Open mike 05/05/2022
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6:00 am, May 5th, 2022 - 74 comments
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- Poison in the Stock: Comparing the Problematic Elements of Agatha Christie and J.K. Rowling
As you may have noticed, I have been slowly working my way through the works of Agatha Christie. At the time of writing, I have read some thirty-eight of her books – less than half her total output, but arguably enough to get a reasonable handle on it. It ...13 hours ago - Do We Have a Population Policy?
Population growth has some effect on economic growth, but it is complicated especially where infrastructure is involved. We need to think more about it. In an opinion piece in the New Zealand Herald, John Gascoigne claimed that New Zealand was a ‘tragic tale of economic decline’. He gave no evidence ...19 hours ago - Bryce Edwards: Have the Greens become too woke for their own good?
The Greens have been almost invisible since the 2020 election. Despite massive crises impacting on people’s lives, such as climate change, housing, inequality, and the cost of living, they’ve had very little to say. On this week’s highly contentious issue of politicians being banned from Parliament by Trevor Mallard, the ...23 hours ago - Decarbonising the schools
The government has announced it will be replacing all coal boilers in schools by 2025: All remaining coal boilers in New Zealand schools will be replaced with cleaner wood burners or electric heating by 2025, at a cost of $10 million, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has announced. The coal ...24 hours ago - Neo-Nazis in Ukraine. Comedians are often more truthful than politicians.
Israeli news media and politicians often complain about the activity of neo-Nazis in Ukraine. “Activists and supporters of Ukrainian nationalist parties hold torches as they take part in a rally to mark the 112th birth anniversary of Stepan Bandera, in Kyiv, Ukraine, January 1, 2021. Credit: Valentyn Ogirenko/Reuters The recent ...1 day ago - Skeptical Science New Research for Week #18 2022
Another gnawing warming worry Accidental outcomes of our engineering prowess are warming Arctic regions at a rapid pace. Another species of accomplished engineers is rapidly occupying and exploiting new territory we've thereby made more easily available, namely beavers (Castor canadensis). Beaver populations in affected Arctic regions have increased from "none" to "quite a ...2 days ago - Pursuit of Indigenous sovereign rights
Dr Simon Lambert’s dream is to see Indigenous nations across the world exercising their sovereign rights by adding their say to disaster risk reduction planning. Simon, of Ngāi Tūhoe and Ngāti Ruapani ki Waikaremoana, specialises in indigenous disaster risk reduction, indigenous health and indigenous development, social science, environmental management, planning ...2 days ago - ‘My stroke gave me purpose’ – Rukingi HaupapaRukingi Haupapa (Ngāti Whakaue, Te Arawa) credits his stroke in 2005 for changing his life: leading him to change his name, get his mataora (facial moko) and set up a trust to help fellow stroke survivors. Oranga (health and wellbeing) is Rukingi’s passion. He holds a Master’s degree in Indigenous ...2 days ago
- Thoughts on an abusive copThe Independent Police Conduct authority has today released two reports relating to the same police officer. In the first, they are found to have used excessive and unjustifiable force in the arrest of a child. In the second, they are found to have seriously assaulted a man during an unlawful ...2 days ago
- Hosking v. Ardern
Mike Hosking’s all-too familiar diatribe in today’s Herald is so dripping with venom and anti-Jacinda animus that one can’t help but wonder if the content matters less than the spirit and purpose in and with which it was offered. Hosking clearly needs help. He seems to live in a world ...2 days ago - Gordon Campbell on abortion rights, and biased Speakers
So a Supreme Court stacked with ideologues selected by Donald Trump is about to make an ideological decision to ban the legal right of American women to an abortion. In their infinite wisdom, the US courts have decided that the government cannot force people to wear a mask during a ...2 days ago - Jack Vowles: Te Tiriti – A Briefing for Chris LuxonNational party leader Chris Luxon has been reported as giving some badly uninformed responses to questions about Te Tiriti o Waitangi. As a potential Prime Minister, he needs to get up to speed. Te Tiriti is the Māori language version of the Treaty of Waitangi – the version that is ...2 days ago
- Why and How to Electrify EverythingThis is a re-post from the Citizens' Climate Lobby blog Electrification is a hot topic right now, with many countries searching for ways to reduce their dependence on Russian oil and gas as Putin’s war atrocities in Ukraine worsen by the day. Fortunately, many of the solutions to reduce long-term fossil fuel financial ...3 days ago
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- 29,000 employed under LabourThe quarterly labour market statistics were released this morning, showing unemployment holding at a record low of 3.2%. There are now 94,000 unemployed - 29,000 fewer than when Labour took office. Average wages are also up, and looking back, they've increased from $30.45 / hour in 2017 to $36.18 today. ...3 days ago
- Member’s DayToday is a Member's Day, and one likely to be entirely full of third readings. First up is Ricardo Menéndez March's Human Rights (Disability Assist Dogs Non-Discrimination) Amendment Bill, followed by Nicola Willis' Unit Titles (Strengthening Body Corporate Governance and Other Matters) Amendment Bill and Tangi Utikere's Local Government (Pecuniary ...3 days ago
- Geoffrey Miller: Jacinda Ardern continues to forge a more US-friendly foreign policyInternational analyst Geoffrey Miller reads between the lines of Jacinda Ardern’s speech to this week’s US business summit in Auckland Jacinda Ardern is slowly but surely shifting New Zealand’s foreign policy towards the West. That was the underlying theme of a keynote address by New Zealand’s Prime Minister this ...4 days ago
- Going full GileadToday's big news from America: the Supreme Court has reportedly voted to overturn Roe v. Wade: The Supreme Court has voted to strike down the landmark Roe v. Wade decision, according to an initial draft majority opinion written by Justice Samuel Alito circulated inside the court and obtained by ...4 days ago
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- Geopolitical transitions and the long decline.
For the last three decades the global geopolitical system has been in a state of transition. It first transited from the tight bi-polar arrangement of the Cold War, where two nuclear superpowers with closely integrated alliance systems (NATO and the Warsaw Pact, plus other related networks) strategicaly balanced each other ...4 days ago - Bryce Edwards: Why Labour won’t introduce a radical wealth taxPrime Minister Jacinda Ardern has been perceived as “softening her line on wealth taxes” – and therefore being open to the introduction of a new type of progressive taxation on the rich. This was the description published yesterday by leftwing wealth researcher Max Rashbrooke, who was reporting on the fact ...4 days ago
- Philip Temple: Nothing to fear?On 24 April the Minister for Māori Development, the Hon. Willie Jackson, stated on TVNZ’s Q+A programme that government plans for Māori co-governance were part of MMP. It meant ‘shared decision-making’, ‘partnership’, ‘diversity, about minorities working together’. ‘Co-governance is based on the principles of MMP, this is a consensus type ...4 days ago
- Does NZ’s media support free speech?
Below is an excerpt of a talk by journalist Karl du Fresne given at Victoria University on 28 April 2022 for the Free Speech Union. Here he examines the trends that are undermining a free press. [F]ree speech goes hand in hand with a free press – but it’s now ...4 days ago - The Stuff Of Nightmares.
Braking And Entering: The CCTV recording of the ram-raid against Auckland’s Ormiston Mall is so disturbing, so inspiring of dread and rage, that no amount of rational commentary will make the slightest difference. It confirms in the most powerful fashion the stories so many New Zealanders have been telling themselves: ...5 days ago - Ukraine – a beginner’s guideThe Author of this Dorset Eye article, Ukraine – a beginner’s guide, says: “In 2014, the journalist and writer John Pilger wrote an article for The Guardian newspaper entitled ‘In Ukraine the US is dragging us towards war with Russia’.[i] Eight years later, in 2022, this prediction came true when ...5 days ago
- New graphics resources: Cranky Cartoons and Fallacy IconsWhat's better than some Cranky Uncle cartoons scattered around here or there? A collection of them, cross-referenced with the fallacies they depict, of course! And this is what we highlight in this blog post. John Cook had made these cartoons available for download on his Cranky Uncle website in March 2021 ...5 days ago
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- Comforting but warped narratives are damaging our potential future: time we kill off all the myths
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- Something on NZ military diplomacy.A few weeks ago it emerged that NZ Minister of Defence Peeni Henare had asked cabinet for approval to donate surplus NZDF Light Armoured Vehicles (LAVs) to Ukraine as part of the multilateral efforts to support the Ukrainian defence of its homeland against the Russian invasion that is now into ...7 days ago
- What is Really Causing the Sharp Price Rises
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Some time ago, I put together a complete and overly pedantic chain of custody for the One Ring: https://phuulishfellow.wordpress.com/2020/05/07/a-chain-of-custody-listing-the-ringbearers/ Today, I decided to match that, by doing something similar for the Silmarils. In the interests of clarity, I will be using the text as it appears in the published ...2 weeks ago - The Bewildering World of Christopher Luxon – Health reforms
There are currently twenty DHB's servicing Aotearoa - a country with five million people. A population that would fit comfortably in eightyone cities around the world.The fragmented system has twenty CEOs; twenty Boards (with up to eleven members each); twenty IT systems (to be confirmed); twenty HR departments; twenty payroll ...2 weeks ago - Christopher Tolkien’s Amazonian RequestsAn interesting piece of news out of Fellowship of Fans today. Not one that we were realistically expecting (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kmc3sY0GQ0g) The news is that prior to his death in January 2020, Christopher Tolkien made some requests of Amazon, with regards to their impending Second Age adaptation, now called The Rings ...2 weeks ago
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- Woke stomping on speech rights in NZhttps://freespeech.buzzsprout.com/370355/10486710-special-report-aut-cancel-a-free-speech-union-meeting The Free Speech Union has had a speaking event canceled by AUT. In the first public talk in what was to kick off a nationwide lecture series, Free Speech Union member Daphna Whitmore was to talk about (ironically) her experiences with women’s rights group ‘Speak Up For Women’ and ...2 weeks ago
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- Some sense on the Russia-Ukraine warIt’s a truism that the first casualty in war is the truth. But a close second is rational thought. We face this now where partisanship, wishful thinking and disinformation dominate what we read about the Ukraine-Russia war in our media. So, it is refreshing to come across an informed ...2 weeks ago
- Firing Canon: Finding Authority in Middle-earthA subject doing the rounds at the moment is the question of Tolkienian Canon. On one hand, there are the passionate Purists, for whom fidelity to Tolkien’s text is paramount in assessing Adaptations in general and The Rings of Power in particular. On the other, one finds discussions such ...2 weeks ago
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We do not go to war for free; we need to factor its economic costs and its consequences into public discussions.Wars are costly. People die, life is disrupted while wars divert resources to war use and wantonly destroy. We are currently involved in two major wars: the war against the ...2 weeks ago - A conviction for hate speechThe Herald reports that a man who recoded a violent rant calling for genocide of Māori has been convicted for hate speech: Richard Jacobs, 44, filmed a video from his Pāpāmoa home in May last year where he called for the killing of Māori. The video was uploaded to ...2 weeks ago
- Approaching storm over the horizon.The Solomon Islands and PRC have signed a bilateral security pact. The news of the pact was leaked a month ago and in the last week the governments of both countries have confirmed the deal. However, few details have been released. What we do know is that Chinese police trainers ...2 weeks ago
- Elizabeth Rata: The Decolonisation of Education in New ZealandThe Ministry of Education is currently attempting to decolonise the New Zealand schooling system, using some radical innovations. In this article, Prof Elizabeth Rata challenges some of the ideological underpinnings and practical outcomes of this agenda. Prof Rata welcomes debate on this issue, and the Democracy Project welcomes further submissions ...2 weeks ago
- Controlling The Past.2 weeks ago
- Gordon Campbell on Ukraine virtue signalling, and our inflation spikeInflation at 6.9% is a bad sign of the rising cost of living, and hidden within the headline numbers are some even grislier figures. As CTU economist Craig Renney has pointed out: Food prices rose nearly 7%, led by fruit and vegetables which rose 17%. Meat rose 7.2%. The price ...2 weeks ago
- Six ways we’re reducing cost pressures for New Zealanders
Since the day we came into Government, we’ve worked hard to lift wages and reduce cost pressures facing New Zealanders. But we know the rising cost of living, driven by worldwide inflation and the war in Ukraine, is making things particularly tough right now. That’s why we’ve stepped up our ...2 days ago - Greens call for government to implement all recommendations of Casey report into detention of asylum...
An independent review of New Zealand’s detention regime for asylum seekers has found arbitrary and abusive practices in Aotearoa’s immigration law, policy, and practice. ...4 days ago - Rising household costs hurting low-income peopleThe Green Party says the Government needs to do more for those on the lowest incomes as inflation outpaces wage and benefit increases. ...1 week ago
- HRC housing inquiry confirms need for rental WOFThe Human Rights Commission inquiry into housing quality confirms what the Green Party has been calling for - a rental Warrant of Fitness and a register of landlords and property managers. ...1 week ago
- Greens call for urgent action to fix tax systemThe Green Party is urging the Government to take urgent action to create a fairer tax system that works for all New Zealanders. ...2 weeks ago
- UNDRIP – Let’s get on with itThe Green Party welcomes the next steps towards implementing the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) in Aotearoa, and calls on the Government to get on with the mahi of upholding Tangata Whenua rights. ...2 weeks ago
- More Kiwis in work as our recovery gains momentumOur economic recovery is gaining momentum and the latest figures show that the Government’s focus on jobs is working. We’ve delivered a record low unemployment rate as well as a steady fall in the number of New Zealanders receiving a main benefit. ...2 weeks ago
- Urgent action needed to soften inflation blow for low income NZersThe Green Party says urgent action is needed to soften the blow of inflation for New Zealanders on the lowest incomes. ...2 weeks ago
- Nature needs us to act right nowThe Green Party welcomes the release of the implementation plan for Te Mana o te Taiao Aotearoa New Zealand Biodiversity Strategy and calls on the Government to act faster to protect our oceans. ...2 weeks ago
- Funding for Pacific Stop Smoking Services to support Smokefree 2025 goal
Pacific communities can expect more support to go smokefree as Associate Ministers of Health Dr Ayesha Verrall and Aupito William Sio launched one of the new Pacific stop smoking services at K’aute Pasifika Trust in Hamilton today. The Smokefree Pacific Advisory Group, chaired by Associate Professor Dr Collin Tukuitonga, was ...23 hours ago - Buses take to the road on Northern BuswayNorthshore commuters now have access to congestion free travel to and from the city, as far north as Albany, thanks to the completion of the latest Northern Busway extension which was opened today by the Minister of Transport, Michael Wood. The four year project has delivered an additional five kilometres ...24 hours ago
- All coal boilers to be removed from schoolsThanks to a $10 million dollar investment, all remaining coal boilers in New Zealand schools will be replaced with renewable woody biomass or electric heating sources by 2025 reducing carbon emissions by around 35,400 tonnes over 10 years, Climate Change Minister James Shaw announced today. The move is part of ...1 day ago
- Technical innovation to revolutionise forestryAn innovative high-tech approach to forestry management is set to transform New Zealand’s forestry industry, Forestry Minister Stuart Nash and Agriculture Minister Damien O’Connor announced today. The Government is backing Precision Silviculture, a $25.5 million, seven-year programme led by Forest Growers Research Limited (FGR). “The investment is part of the ...1 day ago
- New links in chain of Great Rides cycle trailsMore of New Zealand’s most stunning landscapes, culture and heritage destinations will be showcased by the addition of two new cycle trails to the Ngā Haerenga Great Rides network. Tourism and Economic and Regional Development Minister Stuart Nash has today opened the Whakarewarewa Forest Loop trail near Rotorua, and announced ...2 days ago
- Proposals aimed at user-friendly, up-to-date conservation processesPublic feedback is being sought on proposed changes to improve management planning and concession processes in conservation legislation. “Management strategies and plans are key tools which help manage natural and historic resources by providing guidance on what can and cannot be done in our national parks and conservation areas,” Conservation ...2 days ago
- Next steps for two new schools for ŌmokoroaPlanning for two new schools on the Bay of Plenty’s Ōmokoroa Peninsula is underway as part of the Government’s comprehensive plan to support growth in the fast-growing Otumoetai catchment. Ongoing housing development will see 1,200 new homes in Ōmokoroa by 2025, and another development area in the west of the ...2 days ago
- Travel trade show reconnects with AustraliaA government-backed push to reconnect the tourism and travel industry with our largest market in Australia will see Tourism Minister Stuart Nash head to Sydney next week. Stuart Nash is leading a delegation to one of the first major international trade events by Tourism New Zealand since the COVID-19 outbreak ...2 days ago
- Budget 22 investing in biosecurity for future economic securityBudget 22 invests $110.9 million into New Zealand’s biosecurity work $42.9 million to bolster New Zealand’s biosecurity readiness for future incursions $68 million over the coming year to continue the M. bovis eradication momentum Protection of primary sector vital with exports forecast to hit record $50.8 billion for year-end 2022 ...2 days ago
- Joint M. bovis eradication plan reaches significant milestoneMycoplasma bovis (M. bovis) down to one infected property 271 farms cleared of M. bovis No working farms currently confirmed infected Plans for next steps towards a national pest management plan under way Hundreds of thousands of milk samples and animals tested last year Four years into a world-first attempt to ...2 days ago
- Crown accounts reflect strong economyThe Crown accounts are continuing to reflect the strong position New Zealand is in to manage the challenging global environment, Grant Robertson said. For the nine months to the end of March, the Operating Balance before Gains and Losses (OBEGAL) deficit was $8.1 billion, $4.1 billion below that forecast in ...2 days ago
- Budget 2022: Government clears road for 64,000 people to get driver licensesThe Government is: Increasing funding for driver licence support Removing barriers for people who have trouble obtaining driver licences Strengthening testing infrastructure and making it more equitable Reviewing the Graduated Driver Licensing System regulatory framework to ensure it is fit for purpose Budget 2022 will see an estimated 64,000 New ...3 days ago
- Speech at announcement of nationwide plan to tackle hospital waiting lists, Auckland, 4 May 2022Today I am setting out our plan to deal with growing hospital waiting lists. COVID-19 has been hugely disruptive to hospital systems all over the world. In England, for example, there was a 200-fold increase in the number of people waiting more than a year for planned care, from just ...3 days ago
- Nationwide plan to tackle hospital waiting listsHospital waiting lists will be managed nationally under the Labour Government’s plan to cut the time people who need operations and appointments have to wait, Health Minister Andrew Little says. “COVID-19 has been hugely disruptive to hospital systems all over the world,” Andrew Little told health users, providers and unions ...3 days ago
- Speech to the New Zealand Institute of International Affairs – Whare Tawāhi-a-mahi i AotearoaIt is a pleasure to be here tonight addressing you all and continuing to showcase New Zealand’s reconnection to the world. It was fantastic to be travelling again and promoting New Zealand with the Prime Minister a couple of weeks ago to Singapore and Japan. However these are challenging times for trade. ...4 days ago
- Record 50,000 homes consented in a yearIn the year ended March 2022, 50,858 new homes were consented, up 24 per cent from the March 2021 year. 21,477 new homes were consented in Auckland in the year ended March 2022, driven largely by an increase in multi-unit dwellings. 5,303 new homes were consented in March 2022 alone. ...4 days ago
- Broadened criteria for returning visa holdersThe Government is broadening the ability for residence class visa holders to re-enter New Zealand, Minister for COVID-19 Response Chris Hipkins has announced. The change means residence class visa holders not vaccinated against COVID-19 will be able to enter New Zealand from 6 May. The change allows New Zealand Permanent ...4 days ago
- Mānawatia a Matariki – te whakanui i a MatarikiI tāpaea i te rangi nei Te Tohu o Matariki ki te iwi tūmatanui e te Minita mō te Kōtuinga o Ngāi Māori me te Karauna: Te Arawhiti, Kelvin Davis rāua ko te Minita Tuarua mō te Toi, te Ahurea, me te Tukuihotanga, a Kiri Allan. Hei tā Kelvin Davis, ...4 days ago
- Pre-budget speech to Rabobank breakfastI want to thank Rabobank for hosting us this morning, and all of you for making it along for an early start. Yesterday, New Zealand opened its borders again to tourists and business visitors from around 60 visa waiver countries as we continue our reconnection with the world. The resumption ...4 days ago
- Budget 22: New fiscal rules to be put in placeSurpluses will be kept within a band of zero to two percent of GDP to ensure new day‑to‑day spending is not adding to debt. A new debt measure to be introduced to bring New Zealand closer in line with other countries. A debt ceiling will ensure New Zealand maintains some ...4 days ago
- Strategy highlights pathway to reduce infrastructure deficitThe Government has welcomed Te Waihanga/New Zealand Infrastructure Commission’s first infrastructure strategy as a major milestone in building a more prosperous, resilient and sustainable future for all New Zealanders. Rautaki Hanganga o Aotearoa – New Zealand Infrastructure Strategy 2022–2052 set out the infrastructure challenges and opportunities facing New Zealand ...4 days ago
- New Zealand and the United States – Dynamic Economic Partners in the Indo-PacificIt is a pleasure to participate today in the United States Business Summit and to have the opportunity to speak to you about the US-New Zealand trade and economic relationship. I would like to join the Prime Minister in thanking the organisers – especially Fran O’Sullivan and Michael Barnett who I ...5 days ago
- More political elites and defence entities sanctioned, and prohibitions extendedForeign Affairs Minister Nanaia Mahuta has today announced further sanctions on Russian politicians and defence entities supporting Putin’s actions in Ukraine, as part of the Government’s ongoing response to the war. “Through these sanctions, we are demonstrating our intention to continue going after those who are responsible for Russia’s invasion ...5 days ago
- Government supports grass roots emergency resilience initiativesSupporting preparations for a potential Alpine Fault rupture on the West Coast is one of several grass roots initiatives benefitting from a Government funding package to strengthen community resilience to emergencies. “Due to its isolation, its topography, and its proximity, the West Coast is particularly vulnerable to the impacts of ...5 days ago
- Speech to Te Waihanga SymposiumIntroduction Kia ora koutou katoa, Today is a significant day for infrastructure in New Zealand. And that means it is a significant day for our productivity, our environment, our wellbeing and connections as people. That is because good quality infrastructure is core to improving all of those things. Today we ...5 days ago
- Speech to New Zealand US Business SummitRingitia mai, waetia mai Tuhi tuhia mai e Kei te manawa tonu te aroha me te whakapono Can I please acknowledge our co-chairs today Fran O’Sullivan and Michael Barnett. US Ambassador to New Zealand Tom Udall. The Minister for Trade and Export Growth Damien O’Connor. And the really excellent ...5 days ago
- Tourism and travel back on the world mapNew Zealand is back on the world map for international tourism and business travellers as the country opens up to visitors from around 60 visa-waiver countries who enjoy freer travel here from today. Tourism Minister Stuart Nash and Immigration Minister Kris Faafoi say the welcome mat is out for citizens ...5 days ago
- Budget 2022 invests to keep Kiwi kids in class and learningThe Government is committed to improving student attendance at school and kura, Education Minister Chris Hipkins and Associate Education Minister Jan Tinetti said in a pre-Budget announcement today. “It’s clear that young people need to be at school, and yet attendance rates haven’t been good for a long time. It’s ...6 days ago
- Workers make their voices heardEssential workers sent a clear message today that they no longer want to see their pay and conditions set through a race to the bottom, and that they support fair, good faith bargaining with employers through Fair Pay Agreements. On International Workers’ Day, Minister of Workplace Relations and Safety Michael ...6 days ago
- New sea level data underlines need for actionClimate Change Minister James Shaw says the release of new sea level rise data underlines the importance of the work the Government is doing to build a low emission, climate resilient future for Aotearoa. “Data from the NZ SeaRise programme confirms why this Government is right to prioritise action to ...6 days ago
- Govt and Air New Zealand to trial innovative and accurate new COVID-19 testThe Government is partnering with Air New Zealand to trial an innovative new COVID-19 testing solution that uses Loop-Mediated Isothermal Amplification (LAMP) technology, Associate Minister for COVID-19 Response Dr Ayesha Verrall announced today. “As New Zealand reconnects with the world, we are exploring innovative COVID-19 testing technology to help keep ...6 days ago
- Government’s Winter Energy Payment kicks in for over 1 million KiwisA warmer winter is on the horizon for over 1 million New Zealanders receiving either a main benefit or New Zealand Superannuation as the Winter Energy Payment begins today. “When we first came into office, we introduced the Winter Energy Payment as part of our Government’s December 2017 Families Package. ...6 days ago
- Ultra-Fast Broadband extends up West CoastWorld-class Ultra-Fast Broadband (UFB) is now available in Haast, one of New Zealand’s most remote West Coast towns, Minister for the Digital Economy and Communications, David Clark announced today. “A reliable, fast and secure internet connection is an important asset in the digital economy and that is why this Government ...6 days ago
- Govt launches Smokefree May campaignAssociate Minister of Health Dr Ayesha Verrall launched ‘Smokefree May’ today at an event at Manurewa Marae. This new campaign, developed with Hāpai Te Hauora, supports the Government’s plan to make New Zealand smokefree by 2025. At the event, a new brand was also unveiled for the Smokefree 2025 Action ...1 week ago
- Government partners with Ka Uruora to deliver up to 172 new homes for whānauMinister of Housing Hon Dr Megan Woods and Associate Minister of Housing (Māori Housing) Peeni Henare have today announced a new investment partnership with Ka Uruora to build up to 172 new homes for whānau who need them most. Ministers Henare and Jackson joined partners Ka Uruora at an event ...1 week ago
- Council ownership of waters entities confirmedLocal councils ownership of water entities confirmed and new shareholding structure put in place Local community and council voice further strengthened in Regional Representative Groups with the majority of Working Group recommendations accepted Co-governance on the board of the four water entities ruled out by Local Government Minister with board ...1 week ago
- Pacific Business Village launched in TaurangaA new Pacific Business Village that will grow Pacific businesses, fundamental to our COVID-19 recovery, was launched by the Minister for Pacific Peoples Aupito William Sio in Tauranga today. “The Government wants the Village used as a strategic framework for any long-term economic development work in our regions for Pacific ...1 week ago
- Another COVID-19 drug in the medicine chestHealth Minister Andrew Little says New Zealanders who contract COVID-19 now have access to six medicines proven to safely prevent the most severe and life-threatening symptoms of the virus. Andrew Little was in Auckland this afternoon to see the first shipment of molnupiravir, the second oral anti-viral COVID-19 medicine to ...1 week ago
- Changes to intensive winter grazing regulations better for farmers and environmentChanges to intensive winter grazing rules will make them more practical for farmers and effective in lifting environmental outcomes, Environment Minister David Parker and Agriculture Minister Damien O’Connor announced today. “For New Zealand, our economy depends on our environment. Cleaning up our winter grazing practices protects our freshwater resources, the welfare of our animals, ...1 week ago
- Government supports extra housing developmentFive Auckland suburbs to get improved infrastructure to boost supply of new housing, and support existing homes Up to 16,000 new homes enabled on crown-owned land including public, affordable and market homes Capacity created for an extra 11,000 homes on surrounding privately owned land. Projects include water main renewal, sewage ...1 week ago
- Sam Uffindell: Aspirational For Tauranga
National’s Tauranga candidate Sam Uffindell officially launched his campaign in Mount Maunganui today, outlining how he’ll work hard to address the issues Tauranga faces. Mr Uffindell was joined by party leader Christopher Luxon and hundreds of ...44 mins ago - Firearm Legislation Changes Could Be ReversedThe coronial inquiry into the March 15 terror attack is now likely to highlight the inadequacy of the firearms legislation that was rushed through by Government afterwards, says the Council of Licensed Firearm Owners (COLFO). The coronial inquiry ...50 mins ago
- Focus on Politics: Budgeting during a cost-of-living crisis
Podcast - Finance Minister Grant Robertson and National's spokesperson Nicola Willis talk to RNZ Political Editor Jane Patterson ahead of this year's Budget. ...3 hours ago - Taranaki man pleads guilty for threat to kill the prime ministerA man angry at pandemic restrictions threatened to assassinate the prime minister and suggested he would do it by biting her throat. ...17 hours ago
- Below the Line: How much are the parties spending on ads? And how come One Nation’s Townsville can...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Benjamin Clark, Deputy Engagement Editor, The Conversation On Monday May 9, early voting centres will open and Australians can start casting their votes for the federal election. Increasing numbers of Australians are choosing not to line up for their democracy ...19 hours ago - Bryce Edwards’ Political Roundup: Have the Greens become too woke for their own good?Analysis by Dr Bryce Edwards. Political Roundup is entirely subscriber-funded. The ethos behind this public service is to help foster a robust and informed public debate, with a great diversity of perspectives. If you appreciate what we are doing in providing non-partisan analysis and information about politics, economy, and society, ...19 hours ago
- Keith Rankin Chart Analysis – Covid19: Deaths from March 2021 in Comparable CountriesAnalysis by Keith Rankin. The countries shown here have rates of Covid19 mortality comparable with each other, and – with one exception – have recent ‘excess deaths’ data. We should note that the World Health Organisation (WHO) has just released its world Covid19 mortality estimates for the pandemic so far, ...20 hours ago
- VIDEO: Election focus is on hip pocket nerve with rising living costs and interest ratesSource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra University of Canberra Professorial Fellow Michelle Grattan and University of Canberra Vice-Chancellor Professor Paddy Nixon talk about this week in politics. They discuss the interest rate rise, with neither side sure how it will affect ...21 hours ago
- A climate scientist on India and Pakistan’s horror heatwave, and the surprising consequences of be...Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Andrew King, Senior Lecturer in Climate Science, The University of Melbourne The record-shattering heatwave that engulfed most of India and Pakistan through March and April brought temperatures exceeding 45℃ in many areas, leading to critical electricity and water shortages. Indeed, the ...22 hours ago
- The Archibald 2022 finalists: sitters speaking up to power; artists speaking back to the canonSource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Joanna Mendelssohn, Principal Fellow (Hon), Victorian College of the Arts, University of Melbourne. Editor in Chief, Design and Art of Australia Online, The University of Melbourne Archibald Prize 2022 finalist, Yoshio Honjo Yumi Stynes as onna-musha (female samurai), natural earth pigments on ...22 hours ago
- Japan’s path to becoming a leader in Western science: an Asian perspective on science and other fo...Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Anthony Poole, Professor of Molecular Evolution, University of Auckland Shutterstock/Hannizhong Several well-intentioned efforts seek to incorporate mātauranga Māori (Māori knowledge) into science in New Zealand. These include a pilot National Certificate in Educational Achievement (NCEA) programme in biology and chemistry ...22 hours ago
- Secondary Teachers Delighted Dirty Boilers Are Going – But Not Soon EnoughSecondary teachers are very pleased the Government is removing coal boilers from schools but they need to go sooner than 2025, says Melanie Webber, President of PPTA Te Wehengarua. “This is something that PPTA has been pushing for, through our involvement ...23 hours ago
- More Action Needed To Ensure Schools Are Fossil FreeNZEI Te Riu Roa welcomes the government’s announcement today around removing coal boilers from schools but would like to see swifter action to support climate change initiatives. “This is a good first step on the pathway to a fossil free schooling ...23 hours ago
- Buzz from the Beehive – but is a $10.2m investment in a forestry management programme not worth sh...
It looks looks like visitors to the Beehive website are being short-changed today. Point of Order is aware of at least one ministerial announcement that has yet to be posted. It deals with a government investment ($10.2 million from the Ministry for Primary Industries’ Sustainable Food and Fibre Futures fund) in ...23 hours ago - Food shortages, millions of refugees, and global price spikes: the knock-on effects of Russia’s Uk...Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Olga Oleinikova, Senior Lecturer and Director of the SITADHub (Social Impact Technologies and Democracy Research Hub) in the School of Communication., University of Technology Sydney In the wake of the Russia’s continued aggression and a third round of inconclusive diplomatic negotiations, the ...24 hours ago
- Lemon water won’t detox or energise you. But it may affect your body in other waysSource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Evangeline Mantzioris, Program Director of Nutrition and Food Sciences, University of South Australia Shutterstock If you believe anecdotes online, drinking lukewarm water with a splash of lemon juice is detoxifying, energising and soothing. Water and lemon juice on their own ...24 hours ago
- Govt funds $10m to drive productivity in forest sectorThe government is putting $10.2 million into a seven-year project aimed at raising the skill level of forestry management practices. ...24 hours ago
- The govt knocks down old state houses and builds new ones – but the net result is a waiting list t...It was a simple question about housing and Point of Order listened closely to Housing Minister Megan Woods’ response. Alas, we are none the wiser on one part of the question, about advice on how long it will take to get the waiting list down to around 5844. But – ...1 day ago
- All coal boilers in NZ schools to be gone by 2025 as $23m in emission reduction projects get green l...All remaining coal boilers in New Zealand schools will be replaced with cleaner wood burners or electric heating by 2025, at a cost of $10 million, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has announced. ...1 day ago
- With the UN powerless, the greatest danger now may be Russia beginning to lose in UkraineSource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Alexander Gillespie, Professor of Law, University of Waikato Getty Images There could be no better example of the United Nations’ failure to live up to its founding ideals than the recent visit by secretary general António Guterres to Russia. Attempting ...1 day ago
- ‘A human being, not just mum’: the women’s liberationists who fought for the rights of mothers...Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Isobelle Barrett Meyering, Research fellow, Macquarie University Mitchell Library, State Library of New South Wales and courtesy SEARCH Foundation, CC BY-NC-SA Mother’s Day has long been exploited for commercial and political gain. This year, again, my inbox is filled with ...1 day ago
- Week in Politics: Another poll shows Māori Party could be kingmakerAnalysis - National gains ground in another poll that shows the Māori Party could hold the balance of power after the next election. ...1 day ago
- Don’t give mum chocolates for Mother’s Day. Take on more housework, share the mental load and ad...Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Leah Ruppanner, Professor of Sociology and Founding Director of The Future of Work Lab, The University of Melbourne Shutterstock With Mother’s Day right around the corner, many grateful and loving families are thinking about what to give mum to show ...1 day ago
- Submissions sought on proposed conservation legislation changesConservation minister Kiri Allan says she is looking forward to hearing people's views on proposed changes to conservation concession processes. ...1 day ago
- Have Your Say On Proposed Changes To The Fisheries Act 1996The Chairperson of the Primary Production Committee is now calling for submissions on the Fisheries Amendment Bill. The bill would amend the Fisheries Act 1996. The amendments are intended to modernise and strengthen New Zealand’s fisheries management ...1 day ago
- New Zealand Must Not Sabotage Its Smokefree 2025 GoalNancy Loucas, CAPHRA's Executive Coordinator, says New Zealand finally has Smokefree 2025 in its sights, but a vocal minority are doing their best to sabotage it. CAPHRA is quick to dismiss any claims by commentators that vaping’s long-term health effects ...1 day ago
- Reserve Bank Optimising New Zealand’s Monetary Policy Implementation Framework For The FutureThe Reserve Bank has undertaken an internal review of its monetary policy implementation framework. As a result of this review, the Reserve Bank will retain a floor system for monetary policy implementation, and does not intend to reintroduce credit tiers. ...1 day ago
- Our Papatuanuku – Mother Earth On Mother's DayScientists have just told us that sea level rise in New Zealand is happening twice as fast as we thought, putting some of our cities at risk of catastrophic flooding in our lifetimes. We are also becoming more aware of the effects of climate change ...1 day ago
- For Road Safety Week Our Leaders Need To Be Road Safety HeroesNext week is Road Safety week, from 9th to 15th May and the search is on for Road Safety Heroes. Lucinda Rees from NZ School Speeds would like to challenge the Government and Waka Kotahi to be super heroes, by tweaking some details of the Setting of Speed ...1 day ago
- Beyond angry protesters and inked arms, there’s this First Nations story of the Southern Cross –...Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Samuel Curkpatrick, Researcher and adjunct lecturer, University of Divinity Southern Cross constellation in the night’s sky. Wikimedia Commons, CC BY Can the Southern Cross represent Australian identity? Waved by a proud athlete or an angry protester, inked into skin or stuck to ...1 day ago
- Amid COVID and heated debate about China, how will multicultural Australia vote in 2022?Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Andrew Jakubowicz, Emeritus Professor of Sociology, University of Technology Sydney original The debate over whether an “ethnic vote” phenomenon exists in Australia re-emerges at each federal election. Some argue people from ethnic communities can be influenced by issues which are cultural ...1 day ago
- Explainer: what happens if the 2022 election results in a hung parliament?Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Anne Twomey, Professor of Constitutional Law, University of Sydney AAP/Lukas Coch What happens if no party or coalition of parties wins a majority in the House of Representatives at the federal election? This is known as a “hung parliament”. ...1 day ago
- How do we protect kids from abuse in sport without creating a ‘culture of suspicion’ that ruins ...Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Blake Bennett, Senior Lecturer in Sport Coaching and Pedagogy, University of Auckland GettyImages Although sport is often touted as a vehicle for positive experiences, many investigations into sporting cultures – particularly high performance sport – have highlighted how predatory or abusive ...1 day ago
- Why are there so many new Omicron sub-variants, like BA.4 and BA.5? Will I be reinfected? Is the vir...Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sebastian Duchene, ARC DECRA Fellow, The University of Melbourne Shutterstock By now, many of us will be familiar with the Omicron variant of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID. This variant of concern has changed the course of the pandemic, ...1 day ago
- This Mother’s Day, let’s celebrate the brave, multi-tasking mums of the Australian bird worldSource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ayesha Tulloch, ARC Future Fellow, Queensland University of Technology Shutterstock In the human fascination with birds, it’s the flashy appearance and antics of males that get the most attention from researchers and the public. From their colourful plumage to ...1 day ago
- Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jesse Adams Stein, Senior Lecturer & ARC DECRA Fellow, School of Design, University of Technology Sydney Most politicians vocally support Australian-made products. Manufacturing certainly provides excellent opportunities for candidates in high-vis to make election campaign announcements. Labor has promised to make Australia ...1 day ago
- Who really wins and loses from first homebuyer schemes? What you need to know as a buyer, owner or r...Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By John Freebairn, Professor, Department of Economics, The University of Melbourne The Coalition and Labor parties have each produced election policies designed to help low and middle income earners buy homes. Who is likely to benefit from them and who is likely to ...1 day ago
- The multiverse is huge in pop culture right now – but what is it, and does it really exist?Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Luke Barnes, Lecturer in Physics, Western Sydney University Marvel Studios Whether you need a new villain or an old Spider-Man, your sci-fi movie will sound more scientifically respectable if you use the word multiverse. The Marvel multiverse puts different versions ...1 day ago
- Grattan on Friday: ‘Gotcha’ questions are ugly journalism but hazards for leadersSource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra The public don’t have much regard for journalists and many people will be critical of the “gotcha” questioning that found Anthony Albanese on Thursday unable to recite the six points of his policy on the ...2 days ago
- Apartments, together: New unit titles law fosters political collaborationAll political parties in Parliament have supported a law improving regulation of body corporates, with hopes it will improve access to apartment living. ...2 days ago
- Swarbrick targets drug laws as 49 substances reclassifiedGreen MP Chloe Swarbrick has used the reclassification of 49 drugs - including Fentanyl - to argue New Zealand's drug laws increase harms and should be replaced. ...2 days ago
- Perpetrators of family violence sometimes use threats of suicide to control their partnerSource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Scott Fitzpatrick, Research Fellow, Australian National University Shutterstock Men’s suicide is often linked to social and economic factors such as financial problems, legal issues and unemployment. But when seeking to understand men’s suicide, we shouldn’t overlook important questions of responsibility, ...2 days ago
- Abortion is no longer a crime in Australia. So why is it still so hard to access?Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Erica Millar, Senior research fellow, La Trobe University Shutterstock A leak of draft court documents reveals Roe v. Wade – which has broadly guaranteed abortion rights in the United States since 1973 – may be overturned. The US decision ...2 days ago
- Lawyer says justice minister's failure to respond over Kyung Yup Kim's extradition 'c...A lawyer is calling Minister of Justice Kris Faafoi callous for not responding to a letter asking for a man to be exempt from extradition because of health issues. ...2 days ago
- Call For Public Submissions On The Review Of Standing Orders 2023...2 days ago
- Pay Negotiations For Care And Support Workers Set Up To FailUnions representing care and support workers, E tū, NZNO, and PSA, have entered discussions with the Government to improve pay rates and lock in existing training rights for 65,000 care and support workers. The historic 2017 Care and Support Workers ...2 days ago
- Buzz from the Beehive: Good news about the war on Mycoplasma bovis – and the PM pops up with O’...If the news was bad, we imagine it would have been left to Biosecurity Minister Damien O’Connor to do the announcing and he may well have stalled until Friday, when journalists and commentators are packing up for the weekend. But the news in this case is good and ...2 days ago
- Dairy prices fall sharply but farmers will do nicely, thank you, from this season’s payout and Syn...
Only two months ago Radio NZ was airing a report “Why are global dairy prices so high?” Now, the story is rather different after two sharp falls at Fonterra’s fortnightly global dairy auctions, and the pundits are pondering what has happened. But NZ’s dairy farmers can still rest easy that ...2 days ago - Race for the Senate: could Labor and the Greens gain control?Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Adrian Beaumont, Honorary Associate, School of Mathematics and Statistics, The University of Melbourne As well as the whole House of Representatives, 40 of the 76 Senate seats will be up for election on May 21. There are 12 senators per state and ...2 days ago
- Feedback sought on proposed changes to conservation lawThe proposed changes to conservation law are focused on streamlining the processes for concessions and management planning for national parks and conservation land. ...2 days ago
- Recent COVID-19 court cases show New Zealand’s Bill of Rights Act is not as strong as some might w...Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Claire Breen, Professor of Law, University of Waikato Getty Images While the recent legal challenges to elements of the government’s COVID-19 response have had mixed results in the courts, they have revealed something important – how the rule of law ...2 days ago
- Biosecurity Funding Increase A Sensible MoveAn $111 million injection for biosecurity in the May Budget is a pragmatic acknowledgement of how vital it is to our economy we stop pest organisms at our borders, Federated Farmers says. "This extra money shows an appreciation by the government pest ...2 days ago
- The federal election winner will get a big opportunity to change the face of the High Court – will...Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Patrick Leslie, Research Fellow in Politics, Australian National University Will Oliver/EPA/AAP The leaked Roe v Wade draft opinion this week has shown us the power of the legal system when it comes to facilitating (or winding back) social change. ...2 days ago
- China’s ‘innovation machine’: how it works, how it’s changing and why it mattersSource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Marina Yue Zhang, Associate Professor of Innovation and Entrepreneurship, Swinburne University of Technology China has had the world’s fastest growing economy since the 1980s. A key driver of this extraordinary growth has been the country’s pragmatic system of innovation, which balances government ...2 days ago
- How can Aboriginal communities be part of the NSW renewable energy transition?Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Heidi Norman, Professor, Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, University of Technology Sydney The New South Wales government’s roadmap to transition from coal-based electricity to renewable energy involves the creation of five “renewable energy zones” across the state. These “modern-day power ...2 days ago
- Thames-Coromandel And Queenstown Lakes Councils Question Equity In Three Waters Reform EntitiesDistricts such as Thames-Coromandel and Queenstown Lakes will be severely under-represented in the government’s shareholding scheme for the new water service entities and lose out in the financial support package – both of which are based on normally-resident ...2 days ago
- Australia is investigating a digital currency, or e-dollar, but its benefits seem slight and the ris...Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Nafis Alam, Professor and Head, School of Business, Monash University Shutterstock We are used to thinking of money as notes and coins, the kind most of us hold in our wallets. But most money – in Australia it’s 96.3% – ...2 days ago
- Significant Opportunity Missed In Minister’s TaskforcePatients are going to miss out on healthcare options if allied health services continue to be undervalued. Health Minister Andrew Little yesterday announced a taskforce of medical professionals to work on a national plan for planned-care but there are ...2 days ago
- Lydia Ko’s ‘time of the month’ comment showed how far sportswomen have come – and how much s...Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Holly Thorpe, Professor in Sociology of Sport and Physical Culture, University of Waikato Getty Images Last weekend’s LPGA event in California will likely be remembered as much for what was said as the golf that was played. Asked about some ...2 days ago
- The Nats need to diversify – and if they don’t know what this requires, the Greens and Maori Par...Now that the Nats might muster enough votes to forge a right-leaning coalition partnership and oust the Ardern government at the next election, the commentariate has become agitated on the “diversity” issue. Issue? Newsroom’s Joe Moir calls it a “crisis”. National’s just had its first opportunity to deal with its diversity ...2 days ago
- Former Speaker criticises trespass orders for former MPsSir David Carter says issuing trespass orders forbidding former MPs from entering parliamentary grounds was a "stupid move" without justification. ...2 days ago
- Self-isolation supports scheme changing tack after Omicron peakA "return to greater normality" in care of Covid-19 cases in the community will see the government spend $58.1 million to cover services through to June next year. ...2 days ago
- Financial Statements Of The Government For The Nine Months Ended 31 March 2022Please find attached the Financial Statements of the Government of New Zealand for the nine months ended 31 March 2022 . ...2 days ago
- Have Your Say On The Youth Parliament Select Committee TopicsFrom sex education to climate change, the time has come to have your say on these issues and more at the Youth Parliament select committees. Public submissions have just opened for the next month on wide-ranging inquiry topics being examined across ...2 days ago
- Police accept IPCA findingsPolice accept the IPCA's findings into two incidents in the Bay of Plenty in 2018 and 2019 involving the same officer. The officer is referred to as Officer A in both of the authority's findings. In the first case, in September 2018, an allegation ...2 days ago
- Officer Assaults Man During Unlawful Arrest In Tauranga...2 days ago
- Excessive Use Of Force During Arrest Of Youth In Tauranga...2 days ago
- Council Urges Government Investment In Flood Protection InfrastructureIn the Waikato, it is expected that ratepayers will spend about $2.8 billion over the next 50 years on the regular maintenance and renewal of flood protection infrastructure. Waikato Regional Council, as part of a collaboration of regional and unitary councils ...2 days ago
- 65,000 years of food scraps found at Kakadu tell a story of resilience amid changing climate, sea le...Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Anna Florin, Research fellow, University of Cambridge May Nango sharing stories about Mamukala wetlands with her grandson, in 2015. Anna Florin (courtesy of GAC), Author provided For 65,000 years, Bininj – the local Kundjeihmi word for Aboriginal people – have returned to ...2 days ago
- We tracked election ad spending for 4,000 Facebook pages. Here’s what they’re posting about – ...Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Glenn Kefford, Senior Lecturer (Political Science), The University of Queensland Shutterstock Have you noticed your Facebook and Instagram feed filling up with political ads lately? The social media strategies of many parties and candidates aim to bypass mainstream media to ...2 days ago
- Half-time results are in: who’s having a good election campaign, and who isn’t?Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Mark Kenny, Professor, Australian Studies Institute, Australian National University Wes Mountain/The Conversation, CC BY-ND When pre-poll voting starts on Monday May 9, it will signal the denouement of one of the least compelling streaming series ever to secure repeat funding: ...2 days ago
- A burnt-out health workforce impacts patient careSource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Karen Willis, Professor, Public Health, Victoria University, Victoria University Shutterstock Throughout the pandemic, we’ve heard much about health-care worker burnout. But what we haven’t heard much about is its effects on patients. Even before the pandemic, health workers were grappling ...2 days ago
- Australia’s next government must tackle our collapsing ecosystems and extinction crisisSource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Euan Ritchie, Professor in Wildlife Ecology and Conservation, Centre for Integrative Ecology, School of Life & Environmental Sciences, Deakin University Shutterstock Australia’s remarkable animals, plants and ecosystems are world-renowned, and rightly so. Unfortunately, our famous ecosystems are not OK. ...2 days ago
- Australia is missing 500,000 migrants, but we don’t need visa changes to lure them backSource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Will Mackey, Senior Associate, Grattan Institute COVID-19 travel restrictions brought migration to Australia to a virtual standstill, and over the course of the pandemic about 500,000 temporary migrants have left our shores. Now many Australian businesses are screaming out for more workers. ...2 days ago
- The Coalition is guaranteeing essential services and lower tax. We can’t have bothSource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michael Keating, Visiting Fellow, College of Business & Economics, Australian National University Mick Tsikas/AAP In the midst of Labor’s campaign about the cost of living, the Coalition has zeroed in on one of those costs – taxes – and guaranteed ...2 days ago
NZ Immigration has been a soft touch for too long imo.
These two need to be extradited…
'Sroubek told the Parole Board he still feared for his safety if he was deported to his country of birth, where he claims he witnessed a murder.'
'Justice Minister called 'callous' for not yet answering suspect's plea to be spared extradition to China | Stuff.co.nz
I believe the U.S.A and Singapore have death penalties.
Sroubek was made liable for deportation by the Minister of Immigration and the case is being appealed somewhere in the judicial system. Deportation is blocked while appeals are pending, so INZ is not legally able to do anything.
Extradition is not an immigration matter – it's not deportation, and it's handled by the justice system.
Here in Rotorua it is a calm blue day. In the garden the chrysanthemums are beautiful, covered in mauve flowers and loved by the bees. The trees in the garden and park view are glorious in reds and golds. It is a cool 13 degrees but will get warmer.
Just thought I'd post something cheerful for a change. Thankful for my lot.
Yes, May can be the loveliest time of the year. Calm, sunny and the beautiful Autumn colours. It lulls us into a sense of contentment and then along comes June, July and August.
… and September with its unrelenting rain over the past few years.
+1000
I am almost reluctant to post it after Patricia’s post about her garden! Good to be grateful for what we have.
I agree with Bryce that Mallards call was either petty or poor judgement, probably both.
Tangata Whenua, (Winston’s) being blocked from parliament! Where’s Willie Jackson when you need him.
This is what I posted yesterday on TS Anker, and I stand by it:
I'm with Mallard. That nasty bunch-Hide, Fox, Peters and King-gave succor and mana to that illegal and vicious protest outside parliament.
2 years isn't long enough.
Bryce Edwards invariably takes the populist (usually right-leaning) point of view-he is not a thinker like Chris Trotter etc.
Mallards illegal and ridiculous move is going to cost votes, along side Michael Woods disgusting comments about the protesters, a third of whom WERE Labour supporters .. how to blow an election well done guys!
Michael Wood tried to distinguish the individuals concerned from some of the ideologies that animated them – and maybe had even set out to capture them precisely because of their private vulnerabilities. It was the ideas, not the people, that were the river of filth. It's a useful distinction if you want to actually engage with reality, but one too subtle for a moronic age. Wood should have known this and not said it.
Trev is a bit of a goose. No matter how outraged he was by the whole thing, if he had an ounce of political nous he would have never let the ban occur. Ironically, in the case of Matt King and Stephen Franks, because they have always been off in far-right, anti-statist lala land, they did actually belong among the protesters and did deserve to be banned. Peters' actions were much more cynical and politically calculating – and therefore more reprehensible. Mallard should never have walked into such an obvious trap.
Mallard should never have walked into such an obvious trap.
He should look where he's going. Open season on mallards the day after tomorrow! Says so here:
https://fishandgame.org.nz/game-bird-hunting-in-new-zealand/game-season/game-bird-season-and-bag-limit/
His survival may depend on taking a sudden holiday in Hawaii. Or Timbuktu.
From your link: "Today there are about 4.5 million mallards, so many that they are sometimes a nuisance…" Yep.
He will holiday in Washington or London as ambassador cos jacinda loves him. I hate him. He was mean to me. Stopped voting labour cos of him.
How was he mean to you?
Back in the days of the Redalert Labour blog. Had a go at me and my work status in a reply which lead me to believe he had (as an admin) creeped around my deets. He's a bully.
Thanks for your reply. Wow not good. I can understand you'd be upset.
Absolute rubbish AB ..A river of filth a river of violence a river of menace a river of Anti-Semitism A river is Islamaphobia a river of threats to the people who work in this place and our staff and also a river of fascism .. He was indeed talking about people, not ideas. Ideas don't hurt people .. I am going to door knock every house in his electorate and let people know what kind of arsehole represents them close to Election time, he calls himself a conservative christian and by their fruits you shall know them, I will make sure people are aware of his words. You say too subtle for a moronic age, your words betray you to be the moron …
Perhaps we were looking at different things Tony. I took it as self evident that Wood was referring to what these people said and what they did – not to who they intrinsically are. But we will never agree – which is fine by me.
AB, what we say and do is who we are .. get it? He was referring to Human beings not ideas, self evident indeed!
Tony he was referring to online horrible misogynist cruel lies being spread about the P.M. and her partner and others. Just filthy stuff. That is what he meant by "River of filth". Not the people.
Of course this is the correct interpretation Patricia but it does not suit those making the type of comment made by Tony above. Obviously he/they did not read the actual speech or place it in its context.
Shanreagh, show me in the speech where he says he is talking about ideas? He is an ugly person and needs to be held to account for such words ..
I read and watched the whole speech it was vile ..
Patricia Bremner, what horrible misogynist cruel lies about PM and her partner and others are you talking about? I do know there are two sticks of dynamite that are going to explode into the public arena which will destroy any chance of Labour regaining power for at least two election cycles.
Two sticks?
Do tell, Tony!
Unless you … can't.
Robert Guyton I can't share the substance of the explosive material but I do predict a change of leadership ..
ps Robert do you know Larry Wehner from Barrytown?
Tony – darkly alluding to a "bomb-shell" of national significance then failing to follow-up with any substance whatsoever, is the poorest form imaginable. If you can't "put-up", then …well, you know the rest.
I don't recognise Larry – ought I to know him? I interact with many people and my mind/memory is not a steel-trap! 🙂
Robert Guyton, I have given you the outcome before the bomb has exploded, is that nothing? A change of leadership no less ..
That's worse than nothing, Tony – mere speculation at best, dirty politics at worst. It reflects badly on you that you allude to juicy news, but can't and won't deliver. Best you butt out.
Robert Guyton what juicy news and speculation are you talking about? I made a prediction let's wait and see what unfolds. You overstep the mark when you think you can make anyone butt out sorry Robby ..
I predict – a damp squib for Tony.
Looks like, walks like, smells like dirty politics.
Doing a Winston Peters? Alluding to sinister goings-on which never eventuated, or is it another crackpot story about Clarke Gayford. Has he kidnapped a couple of young women and got them hidden in a cave? (sarc)
Tony if you really know something, just go to the Police. There have been awful things online and whispered about. However the Police say there is no case for the PM's partner to answer. The things said about the PM and women in the Health Ministry are just vile misogyny.
Store your two sticks of dynamite carefully won't you. It has been known to weep and become gelignite and harms those who handle it.
Patricia Bremner, thank you for your advice, rest easy I am carrying no dynamite on my person, it's information on the ground and the Police are well notified, maybe I could have described it as a ticking time bomb ..
Tony, I watched Michael Woods' speech.
There was nothing in there he should resile from. He spoke about "a river of filth coming from some with threats to kill', islamaphobia and the far right, feeling sad for those mislead by misinformation who were out the front of Parliament, those who have been hurt by decisions which protect the many, (MIQ) and progress with wages for essential workers, and the rail decisions. He expressed full support of and pride in Jacinda Ardern and her clarity of purpose to protect as many as possible.
I think you are a fevered young Nat, believing gossip. You need more than that. You say "The Police are aware" so we will leave it in their hands shall we? As you say, time will tell.
A third, you say? So a far lower ratio than that which actually ticked Labour last election.
Makes sense.
Yes, Edwards is certainly not a thinker.
Bearded Git, Bryce seldom mentions the changes made to make Parliament an inclusive work place. A place where MP mothers and fathers could bring their young.
Not to mention companion animals, a children's playground and a rest room and creche. The Speaker was often seen holding babies for busy Mums.
It is easy for Bryce to condemn from his Ivory Tower. I doubt he has had the difficult times this Parliament and the members have, Trevor Mallard has made mistakes in the past, as all people do, but Bryce did not mention his saving graces, just his flaws.
There is a growing narrative which loses the threats and physical verbal visual and spitting assaults by a number of protestors. Bryce calls it "A protest March' when it was a three week occupation loaded with defiance and threats.
Trespassing sympathisers seems a gesture rather than a punishment, and on review withdrawn in several cases.
Those who have been prosecuted for these behaviours were lucky in some cases not to be charged with threatening to kill (7 years ).
It amused me how Winston Peters became "Jacinda Ardern's ex Deputy Prime Minister" as journalists and commentators rushed to defend his right to visit.
Bandwagon Bryce just minimising what he does not want you to reflect on and emphasising what suits his hypothesis.
"Bandwagon Bryce"….excellent
That sums him up nicely.
Those who have been prosecuted for these behaviours were lucky in some cases not to be charged with threatening to kill (7 years ).
Patricia…you didn't respond to my reply to you the other day regarding the largely Labour led protest against the sale of State Assets by the National Government in 2012.
You remember…the one where they carried a mock guillotine through the streets of Auckland and 'beheaded' Key, Collins, Bennett and English with associated mock blood. To cheers from the assembled. And there were children in attendance.
Explain to me please how the two protests differ in their displays of violence and threats?
Bearing in mind that in one of the protest actions the vast majority of people were fearing for the lives and livelihoods of themselves and their loved ones.
Sorry Rosemary I missed that. The skimming skills are fading I think. I also forgot to check the replies.
I was in Australia at the time of that July Bastile Day, visiting my sick brother and my sister-in-law in NSW.
We returned home to my Mother's fall, Billie becoming ill going into hospital and weeks of back and forth to Thames Acute Hospital where she later died. After the funeral we did up and sold her unit, then returned to Rotorua in late November.
That year was a blur, so I did not really remember that Parade. It was tasteless and I think it diminishes both parties. Cheers.
Patricia Bremner, you do not have to reply to Rosemary M's spiteful and distorted missives.
She was referring to the 'Occupy' protests of ten years ago. They set up unlawful campsites in Auckland and were eventually forced to move on. They did not leave anything like the filth and chaos which was left behind at parliament. The link comes from the Daily Blog and not an official news site.
'Occupy" was an international movement which appeared to consist of mostly young students and had nothing to do with the Labour Party.
Rosemary said:
What does the former Labour led protest against Assets Sales got to do with the recent infamous protest at parliament?
Was this an attempt to conflate two separate protests, the Occupy movement which was world-wide, and the Labour Party's protest over asset sales in NZ around the same time?
Is this the latest anti-vax movement attack line on Jacinda Ardern and Labour because if so, dirty as…
…the filth and chaos which was left behind at parliament….
Before the Police riot squad showed up that morning the grounds were clean and tidy and ordered. If you watch the footage closely you will see the heavy mob move, move moving the protestors violently away from the grounds. The common garden cops moved in behind and pulled up tents and gazebos and laid waste to what had been built and refined over three weeks of activism. The filth and chaos was created almost entirely by our wonderful police force.
Former parliamentary insiders who risked life and limb by visiting the camp…even if it was done entirely for political mileage…saw for themselves that it was not the den of filth and rage and violence and incoherent hate that the government and mainstream media had portrayed. And oh so many so called Lefties fell for the bullshit.
The link comes from the Daily Blog and not an official news site.
Hmm. I think Bomber might have something to say about that.
So.,are you saying that there was no guillotine and no beheadings? There were no cheers and no fake blood. No children in the crowd?
Will Scoop do? https://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL1207/S00070/asset-sales-march-in-auckland-ends-in-beheading.htm?from-mobile=bottom-link-01
From ANFS itself? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I2uCXIv9jOs
From the Herald? https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/asset-sales-threat-stirs-first-time-protester/EPJRFVXTSLWODLRZIWYNVTD4XI/
Protesters vented their anger when the march reached the Town Hall.
Dummies of John Key, Deputy Prime Minister Bill English and ministers Paula Bennett and Judith Collins were beheaded by a makeshift guillotine to cries of "off, off, off" from the crowd.
New Zealand gets left off the map lol So does the news. We don't get much news about NZ in Toowoomba. You would think it had sunk into the sea, until Jacinda that is….. Then Aussies made up poems and songs. That is possibly why Scomo feels obliged to slag her off now.
Bearded Git, I am not sure those politicians gave Mana to the protesters. I think people had pretty entrenched ideas about them along a wide spectrum.
I was very against the reason for the protest, as I am pro vax, pro health regulations.
And it was of interest to me to see that the Dunedin Multi Disciplinary study produced good evidence that their study participants who refused and were anti vacination had come from adversive backgrounds and learnt not to trust authority. Very unusually Richie Poultin the Director of the study said it was important to bare this in mind and try not to alienate these people any more than they already feel. This is not a direct quote, as I read this about one month ago.
However, I appreciate you have a different point of view
Anker-that study is interesting; thank you.
The protestors seem to have covered a wide spectrum. Along with the ones described in the study, many were "wellbeing" types who believe that yoga coupled with enough green tea will keep Covid at bay. I know this because I live among them at Hawea Flat. They also seem to believe that the whole vaccine thing is a giant drug company rort-there may be a smidgen of truth in this.
But I still say that Hide Fox Peters and King (a group I would not like to meet on a dark night) deserved all they got from Mallard because they should have known better and were using the demo for their own purposes.
(I am triple vaxxed BTW)
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/128528607/small-minority-of-parliament-protesters-likely-to-carry-out-extremist-violence-intelligence-agencies-warned
This today received after an OIA request about the likely threat from the protestors. Only a small minority deemed a threat (who were anti communist, for Maori Sovereignty, Sovereign Citizen movement, Pike River and anti 3 waters, but my reading these people who were deemed a possible threat were not to do with Covid. So likely people who high jacked or tagged along with the protest for their own causes.
Bearded Git, I am triple vacinated, masked up and leading a very low key life in terms of contact with others.
In the meantime, Bearded Git, did you happen to risk watching the 35 minute discussion between UnHerd and Professor Christine Stabell-Benn I posted on Daily Review last night?
Stabell-Benn has her name on over 400 scientific papers to do with Public Health and vaccines. She is an expert in her field.
She has looked at the data and concluded that the risks from the mRNA products outweigh the benefits for most people under the age of fifty. She would not recommend under twenty year olds take the mRNA vaccines.
The risk of cardiovascular harm is too great.
She also notes that the trials of these mRNA products were less than optimal and were unblinded way too soon to be able to comment with any confidence about potential long term harms.
Much of this was being discussed off mainstream media (because any such talk was censored) from the end of 2020…just after Pfizer released what passed in their minds as 'trial results'. Those of us expressing our concerns were labelled anti-vaxxers.
Some of us watched with increasing alarm as the obvious adverse effects were being systematically dismissed and minimised by medical professionals and bureaucrats and politicians alike.
Yet the data speaks for itself…the Pfizer product is not associated with reduced mortality…even though it does reduce serious illness, hospitalisation and death from Covid in some people.
The vast majority of those who assembled in Wellington to exercise their right to speak directly with those making laws (supposedly) on their behalf were concerned that the risks of this hurried pharmaceutical outweighed the benefits and that people were being harmed by it and were being killed by it.
That such a product could be mandated for 40% plus of all workers is an outrage, and good citizenship demanded that we did all we possibly and non violently could to get the lawmakers to see reason.
Now. You can carry on cheering Mallard for his contemptuous treatment of rightfully concerned citizens and you can continue to believe that the Pfizer product is so safe and effective for all… that those who decline it are nutbars and those who took it and claim it harmed them are deluded….or you can expand your mind and listen to this expert.
Rosemary-did you read this?
"Stabell-Benn is keen to stress that the sample is relatively small and is calling for further investigation, and also that the study took place during very low levels of Covid, so the relative advantage of protection against Covid would have been smaller at that time compared to at other points in the pandemic."
It is widely accepted, including by Stabell-Benn, that the covid vaccines are reducing Covid symptoms and hospitalisations. Most experts also say it reduces death and this would appear to be the case given the massive fall in deaths in the USA, UK and other western nations since vaccination became widespread.
I accept that the data is still in the pipeline on much of this.
You could easily say the same thing of media coverage of the protestors. Should journalists be trespassed from Parliament as well? I can't stand Matt King, but it's utterly absurd and anti-democratic to trespass a sitting MP from Parliament.
Populuxe 1 Matt King is a former MP. Not currently in Parliament.
Oops, I retract then.
Cheers
Hang them Gilead style from the charred kids playground is what I say. (Just to be clear I am joking here
)
The Speaker carries the can for the trespass notices since he's in charge, but they were issued by others under delegated authority, not by the Speaker himself.
Seems pretty clear that he didn't agree with all of them because he revoked the notices for the former MPs once they were drawn to his attention.
I can't imagine a minister or CE issuing trespass notices for a government department themselves rather than delegating authority to do that to others, why would anyone expect the Speaker to? Some nous on the part of the staff who issued the notices might have been useful by way of informing the Speaker of at least the former MPs, but Parliament has provided the Speaker with the power to delegate authority to staff, presumably with the expectation that the Speaker would use that power.
Professor Jack Vowles has appraised our demos:
His thesis is that interpretation has produced two claims – one based on sovereignty, the other on racial partnership.
Can biculturalism be made definitive in a multicultural society? I doubt it.
Anne Salmond has been pointing out that Western dualism has influenced all aspects and interpretations, even by Māori, of ToW since it has been signed. She has warned and argued about this too. This Western PoV is now the dominating view, bordering on dogma, in all debate, policy making, and government (local as well as central) decision-making. The more contemporary ‘partnership’ interpretation inevitably leads to bi-culturalism and binary exclusion of other groups & cultures. She also has interesting things to say about the off-spring ‘co-governance’. Of all the views and interpretations that I have seen over the years – admittedly not that many – my views align most with hers.
my views align most with hers
Mine too. However it's a multidimensional situation, with plenty of nuances. I think Jack is onto something (even though he's using dualism) with his separating out of the sovereignty dimension & the partnership dimension.
I like that he anchors sovereignty in a contemporary sense, as deriving from the people collectively. Constitutional lawyers would have a bias against that I expect, since in law precedent rules and tradition prevails. Politically, I prefer the progressive option – it points to the future, allows shifting of views & evolution in the body politic. Which is where co-governance comes in, of course (as a principle only, at this stage)…
I also see the situation as part ethos, part ideology. I favour the ethos of partnership but suspect encoding it via ideology into law won't get traction. You could frame this ambivalence as heart vs head or feelings vs thoughts and I'd have no objection. Probably true for me – and plenty of other folk if not most.
It has happened already Frank, in language customs and education. Now it will be Health.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/300580751/covid19-nz-government-widens-homebased-care-with-58m-of-funding-for-food-banks-and-social-workers
Funding food banks is something governments have traditionally resisted, presumably to avoid accusations of attempting to replace rights-based welfare with private charity.
It seems government doesn't care about that now. Is this an admission that our welfare system is broken? Government has already passed responsibility for administering benefits for young people over to community groups. Now they're funding food banks.
Getting the basics so wrong like this just makes it easier for the next thing to slip by.
Soon we'll all be back in the poor houses.
National and their media lapdogs are attacking the speaker. The instrument and the process of democracy. Apparently I’m not allowed to even in imagination wish you to gain empathy for what those working at parliament experienced (signs calling for their death, a destructive mob without qualms about violence intruding into their workplace) before calling the reaction petty. It’s not something most of us would be allowed to experience at work because we would be protected from such a thing.
And for the guy who allowed ‘we don’t have a measure for poverty’, the guy who is running to be National party president to be presented as some impartial commentator on the matter is very poor.
But hey- attack the legitimacy of the system. It’s just taken a while for it to get a foothold here.
The stunning hypocrisy of the law and order crowd is sadly in line with the foreign playbook we’d avoided for such a long time.
Here’s what I posted in the other thread:
I don’t wish to link to any of his ‘democracy’ if it involves supporting, however indirectly, a violent protest. The attack on the system, on the speaker of the house is very poor. And if we were in many other countries if a mob camped in parliament and behaved as they did…
I would suggest that Mr Edwards should put himself in the shoes of those who were considered fair game, not whatever he considers petty. Or whatever the talking point is he is spouting.
To be honest Peters deserved to trespassed as did everyone partaking in a protest that had been trespassed and ordered to leave by police. At that point you’re breaking the law.
However it’s such bad and dumb coms to give Peter oxygen like that Peters has now been on tv for days lapping up the attention and being seen as a figure for the freeDUMB. This is a man who got back into parliament just cos of a conversation at a coffee shop between the PM and an act candidate. Dumb move from the speaker.
Is also weird how noone reminds Peters he was a part of the govt he venomously spreads rumours about like the media rescue package which he was in cabinet when it was signed off on to give media funds via govt advertising , he calls it a scam but he signed off on it and noone says boo. Crazy.
The man has never made a wrong decision in his life according to him. Ever . He's always right. He never takes responsibility for his actions ever, and his sad pathetic desperation to get back in parliament at all costs instead of going out with dignity is just sad.
All that said. It's time for the speaker to move on. Everyone hates him. Not just cos of the mistakes since 2019 but also cos Noones ever really liked Trevor Mallard to begin with… Only the most one eyed labour supporter would be ready to die in a ditch over defending Mallard.
Besides speakers don't stick around for that long usually. Give him a nice ambassador role somewhere (same with a few sitting ministers) and have a nice cabinet reshuffle and govt reset.
Chris @ 6, If there is a ready charity infrastructure avenue, wouldn't that be useful while further work is done in a Pandemic…. which is not over, going by the figures presented daily.
The increase in benefits and lifting of ceilings plus additional allowances, the implementation of recommendations of the working groups all point to improvements made.
Maybe the PM should just chug down the dead rat.
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/mike-hosking-surges-to-all-time-ratings-record-as-nzme-stations-reach-more-than-2-million-across-network/TDZD67BLCJYE3VBCS5P3LJTT6M/
An example of how to cut off your nose to spite your face
The nose is not the body-part I associate with Hosking.
He has a very …'brown' nose ,when it comes to privelege…and power.
I thought Tova over on the other station was going to make an impact on his ratings, but I didn't think she would increase his listeners!
Jimmy, I bet you love granny herald .
Nah, bloody hate it. Too left wing for me.
Best joke of the week Jimmy!!!!
The Herald Left Wing??? I have a bridge to sell you.