Soimun employs God knows how many ‘experts’ in his office to make attack ads, with unrelenting negativity, for which he gets quite rightly slagged off.
Jacinda fronts for a simple 2 minute (nearly 3 minutes) video of the Coalition’s achievements – and the tweet goes around the world. [Sorry, not tech savvy enough to put up a link.] It must really hack off the Natz party strategists!
Also, I live in Christchurch but I could hear Soimun grinding his teeth in Botany when he congratulated the next leader of the Natz on his selection.
It’s going to be a dirty election campaign next year because that’s all the Natz have got, but first points to the Coalition.
Edit
Are you in UK or NZ quasimodo? Brexit and UK Labour are a topic on their own.
Looking at Corbyn’s speech – free prescriptions, free care for the elderly – both enormously growing costs to the state. He is a bit free with his promises methinks when he wants to appeal to the wide British public:
Thank you for that welcome. Today we are launching the most ambitious and radical campaign our country has ever seen to bring real change to our country.
If you want to live in a society that works for everybody and not just the billionaires, if you want to save our hospitals, schools and public services from Tory cuts and privatisation, if you want to stop the big polluters destroying our environment then this election is your chance to vote for it.
The choice could not be clearer. We put our faith in the British people’s spirit and commitment to community. It’s your country. That’s why we stand with you.
(Notice he refers to ‘British’.)
He will appeal to the simple-minded, innocent and trusting, but people who think about stuff know there have to be boundaries on promises. Otherwise, as Paul Simon says – ‘They’re a pocketful of mumbles’. Labour can’t afford to mumble, as Corbyn says
Are you trying to enforce thematic conformism ? What happened to the cut and thrust of honest debate ? We otherwise have the depressing prospect of Simon swinging at the mercy of self-appointed Nationalist grandees.
Have a look at Corbyn's speech. I don't know who wrote it but it has a great riff near the end .. "whose side are you on ?" Luxton may have cause to ponder.
I am not sure he is Key 2.0 though. He has a lot more baggage. He is an awfully happy clappy God squadder who has already revealed himself as an antediluvian anti-abortionist and he is very unpopular in the provinces due to his decisions at Air New Zealand for example.
And he'll have to step up his game in interviews, RNZ just did a gotcha on him over vaccinations that was so, so easy…
You don't think Luxton will resort to 'convenient Christianity' when he knifes Bridges in the kidneys on his way up? "Yes, we rolled Simon while claiming to support him unequivocally, but it was for the good of the party, and therefore the good of all mankind. Hallelujah!"
He sounded like a cookie cutter right wing business guy from the shallow end of the pool. Fetishising "personal responsibility", ignorantly stating that Key was "the greatest PM ever" , sliding ever so easily into a bit of bene bashing. So all the ingredients he needs to be very successful in this dumbarse village.
I'm fairly certain 'rilly, rilly loverly' men don't join the National Party. Isn't being a self-serving, overly-ambitious arsehole a prerequisite for membership? I still can't get my head around Nikki Kaye. She seems warm, personable and genuine for the most part, but… National. Unless she has multiple personalities, I don't understand how she reconciles being a Bastard Party MP with being, you know, a decent human being.
Lewis Carroll went wandering in his mind and thought up a character very like Michelle Boag. This link has a drawing of Alice and the White Queen and I'm not sure of the character on the right. Great likeness for Michelle on the left though, except that's the wrong side!
Tribal politics I think – brought up on a particular political brand.
In Marilyn Waring's case, she suffered at the hands of Muldoon and she would have learnt what it is like to be discriminated against in general terms – in her case due to sexual orientation. There's nothing like a bit of personal experience to change one's views .
Nikki Kaye is unlikely to have been exposed to the same sort of treatment.
He isn't Key 2.0, and people shouldn't buy into that simplistic label ("coz rich white CEO, same same"). Key's god was Key.
Based on their public statements and (where relevant) votes in Parliament, Luxon is even more conservative than Bridges, who is more conservative than English, who was more conservative than Key, who was "pragmatic" (i.e saw the polls and voted for marriage equality).
A majority of National's own MPs voted for the 1st reading of Abortion Reform Bill. They might not later, after committee, but even going that far is too far for Luxon. If you take all the social issues currently debated (cannabis, euthanasia etc) he is more like a Craig Conservative or the fundies in Dunne's 2002 caucus. He should really be leading a 5% minority party, National's fantasy friend.
Family First have endorsed him enthusiastically. Enough said.
Well observed I think. Is having a male Jenny Shipley what National needs today? The way that National acts (get the pun!) just demonstrates that they have no interest in the country as a whole.
We are of as much interest as the starving Irish people in the second potato famine were to the Brits. The Brits knew about incipient famines because they had provided help with the first, but the second was a bridge too far, and the food production had been contracted out to feed the British Army.
It was collateral damage that the people went without while the plans and wants of the powerful were satisfied. And that is the modus operandi of the Gnats here, suck us dry and feed us words of needing higher productivity and efficiency as an excuse. That sucks!
They are interested in 'me and mine', and the group of wealthies they belong to, aspirational for swimming pools, big houses and grounds, or boutique apartments wherever they wish to visit FTTT. Also well-managed funds with investments in things of destruction or addiction, that people will keep buying even when they have to borrow at 0.8% per day (or 292% p.a.) to get them.
Even people involved in money wealth creation have trouble explaining their work clearly as in this report from interest.co.nz. https://www.interest.co.nz/personal-finance/101502/government-includes-daily-interest-rate-cap-loans-part-bid-crack-down-loan
'In April FinCap chief executive Tim Barnett said the Government’s proposed amendments didn’t hit loan sharks hard enough and called for a cap on interest rates and called for an interest rate cap. The organisation is the umbrella body for New Zealand’s budgeting and financial capability services.'
So thinking about money and arithmetic is riveting, but the RW government's disdainful policies for handling the poor, especially 'the breeders', is just political garbage-work though essential to keep the vermin down. Luxon shows that he is willing to be a good squaddie to get a carriage on the gravy train like John Key did.
Yes, as per this morning on RNZ, WFF recipients will be pleased to hear that in Mr Luxon’s view they will need to vaccinate their kids in order to receive their “in work tax credits”…
Also our shiny domed hero has to play snakes and ladders with Jami Lee Ross before he is an MP, yet alone leader of the NZ National Party–a mere formality of course political experts say.
Wait till the campaign cos if they don't pay off gag JLR he could do significant damage as luxon's another copy/paste corporate executioner with limited charisma.
If I was winnie I'd drop a strong NZF candidate in Botany high enough on their list to still be an MP and have some more fun at natz expense.
IMHO Luxon stands out as Jamie Whyte 2.0 – not Key 2.0. In looks as well as in his views.
My money (Nil) is on him not lasting long – and possibly not even until next year's election.
For anyone wanting them, here are the links to the Morning Report item on Luxon's selection and his MR interview – and also the link to Jami-Lee Ross' interview later in Morning Report. Ross made some good points imo.
Ross might make salient points. They will have less than zero effect on Luxon and his flying in in Botany.
Luxon's views on vaccinating kids in order to receive their “in work tax credits” or anything specific (as mentioned by Tiger Mountain) are irrelevant.
A la Key, Luxon publicly slaying babies would see his Botany vote solidify rather than diminish.
Luxon playing the National PParty divide and conquer play book punish the poor for being poor. Why not stop free education which does not discriminate for those who don't vaccinate.
It will be interesting to see how high National put him on the list. A high spot would give him standing and provide insurance just in case Ross did actually win the seat. But putting him high on the list would play into Ross' point that the voters can have both of them by vote splitting. Is Luxon there to oust Ross or be leader? Strategies for each may conflict.
I really think he could be Key 2.0, and may well prove as successful for the National Party.
There is a lot of discussion about his beliefs, values etc here. If National have proved nothing else – it is that none of that matters. A good sound bite – being "rich / successful", fakely 'relatable' and some sleazy marketing angles pay dividends in the NZ electorate for the right.
Trouble with genuinely-held beliefs is that they can get in the way of saying the most expedient thing. Or their previous expression can contradict what you say now.
Key was a moral vacuum. That's why he could say "whatever it takes" one minute and do fuckall the next.
wft about this trade deal – how does the climate emergency fit with this – seems fucken forgetful to me.
My 12 year old just left for school camp today – I'm pleased he gets to do this.
Jacinda pisses me off but the alternatives are nauseating – bridges, collins, bennett and now this luxon – what a bunch of idiots – imagine them in charge and don't forget that feeling come election time.
We are so smart as a species and so thick – just like every other species except for this shit I think
Twelve billion miles from Earth, there is an elusive boundary that marks the edge of the sun’s realm and the start of interstellar space. When Voyager 2, the longest-running space mission, crossed that frontier more than 40 years after its launch it sent a faint signal from the other side that scientists have now decoded.
…From beyond the heliosphere, the signal from Voyager 2 is still beaming back, taking more than 16 hours to reach Earth. Its 22.4-watt transmitter has a power equivalent to a fridge light, which is more than a billion billion times dimmer by the time it reaches Earth and is picked up by Nasa’s largest antenna, a 70-metre dish.
The two Voyager probes, powered by steadily decaying plutonium, are projected to drop below critical energy levels in the mid-2020s. But they will continue on their trajectories long after they fall silent. “The two Voyagers will outlast Earth,” said Kurth. “They’re in their own orbits around the galaxy for 5bn years or longer. And the probability of them running into anything is almost zero.”
I think most Westerners have still to unpack our own experiences of colonisation, that happened a long time ago and from which we have neither recovered nor even really taken into account. We are so deep now in the split of matter and spirit, or mind and body, or human and nature, that we struggle to even see the problem.
So at the moment the problem is seen as carbon emissions and how to reduce them in a time frame that if we were going to step out of denial will almost certainly require a drop in standard of living for the industrialised world. Instead of seeing climate change as really being about our relationship with nature and then being able to see that all the solutions are there waiting for us from that other, deeper reality.
This is my way of making sense of spending all that tremendous intelligence, technological development, time, energy, intuition, and physical material on space exploration instead of realigning ourselves with nature and getting really good, en masse, at the tech that restores and regenerates.
Thank you! Everyone is always on here sweating the small stuff National, the opposition, are doing or complaining about overseas issuea.
no one is taking stock of the lack of progress this government has made with sustainable housing, public transport and moving the economy to sustainable practices. It’s one announcement it’s been able to triumph about is adding to the neo liberal, emission creating, global economy
[ "But while the review doesn’t address the desire for residence that leaves many workers open to exploitation, several major positives in the review were highlighted by Kaloti and Bela.
They include a unit at MBIE dedicated to combating migrant worker exploitation and measures to help chase employers if they liquidate multiple companies to avoid liability. " ]
I guess small steps are better than no steps and Rome wasn't built in a day. And then there's a decade of NZ's previous junta making sure the whole thing became industrialised.
Industrialising, downsizing staff and replacing with – overseas call centres, technological algorithms replacing staff, less interest in spending money on people first because they are worth it, or second because it makes good long-term sense for a NZ Inc wants to be a well-run enterprise.
Our National Party Junta has a known course and rigid mindset. Will they find support from the previous class-deserting former-worker insurgents? Watch and see as this interesting tale of human endeavour, lost loves and imminent tragedy unfolds.
Interesting paragraph from @Weka at 3.1 above (especially her first paragraph ). Sums it all up nicely really. I always try and avoid the word 'colonisation' precisely because we can't seem to deal with it and its effects.
I was half expecting someone's alter ego (who has commented here on another thread) to respond, with another insular, link-laden response and rant about 'activist media' that don't conform to his world view – could still happen I 'spose.
Btw @greywarshark, now I've looked at things re disappearing comments elsewhere, I think its not as sinister as you may think – maybe more to do with our being caught up in a block-delete of comments that came after yours and/or mine
I think he could be noticing that the Greens think about 'science' and past and new methods of using it, and don't just jump up like a slavering dog woofing with joy at a treat.
FEI –
About Peter Griffin https://petergriffin.co.nz
Sep 15, 2011 – Peter Griffin is a Wellington-based science and technology journalist with 20 years experience in the New Zealand media covering science, technology, media and business. … in 2009 he founded Sciblogs.co.nz, the Australasia’s largest science blog network which is still going strong …
He was Director of the Science Media Centre.
2017 https://thespinoff.co.nz/author/peter-griffin/
Peter Griffin is Director of the Science Media Centre and the founder and editor of Sciblogs. Prior to founding the SMC, he was Technology Editor of the New Zealand Herald. Peter was the 2012 Fulbright-Harkness Fellow and undertook research in the US looking at centres of excellence in public interest journalism.
A man for all seasons:
Tech talk with Peter Griffin | RNZ https://www.rnz.co.nz › national › programmes › afternoons › audio › tec…
Nov 22, 2018 – Peter Griffin takes a look at the kinds of new or old technology that people might be looking to buy for Christmas or in the new year sales and …
Notice that is the 'official' Guardian view, they still will publish lots of personal views of their columnists who hold their nose over Corbyn- those columns are the ones syndicated for re-publishing around the world.
I do wonder about who the Editorial board are talking to when they say phrases like this
"The result was an immiseration of ordinary people and the forced decay of the public realm. "
My guess for whence this eventuates. John McDonell keeps losing economics debates (over his flagship fiscal credibility idea) with factions of UK Labour (who apply their MMT derived understanding of the UK economy). He is probably realising that his present position doesn't ever see him as the Chancellor and is looking to shift from it, at least rhetorically.
Whilst on the sordid topic of the nasty Natz, RNZ website has just announced Maggie Barry is to retire from politics at the 2020 election. More to come.
No doubt Ms Barry has served her 9 years +, during which time she has contributed to creating more suffering and hardship amongst the nation's impoverished and vulnerable. Now after that time, she is able to walk away with a tidy pension and life time perks!
To get rid of the purse-padders should we bring down the terms required to serve to two as MPs? It isn't long I know, but a week in politics can be a game-changer, and six years of pain and suffering to the country's people and flagging economy would be plenty.
Paying up to prevent another 3 years would be a good deal looked at in reality. Picture the unwanted pollie with small hand gun saying "Pay up or I will hang around your neck, ruin your prospects – whatever you have left – and ensure you never get to heaven"! I know what I would choose.
I dont think the gravy train after 9 years works like that anymore
"The travel perk only applies to MPs who served three terms before 1999 and is capped at the cheapest Air New Zealand business class flight to London each year and 12 domestic return flights."
the pension is generous ($2.50 for every $1 put in, plus any investing gains if they ran a personal scheme), but no special deal at the 9 yr stage.
Thats not true . Read the article again…the only person getting a car is former PMs. Salary is for 3 months after election, and not connected to 9 yrs service.
"she is able to walk away with a tidy pension and life time perks! "
She will get no such thing. The fabled pension and perks for retiring MPs were abolished a long, long time ago. The only current MPs who will receive life time pensions when they retire are Nick Smith and Jacinda Ardern.
Nick because he was an MP elected in 1990 and Jacinda because she has been PM for 2 years. There are no continuing perks for anyone else except for the free trip to Wellington to clean out their office and the 3 months pay they get after Election day.
The subsidy rate for any Super scheme is generous but certainly not that far out of line. They can contribute up to 8% of their basic back bench MP salary and it will be matched at 2.5 times their contribution.
That is good but not way out of step with other organisations. In the last full time job I held. with a large Australian company in the mid 1990's I could put 6% of my salary into Super and they would match it at a 14% rate. That wasn't all that different and it covered all my salary, not just the portion that the basic minimum level available to an MP represents.
Incidentally you may be interested to know that everybody's favourite bogeyman among the MPs who have left Parliament in the last couple of years, Stephen Joyce, never took advantage of the scheme. He was, as far as I know, the only MP in the last Parliament who never collected the 20% extra available to him. Everyone else took it because they could. Greedy little buggers weren't they?
Heritage New Zealand is considering giving the land at Ihumātao the highest level of heritage recognition, but it won't change the consent for the Fletcher housing development.
Now, new global research shows the virus is even more dangerous than first realised because it destroys immunity to other diseases.
So our carelessness under easy-peasy no regulations, little public health support for the poor, is coming home not so much to us but to bite another more vulnerable country.
We need to pass a law that gives immediate attention and full support to Western Samoa and ensures that continues for a full year, and then continues for another five years at half the budget of the first year for four years. We can afford it, if we aren't prepared to spend some of the theoretical credits in our own country, then it won't be a waste of money to help Western Samoa, and give us street cred as well.
"affect on Samoa of measles which infection can be laid squarely at NZs door."
Thats absurd . Measles is a contagious disease , it spreads naturally. The measles epidemic arrived in NZ from overseas too- they say it was 12 separate outbreaks here based on the virus analysis, and they spread to people connected to those 12 original originators. One of those infected visited Samoa, nothing to do 'with NZ'
Samoa has direct flights NZ , Fiji, Pago Pago and Brisbane, so would have arrived by air anyway
Mars Petcare announces closure of Whanganui factory in late 2020
The Whanganui road going down the hill wouldn't have helped. They are going to Thailand. World ownership of business will suck us dry, set up do okay, then oh dear we can only stay if you drop wages, drop electricity price. Nothing is certain these days, but having overseas giants own us is certainly more uncertain than if we owned it ourselves and ran a viable concern.
"When the world witnessed the “Arab Spring” it waited in fervent hope for an Arab Summer that never came. The young, middle-class Egyptians who crowded into Cairo’s Tahrir Square demanded democracy. But, when they got it, the answer it provided to the question: “Who are the people, and what do they want?” was not at all to their liking. Within months, the soldiers were back in charge, and the people’s choice, the Muslim Brotherhood, were back in jail – or dead. In politics, as in no other human activity, people should be very careful what they wish for.
Planning for the future will always produce a richer harvest than merely wishing away the present. Protest, if it is to be effective, has to make more than noise – it has to make sense."
This is why it is almost impossible to get pragmatic practical steps to tackle climate change at these conferences. They become magnets for groups like this who then help turn it in to a talk fest about "intersectional challenges" blah blah.
[TheStandard: A moderator moved this comment to Open Mike as being off topic or irrelevant in the post it was made in. Be more careful in future.]
Luxon playing the National PParty divide and conquer play book punish the poor for being poor. Why not stop free education which does not discriminate for those who don't vaccinate.
It's preemptive really – the poor have the most reason to indict National for their egregious failures. Let the poor find their voice and the Gnats and their dodgy backers are history.
Overseas Investment Office (OIO) decisions made in September and released today show the sales total more than 2200 hectares of land previously owned by New Zealanders, in Gisborne, Wairoa and Whangarei.
The new owners plan to plant 1600 hectares of the land as commercial forests.
Austrian count Johannes Trauttmansdorff-Weinsberg, who purchased two other sheep and beef farms for forestry conversion in August, is the purchaser of two of the latest properties. Another Austrian, Wolfgang Leitner, and a Swiss-German company, Kauri Forestry LP, have bought the other land.
At least one of Mr Trautmansdorff-Weinsberg's deals was brokered through veteran forestry consultant Roger Dickie, who was found to have breached OIO rules earlier this year over a similar deal.
[Verse 2]
Daddy's gone, my brother's out hunting in the mountains
Big John's been drinking since the river took Emmy-Lou
v
So the powers that be
left me here
to do the thinkin'
And I just turned twenty-two
I was wonderin' what to do
And the closer they got,
The more those feelings grew.
Daddy's rifle in my hand
felt reassurin'
He told me,
Red means run, son,
numbers add up to nothin'
But when the first shot
hit the docks I saw it comin'
Raised my rifle to my eye
Never stopped to wonder why.
Then I saw black,
And my face splashed in the sky.
Shelter me from the powder
and the finger
Cover me with the thought
that pulled the trigger
Think of me
as one you'd never figured
Would fade away so young
With so much left undone
Remember me to my love
Shelter me from the powder
and the finger
Cover me with the thought
that pulled the trigger
Think of me
as one you'd never figured
Would fade away so young
With so much left undone
Remember me to my love,
I know I'll miss her.
And unless your weka or some other biased online hustler… you aint got a show. Id suggest you be more careful in future yourself, as the Greens seem quite disposed towards certain practices. Crawl out of your cave and get real . Even the USA which you choose to malign because of Trump has modernized.
So get off wanker, … grow a pair and name who you are as a mod.
No one gives a shit about who you want to pretend you are, and no one seriously gives you a flying shit.
[TheStandard: A moderator moved this comment to Open Mike as being off topic or irrelevant in the post it was made in. Be more careful in future.]
[I’ve pushed a number of comments to Trash, in large part because of the aggressive and spammy nature of your posting tonight. A 24 time out so you can settle down seems warranted. I’ll put your comments in premod after that, so I can keep an eye on them. Please reread the Policy, about not using language or tone that has the effect of excluding others – weka]
The greatest insult you could deliver was to murder some poor bastard the night before, cook him in a hangi , then shit out his remains the next morning after.
That was common in Europe as well as New Zealand. Stop pulling the monumental porkies.
Just dont.
We all, have read up on the subject.
You cant hide whats in plain sight.
There was a story of Cook and his men inviting a group of Maori warriors aboard,… an old warrior offered the remains of a skull to the sailors… they were nauseous… the remains of a young warrior were cooked and contained in kiti bags… but the brains were the best part according to the old warrior…
Such was cannibalism and the insult of shitting out the remains of a warrior the next morning considered.
What is it with you soft cocks that you cant accept history???
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When in government, Labour pushed to extend the Parliamentary term to four years, to reduce accountability and our ability to vote out a bad government. And now, they're trying to do it through the member's ballot, with a Four-Year Parliamentary Term Legislation Bill. The bill at least requires a referendum ...
A ballot for a single Member's Bill was held today, and the following bill was drawn: Public Works (Prohibition of Compulsory Acquisition of Māori Land) Amendment Bill (Hūhana Lyndon) The bill would prevent the government from stealing Māori land in breach of Te Tiriti o Waitangi. It ...
Simeon Brown, alongside Wayne Brown, is favouring a political figleaf now in exchange for loading up tens of millions in extra interest costs on Auckland ratepayers. Photo: Lynn GrievesonTL;DR: Ratings agency Standard & Poor’s is pushing back hard at suggestions from Local Government Minister Simeon Brown and Mayor Wayne Brown ...
Buzz from the Beehive One headline-grabber from the Beehive yesterday was the OECD’s advice that the government must bring the Budget deficit under control or face higher interest rates. Another was the announcement of a $1.9 billion “investment” in Corrections over the next four years. In the best interests of ...
Chris Trotter writes – Had Zheng He’s fleet sailed east, not west, in the early Fifteenth Century, how different our world would be. There is little reason to suppose that the sea-going junks of the Ming Dynasty, among the largest and most sophisticated sailing vessels ever constructed, would have failed ...
David Farrar writes – Two articles give a useful contrast in balance. Both seek to be neutral explainer articles. This one in the Herald on Social Investment covers the pros and cons nicely. It links to critical pieces and talks about aspects that failed and aspects that are more ...
The tikanga regulations will compel law students to be taught that a system which does not conform with the rule of law is nevertheless law which should be observed and applied…Gary Judd KC writes – I have made a complaint to Parliament’s Regulation ...
The future of Te Huia, the train between Hamilton and Auckland, has been getting a lot of attention recently as current funding for it is only in place till the end of June. The government initially agreed to a five year trial, through to April 2026, but that was subject ...
TL;DR: Hamas has just agreed to Israel’s ceasefire plan. Nelson hospital’s rebuild has been cut back to save money. The OECD suggests New Zealand break up network monopolies, including in electricity. PM Christopher Luxon’s news conference on a prison expansion announcement last night was his messiest yet.Here’s my top six ...
A homicide in Ponsonby, a manhunt with a killer on the run. The nation’s leader stands before a press conference reassuring a frightened nation that he’ll sort it out, he’ll keep them safe, he’ll build some new prison spaces.Sorry what? There’s a scary dude on the run with a gun ...
Hi,I know it’s been awhile since there’s been any Webworm merch — and today that all changes!Over the last four months, I’ve been working with New Zealand artist Jess Johnson to create a series of t-shirts, caps and stickers that are infused with Webworm DNA — and as of right ...
The OECD’s chief economist yesterday laid it on the line for the new Government: bring the deficit under control or face higher Reserve Bank interest rates for longer. And to bring the deficit under control, she meant not borrowing for tax cuts. But there was more. Without policy changes—introducing a ...
After a hiatus of over four months Selwyn Manning and I finally got it together to re-start the “A View from Afar” podcast series. We shall see how we go but aim to do 2 episodes per month if possible. … Continue reading → ...
In 2008, the UK Parliament passed the Climate Change Act 2008. The law established a system of targets, budgets, and plans, with inbuilt accountability mechanisms; the aim was to break the cycle of empty promises and replace it with actual progress towards emissions reduction. The law was passed with near-universal ...
Buzz from the Beehive Local Water Done Well – let’s be blunt – is a silly name, but the first big initiative to put it into practice has gone done well. This success is reflected in the headline on an RNZ report:District mayors welcome Auckland’s new water deal with ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate ConnectionsA farmworker cleans the solar panels of a solar water pump in the village of Jagadhri, Haryana Country, India. (Photo credit: Prashanth Vishwanathan/ IWMI) Decisions made in India over the next few years will play a key role in global ...
Lindsay Mitchell writes – The Children’s Minister, Karen Chhour, intends to repeal Section 7AA from the Oranga Tamariki Act 1989 because it creates conflict between claimed Crown Treaty obligations and the child’s best interests. In her words, “Oranga Tamariki’s governing principles and its act should be colour ...
Geoffrey Miller writes – The gloves are off. That might seem to be the undertone of surprisingly tough talk from New Zealand’s foreign and trade ministers. Winston Peters, the foreign minister, may be facing legal action after making allegations about former Australian foreign minister Bob Carr on Radio New Zealand. ...
Brian Easton writes – This is about the time that the Treasury will be locking up its economic forecasts to be published in the 2024 Budget Economic and Fiscal Update (BEFU) on budget day, 30 May. I am not privy to what they will be (I will report on them ...
TL;DR:Winston Peters is reported to have won a budget increase for MFAT. David Seymour wanted his Ministry of Regulation to be three times bigger than the Productivity Commission. Simeon Brown is appointing a Crown Monitor to Watercare to protect the Claytons Crown Guarantee he had to give ratings agencies ...
The gloves are off. That might seem to be the undertone of surprisingly tough talk from New Zealand’s foreign and trade ministers. Winston Peters, the foreign minister, may be facing legal action after making allegations about former Australian foreign minister Bob Carr on Radio New Zealand. Carr had made highly ...
I could be a florist'Round the corner from Rye LaneI'll be giving daisies to craziesBut, baby, I'll wrap you up real safe Oh, I can give you flowers At the end of every dayFor the center of your table, a rainbowIn case you have people 'round to stay Depending on ...
TL;DR: The six key events to watch in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy in the week to May 12 include:PM Christopher Luxon is scheduled to hold a post-Cabinet news conference at 4 pm today. Finance Minister Nicola Willis will give a pre-budget speech on Thursday.Parliament sits from Question Time at 2pm on ...
The price of the foreign affairs “reset” is now becoming apparent, with Defence set to get a funding boost in the Budget. Finance Minister Nicola Willis has confirmed that it will be one of the few votes, apart from Health and Education and possibly Police, which will get an increase ...
A listing of 26 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, April 28, 2024 thru Sat, May 4, 2024. Story of the week "It’s straight out of Big Tobacco’s playbook. In fact, research by John Cook and his colleagues ...
Yesterday I received come lovely feedback following my Star Wars themed newsletter. A few people mentioned they’d enjoyed reading the personal part at the beginning.I often begin newsletters with some memories, or general thoughts, before commencing the main topic. This hopefully sets the mood and provides some context in which ...
April 30 was going to be the day we’d be calling Mum from London to wish her a happy birthday. Then it became the day we would be going to St. Paul's at Evensong to remember her. The aim of the cathedral builders was to find a way to make their ...
Rob MacCulloch writes – Can’t remember the last book by a Kiwi author you read? Think the NZ government should spend less on the arts in favor of helping the homeless? If so, as far as Newsroom is concerned, you probably deserve to be called a cultural ignoramus ...
Eric Crampton writes – Grudges are bad. Better to move on. But it can be fun to keep a couple of really trivial ones, so you’re not tempted to have other ones. For example, because of the rootkit fiasco of 2005, no Sony products in our household. ...
A new report warns an estimated third of the adult population have unmet need for health care.Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāHere’s the six key things I learned about Aotaroa’s political economy this week around housing, climate and poverty:Politics - Three opinion polls confirmed support for PM Christopher Luxon ...
Today is May the fourth. Which was just a regular day when my mother took me to see the newly released Star Wars at the Odeon in Rotorua. The queue was right around the corner. Some years later this day became known as Star Wars Day, the date being a ...
Buzz from the Beehive Much more media attention is being paid to something Winston Peters said about former Australian Foreign Minister Bob Carr than to a speech he delivered to the New Zealand China Council. One word is missing from the speech: AUKUS. But AUKUS loomed large in his considerations ...
Is the economy in another long stagnation? If so, why?This is about the time that the Treasury will be locking up its economic forecasts to be published in the 2024 Budget Economic and Fiscal Update (BEFU) on budget day, 30 May. I am not privy to what they will be ...
The annual list of who's been bribing our politicians is out, and journalists will no doubt be poring over it to find the juiciest and dirtiest bribes. The government's fast-track invite list is likely to be a particular focus, and we already know of one company on the list which ...
In the weeks after the October 7 Hamas attacks on Southern Israel I wrote about the possible 2nd, 3rd and even 4th order effects of the conflict. These included new fronts being opened in the West Bank (with Hamas), Golan … Continue reading → ...
Peter Dunne writes – It is one of the oldest truisms that there is never a good time for MPs to get a pay rise. This week’s announcement of pay raises of around 2.8% backdated to last October could hardly have come at a worse time, with the ...
David Farrar writes – Newshub reports: Newshub can reveal a fresh allegation of intimidation against Green MP Julie-Anne Genter. Genter is subject to a disciplinary process for aggressively waving a book in the face of National Minister Matt Doocey in the House – but it’s not the first time ...
The Treasury has published a paper today on the global productivity slowdown and how it is playing out in New Zealand: The productivity slowdown: implications for the Treasury’s forecasts and projections. The Treasury Paper examines recent trends in productivity and the potential drivers of the slowdown. Productivity for the whole economy ...
Winston Peters’ comments about former Australian foreign minister look set to be an ongoing headache for both him and Luxon. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The podcast above of the weekly ‘hoon’ webinar for subscribers features co-hosts and , along with regular guests on Gaza and ...
The National Government plans to cut 390 jobs at ACC, including roles in the areas of prevention of sexual violence, road safety and workplace safety. ...
The Government has been caught in opposition to evidence once again as it looks to usher in tried, tested and failed work seminar obligations for job-seeking beneficiaries. ...
The Green Party is welcoming the announcement by the Minister Responsible for RMA Reform Chris Bishop to approve most of the Wellington City Council’s District Plan recommendations. ...
David Seymour has failed to get the sweeping cuts he wanted to the free and healthy school lunch programme, Labour education spokesperson Jan Tinetti said. ...
Hon Willie Jackson has been invited by the Oxford Union to debate the motion “This House Believes British Museums are not Very British’ on May 23rd. ...
Green Party MP Hūhana Lyndon says her Public Works (Prohibition of Compulsory Acquisition of Māori Land) Amendment Bill is an opportunity to right some past wrongs around the alienation of Māori land. ...
A senior, highly respected King’s Counsel with decades of experience in our law courts, Gary Judd KC, has filed a complaint about compulsory tikanga Māori studies for law students - highlighting the utter depths of absurdity this woke cultural madness has taken our society. The tikanga regulations will compel law ...
The Government needs to be clear with the people of the Nelson Marlborough region about the changes it is considering for the Nelson Hospital rebuild, Labour health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall said. ...
Ministers must front up about which projects it will push through under its Fast Track Approvals legislation, Labour environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said today. ...
The Government is again adding to New Zealand’s growing unemployment, this time cutting jobs at the agencies responsible for urban development and growing much needed housing stock. ...
With Minister Karen Chhour indicating in the House today that she either doesn’t know or care about the frontline cuts she’s making to Oranga Tamariki, we risk seeing more and more of our children falling through the cracks. ...
The Labour Party is saddened to learn of the death of Sir Robert Martin, a globally renowned disability advocate who led the way for disability rights both in New Zealand and internationally. ...
Labour is calling for the Government to urgently rethink its coalition commitment to restart live animal exports, Labour animal welfare spokesperson Rachel Boyack said. ...
Today’s Financial Stability Report has once again highlighted that poverty and deep inequality are political choices - and this Government is choosing to make them worse. ...
The Green Party is calling on the Government to do more for our households in most need as unemployment rises and the cost of living crisis endures. ...
Unemployment is on the rise and it’s only going to get worse under this Government, Labour finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds said. Stats NZ figures show the unemployment rate grew to 4.3 percent in the March quarter from 4 percent in the December quarter. “This is the second rise in unemployment ...
The New Zealand Labour Party welcomes the entering into force of the European Union and New Zealand free trade agreement. This agreement opens the door for a huge increase in trade opportunities with a market of 450 million people who are high value discerning consumers of New Zealand goods and ...
The National-led Government continues its fiscal jiggery pokery with its Pharmac announcement today, Labour Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall says. “The government has increased Pharmac funding but conceded it will only make minimal increases in access to medicine”, said Ayesha Verrall “This is far from the bold promises made to fund ...
This afternoon’s interim Waitangi Tribunal report must be taken seriously as it affects our most vulnerable children, Labour children’s spokesperson Willow-Jean Prime. ...
Te Pāti Māori are demanding the New Zealand Government support an international independent investigation into mass graves that have been uncovered at two hospitals on the Gaza strip, following weeks of assault by Israeli troops. Among the 392 bodies that have been recovered, are children and elderly civilians. Many of ...
Our two-tiered system for veterans’ support is out of step with our closest partners, and all parties in Parliament should work together to fix it, Labour veterans’ affairs spokesperson Greg O’Connor said. ...
Stripping two Ministers of their portfolios just six months into the job shows Christopher Luxon’s management style is lacking, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said. ...
Tonight’s court decision to overturn the summons of the Children’s Minister has enabled the Crown to continue making decisions about Māori without evidence, says Te Pāti Māori spokesperson for Children, Mariameno Kapa-Kingi. “The judicial system has this evening told the nation that this government can do whatever they want when ...
It appears Nicola Willis is about to pull the rug out from under the feet of local communities still dealing with the aftermath of last year’s severe weather, and local councils relying on funding to build back from these disasters. ...
The Government is making short-sighted changes to the Resource Management Act (RMA) that will take away environmental protection in favour of short-term profits, Labour’s environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said today. ...
Labour welcomes the release of the report into the North Island weather events and looks forward to working with the Government to ensure that New Zealand is as prepared as it can be for the next natural disaster. ...
The Labour Party has called for the New Zealand Government to recognise Palestine, as a material step towards progressing the two-State solution needed to achieve a lasting peace in the region. ...
Some of our country’s most important work, stopping the sexual exploitation of children and violent extremism could go along with staff on the frontline at ports and airports. ...
The Government’s Fast Track Approvals Bill will give projects such as new coal mines a ‘get out of jail free’ card to wreak havoc on the environment, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said today. ...
The government's decision to reintroduce Three Strikes is a destructive and ineffective piece of law-making that will only exacerbate an inherently biased and racist criminal justice system, said Te Pāti Māori Justice Spokesperson, Tākuta Ferris, today. During the time Three Strikes was in place in Aotearoa, Māori and Pasifika received ...
Cuts to frontline hospital staff are not only a broken election promise, it shows the reckless tax cuts have well and truly hit the frontline of the health system, says Labour Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall. ...
Jobseeker beneficiaries who have work obligations must now meet with MSD within two weeks of their benefit starting to determine their next step towards finding a job, Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston says. “A key part of the coalition Government’s plan to have 50,000 fewer people on Jobseeker ...
A new standalone Social Investment Agency will power-up the social investment approach, driving positive change for our most vulnerable New Zealanders, Social Investment Minister Nicola Willis says. “Despite the Government currently investing more than $70 billion every year into social services, we are not seeing the outcomes we want for ...
Check against delivery Good morning. It is a pleasure to be with you to outline the Coalition Government’s approach to our first Budget. Thank you Mark Skelly, President of the Hutt Valley Chamber of Commerce, together with your Board and team, for hosting me. I’d like to acknowledge His Worship ...
Your Excellency Ambassador Meredith, Members of the Diplomatic Corps and Ambassadors from European Union Member States, Ministerial colleagues, Members of Parliament, and other distinguished guests, Thank you everyone for joining us. Ladies and gentlemen - In diplomacy, we often speak of ‘close’ and ‘long-standing’ relations. ...
The Therapeutic Products Act (TPA) will be repealed this year so that a better regime can be put in place to provide New Zealanders safe and timely access to medicines, medical devices and health products, Associate Health Minister Casey Costello announced today. “The medicines and products we are talking about ...
The Minister Responsible for RMA Reform, Chris Bishop, today released his decision on twenty recommendations referred to him by the Wellington City Council relating to its Intensification Planning Instrument, after the Council rejected those recommendations of the Independent Hearings Panel and made alternative recommendations. “Wellington notified its District Plan on ...
Rape Awareness Week (6-10 May) is an important opportunity to acknowledge the continued effort required by government and communities to ensure that all New Zealanders can live free from violence, say Ministers Karen Chhour and Louise Upston. “With 1 in 3 women and 1 in 8 men experiencing sexual violence ...
Associate Education Minister David Seymour has today announced that the Government will be delivering a more efficient Healthy School Lunches Programme, saving taxpayers approximately $107 million a year compared to how Labour funded it, by embracing innovation and commercial expertise. “We are delivering on our commitment to treat taxpayers’ money ...
New research on the impacts of extreme weather on coastal marine habitats in Tairāwhiti and Hawke’s Bay will help fishery managers plan for and respond to any future events, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. A report released today on research by Niwa on behalf of Fisheries New Zealand ...
Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Winston Peters will lead a broad political delegation on a five-stop Pacific tour next week to strengthen New Zealand’s engagement with the region. The delegation will visit Solomon Islands, Papua New Guinea, Vanuatu, New Caledonia, and Tuvalu. “New Zealand has deep and ...
There has been a material decline in gas production according to figures released today by the Gas Industry Co. Figures released by the Gas Industry Company show that there was a 12.5 per cent reduction in gas production during 2023, and a 27.8 per cent reduction in gas production in the ...
Defence Minister Judith Collins tonight announced the recipients of the Minister of Defence Awards of Excellence for Industry, saying they all contribute to New Zealanders’ security and wellbeing. “Congratulations to this year’s recipients, whose innovative products and services play a critical role in the delivery of New Zealand’s defence capabilities, ...
Welcome to you all - it is a pleasure to be here this evening.I would like to start by thanking Greg Lowe, Chair of the New Zealand Defence Industry Advisory Council, for co-hosting this reception with me. This evening is about recognising businesses from across New Zealand and overseas who in ...
It is a pleasure to be speaking to you as the Minister for Digitising Government. I would like to thank Akolade for the invitation to address this Summit, and to acknowledge the great effort you are making to grow New Zealand’s digital future. Today, we stand at the cusp of ...
New Zealand is urging both Israel and Hamas to agree to an immediate ceasefire to avoid the further humanitarian catastrophe that military action in Rafah would unleash, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says. “The immense suffering in Gaza cannot be allowed to worsen further. Both sides have a responsibility to ...
A new online data dashboard released today as part of the Government’s school attendance action plan makes more timely daily attendance data available to the public and parents, says Associate Education Minister David Seymour. The interactive dashboard will be updated once a week to show a national average of how ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has announced Rosemary Banks will be New Zealand’s next Ambassador to the United States of America. “Our relationship with the United States is crucial for New Zealand in strategic, security and economic terms,” Mr Peters says. “New Zealand and the United States have a ...
The Government is considering creating a new tier of minerals permitting that will make it easier for hobby miners to prospect for gold. “New Zealand was built on gold, it’s in our DNA. Our gold deposits, particularly in regions such as Otago and the West Coast have always attracted fortune-hunters. ...
Minister for Trade Todd McClay today announced that New Zealand and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) will commence negotiations on a free trade agreement (FTA). Minister McClay met with his counterpart UAE Trade Minister Dr Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi in Dubai, where they announced the launch of negotiations on a ...
New Zealand Sign Language Week is an excellent opportunity for all Kiwis to give the language a go, Disabilities Issues Minister Louise Upston says. This week (May 6 to 12) is New Zealand Sign Language (NZSL) Week. The theme is “an Aotearoa where anyone can sign anywhere” and aims to ...
Six tertiary students have been selected to work on NASA projects in the US through a New Zealand Space Scholarship, Space Minister Judith Collins announced today. “This is a fantastic opportunity for these talented students. They will undertake internships at NASA’s Ames Research Center or its Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), where ...
New Zealanders will be safer because of a $1.9 billion investment in more frontline Corrections officers, more support for offenders to turn away from crime, and more prison capacity, Corrections Minister Mark Mitchell says. “Our Government said we would crack down on crime. We promised to restore law and order, ...
The OECD’s latest report on New Zealand reinforces the importance of bringing Government spending under control, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. The OECD conducts country surveys every two years to review its members’ economic policies. The 2024 New Zealand survey was presented in Wellington today by OECD Chief Economist Clare Lombardelli. ...
The Government has delivered on its election promise to provide a financially sustainable model for Auckland under its Local Water Done Well plan. The plan, which has been unanimously endorsed by Auckland Council’s Governing Body, will see Aucklanders avoid the previously projected 25.8 per cent water rates increases while retaining ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters discussed the need for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, and enhanced cooperation in the Pacific with German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock during her first official visit to New Zealand today. "New Zealand and Germany enjoy shared interests and values, including the rule of law, democracy, respect for the international system ...
The Minister Responsible for RMA Reform, Chris Bishop today released his decision on four recommendations referred to him by the Western Bay of Plenty District Council, opening the door to housing growth in the area. The Council’s Plan Change 92 allows more homes to be built in existing and new ...
Thank you, John McKinnon and the New Zealand China Council for the invitation to speak to you today. Thank you too, all members of the China Council. Your effort has played an essential role in helping to build, shape, and grow a balanced and resilient relationship between our two ...
The Government is modernising insurance law to better protect Kiwis and provide security in the event of a disaster, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly announced today. “These reforms are long overdue. New Zealand’s insurance law is complicated and dated, some of which is more than 100 years old. ...
The coalition Government is refreshing its approach to supporting pay equity claims as time-limited funding for the Pay Equity Taskforce comes to an end, Public Service Minister Nicola Willis says. “Three years ago, the then-government introduced changes to the Equal Pay Act to support pay equity bargaining. The changes were ...
Structured literacy will change the way New Zealand children learn to read - improving achievement and setting students up for success, Education Minister Erica Stanford says. “Being able to read and write is a fundamental life skill that too many young people are missing out on. Recent data shows that ...
Trade Minister Todd McClay says Canada’s refusal to comply in full with a CPTPP trade dispute ruling in our favour over dairy trade is cynical and New Zealand has no intention of backing down. Mr McClay said he has asked for urgent legal advice in respect of our ‘next move’ ...
The rights of our children and young people will be enhanced by changes the coalition Government will make to strengthen oversight of the Oranga Tamariki system, including restoring a single Children’s Commissioner. “The Government is committed to delivering better public services that care for our most at-risk young people and ...
The Government is making it easier for minor changes to be made to a building consent so building a home is easier and more affordable, Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk says. “The coalition Government is focused on making it easier and cheaper to build homes so we can ...
New Zealand lost a true legend when internationally renowned disability advocate Sir Robert Martin (KNZM) passed away at his home in Whanganui last night, Disabilities Issues Minister Louise Upston says. “Our Government’s thoughts are with his wife Lynda, family and community, those he has worked with, the disability community in ...
Good evening – Before discussing the challenges and opportunities facing New Zealand’s foreign policy, we’d like to first acknowledge the New Zealand Institute of International Affairs. You have contributed to debates about New Zealand foreign policy over a long period of time, and we thank you for hosting us. ...
From today, passengers travelling internationally from Auckland Airport will be able to keep laptops and liquids in their carry-on bags for security screening thanks to new technology, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Creating a more efficient and seamless travel experience is important for holidaymakers and businesses, enabling faster movement through ...
People with an interest in the health of Northland’s marine ecosystems are invited to a public meeting to discuss how to deal with kina barrens, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. Mr Jones will lead the discussion, which will take place on Friday, 10 May, at Awanui Hotel in ...
Kiwi exporters are $100 million better off today with the NZ EU FTA entering into force says Trade Minister Todd McClay. “This is all part of our plan to grow the economy. New Zealand's prosperity depends on international trade, making up 60 per cent of the country’s total economic activity. ...
There are heartening signs that the extractive sector is once again becoming an attractive prospect for investors and a source of economic prosperity for New Zealand, Resources Minister Shane Jones says. “The beginnings of a resurgence in extractive industries are apparent in media reports of the sector in the past ...
The return of the historic Ō-Rākau battle site to the descendants of those who fought there moved one step closer today with the first reading of Te Pire mō Ō-Rākau, Te Pae o Maumahara / The Ō-Rākau Remembrance Bill. The Bill will entrust the 9.7-hectare battle site, five kilometres west ...
Explainer - The government from 2025 is mandating how state schools teach children to read. But what is structured literacy and how does it compare to other teaching methods? ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Danica Jenkins, Lecturer in European Studies, University of Sydney On a freezing spring night in March, Georgia’s national soccer team beat Greece in a nail-biter penalty shootout to qualify for the Euro 2024 championships. The atmosphere on the streets of the capital ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Adam G. Arian, Lecturer (Accounting & Finance), Australian Catholic University Loic Manegarium/Pexels Imagine every ton of carbon dioxide a company emits is slowly inflating its costs — not just in terms of potential fines or fees but in the capital it ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Somwrita Sarkar, Senior Lecturer in Design and Computation, University of Sydney The “latte line” is the infamous, invisible boundary that divides Sydney between the more affluent north-east and the south-west. Historically, people north of the line enjoy better access to jobs and ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Andrew Dowdy, Principal Research Scientist in Extreme Weather, The University of Melbourne Nomad_Soul/Shutterstock In media articles about unprecedented flooding, you’ll often come across the statement that for every 1°C of warming, the atmosphere can hold about 7% more moisture. This ...
RNZ Pacific Former Fiji Prime Minister Voreqe Bainimarama has been sentenced to one year in prison, Fiji media are reporting. Bainimarama, alongside suspended Fiji Police Commissioner Sitiveni Qiliho appeared in the High Court in Suva today for their sentencing hearing for a case involving their roles in blocking a police ...
Acting Chief Human Rights Commissioner Saunoamaali’i Dr Karanina Sumeo says, “Addressing violence and abuse remains New Zealand’s most significant human rights issue affecting women. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jonathan Symons, Macquarie School of Social Sciences, Macquarie University Michael Schiffer / Unsplash Life has transformed our world over billions of years, turning a dead rock into the lush, fertile planet we know today. But human activity is currently transforming Earth ...
One woman’s quest to watch Challengers without ruining her body clock. Every Saturday morning, I wake up with a screaming demon inside my head urging me to “Do. Something. This. Weekend.” I run through the possibilities in my head in a defensive mental crouch, reminiscent of that one time I ...
The PSA is alarmed that ACC is proposing to shed 309 jobs including 29 dedicated injury prevention jobs at a time when the number and cost of injuries is rising. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Tom Baker, Associate Professor in Human Geography, University of Auckland, Waipapa Taumata Rau Getty Images As local and regional councils struggle with inadequate infrastructure and unsustainable costs, New Zealand will be hearing a lot more about the potential solution offered by ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Gary Sacks, Professor of Public Health Policy, Deakin University Drazen Zigic/Shutterstock In recent years, there’s been increasinghype about the potential health risks associated with so-called “ultra-processed” foods. But new evidence published this week found not all “ultra-processed” foods are linked ...
Fears that New Zealand is relying too heavily on low-cost forests to absorb its carbon dioxide emissions have been reignited by a report from the OECD. ...
Finance Minister Nicola Willis has confirmed the total dollar savings target from public sector cuts has been met, but the reductions have not been felt evenly across public agencies. Government departments were told to make savings set at 6.5 percent or 7.5 percent where headcount had grown by more than ...
She doesn’t have a single kind word for me and it’s getting under my skin.Want Hera’s help? Email your problem to helpme@thespinoff.co.nzDear Hera,I have two amazing friends that I absolutely adore. Grace (all names have been changed) and I lived together across 2023 and Olivia moved in with us this ...
Can Western science and Māori science work together to support our well-being? The Te Ohu Mō Papatūānuku (TOMP) Trials Project was a landmark case for healing the land and people with the guidance of Māori science and leadership. This is what happened when Papatūānuku (Earth) was contaminated by toxic discharge, ...
The District Plan is a blueprint for a bigger, better Wellington, through tens of thousands of new apartments and townhouses and a new approach to urban growth. Joel MacManus lays out the vision. The process of putting together Wellington’s new District Plan has been long and excruciating. As a city, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Leah Williams Veazey, ARC DECRA Research Fellow, University of Sydney DavideAngelini/Shutterstock In the 2007 film The Bucket List Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman play two main characters who respond to their terminal cancer diagnoses by rejecting experimental treatment. Instead, they go ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Mohan Singh, Professor of Agri-Food Biotechnology, School of Agriculture, Food and Ecosystem Sciences at the University of Melbourne., The University of Melbourne Tanja Esser/Shutterstock Australia’s vital agriculture sector will be hit hard by steadily rising global temperatures. Our climate is already ...
The Acumen Edelman Trust barometer reported that New Zealand’s political trust score now sits below the global average, a topic explored in a recent discussion paper by Maxim Institute. ...
Greenpeace Aotearoa executive director Russel Norman says, "The Fast-Track Bill is the most damaging piece of environmental legislation any Government has introduced in living memory. People are angry, and it’s time to march." ...
The school lunches programme has been retained – and will be extended to some preschoolers. So how is it going to cost $107 million less? To receive The Bulletin in full each weekday, sign up here. The minister with many hats David Seymour wears a number of hats, but this week ...
“Show us the bird,” I found myself muttering at times while reading Hard by the Cloud House by Peter Walker, a deeply thoughtful, often hilarious, at times rambling – but somehow delightfully so – search for the story of a big bird. But not just any bird: the bird. This ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jack Marley, Environment + Energy Editor, UK edition DPVUE .images/Shutterstock Your home was probably designed for a climate that no longer exists. As long as humanity continues to burn fossil fuel, padding the heat-trapping blanket of gases in Earth’s atmosphere, the ...
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Ah, the delicious irony!
Soimun employs God knows how many ‘experts’ in his office to make attack ads, with unrelenting negativity, for which he gets quite rightly slagged off.
Jacinda fronts for a simple 2 minute (nearly 3 minutes) video of the Coalition’s achievements – and the tweet goes around the world. [Sorry, not tech savvy enough to put up a link.] It must really hack off the Natz party strategists!
Also, I live in Christchurch but I could hear Soimun grinding his teeth in Botany when he congratulated the next leader of the Natz on his selection.
It’s going to be a dirty election campaign next year because that’s all the Natz have got, but first points to the Coalition.
You can't fake star power.
Corbyn: 'the future is ours to make'.
https://labourlist.org/2019/10/the-future-is-ours-to-make-together-corbyns-campaign-launch-speech/
Edit
Are you in UK or NZ quasimodo? Brexit and UK Labour are a topic on their own.
Looking at Corbyn’s speech – free prescriptions, free care for the elderly – both enormously growing costs to the state. He is a bit free with his promises methinks when he wants to appeal to the wide British public:
Thank you for that welcome. Today we are launching the most ambitious and radical campaign our country has ever seen to bring real change to our country.
If you want to live in a society that works for everybody and not just the billionaires, if you want to save our hospitals, schools and public services from Tory cuts and privatisation, if you want to stop the big polluters destroying our environment then this election is your chance to vote for it.
The choice could not be clearer. We put our faith in the British people’s spirit and commitment to community. It’s your country. That’s why we stand with you.
(Notice he refers to ‘British’.)
He will appeal to the simple-minded, innocent and trusting, but people who think about stuff know there have to be boundaries on promises. Otherwise, as Paul Simon says – ‘They’re a pocketful of mumbles’. Labour can’t afford to mumble, as Corbyn says
Are you trying to enforce thematic conformism ? What happened to the cut and thrust of honest debate ? We otherwise have the depressing prospect of Simon swinging at the mercy of self-appointed Nationalist grandees.
Uh? I don't have your advantage of looking down from a high place. I am just down here at the grassroots.
Have a look at Corbyn's speech. I don't know who wrote it but it has a great riff near the end .. "whose side are you on ?" Luxton may have cause to ponder.
Ol' Luxton is totally after Simon's job.
I am not sure he is Key 2.0 though. He has a lot more baggage. He is an awfully happy clappy God squadder who has already revealed himself as an antediluvian anti-abortionist and he is very unpopular in the provinces due to his decisions at Air New Zealand for example.
And he'll have to step up his game in interviews, RNZ just did a gotcha on him over vaccinations that was so, so easy…
Just listened to that interview – conclusion: I've got to question Luxton's political judgement – "We've got an outstanding leader in Simon Bridges."
Talked with an airhostess from Air New Zealand – not at all happy with Luxton's leadership or management style. Perhaps he may be Key 2.0.
Oh, but I agree, Simon Bridges stands out alright.
"We've got an outstanding leader in Simon Bridges."
Let's see if he takes 'personal responsibility' for that when the knives come out. They're being sharpened this very moment
It's likely to be painful – none of the Gnats can hold much of an edge – they're essentially blunt instruments.
You don't think Luxton will resort to 'convenient Christianity' when he knifes Bridges in the kidneys on his way up? "Yes, we rolled Simon while claiming to support him unequivocally, but it was for the good of the party, and therefore the good of all mankind. Hallelujah!"
Umm John Luxton retired from parliament some years ago now. I think this newbie is Luxon, without the 't'. Or am I wrong?
No, you're quite right. Well spotted.
I can see that Christopher Luxon will have to change his surname to Luxton if commenters are going to continue to use that name.
He sounded like a cookie cutter right wing business guy from the shallow end of the pool. Fetishising "personal responsibility", ignorantly stating that Key was "the greatest PM ever" , sliding ever so easily into a bit of bene bashing. So all the ingredients he needs to be very successful in this dumbarse village.
Just like John Key, another personal vanity project.
And he has a wife who thinks she is NZ's equivalent to the Duchess of Cambridge – better know as Kate Middleton.
Yeah… a bit of bitching but it's true.
Oh and that ‘dowager’ duchess, Michelle Boag reckons he’s a :
rilly, rilly loverly maaan.
That’s enough to send shivers down one’s spine.
I'm fairly certain 'rilly, rilly loverly' men don't join the National Party. Isn't being a self-serving, overly-ambitious arsehole a prerequisite for membership? I still can't get my head around Nikki Kaye. She seems warm, personable and genuine for the most part, but… National. Unless she has multiple personalities, I don't understand how she reconciles being a Bastard Party MP with being, you know, a decent human being.
Lewis Carroll went wandering in his mind and thought up a character very like Michelle Boag. This link has a drawing of Alice and the White Queen and I'm not sure of the character on the right. Great likeness for Michelle on the left though, except that's the wrong side!
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2016/05/10/from-trump-to-brexit-here-are-six-previously-impossible-things-f/
I felt the same about Marilyn Waring. Do you think it could be naivete ?
Tribal politics I think – brought up on a particular political brand.
In Marilyn Waring's case, she suffered at the hands of Muldoon and she would have learnt what it is like to be discriminated against in general terms – in her case due to sexual orientation. There's nothing like a bit of personal experience to change one's views .
Nikki Kaye is unlikely to have been exposed to the same sort of treatment.
Well….probably as much baggage. It's just that Key manages to bury his, and Luxton wears his like a badge of honour. Both as bad as each other
He isn't Key 2.0, and people shouldn't buy into that simplistic label ("coz rich white CEO, same same"). Key's god was Key.
Based on their public statements and (where relevant) votes in Parliament, Luxon is even more conservative than Bridges, who is more conservative than English, who was more conservative than Key, who was "pragmatic" (i.e saw the polls and voted for marriage equality).
A majority of National's own MPs voted for the 1st reading of Abortion Reform Bill. They might not later, after committee, but even going that far is too far for Luxon. If you take all the social issues currently debated (cannabis, euthanasia etc) he is more like a Craig Conservative or the fundies in Dunne's 2002 caucus. He should really be leading a 5% minority party, National's fantasy friend.
Family First have endorsed him enthusiastically. Enough said.
Well observed I think. Is having a male Jenny Shipley what National needs today? The way that National acts (get the pun!) just demonstrates that they have no interest in the country as a whole.
We are of as much interest as the starving Irish people in the second potato famine were to the Brits. The Brits knew about incipient famines because they had provided help with the first, but the second was a bridge too far, and the food production had been contracted out to feed the British Army.
It was collateral damage that the people went without while the plans and wants of the powerful were satisfied. And that is the modus operandi of the Gnats here, suck us dry and feed us words of needing higher productivity and efficiency as an excuse. That sucks!
They are interested in 'me and mine', and the group of wealthies they belong to, aspirational for swimming pools, big houses and grounds, or boutique apartments wherever they wish to visit FTTT. Also well-managed funds with investments in things of destruction or addiction, that people will keep buying even when they have to borrow at 0.8% per day (or 292% p.a.) to get them.
Even people involved in money wealth creation have trouble explaining their work clearly as in this report from interest.co.nz. https://www.interest.co.nz/personal-finance/101502/government-includes-daily-interest-rate-cap-loans-part-bid-crack-down-loan
'In April FinCap chief executive Tim Barnett said the Government’s proposed amendments didn’t hit loan sharks hard enough and called for a cap on interest rates and called for an interest rate cap. The organisation is the umbrella body for New Zealand’s budgeting and financial capability services.'
So thinking about money and arithmetic is riveting, but the RW government's disdainful policies for handling the poor, especially 'the breeders', is just political garbage-work though essential to keep the vermin down. Luxon shows that he is willing to be a good squaddie to get a carriage on the gravy train like John Key did.
Yes, as per this morning on RNZ, WFF recipients will be pleased to hear that in Mr Luxon’s view they will need to vaccinate their kids in order to receive their “in work tax credits”…
Also our shiny domed hero has to play snakes and ladders with Jami Lee Ross before he is an MP, yet alone leader of the NZ National Party–a mere formality of course political experts say.
Wait till the campaign cos if they don't
pay offgag JLR he could do significant damage as luxon's another copy/paste corporate executioner with limited charisma.If I was winnie I'd drop a strong NZF candidate in Botany high enough on their list to still be an MP and have some more fun at natz expense.
IMHO Luxon stands out as Jamie Whyte 2.0 – not Key 2.0. In looks as well as in his views.
My money (Nil) is on him not lasting long – and possibly not even until next year's election.
For anyone wanting them, here are the links to the Morning Report item on Luxon's selection and his MR interview – and also the link to Jami-Lee Ross' interview later in Morning Report. Ross made some good points imo.
https://www.rnz.co.nz/national/programmes/morningreport/audio/2018720736/inside-the-national-party-s-botany-selection-meeting
.https://www.rnz.co.nz/national/programmes/morningreport/audio/2018720739/luxon-wins-botany-spot
https://www.rnz.co.nz/national/programmes/morningreport/audio/2018720752/jami-lee-ross-responds-to-christopher-luxon-s-selection
Ross might make salient points. They will have less than zero effect on Luxon and his flying in in Botany.
Luxon's views on vaccinating kids in order to receive their “in work tax credits” or anything specific (as mentioned by Tiger Mountain) are irrelevant.
A la Key, Luxon publicly slaying babies would see his Botany vote solidify rather than diminish.
Luxon playing the National PParty divide and conquer play book punish the poor for being poor. Why not stop free education which does not discriminate for those who don't vaccinate.
It will be interesting to see how high National put him on the list. A high spot would give him standing and provide insurance just in case Ross did actually win the seat. But putting him high on the list would play into Ross' point that the voters can have both of them by vote splitting. Is Luxon there to oust Ross or be leader? Strategies for each may conflict.
Do you seriously believe Luxon needs the insurance of a high place in case Ross actually wins the seat?
There is as much chance of Ross winning the seat as there is of Walter Nash winning back the Hutt electorate next year.
ha – it wasn't Whyte who came to my mind so much as Don Brash.
Nats seem to regard these chosen men are a bit like a gambler looks at a lucky number: they recall the one big streak, but forget all the losers.
I really think he could be Key 2.0, and may well prove as successful for the National Party.
There is a lot of discussion about his beliefs, values etc here. If National have proved nothing else – it is that none of that matters. A good sound bite – being "rich / successful", fakely 'relatable' and some sleazy marketing angles pay dividends in the NZ electorate for the right.
Trouble with genuinely-held beliefs is that they can get in the way of saying the most expedient thing. Or their previous expression can contradict what you say now.
Key was a moral vacuum. That's why he could say "whatever it takes" one minute and do fuckall the next.
I doubt Luxon has a shortage of moral vacuum – but yes, perhaps he has some inconvenient values.
a pondering
wft about this trade deal – how does the climate emergency fit with this – seems fucken forgetful to me.
My 12 year old just left for school camp today – I'm pleased he gets to do this.
Jacinda pisses me off but the alternatives are nauseating – bridges, collins, bennett and now this luxon – what a bunch of idiots – imagine them in charge and don't forget that feeling come election time.
We are so smart as a species and so thick – just like every other species except for this shit I think
I think most Westerners have still to unpack our own experiences of colonisation, that happened a long time ago and from which we have neither recovered nor even really taken into account. We are so deep now in the split of matter and spirit, or mind and body, or human and nature, that we struggle to even see the problem.
So at the moment the problem is seen as carbon emissions and how to reduce them in a time frame that if we were going to step out of denial will almost certainly require a drop in standard of living for the industrialised world. Instead of seeing climate change as really being about our relationship with nature and then being able to see that all the solutions are there waiting for us from that other, deeper reality.
This is my way of making sense of spending all that tremendous intelligence, technological development, time, energy, intuition, and physical material on space exploration instead of realigning ourselves with nature and getting really good, en masse, at the tech that restores and regenerates.
Inspiring words weka.
thanks grey.
Thank you! Everyone is always on here sweating the small stuff National, the opposition, are doing or complaining about overseas issuea.
no one is taking stock of the lack of progress this government has made with sustainable housing, public transport and moving the economy to sustainable practices. It’s one announcement it’s been able to triumph about is adding to the neo liberal, emission creating, global economy
https://www.newsroom.co.nz/2019/11/05/895405/migrant-exploitation-review-a-government-chasing-its-tail
Exactery!
[ "But while the review doesn’t address the desire for residence that leaves many workers open to exploitation, several major positives in the review were highlighted by Kaloti and Bela.
They include a unit at MBIE dedicated to combating migrant worker exploitation and measures to help chase employers if they liquidate multiple companies to avoid liability. " ]
I guess small steps are better than no steps and Rome wasn't built in a day. And then there's a decade of NZ's previous junta making sure the whole thing became industrialised.
Industrialising, downsizing staff and replacing with – overseas call centres, technological algorithms replacing staff, less interest in spending money on people first because they are worth it, or second because it makes good long-term sense for a NZ Inc wants to be a well-run enterprise.
Our National Party Junta has a known course and rigid mindset. Will they find support from the previous class-deserting former-worker insurgents? Watch and see as this interesting tale of human endeavour, lost loves and imminent tragedy unfolds.
Interesting paragraph from @Weka at 3.1 above (especially her first paragraph ). Sums it all up nicely really. I always try and avoid the word 'colonisation' precisely because we can't seem to deal with it and its effects.
I was half expecting someone's alter ego (who has commented here on another thread) to respond, with another insular, link-laden response and rant about 'activist media' that don't conform to his world view – could still happen I 'spose.
Btw @greywarshark, now I've looked at things re disappearing comments elsewhere, I think its not as sinister as you may think – maybe more to do with our being caught up in a block-delete of comments that came after yours and/or mine
Ta, where would we be without something to wonder/worry about. Probably in the in-firm-ary.
Gangster in Chief.
https://twitter.com/tburages/status/1191405984444551169
https://twitter.com/tburages/status/1191405996914163714
https://i.stuff.co.nz/opinion/117051213/greens-have-a-tenuous-relationship-with-science
This young falla reckons the greens are anti science if it doesn't suit their ideology.
I think he could be noticing that the Greens think about 'science' and past and new methods of using it, and don't just jump up like a slavering dog woofing with joy at a treat.
FEI –
About Peter Griffin https://petergriffin.co.nz
Sep 15, 2011 – Peter Griffin is a Wellington-based science and technology journalist with 20 years experience in the New Zealand media covering science, technology, media and business. … in 2009 he founded Sciblogs.co.nz, the Australasia’s largest science blog network which is still going strong …
He was Director of the Science Media Centre.
2017 https://thespinoff.co.nz/author/peter-griffin/
Peter Griffin is Director of the Science Media Centre and the founder and editor of Sciblogs. Prior to founding the SMC, he was Technology Editor of the New Zealand Herald. Peter was the 2012 Fulbright-Harkness Fellow and undertook research in the US looking at centres of excellence in public interest journalism.
A man for all seasons:
Tech talk with Peter Griffin | RNZ https://www.rnz.co.nz › national › programmes › afternoons › audio › tec…
Nov 22, 2018 – Peter Griffin takes a look at the kinds of new or old technology that people might be looking to buy for Christmas or in the new year sales and …
For once The Guardian is not locked to neoliberalism and the usual economic fallacies – and appears to back Jeremy Corbyn!!
Maybe there is hope.
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/nov/04/the-guardian-view-on-labours-radical-plans-fix-the-economy-and-democracy
Notice that is the 'official' Guardian view, they still will publish lots of personal views of their columnists who hold their nose over Corbyn- those columns are the ones syndicated for re-publishing around the world.
I do wonder about who the Editorial board are talking to when they say phrases like this
"The result was an immiseration of ordinary people and the forced decay of the public realm. "
My guess for whence this eventuates. John McDonell keeps losing economics debates (over his flagship fiscal credibility idea) with factions of UK Labour (who apply their MMT derived understanding of the UK economy). He is probably realising that his present position doesn't ever see him as the Chancellor and is looking to shift from it, at least rhetorically.
Whilst on the sordid topic of the nasty Natz, RNZ website has just announced Maggie Barry is to retire from politics at the 2020 election. More to come.
No doubt Ms Barry has served her 9 years +, during which time she has contributed to creating more suffering and hardship amongst the nation's impoverished and vulnerable. Now after that time, she is able to walk away with a tidy pension and life time perks!
To get rid of the purse-padders should we bring down the terms required to serve to two as MPs? It isn't long I know, but a week in politics can be a game-changer, and six years of pain and suffering to the country's people and flagging economy would be plenty.
Paying up to prevent another 3 years would be a good deal looked at in reality. Picture the unwanted pollie with small hand gun saying "Pay up or I will hang around your neck, ruin your prospects – whatever you have left – and ensure you never get to heaven"! I know what I would choose.
Exactly, troughs assured now sling the hook as there will be more. expect a dan Bidois clone or a demographic box tick candidate.
Most likely a pre purchased indian or Chinese candidate. $100K gets a list spot ! One wonders what a safe electorate costs.
I dont think the gravy train after 9 years works like that anymore
"The travel perk only applies to MPs who served three terms before 1999 and is capped at the cheapest Air New Zealand business class flight to London each year and 12 domestic return flights."
the pension is generous ($2.50 for every $1 put in, plus any investing gains if they ran a personal scheme), but no special deal at the 9 yr stage.
This is informative for an overview.
Former MPs and their perks – salary, free travel and taxpayer-funded car Sept 2017
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11927540
Thats not true . Read the article again…the only person getting a car is former PMs. Salary is for 3 months after election, and not connected to 9 yrs service.
"she is able to walk away with a tidy pension and life time perks! "
She will get no such thing. The fabled pension and perks for retiring MPs were abolished a long, long time ago. The only current MPs who will receive life time pensions when they retire are Nick Smith and Jacinda Ardern.
Nick because he was an MP elected in 1990 and Jacinda because she has been PM for 2 years. There are no continuing perks for anyone else except for the free trip to Wellington to clean out their office and the 3 months pay they get after Election day.
The government contributes to the pension scheme of their own choice too, some use Kiwisaver, but at a much more generous rate than ordinary workers.
national MPs seem to prefer their own private super scheme, which they choose the investments , often property
The subsidy rate for any Super scheme is generous but certainly not that far out of line. They can contribute up to 8% of their basic back bench MP salary and it will be matched at 2.5 times their contribution.
That is good but not way out of step with other organisations. In the last full time job I held. with a large Australian company in the mid 1990's I could put 6% of my salary into Super and they would match it at a 14% rate. That wasn't all that different and it covered all my salary, not just the portion that the basic minimum level available to an MP represents.
Incidentally you may be interested to know that everybody's favourite bogeyman among the MPs who have left Parliament in the last couple of years, Stephen Joyce, never took advantage of the scheme. He was, as far as I know, the only MP in the last Parliament who never collected the 20% extra available to him. Everyone else took it because they could. Greedy little buggers weren't they?
Would this be called a Claytons move? Or is it a wise first step out of the conundrum?
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/402550/occupied-ihumatao-land-could-be-granted-highest-heritage-status
Heritage New Zealand is considering giving the land at Ihumātao the highest level of heritage recognition, but it won't change the consent for the Fletcher housing development.
In legal terms classifying a property has no direct effect.
"Entry on the List:
https://www.heritage.org.nz/the-list/about-the-list
Maggie Barry retiring continues the cleanout of Amy Adams supporters from caucus
The rough support groups described here at the time
national party has more in common with the Politburo than you might think
Someone the other day was almost in tears about the affect on Samoa of measles which infection can be laid squarely at NZs door.
https://www.rnz.co.nz/international/pacific-news/402548/samoa-measles-epidemic-suspected-cases-could-be-tip-of-iceberg
Now, new global research shows the virus is even more dangerous than first realised because it destroys immunity to other diseases.
So our carelessness under easy-peasy no regulations, little public health support for the poor, is coming home not so much to us but to bite another more vulnerable country.
We need to pass a law that gives immediate attention and full support to Western Samoa and ensures that continues for a full year, and then continues for another five years at half the budget of the first year for four years. We can afford it, if we aren't prepared to spend some of the theoretical credits in our own country, then it won't be a waste of money to help Western Samoa, and give us street cred as well.
"affect on Samoa of measles which infection can be laid squarely at NZs door."
Thats absurd . Measles is a contagious disease , it spreads naturally. The measles epidemic arrived in NZ from overseas too- they say it was 12 separate outbreaks here based on the virus analysis, and they spread to people connected to those 12 original originators. One of those infected visited Samoa, nothing to do 'with NZ'
Samoa has direct flights NZ , Fiji, Pago Pago and Brisbane, so would have arrived by air anyway
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=12282326&ref=clavis
Mars Petcare announces closure of Whanganui factory in late 2020
The Whanganui road going down the hill wouldn't have helped. They are going to Thailand. World ownership of business will suck us dry, set up do okay, then oh dear we can only stay if you drop wages, drop electricity price. Nothing is certain these days, but having overseas giants own us is certainly more uncertain than if we owned it ourselves and ran a viable concern.
"When the world witnessed the “Arab Spring” it waited in fervent hope for an Arab Summer that never came. The young, middle-class Egyptians who crowded into Cairo’s Tahrir Square demanded democracy. But, when they got it, the answer it provided to the question: “Who are the people, and what do they want?” was not at all to their liking. Within months, the soldiers were back in charge, and the people’s choice, the Muslim Brotherhood, were back in jail – or dead. In politics, as in no other human activity, people should be very careful what they wish for.
Planning for the future will always produce a richer harvest than merely wishing away the present. Protest, if it is to be effective, has to make more than noise – it has to make sense."
https://thedailyblog.co.nz/2019/11/05/global-protests-rage-on-but-slogans-are-not-plans/
Fail to plan, plan to fail
This is why it is almost impossible to get pragmatic practical steps to tackle climate change at these conferences. They become magnets for groups like this who then help turn it in to a talk fest about "intersectional challenges" blah blah.
[TheStandard: A moderator moved this comment to Open Mike as being off topic or irrelevant in the post it was made in. Be more careful in future.]
Luxon playing the National PParty divide and conquer play book punish the poor for being poor. Why not stop free education which does not discriminate for those who don't vaccinate.
It's preemptive really – the poor have the most reason to indict National for their egregious failures. Let the poor find their voice and the Gnats and their dodgy backers are history.
31 October 2019 on forestry which we are too weak and useless to do for ourselves which we did last century. The Green Rush series on Radionz.
Forestry conversions rules 'totally out of control'
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/in-depth/402225/forestry-conversions-rules-totally-out-of-control
Overseas Investment Office (OIO) decisions made in September and released today show the sales total more than 2200 hectares of land previously owned by New Zealanders, in Gisborne, Wairoa and Whangarei.
The new owners plan to plant 1600 hectares of the land as commercial forests.
Austrian count Johannes Trauttmansdorff-Weinsberg, who purchased two other sheep and beef farms for forestry conversion in August, is the purchaser of two of the latest properties. Another Austrian, Wolfgang Leitner, and a Swiss-German company, Kauri Forestry LP, have bought the other land.
At least one of Mr Trautmansdorff-Weinsberg's deals was brokered through veteran forestry consultant Roger Dickie, who was found to have breached OIO rules earlier this year over a similar deal.
https://youtu.be/ETOIIWot-3Y?t=199https://youtu.be/ETOIIWot-3Y?t=199https://youtu.be/ETOIIWot-3Y?t=199
https://youtu.be/e8CPc4MAL1c?t=3https://youtu.be/e8CPc4MAL1c?t=3https://
[TheStandard: A moderator moved this comment to Open Mike as being off topic or irrelevant in the post it was made in. Be more careful in future.]
I don't do or support pot… but pot is the 2019 equivalent to moonshine…
Hear these words.
Its the truth.
Look out, Mama, there's a white boat coming up the river
With a big red beacon, and a flag, and a man on the rail
I think you'd better call John
Because it don't look like they're here to deliver the mail
And it's less than a mile away
I hope they didn't come to stay
It's got numbers on the side and a gun
And it's making big waves
[Verse 2]
Daddy's gone, my brother's out hunting in the mountains
Big John's been drinking since the river took Emmy-Lou
v
So the powers that be
left me here
to do the thinkin'
And I just turned twenty-two
I was wonderin' what to do
And the closer they got,
The more those feelings grew.
Daddy's rifle in my hand
felt reassurin'
He told me,
Red means run, son,
numbers add up to nothin'
But when the first shot
hit the docks I saw it comin'
Raised my rifle to my eye
Never stopped to wonder why.
Then I saw black,
And my face splashed in the sky.
Shelter me from the powder
and the finger
Cover me with the thought
that pulled the trigger
Think of me
as one you'd never figured
Would fade away so young
With so much left undone
Remember me to my love
Shelter me from the powder
and the finger
Cover me with the thought
that pulled the trigger
Think of me
as one you'd never figured
Would fade away so young
With so much left undone
Remember me to my love,
I know I'll miss her.
Mate- its open mike.
And unless your weka or some other biased online hustler… you aint got a show. Id suggest you be more careful in future yourself, as the Greens seem quite disposed towards certain practices. Crawl out of your cave and get real . Even the USA which you choose to malign because of Trump has modernized.
So get off wanker, … grow a pair and name who you are as a mod.
No one gives a shit about who you want to pretend you are, and no one seriously gives you a flying shit.
What… they were the embodiment of pacifism and world peace?
Piss off.
Paraihaka my arse.
Get a load of reality and stop filling peoples heads with bullshit, a – holes.
Ancient Celtic New Zealand
http://www.celticnz.co.nzv
Get a grip on yourselves.
[TheStandard: A moderator moved this comment to Open Mike as being off topic or irrelevant in the post it was made in. Be more careful in future.]
[I’ve pushed a number of comments to Trash, in large part because of the aggressive and spammy nature of your posting tonight. A 24 time out so you can settle down seems warranted. I’ll put your comments in premod after that, so I can keep an eye on them. Please reread the Policy, about not using language or tone that has the effect of excluding others – weka]
The greatest insult you could deliver was to murder some poor bastard the night before, cook him in a hangi , then shit out his remains the next morning after.
That was common in Europe as well as New Zealand. Stop pulling the monumental porkies.
Just dont.
We all, have read up on the subject.
You cant hide whats in plain sight.
There was a story of Cook and his men inviting a group of Maori warriors aboard,… an old warrior offered the remains of a skull to the sailors… they were nauseous… the remains of a young warrior were cooked and contained in kiti bags… but the brains were the best part according to the old warrior…
Such was cannibalism and the insult of shitting out the remains of a warrior the next morning considered.
What is it with you soft cocks that you cant accept history???