The motion by ACT to debate in Parliament China's human rights abuses in Xinjiang is another example of their marketing strategy. The regularly use this strategy to advance their own profile.
It is dressed up as concern but in reality it is quite cynical and it too is exploitative of the very Muslim minorities in China they claim to be representing.
As with most of ACT's activities, it is 99% political charade.
Well if you are correct, then thank god for political charades.
If not, there would be no publicity whatsoever about the Xijiang situation. China is an empire and has systematically colonised and subjugated the Ughurs (Na the Tibetans) over the 70 years.
More shame on our lame PM that she and her government lacks the principles to do what ACT is doing, whatever their motive.
The enemy of an enemy of human rights is not necessarily a friend of human rights.
Frankly, ACT's concern for human rights in China is about as honest as the whataboutism of China's happy defenders.
The creatures outside looked from pig to man, and from man to pig, and from pig to man again; but already it was impossible to say which was which.
NZ needs to avoid being dominated by both these nations, while trying to remember and assist all victims of oppression, regardless of the perpetrator. Sure it's aspirational and never perfectly attainable, but it's better than volunteering time to suck up to oppressors.
??? So it is wrong to point out that the United States, France, the United Kingdom and Australia have no moral ascendancy over China? To unhappily point out—and it is an unhappy task—that the U.S., France, U.K. and Australia are rogue states who have no right to lecture anyone else about human rights is to "happily defend China."
You want me to provide a syllogism to support something that runs opposite to what I actually wrote:
NZ needs to avoid being dominated by both these nations, while trying to remember and assist all victims of oppression, regardless of the perpetrator.
ACT pointing out the wrongs committed by China while ignoring (or even in order to distract from) wrongs committed by the USA etc is simply the flipside of some online sinophile pointing out the wrongs committed by the USA etc while ignoring (or even in order to distract from) wrongs committed by China.
My involvement with China goes way back, and knowledge of the Han colonisation of Xinjiang was well known and obvious to anyone who went there decades ago. You may deny reality because of your political views, but that does not change what has been happening in Xinjiang for the last 70 years.
And as for Xinzang/Tibet, yes it was a medieval theocracy prior to the Chinese invasion of 1949. That however in no way justifies todays colonisation by the Han.
Seriously, you need to learn about China. It is an empire just as evil and imperialistic as the Russian Empire, or USSR as they euphemistically called it.
I am not sure how to assess your knowledge of history, Peterchch. I agree about Russia, but why call 'USSR' a euphemism? Stalin was indeed the last of the great csars, because he ruled Russia with a rod of iron just as they did, and ignored many of Communism's ideals. Totalitarians they all were.
But as to the history of Tibet, etc? That area was always a province of China when a dynasty was strong. And when the Chinese were weak, Tibet, etc were independent.
Have you seen Frank Capra's "Why we Fight"? A series produced by the US Department of Information during WW2… In the episode of the war in China (episode 5, I think) the US Dept of Information clearly states that the 5th great province of China is Tibet.
There you are – the USA seeing Tibet as a province of China.
(But then the naughty Communists took over in China, and the propaganda narrative changed completely. Amazing historical gymnastics.)
Are you sure you know the history well, or are you just part of the latest exercise in US-directed historical gymnastics?
Oh we are so pure all of a sudden, so moral about China's abuses and yet we have been involved in the USA's abuses for decades also the UK – going to war about fictitious Weapons of Mass Destruction WMD is one. Supporting the USA drop of its nuclear bomb would be another, and I have just found that they fire-bombed Tokyo or Hiroshima or both before which hadn't reached my history memory store.
We need to keep considering these people in North China, those being badly treated in Myanmar, and the refugee camps, the Afghanistan people, etc. It goes on, I am playing an old CD to raise money from the children of the Bosnian war and have two books about forthright women who went to the area and saved orphans. Perhaps we could ask China for permission to go there and help the Muslims in the north, and perhaps as well we could work here to help the Muslims amongst us and our own anti-social people we are raising here.
We have to keep exporting, our economy has been built into the capitalist system of trade and desire for material things. Change that a bit and then we have options for moral and spiritual considerations. Just don't hit on our Labour government for doing what the country needs to do for us to survive.
We see in Ron Brierley's descent the true face of capitalism and materialism. That is the state of NZ and we have to work our way back to the place we were before. Try listening to the words of Hotel California about decadence and you will get an idea of where we are now.
Ron Brierly's behaviour is not exclusive to capitalist societies. In all of the noise, we should at least be grateful we live in a democratic society in which we learn about such horrors via a non-state media.
Criticism of China is hardly sudden, and rubberstamping the illegal invasion of Iraq eviscerated the Alliance party from within like a yankophile chestbursting alien.
On RNZ this morning Judith Collins managed to condemn Trevor Mallard's behaviour last night as 'vindictive.' It meant he is temperamentally unsuited to his role she said.
Her 2020 public crucifixion (along with Duncan Garner) of Iain Lees-Galloway means she is eminently suited to her role of course. Some roles need people who are nasty, vindictive [deleted sexist remark].
Interesting take on a Speaker who uses the cover of Parliamentary privilege to make further allegations against an individual. The same individual he ended up apologising to 18 months after the fact for getting his previous allegations wrong. Surely there are more appropriate bodies such as the Police to deal with such allegations than in the House under privilege.
You mean the allegations that were analogous to accusing someone of murder by firearm when they actually used a knife? Keep it up you tory bastards, theres nothing 'quite like endearing yourself to the public by defending a sexual predator.
Collins and Bishops brains trust of advisors are certainly a few neurons short.
Such a shame isn't it. Mallard has to resort to parliament to make a statement about a serious case of sexual assault against a woman (there were several women who complained in fact) because he knows that should he say it outside of the House, a vindictive opposition leader and her lackeys will gerrymander the ongoing process of justice – all in the name of politicking for personal gain.
And all of it would serve to re-victimise the young women in question, but who cares about them eh David?
Tova O'Brien says something has got to give to take the heat out of the situation.
Unfortunately for the victims it might have to be them presenting evidence, which of course re-victimises them. This would simply be collateral damage in the eyes of the National Party – they do not care about people or who they trample over in their quest for power.
Their exploitation of those women and this situation is disturbing, even for them.
"(The alleged perpetrator's) ongoing behaviour has caused distress to a number of women and he's been asked to stop and he hasn't," Mallard said in the chamber last night.
Mallard also directed his diatribe against National MP Chris Bishop, who Mallard believes came to the staffer's defence online.
Wouldn’t be surprised if Chris Bishop is egging this guy on and deliberately trying to fuel the fire. National has form in this area.
I am not particularly keen on watching people shouting at each other. Was there any naming of; "the Staffer", or is that court-suppressed? It seems they still have their job, so it's hard to see how "Mallard ruined that man's career and his life" (unless Staffer is in past tense).
It sounds like there is an ongoing police investigation (or maybe pending trial?), though I have not seen details of that linked anywhere. I assume the Investigation he referenced last night was the Francis report?
"Mallard made the {original rape} comment after the Debbie Francis report into bullying and harassment at Parliament was made public in May 2019. He was commenting on the report's disclosure of sexual assault accusations in the report…
That man's life was destroyed when he sexually assaulted a woman. That's what did it," Mallard said. "I will support the woman and what she said, I will support the investigation that found that he seriously assaulted her… and I will support the police and their investigation and the results of that."
My take on Mallard and Bishop is that National will keep raising Mallard's blunder even though Mallard has faced the legal consequences for getting the terminology wrong.
I do think Mallard can survive this as something has happened. The process for keeping the women safe needs to be put in place according to their employment conditions. This is what National need to be in agreement about and not wanting the scalp of Mallard.
I would leave it to Mallard whether or not he considers his job as speaker to be right for him unless there are parliamentary legal grounds which can terminate his position as speaker.
I was interested in the comment Mallard made about the former staffer's "ongoing behaviour". This suggests a man who shows no remorse for touching women inappropriately, or groping or whatever it is he's done.
He also doesn't seem to be able to let it go, a bit like Chris Bishop, really.
A sociopath who knows how to play the victim card to the point where the real victims end up being blamed and/or re-victimised. Its been going on since God made little apples and still the fools among us fall for it – and that includes the tabloid media.
The system is set up that a complaint needs to be made for it to be investigated. When it comes to what the police investigate they can only investigate what they are told.
Bishop and Mallard are doing a disservice to the complainants as the way they are going about inappropriate behaviour is not in the interest of the complainants.
It is in the hands of the police to establish if an offence was committed and whether or not it will go to trial.
He has to go. The guy who used parliamentary privlidge to label a hug, a comment and allegedly inappropriate staring as rape and uses parliamentary press and spent hundreds of thousands of tax payers on defending himself can't be speaker during hate speech and sex crimes law reforms which the left don't realize how much political capital they are burning or how much scrutiny the public and media will give these reforms. Jan Logies already being attacked by law organizations left right and center as basically a law that wants to put poor people in jail regardless if they are guilty or not we don't need the speaker who wanted a good sound bite and declared a man a rapist over a hug overseeing the debate.
Trevor should have gone out with the fifth labour govt. What a relic. He's a violent, bullying ,shit kicking mudraking hypocritical dinosaur careerist of fourty years who noone in the party likes he's our gerry brownlee and he's a worse speaker than even Carter but there is literally noone in Labours ranks unfortunately who'd be a great speaker who isn't in cabinet already.
The biggest issue here is the fact that Bishop and Mallard hate each other. I could easily imagine a fist fight on the floor of the house. That would suit Collins because she is all about the vendettas of dirty politics and the distractions of court politics.
The meta issue is the total lack of control by Collins of her caucus. Whenever she is pulled up on the lack of discipline in her MPs she plaintively whines she can't tell them what to do, and boy does that weakness show. Her party is swirling mess of cliques pursuing personal vendettas, paranoid, US inspired conspiracy theories and plotting against each other.
She should shut this whole vendetta against Mallard down, because her party is sailing perilously close to the sort of seditious disloyal opposition territory traversed by Trump's Republican Party.
Unfortunately, you can be sure she’ll only double down and double down again until the National Party are presented with either trying to subvert democracy or look like complete idiots. Either way, the public will punish them for manufacturing such a crisis.
I'm not so sure Collins is the party leader who should be shutting this down. It was good to see the PM has given Mallard a ticking off over this whole episode, but frankly he should have been removed ages ago.
This is terrible economics. Public sector wage trends influence private sector wage trends. It also signals the return of the 'austerity' narrative which should have died already in 2008 but instead it took till 2020 for NZ to discover it controls its own budget.
The announcement of a pay freeze on public sector employees strikes me as a bad faith move that guarantees increased industrial action and employee turnover in the coming years. Very short sighted and a slap in the face to essential workers who helped guide the country through Covid in the first place.
Perhaps that move would be the first step in compressing the pay scale, and to put a pay freeze on everyone is applying equality, and not equity. This is an important point – equality is pie in the sky and that will come down to earth for most things, equity now that is fairness.
In areas where the government departments compete with private companies to recruit and retain talented people, like IT, where even average people are almost certainly above the $100,000 limit, this is going to be a disaster. The market for IT people picked up significantly the last couple of months and I already declined multiple project offers for the rest of this year.
Means the government departments have to use external consulting companies for the heavy lifting… and pay accordingly!
Keep this in mind when you read – and comment here – about another expensive government IT project.
I think I have worked out why the Herald has a column from Richard Prebble. They have comments open on his pieces and they know he is reliably offensive enough to juice their engagement stats for advertisers.
Hardly behaviour befitting a "responsible MSM" outlet, but then the Herald is really just the Daily Mail without the witty bits.
Wonder if ACT , with only one electorate MP but 9 list Mps, is continuing the 'scheme' they used in Prebbles time with all their list Mps having the same address a few blocks from parliament for their 'out of parliament' office ( similar to electorate Mps offices, but in their electorate).
Is there any way of getting the 'office' street address from Parliamentary services of all List Mps- and not PO box either
More from Grant McLaughlin who says the 'out of parliament' offices in Little Pipitea St were bogus as he was a researcher who went there only once even though PS paid them for 32 hours pw 'electorate agent' and only supposed to be 8 hours in the Act Party leaders office. Prebble was leader at the time and John Bishop was his right hand man in leaders office
"…languages that told a different story were an enemy. Indigenous languages and thought were as much an impediment to land-taking as were the vast herds of buffalo, and so were likewise targeted for extermination.
Linguistic imperialism has always been a tool of colonization, meant to obliterate history and the visibility of the people who were displaced along with their languages."
Punishment for using unacceptable language could be for Maori a sharp slap with a ruler across the knuckles at any age. Now, what parallel; a sharp rejoinder, a stream of invective worse than what was originally said, a punch in the head? Jonathan Pie says that it only needs someones feelings to be hurt to produce a complaint that can be acted upon.
Half way through reading this, so good and sparking so many ideas. Political within the left, and of course the politics of our relationship with place. It’s so clear that the further we are from nature the more imperilled we are, and as Kimmerer and Incognito point to the current battle is over language and power.
The question arose the minute federal agents began their search of Rudy Giuliani's home and office. Once again someone close to former President Donald Trump — someone who could testify against the former president — was in prosecutors' crosshairs.
He first big notes on how he "…received this email exchange between a former head of the Treasury and a former Reserve Bank Governor…" (by whom I assume he means his fellow inhabitants of the 1980s political rest home Don Brash and either his brother or his fellow ACT sidekick Graham Scott) where they fret about the decline of hair shirt austerity for other people and balanced budgets for all.
He reveals that he appears to think everyone in Wellington drinks cappuccinos, in what I suspect is a fashion miss-step from the superannuated political far right. I guess when your salad days were inhabited with nothing more threatening than instant all these new fangled styles must be practically indistinguishable.
He then does the usual Rogernomics cultural cringe of quoting some far right Aussie and comparing us with the usual suspects (Venezuela, Nigeria etc although somehow he failed to squeeze in the USSR) .
He then concludes democracy is the same as Muldoonism.
Reading the piece is the literary equivalent of being the rest home worker forced to listen to a couple of nasty old men playing checkers and complaining about everything.
When groundbreaking television writer Dennis Potter learned he was dying of cancer, he sat down with Melvyn Bragg for a final interview. The subject of media mogul Rupert Murdoch came up.
The HBO 'dark comedy satirical drama' "Succession" currently screening on NEON is apparently loosely based on the Murdoch family and the background drama over control of the Murdoch empire will be interesting and important the direction of media around the world. Lachlan seems like a chip from the block and James has shown slight signs of social responsibility. Odd are Lachlan will be in control when the time comes.
Thanks for the Dennis Potter clip. It would be worthwhile to get a view of the strange world we are drifting towards to see his Cold Lazarus and Karaoke among any others on Youtube.
The information is doubtless privileged six ways from Sunday to protect their privacy, but I really hope they are not real estate 'investors', a class that impoverish rather than enriching our country. Being a determination made by MBIE or Immigration, it's safe to assume that any investor will do, however pernicious their activities might be to the greater public. More work for Kris Faafoi I guess.
There are certain investment criteria to fulfil for investor visas:
Acceptable investments
If you are interested in applying under one of our investor policies, the opportunities you take up must fit our 'acceptable investment' criteria. Broadly speaking, acceptable investments can be:
Equity in NZ firms, public or private. An equity investment can be active or passive, and be made direct or via managed funds (only the proportion of the Fund that is invested in NZ is counted as acceptable).
Bonds, issued by the NZ Government, NZ local authorities or approved NZ banks, finance companies or firms.
New residential property development that is not for the investor’s personal use and designed to make a commercial return on the open market.
Up to 15% of the investment total can be philanthropic investment.
Generally, to be considered acceptable, an investment must:
Be capable of a commercial return under normal circumstances.
Be invested in New Zealand in New Zealand currency.
Have the potential to contribute to New Zealand’s economy.
Not be for the personal use of the investor.
This is just an overview, and there are other conditions that apply.
It is very useful thank you. I'd be interested to see a value analysis that considered the degree to which NZ benefitted from such arrangements – financial and real estate investment typically do little beyond inflating the chosen sector, though on occasion something like a farm may benefit, in terms of productivity, from a capital injection.
They werent granted border exemptions…because they were wealthy
'INZ general manager for border and visa operations Nicola Hogg said the five approved for residencies – and their 14 associates – had travelled to New Zealand on other critical worker visas before having their applications for residency approved…"
Critical worker visas were generally higher end medical people or public company type CEOs or related to movies and Americas Cup
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Subscribe to Mountain Tūī ! Where you too can learn about exciting things from a flying bird! Tweet.Yes - I absolutely suck at marketing. It’s a fact.But first -My question to all readers is:How should I set up the Substack model?It’s been something I’ve been meaning to ask since November ...
Here’s the key news, commentary, reports and debate around Aotearoa’s political economy on politics and in the week to Feb 3:PM Christopher Luxon began 2025’s first day of Parliament last Tuesday by carrying on where left off in 2024, letting National’s junior coalition partner set the political agenda and dragging ...
The PSA have released a survey of 4000 public service workers showing that budget cuts are taking a toll on the wellbeing of public servants and risking the delivery of essential services to New Zealanders. Economists predict that figures released this week will show continued increases in unemployment, potentially reaching ...
The Prime Minister’s speech 10 days or so ago kicked off a flurry of commentary. No one much anywhere near the mainstream (ie excluding Greens supporters) questioned the rhetoric. New Zealand has done woefully poorly on productivity for a long time and we really need better outcomes, and the sorts ...
President Trump on the day he announced tariffs against Mexico, Canada and China, unleashing a shock to supply chains globally that is expected to slow economic growth and increase inflation for most large economies. Photo: Getty ImagesLong stories short, the top six things in our political economy around housing, climate ...
Photo by Towfiqu barbhuiya on UnsplashHere’s what we’re watching in the week to February 9 and beyond in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, climate and poverty:Monday, February 3Politics: New Zealand Government cabinet meeting usually held early afternoon with post-cabinet news conference possible at 4 pm, although they have not been ...
Trump being Trump, it won’t come as a shock to find that he regards a strong US currency (bolstered by high tariffs on everything made by foreigners) as a sign of America’s virility, and its ability to kick sand in the face of the world. Reality is a tad more ...
A listing of 24 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, January 26, 2025 thru Sat, February 1, 2025. This week's roundup is again published soleley by category. We are still interested in feedback to hone the categorization, so if ...
What seems to be the common theme in the US, NZ, Argentina and places like Italy under their respective rightwing governments is what I think of as “the politics of cruelty.” Hate-mongering, callous indifference in social policy-making, corporate toadying, political bullying, intimidation and punching down on the most vulnerable with ...
If you are confused, check with the sunCarry a compass to help you alongYour feet are going to be on the groundYour head is there to move you aroundSo, stand in the place where you liveSongwriters: Bill Berry / Michael Mills / Michael Stipe / Peter Buck.Hot in the CityYesterday, ...
Shane Jones announced today he would be contracting out his thinking to a smarter younger person.Reclining on his chaise longue with a mouth full of oysters and Kina he told reporters:Clearly I have become a has-been, a palimpsest, an epigone, a bloviating fossil. I find myself saying such things as: ...
Warning: This post contains references to sexual assaultOn Saturday, I spent far too long editing a video on Tim Jago, the ACT Party President and criminal, who has given up his fight for name suppression after 2 years. He voluntarily gave up just in time for what will be a ...
Skeptical Science is partnering with Gigafact to produce fact briefs — bite-sized fact checks of trending claims. This fact brief was written by Sue Bin Park from the Gigafact team in collaboration with members from our team. You can submit claims you think need checking via the tipline. Is global warming ...
Our low-investment, low-wage, migration-led and housing-market-driven political economy has delivered poorer productivity growth than the rest of the OECD, and our performance since Covid has been particularly poor. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāLong stories short, the top six things in our political economy around housing, climate and poverty this ...
..Thanks for reading Frankly Speaking ! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.As far as major government announcements go, a Three Ministers Event is Big. It can signify a major policy development or something has gone Very Well, or an absolute Clusterf**k. When Three Ministers assemble ...
One of those blasts from the past. Peter Dunne – originally neoliberal Labour, then leader of various parties that sought to work with both big parties (generally National) – has taken to calling ...
Completed reads for January: I Am Legend, by Richard Matheson The Black Spider, by Jeremias Gotthelf The Spider and the Fly (poem), by Mary Howitt A Noiseless Patient Spider (poem), by Walt Whitman August Heat, by W.F. Harvey Charlotte’s Web, by E.B. White The Shrinking Man, by Richard Matheson ...
Do its Property Right Provisions Make Sense?Last week I pointed out that it is uninformed to argue that the New Zealand’s apparently poor economic performance can be traced only to poor regulations. Even were there evidence they had some impact, there are other factors. Of course, we should seek to ...
Richard Wagstaff It was incredibly jarring to hear the hubris from the Prime Minister during his recent state of the nation address. I had just spent close to a week working though the stories and thoughts shared with us by nearly 2000 working people as part of our annual Mood ...
Odd fact about the Broadcasting Standards Authority: for the last few years, they’ve only been upholding about 5% of complaints. Why? I think there’s a range of reasons. Generally responsible broadcasters. Dumb complaints. Complaints brought under the wrong standard. Greater adherence to broadcasters’ rights to freedom of expression in the ...
And I said, "Mama, mama, mama, why am I so alone"'Cause I can't go outside, I'm scared I might not make it homeWell I'm alive, I'm alive, but I'm sinking inIf there's anyone at home at your place, darlingWhy don't you invite me in?Don't try to feed me'Cause I've been ...
New Zealand First has introduced a Member’s Bill aimed at preventing banks from refusing their services to businesses because of the current “Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) Framework”. “This Bill ensures fairness and prevents ESG standards from perpetuating woke ideology in the banking sector being driven by unelected, globalist, climate ...
Erica Stanford has reached peak shortsightedness if today’s announcement is anything to go by, picking apart immigration settings piece by piece to the detriment of the New Zealand economy. ...
Our originating document, theTreaty of Waitangi, was signed on February 6, 1840. An agreement between Māori and the British Crown. Initially inked by Ngā Puhi in Waitangi, further signatures were added as it travelled south. The intention was to establish a colony with the cession of sovereignty to the Crown, ...
Te Whatu Ora Chief Executive Margie Apa leaving her job four months early is another symptom of this government’s failure to deliver healthcare for New Zealanders. ...
The Green Party is calling for the Prime Minister to show leadership and be unequivocal about Aotearoa New Zealand’s opposition to a proposal by the US President to remove Palestinians from Gaza. ...
The latest unemployment figures reveal that job losses are hitting Māori and Pacific people especially hard, with Māori unemployment reaching a staggering 9.7% for the December 2024 quarter and Pasifika unemployment reaching 10.5%. ...
Waitangi 2025: Waitangi Day must be community and not politically driven - Shane Jones Our originating document, theTreaty of Waitangi, was signed on February 6, 1840. An agreement between Māori and the British Crown. Initially inked by Ngā Puhi in Waitangi, further signatures were added as it travelled south. ...
Despite being confronted every day with people in genuine need being stopped from accessing emergency housing – National still won’t commit to building more public houses. ...
The Green Party says the Government is giving up on growing the country’s public housing stock, despite overwhelming evidence that we need more affordable houses to solve the housing crisis. ...
Before any thoughts of the New Year and what lies ahead could even be contemplated, New Zealand reeled with the tragedy of Senior Sergeant Lyn Fleming losing her life. For over 38 years she had faithfully served as a front-line Police officer. Working alongside her was Senior Sergeant Adam Ramsay ...
Green Party co-leader Marama Davidson will return to politics at Waitangi on Monday the 3rd of February where she will hold a stand up with fellow co-leader Chlöe Swarbrick. ...
Te Pāti Māori is appalled by the government's blatant mishandling of the school lunch programme. David Seymour’s ‘cost-saving’ measures have left tamariki across Aotearoa with unidentifiable meals, causing distress and outrage among parents and communities alike. “What’s the difference between providing inedible food, and providing no food at all?” Said ...
The Government is doubling down on outdated and volatile fossil fuels, showing how shortsighted and destructive their policies are for working New Zealanders. ...
Green Party MP Steve Abel this morning joined Coromandel locals in Waihi to condemn new mining plans announced by Shane Jones in the pit of the town’s Australian-owned Gold mine. ...
The Green Party is calling on the Government to strengthen its just-announced 2030-2035 Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) under the Paris Agreement and address its woeful lack of commitment to climate security. ...
Today marks a historic moment for Taranaki iwi with the passing of the Te Pire Whakatupua mō Te Kāhui Tupua/Taranaki Maunga Collective Redress Bill in Parliament. "Today, we stand together as descendants of Taranaki, and our tūpuna, Taranaki Maunga, is now formally acknowledged by the law as a living tūpuna. ...
Labour is relieved to see Children’s Minister Karen Chhour has woken up to reality and reversed her government’s terrible decisions to cut funding from frontline service providers – temporarily. ...
It is the first week of David Seymour’s school lunch programme and already social media reports are circulating of revolting meals, late deliveries, and mislabelled packaging. ...
The Green Party says that with no-cause evictions returning from today, the move to allow landlords to end tenancies without reason plunges renters, and particularly families who rent, into insecurity and stress. ...
The Government’s move to increase speed limits substantially on dozens of stretches of rural and often undivided highways will result in more serious harm. ...
In her first announcement as Economic Growth Minister, Nicola Willis chose to loosen restrictions for digital nomads from other countries, rather than focus on everyday Kiwis. ...
The Government’s commitment to get New Zealand’s roads back on track is delivering strong results, with around 98 per cent of potholes on state highways repaired within 24 hours of identification every month since targets were introduced, Transport Minister Chris Bishop says. “Increasing productivity to help rebuild our economy is ...
The former Cadbury factory will be the site of the Inpatient Building for the new Dunedin Hospital and Health Minister Simeon Brown says actions have been taken to get the cost overruns under control. “Today I am giving the people of Dunedin certainty that we will build the new Dunedin ...
From today, Plunket in Whāngarei will be offering childhood immunisations – the first of up to 27 sites nationwide, Health Minister Simeon Brown says. The investment of $1 million into the pilot, announced in October 2024, was made possible due to the Government’s record $16.68 billion investment in health. It ...
New Zealand’s strong commitment to the rights of disabled people has continued with the response to an important United Nations report, Disability Issues Minister Louise Upston has announced. Of the 63 concluding observations of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD), 47 will be progressed ...
Resources Minister Shane Jones has launched New Zealand’s national Minerals Strategy and Critical Minerals List, documents that lay a strategic and enduring path for the mineral sector, with the aim of doubling exports to $3 billion by 2035. Mr Jones released the documents, which present the Coalition Government’s transformative vision ...
Firstly I want to thank OceanaGold for hosting our event today. Your operation at Waihi is impressive. I want to acknowledge local MP Scott Simpson, local government dignitaries, community stakeholders and all of you who have gathered here today. It’s a privilege to welcome you to the launch of the ...
Racing Minister, Winston Peters has announced the Government is preparing public consultation on GST policy proposals which would make the New Zealand racing industry more competitive. “The racing industry makes an important economic contribution. New Zealand thoroughbreds are in demand overseas as racehorses and for breeding. The domestic thoroughbred industry ...
Business confidence remains very high and shows the economy is on track to improve, Economic Growth Minister Nicola Willis says. “The latest ANZ Business Outlook survey, released yesterday, shows business confidence and expected own activity are ‘still both very high’.” The survey reports business confidence fell eight points to +54 ...
Enabling works have begun this week on an expanded radiology unit at Hawke’s Bay Fallen Soldiers’ Memorial Hospital which will double CT scanning capacity in Hawke’s Bay to ensure more locals can benefit from access to timely, quality healthcare, Health Minister Simeon Brown says. This investment of $29.3m in the ...
The Government has today announced New Zealand’s second international climate target under the Paris Agreement, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. New Zealand will reduce emissions by 51 to 55 per cent compared to 2005 levels, by 2035. “We have worked hard to set a target that is both ambitious ...
Nine years of negotiations between the Crown and iwi of Taranaki have concluded following Te Pire Whakatupua mō Te Kāhui Tupua/the Taranaki Maunga Collective Redress Bill passing its third reading in Parliament today, Treaty Negotiations Minister Paul Goldsmith says. “This Bill addresses the historical grievances endured by the eight iwi ...
As schools start back for 2025, there will be a relentless focus on teaching the basics brilliantly so all Kiwi kids grow up with the knowledge, skills and competencies needed to grow the New Zealand of the future, Education Minister Erica Stanford says. “A world-leading education system is a key ...
Housing Minister Chris Bishop and Associate Agriculture Minister Mark Patterson have welcomed Kāinga Ora’s decision to re-open its tender for carpets to allow wool carpet suppliers to bid. “In 2024 Kāinga Ora issued requests for tender (RFTs) seeking bids from suppliers to carpet their properties,” Mr Bishop says. “As part ...
Associate Education Minister David Seymour has today visited Otahuhu College where the new school lunch programme has served up healthy lunches to students in the first days of the school year. “As schools open in 2025, the programme will deliver nutritious meals to around 242,000 students, every school day. On ...
Minister for Children Karen Chhour has intervened in Oranga Tamariki’s review of social service provider contracts to ensure Barnardos can continue to deliver its 0800 What’s Up hotline. “When I found out about the potential impact to this service, I asked Oranga Tamariki for an explanation. Based on the information ...
A bill to make revenue collection on imported and exported goods fairer and more effective had its first reading in Parliament, Customs Minister Casey Costello said today. “The Customs (Levies and Other Matters) Amendment Bill modernises the way in which Customs can recover the costs of services that are needed ...
Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden says the Department of Internal Affairs [the Department] has achieved significant progress in completing applications for New Zealand citizenship. “December 2024 saw the Department complete 5,661 citizenship applications, the most for any month in 2024. This is a 54 per cent increase compared ...
Reversals to Labour’s blanket speed limit reductions begin tonight and will be in place by 1 July, says Minister of Transport Chris Bishop. “The previous government was obsessed with slowing New Zealanders down by imposing illogical and untargeted speed limit reductions on state highways and local roads. “National campaigned on ...
Finance Minister Nicola Willis has announced Budget 2025 – the Growth Budget - will be delivered on Thursday 22 May. “This year’s Budget will drive forward the Government’s plan to grow our economy to improve the incomes of New Zealanders now and in the years ahead. “Budget 2025 will build ...
For the Government, 2025 will bring a relentless focus on unleashing the growth we need to lift incomes, strengthen local businesses and create opportunity. Prime Minister Christopher Luxon today laid out the Government’s growth agenda in his Statement to Parliament. “Just over a year ago this Government was elected by ...
Associate Education Minister David Seymour welcomes students back to school with a call to raise attendance from last year. “The Government encourages all students to attend school every day because there is a clear connection between being present at school and setting yourself up for a bright future,” says Mr ...
The Government is relaxing visitor visa requirements to allow tourists to work remotely while visiting New Zealand, Economic Growth Minister Nicola Willis, Immigration Minister Erica Stanford and Tourism Minister Louise Upston say. “The change is part of the Government’s plan to unlock New Zealand’s potential by shifting the country onto ...
The opening of Kāinga Ora’s development of 134 homes in Epuni, Lower Hutt will provide much-needed social housing for Hutt families, Housing Minister Chris Bishop says. “I’ve been a strong advocate for social housing on Kāinga Ora’s Epuni site ever since the old earthquake-prone housing was demolished in 2015. I ...
Trade and Investment Minister Todd McClay will travel to Australia today for meetings with Australian Trade Minister, Senator Don Farrell, and the Australia New Zealand Leadership Forum (ANZLF). Mr McClay recently hosted Minister Farrell in Rotorua for the annual Closer Economic Relations (CER) Trade Ministers’ meeting, where ANZLF presented on ...
A new monthly podiatry clinic has been launched today in Wairoa and will bring a much-needed service closer to home for the Wairoa community, Health Minister Simeon Brown says.“Health New Zealand has been successful in securing a podiatrist until the end of June this year to meet the needs of ...
The Judicial Conduct Commissioner has recommended a Judicial Conduct Panel be established to inquire into and report on the alleged conduct of acting District Court Judge Ema Aitken in an incident last November, Attorney-General Judith Collins said today. “I referred the matter of Judge Aitken’s alleged conduct during an incident ...
Students who need extra help with maths are set to benefit from a targeted acceleration programme that will give them more confidence in the classroom, Education Minister Erica Stanford says. “Last year, significant numbers of students did not meet the foundational literacy and numeracy level required to gain NCEA. To ...
Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters has announced three new diplomatic appointments. “Our diplomats play an important role in ensuring New Zealand’s interests are maintained and enhanced across the world,” Mr Peters says. “It is a pleasure to announce the appointment of these senior diplomats from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and ...
Ki te kahore he whakakitenga, ka ngaro te Iwi – without a vision, the people will perish. The Government has achieved its target to reduce the number of households in emergency housing motels by 75 per cent five years early, Associate Housing Minister Tama Potaka says. The number of households ...
The opening of Palmerston North’s biggest social housing development will have a significant impact for whānau in need of safe, warm, dry housing, Associate Housing Minister Tama Potaka says. The minister visited the development today at North Street where a total of 50 two, three, and four-bedroom homes plus a ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has announced the new membership of the Public Advisory Committee on Disarmament and Arms Control (PACDAC), who will serve for a three-year term. “The Committee brings together wide-ranging expertise relevant to disarmament. We have made six new appointments to the Committee and reappointed two existing members ...
Ka nui te mihi kia koutou. Kia ora, good morning, talofa, malo e lelei, bula vinaka, da jia hao, namaste, sat sri akal, assalamu alaikum. It’s so great to be here and I’m ready and pumped for 2025. Can I start by acknowledging: Simon Bridges – CEO of the Auckland ...
The Government has unveiled a bold new initiative to position New Zealand as a premier destination for foreign direct investment (FDI) that will create higher paying jobs and grow the economy. “Invest New Zealand will streamline the investment process and provide tailored support to foreign investors, to increase capital investment ...
Science, Innovation and Technology Minister Judith Collins today announced the largest reset of the New Zealand science system in more than 30 years with reforms which will boost the economy and benefit the sector. “The reforms will maximise the value of the $1.2 billion in government funding that goes into ...
Turbocharging New Zealand’s economic growth is the key to brighter days ahead for all Kiwis, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon says. In the Prime Minister’s State of the Nation Speech in Auckland today, Christopher Luxon laid out the path to the prosperity that will affect all aspects of New Zealanders’ lives. ...
The latest set of accounts show the Government has successfully checked the runaway growth of public spending, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. “In the previous government’s final five months in office, public spending was almost 10 per cent higher than for the same period the previous year. “That is completely ...
The Government’s welfare reforms are delivering results with the number of people moving off benefits into work increasing year-on-year for six straight months. “There are positive signs that our welfare reset and the return consequences for job seekers who don't fulfil their obligations to prepare for or find a job ...
Jon Kroll and Aimee McCammon have been appointed to the New Zealand Film Commission Board, Arts Minister Paul Goldsmith says. “I am delighted to appoint these two new board members who will bring a wealth of industry, governance, and commercial experience to the Film Commission. “Jon Kroll has been an ...
Finance Minister Nicola Willis has hailed a drop in the domestic component of inflation, saying it increases the prospect of mortgage rate reductions and a lower cost of living for Kiwi households. Stats NZ reported today that inflation was 2.2 per cent in the year to December, the second consecutive ...
Two new appointed members and one reappointed member of the Employment Relations Authority have been announced by Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Brooke van Velden today. “I’m pleased to announce the new appointed members Helen van Druten and Matthew Piper to the Employment Relations Authority (ERA) and welcome them to ...
Nearing the end of his career, the world’s greatest unicycle racer chases the sport’s most elusive record. There’s something different about world-class athletes. Even if you know nothing about their sport, you can see it. It’s the way they move – precise, powerful. It’s how they carry themselves – focused, ...
Migrants with money are the focus of new visa settings that the government hopes will boost the economy. Alice Neville explains.What’s all this then? On Sunday, as part of the government’s big plan to kickstart economic growth, changes were announced to the Active Investor Plus visa category, with the ...
Comment: Saturday February 1 was the grim fourth anniversary of the military coup in Myanmar. The date seems to have gone unnoticed back here in New Zealand. Even before war in Ukraine and then Gaza, Myanmar got little attention. Yet it is the most destructive conflict in our region. The ...
We’re on the brink of a ‘tidal wave’ of misinformation.No one knows the size of it, but there’s a warning that leaving it to the government to sort out won’t work.In the year of local government elections, expect computer-generated content where the sources and authenticity are murky; more complaints about ...
Comment: The next four years are going to bring a terrible information environment, with absurd claims bubbling up from fever swamps overseas The post Paranoia and politics appeared first on Newsroom. ...
Swirly World Sails South, by Andrew Fagan (2012)I feel Andrew is totally under-rated as an author. Alongside his latest book, Swirly World: Lost at Sea, his earlier sailing book is among my favourites. It tells of his trip around New Zealand – via the Auckland Islands. When he set out, ...
A lineup of prominent figures have joined the call to halt the deportation of a mother convicted of inflicting injuries on her baby, as fears grow she could be another victim of a ...
Yasser Abdulaal, who has lived in Ōtautahi Christchurch for five years, said his two sisters had lost their homes in the 15-month-long war. “Toxic wasteland” . . . Palestinians take shelter in tents set up amid heavily damaged buildings in Jabalia in the northern Gaza Strip. Image: Al Jazeera screenshot ...
RNZ PacificMarshall Islands Journal editor Giff Johnson says US President Donald Trump’s decision on aid “is an opening for anybody else who wants to fill the gap” in the Pacific. Trump froze all USAID for 90 days on his first day in office and is now looking to significantly ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Danielle Mazza, Director, SPHERE NHMRC Centre of Research Excellence in Women’s Sexual and Reproductive Health in Primary Care and Professor and Head of the Department of General Practice, Monash University PeopleImages.com – Yuri A/Shutterstock Ahead of the government’s response this week ...
COMMENTARY:By Eugene Doyle It generally ends badly. An old tyrant embarks on an ill-considered project that involves redrawing maps. They are heedless to wise counsel and indifferent to indigenous interests or experience. Before they fail, are killed, deposed or otherwise disposed of, these vicious old men can cause immense ...
The Cook Islands PM is in Beijing to sign an agreement with China - but the government says he failed to consult with NZ on the matter, as is required. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Katinka van de Ven, Alcohol and other drug specialist, UNSW Sydney Fewer young Australians are drinking. And when they do drink, they are drinking less and less often than previous generations at the same age. It’s a trend happening all around the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Flavio Macau, Associate Dean – School of Business and Law, Edith Cowan University Hitra/Shutterstock Coles is reducing its product range by at least 10%, a move that has sparked public backlash and renewed discussions about the role of supermarkets in the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jacinta Humphrey, Research Fellow in Urban Ecology, RMIT University Golf courses are sometimes seen as harmful to the environment. According to the popular notion, the grass soaks up too much water, is cut too short and sprayed with dangerous chemicals. But in ...
New Zealand has long championed a fair, stable, and resilient global order. As a nation with deep ties to the Pacific and beyond, we cannot afford to be passive in the face of these shifts. ...
Things are going to look a little different this year. Here’s what to expect.Good news, Shortland Street fans: after a well-earned summer holiday, New Zealand’s longest running drama returns to TVNZ2 and TVNZ+ tonight. Ahead of us is a fresh year of living, loving and laughing in the nation’s ...
The poll, conducted between 02 and 04 February, shows National up 2.3 points to 31.9 percent, while Labour has risen 0.4 points from last month to 31.3 percent. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Katrina McFerran, Professor and Head of Creative Arts and Music Therapy Research Unit; Director of Researcher Development Unit, The University of Melbourne New York Public Library Many of us take pleasure in listening to music. Music accompanies important life events and ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Katrina McFerran, Professor and Head of Creative Arts and Music Therapy Research Unit; Director of Researcher Development Unit, The University of Melbourne New York Public Library Many of us take pleasure in listening to music. Music accompanies important life events and ...
The Cook Islands finds itself in a precarious dance — one between the promises of foreign investments and the integrity of our own sovereignty. As the country sways between partners China and Aotearoa New Zealand, the Cook Islands News asks: “Do we continue to haka with the Taniwha, our constitutional ...
A diplomatic scuffle with the Cook Islands. Plus: What went down at Waitangi. The Cook Islands prime minister, Mark Brown, has provoked the wrath of the New Zealand foreign minister with his decision to head to China to sign a new strategic deal. By failing to consult on the ...
The deputy chairperson of the Australasian College of Emergency Medicine, Dr Michael Connelly, said simply setting targets without "resourcing" them was a pointless exercise, as the number of patients - and their acuity - continuing to grow. ...
The motion by ACT to debate in Parliament China's human rights abuses in Xinjiang is another example of their marketing strategy. The regularly use this strategy to advance their own profile.
It is dressed up as concern but in reality it is quite cynical and it too is exploitative of the very Muslim minorities in China they claim to be representing.
As with most of ACT's activities, it is 99% political charade.
Well if you are correct, then thank god for political charades.
If not, there would be no publicity whatsoever about the Xijiang situation. China is an empire and has systematically colonised and subjugated the Ughurs (Na the Tibetans) over the 70 years.
More shame on our lame PM that she and her government lacks the principles to do what ACT is doing, whatever their motive.
Pure BS, you have been sucked in. As for Tibet, it was still feudalist before China set the bonded slaves free.
The enemy of an enemy of human rights is not necessarily a friend of human rights.
Frankly, ACT's concern for human rights in China is about as honest as the whataboutism of China's happy defenders.
The creatures outside looked from pig to man, and from man to pig, and from pig to man again; but already it was impossible to say which was which.
NZ needs to avoid being dominated by both these nations, while trying to remember and assist all victims of oppression, regardless of the perpetrator. Sure it's aspirational and never perfectly attainable, but it's better than volunteering time to suck up to oppressors.
… the whataboutism of China's happy defenders.
??? So it is wrong to point out that the United States, France, the United Kingdom and Australia have no moral ascendancy over China? To unhappily point out—and it is an unhappy task—that the U.S., France, U.K. and Australia are rogue states who have no right to lecture anyone else about human rights is to "happily defend China."
What moral syllogism is that exactly?
You want me to provide a syllogism to support something that runs opposite to what I actually wrote:
ACT pointing out the wrongs committed by China while ignoring (or even in order to distract from) wrongs committed by the USA etc is simply the flipside of some online sinophile pointing out the wrongs committed by the USA etc while ignoring (or even in order to distract from) wrongs committed by China.
My involvement with China goes way back, and knowledge of the Han colonisation of Xinjiang was well known and obvious to anyone who went there decades ago. You may deny reality because of your political views, but that does not change what has been happening in Xinjiang for the last 70 years.
And as for Xinzang/Tibet, yes it was a medieval theocracy prior to the Chinese invasion of 1949. That however in no way justifies todays colonisation by the Han.
Seriously, you need to learn about China. It is an empire just as evil and imperialistic as the Russian Empire, or USSR as they euphemistically called it.
I am not sure how to assess your knowledge of history, Peterchch. I agree about Russia, but why call 'USSR' a euphemism? Stalin was indeed the last of the great csars, because he ruled Russia with a rod of iron just as they did, and ignored many of Communism's ideals. Totalitarians they all were.
But as to the history of Tibet, etc? That area was always a province of China when a dynasty was strong. And when the Chinese were weak, Tibet, etc were independent.
Have you seen Frank Capra's "Why we Fight"? A series produced by the US Department of Information during WW2… In the episode of the war in China (episode 5, I think) the US Dept of Information clearly states that the 5th great province of China is Tibet.
There you are – the USA seeing Tibet as a province of China.
(But then the naughty Communists took over in China, and the propaganda narrative changed completely. Amazing historical gymnastics.)
Are you sure you know the history well, or are you just part of the latest exercise in US-directed historical gymnastics?
Oh we are so pure all of a sudden, so moral about China's abuses and yet we have been involved in the USA's abuses for decades also the UK – going to war about fictitious Weapons of Mass Destruction WMD is one. Supporting the USA drop of its nuclear bomb would be another, and I have just found that they fire-bombed Tokyo or Hiroshima or both before which hadn't reached my history memory store.
Gordon Campbell is like you Peter chch. https://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL2105/S00009/on-our-determination-to-ignore-chinas-human-rights-abuses.htm
We need to keep considering these people in North China, those being badly treated in Myanmar, and the refugee camps, the Afghanistan people, etc. It goes on, I am playing an old CD to raise money from the children of the Bosnian war and have two books about forthright women who went to the area and saved orphans. Perhaps we could ask China for permission to go there and help the Muslims in the north, and perhaps as well we could work here to help the Muslims amongst us and our own anti-social people we are raising here.
We have to keep exporting, our economy has been built into the capitalist system of trade and desire for material things. Change that a bit and then we have options for moral and spiritual considerations. Just don't hit on our Labour government for doing what the country needs to do for us to survive.
We see in Ron Brierley's descent the true face of capitalism and materialism. That is the state of NZ and we have to work our way back to the place we were before. Try listening to the words of Hotel California about decadence and you will get an idea of where we are now.
Ron Brierly's behaviour is not exclusive to capitalist societies. In all of the noise, we should at least be grateful we live in a democratic society in which we learn about such horrors via a non-state media.
Criticism of China is hardly sudden, and rubberstamping the illegal invasion of Iraq eviscerated the Alliance party from within like a yankophile chestbursting alien.
I needed a good laugh, thank you 😀
Pleased to be of at least some value to you Incognito 😊
On RNZ this morning Judith Collins managed to condemn Trevor Mallard's behaviour last night as 'vindictive.' It meant he is temperamentally unsuited to his role she said.
Her 2020 public crucifixion (along with Duncan Garner) of Iain Lees-Galloway means she is eminently suited to her role of course. Some roles need people who are nasty, vindictive [deleted sexist remark].
I find it odd that the Law & Order party would side with a sexual harasser. I wonder what their motives are…
Interesting take on a Speaker who uses the cover of Parliamentary privilege to make further allegations against an individual. The same individual he ended up apologising to 18 months after the fact for getting his previous allegations wrong. Surely there are more appropriate bodies such as the Police to deal with such allegations than in the House under privilege.
You mean the allegations that were analogous to accusing someone of murder by firearm when they actually used a knife? Keep it up you tory bastards, theres nothing 'quite like endearing yourself to the public by defending a sexual predator.
Collins and Bishops brains trust of advisors are certainly a few neurons short.
Yes. Wasnt it some years back Helen Clark as PM had to make a payment for someone she said was a murderer, when the conviction was for manslaughter.
'Mr Yelash said he did not have a National Party background, but he hoped that the party would win the next election'
Such a shame isn't it. Mallard has to resort to parliament to make a statement about a serious case of sexual assault against a woman (there were several women who complained in fact) because he knows that should he say it outside of the House, a vindictive opposition leader and her lackeys will gerrymander the ongoing process of justice – all in the name of politicking for personal gain.
And all of it would serve to re-victimise the young women in question, but who cares about them eh David?
Or maybe if he said it outside the House he would once again be exposed as a bully making unsubstantiated claims.
IF sexual assault happened, let the Police investigate and take whatever action is appropriate.
Innocent until proven guilty seems an unfamiliar concept to many on TS. Thankfully the extreme Left will never have power.
Tova O'Brien says something has got to give to take the heat out of the situation.
Unfortunately for the victims it might have to be them presenting evidence, which of course re-victimises them. This would simply be collateral damage in the eyes of the National Party – they do not care about people or who they trample over in their quest for power.
Their exploitation of those women and this situation is disturbing, even for them.
All National are doing is giving the PM the chance to play the adult in the room.
Well that would be a first.
Maybe arresting the guy? Would that take the heat out of the sitch?
Yes. And this is new as far as I'm aware.
Wouldn’t be surprised if Chris Bishop is egging this guy on and deliberately trying to fuel the fire. National has form in this area.
https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/politics/2021/05/trevor-mallard-parliament-an-absolute-powder-keg-with-national-to-go-full-throttle-in-bid-to-axe-mallard-o-brien.html
I am not particularly keen on watching people shouting at each other. Was there any naming of; "the Staffer", or is that court-suppressed? It seems they still have their job, so it's hard to see how "Mallard ruined that man's career and his life" (unless Staffer is in past tense).
It sounds like there is an ongoing police investigation (or maybe pending trial?), though I have not seen details of that linked anywhere. I assume the Investigation he referenced last night was the Francis report?
https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/politics/2021/05/house-leader-chris-hipkins-to-meet-with-speaker-trevor-mallard-after-parliament-stoush.html
My take on Mallard and Bishop is that National will keep raising Mallard's blunder even though Mallard has faced the legal consequences for getting the terminology wrong.
I do think Mallard can survive this as something has happened. The process for keeping the women safe needs to be put in place according to their employment conditions. This is what National need to be in agreement about and not wanting the scalp of Mallard.
I would leave it to Mallard whether or not he considers his job as speaker to be right for him unless there are parliamentary legal grounds which can terminate his position as speaker.
I think it may be Barry Soper who is "egging this guy on".
I was interested in the comment Mallard made about the former staffer's "ongoing behaviour". This suggests a man who shows no remorse for touching women inappropriately, or groping or whatever it is he's done.
He also doesn't seem to be able to let it go, a bit like Chris Bishop, really.
A sociopath who knows how to play the victim card to the point where the real victims end up being blamed and/or re-victimised. Its been going on since God made little apples and still the fools among us fall for it – and that includes the tabloid media.
The system is set up that a complaint needs to be made for it to be investigated. When it comes to what the police investigate they can only investigate what they are told.
Bishop and Mallard are doing a disservice to the complainants as the way they are going about inappropriate behaviour is not in the interest of the complainants.
It is in the hands of the police to establish if an offence was committed and whether or not it will go to trial.
Barry has his sights on Mallard.
Barry Soper: Trevor Mallard's outburst this week questions whether he understands what a serious sexual assault is – NZ Herald
He has to go. The guy who used parliamentary privlidge to label a hug, a comment and allegedly inappropriate staring as rape and uses parliamentary press and spent hundreds of thousands of tax payers on defending himself can't be speaker during hate speech and sex crimes law reforms which the left don't realize how much political capital they are burning or how much scrutiny the public and media will give these reforms. Jan Logies already being attacked by law organizations left right and center as basically a law that wants to put poor people in jail regardless if they are guilty or not we don't need the speaker who wanted a good sound bite and declared a man a rapist over a hug overseeing the debate.
Trevor should have gone out with the fifth labour govt. What a relic. He's a violent, bullying ,shit kicking mudraking hypocritical dinosaur careerist of fourty years who noone in the party likes he's our gerry brownlee and he's a worse speaker than even Carter but there is literally noone in Labours ranks unfortunately who'd be a great speaker who isn't in cabinet already.
It appears your punctuation is also a casualty of this stoush.
He said he was sorry he called the (alleged, unnamed) sexpest a rapist.
The biggest issue here is the fact that Bishop and Mallard hate each other. I could easily imagine a fist fight on the floor of the house. That would suit Collins because she is all about the vendettas of dirty politics and the distractions of court politics.
The meta issue is the total lack of control by Collins of her caucus. Whenever she is pulled up on the lack of discipline in her MPs she plaintively whines she can't tell them what to do, and boy does that weakness show. Her party is swirling mess of cliques pursuing personal vendettas, paranoid, US inspired conspiracy theories and plotting against each other.
She should shut this whole vendetta against Mallard down, because her party is sailing perilously close to the sort of seditious disloyal opposition territory traversed by Trump's Republican Party.
Unfortunately, you can be sure she’ll only double down and double down again until the National Party are presented with either trying to subvert democracy or look like complete idiots. Either way, the public will punish them for manufacturing such a crisis.
I'm not so sure Collins is the party leader who should be shutting this down. It was good to see the PM has given Mallard a ticking off over this whole episode, but frankly he should have been removed ages ago.
So meta!
Scientific understanding of Covid is still evolving.
Hopefully this leads to more effective therapies and targeted vaccines
This is the latest report from the Salk Institute,
Covid as a vascular disease as opposed to purely respiratory, how this happens ,and goes some way to explain neurological effects
https://www.salk.edu/news-release/the-novel-coronavirus-spike-protein-plays-additional-key-role-in-illness/
Yes. Similar links previously between seasonal influenza and CVD
'Increasing Evidence That Influenza Is a Trigger for Cardiovascular Disease'
I heard Collins pet yap battery, the incoherent Chris Bishop on RNZ this morning and wondered if 7am wasn't just a bit early to already be drinking.
If it helps you make sense of Basher Bish, then drink up.
Starship is still fundraising for some ICU beds. So if anyone has some spare cash behind the sofa cushions please consider to contribute.
• Donations can be made online at http://www.starshipicu.org.nz or by contacting the Starship Foundation directly.
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/mum-of-sick-2-year-old-writes-open-letter-begging-for-kids-hospital-beds/XOILOB3B6CNET23Q7XFT5ZVZT4/
How many ICU beds does $330,000 of taxpayers money buy?
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/300292597/government-announces-three-more-years-of-pay-restraint-for-public-servants
What can be justified as an emergency expedient often proves an unmitigated disaster if elevated to an operational principle.
Memo to all staff: Beatings will continue until morale improves.
This is terrible economics. Public sector wage trends influence private sector wage trends. It also signals the return of the 'austerity' narrative which should have died already in 2008 but instead it took till 2020 for NZ to discover it controls its own budget.
The announcement of a pay freeze on public sector employees strikes me as a bad faith move that guarantees increased industrial action and employee turnover in the coming years. Very short sighted and a slap in the face to essential workers who helped guide the country through Covid in the first place.
Ovid agree

Have you forgotten the pay drop some parliamentary people took. 10 and 20%.
Leading by example.
Perhaps that move would be the first step in compressing the pay scale, and to put a pay freeze on everyone is applying equality, and not equity. This is an important point – equality is pie in the sky and that will come down to earth for most things, equity now that is fairness.
Not sure how factual your comment is as it implies that the rate was a permanent reduction, when that is not the case. As it was only a short term guesture for 6 months – their pay has returned to its previous level.
How is screwing the Public sector leading by example when there are sectors just entering into pay rate negotiations ? Not great leadership for fair bargaining ?? I hope that this announcement will also apply to consultants rates as well 🙈
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/covid-19-coronavirus-mps-pay-cuts-finally-in-effect-after-jacinda-ardern-promised-them-three-months-ago/WDCQYJTS4UOTTA3AXLMKRPHKA4/
[corrected typo in e-mail address]
Especially galling considering $200 million dollars can be found next year for new buildings for our parliamentarians.
Anyone that thinks this will not cost more than $200M, I have a bridge to sell you.
In areas where the government departments compete with private companies to recruit and retain talented people, like IT, where even average people are almost certainly above the $100,000 limit, this is going to be a disaster. The market for IT people picked up significantly the last couple of months and I already declined multiple project offers for the rest of this year.
Means the government departments have to use external consulting companies for the heavy lifting… and pay accordingly!
Keep this in mind when you read – and comment here – about another expensive government IT project.
It won't extend to the ceo class, surely. Just the peasants.
I think I have worked out why the Herald has a column from Richard Prebble. They have comments open on his pieces and they know he is reliably offensive enough to juice their engagement stats for advertisers.
Hardly behaviour befitting a "responsible MSM" outlet, but then the Herald is really just the Daily Mail without the witty bits.
Wonder if ACT , with only one electorate MP but 9 list Mps, is continuing the 'scheme' they used in Prebbles time with all their list Mps having the same address a few blocks from parliament for their 'out of parliament' office ( similar to electorate Mps offices, but in their electorate).
Is there any way of getting the 'office' street address from Parliamentary services of all List Mps- and not PO box either
More from Grant McLaughlin who says the 'out of parliament' offices in Little Pipitea St were bogus as he was a researcher who went there only once even though PS paid them for 32 hours pw 'electorate agent' and only supposed to be 8 hours in the Act Party leaders office. Prebble was leader at the time and John Bishop was his right hand man in leaders office
https://yournz.org/2020/10/02/act-party-taxpayers-union-and-national/
Was that the paper that had the pwitty t.ts?
weka, incognito et al. fyi
"…languages that told a different story were an enemy. Indigenous languages and thought were as much an impediment to land-taking as were the vast herds of buffalo, and so were likewise targeted for extermination.
Linguistic imperialism has always been a tool of colonization, meant to obliterate history and the visibility of the people who were displaced along with their languages."
https://orionmagazine.org/article/speaking-of-nature/
Thanks, Robert. I’ve just been reading an article on Cancel Culture; will read yours tonight, hopefully.
https://www.newsroom.co.nz/readingroom/let-us-now-cancel-david-cohen
Punishment for using unacceptable language could be for Maori a sharp slap with a ruler across the knuckles at any age. Now, what parallel; a sharp rejoinder, a stream of invective worse than what was originally said, a punch in the head? Jonathan Pie says that it only needs someones feelings to be hurt to produce a complaint that can be acted upon.
Half way through reading this, so good and sparking so many ideas. Political within the left, and of course the politics of our relationship with place. It’s so clear that the further we are from nature the more imperilled we are, and as Kimmerer and Incognito point to the current battle is over language and power.
Will Rudy Giuliani flip against Trump?
CWouldn't happen to a nicer person.Can anyone with a Horrid subscription tell me what Richard Dribble is going on about here?
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/richard-prebble-why-grant-robertson-is-the-worst-finance-minister-since-robert-muldoon/6IPSNCGSMIHSGK7ZUJJY2KKD7Y/
He first big notes on how he "…received this email exchange between a former head of the Treasury and a former Reserve Bank Governor…" (by whom I assume he means his fellow inhabitants of the 1980s political rest home Don Brash and either his brother or his fellow ACT sidekick Graham Scott) where they fret about the decline of hair shirt austerity for other people and balanced budgets for all.
He reveals that he appears to think everyone in Wellington drinks cappuccinos, in what I suspect is a fashion miss-step from the superannuated political far right. I guess when your salad days were inhabited with nothing more threatening than instant all these new fangled styles must be practically indistinguishable.
He then does the usual Rogernomics cultural cringe of quoting some far right Aussie and comparing us with the usual suspects (Venezuela, Nigeria etc although somehow he failed to squeeze in the USSR) .
He then concludes democracy is the same as Muldoonism.
Reading the piece is the literary equivalent of being the rest home worker forced to listen to a couple of nasty old men playing checkers and complaining about everything.
A Parting Shot from Dennis Potter: 1994
When groundbreaking television writer Dennis Potter learned he was dying of cancer, he sat down with Melvyn Bragg for a final interview. The subject of media mogul Rupert Murdoch came up.
The HBO 'dark comedy satirical drama' "Succession" currently screening on NEON is apparently loosely based on the Murdoch family and the background drama over control of the Murdoch empire will be interesting and important the direction of media around the world. Lachlan seems like a chip from the block and James has shown slight signs of social responsibility. Odd are Lachlan will be in control when the time comes.
Thanks for the Dennis Potter clip. It would be worthwhile to get a view of the strange world we are drifting towards to see his Cold Lazarus and Karaoke among any others on Youtube.
There was a story a day or two ago about how the so-called 'investor migrants' were able to continue their migration plans. Five wealthy investors granted border exemptions, then residency | RNZ News
The information is doubtless privileged six ways from Sunday to protect their privacy, but I really hope they are not real estate 'investors', a class that impoverish rather than enriching our country. Being a determination made by MBIE or Immigration, it's safe to assume that any investor will do, however pernicious their activities might be to the greater public. More work for Kris Faafoi I guess.
There are certain investment criteria to fulfil for investor visas:
Not sure if this helps.
It is very useful thank you. I'd be interested to see a value analysis that considered the degree to which NZ benefitted from such arrangements – financial and real estate investment typically do little beyond inflating the chosen sector, though on occasion something like a farm may benefit, in terms of productivity, from a capital injection.
They werent granted border exemptions…because they were wealthy
'INZ general manager for border and visa operations Nicola Hogg said the five approved for residencies – and their 14 associates – had travelled to New Zealand on other critical worker visas before having their applications for residency approved…"
Critical worker visas were generally higher end medical people or public company type CEOs or related to movies and Americas Cup