on the Draft Government Policy Statement (GPS) on Land Transport 2024-34 (see our earlier post this week on GPS submission guides). As we’ve reported, the GPS is a disaster for Local Government, so we were particularly interested to hear ...
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Bryce Edwards writes – New Zealand’s biggest-ever political donations scandal is finally at an end. But what is the conclusion? No one can really be sure. The Court of Appeal released its judgement on Tuesday about the Serious Fraud Office case against the NZ First Foundation. On ...
In 2015, then-Prime Minister John Key announced plans for a huge ocean sanctuary around the Kermadec Islands, banning fishing and mining from 15% of Aotearoa's EEZ. It was bold, it was ambitious, and it suggested that National might actually care about the environment. Except they fucked it up: Key failed ...
1. Who has just been given the accolade New Zealander of the Year?a. The Kokakob. The Cook Strait Ferryc. Fair God. Dr Jim Salinger 2. Which of these is an affront to decent society?a. Dame Edna Everageb. Mrs Doubtfire c. Dr. Frank-N-Furterd. Brian 3. Who is Penny Simmonds?a. The aspiring actress in Big ...
New Zealand’s biggest-ever political donations scandal is finally at an end. But what is the conclusion? No one can really be sure.The Court of Appeal released its judgement on Tuesday about the Serious Fraud Office case against the NZ First Foundation. On the face of it, the court found ...
Buzz from the Beehive Waves of rain are set to lash much of the North Island during Easter Weekend as a low-pressure system forms east of New Zealand, according to a weather forecast published in the past day or so. Niwa was warning of a “moisture-laden” long weekend, with rain expected ...
Look around us…Nicola Willis’ promises of balancing the books, of cutting spending without reducing services, and of delivering game changing tax cuts are disappearing before her eyes.Everyday we see stories of violent crime ending in horrific injuries, or worse. The cost of living worsens, whereas the PM claimed renters would ...
TL;DR: My top six news of note on the morning of Thursday, March 28 include:The Government will have to borrow between $10 billion to $15 billion more than previously expected in order to make up for a slowing economy and to pay for $14.9 billion of tax cuts, according to ...
This story by Naveena Sadasivam and Kate Yoder was originally published by Grist and is part of Covering Climate Now, a global journalism collaboration strengthening coverage of the climate story. The long-awaited jobs board for the American Climate Corps, promised early in the Biden administration, will open next month, according to details shared exclusively ...
Should landlords be able to deduct the interest on the loans they take out to bankroll their property speculation? The US Senate Budget Committee and Bloomberg News don’t think this is a good idea, for reasons set out below. Regardless, our coalition government has been burning through a ton of ...
Treasury’s first report on the economy since the change of government presents a damning indictment of Labour’s economic management. The problem for National is that it is so damning that logically, coupled with a rapidly slowing economy, Finance Minister Nicola Willis should respond to it by postponing or even cancelling ...
Budget tensions are becoming evident within the Coalition Government. Winston Peters made numerous political points in his speech to the NZF annual conference. But the attack on his own government’s fiscal policies raised issues of substance. ‘Today in the Sunday Star Times, journalist and former advisor to the Labour ...
Buzz from the Beehive The media – sure enough – have been binging on Finance Minister Nicola Willis’ release of the Budget Policy Statement and a statement headed Government announces Budget priorities This assures us – or rather, this parrots the Luxon team mantra – that the Budget “will deliver ...
The Ides of March brought me COVID followed by a bereavement. No wonder they tell you to be careful of them.I’m home now and have resumed the interrupted recuperation. Very much looking forward to getting back to regular things. Meanwhile, some thoughts…OneThis new Prime Minister guy just keeps getting more dire. ...
News that the Chinese ATP 40 cyber-hacking unit penetrated parliamentary internet networks in 2021 has renewed concerns about the PRC’s malign intentions in Aotearoa. But is the hack that significant given the length of time that has passed since its … Continue reading → ...
When Parliament passed the Intelligence and security Act in 2017, they assured us all that it was full of safeguards. Any intrusive surveillance of New Zealanders would be subject to a "triple lock", requiring the approval of the Minister and (supposedly independent) Commissioner of Intelligence Warrants, as well as post-facto ...
Eric Crampton writes – Richard Harman’s Politik newsletter provides a bit of the context that ought to have been showing up in other media reports on potential reductions in public service staffing. Media has been reporting on staffing cuts on the order of about 7%. Is that ...
Mike Grimshaw writes – It’s becoming increasingly apparent that many perceive free speech to have become the preserve of the politically right wing, the religiously conservative, the libertarian fringe, the anti-trans, the anti-Māori and…. well, just fill in with whatever groups or individuals you don’t like and don’t ...
Don Brash writes – As everybody who is not blind and deaf is aware, there is a huge political preoccupation with climate change at the moment, a widespread (though by no means unanimous) belief that global temperatures are rising mainly as a result of the greenhouse gases created ...
TL;DR: My six things to note in Aotearoa’s political economy on Wednesday, March 27 include:Chris Bishop laid out his vision for filling Aotearoa-NZ’s $100 billion infrastructure deficit in a speech yesterday, emphasising user pays and private funding, but failed to say how to achieve bipartisanship on population, public borrowing and ...
Bryce Edwards writes – Former Finance Minister Grant Robertson and former Prime Minister Chris Hipkins have been conveying how unhappy they are with the tax system. Last week in his valedictory speech, Robertson called for the introduction of a wealth or capital gains tax. And this week Hipkins ...
On February 14, 2023 we announced our Rebuttal Update Project. This included an ask for feedback about the added "At a glance" section in the updated basic rebuttal versions. This weekly blog post series highlights this new section of one of the updated basic rebuttal versions and serves as a ...
Buzz from the Beehive China has loomed large in Beehive considerations over the past 24 hours, largely because of that country’s mischief-making in the cyber espionage department. Two media statements emerged on that subject hard on the heels of the PM baulking at questions put to him on RNZ’s Morning ...
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Bryce Edwards writes – When she was campaigning to be Minister of Finance last year, Nicola Willis pledged that she would resign from the job if she failed to deliver tax cuts in her first Budget. Now, it’s that pledge, along with Prime Minister Christopher Luxon’s ...
Robert MacCulloch writes – The Reserve Bank has doubled staff numbers in five years to 510, with personnel costs rising to $80 million in 2023 from $32 million in 2018 – up by a whopping 150%. I guess when you print $50 billion and flood markets with liquidity, ...
The furore. In case you didn’t notice there was a controversy in the weekend involving dolphins in a little town off the South Island. Don’t panic, they haven’t declared independence and resumed whaling, this was simply a sailing event.The problem began when racing was cancelled on the opening day of ...
For 20 years or more, the case for a meaningful capital tax gains has been mulled over and analysed to death, including by the tax working group chaired by Sir Michael Cullen. More than once, the International Monetary Fund has said a CGT would be a good idea for New ...
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This story was originally published by Grist and is part of Covering Climate Now, a global journalism collaboration strengthening coverage of the climate story. This story is part of a collaboration with Grist and WABE to demystify the Georgia Public Service Commission, the small but powerful state-elected board that makes critical decisions about everything from raising ...
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Faced with a barrage of criticism over the promised tax cuts from usually supportive commentators, Finance Minister Nicola Willis yesterday reaffirmed her intention to include them in this year’s Budget. The Government is up against it over the cuts just about every way it turns. Commentators like Fran O’Sullivan, Matthew ...
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My sister Belinda asked Dad yesterday what one word would describe Mum best. He said: vivacious.If you only knew her from the photos on the slideshow we've made for today,you might wonder about that, because the camera tended to lie with Mum.If ever she saw a camera pointed at her, she ...
There are two major public consultations closing in the next week, Auckland Council’s Long Term Plan (LTP), and the draft Government Policy Statement on Land Transport (GPS). Closing dates and times: LTP closes Thursday 28 February, at 11.59pm – a minute to midnight! GPS closes Tuesday 2 April, at 12pm noon – note that’s ...
From Kiwiblog’s David Farrar – Bryce Wilkinson writes: Senior Fellow Bryce Wilkinson’s analysis reveals that since March 2009, New Zealand has spent $158 billion more overseas than it has earned, but its NIIP has only fallen by $32 billion.Statistics New Zealand shows that receipts from overseas reinsurers have ...
Is she hinting that the Coalition Government will have to back down on key promises it made in Opposition? Brian Easton writes – The Minister of Finance, Nicola Willis, is telling an evolving story about her fiscal challenges. In Opposition she was confident that she could ...
Dear Nicola Willis,Right now you’ve probably got lots of competing demands coming at you. Ministers who’ve inherited quite a mess, or so you’ve told us, looking for money in the budget to improve things. I imagine that’s why they came to parliament - to make things better.You’ll have to make ...
The Local Government, Transport and Auckland Minister hasthreatened councils with intervention if they don’t merge water assets to take them off balance sheet, just as the now-repealed Three Waters plan directed. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: My six things of note this morning for Monday, March 25 include:Simeon ...
A listing of 36 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, March 17, 2024 thru Sat, March 23, 2024. Story of the week Thanks to John Mason having the stamina to sit down to watch "Climate - the Movie" ...
This morning the Q&A programme had Simeon Brown on to talk about National’s replacement for Three Waters. In case anyone’s forgotten the three are - drinking water, waste water, and sewerage. It’s quite important not to get them mixed up. In much the same way that you wouldn’t want to ...
Today’s newsletter comes with a mini-podcast conversation between me and my buddy Liv Tennet, talking about her time as a child actor in Lord of the Rings. It’s a conversation with a lot of giggles as she talks about falling off a horse, and becoming a meme. Read ...
The Desmog Climate Disinformation Database documents, "individuals and organisations that have helped to delay and distract the public and our elected leaders from taking needed action to reduce greenhouse gas pollution and fight global warming." It's a who's who of the organised climate change denial movement, in other words. In ...
Bob Edlin writes – A High Court judge has decided miscreants who have mana – or who claim to have mana – should be treated differently from miscreants who have none. It’s a ruling that suggests indigenous law-breakers have a better chance of securing a discharge without conviction ...
Welcome to the first, and possibly last, edition of Brickbats, Bouquets and Bull’s Wool. In which I’ll take a look at the events of the last week or so, and rate them.In such ratings the numbers usually have more to do with the opinions of the reviewer, than the actual ...
Roger Partridge writes – My earlier column this month, New Zealand’s highest court could be facing a turning point, prompted a flood of feedback from business readers and lawyers alike. A common query was what Parliament can do to restrain an overreaching judiciary. This week I discuss two steps Parliament ...
TL;DR: In today’s ‘six-stack’ of substacks at 6.16pm on Friday, March 22: writes about New Zealand's Building Boom—And What the World Must Learn From It over at his substack. challenges the Auckland Council’s use of a 3.8 degrees of warming forecast to oppose a wave-park and data centre project ...
Is she hinting that the Coalition Government will have to back down on key promises it made in Opposition?The Minister of Finance, Nicola Willis, is telling an evolving story about her fiscal challenges. In Opposition she was confident that she could deliver her promised income tax cuts. Appointed minister, she ...
Buzz from the Beehive Ministers of the Crown have drawn attention to one sector of the science sector which is unlikely to be subjected to heavy spending cuts, a state-funded broadcaster which is doing nicely, thank you, and a sporting event that had $5.4 million from the public purse puffed ...
Abbott’s Freestyle Libre sensors allow continuous glucose monitoring (CGM). The sensor is applied to the back of the patient’s arm, with a thin filament under the skin measuring glucose levels constantly. But it costs around $100 per sensor and must be replaced once every 14 days. Photo by BSIP/Universal Images ...
The Inspector General of Intelligence and Security (IGIS) recently released a report in which he exposes the existence of a foreign intelligence partner-controlled technological “capability” inside the headquarters of the GCSB, NZ’s 5 Eyes-affiliated signals intelligence collection and analysis agency. … Continue reading → ...
Peter Dunne writes – Nearly three decades after the introduction of MMP and multiparty governments there should be a greater level of understanding about their finer points than often appears to be the case. The reaction to the despicable outburst from the Deputy Prime Minister at the weekend highlights ...
The sweet kisses from fruit of summerHave slowly been turning dullerYou say, "those times"And "remember the daysWhen we went outside and there still was the shade?"Taking no reason into play…Autumn. Clear, blue days shortening to longer nights, growing colder. Aotearoa.That’s us. The temperature dropping, the looming car crash - so ...
Bryce Edwards writes – “It is often said that behind every great man is a great woman”. This is the pitch by the National Party Botany electorate branch to attend their “Ladies Afternoon Tea with Amanda Luxon”. For $110 including GST, you can turn up on Saturday 20 April ...
David Farrar writes – The Electoral Commission has published the expense returns for political parties for the 2023 election. I’ve put them in a table with how many votes a party got so we can see the spend per vote. National only spent $3.34 for every vote they got, almost ...
Winston Peters’ headline-making actions over the past week may have been a show of political power intended to strengthen his hand in Budget negotiations. It was no accident that his State of the Nation speech was as it was. He made it as New Zealand First Leader, not as Deputy ...
Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The five things that mattered in Aotearoa’s political economy that we wrote and spoke about via The Kākā and elsewhere for paying subscribers in the last week included:Former Labour Finance Minister Grant Robertson bowed out of politics this week, giving a series of exit ...
Graham Adams writes — If you love the law or sausages, as the saying goes, best not to look too closely at how they are made. And after watching the orgy of self-pity when Newshub’s closure was announced on February 28, television journalism should definitely be added to the list of those ...
Venerable New Zealand political commentator, Chris Trotter (https://bowalleyroad.blogspot.com/), is a sad creature these days. Once one of the most reliable Leftist writers out there – Economic Left at that – Trotter seems to have absorbed the worldview of Auckland culture-war obsessives. It is not for me to categorise what he ...
The cruelty of short-term memory loss is that each time you ask where she is, you get the fresh shock and grief of the news. That was Dad's day yesterday.Comfortingly, it seems to be less so today. Last night he looked crumpled, today he seems more settled. There's a card ...
The Coalition Government’s plan to ‘get Auckland moving’ is a cuts cover-up that will ultimately cost Aucklanders more to move around the city, says Labour Auckland Issues spokesperson Shanan Halbert. ...
Slashing the Ministry of Pacific Peoples by 40% will have a devastating impact on pacific communities and further highlights how little this government cares about anything other than cutting taxes for the wealthiest few. ...
Labour has proposed an urgent inquiry to investigate the ever-increasing profits of supermarkets, aiming to lower costs for shoppers and food producers alike, says Labour Spokesperson for Commerce and Consumer Affairs Arena Williams and Primary Production Spokesperson Cushla Tangaere-Manuel. ...
With 14% of jobs on the line at the Ministry for Ethnic Communities, the responsible Minister Melissa Lee is failing to stand up for the very communities she’s meant to be representing. ...
COURT OF APPEAL: TRIFECTA OF VICTORY FOR NZ FIRST, TRIFECTA OF FAILURE FOR OPPONENTS For the third time since April 2020, New Zealand First has defeated the Serious Fraud Office and all those complicit in a malicious attack against a political party going about its lawful business in a lawful ...
The Green Party stands with people who live in public housing, people in dire housing need, experts and advocates in demanding better than the Government’s archaic approach to housing those who need our support the most. ...
New Zealand has recently lost the hosting rights of some major international sporting events including the America’s Cup, the Rugby Championship, Netball World Cup, and the Wellington Sevens. We are now at a huge risk of losing SailGP as well. And it won’t stop there. The recent issues with SailGP ...
A Member’s Bill drawn this week would modernise insurance law and make things fairer and more transparent for consumers, Christchurch Central MP Duncan Webb said. ...
The Minister for Disability Issues has confirmed she was aware of funding issues in mid-December and did nothing to stop it. On 14 March, she signed off on changes that were announced and implemented on 18 March without any consultation with disability communities. ...
Green Party MP Julie Anne Genter says her members' bill is an opportunity for the coalition government to plug the gap in electric vehicle incentives. ...
The National Government continues to talk about irresponsible tax cuts that will only drive up inflation, despite the country entering a technical recession. ...
The Minister for Disability Issues must act urgently to reinstate flexibility around the funding for disability support and apologise to disabled carers. ...
This story has been initiated by a leftie shill reporter who proactively sought to call a member of a former band, which disbanded twelve years ago, give their biased appraisal of what was said in my speech, and concocted a ham-fisted attempt at a story that does nothing but show ...
The Government has accepted Labour’s change to the Road User Charge (RUC) discount for hybrid vehicles, meaning there will still be some incentive for people to buy greener vehicles. ...
Many in the mainstream media have taken what was said in New Zealand First’s State of the Nation Speech in Palmerston North on Sunday and deliberately, deceitfully, and ignorantly misrepresented what I said and why I said it. The headlines and commentary on the news stated that I compared ‘co-governance ...
Kicking the most vulnerable people out of state housing and pushing them towards homelessness will result in a proliferation of poverty and trauma across our most vulnerable communities. ...
Te Pāti Māori co-leader and MP for Waiariki, Rawiri Waititi has penned a letter asking MPs to support his members bill to remove GST from all food. The bill is expected to go through its first reading in parliament this Wednesday. “I’m calling on all political parties to support my ...
Good afternoon. Thank you for, in your very busy lives, turning up to this meeting today. On October 14th last year New Zealanders overwhelmingly voted for change. That is exactly what this new government is bringing. New Zealand First campaigned to ‘take back our country’ and stop the disastrous economic ...
This year is about getting real with Kiwis and discussing the tough issues, as the National Government exacerbates inequality and divides New Zealand, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said ...
The Government adding Significant Natural Areas (SNAs) to its already roaring environmental policy bonfire is an assault on the future of wildlife that makes Aotearoa unique. ...
After 12 years of fighting to protect our moana we are finding ourselves back at square one and back at court. Today, the Environmental Protection Agency is sitting in Hawera to reconsider an application from Trans-Tasman Resources to dig up 50 million tonnes of the seabed in South Taranaki. This ...
Minister Shane Jones’ decision to step away from a seabed mining project is evidence of the murky waters surrounding the Government’s fast-track legislation. ...
The growth of Treaty of Waitangi clauses in legislation caused so much worry that a special oversight group was set up by the last government in a bid to get greater coherence in the publicservice on Treaty matters. When ministers first considered the need for tighter oversight in 2021, there ...
The growth of Treaty of Waitangi clauses in legislation caused so much worry that a special oversight group was set up by the last government in a bid to get greater coherence in the publicservice on Treaty matters. When ministers first considered the need for tighter oversight in 2021, there ...
The Coalition Government’s miscalculation saga continues as it has forgotten an eyewatering $90 million gap in its interest deductibility cost figures, say Labour Finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds and Revenue Spokesperson Deborah Russell. ...
He Pou a Rangi Climate Change Commission has today released advice that says if the Government doesn’t act now New Zealand is at risk of not meeting its climate goals. ...
The Coalition Government has today confirmed it is abandoning first home buyers who are struggling to get ahead, says Labour Finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds. ...
Transport Minister Simeon Brown has welcomed the passing of legislation to move light electric vehicles (EVs) and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) into the road user charges system from 1 April. “It was always intended that EVs and PHEVs would be exempt from road user charges until they reached two ...
New Zealand is strengthening its ability to combat illegal fishing outside its domestic waters and beef up regulation for its own commercial fishers in international waters through a Bill which had its first reading in Parliament today. The Fisheries (International Fishing and Other Matters) Amendment Bill 2023 sets out stronger ...
Economists Carl Hansen and Professor Prasanna Gai have been appointed to the Reserve Bank Monetary Policy Committee, Finance Minister Nicola Willis announced today. The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) is the independent decision-making body that sets the Official Cash Rate which determines interest rates. Carl Hansen, the executive director of Capital ...
Apartment owners and buyers will soon have greater protections as further changes to the law on unit titles come into effect, Housing Minister Chris Bishop says. “The Unit Titles (Strengthening Body Corporate Governance and Other Matters) Amendment Act had already introduced some changes in December 2022 and May 2023, and ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters will travel to Egypt and Europe from this weekend. “This travel will focus on a range of New Zealand’s traditional diplomatic and security partnerships while enabling broad engagement on the urgent situation in Gaza,” Mr Peters says. Mr Peters will attend the NATO Foreign ...
Transport Minister Simeon Brown is encouraging all road users to stay safe, plan their journeys ahead of time, and be patient with other drivers while travelling around this Easter long weekend. “Road safety is a responsibility we all share, and with increased traffic on our roads expected this Easter we ...
About 1.4 million New Zealanders will receive cost of living relief through increased government assistance from April 1 909,000 pensioners get a boost to Superannuation, including 5000 veterans 371,000 working-age beneficiaries will get higher payments 45,000 students will see an increase in their allowance Over a quarter of New Zealanders ...
Ensuring social housing is being provided to those with the greatest needs is front of mind as the Government restarts social housing tenancy reviews, Associate Housing Minister Tama Potaka says. “Our relentless focus on building a strong economy is to ensure we can deliver better public services such as social ...
The Kermadec Ocean Sanctuary will not go ahead, with Cabinet deciding to stop work on the proposed reserve and remove the Bill that would have established it from Parliament’s order paper. “The Kermadec Ocean Sanctuary Bill would have created a 620,000 sq km economic no-go zone,” Oceans and Fisheries Minister ...
Dam safety regulations are being amended so that smaller dams won’t be subject to excessive compliance costs, Minister for Building and Construction Chris Penk says. “The coalition Government is focused on reducing costs and removing unnecessary red tape so we can get the economy back on track. “Dam safety regulations ...
The coalition Government is expanding the medium-scale adverse event classification to parts of the North Island as dry weather conditions persist, Agriculture Minister Todd McClay announced today. “I have made the decision to expand the medium-scale adverse event classification already in place for parts of the South Island to also cover the ...
The passing of legislation giving effect to coalition Government tax commitments has been welcomed by Finance Minister Nicola Willis. “The Taxation (Annual Rates for 2023–24, Multinational Tax, and Remedial Matters) Bill will help place New Zealand on a more secure economic footing, improve outcomes for New Zealanders, and make our tax system ...
Science, Innovation and Technology Minister Judith Collins and Tertiary Education and Skills Minister Penny Simmonds today announced plans to transform our science and university sectors to boost the economy. Two advisory groups, chaired by Professor Sir Peter Gluckman, will advise the Government on how these sectors can play a greater ...
The Budget will deliver urgently-needed tax relief to hard-working New Zealanders while putting the government’s finances back on a sustainable track, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. The Finance Minister made the comments at the release of the Budget Policy Statement setting out the Government’s Budget objectives. “The coalition Government intends ...
The coalition Government will look at options to address a zoning issue that limits how much financial support Queenstown residents can get for accommodation. Cabinet has agreed on a response to the Petitions Committee, which had recommended the geographic information MSD uses to determine how much accommodation supplement can be ...
Cabinet has agreed to a short extension to the final reporting timeframe for the Royal Commission into Abuse in Care from 28 March 2024 to 26 June 2024, Internal Affairs Minister Brooke van Velden says. “The Royal Commission wrote to me on 16 February 2024, requesting that I consider an ...
The coalition Government is delivering an $18 million boost to New Zealanders needing to travel for specialist health treatment, Health Minister Dr Shane Reti says. “These changes are long overdue – the National Travel Assistance (NTA) scheme saw its last increase to mileage and accommodation rates way back in 2009. ...
The Government is recognising the innovative and rising talent in New Zealand’s growing space sector, with the Prime Minister and Space Minister Judith Collins announcing the new Prime Minister’s Prizes for Space today. “New Zealand has a growing reputation as a high-value partner for space missions and research. I am ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has confirmed New Zealand’s concerns about cyber activity have been conveyed directly to the Chinese Government. “The Prime Minister and Minister Collins have expressed concerns today about malicious cyber activity, attributed to groups sponsored by the Chinese Government, targeting democratic institutions in both New ...
Independent Reviewers appointed for School Property Inquiry Education Minister Erica Stanford today announced the appointment of three independent reviewers to lead the Ministerial Inquiry into the Ministry of Education’s School Property Function. The Inquiry will be led by former Minister of Foreign Affairs Murray McCully. “There is a clear need ...
State Highway 1 across the Brynderwyns will be open for Easter weekend, with work currently underway to ensure the resilience of this critical route being paused for Easter Weekend to allow holiday makers to travel north, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Today I visited the Brynderwyn Hills construction site, where ...
Introduction Good morning to you all, and thanks for having me bright and early today. I am absolutely delighted to be the Minister for Infrastructure alongside the Minister of Housing and Resource Management Reform. I know the Prime Minister sees the three roles as closely connected and he wants me ...
New Zealand stands with the United Kingdom in its condemnation of People’s Republic of China (PRC) state-backed malicious cyber activity impacting its Electoral Commission and targeting Members of the UK Parliament. “The use of cyber-enabled espionage operations to interfere with democratic institutions and processes anywhere is unacceptable,” Minister Responsible for ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters and Defence Minister Judith Collins today announced New Zealand will provide logistics support for the upcoming Solomon Islands election. “We’re sending a team of New Zealand Defence Force personnel and two NH90 helicopters to provide logistics support for the election on 17 April, at the request ...
The European Union Free Trade Agreement Legislation Amendment Bill received Royal Assent today, completing the process for New Zealand’s ratification of its free trade agreement with the European Union. “I am pleased to announce that today, in a small ceremony at the Beehive, New Zealand notified the European Union ...
Public consultation on the terms of reference for the Royal Commission into COVID-19 Lessons has concluded, Internal Affairs Minister Hon Brooke van Velden says. “I have been advised that there were over 11,000 submissions made through the Royal Commission’s online consultation portal.” Expanding the scope of the Royal Commission of ...
Hardworking families are set to benefit from a new credit to help them meet their early childcare education (ECE) costs, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. From 1 July, parents and caregivers of young children will be supported to manage the rising cost of living with a partial reimbursement of their ...
A specialised Independent Technical Advisory Group (ITAG) tasked with preparing and publishing independent non-binding advice on the design of a "green" (sustainable finance) taxonomy rulebook is being established, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. “Comprising experts and market participants, the ITAG's primary goal is to deliver comprehensive recommendations to the ...
Defence Minister Judith Collins has thanked the Chief of Army, Major General John Boswell, DSD, for his service as he leaves the Army after 40 years. “I would like to thank Major General Boswell for his contribution to the Army and the wider New Zealand Defence Force, undertaking many different ...
25 March 2024 Minister to meet Australian counterparts and Manufacturing Industry Leaders Small Business, Manufacturing, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly will travel to Australia for a series of bi-lateral meetings and manufacturing visits. During the visit, Minister Bayly will meet with his Australian counterparts, Senator Tim Ayres, Ed ...
Government commits almost $3 million for period products in schools The Coalition Government has committed $2.9 million to ensure intermediate and secondary schools continue providing period products to those who need them, Minister of Education Erica Stanford announced today. “This is an issue of dignity and ensuring young women don’t ...
Good morning, it’s great to be here. First, I would like to acknowledge the New Zealand Institute of Building Surveyors and thank you for the opportunity to be here this morning. I would like to use this opportunity to outline the Government’s ambitious plan and what we hope to ...
Minister for Pacific Peoples Dr Shane Reti has announced the Government’s commitment to the Auckland Secondary Schools Māori and Pacific Islands Cultural Festival, more commonly known as Polyfest. “The Ministry for Pacific Peoples is a longtime supporter of Polyfest and, as it celebrates 49 years in 2024, I’m proud to ...
Before moving onto the substance of today’s address, I want to recognise the very significant and ongoing contribution the Breast Cancer Foundation makes to support the lives of New Zealand women and their families living with breast cancer. I very much enjoy working with you. I also want to recognise ...
New Zealand has notched up a first with the launch of University of Canterbury research to the International Space Station, Science, Innovation and Technology and Space Minister Judith Collins says. The hardware, developed by Dr Sarah Kessans, is designed to operate autonomously in orbit, allowing scientists on Earth to study ...
Introduction Thank you for inviting me to speak with you today and I’m sorry I can’t be there in person. Yesterday I started in Wellington for Breakfast TV, spoke to a property conference in Auckland, and finished the day speaking to local government in Christchurch, so it would have been ...
The Coalition Government is contributing more than $1 million to support the establishment of an emergency multi-agency coordination centre in Northland. Emergency Management and Recovery Minister Mark Mitchell announced the contribution today during a visit of the Whangārei site where the facility will be constructed. “Northland has faced a number ...
New Zealanders have enjoyed a broader range of voices telling the story of Aotearoa thanks to the creation of Whakaata Māori 20 years ago, says Māori Development Minister Tama Potaka. The minister spoke at a celebration marking the national indigenous media organisation’s 20th anniversary at their studio in Auckland on ...
Commercial catch limits for some fisheries have been increased following a review showing stocks are healthy and abundant, Ocean and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. The changes, along with some other catch limit changes and management settings, begin coming into effect from 1 April 2024. "Regular biannual reviews of fish ...
Opposition MPs and unions are criticising a proposal by New Zealand’s Ministry of Pacific Peoples to cut staff by 40 percent. The country’s largest trade union — The Public Service Association — says the ministry has informed staff that it is looking to shed 63 of 156 positions. Opposition MPs ...
A poem by Poetry Aotearoa Yearbook 2024 featured poet Carin Smeaton. Daughtr of the 90s when she gets promoted to usherette a baby blu eel carries her all the way up to mothership she’s hovering high she lets the underaged in to see keanu reeves she lets the only lonely ...
Analysis by Keith Rankin. Keith Rankin, trained as an economic historian, is a retired lecturer in Economics and Statistics. He lives in Auckland, New Zealand. My earlier article – Can ‘Good’ be the Greater Evil? – looked at the issue of how wars should end, and how Good versus Evil ...
The only published and available best-selling indie book chart in New Zealand is the top 10 sales list recorded every week at Unity Books’ stores in High St, Auckland, and Willis St, Wellington.AUCKLAND1 AMMA by Saraid de Silva (Moa Press, $38)A stunning debut novel reviewed by Brannavan ...
From Steve Martin to Ricky Stanicky, a pick’n’mix of things worth watching and listening to this long weekend. This is an excerpt from our weekly pop culture newsletter Rec Room. Sign up here. If you’re at a loss for something to occupy yourself with this Easter, don’t panic: The Spinoff’s got ...
Jesus had dinner with his 12 disciples right before he died. Noted historian Madeleine Chapman finds out who really deserved to be there.First published in 2018 but let’s be honest, the subject is timeless. As you sit on your couch this Easter Sunday, eating a chocolate egg you know ...
The newly-promoted Northern League club is on a mission to return to the National League for the first time in two decades. Plenty about domestic football in New Zealand has changed in that time – but the sense that this amateur competition is not an entirely level playing field remains. ...
Auckland Council has put a deadline on new weather-impacted property owners applying for categorisation as government funding looks set to run out. Councillors have voted to support a deadline of September 30 for property owners who haven’t accessed support to come forward and engage with the council’s recovery office. It ...
NONFICTION 1 BBQ Economics by Liam Dann (Penguin Random House, $40) “It’s official,” wrote Dann nine days ago in the Herald, where he works as business editor at large, “we’re in recession.” Yeah, great. He delivered the bad stats: “GDP fell 0.1 percent in the December 2023 quarter, compared with ...
Comment: Every year on February 2, a dozen men in tuxedos and top hats approach the burrow of a groundhog in Gobbler’s Knob, Pennsylvania and entice the beaver-like rodent to emerge and predict the weather. If the groundhog, named Punxsutawney Phil, sees its own shadow when it is summoned, legend ...
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By Anneke Smith, RNZ News political reporter A petition urging the New Zealand government to provide urgent humanitarian assistance to the Palestinian people has been tabled in the House. More than 200 people gathered on Parliament’s forecourt today and they were met by MPs from Labour, the Greens and Te ...
Pacific Media Watch The Paris-based global media freedom watchdog RSF (Reporters Without Borders) has appealed for information about the “disappearance” of Palestinian journalist Bayan Abusultan. She was reportedly last seen on March 19 among people “sequestered” in this week’s raid and siege of Al Shifa hospital by Israeli troops in ...
EDITORIAL:The Jakarta Post It happens again and again; indigenous Papuans fall victim to Indonesian soldiers. This time, we have photographic evidence for the brutality, with videos on social media showing a Papuan man being tortured by a group of plainclothes men alleged to be the Indonesian Military (TNI) members. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Robyn J. Whitaker, Director of the Wesley Centre for Theology, Ethics, and Public Policy & Associate Professor, New Testament, Pilgrim Theological College, University of Divinity A strange and eclectic range of activities takes place across these few weeks of the year. Some ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Panizza Allmark, Professor Visual & Cultural Studies, Edith Cowan University It’s Easter weekend, which means many of us will be kicking back with the greatest hits on repeat. But whether you’re a boomer, or an ‘80s or ’90s kid, you might be ...
RNZ Pacific Fiji’s Acting Public Prosecutor has filed an appeal against the sentences of former prime minister Voreqe Bainimarama and suspended police chief Sitiveni Qiliho in their corruption case. Bainimarama was granted an absolute discharge for attempting to pervert the course of justice while Qiliho received a conditional discharge with ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Arosha Weerakoon, Senior Lecturer and General Dentist, School of Dentistry, The University of Queensland Casezy idea/Shutterstock How does toothpaste work? What did people use before toothpaste was invented? – Amelia, age 7, Meanjin (Brisbane) Thanks for your ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Brett Hallam, Associate professor, UNSW Sydney IM Imagery/Shutterstock Solar SunShot is well named. The Australian government announced today it would plough A$1 billion into bringing back solar manufacturing to Australia, boosting energy security, swapping coal and gas jobs for those ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Clare Dix, Research Fellow in Nutrition & Dietetics, The University of Queensland Easter is the time for chocolate. The shops are full of fantastically packaged and shiny chocolates in all shapes and sizes, making trips to the supermarket with children more challenging ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Emma Felton, Adjunct Senior Researcher, University of South Australia Even in a stubborn cost-of-living crisis, it seems there’s one luxury most Australians won’t sacrifice – their daily cup of coffee. Coffee sales have largely remained stable, even as financial pressures have ...
Mining company Trans-Tasman Resources has unexpectedly withdrawn its application for a consent to suck the valuable metals vanadium and titanium from the Taranaki seafloor, as it apparently wagers on the Government’s new fast-track process. It had spent two-and-a-half days putting its case to the Environmental Protection Agency’s decision-making committee, at ...
Contrary to the Associate Minister of Education’s claims, analysis of Healthy School Lunches Programme - Ka Ora, Ka Ako assessments has revealed it provides excellent value for the taxpayer dollar, as a groundswell of public opposition to Government ...
Greenpeace says wannabe Taranaki seabed miner Trans-Tasman Resources is likely banking on Christopher Luxon’s fast-track process to side-step proper scrutiny of its Taranaki seabed mining proposal by bailing out of the Environmental Protection Agency hearing ...
Kiwis Against Seabed mining today slammed Australian owned would-be seabed miner Trans Tasman Resources (TTR) for abandoning its application to the Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) to mine the seabed of the South Taranaki Bight. The company ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Katie Attwell, Associate Professor, School of Social Sciences, The University of Western Australia Ground Picture/Shutterstock Months after COVID vaccines were introduced in 2021, governments and private organisations mandated them for various groups. Health and aged care workers were among the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Andrew Dzurak, Scientia Professor Andrew Dzurak, CEO and Founder of Diraq, UNSW Sydney Diraq For decades, the pursuit of quantum computing has struggled with the need for extremely low temperatures, mere fractions of a degree above absolute zero (0 Kelvin or ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Adrian Beaumont, Election Analyst (Psephologist) at The Conversation; and Honorary Associate, School of Mathematics and Statistics, The University of Melbourne A national Essential poll, conducted March 20–24 from a sample of 1,150, gave the Coalition a 50–44 lead including undecided, a reversal ...
The Taxpayers’ Union has today made a formal request under the Regulations of the People’s Republic of China on Open Government Information () for information held about how New Zealand Members of Parliament are spending taxpayer ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Robert Nelson, Honorary Principal Fellow, The University of Melbourne A Byzantine depiction of the Eucharist in Saint Sophia Cathedral, Kyiv.Jacek555/Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA A nasty quarrel arose in the 11th century over what kind of bread should be used in holy ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Patrick Hesp, Professor, Flinders University Patrick Hesp In some parts of Australia, coastal dunes are retreating from the ocean at an alarming rate, as waves carve up the beach and wind blows the sand inland. But coastal communities are largely ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Luke Heemsbergen, Senior Lecturer, Digital, Political, Media, Deakin University With an impressive 60% of the US smartphone market, Apple is undeniably big, but not a clear monopoly. Yet, years of innovation by Apple have effectively given the company its own exclusive ...
Whether you’re facing layoffs or are just an emotional junior staffer, it’s always a good idea to scout out a good crying place before you need it. It’s an incredibly hard time for Wellington. Across the city, thousands of public servants are hearing tough news about redundancies and layoffs. Government ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By James Miller-Jones, Professor, Curtin University Nuclear explosions on a neutron star feed its jets. Danielle Futselaar and Nathalie Degenaar, Anton Pannekoek Institute, University of Amsterdam, CC BY-SA How fast can a neutron star drive powerful jets into space? The answer, it ...
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The Government’s announcement that it will scrap plans for a vast marine sanctuary around the Kermadec Islands is ‘shameful’ and will make it impossible for Aotearoa New Zealand to meet its international commitments, says the World Wide Fund for Nature ...
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Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Suzanne Rutland, Professor Emerita, University of Sydney In his latest book, Jewish Life in Medieval Spain, Jonathan Ray focuses on the tumult of the 14th century in Spain – a time of the plague, civil strife and war between the two largest ...
While creating a slate of world-class shows, Whakaata Māori also developed a generation of world-class creatives. Television is an odd word. It mixes the Ancient Greek and Latin languages, and its most literal meaning is “far-off sight”. In the contemporary and living language of te reo Māori, “whakaata” as a ...
Yesterday the UN Security Council passed a resolution demanding an immediate ceasefire in Israel’s war on Gaza. This significant step and the deteriorating humanitarian situation in Gaza prompted an urgent debate in the New Zealand Parliament. Leader ...
The Government’s decision to reduce access to continuous glucose monitors (CGM) not only threatens the lives of children with type 1 diabetes and increases the potential for ‘Dead in Bed’ syndrome, but also threatens the health of their parents an ...
Apples are available year-round, but the wide variety on offer involves intensive scientific research – and large-scale commercialisation. What’s beautiful, red, sweet and crunchy? Tony Martin’s favourite kind of apple: Sassy. The CEO of apple and pear breeding organisation Prevar, Martin’s fondness for Sassy represents professional success as well as ...
Family violence specialist service Shine is calling on employers to stop asking for proof of domestic violence in order for employees to access domestic violence leave. The call comes five years after the introduction of the Domestic Violence ...
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Brutal government spending cuts that will see the size of the Ministry for Pacific Peoples slashed by 40% will hit Pasifika communities hard, the PSA says. The Ministry has told staff that it is seeking voluntary redundancies, and to redeploy and reassign ...
I live with five people I mostly love, but our different ideas about generosity are starting to really irk me.Want Hera’s help? Email your problem to helpme@thespinoff.co.nzDear Hera,This is a bit of a random one but here goes. I’m 22 and work an OK job (OK meaning I get paid ...
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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”:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eCNLiHmEUxA
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