We're getting reassurance that common sense is prevailing, and Marama remains onside. Leftist alignment isn't necessarily incompatible with centrist praxis!
"Jack Tautokai McDonald, number 9 on the party’s list last election, announced that he would be stepping away from his party roles because in his view there had been too much of a “centrist drift” under James Shaw, reports Radio NZ. It is a very significant move, as he was the policy co-convenor and one of the party’s leading Māori voices – here’s his full thread outlining his reasons why he’s made his decision. McDonald used to work closely with Marama Davidson, and this morning Radio NZ reported that she rejected the accusation of the party becoming too centrist." https://thespinoff.co.nz/the-bulletin/05-08-2019/the-bulletin-greens-push-policy-to-rumbling-party/
"But there was also widely reported member discontent at the conference. The NZ Herald’s Jason Walls spoke to Newstalk ZB about it, saying there were factions each pushing for the primary focus to be on environmental policy, or social policy. Many members would no doubt reject that it is a binary choice, saying both are important."
Non-binary people show the way to the future. Both/and logic applies. Activists fresh out of kindy will struggle to attain that level of sophistication – that's normal. Cruise on up that learning curve, you'll get there eventually.
"Of course James Shaw is centrist, but you don’t take a shit in the bed and then storm off in a tantrum! You stick it out and make change, and Shaw is just one person in a Party that is incredibly democratic so blaming it all on him is pretty twee."
Corin failed to explore the nuances, didn't even ask them both if they self-identified as centrists or leftists. Only interesting bit was the "lies and disinformation" James cited as the reason for his refusal to signal any future collaboration with the Nats. National could cease being the source of both, but real hard for old dogs to learn new tricks.
Among Mr McDonald's reasons for stepping down was that he believed the party was becoming more politically central under Mr Shaw.
"The Zero Carbon Act is an example, I think, of where James Shaw could have been stronger. He admittedly publicly that he gave concessions to the National Party without even getting their guaranteed support for the bill."
…
Mr Shaw told Morning Report the concessions on the bill were aimed at ensuring bipartisan support so the legislation would survive multiple changes of government.
"It passed its first reading on Tuesday afternoon 119-1, with just ACT opposing it. National's support is not needed for the bill to pass, but has been sought by the Government to signal bipartisan consensus for the country."
The wording says 'Zero NETT Carbon growth ' , but will it be like the Previous Kyoto and Paris accords which reduce 'nett carbon' which is done by buying offshore carbon credits and the taxpayers paying the farmers share?
'Biological methane is carved out of that goal, but a reduction is still mandated – at least 10 per cent by 2030, and between 24 and 47 per cent by 2050.
will it be like the Previous Kyoto and Paris accords which reduce 'nett carbon' which is done by buying offshore carbon credits and the taxpayers paying the farmers share?
Pretty sure I've heard Ministers saying No to the first question and sadly Yes to the second one. No links to hand, sorry.
"A form of climate denialism" campaign of lies and misinformation that's being spread… Bridges' claims an evolution of denial…National "attempting to virtue-signal" to lower-socio-economic groups…"I was asked if I would support Simon Bridges over Jacinda Ardern…"
Nottingham has lost his appeal against conviction and sentence.
The Crown appeal was sort of successful, with an increase\to 31 months in prison calculated by the Court of Appeal, but with home detention already served this allows him to miss prison by a whisker, with a new 12 month home detention sentence and 18 months altogether banned from internet use.
Cameron Slater also gets a mention, who supported Nottingham's claim that using an overseas based website gave them immunity from NZ law, but the courts have disagreed.
Cameron Slater and legal dimwit Nottingham – they really were and probably still are just complete time wasting arseholes with not moral compass and just born to fritter away money and resources.
That list of public judgements and decisions is just from 2015 onwards. The history goes back a lot longer than that.
'Fundamental human right': Green Party releases housing policy
We'll be offering a pathway to home ownership for people who rent and cannot afford to save for a deposit.
– Marama Davidson
This is crucial to the success of housing reform as it caters for those outside current Kiwibuild criteria.
In my view, every single person in this country should have access to healthy, stable housing no matter what their income or status. That is the way to strong communities and better outcomes.
The Greens also said:
The Green Party is also fighting for reforms to the Residential Tenancies Act, and a mandatory Warrant of Fitness to enforce proper standards for rental homes.
"We have a plan to shift New Zealand's approach to private rentals as well. We'll be reforming the Residential Tenancies Act this term, and we believe that no-cause terminations must end," Davidson said.
Any progressive government in this country today needs to "shift New Zealand's approach to the rental market"
We need to get amateur landlords out, and professional landlords in.
Hope they can work together with Labour on this in the next government. What a formidable government that would be!
Yeah, no surprise. I worked with him a few times in the '90s when I was an editor in the TVNZ newsroom. Never even thought of talking to him about interesting stuff. I know an arch-conservative when I see one, takes just a fraction of a second.
He's human though. Showed that recently when he was on Garner's show panel one morning, surprised me. People can change, but arch-cons do it real slow. Like driving a car with the hand-brake on.
How can we have mature road safety when we have so many immature idiots holding licences.
There will be no serious consequences for this type of road safety stupidity !!
Our whole approach is childish and that includes the police.
This is treated as a joke.
Many drivers take risks and refuse too follow the road rules as there is no fear of the consequences of their actions.
How many motorists would have been warned to turn on their lights in the lower south island this morning so they could be seen by other drivers and pedestrians due to the conditions.
The answer is 0
No enforcement on the basics.
It is time the ” she will be right approach ” and i will drive how i like and the ” don’t be naughty “approach of the police is given serious attention.
I remember reading that the justice system doesn't make sure that drivers before the Courts for driving offences, including drunken driving and who are required to take refresher, remedial courses or study of some sort, actually complete these courses. And that applies to repeat offenders; apparently they just turn up, get some fine, or sentence and are able to not complete a course. There should be a jail sentence with hard labour for such slithery non-compliers to bring them to their senses. And some reward for doing so, and for coming back once a year for three years to do a test. Also I would like vehicle simulators to be used, and discussions with an instructor about what they have done wrong, and how they could drive better in that situation. Everyone enjoys simulators, and they might learn something to change their possibly automatic behaviour.
Another traffic problem on Radio nz this morning, more vehicles in accidents have no wofs. The crash may not have been caused by a vehicle fault, but it seems that there is a fault in the driver or company in being careless about maintenance and wof, and no doubt the driver is not being properly looked after either!
I wonder also if the old easing of regulations meme that has caused us problems since NZ went for deregulation, is still hanging over us with its tendency for slack attitudes continuing. The change in 201q4 for some vehicles to only need wofs every 3 years or so, may have indicated that she'll-be-right is the way-to-go.
I see for new: An initial WoF inspection, another one at three years old, then one per year for the lifetime of the vehicle.
Considering that there is usually a consensus that every regulation should be as simple as possible (so even a child can understand), I can't see why the 3 year thing is there – make it one year throughout and no confusion!!
Challenging the capabilities of the average driver is taboo @ mosa. It's like 'The War'. Don't mention it!
It's everybody else's fault – always. Despite what we think, I reckon we're among the world's worst drivers – probably because of our laid back yea/nah attitude and uber competitive nature.
Certain things no longer seem to be enforced, and I guess that comes down to the idea that the slower one goes, the less the damage when it does happen.
Trouble is, not only are there now more distractions, but generally people's spatial awareness has lessened over the recent decades along with an increase in traffic, and the cult of the individual and the self.
The 2 second rule gets reduced to a 1 second rule; the right hand (passing lane) is MINE to own; indiscriminately changing lanes is my prerogative because my needs to get ahead are more important than yours; I'm considerably more accomplished at driving than you; Indicators are optional extras and you should have been able to read my mind; that bloody traffic light changed to red too quickly; etc.
It's not just immaturity either. Grey haired old blokes that've been driving for 40 years or so just KNOW that anything that happens is someone else's fault – even if they're owning the right hand lane and yakking on their cell phone telling Mrs Bloke (Mertle) to put the kettle on. And Christ! – just bloody wait till Mertle has a go behind the wheel!
And of course, it hasn't yet dawned on most that they're a bit of a hassle to others WALKING down the street in a straight line whilst trying to txt, let alone trying to be clever doing so with the cellphone in their laps – just below the windscreen/window line of the vehicle.
I'm knocking on having driven for 50 years mate! Some of it professionally – without an accident. You can't fault me (/sarc)
Speeding is a middle-class misdemeanour. (A bit like owning rentals). Attempts to police it result in outrage and claims that the 'real' issue is cellphones/poor roads/slow drivers/Asians etc. Anything except an overweening sense of entitlement and self-importance . Not to mention a refusal to own the psychological and economic truth of that Smashing Pumpkins line: "despite all my rage/I am still just a rat in a cage"
Speeding when I am travelling 100s of kms and am on a clear road in good light and go up over 100km or am passing a behemoth or a slowish van and have to go over 100 kmh to do so safely. I find it wrong that should automatically be punished. My happiest moment behind the wheel was when I was in front of a group winding down the hills and managed to stay at appropriate speeds and not be passed. No-one behind me had anything to complain about and I could see where I was going and moved along at the speed limit when possible.
But in town I think we should be driving at 40 kmh tops. I go at 50 km because I can, but often think it would be better if we all dropped a bit.
One thing I don't like is that approaching a narrowed bit of road – cars parked at sides for instance, drivers don't slow down even a bit. It's I can dodge through here and my side is clear. If you give way to them to make sure there is room, they charge forward at full legal speed and don't even look at you or raise a hand. Just a small wave would make driving more pleasant. And when it is wet, and humid and fogged up inside and out, why not slow down and be safe and give pedestrians a chance to dash over and get out of the rain.
Mosa – I note your same comment on todays The Daily Blog – 3 minutes apart. I don't think that this blog would appreciate being used as a broadcasting medium for your multiple messages.
Standing ovation for Mr Andrew Little….. way to go to make me cry, that's a good thing. THANK YOU FOR THIS !!!!
'Little is asked why he is giving the Government power to set 150-metre "safe zones" around abortion clinics. These would stop people protesting and handing literature to people seeking abortions in these zones. He says these would be created on a localised basis.
"Approaching a woman going to an abortion clinic and throwing leaflets and pamphlets in her face or chanting various dreadful epithets at them for going through with that health decision is pretty dreadful," Little said.'
Its great that abortion will be removed from the Crimes Act…hopefully this will mean that we won't need special abortion clinics. Terminations can be done like any other medical procedure at the local public hospital. Usual patient security applies, and protestors will not be able to distinguish a woman going in for an abortion from one going in for any other elective procedure.
It would be a breakthrough if this appalling case of intimidation, corruption of the law and personal rights is taken up by the MSM
If you care about journalism and the freedom to express an opinion in New Zealand with out fear of what will happen if you do then this story needs exposure.
Or have we really turned that corner and no longer value or encourage the freedom of investigative journalism and commentators like Bradbury and Hagar to do their job without the fear of harassment ?
This establishment mindset had existed for decades mosa. There have been a lot of victims over the years including me.
I still find it hard to believe that the 'powers that be' were/are willing to believe crackpots and malice driven arseholes over ordinary citizens going about their business in a lawful way but it happened time and again. In the meantime the real culprits (eg Cameron Slater and co.) were running around committing unlawful acts and slandering people right left and centre and they were allowed to get away with it. The reason is because they had the backing of influential people.
If Bradbury is successful he will set a precedence which might encourage others to come forward with their stories.
Yeah – the first week of August is when my personal weather records say that it is great time to be idle at home or having holiday with hot sun and a beach.
(I have come in here at the time and date indicated 1.40 pm – but see johnm’s two comments for 5 August 2019 with times of 7.21pm and 7.28pm. I have done a search for johnm and they come up as the same time and date and I have been taken to them but the time is not right, so a glitch here.)
Here is a chance for men with good attitudes to community and respect for people and kindness, to come to the aid of the party. A party without alcohol that is.
Men are needed to help other men over their urge to use violence when they are stressed and need to act strong to manage their life, and protect themselves from feeling inadequate. There is the funding but where are the decent men who want to put something into society and help other men? The help is needed, and it should be respected and honoured as much as firefighting is.
But there must be training for it and rules about the way it is carried out. Otherwise there can be misunderstandings leading to more problems.
Here is what seems an excellent report from Stuff reporter Harrison Christian 9/6/2019 which would give a background on the difficulties of many offenders. To read it is to understand the depressing impact of the things coming up regularly on the news about low-income existence. But the younger men needing help to break their cycle of offending may not be gang members as the media lead us to believe.
Gangs expert Jarrod Gilbert said the gang scene in New Zealand had become more subdued since the battle-worn days of the 80s, as memberships have aged.
"Those gang members in Once Were Warriors were all fairly young men," the senior lecturer at Canterbury University said.
"Nowadays if you took a snapshot of a gang, you would see guys aged in their 50s and 60s – sometimes their 70s."
Crime data shows older men are much less likely to commit violent crime and to be recidivist offenders.
"They've slowed down a bit. They don't have the overt violence; they are looking to create better lives for their members and families rather than just be hardcore, all-out violent and antisocial as they used to be in the past."
It's evident in the growing involvement of New Zealand's traditional street gangs in community initiatives, and their willingness to set aside old rivalries and co-operate with each other.
This is about a relatively recent look at the issues of violence and criminality commenting on the support and leadership by PM Jacinda Ardern and Min of Justice Andrew Little by Denis O'Reilly, 27/8/2018.
Another take on Brexit from the Irish Examiner via Yanis Varoufakis. 31/7/2019
Jeremy Corbyn must expose Boris Johnson’s no-deal Brexit as a Trump-deal Brexit and put forward Labour’s plan to end the interminable Brexit ordeal immediately, suggests Yanis Varoufakis…
Theresa May’s failure reflected an inability to distinguish between the EU’s broader interests and the specific motivation of its establishment. Given a choice between securing the profits of continental exporters and reaffirming the bureaucracy’s modus operandi, the EU’s chief negotiator, Michel Barnier, and the political leaders behind him will unfailingly opt for the latter. Every proposal of significant changes to the withdrawal agreement negotiated by May’s government, even those in the EU’s long-term interests, will thus be rejected.
Johnson is unlikely to repeat May’s error. To be sure, he may be tempted to try out his rhetorical skills on German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Emmanuel Macron. But Dominic Cummings, his effective chief of staff (and the cunning campaign director of Vote Leave in 2016) would undoubtedly remind Johnson that the last thing he needs is to expose the British public to another scene of their prime minister returning from the Continent empty-handed….
Corbyn’s second task is to offer an alternative for ending the humiliation of the ongoing negotiations. That means committing to revoke Article 50 to allow a Labour government time to implement a green-investment, anti-austerity policy agenda in tune with the party’s progressive internationalism, while simultaneously organizing a Citizens’ Deliberative Assembly to formulate the question(s) to be put to voters in a second Brexit referendum.
A general election fought over these two unequivocal alternatives, Johnson’s and Corbyn’s, would empower the UK’s people, at last, to determine their country’s future.
Amazing that a message board like 8chan could still operate after Christchurch but there does seem to finally be some movement in the capital of the free world to face up to their addiction to violence and hatred.
"When it goes into trees that's it; dead, done – gone forever. "
"There's a psychological shift happening, Worsnop says. Rural people face a permanent change in land use, and in their way of life. "When it goes into trees that's it; dead, done – gone forever. "
I wonder if…over time, plantations of pine, neglected because of climate or economic difficulties, could become valuable nurseries for native trees…pasture doesn't do this, as sheep keep eating …and eating….everything that tries to sprout and grow.
That's a really fabulous story, Poission, thanks for recommending it. My daughter and her partner bake sourdough bread every morning; I get up to the lovely smell and a warm kitchen and get to eat some warm sourdough bread with my porridge; lucky me! I'd like to try that ancient bread, just for the novelty of it.
Edit:
An interesting piece from last Sunday Radionz on how UK politicians are de-formed at their upper class boarding schools. Dr Nick Duffell, talks about the conditions as 'privileged abandonment and has written two books on the subject about which he has had personal experience.'
These schools perpetuate an entrenched English class system, he says.
“What they do is they develop a very strong esprit de corps for their class.
“This is what you've seen in Britain with the Brexit situation, that here is a class who will do anything to save the Tory party, and the wider global implications of what they're doing is completely cut off for them, they don't even see it.”
(I have also put it in How to Get There on Sunday 4/8/2019. I was interested in the development of the personality, and the deprivation of affection and family life affecting many of these boys and teenagers at boarding schools.)
Tom Sharpe satirised a Cambridge college in his book Porterhouse Blue, and there was a second called Grantchester Grind.
Stop trying to talk the house market down I though that to the housing market slows in winter the great phenomenon about the smaller cities housing prices riseing is that more Maori own homes there so they will be better off.
simon the Greens party is Green on the outside and intelligent on the inside they no national will shaft them in a Coalition government.
Crap if the employer followed due process the fine would not have stuck. Employers have the wellbeing of employees in their hands so they need to respect that if they fire people at a wim they are putting them in hardship.
Good on That young fella for donating his money from the sale of his paintings to charity.
Off to cut wood whanau look for new wood selling being advertised on trademe and small news papers and the Saturday paper for us our wood is tested with moisture meters so complying with councils law less than 25 % moisture and because we have heaps of wood from the forests harvest we give HUGE cords of wood like the size of the old days everyone who has bought our wood is smiling when we leave.
Any person in power whom denies Human Caused Climate Change is putting the 99.9 % of us lives at great risk as some people believe the lies hence they don't plan or prepare for Global Warming next minute they are in a disaster unprepared that is not a good place to be. With a little bit of changes on can minimize the effects Global warming will have on them .I am doing my small bit my carbon foot print has dropped dramatically now I live off grid with solar power and composting TOILET solar power water supplies to .
Australia’s climate stance is inflicting criminal damage on humanity
The government opts for conflict rather than change, while suppressing details on the implications of its climate
The top priority of government is security of the people. Yet on the greatest threat of all, most governments are failing abysmally.
As the global influence of western democracies wanes with the ascendancy of China, India and other emerging countries, the resulting power struggle is diverting attention from the great issues the world faces, to their symptoms
The neoliberal market economy, with its unregulated consumption and rapacious short-term outlook, is destroying modern civilisation. The warning signs are obvious, not least burgeoning high-consuming populations, massive biodiversity loss and multiple resource scarcities. Yet rather than reform an unsustainable system, political leaders scramble to prop it up and compound the problem. The result is Brexit, Trump’s Mexican wall, escalating Middle East tension, the US-China trade standoff, a global arms and space race, Amazon deforestation and much more
The ORC interest rate has been cut thats cool it will save a lot of money for mortgages on housing etc. I no someone who won't be happy.
Negative interest rates is not good the banks could end up changing for holding savers money like they did in Japan.
That's cool Pharmac is looking at funding more drugs for cancer sufferers.
Cleo that gives Me a sore face PEE dealer's getting snapped by the Police ka pai that stuff is wrecking some Maori whanau.
Mike I know that coffee hypes me up.
Cool Rocket Lab is going to try and recover and recycle there Electron rocket that is going to save Peter money and lower his carbon footprint maybe one day I will get a CHANCE to have a look at his operation.
Condolences to Toni Morrison whanau.
A huge parrot was discovered in Otago that is awesome 1 meter tall what a cool find.
Taina having a meeting with Wally quite a long meeting to Mana Wahine.
Travis gone bush back to the whenua hunting fishing like te tipuna did in the old days awesome its good that he is advocating for mental illness Maori is doing a similar thing living with a small carbon footprint.
Ka pai te hippe for getting heaps of signatures to help stop the building of a jettie on Waiheki Island we need to be wize with new developments especially when it involves Tangaroa.
Ka kite ano P.S what happened to the captions I could guess.
Buzz from the Beehive Housing Minister Chris Bishop delivered news – packed with the ingredients to enflame political passions – worthy of supplanting Winston Peters in headline writers’ priorities. He popped up at the post-Cabinet press conference to promise a crackdown on unruly and antisocial state housing tenants. His ...
Ele Ludemann writes – The Reserve Bank is advertising for a Diversity, Equity and Inclusion advisor. The Bank has one mandate – to keep inflation between one and three percent. It has failed in that and is only slowly getting inflation back down to the upper limit. Will it ...
Last week former National Party leader Simon Bridges was appointed by the Government as the new chair of the New Zealand Transport Agency Waka Kotahi (NZTA). You can read about the appointment in Thomas Coughlan’s article, Simon Bridges to become chair of NZ Transport Agency Waka KotahiThe fact that a ...
Bryce Edwards writes – Last week former National Party leader Simon Bridges was appointed by the Government as the new chair of the New Zealand Transport Agency Waka Kotahi (NZTA). You can read about the appointment in Thomas Coughlan’s article, Simon Bridges to become chair of NZ Transport Agency ...
TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read: Gavin Jacobson talks to Thomas Piketty 10 years on from Capital in the 21st CenturyThe SalvoLocal scoop: Green MP’s business being investigated over migrant exploitation claims StuffSteve KilgallonLocal deep-dive: The commercial contractors making money from School ...
It’s a home - but Kāinga Ora tenants accused of “abusing the privilege” may lose it. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The Government announced a crackdown on Kāinga Ora tenants who were unruly and/or behind on their rent, with Housing Minister Chris Bishop saying a place in a state ...
This is a guest post by Connor Sharp of Surface Light Rail Light rail in Auckland: A way forward sooner than you think With the coup de grâce of Auckland Light Rail (ALR) earlier this year, and the shift of the government’s priorities to roads, roads, and more roads, it ...
Note: As a paid-up Webworm member, I’ve recorded this Webworm as a mini-podcast for you as well. Some of you said you liked this option - so I aim to provide it when I get a chance to record! Read more ...
TL;DR: In my ‘six-stack’ of substacks at 6.06pm on Monday, March 18:IKEA is accused of planting big forests in New Zealand to green-wash; REDD-MonitorA City for People takes a well-deserved victory lap over Wellington’s pro-YIMBY District Plan votes; A City for PeopleSteven Anastasiou takes a close look at the sticky ...
Buzz from the Beehive Here’s hoping for a lively post-cabinet press conference when the PM and – perhaps – some of his ministers tell us what was discussed at their meeting today. Until then, Point of Order has precious little Beehive news to report after its latest monitoring of the ...
David Farrar writes – We now have almost all 2023 data in, which has allowed me to update my annual table of how labour went against its promises. This is basically their final report card. The promiseThe result Build 100,000 affordable homes over 10 ...
I’m a bit worried that I’ve started a previous newsletter with the words “just when you think they couldn’t get any worse…” Seems lately that I could begin pretty much every issue with that opening. Such is the nature of our coalition government that they seem to be outdoing each ...
Geoffrey Miller writes – Timing is everything. And from China’s perspective, this week’s visit by its foreign minister to New Zealand could be coming at just the right moment. The visit by Wang Yi to Wellington will be his first since 2017. Anniversaries are important to Beijing. ...
Depictions of Islam in Western popular culture have rarely been positive, even before 9/11. Five years on from the mosque shootings, this is one of the cultural headwinds that the Muslim community has to battle against. Whatever messages of tolerance and inclusion are offered in daylight, much of our culture ...
Last week Transport Minster Simeon Brown and Mayor Wayne Brown opened the new Auckland Rail Operations Centre. The new train control centre will see teams from KiwiRail, Auckland Transport and Auckland One Rail working more closely together to improve train services across the city. The Auckland Rail Operations Centre in ...
Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Retiring former Labour Finance Minister Grant Robertson said in an exit interview with Q+A yesterday the Government can and should sustain more debt to invest in infrastructure for future generations. Elsewhere in the news in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy at 6:36am: Read more ...
Timing is everything. And from China’s perspective, this week’s visit by its foreign minister to New Zealand could be coming at just the right moment. The visit by Wang Yi to Wellington will be his first since 2017. Anniversaries are important to Beijing. It is more than just a happy ...
TL;DR: The key events to watch in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy in the week to March 18 include:China’s Foreign Minister visiting Wellington today;A post-cabinet news conference this afternoon; the resumption of Parliament on Tuesday for two weeks before Easter;retiring former Labour Finance Minister Grant Robertson gives his valedictory speech in Parliament; ...
New Zealand First Leader Winston Peters’s state-of-the-nation speech on Sunday was really a state-of-Winston-First speech. He barely mentioned any of the Government’s key policies and could not even wholly endorse its signature income tax cuts. Instead, he rehearsed all of his complaints about the Ardern Government, including an extraordinary claim ...
A listing of 35 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, March 10, 2024 thru Sat, March 16, 2024. Story of the week This week we'll give you a little glimpse into how we collect links to share and ...
A listing of 35 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, March 10, 2024 thru Sat, March 16, 2024. Story of the week This week we'll give you a little glimpse into how we collect links to share and ...
“I’ve been internalising a really complicated situation in my head.”When they kept telling us we should wait until we get to know him, were they taking the piss? Was it a case of, if you think this is bad, wait till you get to know the real Christopher, after the ...
Happy fourth anniversary, Pandemic That Upended Bloody Everything. I have been observing it by enjoying my second bout of COVID. It’s 5.30 on Sunday morning and only now are lights turning back on for me.Allow me to copy and paste what I told reader Sara yesterday:Depleted, fogged and crappy. Resting, ...
Happy fourth anniversary, Pandemic That Upended Bloody Everything. I have been observing it by enjoying my second bout of COVID. It’s 5.30 on Sunday morning and only now are lights turning back on for me.Allow me to copy and paste what I told reader Sara yesterday:Depleted, fogged and crappy. Resting, ...
Happy fourth anniversary, Pandemic That Upended Bloody Everything. I have been observing it by enjoying my second bout of COVID. It’s 5.30 on Sunday morning and only now are lights turning back on for me.Allow me to copy and paste what I told reader Sara yesterday:Depleted, fogged and crappy. Resting, ...
.“$10 and a target that bleeds” - Bleeding Targets for Under $10!.Thanks for reading Frankly Speaking ! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.This government appears hell-bent on either scrapping life-saving legislation or reintroducing things that - frustrated critics insist - will be dangerous and likely ...
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Subversive & Disruptive Technologies: Just as happened with that other great regulator of the masses, the Medieval Church, the advent of a new and hard-to-control technology – the Internet – is weakening the ties that bind. Then, and now, those who enjoy a monopoly on the dissemination of lies, cannot and will ...
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Bob Edlin writes – And what is the world watching today…? The email newsletter from Associated Press which landed in our mailbox early this morning advised: In the news today: The father of a school shooter has been found guilty of involuntary manslaughter; prosecutors in Trump’s hush-money case ...
Bryce Edwards writes – Is another Green MP on their way out? And are the Greens severely tarnished by another integrity scandal? For the second time in three months, the Green Party has secretly suspended an MP over integrity issues. Mystery is surrounding the party’s decision to ...
For the last few years, the Green Party has been the party that has managed to avoid the plague of multiple scandals that have beleaguered other political parties. It appears that their luck has run out with a second scandal which, unfortunately for them, coincided with Golraz Ghahraman, the focus ...
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Anybody following the situation in Ukraine and Russia would probably have been amused by a recent Tweet on X NATO seems to be putting in an awful lot of effort to influence what is, at least according to them, a sham election in an autocracy.When do the Ukrainians go to ...
TL;DR:Shaun Baker on Wynyard Quarter's transformation. Magdalene Taylor on the problem with smart phones. How private equity are now all over reinsurance. Dylan Cleaver on rugby and CTE. Emily Atkin on ‘Big Meat’ looking like ‘Big Oil’.Bernard’s six-stack of substacks at 6pm on March 15Photo by Jeppe Hove Jensen ...
Buzz from the Beehive Finance Minister Nicola Willis had plenty to say when addressing the Auckland Business Chamber on the economic growth that (she tells us) is flagging more than we thought. But the government intends to put new life into it: We want our country to be a ...
The Transport and Infrastructure Committee has reported back on the Road User Charges (Light Electric RUC Vehicles) Amendment Bill, basicly rubberstamping it. While there was widespread support among submitters for the principle that EV and PHEV drivers should pay their fair share for the roads, they also overwhelmingly disagreed with ...
Peter Dunne writes – This week’s government bailout – the fifth in the last eighteen months – of the financially troubled Ruapehu Alpine Lifts company would have pleased many in the central North Island ski industry. The government’s stated rationale for the $7 million funding was that it ...
See if you can spot the difference. An Iranian born female MP from a progressive party is accused of serial shoplifting. Her name is leaked to the media, which goes into a pack frenzy even before the Police launch an … Continue reading → ...
Ele Ludemann writes – The government is omitting general Treaty references from legislation : The growth of Treaty of Waitangi clauses in legislation caused so much worry that a special oversight group was set up by the last Government in a bid to get greater coherence in the public service on Treaty ...
What was that judge thinking?Peter Williams writes – That Golriz Ghahraman and District Court Judge Maria Pecotic were once lawyer colleagues is incontrovertible. There is published evidence that they took at least one case to the Court of Appeal together. There was a report on ...
TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read:Climate Scorpion – the sting is in the tail. Introducing planetary solvency. A paper via the University of Exeter’s Institute and Faculty of Actuaries.Local scoop:Kāinga Ora starts pulling out of its Auckland projects and selling land RNZ ...
Wellington’s massively upzoned District Plan adds the opportunity for tens of thousands of new homes not just in the central city (such as these Webb St new builds) but also close to the CBD and public transport links. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Wellington gave itself the chance of ...
It’s Friday and we’re halfway through March Madness. Here’s some of the things that caught our attention this week. This Week in Greater Auckland On Monday Matt asked how we can get better event trains and an option for grade separating Morningside Dr. On Tuesday Matt looked into ...
Something you might not know about me is that I’m quite a stubborn person. No, really. I don’t much care for criticism I think’s unfair or that I disagree with. Few of us do I suppose.Back when I was a drinker I’d sometimes respond defensively, even angrily. There are things ...
Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The five things that mattered in Aotearoa’s political economy that we wrote and spoke about via The Kākā and elsewhere for paying subscribers in the last week included:PM Christopher Luxon said the reversal of interest deductibility for landlords was done to help renters, who ...
It was not so much the Labour Party but really the Chris Hipkins party yesterday at Labour’s caucus retreat in Martinborough. The former Prime Minister was more or less consistent on wealth tax, which he was at best equivocal about, and social insurance, which he was not willing to revisit. ...
Buzz from the BeehiveThe text reproduced above appears on a page which records all the media statements and speeches posted on the government’s official website by Melissa Lee as Minister of Media and Communications and/or by Jenny Marcroft, her Parliamentary Under-secretary. It can be quickly analysed ...
For forty years, Robert Muldoon has been a dirty word in our politics. His style of government was so repulsive and authoritarian that the backlash to it helped set and entrench our constitutional norms. His pig-headedness over forcing through Think Big eventually gave us the RMA, with its participation and ...
Bryce Edwards writes – Is the new government reducing tax on rental properties to benefit landlords or to cut the cost of rents? That’s the big question this week, after Associate Finance Minister David Seymour announced on Sunday that the Government would be reversing the Labour Government’s removal ...
Saudi Arabia is rarely far from the international spotlight. The war in Gaza has brought new scrutiny to Saudi plans to normalise relations with Israel, while the fifth anniversary of the controversial killing of Jamal Khashoggi was marked shortly before the war began on October 7. And as the home ...
Questions need to be asked on both sides of the worldPeter Williams writes – The NRL Judiciary hands down an eight week suspension to Sydney Roosters forward Spencer Leniu , an Auckland-born Samoan, after he calls Ezra Mam, Sydney-orn but of Aboriginal and Torres Strait ...
Ele Ludemann writes – Contrary to what many headlines and news stories are saying, residential landlords are not getting a tax break. The government is simply restoring to them the tax deductibility of interest they had until the previous government removed it. There is no logical reason ...
I can't remember when it was goodMoments of happiness in bloomMaybe I just misunderstoodAll of the love we left behindWatching our flashbacks intertwineMemories I will never findIn spite of whatever you becomeForget that reckless thing turned onI think our lives have just begunI think our lives have just begunDoes anyone ...
Michael Bassett writes – At first reading, a front-page story in the New Zealand Herald on 13 March was bizarre. A group of severely intellectually limited teenagers, with little understanding of the law, have been pleading to the Justice Select Committee not to pass a bill dealing with ram ...
How much political capital is Christopher Luxon willing to burn through in order to deliver his $2.9 billion gift to landlords? Evidently, Luxon is: (a) unable to cost the policy accurately. As Anna Burns-Francis pointed out to him on Breakfast TV, the original ”rock solid” $2.1 billion cost he was ...
TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read:Jonathon Porritt calling bullshit in his own blog post on mainstream climate science as ‘The New Denialism’.Local scoop:The Wellington City Council’s list of proposed changes to the IHP recommendations to be debated later today was leaked this ...
TL;DR:Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said yesterday tenants should be grateful for the reinstatement of interest deductibility because landlords would pass on their lower tax costs in the form of lower rents. That would be true if landlords were regulated monopolies such as Transpower or Auckland Airport1, but they’re not, ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Tom Toro Tom Toro is a cartoonist and author. He has published over 200 cartoons in The New Yorker since 2010. His cartoons appear in Playboy, the Paris Review, the New York Times, American Bystander, and elsewhere. Related: What 10 EV lovers ...
The business section of the NZ Herald is full of opinion. Among the more opinionated of all is the ex-Minister of Transport, ex-Minister of Railways, ex MP for Auckland Central (1975-93, Labour), Wellington Central (1996-99, ACT, then list-2005), ex-leader of the ACT Party, uncle to actor Antonia, the veritable granddaddy ...
Hi,Just quickly — I’m blown away by the stories you’ve shared with me over the last week since I put out the ‘Gary’ podcast, where I told you about the time my friend’s flatmate killed the neighbour.And you keep telling me stories — in the comments section, and in my ...
The first season of Rings of Power was not awful. It was thoroughly underwhelming, yes, and left a lingering sense of disappointment, but it was more expensive mediocrity than catastrophe. I wrote at length about the series as it came out (see the Review section of the blog, and go ...
Buzz from the Beehive Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Brooke van Velden told Auckland Business Chamber members they were the first audience to hear her priorities as a minister in a government committed to cutting red tape and regulations. She brandished her liberalising credentials, saying Flexible labour markets are the ...
Chris Trotter writes – TO UNDERSTAND WHY NEWSHUB FAILED, it is necessary to understand how TVNZ changed. Up until 1989, the state broadcaster had been funded by a broadcasting licence fee, collected from every citizen in possession of a television set, supplemented by a relatively modest (compared ...
Bob Edlin writes – The Māori Party has been busy issuing a mix of warnings and threats as its expresses its opposition to interest deductibility for landlords and the plans of seabed miners. It remains to be seen whether they follow the example of indigenous litigants in Australia, ...
Every year, in the Budget, Parliament forks out money to government agencies to do certain things. And every year, as part of the annual review cycle, those agencies are meant to report on whether they have done the things Parliament gave them that money for. Agencies which consistently fail to ...
Mike Grimshaw writes – Recent events in American universities point to an underlying crisis of coherent thinking, an issue that increasingly affects the progressive left across the Western world. This of course is nothing new as anyone who can either remember or has read of the late ...
The thing about life’s little victories is that they can be followed by a defeat.Reader Darryl told me on Monday night:Test again Dave. My “head cold” last week became COVID within 24 hours, and is still with me. I hear the new variants take a bit longer to show up ...
TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read:Angus Deaton on rethinking his economics IMFLocal scoop: The people behind Tamarind, the firm that left a $500m cleanup bill for taxpayers at Taranaki’s Tui oil well, are back operating in Taranaki under a different company name. Jonathan ...
Normally when we talk about accessing public transport it’s about improving how easy it is to get to, such as how easy is it to cross roads in a station/stop’s walking catchment, is it possible to cycle to safely, do bus connections work, or even if are there new routes/connections ...
Politicians are not renowned for telling the truth. Some tell us things that are verifiably not true. They offer statements that omit critical pieces of information. Gloss over risks, preferring to offer the best case scenario.Some not truths are quite small, others amusing in their transparency. There are those repeated ...
The pressure is mounting on the Government as it finalises its Budget Policy Statement, but yet more predicted revenue ‘goes missing’. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The Climate Commission has delivered another funding blow to the National-ACT-NZ First coalition Government’s tax-cutting plans, potentially carving $1.4 billion off the ‘climate ...
The Government now faces the prospect of having to watch another tax raise the price of petrol when, only six days ago, it abolished the Auckland Regional Fuel tax. Prime Minister Christopher Luxon argued that the regional fuel tax imposed costs on lower-income people with less fuel-efficient vehicles and that ...
Kicking the most vulnerable people out of state housing and pushing them towards homelessness will result in a proliferation of poverty and trauma across our most vulnerable communities. ...
Te Pāti Māori co-leader and MP for Waiariki, Rawiri Waititi has penned a letter asking MPs to support his members bill to remove GST from all food. The bill is expected to go through its first reading in parliament this Wednesday. “I’m calling on all political parties to support my ...
This year is about getting real with Kiwis and discussing the tough issues, as the National Government exacerbates inequality and divides New Zealand, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said ...
The Government adding Significant Natural Areas (SNAs) to its already roaring environmental policy bonfire is an assault on the future of wildlife that makes Aotearoa unique. ...
After 12 years of fighting to protect our moana we are finding ourselves back at square one and back at court. Today, the Environmental Protection Agency is sitting in Hawera to reconsider an application from Trans-Tasman Resources to dig up 50 million tonnes of the seabed in South Taranaki. This ...
Minister Shane Jones’ decision to step away from a seabed mining project is evidence of the murky waters surrounding the Government’s fast-track legislation. ...
The growth of Treaty of Waitangi clauses in legislation caused so much worry that a special oversight group was set up by the last government in a bid to get greater coherence in the publicservice on Treaty matters. When ministers first considered the need for tighter oversight in 2021, there ...
The growth of Treaty of Waitangi clauses in legislation caused so much worry that a special oversight group was set up by the last government in a bid to get greater coherence in the publicservice on Treaty matters. When ministers first considered the need for tighter oversight in 2021, there ...
The Coalition Government’s miscalculation saga continues as it has forgotten an eyewatering $90 million gap in its interest deductibility cost figures, say Labour Finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds and Revenue Spokesperson Deborah Russell. ...
He Pou a Rangi Climate Change Commission has today released advice that says if the Government doesn’t act now New Zealand is at risk of not meeting its climate goals. ...
The Coalition Government has today confirmed it is abandoning first home buyers who are struggling to get ahead, says Labour Finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds. ...
The New Zealand public voted for a change in direction at the 2023 general election and that is exactly what this coalition government has been delivering in its first 100 days. There was an immediate focus on the economy, easing the cost of living, cracking down on law and order ...
The Government has left the health system as an afterthought, announcing half-baked targets at the last minute of their 100-day plan, says Labour Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall. ...
Kiwis are still waiting for their promised cost of living support after 100 days of a National Government that is taking us backwards, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said today. ...
The National Government has spent its first 100 days stopping, cutting and reversing. They have scrapped stuff for stuff for the sake of it, without putting up any solutions of their own – and it’s hardworking New Zealanders who will pay for it. ...
100 days of National taking NZ backwardsThe National Government has spent its first 100 days stopping, cutting and reversing. They have scrapped stuff for stuff for the sake of it, without putting up any solutions of their own – and it’s hardworking New Zealanders who will pay for it. ...
The Government must commit to funding free and healthy school lunches, as thousands of people sign the petition to keep them, education spokesperson Jan Tinetti says. ...
If the Government was serious about moving families into public housing, they would build more houses so there is actually somewhere for people to go. ...
The free and healthy school lunches programme feeds our kids, helps them to learn, and saves families money – but it is at risk under this Government, education spokesperson Jan Tinetti said. ...
The Government’s proposed changes to Firearms Prohibition Orders (FPO) add almost nothing new and are merely an attempt to distract from its plans to loosen gun laws, police spokesperson Ginny Andersen and justice spokesperson Dr Duncan Webb said. ...
The great Victorian era English politician Lord Macauley stood in the British House of Parliament and said, "The gallery in which the reporters sit has become a fourth estate of the realm".He understood and outlined even way back then, the significant role and influence media have in a democracy. ...
The government’s attack on Māori health this week is committing tangata-whenua to a premature death, says Te Pāti Māori. “The government have begun their onslaught on Māori health with the abolishment of the Māori Health Authority and smokefree laws in the same day” said health spokesperson and co-leader, Debbie Ngarewa-Packer. ...
Today marks a tragic milestone for New Zealanders as the Coalition Government side with big tobacco to repeal the Smokefree Environments and Regulated Products (Smoked Tobacco) Amendment Act 2022, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins and Labour Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall said. ...
New Zealand’s social workers are qualified, experienced, and more representative of the communities they serve, Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston says. “I want to acknowledge and applaud New Zealand’s social workers for the hard work they do, providing invaluable support for our most vulnerable. “To coincide with World ...
Cabinet has agreed to a reduced road user charge (RUC) rate for plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs), Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. Owners of PHEVs will be eligible for a reduced rate of $38 per 1,000km once all light electric vehicles (EVs) move into the RUC system from 1 April. ...
Minister of Agriculture and Trade, Todd McClay, says that today’s opening of Riverland Foods manufacturing plant in Christchurch is a great example of how trade access to overseas markets creates jobs in New Zealand. Speaking at the official opening of this state-of-the-art pet food factory the Minister noted that exports ...
Minister of Foreign Affairs Winston Peters met with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Wellington today. “It was a pleasure to host Foreign Minister Wang Yi during his first official visit to New Zealand since 2017. Our discussions were wide-ranging and enabled engagement on many facets of New Zealand’s relationship with China, including trade, ...
Kāinga Ora – Homes & Communities has been instructed to end the Sustaining Tenancies Framework and take stronger measures against persistent antisocial behaviour by tenants, says Housing Minister Chris Bishop. “Earlier today Finance Minister Nicola Willis and I sent an interim Letter of Expectations to the Board of Kāinga Ora. ...
Tēna koutou katoa. Greetings everyone. Thank you to the Auckland Chamber of Commerce and the Honourable Simon Bridges for hosting this address today. I acknowledge the business leaders in this room, the leaders and governors, the employers, the entrepreneurs, the investors, and the wealth creators. The coalition Government shares your ...
Minister Winston Peters completed the final leg of his visit to South and South East Asia in Singapore today, where he focused on enhancing one of New Zealand’s indispensable strategic partnerships. “Singapore is our most important defence partner in South East Asia, our fourth-largest trading partner and a ...
Minister of Internal Affairs and Workplace Relations and Safety, Hon. Brooke van Velden, will travel to the Republic of Korea to represent New Zealand at the Third Summit for Democracy on 18 March. The summit, hosted by the Republic of Korea, was first convened by the United States in 2021, ...
ICNZ Speech 7 March 2024, Auckland Acknowledgements and opening Mōrena, ngā mihi nui. Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Nor Whanganui aho. Good morning, it’s a privilege to be here to open the ICNZ annual conference, thank you to Mark for the Mihi Whakatau My thanks to Tim Grafton for inviting me ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Lead Coordination Minister Judith Collins have expressed their deepest sympathy on the five-year anniversary of the Christchurch terror attacks. “March 15, 2019, was a day when families, communities and the country came together both in sorrow and solidarity,” Mr Luxon says. “Today we pay our respects to the 51 shuhada ...
Speech for Financial Advice NZ Conference 5 March 2024 Acknowledgements and opening Morena, Nga Mihi Nui. Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Nor Whanganui aho. Thanks Nate for your Mihi Whakatau Good morning. It’s a pleasure to formally open your conference this morning. What a lovely day in Wellington, What a great ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters held discussions in Jakarta today about the future of relations between New Zealand and South East Asia’s most populous country. “We are in Jakarta so early in our new government’s term to reflect the huge importance we place on our relationship with Indonesia and South ...
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Winston Peters has announced that the Foreign Minister of China, Wang Yi, will visit New Zealand next week. “We look forward to re-engaging with Foreign Minister Wang Yi and discussing the full breadth of the bilateral relationship, which is one of New Zealand’s ...
Transport Minister Simeon Brown has today opened the new Auckland Rail Operations Centre, which will bring together KiwiRail, Auckland Transport, and Auckland One Rail to improve service reliability for Aucklanders. “The recent train disruptions in Auckland have highlighted how important it is KiwiRail and Auckland’s rail agencies work together to ...
The Government is proud to support the 10th edition of Crankworx Rotorua as the Crankworx World Tour returns to Rotorua from 16-24 March 2024, says Minister for Economic Development Melissa Lee. “Over the past 10 years as Crankworx Rotorua has grown, so too have the economic and social benefits that ...
Legislation implementing coalition Government tax commitments and addressing long-standing tax anomalies will be progressed in Parliament next week, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. The legislation is contained in an Amendment Paper to the Taxation (Annual Rates for 2023–24, Multinational Tax, and Remedial Matters) Bill issued today. “The Amendment Paper represents ...
Associate Environment Minister Andrew Hoggard has today announced that the Government has agreed to suspend the requirement for councils to comply with the Significant Natural Areas (SNA) provisions of the National Policy Statement for Indigenous Biodiversity for three years, while it replaces the Resource Management Act (RMA).“As it stands, SNAs ...
Agriculture Minister Todd McClay has classified the drought conditions in the Marlborough, Tasman, and Nelson districts as a medium-scale adverse event, acknowledging the challenging conditions facing farmers and growers in the district. “Parts of Marlborough, Tasman, and Nelson districts are in the grip of an intense dry spell. I know ...
The Government is helping farmers eradicate the significant impact of facial eczema (FE) in pastoral animals, Agriculture Minister Todd McClay announced. “A $20 million partnership jointly funded by Beef + Lamb NZ, the Government, and the primary sector will save farmers an estimated NZD$332 million per year, and aims to ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has completed a successful visit to India, saying it was an important step in taking the relationship between the two countries to the next level. “We have laid a strong foundation for the Coalition Government’s priority of enhancing New Zealand-India relations to generate significant future benefit for both countries,” says Mr Peters, ...
Cabinet has agreed to provide $7 million to ensure the 2024 ski season can go ahead on the Whakapapa ski field in the central North Island but has told the operator Ruapehu Alpine Lifts it is the last financial support it will receive from taxpayers. Cabinet also agreed to provide ...
Health Minister Dr Shane Reti says the launch of a new mobile breast screening unit in Counties Manukau reinforces the coalition Government’s commitment to drive better cancer services for all New Zealanders. Speaking at the launch of the new mobile clinic, Dr Reti says it’s a great example of taking ...
Health Minister Dr Shane Reti says the launch of a new mobile breast screening unit in Counties Manukau reinforces the coalition Government’s commitment to drive better cancer services for all New Zealanders. Speaking at the launch of the new mobile clinic, Dr Reti says it’s a great example of taking ...
Unlocking economic growth and land for housing are critical elements of the Government’s plan for our transport network, and planned upgrades to State Highway 29 (SH29) near Tauriko will deliver strongly on those priorities, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “The SH29 upgrades near Tauriko will improve safety at the intersections ...
Unlocking economic growth and land for housing are critical elements of the Government’s plan for our transport network, and planned upgrades to State Highway 29 (SH29) near Tauriko will deliver strongly on those priorities, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “The SH29 upgrades near Tauriko will improve safety at the intersections ...
Lower fruit and vegetable prices are welcome news for New Zealanders who have been doing it tough at the supermarket, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. Stats NZ reported today the price of fruit and vegetables has dropped 9.3 percent in the 12 months to February 2024. “Lower fruit and vege ...
Tēnā koutou katoa and greetings to you all. Chair, I am honoured to address the sixty-eighth session of the Commission on the Status of Women. I acknowledge the many crises impacting the rights of women and girls. Heightened global tensions, war, climate related and humanitarian disasters, and price inflation all ...
Tēnā koutou katoa and greetings to you all. Chair, I am honoured to address the 68th session of the Commission on the Status of Women. I acknowledge the many crises impacting the rights of women and girls. Heightened global tensions, war, climate related and humanitarian disasters, and price inflation all ...
The coalition Government is supporting farmers to enhance land management practices by investing $3.3 million in locally led catchment groups, Agriculture Minister Todd McClay announced. “Farmers and growers deliver significant prosperity for New Zealand and it’s vital their ongoing efforts to improve land management practices and water quality are supported,” ...
Good evening everyone and thank you for that lovely introduction. Thank you also to the Honourable Simon Bridges for the invitation to address your members. Since being sworn in, this coalition Government has hit the ground running with our 100-day plan, delivering the changes that New Zealanders expect of us. ...
Recommendations from the Climate Change Commission for New Zealand on the Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) auction and unit limit settings for the next five years have been tabled in Parliament, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. “The Commission provides advice on the ETS annually. This is the third time the ...
The coalition Government is beginning its fight to lower building costs and reduce red tape by exempting minor building work from paying the building levy, says Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk. “Currently, any building project worth $20,444 including GST or more is subject to the building levy which is ...
Proposed changes to tax legislation to prevent the over-taxation of low-earning trusts are welcome, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. The changes have been recommended by Parliament’s Finance and Expenditure Committee following consideration of submissions on the Taxation (Annual Rates for 2023–24, Multinational Tax, and Remedial Matters) Bill. “One of the ...
Assalaamu alaikum. السَّلَام عليكم In light of the holy month of Ramadan, I want to extend my warmest wishes to our Muslim community in New Zealand. Ramadan is a time for spiritual reflection, renewed devotion, perseverance, generosity, and forgiveness. It’s a time to strengthen our bonds and appreciate the diversity ...
Former Transport Minister and CEO of the Auckland Business Chamber Hon Simon Bridges has been appointed as the new Board Chair of the New Zealand Transport Agency (NZTA) for a three-year term, Transport Minister Simeon Brown announced today. “Simon brings extensive experience and knowledge in transport policy and governance to the role. He will ...
Good morning all, it is a pleasure to be here as Minister of Science, Innovation and Technology. It is fantastic to see how connected and collaborative the life science and biotechnology industry is here in New Zealand. I would like to thank BioTechNZ and NZTech for the invitation to address ...
Regional Development Minister Shane Jones says he is looking forward to the day when three key water projects in Northland are up and running, unlocking the full potential of land in the region. Mr Jones attended a community event at the site of the Otawere reservoir near Kerikeri on Friday. ...
Associate Finance Minister David Seymour has today announced that the Government has agreed to restore deductibility for mortgage interest on residential investment properties. “Help is on the way for landlords and renters alike. The Government’s restoration of interest deductibility will ease pressure on rents and simplify the tax code,” says ...
Sport and Recreation Minister Chris Bishop will travel to Switzerland today to attend an Executive Committee meeting and Symposium of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA). Mr Bishop will then travel on to London where he will attend a series of meetings in his capacity as Infrastructure Minister. “New Zealanders believe ...
This year’s Pacific Language Weeks celebrate regional unity and the contribution of Pacific communities to New Zealand culture, says Minister for Pacific Peoples Dr Shane Reti. Dr Reti announced dates for the 2024 Pacific Language Weeks during a visit to the Pasifika festival in Auckland today and says there’s so ...
By Lydia Lewis, RNZ Pacific journalist Food rationing is underway in remote areas in Papua New Guinea’s Highlands following torrential rain and flash flooding. More than 20 people have been reported dead in Chimbu Province. In nearby Enga Province, the centre of last month’s massacre, a 15-year-old boy has been ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Andrew Hughes, Lecturer, Research School of Management, Australian National University After months of debate and intrigue, the AFL’s 19th and newest team, the Tasmania Devils, finally launched its jumper, logo and colours in Devonport this week. The Devils will wear green, ...
Brannavan Gnanalingam reviews the debut novel by Saraid de Silva.One of the most baffling things for children who move to a new country is what their parents’ (or grandparents’) lives were like prior to moving – for kids in particular, they’re too busy trying to fit in in their ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Stephen Gaunson, Associate Professor in Cinema Studies, RMIT University Narelle Portanier/Binge “If you don’t know who your mob are, you don’t know who you are,” Detective Andrea “Andie” Whitford (played by Leah Purcell) is told early into the new crime ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Elise Klein, Associate professor, Australian National University It’s commonly accepted that women do the vast majority of caregiving in Australian society. But less appreciated is that Indigenous women do larger amounts of unpaid care than any other group. Working with the Aboriginal ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Adrian Beaumont, Election Analyst (Psephologist) at The Conversation; and Honorary Associate, School of Mathematics and Statistics, The University of Melbourne Joe Biden and Donald Trump have both secured their parties’ nominations for the November 5 United States general election by winning a ...
Comment: There has been a striking contrast in trans-Tasman interest about Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi’s visit to New Zealand and Australia. While the Australian press has been full of articles about the visit – including his curious decision to meet with former prime minister and China booster Paul Keating ...
After years of pressuring banks and other institutions to stop investing in fossil fuels, climate campaigners are making some progress. So how does divestment work?For years, climate activists have been pushing banks and other big institutions to divest from fossil fuels. New research from climate advocacy group 350 Aotearoa ...
For Boba, Ethan and Ashley, K-pop is a place to belong, a way to express themselves, and a bridge to connect with others. The three young Polynesians are part of a K-pop fan community in Tāmaki Makaurau. It’s one of many that have sprung up worldwide as K-pop has gone ...
For Boba, Ethan and Ashley, K-pop is a place to belong, a way to express themselves, and a bridge to connect with others. This one-off documentary presents three intimate portraits of young Polynesians who are pulled into a Korean cultural phenomenon. K-POLYS is directed by Litia Tuiburelevu, Produced by Hex ...
There’s ample evidence demonstrating free school lunch programmes provide wide benefits across schools, households and communities according to public health researchers. ACT Minister David Seymour wants to reduce the spending on Aotearoa New Zealand’s ...
By Wata Shaw in Suva Fiji is facing an exodus of Fijians as many are leaving for overseas seeking employment and education and others are migrating, says Opposition MP Viliame Naupoto. Speaking in Parliament, he said: “His Excellency’s speech (Ratu Wiliame Katonivere) comes after a little over one year of ...
The Taxpayers’ Union is welcoming comments from Christopher Luxon this morning recommitting to ‘no new taxes’ as part of Budget 2024. “Mr Luxon’s refusal at the Post-Cabinet press conference yesterday to repeat the ‘no new taxes’ promise ...
SAFE is urgently calling on the Environment Committee to reject the Government’s Fast-Track Approvals Bill, and is urging New Zealanders to rally behind the call. The proposed Bill, currently under consideration with the Environment select committee, ...
Teammates who spend all their time picking fights with spectators are only helpful for the other team, writes Madeleine Chapman. Anyone who has ever played a team sport competitively, particularly as a child and particularly, for some reason, basketball, will know that there’s a lot of politics involved. While there ...
The long-running Wellington music festival is too focused on the Jim Beam-ness and not enough on the Homegrown-ness.There is something about Homegrown that’s difficult to place. A barely perceptible-ness. Like feeling a ghost is watching you from the corner of the room but when you look, there’s nothing there. ...
The latest Ipsos New Zealand Issues Monitor reveals that fewer New Zealanders believe crime / law and order is one of the top issues facing our country. In 2018, Ipsos New Zealand started tracking the key issues facing New Zealand. In this wave ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kate Griffiths, Deputy Program Director, Budgets and Government, Grattan Institute Australia’s political donations rules are woefully inadequate, but donations reform is finally on the agenda. The federal government has signalled its interest in reform and will soon begin briefing MPs on its ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Mark Patrick Taylor, Chief Environmental Scientist, EPA Victoria; Honorary Professor, School of Natural Sciences, Macquarie University Naiyana Somchitkaeo/Shutterstock A recent study published in the prestigious New England Journal of Medicine has linked microplastics with risk to human health. The study ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Albert Van Dijk, Professor, Water and Landscape Dynamics, Fenner School of Environment & Society, Australian National University Global climate records were shattered in 2023, from air and sea temperatures to sea-level rise and sea-ice extent. Scores of countries recorded their hottest year ...
As part of our series exploring how New Zealanders live and our relationship with money, a teacher explains why he and his partner are in frugal mode – and how they’re making it work. Gender: Male Age: 35Ethnicity: Pākehā Role: I am an intermediate school teacher and my partner is ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sarah Bendall, Senior Lecturer, Institute for Humanities and Social Sciences, Australian Catholic University Binge Mary & George, the new British television drama series, depicts the real-life story of Mary Villiers and her son George, and their social climbing at the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jason Nassios, Associate Professor, Centre of Policy Studies, Victoria University This article is part of The Conversation’s series examining the housing crisis. Read the other articles in the series here. Australian state and federal governments spend money in many ways to ...
The finance minister is denying that there’s a $5.6b shortfall in paying for the government’s campaign promises, including tax cuts. At his post-cabinet press conference yesterday, the PM refused to rule out new taxes to pay for the cuts, writes Anna Rawhiti-Connell in this excerpt from The Bulletin, The Spinoff’s ...
Kāinga Ora tenants abused by their neighbours are doubting the government's crackdown on disruptive tenants will make a difference on their behaviour. ...
Kāinga Ora is New Zealand’s biggest residential landlord, housing more than 180,000 vulnerable people in more than 67,000 properties. Yesterday the government announced a crackdown on its tenants who fall behind on rent. One longtime Kāinga Ora tenant shares her experience.For 18 years I lived in a 1960s standalone ...
Why does this myth persist, and what’s the real reason our skin is suffering?It’s one of the biggest international grievances New Zealanders hold, up there with the sinking of the Rainbow Warrior and 1981’s underarm incident. We’re quick to tell international travellers that the world’s pollution led to the ...
Bob’s relationship with certain members of Lincoln’s academic staff continued to deteriorate in the 1990s. Others supported him publicly, though articles such as Roland Clark’s 1993 piece in Growing Today cannot have pleased the university management. Clark wrote that Bob was selling onions from the Biological Husbandry Unit to a ...
SailGP’s races feature in-your-face action, with agile, hydro-foiling catamarans tacking and jibing for the title over several days. However, public comments ahead of the global series’ return to New Zealand have left this past year’s controversy in the shadows, as a key appointment attracts criticism from dolphin advocates. A year ...
Opinion: We are fast approaching a fundamental change in prisons. As the number of people on custodial remand looks set to overtake the number of sentenced prisoners, the main function of prisons in New Zealand may become incarcerating un-sentenced people who may not be guilty of offending. We have already ...
A huge seven months lies in store for the White Ferns, beginning this week with the visit of England and culminating with the T20 World Cup in Bangladesh in September and October. Starting on Tuesday in Dunedin, the world ranked No. 2 visitors will play five T20s and three ODIs, ...
Opinion: In a move that has shocked road safety advocates across the country, the new Minister of Transport, Simeon Brown, is poised to abandon the previous government’s speed limit reduction policy, particularly around schools. Even more alarmingly, he wants school speed limits to be variable rather than full-time, arguing ...
Auckland Council is opposing a fast-track development backed by Sir John Kirwan and Spark NZ, because it doesn’t meet stringent new climate adaptation requirements The post Surf-data centre faces new 3.8C climate warming rules appeared first on Newsroom. ...
When the Criminal Proceeds (Recovery) Act was introduced in 2009 it was firmly targeted at gangs and drugs. The legislation means police no longer need a conviction to seize assets that criminals can’t prove were paid for legitimately, as long as their alleged offences are punishable by more than a ...
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. The post Newsroom daily quiz, Tuesday 19 March appeared first on Newsroom. ...
The letters, which were published last week, were addressed to Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) Chairperson Megawati Sukarnoputri, National Democrat Party (NasDem) Chairperson Surya Paloh, National Awakening Party (PKB) Chairperson Muhaimin Iskandar, Justice and Prosperity Party (PKS) President Ahmad Syaikhu and United Development Party (PPP) Chairperson Muhammad Mardiono. In ...
Evicting more people from state housing is ignorant to the consequences of poverty, the Greens say, but the Housing Minister says it's a privilege that can be taken away if abused. ...
Evicting more people from state housing is ignorant to the consequences of poverty, the Greens say, but the Housing Minister says it's a privilege that can be taken away if abused. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Emerald L King, Lecturer in Humanities, University of Tasmania IMDB Between Netflix’s 2023 live-action version of One Piece, and its latest take on Avatar: The Last Airbender, fans are once again asking: why are live-action anime adaptations so tricky to ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Emerald L King, Lecturer in Humanities, University of Tasmania IMDB Between Netflix’s 2023 live-action version of One Piece, and its latest take on Avatar: The Last Airbender, fans are once again asking: why are live-action anime adaptations so tricky to ...
The government says it still intends to deliver tax cuts by July, but will not lock them in until they have got them past their coalition partners. ...
Kiingi Tuheitia Pootatau Te Wherowhero VII has hosted members of the Green Party Caucus at Tuurangawaewae Marae in Ngaaruawahia. The audience follows the King’s Hui-aa-Motu on 20 January, where more than 10,000 people gathered to discuss national ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Dr Rachael Potter, Research Associate and Lecturer in Work and Organisational Psychology, University of South Australia Ground Picture/Shutterstock Pregnant women and workers with children are often unfairly treated by their bosses and colleagues, despite laws to protect against workplace discrimination ...
Reacting to Prime Minister Christopher Luxon’s refusal to rule out introducing new taxes at the budget, Taxpayers’ Union Campaigns Manager, Connor Molloy, said: “Today’s refusal to rule out new taxes suggests the Government is nothing more ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Stephen Duckett, Honorary Enterprise Professor, School of Population and Global Health, and Department of General Practice and Primary Care, The University of Melbourne Aila Images/Shutterstock Aged-care workers will receive a significant pay increase after the Fair Work Commission ruled they ...
He’s bringing ‘Sophie’ back, yeah. Goodshirt’s ‘Sophie’ music video is one of the most instantly recognisable New Zealand music videos of all time. Featuring a woman listening to the song on headphones while her entire house is burgled behind her, the video won the New Zealand music award for Best ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By John Blaxland, Professor, Strategic and Defence Studies Centre, Australian National University A year ago, the AUKUS agreement was formally announced between Australian and UK Prime Ministers Anthony Albanese and Rishi Sunak and US President Joe Biden. The agreement mapped out the “optimal ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Andreas Helwig, Associate Professor, Electro-Mechanical Engineering, University of Southern Queensland SmartS/Shutterstock Steam locomotives clattering along railway tracks. Paddle steamers churning down the Murray. Dreadnought battleships powered by steam engines. Many of us think the age of steam has ended. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Carrie Leonetti, Associate Professor of Law, University of Auckland, Waipapa Taumata Rau Victims who experience family violence in Aotearoa New Zealand are treated differently, depending on which part of the justice system they turn to for help. But a new member’s bill ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Peter Tesch, Visiting Fellow at the ANU Centre for European Studies, Australian National University In perhaps the least surprising news of the year, Vladimir Putin has triumphed at the Russian ballot box and been enthroned for the fifth time as president. He ...
The Papua New Guinea Supreme Court has stopped a byelection for the Madang Open seat being held until an appeal filed by former MP Bryan Kramer is concluded. Kramer had appealed to the Supreme Court over a National Court decision not to review his application of the Leadership Tribunal decision ...
By Miriam Zarriga in Port Moresby Despite a “historic” ceasefire agreement in Papua New Guinea between Enga authorities and tribal leaders after months of bitter warfare, a young woman has been found brutally killed near Kaekin village, Wapenamanda. Despite the peace agreement and signing concluded in Port Moresby last Thursday ...
The second season of Ryan Murphy’s Feud is a sadder and slower entry into his canon of true story-telling, leaning heavily on a verdict about the cost of a single work of art. Hollywood heavyweight Ryan Murphy has had a bit of “ick” about him in the last few years. ...
Are you deeply passionate about sharing Māori stories? We’re on the hunt for an experienced writer/editor to lead coverage in our Ātea section.Ātea is a deeply valued section of The Spinoff site, offering Māori perspectives and insights across politics, current affairs and culture. We are thrilled to be looking ...
By Aisha Azeemah in Suva With the lights on one of his sneakers blinking as he ran through the gallery, a little boy looked up at several works of art. One of them was a sculpture of his grandfather: the man who changed how we see the Pacific — Epeli ...
WHAT: Uber drivers are holding a rally outside the Court of Appeal in Wellington tomorrow, as the company begins its appeal against 2022’s Employment Court verdict (in a case taken jointly by FIRST Union and E tū) that four drivers were permanent ...
RNZ Pacific The Fiji Meteorological Service has a heavy rain warning still in place for the whole of the country after a weekend of flooding, although some floodwaters have receded. Flood and flash flood warnings and alerts are also in place, including a warning for all flash flood-prone areas, small ...
Responding to Grant Robertson’s recent admission on a Q+A with Jack Tame that his only regret from his time in office was that he didn’t take on more debt, Taxpayers’ Union spokesperson, Alex Murphy, said: “Grant Robertson has now admitted that he ...
We're getting reassurance that common sense is prevailing, and Marama remains onside. Leftist alignment isn't necessarily incompatible with centrist praxis!
"Jack Tautokai McDonald, number 9 on the party’s list last election, announced that he would be stepping away from his party roles because in his view there had been too much of a “centrist drift” under James Shaw, reports Radio NZ. It is a very significant move, as he was the policy co-convenor and one of the party’s leading Māori voices – here’s his full thread outlining his reasons why he’s made his decision. McDonald used to work closely with Marama Davidson, and this morning Radio NZ reported that she rejected the accusation of the party becoming too centrist." https://thespinoff.co.nz/the-bulletin/05-08-2019/the-bulletin-greens-push-policy-to-rumbling-party/
"But there was also widely reported member discontent at the conference. The NZ Herald’s Jason Walls spoke to Newstalk ZB about it, saying there were factions each pushing for the primary focus to be on environmental policy, or social policy. Many members would no doubt reject that it is a binary choice, saying both are important."
Non-binary people show the way to the future. Both/and logic applies. Activists fresh out of kindy will struggle to attain that level of sophistication – that's normal. Cruise on up that learning curve, you'll get there eventually.
You're either non-binary, or you're not.
Dad jokes rule!
I would have counted myself amongst the folk who are upset the Greens aren't radical enough (bring back Bradford).
I have come to the conclusion that if we are to have a meaningful governmental approach to CC, we need key communities at the table i.e. farmers.
James Shaw and Green leadership have done well to get our rural cousins involved in finding consensus.
James Shaw on RadioNZ live now, addressing Jack McDonald's accusations now. Sounding secure and intelligent. Looking at the long-term.
Thanks Robert, I'll try to catch the podcast. The bomber gives it all a heavy sigh: https://thedailyblog.co.nz/2019/08/04/sigh-green-party-meltdown-at-agm/
"Of course James Shaw is centrist, but you don’t take a shit in the bed and then storm off in a tantrum! You stick it out and make change, and Shaw is just one person in a Party that is incredibly democratic so blaming it all on him is pretty twee."
And Marama rejects Jack’s key point: https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/political/395961/marama-davidson-rejects-accusation-greens-becoming-too-centrist
11 minute audio: https://www.rnz.co.nz/national/programmes/morningreport/audio/2018707216/greens-leaders-james-shaw-marama-davidson-talk-policy
Corin failed to explore the nuances, didn't even ask them both if they self-identified as centrists or leftists. Only interesting bit was the "lies and disinformation" James cited as the reason for his refusal to signal any future collaboration with the Nats. National could cease being the source of both, but real hard for old dogs to learn new tricks.
Greens becoming too 'centrist'?: https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/political/395961/marama-davidson-rejects-accusation-greens-becoming-too-centrist
"It passed its first reading on Tuesday afternoon 119-1, with just ACT opposing it. National's support is not needed for the bill to pass, but has been sought by the Government to signal bipartisan consensus for the country."
The wording says 'Zero NETT Carbon growth ' , but will it be like the Previous Kyoto and Paris accords which reduce 'nett carbon' which is done by buying offshore carbon credits and the taxpayers paying the farmers share?
'Biological methane is carved out of that goal, but a reduction is still mandated – at least 10 per cent by 2030, and between 24 and 47 per cent by 2050.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/112890233/national-supports-climate-change-bill-through-first-reading
Pretty sure I've heard Ministers saying No to the first question and sadly Yes to the second one. No links to hand, sorry.
"A form of climate denialism" campaign of lies and misinformation that's being spread… Bridges' claims an evolution of denial…National "attempting to virtue-signal" to lower-socio-economic groups…"I was asked if I would support Simon Bridges over Jacinda Ardern…"
Nottingham has lost his appeal against conviction and sentence.
The Crown appeal was sort of successful, with an increase\to 31 months in prison calculated by the Court of Appeal, but with home detention already served this allows him to miss prison by a whisker, with a new 12 month home detention sentence and 18 months altogether banned from internet use.
Paywall: Blogger’s convictions for ‘malicious and misogynistic attacks’ on former MP, business people stick
Cameron Slater also gets a mention, who supported Nottingham's claim that using an overseas based website gave them immunity from NZ law, but the courts have disagreed.
More details: Dermot Nottingham appeal fails, sentence increased
Impressive listing of court rulings in your post, thank you.
Thanks for that.
Cameron Slater and legal dimwit Nottingham – they really were and probably still are just complete time wasting arseholes with not moral compass and just born to fritter away money and resources.
That list of public judgements and decisions is just from 2015 onwards. The history goes back a lot longer than that.
Repost from yesterday's How To Get There:
'Fundamental human right': Green Party releases housing policy
– Marama Davidson
This is crucial to the success of housing reform as it caters for those outside current Kiwibuild criteria.
In my view, every single person in this country should have access to healthy, stable housing no matter what their income or status. That is the way to strong communities and better outcomes.
The Greens also said:
We need to get amateur landlords out, and professional landlords in.
Hope they can work together with Labour on this in the next government. What a formidable government that would be!
https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/politics/2019/08/fundamental-human-right-green-party-releases-housing-policy.html
I thought I would have a go at listening to Peter Williams on Radio live last week and today, as he has always come across as a good bloke.
Far out.
He comes across so conservative, he makes Sean Plunket seem liberal.
Pretty funny though.
Yeah, no surprise. I worked with him a few times in the '90s when I was an editor in the TVNZ newsroom. Never even thought of talking to him about interesting stuff. I know an arch-conservative when I see one, takes just a fraction of a second.
He's human though. Showed that recently when he was on Garner's show panel one morning, surprised me. People can change, but arch-cons do it real slow. Like driving a car with the hand-brake on.
Mass Surveillance update.
Unionist crusader Andrew Little will always protect out rights!
Yeah right.
https://thedailyblog.co.nz/2019/08/02/guest-blog-ross-meurant-oh-how-the-worm-turns/
Andy's Establishment to the core.
Ross M was a bully and has no standing in my eyes. Andrew is a good man in a bad system.
How can we have mature road safety when we have so many immature idiots holding licences.
There will be no serious consequences for this type of road safety stupidity !!
Our whole approach is childish and that includes the police.
This is treated as a joke.
Many drivers take risks and refuse too follow the road rules as there is no fear of the consequences of their actions.
How many motorists would have been warned to turn on their lights in the lower south island this morning so they could be seen by other drivers and pedestrians due to the conditions.
The answer is 0
No enforcement on the basics.
It is time the ” she will be right approach ” and i will drive how i like and the ” don’t be naughty “approach of the police is given serious attention.
That would be a start.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/114753778/hot-cakes-warning-dont-eat-and-drive
I remember reading that the justice system doesn't make sure that drivers before the Courts for driving offences, including drunken driving and who are required to take refresher, remedial courses or study of some sort, actually complete these courses. And that applies to repeat offenders; apparently they just turn up, get some fine, or sentence and are able to not complete a course. There should be a jail sentence with hard labour for such slithery non-compliers to bring them to their senses. And some reward for doing so, and for coming back once a year for three years to do a test. Also I would like vehicle simulators to be used, and discussions with an instructor about what they have done wrong, and how they could drive better in that situation. Everyone enjoys simulators, and they might learn something to change their possibly automatic behaviour.
Another traffic problem on Radio nz this morning, more vehicles in accidents have no wofs. The crash may not have been caused by a vehicle fault, but it seems that there is a fault in the driver or company in being careless about maintenance and wof, and no doubt the driver is not being properly looked after either!
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/395973/increase-in-unwarranted-vehicles-involved-in-serious-crashes-concerning
I wonder also if the old easing of regulations meme that has caused us problems since NZ went for deregulation, is still hanging over us with its tendency for slack attitudes continuing. The change in 201q4 for some vehicles to only need wofs every 3 years or so, may have indicated that she'll-be-right is the way-to-go.
I see for new: An initial WoF inspection, another one at three years old, then one per year for the lifetime of the vehicle.
Considering that there is usually a consensus that every regulation should be as simple as possible (so even a child can understand), I can't see why the 3 year thing is there – make it one year throughout and no confusion!!
https://www.nzta.govt.nz/assets/vehicle/warrants-certifications/docs/wof-changes.pdf
Sure, of course, if the problem is the rising cost of everything, then raising the cost is bound to work like a charm.
But there is no lucky charm Gabby. Just doing what seems practical. No magic to that but it would likely work, and that might be its charm.
Challenging the capabilities of the average driver is taboo @ mosa. It's like 'The War'. Don't mention it!
It's everybody else's fault – always. Despite what we think, I reckon we're among the world's worst drivers – probably because of our laid back yea/nah attitude and uber competitive nature.
Certain things no longer seem to be enforced, and I guess that comes down to the idea that the slower one goes, the less the damage when it does happen.
Trouble is, not only are there now more distractions, but generally people's spatial awareness has lessened over the recent decades along with an increase in traffic, and the cult of the individual and the self.
The 2 second rule gets reduced to a 1 second rule; the right hand (passing lane) is MINE to own; indiscriminately changing lanes is my prerogative because my needs to get ahead are more important than yours; I'm considerably more accomplished at driving than you; Indicators are optional extras and you should have been able to read my mind; that bloody traffic light changed to red too quickly; etc.
It's not just immaturity either. Grey haired old blokes that've been driving for 40 years or so just KNOW that anything that happens is someone else's fault – even if they're owning the right hand lane and yakking on their cell phone telling Mrs Bloke (Mertle) to put the kettle on. And Christ! – just bloody wait till Mertle has a go behind the wheel!
And of course, it hasn't yet dawned on most that they're a bit of a hassle to others WALKING down the street in a straight line whilst trying to txt, let alone trying to be clever doing so with the cellphone in their laps – just below the windscreen/window line of the vehicle.
I'm knocking on having driven for 50 years mate! Some of it professionally – without an accident. You can't fault me (/sarc)
Speeding is a middle-class misdemeanour. (A bit like owning rentals). Attempts to police it result in outrage and claims that the 'real' issue is cellphones/poor roads/slow drivers/Asians etc. Anything except an overweening sense of entitlement and self-importance . Not to mention a refusal to own the psychological and economic truth of that Smashing Pumpkins line: "despite all my rage/I am still just a rat in a cage"
Speeding when I am travelling 100s of kms and am on a clear road in good light and go up over 100km or am passing a behemoth or a slowish van and have to go over 100 kmh to do so safely. I find it wrong that should automatically be punished. My happiest moment behind the wheel was when I was in front of a group winding down the hills and managed to stay at appropriate speeds and not be passed. No-one behind me had anything to complain about and I could see where I was going and moved along at the speed limit when possible.
But in town I think we should be driving at 40 kmh tops. I go at 50 km because I can, but often think it would be better if we all dropped a bit.
One thing I don't like is that approaching a narrowed bit of road – cars parked at sides for instance, drivers don't slow down even a bit. It's I can dodge through here and my side is clear. If you give way to them to make sure there is room, they charge forward at full legal speed and don't even look at you or raise a hand. Just a small wave would make driving more pleasant. And when it is wet, and humid and fogged up inside and out, why not slow down and be safe and give pedestrians a chance to dash over and get out of the rain.
Excellent points.
Mosa – I note your same comment on todays The Daily Blog – 3 minutes apart. I don't think that this blog would appreciate being used as a broadcasting medium for your multiple messages.
Noted greywarshark.
I was multi tasking.
Standing ovation for Mr Andrew Little….. way to go to make me cry, that's a good thing. THANK YOU FOR THIS !!!!
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/114751896/live-government-announces-abortion-reform
Cinny – Mr Little +100
Its great that abortion will be removed from the Crimes Act…hopefully this will mean that we won't need special abortion clinics. Terminations can be done like any other medical procedure at the local public hospital. Usual patient security applies, and protestors will not be able to distinguish a woman going in for an abortion from one going in for any other elective procedure.
Stand by for Bob McCoskrie and friends to crank up the outrage generator.
Fantastic news!
+1 Andrew is a good man, Cinny.
It would be a breakthrough if this appalling case of intimidation, corruption of the law and personal rights is taken up by the MSM
If you care about journalism and the freedom to express an opinion in New Zealand with out fear of what will happen if you do then this story needs exposure.
Or have we really turned that corner and no longer value or encourage the freedom of investigative journalism and commentators like Bradbury and Hagar to do their job without the fear of harassment ?
https://thedailyblog.co.nz/2019/08/05/my-trial-against-the-nz-police-starts-this-month-in-wellington-an-invitation-to-nz-media/
This establishment mindset had existed for decades mosa. There have been a lot of victims over the years including me.
I still find it hard to believe that the 'powers that be' were/are willing to believe crackpots and malice driven arseholes over ordinary citizens going about their business in a lawful way but it happened time and again. In the meantime the real culprits (eg Cameron Slater and co.) were running around committing unlawful acts and slandering people right left and centre and they were allowed to get away with it. The reason is because they had the backing of influential people.
If Bradbury is successful he will set a precedence which might encourage others to come forward with their stories.
" If Bradbury is successful he will set a precedence which might encourage others to come forward with their stories "
Let's hope so Anne.
Kind regards
Testing comment.
Just about to update the RSS feed tool.
Needless to say, there are several problems.
Muppets.. Oh well that is why I go on holiday. That and to make sure I don't have to bike to work in the really bad weather.
You picked a great day for the latter.
Yeah – the first week of August is when my personal weather records say that it is great time to be idle at home or having holiday with hot sun and a beach.
NZ and Biodiversity. Scoops Hivemind invite you to watch the vid and read the details and send your thoughts about it.
http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL1908/S00012/the-nz-biodiversity-strategy-discussion-document-explained.htm
then
http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL1908/S00014/scoop-hivemind-restoring-and-protecting-biodiversity.htm
(I have come in here at the time and date indicated 1.40 pm – but see johnm’s two comments for 5 August 2019 with times of 7.21pm and 7.28pm. I have done a search for johnm and they come up as the same time and date and I have been taken to them but the time is not right, so a glitch here.)
Here is a chance for men with good attitudes to community and respect for people and kindness, to come to the aid of the party. A party without alcohol that is.
Men are needed to help other men over their urge to use violence when they are stressed and need to act strong to manage their life, and protect themselves from feeling inadequate. There is the funding but where are the decent men who want to put something into society and help other men? The help is needed, and it should be respected and honoured as much as firefighting is.
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/te-manu-korihi/395998/more-men-needed-to-help-combat-domestic-violence
But there must be training for it and rules about the way it is carried out. Otherwise there can be misunderstandings leading to more problems.
Here is what seems an excellent report from Stuff reporter Harrison Christian 9/6/2019 which would give a background on the difficulties of many offenders. To read it is to understand the depressing impact of the things coming up regularly on the news about low-income existence. But the younger men needing help to break their cycle of offending may not be gang members as the media lead us to believe.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/111969648/once-were-warriors-25-years-on-gangs-and-being-poor-then-and-now
Gangs expert Jarrod Gilbert said the gang scene in New Zealand had become more subdued since the battle-worn days of the 80s, as memberships have aged.
"Those gang members in Once Were Warriors were all fairly young men," the senior lecturer at Canterbury University said.
"Nowadays if you took a snapshot of a gang, you would see guys aged in their 50s and 60s – sometimes their 70s."
Crime data shows older men are much less likely to commit violent crime and to be recidivist offenders.
"They've slowed down a bit. They don't have the overt violence; they are looking to create better lives for their members and families rather than just be hardcore, all-out violent and antisocial as they used to be in the past."
It's evident in the growing involvement of New Zealand's traditional street gangs in community initiatives, and their willingness to set aside old rivalries and co-operate with each other.
This is about a relatively recent look at the issues of violence and criminality commenting on the support and leadership by PM Jacinda Ardern and Min of Justice Andrew Little by Denis O'Reilly, 27/8/2018.
https://e-tangata.co.nz/comment-and-analysis/the-justice-summit-and-the-road-from-populism-to-principle/
Another take on Brexit from the Irish Examiner via Yanis Varoufakis. 31/7/2019
Jeremy Corbyn must expose Boris Johnson’s no-deal Brexit as a Trump-deal Brexit and put forward Labour’s plan to end the interminable Brexit ordeal immediately, suggests Yanis Varoufakis…
Theresa May’s failure reflected an inability to distinguish between the EU’s broader interests and the specific motivation of its establishment. Given a choice between securing the profits of continental exporters and reaffirming the bureaucracy’s modus operandi, the EU’s chief negotiator, Michel Barnier, and the political leaders behind him will unfailingly opt for the latter. Every proposal of significant changes to the withdrawal agreement negotiated by May’s government, even those in the EU’s long-term interests, will thus be rejected.
Johnson is unlikely to repeat May’s error. To be sure, he may be tempted to try out his rhetorical skills on German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Emmanuel Macron. But Dominic Cummings, his effective chief of staff (and the cunning campaign director of Vote Leave in 2016) would undoubtedly remind Johnson that the last thing he needs is to expose the British public to another scene of their prime minister returning from the Continent empty-handed….
Corbyn’s second task is to offer an alternative for ending the humiliation of the ongoing negotiations.
That means committing to revoke Article 50 to allow a Labour government time to implement a green-investment, anti-austerity policy agenda in tune with the party’s progressive internationalism, while simultaneously organizing a Citizens’ Deliberative Assembly to formulate the question(s) to be put to voters in a second Brexit referendum.
A general election fought over these two unequivocal alternatives, Johnson’s and Corbyn’s, would empower the UK’s people, at last, to determine their country’s future.
https://www.yanisvaroufakis.eu/2019/07/31/jeremy-corbyns-finest-hour-irish-examiner-project-syndicate/
Amazing that a message board like 8chan could still operate after Christchurch but there does seem to finally be some movement in the capital of the free world to face up to their addiction to violence and hatred.
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/396011/cloud-site-terminates-8chan-after-el-paso-shooting
"When it goes into trees that's it; dead, done – gone forever. "
"There's a psychological shift happening, Worsnop says. Rural people face a permanent change in land use, and in their way of life. "When it goes into trees that's it; dead, done – gone forever. "
https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/farming/114010655/rural-life-under-threat-as-forestrys-canopy-grows
""But now you're starting to see quality properties for sheep and beef going into trees, and that's a real shame.""
Who're selling the farms??
that's what the forests said when the man came along with his fire and his sheep… "there's a psycho shift happening" they said…
it will transpire that the anomaly will be the sheep
and plants will rule… after all, horticulture is far more productive
dead ground that grows trees?….odd
Primal fear of the forest; it's Robin Hood and the Sheriff of Nottingham!
I wonder if…over time, plantations of pine, neglected because of climate or economic difficulties, could become valuable nurseries for native trees…pasture doesn't do this, as sheep keep eating …and eating….everything that tries to sprout and grow.
Ski fields would be an option in your location for the future.
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10156470100712913&set=p.10156470100712913&type=3&theater
perhaps you could scoop it up and deliver it to Mt Hutt
Long way by bicycle from Riverton (above) to Mt Hutt.
Riverton a little flat for a ski field…and you could always use an e bike
Sending too much electricty north so the wheezy boys can get up the hills on theirs.
BTW demand is around a GW above normal and spot prices have risen.
https://www.transpower.co.nz/power-system-live-data
https://www.electricityinfo.co.nz/
sending it north?…Tiwai must be south of Riverton
Yesterday and today were pretty chilly alright! I still got outside to prune though; we're tough enough down here
Good weather for baking bread (great story)
https://twitter.com/SeamusBlackley/status/1155602321918705664
That's a really fabulous story, Poission, thanks for recommending it. My daughter and her partner bake sourdough bread every morning; I get up to the lovely smell and a warm kitchen and get to eat some warm sourdough bread with my porridge; lucky me! I'd like to try that ancient bread, just for the novelty of it.
You sure are Robert,
Geez it sounds like some in Labour think they're owed access to whatever body they want
They're not too impressed with the Labour bigwigs either…cue concerned frown and head tilt combo
Might be time for another cover magazine shoot…😏
We're now in non linear exponential climate change. Michael Mann's hockey stick curve upwards. What is the outlook for the future?
Guy McPherson @ Mother Foucault's Bookstore in Portland 3 May 2019
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KSASEcQ22Qw
In the Crosshairs of History: Michael E. Mann and the Denial Industry
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gor8oxf9qLQ
Edit:
An interesting piece from last Sunday Radionz on how UK politicians are de-formed at their upper class boarding schools. Dr Nick Duffell, talks about the conditions as 'privileged abandonment and has written two books on the subject about which he has had personal experience.'
These schools perpetuate an entrenched English class system, he says.
“What they do is they develop a very strong esprit de corps for their class.
“This is what you've seen in Britain with the Brexit situation, that here is a class who will do anything to save the Tory party, and the wider global implications of what they're doing is completely cut off for them, they don't even see it.”
https://www.rnz.co.nz/national/programmes/sunday/audio/2018707127/dr-nick-duffell-why-boarding-schools-produce-bad-leaders
(I have also put it in How to Get There on Sunday 4/8/2019. I was interested in the development of the personality, and the deprivation of affection and family life affecting many of these boys and teenagers at boarding schools.)
Tom Sharpe satirised a Cambridge college in his book Porterhouse Blue, and there was a second called Grantchester Grind.
https://www.fantasticfiction.com/s/tom-sharpe/porterhouse-blue.htm
Massive police action at Ihumatao underway.
https://thedailyblog.co.nz/2019/08/05/breaking-police-assault-ihumatao-leader-kettle-protestors-using-phone-blockers-threading-mass-arrests/
Kia ora The Am Show.
Stop trying to talk the house market down I though that to the housing market slows in winter the great phenomenon about the smaller cities housing prices riseing is that more Maori own homes there so they will be better off.
simon the Greens party is Green on the outside and intelligent on the inside they no national will shaft them in a Coalition government.
Crap if the employer followed due process the fine would not have stuck. Employers have the wellbeing of employees in their hands so they need to respect that if they fire people at a wim they are putting them in hardship.
Good on That young fella for donating his money from the sale of his paintings to charity.
Off to cut wood whanau look for new wood selling being advertised on trademe and small news papers and the Saturday paper for us our wood is tested with moisture meters so complying with councils law less than 25 % moisture and because we have heaps of wood from the forests harvest we give HUGE cords of wood like the size of the old days everyone who has bought our wood is smiling when we leave.
Ka kite ano
Any person in power whom denies Human Caused Climate Change is putting the 99.9 % of us lives at great risk as some people believe the lies hence they don't plan or prepare for Global Warming next minute they are in a disaster unprepared that is not a good place to be. With a little bit of changes on can minimize the effects Global warming will have on them .I am doing my small bit my carbon foot print has dropped dramatically now I live off grid with solar power and composting TOILET solar power water supplies to .
Australia’s climate stance is inflicting criminal damage on humanity
The government opts for conflict rather than change, while suppressing details on the implications of its climate
The top priority of government is security of the people. Yet on the greatest threat of all, most governments are failing abysmally.
As the global influence of western democracies wanes with the ascendancy of China, India and other emerging countries, the resulting power struggle is diverting attention from the great issues the world faces, to their symptoms
The neoliberal market economy, with its unregulated consumption and rapacious short-term outlook, is destroying modern civilisation. The warning signs are obvious, not least burgeoning high-consuming populations, massive biodiversity loss and multiple resource scarcities. Yet rather than reform an unsustainable system, political leaders scramble to prop it up and compound the problem. The result is Brexit, Trump’s Mexican wall, escalating Middle East tension, the US-China trade standoff, a global arms and space race, Amazon deforestation and much more
Ka kite ano link below.
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/aug/03/australias-climate-stance-is-inflicting-criminal-damage-on-humanity
Some Eco Maori music for the minute.
https://youtu.be/v2AC41dglnM
Some Eco Maori Music for the minute.
https://youtu.be/hdfzbt1hM04
T
Kia Ora Newshub.
The ORC interest rate has been cut thats cool it will save a lot of money for mortgages on housing etc. I no someone who won't be happy.
Negative interest rates is not good the banks could end up changing for holding savers money like they did in Japan.
That's cool Pharmac is looking at funding more drugs for cancer sufferers.
Cleo that gives Me a sore face PEE dealer's getting snapped by the Police ka pai that stuff is wrecking some Maori whanau.
Mike I know that coffee hypes me up.
Cool Rocket Lab is going to try and recover and recycle there Electron rocket that is going to save Peter money and lower his carbon footprint maybe one day I will get a CHANCE to have a look at his operation.
Condolences to Toni Morrison whanau.
A huge parrot was discovered in Otago that is awesome 1 meter tall what a cool find.
Ka kite ano
Kia Ora Te Maori News.
Taina having a meeting with Wally quite a long meeting to Mana Wahine.
Travis gone bush back to the whenua hunting fishing like te tipuna did in the old days awesome its good that he is advocating for mental illness Maori is doing a similar thing living with a small carbon footprint.
Ka pai te hippe for getting heaps of signatures to help stop the building of a jettie on Waiheki Island we need to be wize with new developments especially when it involves Tangaroa.
Ka kite ano P.S what happened to the captions I could guess.
https://youtu.be/QAB6aXOfUmU