Open mike 05/05/2022
Written By:
- Date published:
6:00 am, May 5th, 2022 - 74 comments
Categories: open mike -
Tags:
Open mike is your post.
For announcements, general discussion, whatever you choose.
The usual rules of good behaviour apply (see the Policy).
Step up to the mike …
74 comments on “Open mike 05/05/2022 ”
- Comments are now closed
- Comments are now closed
Recent Comments
- Thursday’s pick o’ the links
TLDR: The key breaking news, scoops, news and links of interest I’ve picked up for paying subscribers as of 8 am include:Britain agreeing to train Ukrainian fighter jet pilots and looking at sending Typhoons to Ukraine;Suncorp reportedly putting Asteron Life up for sale in New Zealand; and,MetService warning Cyclone Gabrielle ...52 mins ago - The Self-Styled Investment Guru Writes to Webworm (Again)
Hi,Just because I find all this endlessly fascinating — I wanted to share the latest email I received from Jonathan Callinan. Subject: Another day, another lazy article (yawn).As you will recall — Jonathan is the self-styled investment guru who’s been talking about how wonderful WEWE is. I imagine this is ...1 hour ago - My very first e-bike
You never forget your first e-bike ride. Mine was a test ride with Big Street Bikers at the Viaduct Harbour, sometime around 2017. I started slow, along the calm streets. When I cranked up the battery assist I was almost flying along – it felt scarily fast so I backed ...2 hours ago - Here comes another contentious piece of legislation
The Prime Minister yesterday put out a number of political fires by deferring or cancelling a series of Ardern Government initiatives. But while he was doing that, a new blaze was starting in a Select Committee as submitter after submitter came along to attack the Resource Management Act (RMA) ...4 hours ago - How to read Chipp-ese: Translating Chris Hipkins' first post-cab statementAfter his first cabinet meeting as top dog, Chris ‘Chippy’ Hipkins gave his first speech from the podium as Prime Minister. Since his election as Labour leader he has been clear that the government’s agenda would be pared back to “bread and butter issues”. So the decision to can ...10 hours ago
- Hipkins clears the decks and crouches down low15 hours ago
- Getting to know Old Mate Grabaseat
A deeply-statistically-flawed poll the other day reported that 43.8 percent do not trust the National Party leader. I say deeply-statistically-flawed because it can be empirically proven that this data is non-correct.Let me show my working.The Newshub-Reid Research poll asks 1,000 random New Zealanders what they reckon. Thus we can infer ...17 hours ago - Climate Change: Labour abandons the carbon budget
Hipkins held his expected bonfire of the policies today, ditching the RNZ/TVNZ merger, punting hate speech legislation to the Law Commission (which basicly means it will never happen), and dumping the "bougie dole" social insurance scheme. But along the way, he also shitcanned a key part of the government's emissions ...17 hours ago - Relief for dairy farmers as prices rebound at latest GDT auction, with buyers chasing product across...
Fonterra’s farmers will be relieved that prices in the Global Dairy Trade auction this week have rebounded – up 3.2% across the board. It is the first rise since December 6 The index had fallen 2.8% on January 3 and 0.1% on January 17, to kick off 2023 on a ...18 hours ago - Media stick with “Turkey” but Mahuta diplomatically announces $1.5m aid using the language autho...
Buzz from the Beehive Announcements on the provision of aid – to Auckland, Turkey and Syria – are recorded on the Beehive website today along with a statement from the PM about his flying visit to Australia. This was Chris Hipkins’ first overseas visit since he took office, enabling him ...18 hours ago - We need to fund foodbanks, but they shouldn’t existFormer Labour MP Iain Lees-Galloway has a piece in Stuff today pleading for continued government funding for foodbanks and food-rescue organisations, pointing out the high return on investment and the valuable work they've done during the pandemic: Demand for food relief is at record levels. We’re all experiencing the ...19 hours ago
- Gordon Campbell on National’s selling of its “social investment” policyThere’s a 19th century flavour to National’s “social investment” strategy, in that it aims to seek capital from philanthropists and charitable organisations – some of them having their own religious agendas- to fund and deliver the provision of social services. Beyond that point, the details are remarkably scarce. Regardless, “social ...21 hours ago
- Karl du Fresne: What New Zealanders (that is to say, ordinary New Zealanders) think about the name ...
Karl du Fresne writes – The jury has returned its verdict, and it’s emphatic. New Zealanders want the country’s name left as it is. In a Newshub-Reid Research poll, respondents were asked what they thought New Zealand should be known as. Fifty-two percent wanted the country to be ...21 hours ago - When a $5 fee costs us all $2.65 billion
Poorly-managed diabetes results in amputations and other expensive hospital treatments – an example of how charging patients to access their medication ends up costing more in the long run. Photo: Getty ImagesTLDR: The phrase ‘penny wise and pound foolish’ is one that applies across much of the Government’s approach to ...22 hours ago - Bryce Edwards’ Political Roundup: Labour’s reorientation to working class Māori* Dr Bryce Edwards writes- In recent decades the Labour Party has lost its traditional connection with working-class voters, becoming more of a middle-class party of liberalism. This is especially true of Labour’s historic connection with working-class Māori. This is a constituency that the party used to monopolise. ...22 hours ago
- Climate change is increasing the risk of a California megaflood
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Jeff Masters Asequence of nine atmospheric rivers hammered California during a three-week period in January 2023, bringing over 700 landslides, power outages affecting more than 500,000 people, and heavy rains that triggered flooding and levee breaches. On a statewide basis, about 11 inches of rain ...23 hours ago - Bryce Edwards: Labour’s reorientation to working class Māori
In recent decades the Labour Party has lost its traditional connection with working class voters, becoming more of a middle class party of liberalism. This is especially true of Labour’s historic connection with working class Māori. This is a constituency that the party used to monopolise. But ever since the ...23 hours ago - The Cult of Self-Improvement
Hi,I wanted to thank everyone who responded to A New Day, a New Cease & Desist over the last five days or so. So many readers have brushed up against MLMs — and they’re something I want to push further into. Did I hear from good old Jonathan Callinan, the ...1 day ago - Waterproofing the CityAs the planet continues to cook, extreme weather events like those we experienced over the last two weeks are set to become more frequent. How we plan our cities to mitigate the risks of climate change will inevitably be more salient going forward, and that will only increase over time. ...1 day ago
- Wednesday's pick 'o the links
TLDR: For paying subscribers, here’s the key scoops, breaking news and key links I’ve picked up this morning, as at 6.40 am, including:the Reserve Bank of Australia hiked its official cash rate to a 10-year high and warned of more hikes to come, which was more hawkish than expected; RBABP ...1 day ago - What a difference a year makes.
A year ago this week we saw the headline “Mask-wearing 17-year-old egged by aggressive convoy protesters”. As the protestors settled in for their long campout in opposition to vaccination requirements they demonstrated their commitment to standing up for the rights of the individual by verbally abusing, and throwing eggs at, ...1 day ago - Harry Robson: Hipkins’ opportunity to bring Labour back to its rootsChris Hipkins has become New Zealand’s 41st prime minister following Ardern’s unexpected resignation—perhaps the bold and unpredictable move Labour needed to improve its election chances. Just six days into his premiership and Labour had its first lead over National in thirteen weeks. National has had a largely uninterrupted run of ...2 days ago
- Tribute
Good people can come into your life imperceptibly. It can seem they’re just there one day being remarkable. Nat Torkington, for instance.We were both online from the early days, I’m assuming that’s where we first connected; maybe in the UseNet newsgroups, or maybe later through Public Address.But it was when ...2 days ago - Genesis’ go-ahead for big solar farm in Canterbury has wider significance than just heating 10,00...One of New Zealand’s biggest electricity generators, Genesis Energy, has given the go-ahead for a large solar farm near Lauriston on the Canterbury Plains, an hour’s drive south of Christchurch. It is part of Genesis’ strategy of replacing thermal baseload with renewable generation – a mix of wind and solar. ...2 days ago
- Buzz from the Beehive We found just one fresh announcement on the Beehive website this morning, when we made our first visit since 4 February. It was posted in the name of Nanaia Mahuta, our Minister of Foreign Affairs, and explained why she was not at Waitangi at the weekend. ...2 days ago
- Political Roundup: 7 February 2023WAITANGI, CO-GOVERNANCE, THREE WATERS Thomas Cranmer: Waitangi Day and the quiet revolution Glenn McConnell (Stuff): Waitangi in 2023: Plenty of networking, little sign of protest Tim Watkin (Pundit): Aotearoa New Zealand As A “Little Experiment”. The Rights, Wrongs & Other Wrongs Of Christoper Luxon Audrey Young (Herald): Such a good ...2 days ago
- Monday's Dawn Chorus: The escape valveHipkins is doing the right thing for New Zealanders already living in Australia, but there’s now a growing risk of a fresh surge of net emigration of frustrated young Kiwis across the Tasman. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTLDR: Employers here in Aotearoa are desperate to keep their best-trained, most-productive ...2 days ago
- Managing our stormwaterThis post contains two guest posts from readers, both of which were sent to us after the flooding on Friday 27 January, both of which discuss how we handle our stormwater. This is a guest post from Ed Clayton, who’s written for us before about Auckland’s relationship with freshwater, ...2 days ago
- Monday’s pick ‘o the links
TLDR: For paying subscribers, here’s the key breaking news, scoops and links I’ve found since 4 am this morning, as of 7 am, including:A 7.8 magnitude earthquake killed more than 2,200 in Turkey near its border with Syria; ReutersMetService has warned a new cyclone is forming north of Aotearoa that ...2 days ago - The politics of the Treaty move onThe politics of Waitangi and the Treaty evident over the weekend have moved into a new space. The politics of Waitangi and the Treaty evident over the weekend have moved into a new space. There is a new wave of Maori activism, which sees the Treaty as a living ...2 days ago
- Clean energy permitting reform needed to boost economy, protect climate and burn less coalOriginally published by The Hill After decades of failure to pass major federal climate legislation, Congress finally broke through last year with the Inflation Reduction Act and its close to $400 billion in clean energy investments. Energy modeling experts estimated that these provisions would help the U.S. cut its carbon pollution ...3 days ago
- A Sorry State Of Affairs.
Apology Accepted? “I dropped the ball on Friday, I was too slow to be seen …The communications weren’t fast enough – including mine. I’m sorry for that.”– Auckland Mayor Wayne Brown.HOW OFTEN do politicians apologise? Sincerely apologise? Not offer voters the weasel words: “If my actions have offended anyone, then I ...3 days ago - Aotearoa New Zealand as a “little experiment”. The rights, wrongs & other wrongs of ...
At first blush, Christopher Luxon’s comment at the parliamentary powhiri at Waitangi this year sounded tone deaf. The Leader of the Opposition in talking about the Treaty of Waitangi described New Zealand as “a little experiment”. It seemed to diminish the treaty and the very idea of our nation. Yet ...3 days ago - Brian Easton: Co-GovernanceTHE (new) Prime Minister said nobody understands what co-governance means, later modified to that there were so many varying interpretations that there was no common understanding. BRIAN EASTON writes: Co-governance cannot be derived from the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. It does not use the word. It ...3 days ago
- Waitangi before dawn.
A brief postscript to yesterday’s newsletter…Watching the predawn speeches just now, the reverence of those speaking and the respectful nature of those listening under umbrellas in the dark. I felt a great sadness at the words from Christopher Luxon last evening still in my head. The singing in the dark accompanied ...3 days ago - Industrial marvel, bought with blood
by Don Franks While on holiday,I stayed a few days in Scotland with a friend who showed me one of the country’s great working-class achievements. It was a few miles out of central Edinburgh, a huge cantilever bridge across the river Forth. The Forth Bridge was the first major structure ...4 days ago - Chris Trotter: Blowing off the froth – why Chris Hipkins must ditch Three WatersTime To Call A Halt: Chris Hipkins knows that iwi leaders possess the means to make life very difficult for his government. Notwithstanding their objections, however, the Prime Minister’s direction of travel – already clearly signalled by his very public demotion of Nanaia Mahuta – must be confirmed by an emphatic and ...4 days ago
- 2023 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #5A chronological listing of news articles posted on the Skeptical Science Facebook Page during the past week: Sun, Jan 29, 2023 thru Sat, Feb 4, 2023. Story of the Week Social change more important than physical tipping points 1.5-degree Goal not plausible Photo: CLICCS / Universität Hamburg Limiting global ...4 days ago
- Making It Look Easy.So Long - And Thanks For All The Fish: In the two-and-a-bit years since Jacinda Ardern’s electoral triumph of 2020, virtually every decision she made had gone politically awry. In the minds of many thousands of voters a chilling metamorphosis had taken place. The Faerie Queen had become the Wicked ...4 days ago
- Who's afraid of co-governance?
Look at us here on our beautiful islands in the South Pacific at the start of 2023, we have come so far.Ten days ago we saw a Māori Governor General swearing in our new PM and our first Pasifika Deputy PM, ahead of this year’s parliament where they will be ...4 days ago - Misleading Headlines
The Herald’s headline writers are at it again! A sensible and balanced piece by Liam Dann on the battle against inflation carries a headline that suggests that NZ is doing worse than the rest of the world. Check it out and see for yourself if I am right. Is this ...4 days ago - My weekend reading and listening
Photo by Anna Demianenko on UnsplashTLDR: Here’s my longer reads and listens for the weekend for sharing with The Kaka’s paying subscribers. I’ve opened this one up for all to give everyone a taste of the sorts of extras you get as a full paying subscriber.Subscribe nowDeeper reads and listens ...4 days ago - Something for the long weekend
Hello from the middle of a long weekend where I’m letting the last few days unspool, not ready, not yet, to give words to the hardest of what we heard.Instead, today, here are some good words from other people.Mother CourageWhen I wrote last year about Mum and Dad’s move to ...4 days ago - The people behind Workers Now
Workers Now is a new slate of candidates contesting this year’s general election. James Robb and Don Franks are the people behind this initiative and they are hoping to put the spotlight on working people’s interests. Both are seasoned activists who have campaigned for workers’ rights over many decades. Here is ...5 days ago - Govt is safeguarding Treaty grounds (for $3m) but Hipkins may be embroiled in spat about when he can...Buzz from the Beehive Politicians keen to curry favour with Māori tribal leaders have headed north for Waitangi weekend. More than a few million dollars of public funding are headed north, too. Not all of this money is being trumpeted on the Beehive website, the Government’s official website. ...5 days ago
- The week that was to Feb 4Insurers face claims of over $500 million for cars, homes and property damaged in the floods. They are already putting up premiums and pulling insurance from properties deemed at high risk of flooding. Photo: Lynn Grieveson/Getty ImagesTLDR: This week in the podcast of our weekly hoon webinar for paying subscribers, ...5 days ago
- Cranky Uncle could use your help to learn more languages!Our Cranky Uncle Game can already be played in eight languages: English, Dutch, French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Spanish and Swedish. About 15 more languages are in the works at various stages of completion or have been offered to be done. To kick off the new year, we checked with how ...5 days ago
- 2022 updates to model-observation comparisons
Our annual post related to the comparisons between long standing records and climate models. As frequent readers will know, we maintain a page of comparisons between climate model projections and the relevant observational records, and since they are mostly for the global mean numbers, these get updated once ...6 days ago - Co-governance
The (new) Prime Minister said nobody understands what co-governance means, later modified to that there were so many varying interpretations that there was no common understanding.Co-governance cannot be derived from the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. It does not use the word. It refers to ‘government’ on ...6 days ago - Jump onto the weekly hoon at 5pm
It’s that time of the week again when and I co-host our ‘hoon’ webinar with paying subscribers to The Kaka. Jump on this link for our chat about the week’s news with special guests Auckland Central MP Chloe Swarbrick and Auckland City Councillor Julie Fairey, including:Auckland’s catastrophic floods, which ...6 days ago - Climate Change: The emissions deficitIn March last year, in a panic over rising petrol prices caused by Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the government made a poor decision, "temporarily" cutting fuel excise tax by 25 cents a litre. Of course, it turned out not to be temporary at all, having been extended in May, July, ...6 days ago
- Unforced variations: Feb 2023This month’s open thread for climate related topics. Please be constructive, polite, and succinct. The post Unforced variations: Feb 2023 first appeared on RealClimate. ...6 days ago
- Kelvin Davis takes us back to a battle in which the Brits took a beating but we are left bewildered ...Buzz from the Beehive Two fresh press releases had been posted when we checked the Beehive website at noon, both of them posted yesterday. In one statement, in the runup to Waitangi Day, Maori Crown Relations Minister Kelvin Davis drew attention to happenings on a Northland battle site in 1845. ...6 days ago
- Ask Me Anything about the week to Feb 3It’s that time of the week again when I’m on the site for an hour for a chat in an Ask Me Anything with paying subscribers to The Kaka. Jump in for a chat on anything, including:Auckland’s catastrophic floods, which are set to cost insurers and the Government well over ...6 days ago
- Political Roundup: 3 February 2023CO-GOVERNANCE, WAITANGI, THREE WATERS Chris Trotter (Daily Blog): Blowing Off The Froth: Why Chris Hipkins Must Ditch Three Waters Audrey Young (Herald): What iwi leaders will tell Chris Hipkins about co-governance(paywalled) Michael Neilson (Herald): Waitangi 2023: PM Chris Hipkins and National’s Christopher Luxon to be tested by Māori leaders in ...6 days ago
- The stagnant debates in our hermit kingdom of a political economyAustralia’s Treasurer Jim Chalmers (left) has published a 6,000 word manifesto called ‘Capitalism after the Crises’ arguing for ‘values-based capitalism’. Yet here in NZ we hear the same stale old rhetoric unchanged from the 1990s and early 2000s. Photo: Getty ImagesTLDR: The rest of the world is talking about inflation ...6 days ago
- Lies, damned lies, and political polls.
A couple of weeks ago, after NCEA results came out, my son’s enrolment at Auckland Uni for this year was confirmed - he is doing a BSc majoring in Statistics. Well that is the plan now, who knows what will take his interest once he starts.I spent a bit of ...6 days ago - Weekly Roundup 03-February-2023Kia ora. What a week! We hope you’ve all come through last weekend’s extreme weather event relatively dry and safe. Header image: stormwater ponds at Hobsonville Point. Image via Twitter. The week in Greater Auckland There’s been a storm of information and debate since the worst of the flooding ...6 days ago
- A New Day, a New Cease & Desist
Hi,At 4.43pm yesterday it arrived — a cease and desist letter from the guy I mentioned in my last newsletter. I’d written an article about “WEWE”, a global multi-level marketing scam making in-roads into New Zealand. MLMs are terrible for many of the same reasons megachurches are terrible, and I ...6 days ago - Blowing Off The Froth: Why Chris Hipkins Must Ditch Three Waters.Time To Call A Halt: Chris Hipkins knows that iwi leaders possess the means to make life very difficult for his government. Notwithstanding their objections, however, the Prime Minister’s direction of travel – already clearly signalled by his very public demotion of Nanaia Mahuta – must be confirmed by an emphatic ...6 days ago
- Skeptical Science New Research for Week #5 2023Open access notables Via PNAS, Ceylan, Anderson & Wood present a paper squarely in the center of the Skeptical Science wheelhouse: Sharing of misinformation is habitual, not just lazy or biased. The signficance statement is obvious catnip: Misinformation is a worldwide concern carrying socioeconomic and political consequences. What drives ...6 days ago
- Universities that punish reading – even of books from their own librariesMark White from the Left free speech organisation Plebity looks at the disturbing trend of ‘book burning’ on US campuses In the abstract, people mostly agree that book banning is a bad thing. The Nazis did us the favor of being very clear about it and literally burning books, but ...7 days ago
- Hipkins has a chance to show he is more effective in getting results than Ardern in his Canberra t...Prime Minister Chris Hipkins has undergone a stern baptisim of fire in his first week in his new job, but it doesn’t get any easier. Next week, he has a vital meeting in Canberra with his Australian counterpart Anthony Albanese, where he has to establish ...7 days ago
- Gordon Campbell on extending the fuel/public transport subsidiesAs PM Chris Hipkins says, it’s a “no brainer” to extend the fuel tax cut, half price public subsidy and the cut to the road user levy until mid-year. A no braoner if the prime purpose is to ease the burden on people struggling to cope with the cost of ...7 days ago
- U-turn on fuel taxes could pump up poll support for Hipkins and Co but the poor – perhaps – won...Buzz from the Beehive Cost-of-living pressures loomed large in Beehive announcements over the past 24 hours. The PM was obviously keen to announce further measures to keep those costs in check and demonstrate he means business when he talks of focusing his government on bread-and-butter issues. His statement was headed ...7 days ago
- Mike’s Cracked RecordPoor Mike Hosking. He has revealed himself in his most recent diatribe to be one of those public figures who is defined, not by who he is, but by who he isn’t, or at least not by what he is for, but by what he is against. Jacinda’s departure has ...7 days ago
- Bryce Edwards: Chris Hipkins hires a lobbyist to run the BeehiveNew Zealand is the second least corrupt country on earth according to the latest Corruption Perception Index published yesterday by Transparency International. But how much does this reflect reality? The problem with being continually feted for world-leading political integrity – which the Beehive and government departments love to boast about ...7 days ago
- Pick o’ the links: Brown vs Fish; Brown vs everyone
TLDR: Including my pick of the news and other links in my checks around the news sites since 4am. Paying subscribers can see them all below the fold.In Aotearoa’s political economyBrown vs Fish Read more ...7 days ago - Pick o’ the links: Brown vs Fish; Brown vs everyoneTLDR: Including my pick of the news and other links in my checks around the news sites since 4am. Paying subscribers can see them all below the fold.In Aotearoa’s political economyBrown vs Fish Read more ...7 days ago
- Dawn Chorus: Classic middle class welfare to win 'Ford Ranger Man'In other countries, the target-rich cohorts of swinging voters are given labels such as ‘Mondeo Man’, ‘White Van Man,’ ‘Soccer Moms’ and ‘Little Aussie Battlers.’ Here, the easiest shorthand is ‘Ford Ranger Man’ – as seen here parked outside a Herne Bay restaurant, inbetween two SUVs. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / ...1 week ago
- Dawn Chorus: Classic middle class welfare to win 'Ford Ranger Man'In other countries, the target-rich cohorts of swinging voters are given labels such as ‘Mondeo Man’, ‘White Van Man,’ ‘Soccer Moms’ and ‘Little Aussie Battlers.’ Here, the easiest shorthand is ‘Ford Ranger Man’ – as seen here parked outside a Herne Bay restaurant, inbetween two SUVs. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / ...1 week ago
- Government confirms a light rail rethink possibleTransport Minister and now also Minister for Auckland, Michael Wood has confirmed that the light rail project is part of the government’s policy refocus. Wood said the light rail project was under review as part of a ministerial refocus on key Government projects. “We are undertaking a stocktake about how ...1 week ago
- Why Nicola Willis is door-knocking in JohnsonvilleSometime before the new Prime Minister Chris Hipkins announced that this year would be about “bread and butter issues”, National’s finance spokesperson Nicola Willis decided to move from Wellington Central and stand for Ohariu, which spreads across north Wellington from the central city to Johnsonville and Tawa. It’s an ...1 week ago
- “With great power comes great responsibility”: we’ve all heard that, but stepping up to it is ...
They say a week is a long time in politics. For Mayor Wayne Brown, turns out 24 hours was long enough for many of us to see, quite obviously, “something isn’t right here…”. That in fact, a lot was going wrong. Very wrong indeed. Mainly because it turns ...1 week ago - The escalator rises againOne of the most effective, and successful, graphics developed by Skeptical Science is the escalator. The escalator shows how global surface temperature anomalies vary with time, and illustrates how "contrarians" tend to cherry-pick short time intervals so as to argue that there has been no recent warming, while "realists" recognise ...1 week ago
- Scrapping biofuels means Government must do better for people and climate
The Green Party supports the decision to stop work on the biofuels mandate. ...16 hours ago - Government must refocus on bold solutionsIt’s good to see the Government refocus on helping with the day to day pressures facing New Zealanders, but we need bolder solutions. ...17 hours ago
- Greens call for Civil Defence Payment to be doubledThe Green Party is today calling on the Government to double the maximum Civil Defence Payment for Aucklanders affected by flooding. ...1 day ago
- Waitangi Day – a time to reflect and learn
Kia ora e te whānau. Today, we mark the anniversary of the signing of Te Tiriti o Waitangi - and our commitment to working in partnership with Māori to deliver better outcomes and tackle the big issues, together. ...3 days ago - Greens call on the government to end perpetual leasesThe Green Party calls on the Government to end perpetual leases over Māori land so that Māori landowners can directly control their lands. ...5 days ago
- Thousands more homes under LabourWe’ve just announced a massive infrastructure investment to kick-start new housing developments across New Zealand. Through our Infrastructure Acceleration Fund, we’re making sure that critical infrastructure - like pipes, roads and wastewater connections - is in place, so thousands more homes can be built. ...6 days ago
- Time for Labour to deliver on No New MinesThe Green Party is today welcoming reports of Government progress towards having no new mines on conservation land. ...6 days ago
- Time for Labour to deliver on No New MinesThe Green Party is today welcoming reports of Government progress towards having no new mines on conservation land. ...6 days ago
- Greens join call for immediate rent freeze after floodsThe Green Party is joining more than 20 community organisations to call for an immediate rent freeze in Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland, after reports of landlords intending to hike rents after flooding. ...6 days ago
- Extra cost of living support for New ZealandersWhen Chris Hipkins took on the job of Prime Minister, he said bread and butter issues like the cost of living would be the Government’s top priority – and this week, we’ve set out extra support for families and businesses. ...7 days ago
- Greens not on board with fossil fuel subsidyThe Green Party is calling on the Government to provide direct support to low-income households and to stop subsidising fossil fuels during a climate crisis. ...1 week ago
- Urgent action needed to support familiesThe tools exist to help families with surging costs – and as costs continue to rise it is more urgent than ever that we use them, the Green Party says. ...2 weeks ago
- Green Party writes to new Prime MinisterThe Green Party has written to Prime Minister Chris Hipkins outlining a plan for a fairer Aotearoa. ...2 weeks ago
- Green Party looks forward to working with Chris HipkinsThe Green Party welcomes Chris Hipkins as the sole nominee for leader of the Labour Party, and the next Prime Minister of Aotearoa New Zealand. ...3 weeks ago
- Government takes new direction with policy refocus
Work on the TVNZ/RNZ public media entity to stop; Radio NZ and NZ on Air to receive additional funding Social insurance scheme will not proceed this term The Human Rights (Incitement on Ground of Religious Belief) Amendment Bill to be withdrawn and not progressed this term. The matter to be ...18 hours ago - $5 million support package for flood affected Auckland businessesThe Government is providing a $5 million package of emergency support to help businesses significantly affected by the recent flooding in Auckland. This includes: $3 million for flood recovery payments to help significantly affected businesses $1 million for mental wellbeing support through a boost to the First Steps programme $1 ...18 hours ago
- Temporary Accommodation Service activated to help flood affected AucklandersThe Government’s Temporary Accommodation Service (TAS) has been activated to support people displaced by the severe flooding and landslips in the Auckland region, Housing Minister Megan Woods says. “TAS is now accepting registrations for people who cannot return to their homes and need assistance finding temporary accommodation. The team will work ...23 hours ago
- Prime Ministers’ meeting reaffirms close trans-Tasman relationshipPrime Minister Chris Hipkins and Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese today held their first bilateral meeting in Canberra. It was Chris Hipkins’ first overseas visit since he took office, reflecting the close relationship between New Zealand and Australia. “New Zealand has no closer partner than Australia. I was pleased to ...2 days ago
- Immediate humanitarian support to Türkiye and Syria following earthquakesNew Zealand will immediately provide humanitarian support to those affected by the earthquakes in Türkiye and Syria, Foreign Minister Nanaia Mahuta announced today. “Aotearoa New Zealand is deeply saddened by the loss of life and devastation caused by these earthquakes. Our thoughts are with the families and loved ones affected,” ...2 days ago
- Pākinga Pā site to be gifted back to local hapūAn historic Northland pā site with links to Ngāpuhi chief Hongi Hika is to be handed back to iwi, after collaboration by government, private landowners and local hapū. “It is fitting that the ceremony for the return of the Pākinga Pā site is during Waitangi weekend,” said Regional Development Minister ...2 days ago
- New initiatives to unlock Māori science and research resourcesThe Government is investing in a suite of initiatives to unlock Māori and Pacific resources, talent and knowledge across the science and research sector, Research, Science and Innovation Minister Dr Ayesha Verrall announced today. Two new funds – He tipu ka hua and He aka ka toro – set to ...2 days ago
- Advancing our relationship in IndiaForeign Minister Nanaia Mahuta departs for India tomorrow as she continues to reconnect Aotearoa New Zealand to the world. The visit will begin in New Delhi where the Foreign Minister will meet with the Vice President Hon Jagdeep Dhankar and her Indian Government counterparts, External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar and ...4 days ago
- Government Northland housing investment to spark transformational changeOver $10 million infrastructure funding to unlock housing in Whangārei The purchase of a 3.279 hectare site in Kerikeri to enable 56 new homes Northland becomes eligible for $100 million scheme for affordable rentals Multiple Northland communities will benefit from multiple Government housing investments, delivering thousands of new homes for ...6 days ago
- Government investment safeguards Waitangi Treaty GroundsThe Government is supporting one of Aotearoa New Zealand’s most significant historic sites, the Waitangi Treaty Grounds, as it continues to recover from the impacts of COVID-19. “The Waitangi Treaty Grounds are a taonga that we should protect and look after. This additional support will mean people can continue to ...6 days ago
- Battle of Ohaeawai rememberedA memorial event at a key battle site in the New Zealand land wars is an important event to mark the progress in relations between Māori and the Crown as we head towards Waitangi Day, Minister for Te Arawhiti Kelvin Davis said. The Battle of Ohaeawai in June 1845 saw ...7 days ago
- More Police deployed to the frontlineMore Police officers are being deployed to the frontline with the graduation of 54 new constables from the Royal New Zealand Police College today. The graduation ceremony for Recruit Wing 362 at Te Rauparaha Arena in Porirua was the first official event for Stuart Nash since his reappointment as Police ...7 days ago
- Further support for upper North Island regions hit by significant weatherThe Government is unlocking an additional $700,000 in support for regions that have been badly hit by the recent flooding and storm damage in the upper North Island. “We’re supporting the response and recovery of Auckland, Waikato, Coromandel, Northland, and Bay of Plenty regions, through activating Enhanced Taskforce Green to ...7 days ago
- The Princess Royal to visit New ZealandPrime Minister Chris Hipkins has welcomed the announcement that Her Royal Highness The Princess Royal, Princess Anne, will visit New Zealand this month. “Princess Anne is travelling to Aotearoa at the request of the NZ Army’s Royal New Zealand Corps of Signals, of which she is Colonel in Chief, to ...7 days ago
- Government and horticulture sector target $12b in exports by 2035A new Government and industry strategy launched today has its sights on growing the value of New Zealand’s horticultural production to $12 billion by 2035, Agriculture Minister Damien O’Connor said. “Our food and fibre exports are vital to New Zealand’s economic security. We’re focussed on long-term strategies that build on ...1 week ago
- Cost of living support extended for families and businesses25 cents per litre petrol excise duty cut extended to 30 June 2023 – reducing an average 60 litre tank of petrol by $17.25 Road User Charge discount will be re-introduced and continue through until 30 June Half price public transport fares extended to the end of June 2023 saving ...1 week ago
- More Kiwis in work as rising wages match inflationThe strong economy has attracted more people into the workforce, with a record number of New Zealanders in paid work and wages rising to help with cost of living pressures. “The Government’s economic plan is delivering on more better-paid jobs, growing wages and creating more opportunities for more New Zealanders,” ...1 week ago
- Government boosts fund for Auckland floodingThe Government is providing a further $1 million to the Mayoral Relief Fund to help communities in Auckland following flooding, Minister for Emergency Management Kieran McAnulty announced today. “Cabinet today agreed that, given the severity of the event, a further $1 million contribution be made. Cabinet wishes to be proactive ...1 week ago
- New Cabinet focused on bread and butter issuesThe new Cabinet will be focused on core bread and butter issues like the cost of living, education, health, housing and keeping communities and businesses safe, Prime Minister Chris Hipkins has announced. “We need a greater focus on what’s in front of New Zealanders right now. The new Cabinet line ...1 week ago
- Prime Minister to meet with PM AlbanesePrime Minister Chris Hipkins will travel to Canberra next week for an in person meeting with Australian Prime Minister, Anthony Albanese. “The trans-Tasman relationship is New Zealand’s closest and most important, and it was crucial to me that my first overseas trip as Prime Minister was to Australia,” Chris Hipkins ...1 week ago
- Government makes first payment to Auckland Flooding fundThe Government is providing establishment funding of $100,000 to the Mayoral Relief Fund to help communities in Auckland following flooding, Minister for Emergency Management Kieran McAnulty announced. “We moved quickly to make available this funding to support Aucklanders while the full extent of the damage is being assessed,” Kieran McAnulty ...2 weeks ago
- Government steps up to assist Auckland during floodingAs the Mayor of Auckland has announced a state of emergency, the Government, through NEMA, is able to step up support for those affected by flooding in Auckland. “I’d urge people to follow the advice of authorities and check Auckland Emergency Management for the latest information. As always, the Government ...2 weeks ago
- Poroporoaki: Titewhai Te Huia Hinewhare HarawiraKa papā te whatitiri, Hikohiko ana te uira, wāhi rua mai ana rā runga mai o Huruiki maunga Kua hinga te māreikura o te Nota, a Titewhai Harawira Nā reira, e te kahurangi, takoto, e moe Ka mōwai koa a Whakapara, kua uhia te Tai Tokerau e te kapua pōuri ...2 weeks ago
- Enhanced Task Force Green Approved following Cyclone HaleCarmel Sepuloni, Minister for Social Development and Employment, has activated Enhanced Taskforce Green (ETFG) in response to flooding and damaged caused by Cyclone Hale in the Tairāwhiti region. Up to $500,000 will be made available to employ job seekers to support the clean-up. We are still investigating whether other parts ...2 weeks ago
- New bird brain study shows evolving a big brain depends on having ‘good’ parents
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Szymek Drobniak, DECRA Fellow, UNSW Sydney A hyacinth macaw (Anodorhynchus hyacinthinus). Tristan Barrington/Shutterstock As owners of some of the biggest brains in the animal kingdom, we humans often assume cognitive performance, task solving and social interactions were the basic ingredients that promoted ...45 mins ago - Will multicultural Australians support the Voice? The success of the referendum may hinge on itSource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Andrew Jakubowicz, Emeritus Professor of Sociology, University of Technology Sydney When Warren Mundine, one of the lead “no” campaigners of the Voice to parliament, suggested that migrants be recognised in the Constitution along with Indigenous Australians, it was criticised as a diversionary ...45 mins ago
- Banning straws might be good for the planet – but bad for people with disability or swallowing pro...Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kate Anderson, Associate Head of School, Teaching and Learning (Health, Disability & Inclusion), Deakin University Shutterstock This month, Victoria became the latest Australian state to ban single-use plastics, including straws. While this is a win for the environment and marine ...45 mins ago
- The coal whack-a-mole: getting rid of coal power will make prices fall and demand rise elsewhereSource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Hao Tan, Associate Professor, Newcastle Business School, University of Newcastle Shutterstock The fight against climate change is full of inconvenient truths. The latest? Coal is going to be harder to get rid of than we had hoped. Every victory like ...45 mins ago
- Learning to read for pleasure is a serious matter – NZ schools should embrace a new curriculumSource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By John Milne, Senior Lecturer in Education, Auckland University of Technology Getty Images Until now, the New Zealand Curriculum has focused almost exclusively on the development of technical reading skills. Simply reading for pleasure hasn’t been a priority, which makes its ...45 mins ago
- What if Opal and Myki became one? It’d help more of us than you’d thinkSource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By James Bushell, PhD Candidate and Research Associate, Institute of Transport and Logistics Studies, University of Sydney Shutterstock Melburnians know Myki, Sydneysiders know Opal. These two electronic ticketing systems for public transport may be streets ahead of what they replaced, but ...45 mins ago
- Review bombing is about power, politics and revenge – but it’s not about artSource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Claire Whitley, PhD Candidate, Flinders University HBO In the video game turned HBO adaptation The Last of Us, human survivors must contend with hordes of zombie-like “infected” called “clickers” in a battle for survival. Now, the show itself is facing ...45 mins ago
- Government reprioritisation a 'mixed bag' for businesses and unions
Businesses and unions have found themselves celebrating and criticising the government's first round of reprioritisation measures - for opposite reasons. ...3 hours ago - The media merger is dead. RNZ and TVNZ insiders on what must come next
The embattled project might be buried, but the problems that animated its advocates are not. Toby Manhire talks to those at the no-longer-merging broadcasters to get a read on the road ahead. Born out of the ashes of Clare Curran’s RNZ+ reforms, the RNZ-TVNZ merger journey has across five years ...4 hours ago - Wellington's chances of a three-way electoral split
A Greens upset in Wellington Central looks possible ...4 hours ago - Wellington's chances of a three-way electoral splitA Greens upset in Wellington Central looks possible ...4 hours ago
- The path ahead for social insurance
Why the Govt killed off plans for a new safety net - and what may come next. ...4 hours ago - The path ahead for social insuranceWhy the Govt killed off plans for a new safety net - and what may come next. ...4 hours ago
- Who's picking up the bill to fix the crumbling roads?
The country's roads have taken a hammering after a summer of bad weather. But as The Detail finds out, there might not be enough money in the kitty to fix them. In the Far North, as soon as some of the roads are fixed, they start falling apart again. "We are ...4 hours ago - Stormwaters run deep: Auckland councillors call for audit
As the waters recede through choked and overloaded stormwater infrastructure, debates have opened up over the city’s future pattern of development People had never seen so much of Auckland underwater. And last month’s sudden submersion of many of the city’s suburbs came just as the city was poised to embark on ...4 hours ago - Who's picking up the bill to fix the crumbling roads?The country's roads have taken a hammering after a summer of bad weather. But as The Detail finds out, there might not be enough money in the kitty to fix them. In the Far North, as soon as some of the roads are fixed, they start falling apart again. "We are ...4 hours ago
- Stormwaters run deep: Auckland councillors call for auditAs the waters recede through choked and overloaded stormwater infrastructure, debates have opened up over the city’s future pattern of development People had never seen so much of Auckland underwater. And last month’s sudden submersion of many of the city’s suburbs came just as the city was poised to embark on ...4 hours ago
- Government to keep petrol cheap and dirty
When the rubber hits the road, Chris Hipkins has shown he'd rather keep petrol cheap and carbon intensive than fight climate changes Comment: Chris Hipkins' first two policy announcements will have the combined effect of keeping petrol inexpensive and emissions intensive. Last week, the new Prime Minister extended the fuel subsidies which ...4 hours ago - Government to keep petrol cheap and dirtyWhen the rubber hits the road, Chris Hipkins has shown he'd rather keep petrol cheap and carbon intensive than fight climate changes Comment: Chris Hipkins' first two policy announcements will have the combined effect of keeping petrol inexpensive and emissions intensive. Last week, the new Prime Minister extended the fuel subsidies which ...4 hours ago
- Kiwi rider leads the chase in thrilling foxhunt
Kiwi downhill mountain biker Jess Blewitt is normally at the front of the pack racing across the world, but this weekend she becomes the fox in a unique chase in her own backyard. Merryn Anderson reports. Jess Blewitt is used to firsts, but this one makes her nervous. The 20-year-old Kiwi ...4 hours ago - Kiwi rider leads the chase in thrilling foxhuntKiwi downhill mountain biker Jess Blewitt is normally at the front of the pack racing across the world, but this weekend she becomes the fox in a unique chase in her own backyard. Merryn Anderson reports. Jess Blewitt is used to firsts, but this one makes her nervous. The 20-year-old Kiwi ...4 hours ago
- Crown spends $1m to prosecute political donations
Only three of nine people charged over political donations deceit in 2022 were convicted, despite at least $1m spent on top lawyers by the Crown ...4 hours ago - Franz Josef ‘held to ransom’ by hotel company
Westland’s mayor is fuming as court action by Scenic Hotel Group delays flood-protection work in the vulnerable tourist town. ...4 hours ago - Crown spends $1m to prosecute political donationsOnly three of nine people charged over political donations deceit in 2022 were convicted, despite at least $1m spent on top lawyers by the Crown ...4 hours ago
- Police investigate deep discounting of alcohol by Uber and supermarkets
Prosecutions of supermarkets and Uber could test the law on internet sales ...4 hours ago - There are no easy fixes for NZ’s growing truancy problem
We need to recognise truancy as a complex problem that requires complex policy solutions Opinion: As schools open their doors after the summer break, how many students won’t turn up? Truancy has emerged as one of New Zealand’s more significant education problems. While student absenteeism increased sharply after Covid-19 hit, there ...4 hours ago - There are no easy fixes for NZ’s growing truancy problemWe need to recognise truancy as a complex problem that requires complex policy solutions Opinion: As schools open their doors after the summer break, how many students won’t turn up? Truancy has emerged as one of New Zealand’s more significant education problems. While student absenteeism increased sharply after Covid-19 hit, there ...4 hours ago
- Catton, by Rachael King
The new Catton: "a great book" Good books accompany your non-reading life; you carry them in your head even when you’re not reading them. When you close them go and stretch your legs, the world around you is filtered through their pages. When the news of Jacinda Ardern’s resignation ...4 hours ago - Catton, by Rachael KingThe new Catton: "a great book" Good books accompany your non-reading life; you carry them in your head even when you’re not reading them. When you close them go and stretch your legs, the world around you is filtered through their pages. When the news of Jacinda Ardern’s resignation ...4 hours ago
- Newsroom daily quiz, Thursday 9 February
Loading...(function(i,s,o,g,r,a,m){var ql=document.querySelectorAll('A[quiz],DIV[quiz],A[data-quiz],DIV[data-quiz]'); if(ql){if(ql.length){for(var k=0;k<ql.length;k++){ql[k].id='quiz-embed-'+k;ql[k].href="javascript:var i=document.getElementById('quiz-embed-"+k+"');try{qz.startQuiz(i)}catch(e){i.start=1;i.style.cursor='wait';i.style.opacity='0.5'};void(0);"}}};i['QP']=r;i[r]=i[r]||function(){(i[r].q=i[r].q||[]).push(arguments)},i[r].l=1*new Date();a=s.createElement(o),m=s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];a.async=1;a.src=g;m.parentNode.insertBefore(a,m)})(window,document,'script','https://take.quiz-maker.com/3012/CDN/quiz-embed-v1.js','qp'); Got a good quiz question? Send Newsroom your questions. ...5 hours ago - Daily crossword, Thursday 9 February
...5 hours ago - Birnam Wood review: An astounding analysis of human psychologyBooks editor Claire Mabey reviews Birnam Wood, the long-awaited third novel from Booker Prize-winning Aotearoa writer Eleanor Catton. Crouching quietly at the heart of Birnam Wood is the real-world plight of a critically endangered New Zealand bird, the fairy tern/tara-iti. At the time of writing this review there are fewer ...6 hours ago
- Christopher Luxon hijacked by anti-vaxxers, conspiracists at packed public meetingA crowd packed the Rangiora Town Hall to listen to Christopher Luxon - it was not a lovefest with the party faithful, however. ...12 hours ago
- Treasure Island: Fans v Faves recap, week twoThere’s a storm a’brewing on Treasure Island, and Alex and Jane are here to break it all down. The fans are rocked by a new team member, and the faves face the consequences of their Dame’s early morning strolls. Matty McLean is playing his heart out, Susan’s eyelids are inverted ...12 hours ago
- Treasure Island: Fans v Faves rankings, week two: A Tale of Two JoshesIt’s only week two, but already our fans and faves are feeling the strain. Tara Ward power ranks. Like a pair of Josh Kronfeld’s undies sent out to sea, our Treasure Island castaways have found themselves bobbing around on choppy waters. This was a tense week that saw one contestant ...13 hours ago
- PM axes Ardern's projects, takes wind out of Nats' sails
Chris Hipkins’ policy purge gives far more insight into how he will govern than the reshuffle he announced last week. Hate speech, biofuels, media mergers and social insurance have been dumped in the worthy, but not important bin, writes political editor Jo Moir. The front bench under Chris Hipkins’ leadership ...13 hours ago - Govt announces $5m support package for flood-affected businesses in AucklandBusinesses which face closure or a significant impact on their operations since the floods can draw on a new fund, the prime minister says. ...14 hours ago
- Chris Hipkins’ policy purge and the cost-of-explaining crisisYou might be able to solve a delivery problem by cutting the number of packages you send. But is that enough, wonders Toby Manhire. If there’s one thing Chris Hipkins isn’t afraid of, it’s repeating himself to make the point. The first three sentences of his statement unveiling the policy ...14 hours ago
- Haven’t had COVID or a vaccine dose in the past six months? Consider getting a boosterSource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sathana Dushyanthen, Academic Specialist & Lecturer in Cancer Sciences & Digital Health| Superstar of STEM| Science Communicator, The University of Melbourne CDC/Unsplash Australians aged 18 and over will be eligible for a COVID booster from February 20 if they have ...15 hours ago
- Gone by prime time -a puzzling merger
The state-owned radio broadcaster will keep its independence and get a cash injection after the Government scrapped the proposal to merge it with TVNZ Normal transmission has resumed for the country’s media industry. RNZ and TVNZ will remain as separate entities and the bogeyman of a monolithic public media entity ...15 hours ago - Relief At $5m For Business But Minimum Wage Increase Problematic
The EMA is relieved the Government has dedicated $5m to support Auckland businesses impacted by the recent flooding. Chief Executive Brett O’Riley says that is consistent with discussions the EMA and the Auckland Business Roundtable had been having with ...16 hours ago - Chris Hipkins sets fire to Labour’s policy programmeThe prime minister has unveiled what he calls a ‘new direction’ for the Labour government, and it involves launching a wrecking ball into Jacinda Ardern’s extensive policy programme. Stewart Sowman-Lund reports from parliament. We knew something was coming, but we perhaps weren’t expecting quite so much policy carnage at parliament ...16 hours ago
- TVNZ, RNZ and NZ On Air respond to purging of mergingOrganisations directly affected by this afternoon’s announcement that the media merger will not go ahead have issued statements in response, with a common thread of welcoming clarity after months of uncertainty and speculation. RNZ chair Jim Mather said: “Media in New Zealand is being challenged by rapidly changing commercial models, the ...16 hours ago
- Scrapping Biofuels Mandate Helps Out Households...17 hours ago
- ‘Deeply disappointed and frustrated’ – Amnesty on hate speech stallThe decision to halt legislation that would bring religious grounds into existing hate speech rules, pending a referral to the Law Commission, has been rebuked by Amnesty International NZ. “We are deeply disappointed and frustrated that the government is taking so long to strengthen the country’s legislation against incitement to ...17 hours ago
- Workers Need Income Insurance NowThe biggest private sector union in Aotearoa New Zealand, E tū, is concerned by the Prime Minister’s announcement today that the New Zealand Income Insurance Scheme (NZIIS) will be delayed indefinitely. The announcement was part of the new Prime ...17 hours ago
- Taxpayer Victory! Government Scraps Jobs Tax (for Now)The Taxpayers’ Union has welcomed the Government’s decision to take the proposed social insurance scheme off the table for the rest of this parliament but has warned against bringing back similar proposals in future. Taxpayers’ Union Campaigns Manager, ...17 hours ago
- Minimum wage set to increase by $1.50 an hourThe minimum wage is set to increase by $1.50 an hour with the government saying the impact on inflation will be "negligible". ...17 hours ago
- Who is perpetrating domestic, sexual and family violence?Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michael Flood, Professor of Sociology, Queensland University of Technology shutterstock Some 1.6 million women (17%) and 548,000 men (6.1%) in Australia aged 15 or older have experienced physical or sexual violence from a current or previous cohabiting partner. This means ...17 hours ago
- NZ On Air Ready To Respond To Change Of Direction On Public MediaNZ On Air welcomes the decision from Cabinet today providing certainty for the public media sector. “Our funding strategy is flexible and future-focused, and we are able to quickly respond both to audience and media environment changes, without being ...17 hours ago
- ‘We injected our energy and expertise’ – RNZ CEO email to staffIn an email to staff distributed shortly after Chris Hipkins’ announcement that the media merger will be scrapped, RNZ chief executive Paul Thompson has said: “It is good to have clarity after recent uncertainty.” The boost in funding for RNZ, details of which are to be determined, was “an endorsement ...17 hours ago
- Pāmu Commits To Ambitious Sustainability Targets With A Second Sustainability-linked LoanPāmu is committed to reducing its climate impact through emissions reduction and strengthening climate resilience through adaption. Doubling down on its commitment , the state-owned enterprise has now signed a second sustainability-linked loan, ...18 hours ago
- Policy Victory For The Taxpayers’ Union: Hipkins Scraps The Media Merger No One WantedThe Taxpayers’ Union is delighted at the news that the TVNZ/RNZ media merger is to be scrapped. Taxpayers' Union Executive Director, Jordan Williams, said: “Our former Chairman, a former TVNZ board member, Barrie Saunders was among the first ...18 hours ago
- A story for every place, not jobs and growth: Revive reflects global trends in policy – cultural a...Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Justin O’Connor, Professor of Cultural Economy, University of South Australia Federal Labor is engaged in urgent reform, making up for the “lost decade” under the Coalition. The Voice, industrial relations, climate change, universities, health, Asian-Pacific diplomacy, research and development are all undergoing ...18 hours ago
- Watch: TVNZ/RNZ merger scrapped, income insurance and hate speech laws delayedPrime Minister Chris Hipkins Prime Minister Chris Hipkins has confirmed the TVNZ/RNZ merger will be scrapped. Watch live. ...18 hours ago
- Confirmed: Media merger dumped, social insurance scheme and hate speech laws on holdPrime minister Chris Hipkins has announced the end of the planned merger of TVNZ and RNZ. It’s been in the works for more than three years and was set to be up and running this year. However, speaking at a post-cabinet press conference this afternoon, Hipkins confirmed it would not ...18 hours ago
- It’s near impossible to get good data on water use in New Zealand. This raises questions about pub...Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Julia Talbot-Jones, Senior lecturer, Te Herenga Waka — Victoria University of Wellington Shutterstock/Dr Ajay Kumar Singh As New Zealand’s new Prime Minister Chris Hipkins embarks on reprioritising policies to focus on “bread and butter issues”, the details of the contentious ...18 hours ago
- Bryce Edwards’ Political Roundup: Labour’s reorientation to working class MāoriAnalysis by Dr Bryce Edwards. Political Roundup: Labour’s reorientation to working class Māori Political scientist, Dr Bryce Edwards. In recent decades the Labour Party has lost its traditional connection with working class voters, becoming more of a middle class party of liberalism. This is especially true of Labour’s historic connection with ...19 hours ago
- ChatGPT is a data privacy nightmare. If you’ve ever posted online, you ought to be concernedSource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Uri Gal, Professor in Business Information Systems, University of Sydney Shutterstock ChatGPT has taken the world by storm. Within two months of its release it reached 100 million active users, making it the fastest-growing consumer application ever launched. Users are ...19 hours ago
- How can the health regulator better protect patients from sexual misconduct?Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Bill Madden, Adjunct Professor, Australian Centre for Health Law Research, School of Law, Queensland University of Technology Shutterstock This week’s ABC Four Corners investigation revealed the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (Ahpra), or tribunals determining such complaints, allowed a number ...19 hours ago
- Media merger poised to be scrapped – reportIt appears the proposed merger of TVNZ and RNZ will indeed be scrapped in under an hour’s time. A source from within the media industry has told Te Ao Māori News that the planned entity has been abandoned by the government as new prime minister Chris Hipkins attempts to reign ...19 hours ago
- NSW pokies reforms will do much to limit problem gambling and money launderingSource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Charles Livingstone, Associate Professor, School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine, Monash University Bianca de Marchi/AAP The New South Wales government has embraced a sweeping set of reforms to the state’s massive poker machine business. These reforms are centred on ...19 hours ago
- Turkey-Syria earthquakes: a seismologist explains what happenedAt a magnitude of 7.8, this week’s horrific earthquake near the Turkish border was 177 times stronger than Christchurch’s in 2011. This week an extremely large earthquake occurred in the southeast of Turkey, near the border with Syria. Data from seismometers which measure shaking of the ground caused by ...19 hours ago
- The Unity Books children’s bestseller chart for JanuaryIn the life-cycle of a reader we bet it’s the childhood reading memories that matter most. Here are Unity’s bestselling books for January. AUCKLAND 1 Sleepy Kiwi by Kat Quin (Tikitibu, $20, babies) A bold, black and white board book for newborns and up. 2 Midnight Adventures of Ruru and ...19 hours ago
- Albanese government tackles housing crisis on 3 fronts, but there’s still more to doSource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Hal Pawson, Professor of Housing Research and Policy, and Associate Director, City Futures Research Centre, UNSW Sydney Shutterstock The Albanese government’s housing package moved a step closer to delivery with the recent release of draft legislation. The bills are expected ...19 hours ago
- Could the media merger be dumped today?It’s Wednesday, February 8 and welcome to The Spinoff’s live updates – coming to you today from Wellington. I’m Stewart Sowman-Lund, reach me on [email protected] What you need to know Chris Hipkins will chair the first meeting of his new cabinet. He will front a post-cabinet press ...21 hours ago
- After the flood: a Māngere evacuee recalls that terrible Friday, and what happened nextIt’s been a rough ride since Louisa Opeteia hopped out of bed to find herself standing in a rising tide, but she’s grateful for the little things: a hot meal and the helping hands of friends, family and kind strangers. Friday morning, January 27. Louisa Opetaia of Māngere noticed the ...21 hours ago
- Auckland’s ferocious floods took the city back in timePaved-over rivers, covered-up shorelines and filled-in wetlands reemerged during Auckland’s devastating deluge – taking the city 200 years back into the past. Tāmaki Makaurau’s recent flooding has stirred up plenty of kōrero about our biggest city. Architecture and urban planning professor Timothy Welch reminded us that we built Auckland in ...21 hours ago
- Chris Hipkins ready for first meeting of his new cabinetPM Chris Hipkins is back in Wellington after his big day in Canberra. He’s chairing the first meeting of his new cabinet after last week’s reshuffle. That reshuffle saw ministers like Andrew Little and Peeni Henare demoted, while newer players like Ayesha Verrall soared up the ranks. According to the ...21 hours ago
- Ed Sheeran choccie up for auction to help Auckland flood reliefWhittaker’s are putting five special “Ed-ition” blocks of their classic milk chocolate on Trade Me, with all proceeds going to help the Auckland flood relief. What makes it a special Ed-ition? The fact that pop star Ed Sheeran has come onboard, providing a selfie for the packaging and signing the ...21 hours ago
- How technology could help address our family violence problemIn the digital age, online activity can be a conduit for abusive behaviours. But secure digital tools can also offer a lifeline for victims. It’s no secret that New Zealand has a family violence epidemic, with one third of women physically or sexually assaulted by a partner over their lifetimes. ...23 hours ago
- ‘Far from ideal’: PM says incorrect living cost payments should be returnedThousands of people mistakenly paid the government’s cost of living payment have chosen not to repay it. And while the department responsible for sending out that money won’t say whether it’s disappointed by the lack of repayments, the prime minister was happy to express his views. Stuff has today revealed ...23 hours ago
- The truth about new housing and the Auckland floodsA pair of Auckland councillors have leveraged the city’s flood disaster to protest government’s legislation enabling more medium density housing. Hayden Donnell says our elected representatives would be better off pointing the finger at themselves. As residents across her ward worked to clean out their waterlogged houses, Mt Eden-Puketāpapa councillor ...23 hours ago
- The Bulletin: Removal of prescription fee could significantly improve health of NZersResearchers from the University of Otago are “strongly” recommending the $5 fee to get a prescription filled be removed as a “simple way to reduce health inequities”. A new study has found removing the fee could significantly reduce the number of hospital admissions and length of hospital stays. The findings, published ...23 hours ago
- Policy chops to start from today, signals PMWe’ve known since the earliest moments of Chris Hipkins’ premiership that some of the unwieldy policy agenda of Jacinda Ardern was up for the chop. And now, about two weeks since being sworn in, the prime minister has confirmed the chopping block will be on display at today’s 3pm post-cabinet ...23 hours 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.