Open mike 05/09/2024

51 comments on “Open mike 05/09/2024 ”

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1. PsyclingLeft.Always 1

   5 September 2024 at 9:20 am

   Grocery Duopoly. Have to say I was never optimistic with ComCom and the appointment of Grocery Commissioner Pierre van Heerden.

   It all seemed…just a hand wave at the problem. Which was never going to be willingly sorted by the Duopolists ! 2 Years back…

   Shopping for change: Busting the supermarket duopoly

   https://www.rnz.co.nz/programmes/the-detail/story/2018849578/shopping-for-change-busting-the-supermarket-duopoly

   And…QED.

   Five things households should know about the first annual grocery report

   High prices aren't in your head

   The report notes that food is a major expense for New Zealand households – and that what we pay is high by international standards.

   In the year to June last year, the average household was spending $214 a week on groceries, or about 13 percent of their total weekly budget, it said.

   https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/business/527084/five-things-households-should-know-about-the-first-annual-grocery-report

   More vague hand waving….

   Stiff penalties proposed for supermarkets as Commerce Commission finds no improvement

   Competition in the grocery sector has not improved and the Commerce Commission says it's planning to ramp up regulation and enforcement, and recommending a regime of stiff penalties.

   https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/business/526985/stiff-penalties-proposed-for-supermarkets-as-commerce-commission-finds-no-improvement

   FFS get real! The Grocery Duopoly could give a fuck about fines…they are reaping a $million plus a day ! They are not giving that up…

   Something needs to happen in real terms. I did last year raise that Labour/Green could have done something much more about it ? IMO would have resonated with Voters. Meh.

   Anyway….Grocery Action Group chair Sue Chetwin (who I rate)

   Calls for greater powers to get supermarkets competing after report

   Chetwin worried if the commission simply slapped supermarkets with fines for not changing their ways, consumers would end up paying for them.

   "You can't imagine that the duopoly are going to suck those up, they're just going to pass them on to consumers," she said.

   "What we really need is more competition."

   https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/business/527031/calls-for-greater-powers-to-get-supermarkets-competing-after-report

   And..Aye. Those Grocery Duopolists foodstuff and woolworths with their fake as fuck Carewashing , will have to be led kicking and screaming or..just bypass them.

   Competition, Now !
   • Michael Scott 1.1

     5 September 2024 at 9:50 am

     The supermarket duopoly dominance was created by the ComCom with the approval of the takeover of Foodtown by Woolworths.

     In Banking it approved the ANZ taking over both Postbank and the National Bank, it also approved National Australia Bank (which operated a distinct presence in NZ) taking over the BNZ.

     While in Hardware, the Com Com didn't even bother to consider the Fletcher Building Takeover of Tasman building products,….

     In Fuel, it approved the takeover of Caltex by Z.
     • Descendant Of Smith 1.1.1

       5 September 2024 at 3:59 pm

       Often the argument is used that we have to pay international market prices for our food in New Zealand. Presumably as the result of trade agreements.

       I would like to know how true this is and what impact this really has, if any.

       When the local dairy can buy items cheaper from the supermarket than directly from the manufacturer then this hardly seems true. Clearly the supermarket is paying less.

       Many supplier contracts pay a fixed price in advance with produce not needed to be destroyed or not picked and left on trees i.e. can't be sold elsewhere. So supply can be up but not allowed to be put into the market place so the usual rules of supply and demand are interfered with (just like the diamond cartels do). How much surplus food is never allowed to reach the supermarkets in the first place?
   • koina 1.2

     5 September 2024 at 10:29 am

     I love our supermarket system. It is a place where even the poorest people can purchase a vast array of quality food and groceries at very reasonable prices.

     The real problem to me anyway is the stagering rental and house prices which have gone up 100%-200% in just 7 years. Nothing else compares. You need to be earning a minimum 100k p/a to get an 80% mortgage (unless you have boarders) or some other scheme. While $500 p/wfor a 2 bed flat is just normal.

     For me Supermarkets with the warehouse and subsidised DR visits. freeview TV, internet , libraries, op shops markets and cheap public transport are life saving.

     Please don't change one of our only real places of joy our supermarkets..
     • PsyclingLeft.Always 1.2.1

       5 September 2024 at 10:41 am

       I love our supermarket system. It is a place where even the poorest people can purchase a vast array of quality food and groceries at very reasonable prices.

       WTF? Did you even read my comment? And the Links? troll on….
       • koina 1.2.1.1

         5 September 2024 at 11:15 am

         Calling some one a troll is so childish, I read your comments. You have offered nothing new. Heard it all before years ago and have my own take.. You seem to be so angry that any one would have another view on life. You poor sensitive soul, And yes I love our supermarkets and am looking forward to another wonderful supermarket visit this afternoon,
         • Mike the Lefty 1.2.1.1.1

           5 September 2024 at 12:42 pm

           Do remember to give thanks to your redeemer that you can afford the prices and don't have to queue up at Zilch every afternoon like many who can't afford the prices have to do.

           I think about that every time I have another "wonderful" supermarket visit. Do you?
     • Subliminal 1.2.2

       5 September 2024 at 1:23 pm

       Well said Koina. Until eye gouging in the rental market is outlawed, a few cents that might be saved in a supermarket enquiry is just pretense of "doing something". Food would be easily afforded if housing as an investment were made to pay the social costs that wreck nz society.

       We are witnessing with this government, the serious degrading of health and infrastructure that the rerouting of public money to landlords entails. As expected, there has been no movement down in rental prices. Its a very sick joke.
       • PsyclingLeft.Always 1.2.2.1

         5 September 2024 at 4:47 pm

         Lol, really? "Koina" who enjoys NZ's wonderful supermarket pricing….could just as easily have started a comment themselves about…Rentals,Housing, Health, etc, etc. Its not like I havent already made many comments about same and with supporting Links. : )
   • SPC 1.3

     5 September 2024 at 10:37 am

     Given the cartel, maybe a windfall profits tax of 5% (thus a 33% total).

     And use the money to support regulation, competition and growers.
     • PsyclingLeft.Always 1.3.1

       5 September 2024 at 11:27 am

       The outrageous profits the Grocery Duopoly/(Cartel !) make…..we need some major pushback.

       Foodstuffs made almost $52 million in profit in 2023

       Grocery…insider Commissioner notwithstanding…..

       Van Heerden, who spent 12 years at Sanitarium in New Zealand and Australia and has chaired the Food and Grocery Council, will take up his role at the Commerce Commission on Thursday.

       His primary responsibility is to keep supermarkets in line with new rules embodied in the Grocery Industry Competition Act that are designed to promote competition and protect consumers and suppliers.

       https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/132521758/foodstuffs-made-almost-52-million-in-profit-in-2023
2. Subliminal 2

   5 September 2024 at 9:21 am

   How did we in the West get to this place where criticism of an ongoing Israeli genocide can lead to terrorism charges:

   Yes, you are reading that right. You can go to jail for 14 years for expressing an opinion in support of a proscribed organisation.

   We now have an extraordinary conflict between UK domestic law and international law.

   The International Court of Justice has just last month stated definitively to the UN General Assembly that the Israeli occupation is illegal and it is the duty of states not to support it.

   Well, history I guess. We prefer to forget it along the same old colonialist Atlas Dave lines. From AlbertoToscano in a piece titled Genocide and the English Language:

   The French thinker Guy Debord’s maxim that ​“once the running of a state involves a permanent and massive shortage of historical knowledge, that state can no longer be led strategically,” seems amply borne out today. The refusal even to acknowledge the broader context around the October 7 attacks, or the century of dispossession that preceded it, is connected to the United States’ drift into an all-out war across the region that it claims to want to avoid. It is striking that even previous administrations fiercely committed to U.S. imperialism — like those of Richard Nixon or Ronald Reagan — were more reluctant than the Biden administration to give Israel a blank check, occasionally even willing to condition military aid on moderating Israeli aggression. (When Nixon’s Secretary of State Henry Kissinger threatened to stop supporting Israel in 1973 if they continued fighting the Egyptian army, a ceasefire was agreed the next day.)

   It's not hard to argue that the "drift to war" is the logic behind the US unconditional support of Israel since no moral argument can any longer stand up. From Caitlin Johnstone

   And if you take it as a given that Israel must continue to exist in its present iteration, it really is a debate-ending argument. If you take it as a given that Israel must be permitted to exist as an apartheid ethnostate which was artificially forced into existence in the mid-20th century, then of course there is no way it can exist without nonstop violence, and of course there is no way it can come out on the winning side of all that violence without the backing of the US-centralized empire.

   What this means is that if you accept that Israel must continue to exist as it presently exists, you are necessarily accepting that the US and its western allies must retain a military stranglehold on the middle east. There is no way to maintain this artificially created astroturf state without nonstop violence, so you have to remain in a position to help inflict that violence at all times.

   Which brings us back to some final words from Alberto:

   The grotesque apotheosis of this corrupted discourse was undoubtedly Netanyahu’s speech at the U.S. Congress in late July. While numerous Democrats boycotted the speech on principle, on the whole, this reception was a bipartisan affair (much like the multiple bills equating anti-Zionism with antisemitism, or the defaming and repression of anti-genocide student activists)…

   In many ways, Netanyahu’s speech to Congress crystallised the fact that liberal U.S. imperialism is a dead man walking, propped up by the coercion of bases, embargos and bombings but garnering vanishing little consent across the world. The emptiness of its claims to morality and leadership is only matched by the glaring inanity of its global strategy, ultimately reduced to the invocation of a ​“bear hug” with Israel’s settler-fascist regime which looks likely to drag the world, and especially the Middle East, into a chaotic conflagration.
   • SPC 2.1

     5 September 2024 at 10:31 am

     One could note these two issues during the Trump presidency

     1.an embasssy in Jerusalem.

     https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_recognition_of_Jerusalem_as_capital_of_Israel

     2.and while not recognising the annexation of Crimea, recognition of the annexation of the Golan Heights.

     https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_recognition_of_the_Golan_Heights_as_part_of_Israel

     (walked back a little by the Biden presidency).
     • Subliminal 2.1.1

       5 September 2024 at 11:01 am

       Oh great. The proposition that unconditional support of a genocide is the lesser evil. Precisely the sort of statement that the above post is aimed at.
       • SPC 2.1.1.1

         5 September 2024 at 11:13 am

         The proposition that unconditional support of a genocide is the lesser evil.

         The GOP position is notably the more extreme.

         A GOP POTUS would be even less inclined to try and moderate Netanyahu.

         1.Most of the West did not support either of the two measures.

         2.The EU has offered to work with the PA to manage the Rafah crossing – to ease the IDF out of Gaza.

         https://www.nzherald.co.nz/world/us-readies-last-ceasefire-push-benjamin-netanyahu-digs-in-on-border-demands/XMLLPXSYPVFL5G47JCEWICQFFI/
         • Subliminal 2.1.1.1.1

           5 September 2024 at 11:23 am

           This is farce. There is no "less inclined" than unconditional support. If genocide is acceptable then there are no red lines and the only takeaway, in the immortal words of Madelaine Albright is that we think the slaughter of children is "worth it"
           • SPC 2.1.1.1.1.1

             5 September 2024 at 12:14 pm

             It depends how you define unconditional support and genocide.

             It can be called too much support for the continuance of war crimes, but it could still get worse or have been worse.

             14 children under 10 died on Oct 7 2023.
             • Drowsy M. Kram …

               5 September 2024 at 1:15 pm

               14 children under 10 died on Oct 7 2023.

               Good point. And 2,100+ infants and toddlers under 2 have died since then, despite the IDF doing its level best to minimise civilian casualties.

               The bloodiest face of its genocide: Israel has killed 2,100 Palestinian infants and toddlers in Gaza [14 Aug 2024]

               Israel and its occupied territories would be safer without Hamas, and the Gaza Strip would be safer without Netanyahu and IDF munitions.

               Netanyahu doubles down on control of Gaza's border with Egypt
               Making more concessions after Hamas killed six hostages last week would be “illogical”, “immoral” and “insane,” he insisted.
               …
               A growing number of people here appear to believe that the prime minister is playing for time, and that his real goal is to find and kill the Hamas leader, Yahya Sinwar, before ending the war.

               For the sake of children in Gaza, pray that Netanyahu gets his 'win' soon.
               • Jenny …

                 5 September 2024 at 1:35 pm

                 Drowsy M. Kram…

                 5 September 2024 at 1:15 pm

                 …..his real goal is to find and kill the Hamas leader, Yahya Sinwar, before ending the war.

                 For the sake of children of Gaza, pray that Netanyahu gets his 'win' soon.

                 If Benjamin Netanyahu didn't end the war after killing the previous head of Hamas.
                 Do you really believe Krammy, that Netanyahu will end the war after killing the current head of Hamas?
                 If you believe that, then I have a bridge in London I can sell you.

                 For the sake of the children of Gaza, pray that Netanyahu is ousted from office. So that a ceasefire deal can be concluded.
                 • Drowsy M. Kram …

                   5 September 2024 at 3:29 pm

                   Do you really believe Krammy, that Netanyahu will end the war after killing the current head of Hamas?

                   No Jenny – even the implausible total elimination of 'Hamas' would just be the start. Let's hope saner heads prevail soon, or at least eventually.
                   • Jenny …

                     5 September 2024 at 4:15 pm

                     Drowsy M. Kram…

                     5 September 2024 at 3:29 pm

                     …..Let's hope saner heads prevail soon, or at least eventually.

                     The saner heads were over ruled.

                     This, from the 'Times Of Israel'

                     Israel assured Qatar IDF would fully pull out of Philadelphi in ceasefire’s 2nd phase

                     Pledge came hours before PM vowed military will stay on Gaza-Egypt border indefinitely; Barnea said to have told mediators of willingness to withdraw, subject to parameters set by Israel

                     By Jacob Magid

                     

                     Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks during a press conference in Jerusalem on September 2, 2024. (Chaim Goldberg/ Flash90)

                     …..Haaretz reported that negotiation chief Barnea told mediators in Doha of Israel’s willingness to withdraw from the corridor, subject to operational requirements set by Israel.

                     ……An unnamed Israeli official told Haaretz that “Netanyahu long ago agreed to the complete withdrawal of soldiers from the Philadelphi axis and the complete evacuation of the forces.”

                     The official said that Netanyahu’s recent actions have caused “just a lot of damage to the negotiations.”

                     The official charged that Netanyahu’s Monday night press conference was intended “to jam the deal for political reasons. If these demands had not suddenly emerged, there would have been a deal a long time ago.”

                     https://www.timesofisrael.com/israel-assured-qatar-idf-would-fully-pull-out-of-philadelphi-in-ceasefires-2nd-phase/
                 • Drowsy M. Kram …

                   5 September 2024 at 4:47 pm

                   The saner heads were over ruled.

                   Let's hope saner heads prevail soon, or at least eventually.
                   • Jenny …

                     6 September 2024 at 6:20 am

                     Saner heads risk getting chopped off.

                     By coming out publicly as Hamas chief negotiator, Khalil al-Hayya risks the fate of Hamas previous chief negotiator, Ismail Haniyeh.

                     “If the US administration and its President (Joe) Biden really want to reach a ceasefire and complete a prisoner exchange deal, they must abandon their blind bias towards the Zionist occupation and exert real pressure on Netanyahu and his government,” Qatar-based Khalil al-Hayya said in a video statement.

                     https://english.alarabiya.net/News/middle-east/2024/09/05/hamas-negotiator-urges-us-to-exert-real-pressure-on-israel-for-gaza-truce

                     Nothing signals refusal to negotiate quite like killing the other side's chief negotiator.

                     <

                     p style=”text-align:center”>Hope>
                     If

                     I must die
                     You must live\

                     To tell my tale
                     To sell my things
                     To buy some cloth
                     And some strings
                     Make it white with a long tail
                     So that some child, somewhere in Gaza
                     While looking heaven in the eye, awaiting his Dad
                     Who left in a Blaze, never saying goodbye
                     Not even to himself, not even to his flesh

                     Sees my kite, the kite you made, up above

                     Thinks, just for a moment,

                     That it is an angel

                     Bringing back love

                     If I must die

                     Let it bring

                     Hope
                 • tWig …

                   5 September 2024 at 6:01 pm

                   I think Netanyahu is stretching things out til the Nov US elections before making any firm promises internationally. With Trump in, Netanyahu will get carte blanche.
                 • Drowsy M. Kram …

                   6 September 2024 at 11:14 am

                   The saner heads were over ruled.

                   Saner heads risk getting chopped off.

                   Let's hope saner heads prevail soon, or at least eventually.

                   If I must die
                   let it bring hope,
                   let it be a story.
               • Mike the Lefty …

                 5 September 2024 at 2:55 pm

                 The western media agonizes about the dead hostages who are named as victims of horrific acts. Scarcely mentions the thousands of innocent children also killed who are just nameless casualties of war.
             • tWig …

               5 September 2024 at 5:01 pm

               Some families may have been killed by the IDF on Oct 7, although Hamas did kill other children.
               • SPC …

                 5 September 2024 at 5:22 pm

                 Sort of, they were places where hostages were taken by the "combatants" and civilians of various families died (in that case two 12 year olds).
   • SPC 2.2

     5 September 2024 at 1:38 pm

     The "proscription" appears to have been the lead to a restriction on arms sales to the IDF.

     So the public perceive there to be a "balanced" position.

     https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cm2np2l5mlko
3. Muttonbird 3

   5 September 2024 at 9:23 am

   Dear old Barely Sober uses his NZME platform to scribble something about Luxon's first year, or that's what you might think. In fact, he used his crayons to do three things:

   1. Frame the economy as a mess created by the last government, to be fixed by this one.
   2. Re-enforce his hatred for Jacinda Ardern. She can't hurt you now, idiot.
   3. Hold up Winston Peters as a skilled political agent full of honour and integrity.

   https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/its-been-one-hell-of-a-year-for-christopher-luxon-barry-soper/XMAJBMF5LBHTPNI443F6RIPAZQ/

   They must be taking pity on the doddery old fool. If you are unfortunate enough to hear the misogynistic ramblings on his wife's right wing radio show, there's multiple signs of approaching dementia; forgetfulness, stumbling, frustration and temper.

   She needs to pull him off the air to protect him from the public.
   • Anne 3.1

     5 September 2024 at 11:06 am

     A crusty old, barely intelligible piece of Mainland cheese long past its used-by date!
   • Bearded Git 3.2

     5 September 2024 at 2:53 pm

     It still gets right up my nose that the Nats claim the economy was in a mess when in fact they inherited an economy with excellent ratings from Fitch, Standard an Poor's and Moody's

     This has to be repeated ad infinitum.
     • Mike the Lefty 3.2.1

       5 September 2024 at 2:59 pm

       It is true that if you tell a big lie often enough it becomes the truth. The Nats talked down the economy so much that it became in effect a self fulfilling prophecy.
       • Bearded Git 3.2.1.1

         5 September 2024 at 7:55 pm

         True Mike….and as I said in a post the other day Luxon may have miscalculated here as by 2026 the economy will still look listless.
4. joe90 4

   5 September 2024 at 11:24 am

   Why?

   .

   Internal Affairs Minister Brooke van Velden will withhold findings from the first phase of the Royal Commission into the Covid-19 response for many months after she receives it in November.

   It is possible that the report, written by epidemiologist Tony Blakely, economist John Whitehead and litigator Grant Illingworth KC, may even be kept private by the minister until the second phase reports back in February 2026.

   The revelation has prompted outrage from Labour Party leader and former Covid-19 Response Minister Chris Hipkins, who said it was “unprecedented” and “a flagrant violation of the law”

   https://newsroom.co.nz/2024/09/04/minister-to-sit-on-covid-royal-commission-report-for-months/
   • bwaghorn 4.1

     5 September 2024 at 12:27 pm

     It probably says labour did a good job.
     • Patricia Bremner 4.1.1

       5 September 2024 at 1:22 pm

       100%
     • Mac1 4.1.2

       5 September 2024 at 2:23 pm

       And/or it will say that National were a most unhelpful opposition in a time of pandemic.

       Like Boris Johnson…. https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/world/504096/former-uk-pm-boris-johnson-says-he-vastly-underestimated-covid-dangers

       Note that the British get to hear the results of an enquiry there!

       Here's what the NYT said of the report. https://www.nytimes.com/2024/07/18/world/europe/uk-covid-pandemic-inquiry-report.html
       • tWig 4.1.2.1

         5 September 2024 at 2:45 pm

         To be fair, the Nats first wanted a bipartisan approach to the Covid response, but were turned down by the coalition government at the time, no reason given.

         Too many decisions in too short a timeframe, I presume, or maybe Winston threw a tanty?

         The Nats and NZF loved it later, though, when they could harvest anti-Ardern and anti covid-response feeling in their election campaigns.
         • Drowsy M. Kram 4.1.2.1.1

           5 September 2024 at 3:40 pm

           To be fair, the Nats first wanted a bipartisan approach to the Covid response, but were turned down by the coalition government at the time, no reason given.

           Were they though – turned down? I can’t remember.

           The Epidemic Response Committee was established on 25 March 2020 to consider and report to the House on matters relating to the Government’s management of the COVID-19 epidemic.

           The cross-party committee will be chaired by the Leader of the Opposition, the Hon Simon Bridges, and will consist of 11 members in total, six of whom will be Opposition members.
           • tWig 4.1.2.1.1.1

             5 September 2024 at 4:48 pm

             I remember reading about it at the time, enough to hmm? And file it away in my brain. If the government of the day HAD taken a bi-partisan approach to decision-making, we would have had Nats on that daily briefing podium too.

             There WAS a whole-of-government approach to legislation. Which is what popped up in my search for a ref. I couldn't be faffed searching more extensively on my phone for what I remember as one sentence or two in an article. So you can choose if you believe it or not. I do have a good memory for the printed word.
             • tWig …

               5 September 2024 at 4:54 pm

               Sorry, …whole-of-legislature, non-partisan….
             • Drowsy M. Kram …

               5 September 2024 at 5:03 pm

               If the government of the day HAD taken a bi-partisan approach to decision-making, we would have had Nats on that daily briefing podium too.

               Govt/oppo MPs singing from the same Covid response hymn sheet would have been good – perhaps irreconcilable (political) priorities got in the way?

               So you can choose if you believe it or not.

               Those are indeed two options, given that I can't remember.
     • Bearded Git 4.1.3

       5 September 2024 at 2:56 pm

       Err….because they did do a good job…one of the best worldwide.
   • Ad 4.2

     5 September 2024 at 3:27 pm

     And off to the Ombudsman we go.
5. joe90 5

   5 September 2024 at 11:56 am

   King Tuheitia's youngest child and only daughter.

   @WaikatoOz

   Our new Māori Queen Kuini Ngawai Hono I Te Po

   

   https://x.com/WaikatoOz/status/1831453851540713609

   https://www.odt.co.nz/news/national/who-new-m%C4%81ori-queen
   • Patricia Bremner 5.1

     5 September 2024 at 1:25 pm

     A unanimous decision apparently. Kotahitanga
   • Obtrectator 5.2

     5 September 2024 at 5:23 pm

     I was hoping that would happen. A commendable choice. Long and successfully may she reign.
   • Bearded Git 5.3

     5 September 2024 at 8:02 pm

     What started as a very sad week has turned into a wonderful week of celebration where the vibrant Maori culture and language has dominated the airwaves.

     Best of all l've lost track of the number of comments that have begun this week with something like "given the current anti Maori climate propagated by Seymour….".

     Shame on Seymour and shame on Luxon for not standing up to him.
     • Ngungukai 5.3.1

       6 September 2024 at 6:17 am

       ACT< Seymour, Gibbs and the Atlas Group are on another Planet IMHO.
6. Stephen D 6

   5 September 2024 at 2:32 pm

   If Jo Biden was going to raise taxes, why can’t we??

   Rhetorical question.

   https://robertreich.substack.com/p/what-will-kamala-harris-do-about?r=aax0&utm_medium=ios&triedRedirect=true

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