To the MPs that come on here asking for unity or whatever so they can concentrate on the ‘real enemy’.
I’m prepared to publicly concede I had it wrong all along when you hit 40% in the polls.
At what point between now and the next election campaign when you don’t reach that number, will you be prepared to say we got it wrong, DS isn’t the right man for the job, you were spot on Al1?
Way I see it, at least 22 caucus members don’t know they arses from elbows.
What do you think you know that I don’t?
Did you hear Shearer on RNZ this morning on Waitangi and the Te Karere Digipol? Not only was he inarticulate as to explaining how Labour were working for Maori, he also could not pronounce his mps names, what they were doing, and entirely forgot to mention Nanaia. Precursor to the reshuffle?
hush minx: Well, how would you “perform”, after a night with lots of beer to “celebrate” your “overwhelming” victory of sorts? Maybe that is why he dropped in performance again? Just a thought, but he may send Annette around to answer and clarify this for us shortly.
Mr Shearer has not yet convinced the voters that he is a plausible prime minister, even if his caucus has backed him. He is desperately inarticulate, unable to deliver a sound bite without a lot of rehearsal or an auto-cue. ..He can look tough and decisive when his back is to the wall, but mostly he still just blunders.
Trevor Mallard likens Mr Shearer to Norman Kirk, which is laughable… Mr Shearer has a long way to go before he and his party look like winners.
I caught this little gem at the end of the editorial to which you linked hush minx. “Labour is exploring new ideas- on monetary policy and tax and on a tougher welfare policy – but its image remains blurred.” This is the first I’ve heard of the “tougher welfare policy” and I don’t know if its true. Can anyone shed light on this?
Maybe ask “Jacinda Dear”, or the more senior “expert” “(Marie Antoi-)Anette” ?
I have had high suspicions about Labour’s true welfare agenda for a long time now, this only adds to it!!! They have in general been FAR TOO SILENT on the reforms that NatACT with the front person Bennett are launching, so one must wonder, wonder and wonder.
As Shearer will feel reassured now, I do not rule out a “slightly more moderate” harder line welfare policy by Labour, as the public have through a totally biased, misinforming MSM been largely conditioned and turned into benefit enviers and haters. So that is the wrongly “nurtured” public sentiment now, that exists, and Shearer would be prone to exploit public sentiment to gain votes.
His “sickness benefit roofpainter story” at the start of a “Heartland Speech” in Nelson (and I believe elsewhere) may have been the first signal to the public he gave, for what he really wants Labour to stand for!
Do NOT forget, they (Labour) brought in a Dr David Bratt, a staunch “pro work ability” “Principal Health Advisor” comparing benefit dependence to drug dependence in 2007. They have never explained that man’s appointment or bizarre claims in his public presentations to GPs and others.
Shearer never apologised for – or explained his “bene roof painter” dog whistle comments.
Shearer is displaying a clean lack of imagination, kiwi voters hate capable PMs. Ever since Lange gave it such a bad name – aka – neobliberalism. Why do you think Key is so desperate to look like a spoit brat, the longer he stays in office the harder it is to not look capable. He’s got a whole horrendous history of bad policy, reshuffles, outsourcing, and dithering over the economy under his belt but its never enough,
competence capable keep dogging his legacy.
NZ is rich and its essential for NZ not to get tagged as rich, and the best way is to just hand over our assets, deregulate, gear the economy to export its profit centers and just hate the idea of productivity. Government generosity is a crime against the economy damn it.
Kiwis are
just not taught simple ethics like beware people bearing gifts, that priests who are too good to be true are diddling their wards, that men selling ponsi schemes so pander to
investors personal weaknesses, that saving the economy by laxly taxes and deregulating the commercial arena will breed world winning companies (wow lol, what, the heavy slap on the bum is only good for children).
Being nice to the private sector will not make a resilient growing prosperous NZ.
We are this way, as a Nation, because our media is so weak and subservient to Australian bankers and Australian media barons, because they all want to work in OZ eventually and so make it easy to exploit NZ to gain points in the eyes of future employers.
Hi Olwyn – there have been a small number of us on this site who’ve been talking about this for a while now, xtasy for example, but it’s really hard to show people on the Left how nasty Labour’s welfare policy has been since 1999. Nobody sees the detail and neither, I believe, does anyone on the Left want to. Labour has been asked time and time again about this but they will not say a word. bad12 had a crack at me yesterday about having a go at Annette King, rushing to her defence ahead of taking notice of the real issue, which is that Labour’s history on welfare reform since 1999 and its silence when asked if this is still its policy is clear evidence it has every intention of continuing from wherever National leaves off, just as it did from 1999. Everyone’s saying “give Labour a chance to develop its welfare policy before you slag it”, but it’s been six years now since its last attack, the 2007 amendment Act, and they said nothing to suggest things had changed leading up to the last election. The only conclusion we can arrive at is it’s going to be more of the same. We can’t keep giving Labour the benefit of the doubt when there’s nothing to suggest things have changed – just silence which we can only take as meaning nothing’s changed. We trusted Labour in 1999 and they pooed all over us. For that I say fuck them.
Labour’s approach to welfare has been pretty nasty since 1984. They brought in GST and income taxes on benefits, instantly cutting into the standard of living. They brought in the monetarist culture of greed, which ordains that it’s easy to get rich and anyone who doesn’t is beneath contempt. They’ve never said sorry or admitted the huge shift to the right and they throw anyone who tries to give a minor nudge to the left under the bus. I’m afraid I can only see them as a party which exists to give the illusion of choice and democracy, especially with Shearer as leader.
hush minx – I didn’t hear it but your description is so good I don’t need to. Tangata whenua are cannon fodder for that useless nobody and his cohorts.
What was that olde world yank tea party thing about no representation, no taxes?
How about no accountability, no sermons or lectures.
Stand by your secret votes and give a date and a poll figure when you’ll know for sure the fight can’t be won. Draw on memory from 2008-11 if you’re stuck.
Labour got in the order of 23% in a RM poll a week from the election. Result: NACT get 64 seats including three parties with 5 electorate-only seats.
To be that close to victory when labour is that low, I’m not completely certain I’d make that call if labour are at 30% a week out from the election. I wouldn’t be comfortable, but I sure wouldn’t be predicting defeat as a certainty.
It’s a simple enough couple of questions question, yet the nature of politics dictates it won’t get an answer from those it’s really asked, but in the real world away from the house, when they’re human like the rest of you, they’ll know what I’m on about, and that’s what I’m all about.
Devastating political scandal for key or the nats aside, or a last minute game changer than comes from left field (won’t be from Labour then 😉 ) and surprises everyone, as we are all repeatedly told by the media during campaigns that voters minds are already made up well in advance of a poll date, there’s a time when at least 22 of caucus who won’t even be aware of my challenge will sit and think, shit.
I don’t know whether it’s the night before, a week out a month or even dare I suggest those in caucus who voted for a vote for leader who can already tell this far out, but even though you probably won’t care too much (depending on your list ranking), I told you so, losers. 😆
Biggest laugh at my expense is if Shearer slashes at Key’s poll rating and storms to a landslide election, winning by fighting for the NZ public on a platform of equality and opportunity for all kiwis.
Someone best make a record and post on election night to compound my ignorance. 😀
It’s a fair cop, guvnor, :thumbsup:
But just like what’s the point in having a heart and a sleeve if you don’t wear one on the other?
What’s the point in having money and a mouth if you won’t/can’t put them together?
Death and taxes – Fact.
Words without action – Not.
They are putting in place charter schools, by the time National leaves office I wouldn’t be surprised if thousands more of kids come out of school with no qualifications and no future. Just the perfect slave labour for their corporate mates.
The papers show improving the system is the Treasury’s highest priority and emphasise raising the quality of teaching.
And just what the hell does Treasury know about teaching?
Oh, that’s right, absolutely nothing. That’s why we have a Ministry of Education.
Overall, they show the Treasury has a strong interest in the school system and little faith in increased competition as a way of improving performance.
Paula Bennett was interviewed by Kathryn Ryan of Radio New Zealand National yesterday morning (04 Feb., 09:05 am) on welfare numbers, the welfare reforms to be pushed through by her government, whether they were justified, correct and representative, and more.
On the nine to noon program there were also Alan Johnson, Salvation Army social policy analyst and Susan St John from Auckland Uni, elaborating on controversial figures, why the mainstream media misrepresents the truth about beneficiaries, the numbers of them, the reasons for being on benefits and rather just tends to high-light and present the extreme, bizarre, very unusual cases to the public.
It is well worth a listen and to do some good, critical thinking about it.
Bennett was again, as so often, getting a lot of figures wrong, confusing some, and naturally did “not have them before her” in too many cases. So she continues to create a lot of “mist”, uncertainties, she is distracting and full of ambiguities and misrepresentation.
Of course the program once again only scratched the very surface of a whole range of issues, that will become very clear to the many that will be very adversely and seriously affected, yes harmed, by the reforms that will be pushed through by way of the ‘Social Security (Benefit Categories and Work Focus) Amendment Bill’, presently before the Social Services Committee of Parliament.
Also, do not forget, where Bennett comes from, and what her speech revealed, that she held to medical professionals (who will be instrumental in part, to force sick, injured and disabled into some forms of work) on 26 Sept. 2012. Read between the lines, and realise the absolute focus on the supposed UK findings, that are supposed to be the “international” evidence that work is kind of “remedial” to all people.
I have not found much of other “international” evidence though that supports the extreme, bizarre and perverted interpretation of a so-called “bio psycho-social model” for assessing and re-integrating disabled and sick into work, that a Professor Sir Mansel Aylward (from a partly private insurance financed department at Cardiff University), who also helped develop and introduced tough work ability assessments at the Department of Work and Pensions in the UK (first under Thatcher), did bring in there.
The true agenda is about these “reforms” is all about cost savings, and nothing else!!!
The UK model is seriously considered as a foundation upon the Ministry of Social Development and Work and Income are planning to change the whole medical assessment and work testing regime for sickness and invalid’s beneficiaries. THIS ALL IS COMING HERE AND DUE TO BECOME THE NORM FOR NZ.
This is a space to watch, as NZ is in danger of making serious mistakes that have been made already by following similar, draconian reforms and bizarre work-testing regimes in the UK over recent years. Already many there died through trying to work while they really could not, or were in extreme cases driven to commit suicide. Grim stuff this is.
‘Grim stuff this is.’, aye it’s what the NACT do best.
Bennett shows that’s it’s all about ideology, facts are to be dismissed if they don’t support your case or twisted if possible with a few slogans to spin and confuse.
Bennett is a hypocrite who is pulling the ladder up behind her and being applauded by that other beneficiary of welfare John Key.
As the Labour/Green/NZFirst? coalition, noticeably surpass National in popularity, (polls indicating that move now) we will see those vote gaining tactic’s of welfare/benefit attacks. Maori will cop the usual ‘what more do they want slurs.’ which is a reliable vote earner also.
Keep up the good work Xtasy.
I’m feeling pretty despondant about affecting positive change. I don’t know if TS will go ahead with brainstorming policy given our powerlessness in getting Labour to pay attention, but maybe someone who has some influence will pause for thought over something they read here, sometime, and that will make it worthwhile.
It’s not up to us on TS to get Labour to pay attention. It really is up to them to engage the community and so far, from what I can make out, they’re failing miserably.
Thanks for the links X, this needs much more coverage than it is getting. The system is ALREADY damaging for disabled persons and the able bodied (eg access difficulties, lack of understanding, overworked staff not informing people of their full and correct entitlement which IMHO is a key driver of poverty in this country).
Paula’s only idea is to stick with the main ideas behind the British model which caused and continues to cause such great social harm.
People with disabilities struggled under Labour, now they are denied basic human rights under National. When Labour and the Greens take over the books in 2014 they will find thousands of children that have fallen in the cracks, who if the government had just given teacher aids and sufficient resources could have been productive members of society. National doesn’t care about those with disabilities, it believes in eugenics i.e. letting the worst off members of society starve, kill themselves or end up homeless on the street.
Edit: So yeah you are right. 😉
The Gormless Fool formerly known as Oleolebiscuitbarrell 3.4.1.1
NO, your book is cracked, same as your mind seems to be “cracked”.
Common sense, reading real information and understanding what is behind stuff is not your strenghth, it seems. Well, to be honest, you do not really care, as you are just one of the few frequenting TS to stir up crap, but contribute little of substance.
Enjoy your little space in narrow mind, the smaller it gets.
Like some time long before Christmas (to 2 email addresses at RNZ) – again yesterday substantial information on some of what is already happening at the hands of MSD and WINZ in this regards, was sent to Kathryn Ryan at Radio NZ National yesterday afternoon.
My expectation is – it will just be put aside as too much and too complex information to bother looking at, so it will NOT be reported on.
Lead story today is the football fraud scandal exposed by Europol, that has spread world-wide and is being exposed now. So most that are interested in sports and other matters will pay attention to that, rather than what really matters.
The media (mainstream that is) does not give a damn about beneficiaries or sick and disabled, unless they are cases that can be presented as sob or pity story material – to gain in viewing and listening quotas – that will also enable to sell yet more advertising.
That is what Campbell Live and others are doing. Sorry to upset the ones that may think he is doing some “good work”. Yes, it may be for a good cause, some of it, but it never seems to be without ulterior goals.
Two very contrasting blog posts, Chris Trotter’s a sting in the tail on why Labour needs to commit to helping the poorest amongst us.
And at the opposite end of the spectrum in both compassion, understanding and comprehension Josie Pagani posts on, at least I think she is posting on, why Labour needs to be more right wing and why beneficiaries should only be tolerated and Labour needs to get tougher on crime.
The next time she advertised as being “of the left” should be met with a complaint that it is misleading.
Pagani acting as the last, distant colonial outpost of Blairism would be funny, except that I suspect her thinking is close to the feeble ideology at the top of the parliamentary Labour party. As such, I think she provides a fascinating insight into the sort of arguments that seem to under pin much of Labour’s policy at the moment.
It reminds me very much of what I heard from Phil Goff, when a minister many years ago. Cracking down on crime, doing this and that, supporting the military and what else comes to mind.
Pagani is stuck in the Blairite Bubble, I must say, she will likely never get out of it, because once it pops, she will drop and hurt herself, thus ending in a personality crisis.
I heard also yesterday (on the BBC World Service that was), that the French may not just have gone to deal to “islamist extremist threats” in Mali, but perhaps also bore in mind the rich uranium and other resources found there!?
That makes it look a bit more like “a little Iraq style invasion” then.
Maybe Shearer will invest his UN and strategic thinking skills by suggesting to send NZ troops to sort out Fiji, in order to “restore democracy”?
The interesting bits on that page are to be found in the comment section at the bottom of the page,
The best that can be said for the writer of that piece is in the nature of revelation, it appears that being a ‘political contortionist’ allows Her to suck the air She breathes out of Her own anus…
if the left can’t debate crime and welfare with more depth than saying ‘but look over there! At the economy!’, then it is repudiating its own principles.
I don’t see anyone on the left doing that. See it plenty on the right though as they work to distract from their failed policies that come directly from their failed ideology.
Other than that, I don’t think she managed to say anything.
As compared to the absolutely fabulous concoction on the contemporary Left of Deconstructionist Intellectual Fraudsters/Feminist Man Hating/Neo Marxist mumbo jumbo.
Unenlightened people often are damned to work very, very hard, so some keep trying here, working very, very hard, repeating the same all over again, as some know no better, to get somewhere.
Whether it pays off is not relevant, as the exercise of banging the head against the brick wall sets off endless flows of adrenalin, that give some hormonal feelings of “encouragement” or stoicism, it will end up feeling quite “good” of sorts for the endless head banger. So add the dots together perhaps.
What you notice about Pagani and the whole Neo-lib tribe that currently occupies ‘the middle ground’ is that the ‘problem’ is always framed as being ‘WELFARE’,
That of course allows them to concentrate solely upon a narrow line of dialogue, and thus ‘reforms’ become acceptable in that ‘middle ground’,
It is in fact ‘the economy’ and ’employment’ where the focus should be, it is obvious to everyone except the most blatant of LIARS that there are more people available for work than there is work in the economy,
Thus continually whipping those reliant upon welfare to even ‘look’ for work is simply BULLSHIT,(as a commenter pointed out Pagani’s comments were),
As Pagani is firmly mired in the middle class when She talks of Socialism, She is talking of the Socialism of the middle classes where that class is continually pandered to by the political class…
Pagani would seem to argue that Blair invaded other countries for good reasons, while his partner in crime, Bush, was invading the same countries for bad reasons. I have a real love/hate relationship with the way these fake lefties are able to contort their ideas to suit any actions whatsoever. It’s frightening and enetertaining at the same time.
Just listened to the first part of the interview….in the first minute or so Ryan reveals the number of people on the unemployment benefit for 15 years or more? TWELVE PEOPLE.
The number of people on the dole for 20 years or more? FOUR.
Citing extreme examples to illustrate we have an issue that only they (National) have the guts to solve has been the approach to welfare.
That was the good part of the whole interview, how Bennett and the government on one hand are exposed as exploiting and abusing figures to portray a “dramatic” “crisis” kind of scenario asking for urgent action, and how especially the MSM totally mis-report, misrepresent and basically LIE to the public about what is happening in the area of benefit dependence, needs and challenges.
It is all only about headlines about selected, bizarre, totally out of the ordinary EXTREME cases, that they report on, NOT FACTS and balanced figures and details!
This must be exposed more, for sure, as the MSM appear to be complicit in the war on the welfare system and affected beneficiaries this government is leading now. That is NOT what the so-called “4th estate” is there for.
What interested me was the bloke up Gizzy way that had been on the dole for 25 years, now that man should be given a gold watch,
By being a well behaved citizen over that 25 years, he has quite heroically in my opinion given up the pursuit of more money so as to enable others to take up any work on offer,
In a province of economic decline this man has selflessly gone without on the doles meager income allowing others to earn those higher wages,
Should this man have entered the workforce at any time in those 25 years in a province with a declining economy someone else would have had to take the position previously occupied by that bloke,
While the above is a little out of left field it is in ‘fact’ the truth, in a declining economy for a person to gain employment there is every chance that someone in another part of that economy will have stopped being employed…
Jeez, KP, I thought you were keen on the entrepeneurial spirit? Why are you putting the boot into a man you believe to be running an effective small business for quarter of a century?
Y’know, in that 25 years, the bloke will have seen various welfare administrations, maybe ten Ministers of Employment, several name changes at the DOSS/Social Welfare/WINZ/MOBIE and countless case managers who would all have bounced him off the dole in a heartbeat if they could.
Presumably he has been getting the benefit for 25 years for dinkum reasons. That’s fine by me.
So is there some difference in 1 person ‘doing nothing’ for 25 years as you put it and 10 people over the same period spending 18 months each doing nothing,
i realize that your a ‘wing-nut’ so have to take into account your limited ability to actually ‘think’ but in a Gisborne type situation with an economy in continual decline someone ‘has’ to be unemployed,
Given that little ‘fact’ our ‘gold watch’ beneficiary would have to take someone else’s employment or if a newly created employment position appeared in the local economy deny someone else that employment position,
Which simply means that should that Bloke in Gizzy have ‘got a job’ someone else in Gizzy wouldn’t have one…
Engaging in sophistry there, bad12 – not that you would know what the word means without looking it up first.
The idea that the long term unemployed are taking one for the team is so self evidently absurd, I can only respond with the same question re Draco T below, why don’t any of the Left parties use your brilliant dazzling argument in their public statements on the issue?
What is exactly misleading or wrong about the above statement you sexually self-fulfilling, pathetic T thing that resides under a bridge, aint a goat, but in all probability has the odor of one,
Because you have attached to the above the label of sophism means little, nay nothing, without first having provided a narrative which proves the sophism,
Or perhaps you like Paula believe in the magic of the word ‘seeking’ and thus the more people seeking work the more people will have work which is in fact the real sophism,
Of course you also believe that the free market rules in which case the 175,000-185,000 currently seeking work are simply part of a natural market lead pool of available labour,
To believe in both tho is to simply point out that you are in all likely-hood a sufferer of Schizophrenia or some other disease of the mind a fact that none here would find surprising about you…
I don’t like her. I’m not a right winger. I’m not a neo-con.
I like old skool Left Liberalism plus any ideas that are free from too much ideological constraint.
For example, Gareth Morgan’s take on the Welfare System – Health, Pension etc. It’s in a crisis, his Big Kahuna idea deals with the issues and makes an interesting proposal for a solution.
I don’t like Feminist Man Haters/Deconstructionists/Anti-white, anti-Western Multiculturalists.
The Left has crashed and burned thanks to those idiots.
AAAAAH dummy lift your game, ”perhaps you like Paula” is obviously a reference to you being ‘alike’ in attitude even a 4 year old could have figured that,
I see no narrative which proves the sophism of your accusation and changing the subject at 100 k an hour just does not cut it,
I don’t much care what or who you are, your comments reek of SCUM, therefor you shall be known by your comments…
In fact, if he was growing dope he couldn’t possibly have been sitting on his arse and he would have been providing a service that the community wants. It’s not his fault that the laws are so stupid as to outlaw a service that the community wants forcing him to declare himself unemployed (that’s if he was growing dope which we’re only speculating upon).
Really, what it comes down to is the simple fact that you’re an idiot. You didn’t even realise that you contradicted yourself.
The idea that growing dope is necessarily a busy full time occupation is one you are assuming in order to create your straw man argument.
So you are the idiot.
‘providing a service that the community wants.’
Too bad David Shearer and the Labour Party don’t put that in their speeches, eh? Guess you think that just goes to show the Labour Party are a bunch of neo liberal sell outs and have betrayed the true Leftists like your enlightened self.
Regardless of whatever you think about cannabis use it’s self-evidently a high demand product. I don’t see how you can argue that cannabis growers are not providing a service any more than you could argue that neither do tomato growers or parsley growers or broccoli growers.
“I haven’t argue he is not providing a service, you muppet.”
I realise that, you fraggle. However you did quote the phrase and then made a vague attempt to ridicule the bearer of it, so I think it’s fair to assume that you have an opinion on the matter.
I’m just trying to provide you with an opportunity to express it.
There was quite a lengthy interview with David Shearer on the Larry Williams show on Newstalk ZB yesterday, about 8 minutes. All the important questions were asked. Highly recommend it. Does it remind anyone else of overnight talkback?
In the Newstalk ZB clip, it’s interesting that Shearer brought up the reshuffle himself when asked what would happen to Cunliffe, while remaining non-committal. I wonder if he’s planning to offer Cunliffe a front-bench portfolio in exchange for a public pledge of loyalty/endorsement?
And in true talkback style, I’d like to know what others think.
That’s exactly what I thought. You have to pinch yourself and say “My God, this really is the leader of the opposition!”, not dotty Don from Dargaville at 3 a.m.
This is why Shearer’s defenders on here totally miss the point. The number of “negative” comments on the Standard is dwarfed by the audience for Newstalk ZB.
Shearer cocks up in front of millions, every week.
But if we point out his cock-ups, apparently we’re the real problem?
I’ve just read a quote from one of John Buchan’s books. He was a great Empire man, strong on duty and colonial exploration and resource hunting and became Governor General of Canada.
This from The Runagates Club published 1928.
It has relevance for today in English speaking countries with the move to the right and desire for excess and self rather than the national and people’s interest and service with good governance.
From the Bath, in its most exotic form, degenerate patrician youth passed to the coarse delights of the Circus, and thence to that parody of public duties which it was still the fashion of their class to patronise.
Von Letterbeck: Imperial Rome>/i>
The Green Party has had for quite a number of years now had ‘it’s engines running’ and this is evidenced by the number of ‘hits’ scored on the Slippery lead National Government in the House at question time, and the ‘fact’ that when seeking comment on any issue of the day the media are just as likely to ask the Green Party for comment as they are to ask Labour,
The Green Party Housing policy in content and intent shows that the Green Party is well ahead in developing policy which directly benefits those most in need in our society and i believe that in the next 18 months we will see much more of this intelligent policy released to the electorate…
Lolz, bloody good on you then, the constant flow of what i see as negativity which flows through the pages of the Standard toward Labour is in my view counter-productive,
Labour at present(this is opinion), as a party are mostly middle class people, probably in the main well educated and comfortable in their employment,
Socialism has in the main been educated out of the psyche of such people as they have embraced the newer culture of ‘what’s in it for me’,
Labour, as in the last Labour lead Government and the present Labour Opposition simply reflect this comfortable middle class and the continuous venting of anger at them hasn’t as far as i can see changed that one iota,
There may be a ‘mood’ within the Labour Party it’self to change that but my view is that such a ‘mood’ from within the Party will take 10 years to translate into a change in the attitude of the Party’s MP’s,
Given that, there are 2 choices activist member of the broad left have, the first being to become even more active within the Party, not necessarily as a means to gain immediate change in the make-up and attitude of the Labour MP’s, but as a 10 year plan to transform the Party back if you will excuse the use of the word to expressing the core of Labour values,
Option 2 of course is to simply walk away from Labour and give both our monetary and electoral support to the Party which best expresses at this point in time our political and economic values…
The Gormless Fool formerly known as Oleolebiscuitbarrell 10
Comment from the Sewer that is factually incorrect, now who would have thunk that???,
Annette King was commenting on the Standard weeks befor the Leadership vote held yesterday, while Annette cannot as She is bound to support the Caucus and the Party’s policies stray far from simply stating those policies much ‘Could’ be changed by commentor’s here at the Standard putting up comments that highlight any flaws perceived in Labour Party policy while proposing well thought out alternatives…
The Gormless Fool formerly known as Oleolebiscuitbarrell 10.1.1
The Gormless Fool, the name suits you and when applied to you is obviously correct, which is about the only thing you have ever got right in your brief occupation of the skin you are in,
What the f**k is that comment supposed to mean, other than a display of your abject stupidity that is???…
The Gormless Fool formerly known as Oleolebiscuitbarrell 10.1.1.1.1
Folks, we are in a real crisis here. Wealthy right-wing interest groups and sectarian lobbies are waging an all-out war on public schools. They want to destroy the public school system and move to a market-driven system where taxpayers are forced to support religious and other private schools of all sorts.
Unemployment is this- Having cut the civil service to the bare minimum needed to operate such a service the present Slippery lead National Government has ‘defined’ for us what a market lead economy will deliver to us as a nation in terms of the number of actual jobs in the economy,
So given that there are currently 175,000-185,000 unemployed in this country we can ‘see’ that this is a ‘true’ reflection of the market economies ability to employ people,
OK, another given is that we are currently in the midst of a economic depression we can also ‘see’ that given an ‘upturn’ the actual number of those the market economy has the ability to employ would still leave us with 125,000-135,000 souls who that market does not have the ability to employ,
It then also becomes obvious to us all that to continually require those who the market economy has FAILED to find an economic use for to seek work which does not exist and prove that they have actually been seeking this non-existent employment would at the least require a belief in ‘magic’ in that anyone who believes that a person simply seeking such employment will radically alter what is a ‘fact’ of that market economy,
The truth of the little ‘fact’ above is to be found in the numbers of those who are unemployed and currently receiving the unemployment benefit attached to which is the requirement to seek work,
Obviously if the act of simply ‘seeking’ work radically changed the ‘market economy’ there would be a radical decline in the numbers of those receiving that particular benefit,
Until such time as Politicians begin to tell the truth about how many of us can be employed by the market economy unemployment is always going to be addressed from the narrow confines of dialogue where the reality is ignored in favor of a belief in magic solutions and further denigration of those the market economy has FAILED to be capable of employing,
I would suggest that as a first step that those politicians which have shown a propensity to believe in such magic solutions to the ‘problem’ of unemployment while claiming the ‘market economy’ is working as it should be should be examined by a medical professional for signs of Schizophrenia as any belief in both is in fact a belief in 2 propositions at the same point on the same subject that are diametrically opposed to each other…
There is a cartoon on the herald which it tags ‘Next time,Mr Shearer’
‘Just appoint yourself to the roll and they will take it on the chin,works
for me every time’
Eludes to Titewhai Harawira at Te tii Marae happenings.
The Wit of Graham Bell
The Panel, National Radio, Tuesday 5 February 2013
Jim Mora, Graham Bell, David Slack
JIM MORA: Noelle, what is the world talking about?
NOELLE McCARTHY: Well, a story that has caught our attention is one from right here in New Zealand, about a kea in the South Island. It stole one thousand dollars from a Scottish tourist who left the money on the front seat of his car.
GRAHAM BELL: That’s unusual for a Scotsman! A ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!
According to the Waikato Times today, the Waikato town of Pokeno will be home to the first Chinese milk processing plant in New Zealand if Chinese company Yashili International, is given the green light (by the Overseas Investment Office) to buy land for its planned $210 million baby formula operation – creating 100 local jobs. Yashili International, one of China’s biggest baby formula and soymilk powder makers, has a conditional agreement to buy land in Pokeno’s Gateway business park.
Here we go again! NZ is becoming a soft touch for this type of deal and it appears it is now open season to all comers to establish this type of operation in one of our key industries on land we are prepared to sell for this purpose.
It appears that Chinese company Shanghai Pengxin (buyer of the Crafar Farms), may have been the pathfinder in setting a template for this operation currently under consideration. It goes something like this – establish a NZ registered company and then appoint a New Zealander to front it to legitimise it. It appears these moves into NZ are being encouraged by the Chinese government’s decision to substantially reduce import tariffs on finished milk formula.
What are we doing in this country? We must not continue to sell our land to allow major overseas players to establish in our key industries and compete against us.
That just highlights a major failure of Fonterra’s business model, while making adult milk formula and milk formula for small children other than babies Fonterra has failed it’s share-holders by it’s lax attitude to the baby milk formula market in the Asian economies,
Fonterra chose instead to simply supply the raw product to another company i have forgotten the name of under contract which has lad in turn to Fonterra supplying a major competitor, Nestle, as that company has now purchased that company and the supply contracts,
My belief is that the ‘internationalists’ in control of Fonterra will at some stage have removed from the farmer share-holders enough ‘power’ to be able to on-sell Fonterra on the global market,
That as the Chinese are at present seriously building what will eventually become a huge dairy herd will be at a heavily discounted price…
PREPARE for the influx of “specially skilled” employees under the China NZ FTA, as in that plant, it will be likely that Mandarin and/or Cantonese will at least be the “official” language of instructions, so any staff working there, will naturally require sufficient language skills, to be able to understand such instructions and to communicate.
NZ Immigration is always very helpful and works together with other agencies and stakeholders and employers to find the most suitable solutions to help everyone involved.
Take it then, there will be the clause used, to get as many Mainland Chinese workers in as they can, to also work “efficiently” and according to “cultural” and other just economic, social and scientific requirements, that are specific to meeting the very needs of the Mainland Chinese consumer. Particular recipes, mixtures and whatever, to get the end product, will be highly commercially sensitive, and this will only be able to be entrusted to, and handled by, competent, knowledgeable, suitably skilled and qualified, also Mandarin or Cantonese literate employees.
And to think that peoples from Arab countries now living in New Zealand have anything to do with such destruction a world away makes you-(search for big word), just scum..
What are you on about, got a problem? Arabs, non arabs, all other nationalities get on with their lives, you just start arguing about something I cannot even decipher. It is nonsensical what you last wrote.
Your really ‘on’ the ball tonight X, read, take a deep breath and read again, yes my habit of not naming the persona i am replying to could be confusing…
Let me get someone from “Anonymous” onto you while you wait, we will soon find out, who you are, what you do, where you live and the rest of it. That will make you feel very trusting, I am sure, as I trust you fully, and as you can trust me fully, that is if that can all work, aye?!
The demise of Western civilization, perlease!!!, that nearly fucking got my heart to stop, the laughter at you for inserting such a phrase into a comment that is,
Can you please, please, please expand upon this destruction of western civilization for me, fuck i love a laugh and your a hoot, the biggest one in town,
It’s all a Muslim conspiracy right KP, out of 20 households in my small street there are 2 that are definitely from the Arab countries, do you think i should bar the windows and put extra locks on the door against the time they break out screaming Allah Akbar whilst mowing down the neighborhood cats with the un-stashed AK47’s,
Actually you useless piece of cum-stain they just do normal things the same as what everyone else in the street does, they pretty much keep to themselves which shock-horror the white folks majority of the street does as well…
bad12: You do NOT understand that you must forthwith conform and convert to ISLAM. That is the ONLY “true” religion. I fyou cannot convert, the devil will get you! That is the truth about religion. Get a fear of the devil now, I tell, you for Jesus Muhammed and others.
So the massive flood of Muslims into Western Europe hasn’t brought their problems with them?
Yes, Muslims didn’t bring their problems with them…Muslim problems in Western Europe developed in Western Europe and also involve a Western Europeans…as well as economic, social and political inequality.
Multiculturalism has been a resounding success in Europe has it?
No, there are multiple reasons for this, including: the incoming culture, the existing culture, economic issues, political issues etc
And you think we can look forward to the same wondrous effects in NZ, right?
Yes, if we continue to deal with it in the same way that Europe has.
You are in self denial or maybe you welcome the erosion of Western Civilization.
Yes, but not complete erosion. Just until one civilisation is no longer dominant to the point that it oppresses another cilivilisation.
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E ngā mana, e ngā reo, e ngā iwi, e ngā rau rangatira ma. Tena koutou, tena koutou, tena koutou katoa. Ni sa bula vinaka. Namaste Thank you Shamima, Hon. Minister Vuniwaqa, community leaders and Women’s Crisis Centre staff for your warm welcome. It’s an honour and privilege to officially ...
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E ngā mana, e ngā reo, e ngā iwi, e ngā rau rangatira ma Tēnā koutou katoa Ni sa bula vinaka As-salaam alaikum It is a privilege to be here today. Thank you for welcoming us to your house of prayer. Thank you for your warmth. Thank you for greeting ...
Taupō Airport is to be upgraded and expanded through a $5.9 million Government funding boost, Regional Economic Development Minister Shane Jones has announced. “Taupō Airport is the gateway to the Central North Island. It is essential for both keeping local people and businesses connected, but also to bring more people ...
The Minister of Housing Megan Woods has confirmed the Government is working with Rotorua Lakes District Council and Te Arawa for the second place-based assessment to better understand the housing and urban issues affecting the city. “Every New Zealander has a right to a warm, safe and secure place to ...
19 new community homes (in addition to 14 opened in December) delivered in Takanini, Auckland 500 people housed by CORT Housing Trust by end of March 2,290 new public housing homes delivered in Auckland (November 2017 – December 2019). Another nineteen new public housing homes are being delivered in Auckland, ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters and Minister for Trade and Export Growth David Parker met today with Indian External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar to discuss ways to strengthen ties between New Zealand and India. “India is a priority relationship for New Zealand. We share common democratic traditions, growing two-way trade, extensive people-to-people links, ...
Speech to the Indian Council of World Affairs (ICWA) Delhi, India Wednesday 26 February 2020 [CHECK AGAINST DELIVERY] The Indo-Pacific: from principles to partnerships Distinguished guests, good afternoon and thank you for your invitation. It is good to be here at a time where New Zealand needs less of an introduction than ...
Tihei mauri ora Te Whare e tu nei Te Papa e takoto Tēnā korua No reira tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou katoa Ni sa bula Vinaka It is a real pleasure to be here today, and to have the honour of addressing you all. If you’ll indulge me I’m ...
Improved air quality to support better health and environmental wellbeing is the focus of proposed amendments to air quality regulations, says the Associate Minister for the Environment, Hon Nanaia Mahuta. “Although our air quality is good in most places, during winter certain places have spikes in air pollution, mainly from ...
The remote eastern Bay of Plenty community of Raukokere will receive a Provincial Growth Fund (PGF) investment of $10.6 million for a water storage facility, Regional Economic Development Minister Shane Jones says. “This is great news for the rural community. The landowner, Te Whānau a Maruhaeremuri Hapū Trust, will use ...
The Lake Ōkaro lakebed has transferred to Te Arawa Lakes Trust, Minister for Māori Crown Relations: Te Arawhiti Kelvin Davis announced today. Kelvin Davis joined Te Arawa at Te Papaiōuru Marae in Rotorua to celebrate the reinstatement of Te Arawa Lakes Trust as a key decision maker over the bed ...
New legislation is being proposed which aims to reduce the stress and financial hardship caused by late payments to small businesses. The Minister for Small Business Stuart Nash is considering stricter rules around payment practices between businesses. “Late payments from large organisations to smaller suppliers can be crippling for these ...
A new partnership programme between the New Zealand Police and Fiji Police will focus on combatting transnational organised crime and enhancing investigative skills, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced on the first day of her visit to Fiji. The programme will see: · New Zealand Institute of Environmental Science and Research ...
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and Prime Minister Josaia Voreqe Bainimarama met today in Suva, and renewed their commitment to continue to strengthen Fiji-New Zealand relations on a foundation of shared values and equal partnership. The Prime Ministers acknowledged the kinship between Fijians and New Zealanders, one that has endured over ...
A $19.9 million investment from the Provincial Growth Fund will help develop essential infrastructure for an industrial hub in the Bay of Plenty town of Kawerau, Regional Economic Development Minister Shane Jones says. “The funding will go to three projects to further develop the Putauaki Trust Industrial Hub, an industrial ...
The Provincial Growth Fund is investing $8.3 million on a roading package for Mahia that will lead to greater and wider economic benefits for the region and beyond, Under Secretary for Regional Economic Development Fletcher Tabuteau announced at an event in Mahia today. The $8.3 million announced consists of: $7 ...
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has welcomed new reporting showing the Coalition Government is on track to meet its child poverty targets, with 18,400 children lifted out of poverty as a result of the Families Package. Stats NZ has released the first set of comprehensive child poverty statistics since the Government ...
Associate Minister of Transport Julie Anne Genter today announced that Bikes in Schools facilities have been rolled out to 20,000 more kiwi kids under this Government. She made the announcement at the opening of a new bike track at Henderson North School in Auckland. “Bikes in Schools facilities give kids ...
Benefit settings rise in line with wages as of 1 April Main benefits will increase by over 3 percent, instead of 1.66 percent, on 1 April with the Government’s decision to annually adjust benefit rates to increases in the average wage. The Minister for Social Development, Carmel Sepuloni, said ...
Strengthening New Zealand’s political and business ties with India will be the focus of Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters’ and Trade and Export Growth Minister David Parker’s visit to India this week. The Ministers are co-leading a high level business delegation to India to support increased people and economic engagement ...
The Minister for Pacific Peoples, Aupito William Sio continues to champion for greater Pacific participation in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) careers with the announcement of the Toloa Awards, with 8 recipients of the Toloa Community Fund and 13 Toloa Tertiary Scholarships. “The Toloa Programme encourages more Pacific peoples ...
Conservation Minister Eugenie Sage has extended the date for people to have their say on proposed changes to improve management of whitebait across New Zealand. Submissions were due to close on 2 March 2020 but will now remain open until 9am on Monday 16 March 2020. “I have ...
The endangered toroa/Antipodean albatross has new international protection for its 100,000km annual migration, thanks to collaborative efforts led by New Zealand, Australia and Chile. Today, 130 countries agreed to strictly protect Antipodean albatross at the Conference of Parties on the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild ...
No sales to under-18-year-olds No advertising and sponsorship of vaping products and e-cigarettes No vaping or smokeless tobacco in smokefree areas Regulates vaping product safety comprehensively, - including devices, flavours and ingredients Ensure vaping products are available for those who want to quit smoking Vaping regulation that balances ...
Justice Minister Andrew Little will travel to Berlin tomorrow to represent New Zealand at a high-level summit on nuclear disarmament. This year, the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) celebrates 50 years since it entered into force. “New Zealand’s proud record and leadership on nuclear disarmament is unwavering, so it’s important we are present ...
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern will visit two of New Zealand’s most important Pacific partners, Fiji and Australia, next week. The visit to Fiji will be the first by a New Zealand Prime Minister in four years and comes during the 50th anniversary of Fijian independence and diplomatic relations between our ...
Justice Minister Andrew Little and New Zealand First MP Darroch Ball, have today announced the appointment of the Chief Commissioner of the Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC), the location, and the membership of the Establishment Advisory Group. Colin Carruthers QC has been appointed Chief Commissioner of the CCRC for an ...
Māori Development Minister Hon Nanaia Mahuta and Agriculture Minister Hon Damien O’Connor co-announced the first horticultural finalists for the Ahuwhenua Trophy celebrating excellence in the Māori agricultural sector. The three finalists are Ngai Tukairangi Trust from Mt Maunganui, Otama Marere Trust from Tauranga, and Hineora Orchard Te Kaha 15B Ahuwhenua ...
A new kete of resources to strengthen support for students with dyslexia will provide extra tools for the new Learning Support Coordinators (LSCs) as they start in schools, Associate Education Minister Tracey Martin announced today. The Minister launched the kete in Wellington this morning, at the first of three induction ...
The Government continues to make progress on a fairer and more secure rental market for renters and landlords with the First Reading of the Residential Tenancies Amendment Bill and its referral to the Social Services and Community Select Committee. “Now is the opportunity for landlords, tenants and others who want ...
Papua New Guinea’s Prime Minister Hon James Marape will visit New Zealand from 21-25 February, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced today. “New Zealand and Papua New Guinea have a warm and friendly relationship. I look forward to welcoming Prime Minister Marape here and strengthening the relationship between our two countries,” ...
Thousands of children have begun receiving a free lunch on every day of the school week, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said. The Government’s free and healthy school lunch programme is under way for 7,000 students at 31 schools in Hawke’s Bay / Tairāwhiti and Bay of Plenty / Waiariki, extending ...
The Minister for Social Development Carmel Sepuloni today announced a new approach that continues to broaden the Government’s social sector focus from a narrow, investment approach to one centred on people and wellbeing. Minister Sepuloni said redefining the previous approach to social investment by combining science, data and lived experience ...
The Government is strengthening the Protected Disclosures Act to provide better protection for whistle blowers, Minister of State Services Chris Hipkins said today. “The Protected Disclosures Act is meant to encourage people to speak up about serious wrongdoing in the workplace and protect them from losing their jobs or being ...
Nǐn hǎo (Hello in Mandarin). Xīn Nián Kuài Lè (Happy New Year in Mandarin) Néi Hóu (Hello in Cantonese). Sun Nin Fai Lok (Happy New Year in Cantonese) Tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou katoa. Thank you for your invitation to attend this celebration today. I would like to acknowledge ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra The government would be looking for the private sector to put in four or five times as much as it invests in research and development of particular technologies to reduce emissions, Energy Minister Angus Taylor ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra Two issues are currently presenting the Morrison government with fast-moving targets. One is the fallout from the coronavirus, where the picture has been altering on a near-daily basis. The other is very different – the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra The federal government has activated its emergency response plan to deal with a spread of the coronavirus locally, in anticipation of it becoming a “pandemic”. It is also considering limited assistance for those hardest hit ...
In an apparent change of tune, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern expects to raise the topic of climate change with Australian counterpart Scott Morrison tomorrow. ...
The Government says it wants to protect small businesses from getting shafted by big companies who don’t or won’t pay their bills on time. The move can’t come too soon. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By James Muecke, Clinical senior lecturer in Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, University of Adelaide Humans are physiologically hardwired to love and seek out sweet things. It’s an ancient survival mechanism that evolved to prepare our bodies for periods of fasting when food supplies ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Marilyn McMahon, Deputy Dean, School of Law, Deakin University The NSW government has just introduced a bill that will, among other significant reforms, make it easier for a jury to be informed about the prior convictions of a person on trial for ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Marilyn McMahon, Deputy Dean, School of Law, Deakin University The NSW government has just introduced a bill that will, among other significant reforms, make it easier for a jury to be informed about the prior convictions of a person on trial for ...
By RNZ Pacific Jacinda Ardern has paid tribute to the three Fijians who died in last year’s Christchurch mosque shootings. Ardern spoke today at Lautoka Mosque as part of her trip to Fiji to remember Imam Hafiz Musa Patel, Ashraf Ali Razak and Ashraf Ali, who died almost a ...
The Real Pod reassembles to dissect the cultured fourth week of The Bachelorette NZ with special thanks to Nando’s.This week on The Bachelorette NZ, a burrito bust-up ends in anaphylaxis, Steve chows down on some one-ply, and the Buenos Aires hostel goes full Lord of the Flies. It’s become abundantly ...
Caritas Aotearoa New Zealand, the Catholic Bishops' agency for justice, peace and development, is concerned that the latestchild poverty numbers show that there has been anincrease in material hardship,with 4100 more children living in ...
Dr Bryce Edwards.Social Development Minister Carmel Sepuloni described this year’s annual benefit increases of 3 per cent as “significant”, and “a way of sharing the wealth”. Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern also heralded them as the biggest increase to benefits in nine years, if National’s 2015 one-off adjustments are excluded. ...
Is it the kind of headline that will win votes at the general election? “Rock-star reception in Fijian village” followed by a sub-head “Rapturous greeting for Ardern during visit to launch $3m sanitation project”. The reporter (veteran Barry Soper, Newstalk ZB’s political editor) poses the rhetorical question: “Is there any ...
The New Zealand First Foundation received $100,000 in just one week from two rich-listers, whose donations remained secret because the individual payments fell below the disclosure threshold. ...
BusinessNZ says legislation requiring more transparent petrol pricing will probably be well-received, but there are concerns about the market study that prompted it. The Government has announced it is drafting a Fuel Market Bill to introduce requirements ...
Business is Boring is a weekly podcast series presented by The Spinoff in association with Callaghan Innovation. Host Simon Pound speaks with innovators and commentators focused on the future of New Zealand. This week he talks to Andrea Watson, Sparrows CEO and founder, and Simon Yarrow, who leads Callaghan Innovation’s ...
LGNZ say a new report from the Deep South National Science Challenge is a reminder for central government policy makers to step up the pace on progressing a national strategy on climate change adaption. LGNZ is the peak body representing New Zealand’s ...
Art schools are seen by many as beacons of liberalism. But is this the reality? Former Māori student Anna McAllister recounts her fraught journey through an Auckland art school.In high school, the only subjects I was remotely good at were the practical arts. I stayed in the art block during ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Madeline Taylor, Academic Fellow, University of Sydney This week’s decision by Norwegian company Equinor to abandon a A$200 million plan to drill for oil in the Great Australian Bight surprised both its critics and backers. Equinor says it abandoned the project off ...
Finance Minister sees serious, short-term impact on economy from Covid-19. He says the Government is able to deliver more general fiscal stimulus and sector-specific help if the economic hit is longer and harder. Finance Minister Grant Robertson has given his first comprehensive update on the economic effects expected from the ...
In response to reports that 30,000 New Zealanders earning over $100,000 are taking superannuation, New Zealand Taxpayers’ Union spokesperson Casey Russell says: “It’s clear that many wealthy New Zealanders are collecting superannuation they don’t ...
Fancy a quick trip to Europe without leaving the comfort of your own couch? Tara Ward rounds up the best European drama for your viewing pleasure. Anyone who reckons travel is the only way to expand your mind has never had the pleasure of lying on a couch for three days ...
Child protection social work involves risk. It always will. The right decisions cannot always be made and sometimes it can be a question of choosing between the least damaging alternatives. We have had a long list of child abuse tragedies for over 30 years now – in Aotearoa New Zealand and ...
SFO scrutiny of National and NZ First donations sparked debate about party funding and electoral laws. Now, Transparency International has a warning. ...
Not paying NZ Super out to those on incomes of $100,000 or more would save taxpayers around $608 million. Is it time we shake up who gets paid and what? RNZ‘s Nita Blake-Persen reports.The number of New Zealand retirees getting their superannuation while earning more than $100,000 has topped 30,000, ...
Editor’s Note: Here below is a list of the main issues currently under discussion in New Zealand and links to media coverage.New Zealand Parliament Buildings, Wellington, New Zealand.Today’s contentCoronavirus John Gibb (ODT): Otago academic fears ‘massive’ impact Chris Trotter (Daily Blog): Nothing Xenophobic Or Racist About The Chinese ...
Dr Bryce Edwards.Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern won power in 2017 on the basis of statements such as “My goal is to eradicate child poverty in New Zealand”. The Government’s progress on child poverty will be under scrutiny at this year’s general election, but progress is slow, and many are claiming ...
New Zealand King Salmon has had a better-than-expected first half, driven by record prices for its fish products. The Marlborough-based salmon farmer's net profit rose nearly 38 percent to $20.8 million in the six months to December, with the average sale price up 6.6 percent. However, revenue of $84.2m was ...
Reform of superannuation is overdue, with new figures showing more than 30,000 superannuitants are earning more than $100,000 per year. This number is growing fast as more people keep working past 65. More than 126,000 superannuitants (17% of the total) are earning ...
Funding to give nature a helping hand and support community conservation projects opens this week, with $5.6m available for community-led projects. “The Department of Conservation (DOC) Community Fund enables us to go further and faster in our conservation ...
Police acknowledge the findings of the Independent Police Conduct Authority (IPCA) in relation to decision-making in a sexual assault investigation in Palmerston North. The IPCA found that the decision-making was sound, and there was no conflict of interest ...
Thursday, February 27: Greenpeace has published an open letter calling on the organisers of music festival WOMAD to dump oil industry sponsorship. Todd Energy and Austrian oil giant OMV are on the bill again this year, despite persistent criticism from ...
The clash between urban cyclists and car drivers has been brewing for several years now. But pedestrians have been advocating for their rights for far longer, writesNot so long ago, the journalist Bernard Hickey predicted that cyclists vs motorists will become one of the political issues of our age. “We ...
A2 Milk has delivered a strong financial result, with increased sales in its infant nutrition business and with better than expected profit margins. The specialty milk company's net profit rose 21 percent in the six months to December to $184.9m, with an underlying sales margin of 32.6 percent. Sales rose ...
Air New Zealand's half year profit has taken a larger hit than expected, falling 33 percent amid slowing demand for air travel and increased costs. Its net profit was $101 million in the six months ended December, compared with $150m the year before. Costs rose due to price hikes for ...
You might be trying to reduce your carbon footprint in everyday life, but what about in death? Alex Casey talks to Becs Bartells, founder of Outside the Box about creating the perfect cardboard casket. Becs Bartells often forgets she has an empty coffin sitting in the back of her station wagon, ...
As government services shut their doors in communities and drive people to interact online, the wellbeing of New Zealand's most vulnerable people is being diminished, says the Citizens Advice Bureau (CAB). CAB has released the report 'Face to Face ...
New research from justice advocacy group JustSpeak released today shows that structural bias in policing continues to disproportionately harm Māori and demonstrates the urgent need for transformative change across our justice system. Using the Statistics ...
A Spinoff article last year rightly raised concerns that citizens’ assemblies could be yet another imposition of Western ideas on Māori. But assemblies and tino rangatiratanga-based visions in fact share a critique of our current democratic system – and could together transform politics, write Emily Beausoleil and Max Rashbrooke.Nadine Anne ...
More new coronavirus cases have for the first time been reported outside China than inside, World Health Organisation chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has said. ...
Simon Bridges wouldn't deport mosque shooter Brenton Tarrant if found guilty despite calling for reciprocal policy; and Why climate change should be on the agenda for Jacinda meet Morrison. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By David A. Savage, Associate Professor of Behavioural Economics , Newcastle Business School, University of Newcastle Recent days have brought reports of shoppers clearing out supermarket shelves from Wuhan and Hong Kong to Singapore and Milan in response to the spread of coronavirus. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Alexander Gillespie, Professor of Law, University of Waikato The Christchurch mosque attacks on March 15 last year have prompted a significant rise in tip-offs about people expressing extremist views, according to a report by New Zealand’s Security Intelligence Service (NZSIS). During the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By David Beirman, Senior Lecturer, Tourism, University of Technology Sydney The coronavirus outbreak (COVID-19) has now reached more than 80,000 recorded cases, largely concentrated in China, with a death toll over 2,700 and rising. There are few signs the epidemic is abating. In ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Tessa Copp, PhD candidate, University of Sydney Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is a common hormonal condition. When using the definition supported by the international guidelines, it affects just under one in six young Australian women. To meet the diagnostic criteria of PCOS, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Paul McGorrery, PhD Candidate in Criminal Law, Deakin University The recent killing of Hannah Clarke and her three children by her estranged husband has raised national attention to the types of behaviour that might lead to such a horrific crime, and how ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Dominique Hes, Senior Lecturer in Sustainable Architecture, University of Melbourne Despite a wealth of evidence to the contrary, some still propagate the myth that the world will need Australian coal for decades to come. Last weekend Opposition Leader Anthony Albanese joined in, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Mehmet Ulubasoglu, Professor of Economics, Head of the Department of Economics and Director of the Centre for Energy, the Environment and Natural Disasters, Deakin University My team and I have analysed the incomes of people affected by some of Australia’s worst bushfires, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Tiffani J. Howell, Research Fellow, School of Psychology and Public Health, La Trobe University Australians are slightly obsessed with our dogs. But are we obsessed enough to watch a reality doggy makeover show? The reality makeover concept has a long history, from ...
Good morning and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Saving water becomes crucial amid drought, means testing Super back in the news, and a hard look at a Special Purpose Vehicle.Aucklanders need to get serious about saving water or restrictions will come in. Newshub reports that’s the message from Watercare, who ...
From February 28, Kiwibank will be cheque-free. Mark Jennings looks at how it has been preparing its customers for the big change. It’s raining heavily in Nelson, something it hasn’t done for a while. Local MP and former cabinet minister Nick Smith hurriedly climbs into an old bus parked outside the city’s library. ...
Experts in far-right extremism see a number of similarities between the Christchurch terror attack and last week's mass shooting in Hanau, Germany. Marc Daalder reports. On the evening of February 19, a man shot up two shisha bars frequented by Muslims in Hanau, Germany. It later emerged that he had released ...
ReadingRoom has devoted all week to the biggest-selling book in New Zealand right now, In The Clearing, a brilliant thriller by Ngāpuhi author JP Pomare, based on creepy Australian cult The Family. We conclude the series with a review by Bill Ralston.JP Pomare's second novel In ...
Up-and-coming teenage freeskiier Ruby Andrews has shown she has the boldness and the bravery to become one of the world's top women in not one, but three, different events. There’s no questioning Ruby Andrews’ grit and determination. While most 15-year-olds are spending this summer hanging with friends on the beach, Andrews ...
An anonymous international student at the University of Auckland grapples with when and how she might return to NZ amid the coronavirus outbreak, and what challenges she will face if she makes it back. I am a Chinese international student at the University of Auckland. Having completed my language course and ...
When will there be a vaccine? What can we do and how do we stay up to date? Helen Petousis-Harris gives an update on the COVID-19 global health emergency Less than two months after China told the World Health Organisation there was a problem, a lot has happened. Sadly, deaths, confirmed ...
New Zealand’s travel ban on China has been extended another week. The president of the New Zealand Union of Students’ Associations argues for a student exemption.The loss of lives and poor health caused by coronavirus is devastating. We must acknowledge the families, across the globe, who have lost loved ones ...
The first issue of the Otago student magazine for 2020 had barely hit campus before it was making headlines in the wider media. The cover was censored by Facebook, and a furious editorial denounced party politics, promising to give them a miss. Josie Adams speaks to editor Sinead Gill about ...
The global health emergency that is the Coronavirus - or Covid-19 - has become a game-changer for scientists around the world in terms of the speed of the response. But at the same time it's been termed a 'misinfodemic' Covid-19 – or coronavirus – is a game changer for scientists around the ...
President Rodrigo Duterte administers the oath of office to the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA) officials in a ceremony at the Rizal Hall in Malacañang Palace on February 26, 2020. Video: RapplerBy Felipe F. Salvosa II in Manila Reporters have finally got the chance to ...
Andy Ayamiseba died a few days ago. While the West Papuan was loved, admired and supported in Vanuatu, he fought tirelessly to win a home he could return to. He died before the dream was achieved.Originally published by the Pacific Institute of Public Policy (PIPP), this 2013 profile ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Merryn McKinnon, Senior lecturer, Australian National University Public representation of science in the media still struggles to reflect the true diversity of those who work in science, technology, engineering or mathematics (STEM). According to the Women in Leadership Australia’s 2019 Women for ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By John Mathews, Professor of Strategic Management, Macquarie Graduate School of Management, Macquarie University Australia is the world’s third largest fossil fuels exporter – a fact that generates intense debate as climate change intensifies. While the economy is heavily reliant on coal and ...
The Otago Regional Council (ORC) voted today to request that Minister for the Environment Hon. David Parker exercise his authority to ‘call in’ upcoming proposed plan changes to the Regional Plan for Otago: Water and Regional Plan for Otago: Waste ...
This week’s plummeting international stock markets are a sign the ‘best case scenario’ economic outcomes of the coronavirus are increasingly unlikely. And that’s a worry for NZ’s manufacturers. ...
Open mike 05/02/2013 
Here is the speech that Maya Forstater gave at the Woman’s Place UK Women’s Liberation 2020 conference at UCL on February 1st In a recent newsletter she wrote: it was an amazing day (and brilliant to meet so many people in real life). I talked about what makes people and ...7 hours ago
A New Hope from the National Party leader ...14 hours ago
NZ First portrays itself as an anti-establishment party, standing up for "the little guy" (always a guy) against Big Auckland Money and its tool-parties. But it turns out that its secret slush fund is funded by the very people it claims to oppose:Stuff can reveal a longer list of donors ...15 hours ago
16 hours ago
Will She, Or Won't She? Jacinda’s white vestments may look impressive on the cover of the international edition of TIME magazine, but every day Labour’s relationship with Winston Peters and NZ First continues, her ability to go on wearing them back home in New Zealand – without exciting derision – diminishes.IT WAS ...16 hours ago
BAMS survey of 2018 extreme weather The Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society has published a collection of articles examining unusually extreme weather events of 2018 and connections of those to climate change. These investigations are listed separately below but thanks to the generosity of AMS appear free for ...23 hours ago
Fans are outraged at the prospect of Destiny Church pastor Hannah Tamaki joining the Black Caps ...1 day ago
Less than two months after China told the WHO there was a problem, a lot has happened. Sadly, deaths, confirmed cases and countries affected are increasing every day. However, on a scientific and medical level, what is going on to contain, cure and prevent this new disease is truly inspirational. ...1 day ago
I am about to mail my overseas ballot to Florida so that it can be counted in the Democratic primary on March 17. In Florida you have closed as opposed to open primaries, which means that one must declare a party preference in order to vote in a party primary. ...5 days ago
In mid-December the Israeli secret police, the Shin Beit, revealed it had arrested dozens of Palestinian left-wing activists, including members of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), in the previous few months. Among those arrested was one of the central leaders of the PFLP, Khalida Jarrar. As ...1 week ago
I am among the most pro-free speech people I know. I don’t doubt there are others more strident than me, but I’m certainly up there. And my support for freedom of expression isn’t limited to opposition to government-imposed restrictions. It extends to a belief that employers should have limited powers ...2 weeks ago
Fletcher Tabuteau MP, New Zealand First Deputy Leader A total delivery of 2,000 new Police Officers has been achieved. New Zealand First Deputy Leader, Fletcher Tabuteau attended the latest police graduation of Recruit Wing 335 in Porirua today. Mr Tabuteau said, “Increasing police numbers and boosting their resources was one of ...13 hours ago
One of our most immediate priorities upon forming Government was to get people out of sleeping in cars, garages, or on the street and into safe and warm housing. Since then, we've made major progress towards breaking the cycle of homelessness, including expanding Housing First, building more state houses, and ...2 days ago
A milestone has been reached with the graduation of more than 2,000 new Police officers since the Coalition Government took office in October 2017. Police Minister Stuart Nash says the graduation today of Wing 335 marks a surge of 2,023 new officers, and coincides with some significant breakthroughs against organised ...12 hours ago
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra The government would be looking for the private sector to put in four or five times as much as it invests in research and development of particular technologies to reduce emissions, Energy Minister Angus Taylor ...2 hours ago
In an apparent change of tune, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern expects to raise the topic of climate change with Australian counterpart Scott Morrison tomorrow. ...7 hours ago
The Government says it wants to protect small businesses from getting shafted by big companies who don’t or won’t pay their bills on time. The move can’t come too soon. ...9 hours ago
Caritas Aotearoa New Zealand, the Catholic Bishops' agency for justice, peace and development, is concerned that the latestchild poverty numbers show that there has been anincrease in material hardship,with 4100 more children living in ...11 hours ago
Is it the kind of headline that will win votes at the general election? “Rock-star reception in Fijian village” followed by a sub-head “Rapturous greeting for Ardern during visit to launch $3m sanitation project”. The reporter (veteran Barry Soper, Newstalk ZB’s political editor) poses the rhetorical question: “Is there any ...12 hours ago
Art schools are seen by many as beacons of liberalism. But is this the reality? Former Māori student Anna McAllister recounts her fraught journey through an Auckland art school.In high school, the only subjects I was remotely good at were the practical arts. I stayed in the art block during ...13 hours ago
Jacinda Ardern has paid tribute to the three Fijians who died in last year's Christchurch mosque shootings. ...14 hours ago
Finance Minister sees serious, short-term impact on economy from Covid-19. He says the Government is able to deliver more general fiscal stimulus and sector-specific help if the economic hit is longer and harder. Finance Minister Grant Robertson has given his first comprehensive update on the economic effects expected from the ...14 hours ago
Child protection social work involves risk. It always will. The right decisions cannot always be made and sometimes it can be a question of choosing between the least damaging alternatives. We have had a long list of child abuse tragedies for over 30 years now – in Aotearoa New Zealand and ...15 hours ago
New Zealand King Salmon has had a better-than-expected first half, driven by record prices for its fish products. The Marlborough-based salmon farmer's net profit rose nearly 38 percent to $20.8 million in the six months to December, with the average sale price up 6.6 percent. However, revenue of $84.2m was ...16 hours ago
The Government has accepted a majority of the recommendations of the Commerce Commission's retail fuel market study, Marc Daalder reports Energy Minister Megan Woods announced today that the Government will regulate the wholesale fuel market, in line with recommendations from the Commerce Commission. In legislation due to be passed by ...17 hours ago
A2 Milk has delivered a strong financial result, with increased sales in its infant nutrition business and with better than expected profit margins. The specialty milk company's net profit rose 21 percent in the six months to December to $184.9m, with an underlying sales margin of 32.6 percent. Sales rose ...17 hours ago
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To the MPs that come on here asking for unity or whatever so they can concentrate on the ‘real enemy’.
I’m prepared to publicly concede I had it wrong all along when you hit 40% in the polls.
At what point between now and the next election campaign when you don’t reach that number, will you be prepared to say we got it wrong, DS isn’t the right man for the job, you were spot on Al1?
Way I see it, at least 22 caucus members don’t know they arses from elbows.
What do you think you know that I don’t?
Did you hear Shearer on RNZ this morning on Waitangi and the Te Karere Digipol? Not only was he inarticulate as to explaining how Labour were working for Maori, he also could not pronounce his mps names, what they were doing, and entirely forgot to mention Nanaia. Precursor to the reshuffle?
hush minx: Well, how would you “perform”, after a night with lots of beer to “celebrate” your “overwhelming” victory of sorts? Maybe that is why he dropped in performance again? Just a thought, but he may send Annette around to answer and clarify this for us shortly.
Hmmm – and then I saw this in today’s Dom post:
Mr Shearer has not yet convinced the voters that he is a plausible prime minister, even if his caucus has backed him. He is desperately inarticulate, unable to deliver a sound bite without a lot of rehearsal or an auto-cue. ..He can look tough and decisive when his back is to the wall, but mostly he still just blunders.
Trevor Mallard likens Mr Shearer to Norman Kirk, which is laughable… Mr Shearer has a long way to go before he and his party look like winners.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/dominion-post/comment/editorials/8261563/Editorial-Faltering-leader-versus-government-in-rut
Sigh
I caught this little gem at the end of the editorial to which you linked hush minx. “Labour is exploring new ideas- on monetary policy and tax and on a tougher welfare policy – but its image remains blurred.” This is the first I’ve heard of the “tougher welfare policy” and I don’t know if its true. Can anyone shed light on this?
Maybe ask “Jacinda Dear”, or the more senior “expert” “(Marie Antoi-)Anette” ?
I have had high suspicions about Labour’s true welfare agenda for a long time now, this only adds to it!!! They have in general been FAR TOO SILENT on the reforms that NatACT with the front person Bennett are launching, so one must wonder, wonder and wonder.
As Shearer will feel reassured now, I do not rule out a “slightly more moderate” harder line welfare policy by Labour, as the public have through a totally biased, misinforming MSM been largely conditioned and turned into benefit enviers and haters. So that is the wrongly “nurtured” public sentiment now, that exists, and Shearer would be prone to exploit public sentiment to gain votes.
His “sickness benefit roofpainter story” at the start of a “Heartland Speech” in Nelson (and I believe elsewhere) may have been the first signal to the public he gave, for what he really wants Labour to stand for!
Do NOT forget, they (Labour) brought in a Dr David Bratt, a staunch “pro work ability” “Principal Health Advisor” comparing benefit dependence to drug dependence in 2007. They have never explained that man’s appointment or bizarre claims in his public presentations to GPs and others.
Shearer never apologised for – or explained his “bene roof painter” dog whistle comments.
Shearer is displaying a clean lack of imagination, kiwi voters hate capable PMs. Ever since Lange gave it such a bad name – aka – neobliberalism. Why do you think Key is so desperate to look like a spoit brat, the longer he stays in office the harder it is to not look capable. He’s got a whole horrendous history of bad policy, reshuffles, outsourcing, and dithering over the economy under his belt but its never enough,
competence capable keep dogging his legacy.
NZ is rich and its essential for NZ not to get tagged as rich, and the best way is to just hand over our assets, deregulate, gear the economy to export its profit centers and just hate the idea of productivity. Government generosity is a crime against the economy damn it.
Kiwis are
just not taught simple ethics like beware people bearing gifts, that priests who are too good to be true are diddling their wards, that men selling ponsi schemes so pander to
investors personal weaknesses, that saving the economy by laxly taxes and deregulating the commercial arena will breed world winning companies (wow lol, what, the heavy slap on the bum is only good for children).
Being nice to the private sector will not make a resilient growing prosperous NZ.
We are this way, as a Nation, because our media is so weak and subservient to Australian bankers and Australian media barons, because they all want to work in OZ eventually and so make it easy to exploit NZ to gain points in the eyes of future employers.
Hi Olwyn – there have been a small number of us on this site who’ve been talking about this for a while now, xtasy for example, but it’s really hard to show people on the Left how nasty Labour’s welfare policy has been since 1999. Nobody sees the detail and neither, I believe, does anyone on the Left want to. Labour has been asked time and time again about this but they will not say a word. bad12 had a crack at me yesterday about having a go at Annette King, rushing to her defence ahead of taking notice of the real issue, which is that Labour’s history on welfare reform since 1999 and its silence when asked if this is still its policy is clear evidence it has every intention of continuing from wherever National leaves off, just as it did from 1999. Everyone’s saying “give Labour a chance to develop its welfare policy before you slag it”, but it’s been six years now since its last attack, the 2007 amendment Act, and they said nothing to suggest things had changed leading up to the last election. The only conclusion we can arrive at is it’s going to be more of the same. We can’t keep giving Labour the benefit of the doubt when there’s nothing to suggest things have changed – just silence which we can only take as meaning nothing’s changed. We trusted Labour in 1999 and they pooed all over us. For that I say fuck them.
Yes Mary I too have mistrusted that silence, which is what drew my attention to that short sentence in the first place.
Labour’s approach to welfare has been pretty nasty since 1984. They brought in GST and income taxes on benefits, instantly cutting into the standard of living. They brought in the monetarist culture of greed, which ordains that it’s easy to get rich and anyone who doesn’t is beneath contempt. They’ve never said sorry or admitted the huge shift to the right and they throw anyone who tries to give a minor nudge to the left under the bus. I’m afraid I can only see them as a party which exists to give the illusion of choice and democracy, especially with Shearer as leader.
@hush minx. I’m just waiting for TS to be blamed for this as well
Yep the replacement for Mike Smith.
Probably celebrated round at Hooton’s place.
hush minx – I didn’t hear it but your description is so good I don’t need to. Tangata whenua are cannon fodder for that useless nobody and his cohorts.
What was that olde world yank tea party thing about no representation, no taxes?
How about no accountability, no sermons or lectures.
Stand by your secret votes and give a date and a poll figure when you’ll know for sure the fight can’t be won. Draw on memory from 2008-11 if you’re stuck.
lol
Labour got in the order of 23% in a RM poll a week from the election. Result: NACT get 64 seats including three parties with 5 electorate-only seats.
To be that close to victory when labour is that low, I’m not completely certain I’d make that call if labour are at 30% a week out from the election. I wouldn’t be comfortable, but I sure wouldn’t be predicting defeat as a certainty.
It’s a simple enough couple of questions question, yet the nature of politics dictates it won’t get an answer from those it’s really asked, but in the real world away from the house, when they’re human like the rest of you, they’ll know what I’m on about, and that’s what I’m all about.
Devastating political scandal for key or the nats aside, or a last minute game changer than comes from left field (won’t be from Labour then 😉 ) and surprises everyone, as we are all repeatedly told by the media during campaigns that voters minds are already made up well in advance of a poll date, there’s a time when at least 22 of caucus who won’t even be aware of my challenge will sit and think, shit.
I don’t know whether it’s the night before, a week out a month or even dare I suggest those in caucus who voted for a vote for leader who can already tell this far out, but even though you probably won’t care too much (depending on your list ranking), I told you so, losers. 😆
Biggest laugh at my expense is if Shearer slashes at Key’s poll rating and storms to a landslide election, winning by fighting for the NZ public on a platform of equality and opportunity for all kiwis.
Someone best make a record and post on election night to compound my ignorance. 😀
hah – I’ve lost the link where I gave a timeframe for when I’d expect labour to get a 35% poll or two, before calling it another goff term.
But I reckon your penultimate sentence wouldn’t be so much of at the expense of yourself, or the country. 🙂
It’s a fair cop, guvnor, :thumbsup:
But just like what’s the point in having a heart and a sleeve if you don’t wear one on the other?
What’s the point in having money and a mouth if you won’t/can’t put them together?
Death and taxes – Fact.
Words without action – Not.
Maybe this is why Key wants to hang onto Parata a bit longer, she’s got to be the fall-guy
a bit longer:
http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/national/127323/govt-poised-to-make-big-school-reforms,-papers-show
Yep
“Treasury documents indicate that the Government is considering major reforms of the school system.
The papers show improving the system is the Treasury’s highest priority and emphasise raising the quality of teaching.”
The highest priority is creating more upheaval in the school system? Not housing, not child poverty, not the chronic shortage of doctors.
They are putting in place charter schools, by the time National leaves office I wouldn’t be surprised if thousands more of kids come out of school with no qualifications and no future. Just the perfect slave labour for their corporate mates.
but they’ll have certificates in “bible knowledge” or “burger dynamics”.
And just what the hell does Treasury know about teaching?
Oh, that’s right, absolutely nothing. That’s why we have a Ministry of Education.
Now will they apply that to the economy as well?
Not bloody likely.
Paula Bennett was interviewed by Kathryn Ryan of Radio New Zealand National yesterday morning (04 Feb., 09:05 am) on welfare numbers, the welfare reforms to be pushed through by her government, whether they were justified, correct and representative, and more.
On the nine to noon program there were also Alan Johnson, Salvation Army social policy analyst and Susan St John from Auckland Uni, elaborating on controversial figures, why the mainstream media misrepresents the truth about beneficiaries, the numbers of them, the reasons for being on benefits and rather just tends to high-light and present the extreme, bizarre, very unusual cases to the public.
It is well worth a listen and to do some good, critical thinking about it.
http://www.radionz.co.nz/national/programmes/ninetonoon/20130204
Bennett was again, as so often, getting a lot of figures wrong, confusing some, and naturally did “not have them before her” in too many cases. So she continues to create a lot of “mist”, uncertainties, she is distracting and full of ambiguities and misrepresentation.
Of course the program once again only scratched the very surface of a whole range of issues, that will become very clear to the many that will be very adversely and seriously affected, yes harmed, by the reforms that will be pushed through by way of the ‘Social Security (Benefit Categories and Work Focus) Amendment Bill’, presently before the Social Services Committee of Parliament.
http://www.radionz.co.nz/national/programmes/ninetonoon/20130204
Also, do not forget, where Bennett comes from, and what her speech revealed, that she held to medical professionals (who will be instrumental in part, to force sick, injured and disabled into some forms of work) on 26 Sept. 2012. Read between the lines, and realise the absolute focus on the supposed UK findings, that are supposed to be the “international” evidence that work is kind of “remedial” to all people.
http://www.beehive.govt.nz/speech/speech-medical-professionals
I have not found much of other “international” evidence though that supports the extreme, bizarre and perverted interpretation of a so-called “bio psycho-social model” for assessing and re-integrating disabled and sick into work, that a Professor Sir Mansel Aylward (from a partly private insurance financed department at Cardiff University), who also helped develop and introduced tough work ability assessments at the Department of Work and Pensions in the UK (first under Thatcher), did bring in there.
http://blacktrianglecampaign.org/2013/01/11/new-zealand-british-style-work-tests-concern-tests-were-developed-by-disability-expert-prof-sir-mansel-aylward/
http://blacktrianglecampaign.org/2012/05/31/a-tale-of-two-models-disabled-people-vs-unum-atos-government-and-disability-charities-by-debbie-jolly-dpac/
http://blacktrianglecampaign.org/2012/10/31/government-use-might-of-american-insurance-giant-to-destroy-uk-safety-net-by-mo-stewart-update/
The true agenda is about these “reforms” is all about cost savings, and nothing else!!!
The UK model is seriously considered as a foundation upon the Ministry of Social Development and Work and Income are planning to change the whole medical assessment and work testing regime for sickness and invalid’s beneficiaries. THIS ALL IS COMING HERE AND DUE TO BECOME THE NORM FOR NZ.
This is a space to watch, as NZ is in danger of making serious mistakes that have been made already by following similar, draconian reforms and bizarre work-testing regimes in the UK over recent years. Already many there died through trying to work while they really could not, or were in extreme cases driven to commit suicide. Grim stuff this is.
‘Grim stuff this is.’, aye it’s what the NACT do best.
Bennett shows that’s it’s all about ideology, facts are to be dismissed if they don’t support your case or twisted if possible with a few slogans to spin and confuse.
Bennett is a hypocrite who is pulling the ladder up behind her and being applauded by that other beneficiary of welfare John Key.
Ryan’s too lightweight, that’s why they go on.
As the Labour/Green/NZFirst? coalition, noticeably surpass National in popularity, (polls indicating that move now) we will see those vote gaining tactic’s of welfare/benefit attacks. Maori will cop the usual ‘what more do they want slurs.’ which is a reliable vote earner also.
Xl you make some good points.
Keep up the good work Xtasy.
I’m feeling pretty despondant about affecting positive change. I don’t know if TS will go ahead with brainstorming policy given our powerlessness in getting Labour to pay attention, but maybe someone who has some influence will pause for thought over something they read here, sometime, and that will make it worthwhile.
It’s not up to us on TS to get Labour to pay attention. It really is up to them to engage the community and so far, from what I can make out, they’re failing miserably.
Thanks for the links X, this needs much more coverage than it is getting. The system is ALREADY damaging for disabled persons and the able bodied (eg access difficulties, lack of understanding, overworked staff not informing people of their full and correct entitlement which IMHO is a key driver of poverty in this country).
Paula’s only idea is to stick with the main ideas behind the British model which caused and continues to cause such great social harm.
It’s almost a form of eugenics/social cleansing.
People with disabilities struggled under Labour, now they are denied basic human rights under National. When Labour and the Greens take over the books in 2014 they will find thousands of children that have fallen in the cracks, who if the government had just given teacher aids and sufficient resources could have been productive members of society. National doesn’t care about those with disabilities, it believes in eugenics i.e. letting the worst off members of society starve, kill themselves or end up homeless on the street.
Edit: So yeah you are right. 😉
When Labour and the Greens take over the books in 2014 they will find thousands of children that have fallen in the cracks…
There will be children in the cracks of the books?
You’re a book crack.
Good one.
NO, your book is cracked, same as your mind seems to be “cracked”.
Common sense, reading real information and understanding what is behind stuff is not your strenghth, it seems. Well, to be honest, you do not really care, as you are just one of the few frequenting TS to stir up crap, but contribute little of substance.
Enjoy your little space in narrow mind, the smaller it gets.
Like some time long before Christmas (to 2 email addresses at RNZ) – again yesterday substantial information on some of what is already happening at the hands of MSD and WINZ in this regards, was sent to Kathryn Ryan at Radio NZ National yesterday afternoon.
My expectation is – it will just be put aside as too much and too complex information to bother looking at, so it will NOT be reported on.
Lead story today is the football fraud scandal exposed by Europol, that has spread world-wide and is being exposed now. So most that are interested in sports and other matters will pay attention to that, rather than what really matters.
The media (mainstream that is) does not give a damn about beneficiaries or sick and disabled, unless they are cases that can be presented as sob or pity story material – to gain in viewing and listening quotas – that will also enable to sell yet more advertising.
That is what Campbell Live and others are doing. Sorry to upset the ones that may think he is doing some “good work”. Yes, it may be for a good cause, some of it, but it never seems to be without ulterior goals.
Two very contrasting blog posts, Chris Trotter’s a sting in the tail on why Labour needs to commit to helping the poorest amongst us.
And at the opposite end of the spectrum in both compassion, understanding and comprehension Josie Pagani posts on, at least I think she is posting on, why Labour needs to be more right wing and why beneficiaries should only be tolerated and Labour needs to get tougher on crime.
The next time she advertised as being “of the left” should be met with a complaint that it is misleading.
Pagani acting as the last, distant colonial outpost of Blairism would be funny, except that I suspect her thinking is close to the feeble ideology at the top of the parliamentary Labour party. As such, I think she provides a fascinating insight into the sort of arguments that seem to under pin much of Labour’s policy at the moment.
MS – I saw Trotter’s story last night, but did not yet read it in detail.
That link works, but the other hyperlink you put in for Pagani does not lead to the story.
# xtasy
http://www.pundit.co.nz/content/how-political-parties-get-stuck-in-opposition
Thanks Joe90. Apologies for rushing it.
Thanks for that.
It reminds me very much of what I heard from Phil Goff, when a minister many years ago. Cracking down on crime, doing this and that, supporting the military and what else comes to mind.
Pagani is stuck in the Blairite Bubble, I must say, she will likely never get out of it, because once it pops, she will drop and hurt herself, thus ending in a personality crisis.
I heard also yesterday (on the BBC World Service that was), that the French may not just have gone to deal to “islamist extremist threats” in Mali, but perhaps also bore in mind the rich uranium and other resources found there!?
That makes it look a bit more like “a little Iraq style invasion” then.
Maybe Shearer will invest his UN and strategic thinking skills by suggesting to send NZ troops to sort out Fiji, in order to “restore democracy”?
The interesting bits on that page are to be found in the comment section at the bottom of the page,
The best that can be said for the writer of that piece is in the nature of revelation, it appears that being a ‘political contortionist’ allows Her to suck the air She breathes out of Her own anus…
Quoting Article:
I don’t see anyone on the left doing that. See it plenty on the right though as they work to distract from their failed policies that come directly from their failed ideology.
Other than that, I don’t think she managed to say anything.
What drivel – whatever point she was trying to make was lost in a sea of dross. She must be Special Adviser to Shearer.
” their failed ideology”
As compared to the absolutely fabulous concoction on the contemporary Left of Deconstructionist Intellectual Fraudsters/Feminist Man Hating/Neo Marxist mumbo jumbo.
Yep, k_p still fails to make any sense whatsoever.
Tell, were you born that stupid or did you have to work at it?
Unenlightened people often are damned to work very, very hard, so some keep trying here, working very, very hard, repeating the same all over again, as some know no better, to get somewhere.
Whether it pays off is not relevant, as the exercise of banging the head against the brick wall sets off endless flows of adrenalin, that give some hormonal feelings of “encouragement” or stoicism, it will end up feeling quite “good” of sorts for the endless head banger. So add the dots together perhaps.
“The next time she advertised as being “of the left” should be met with a complaint that it is misleading.”
She was on Larry Williams’ show last night with Cameron Slater. She agreed with everything he said.
Well, she does work for him.
What you notice about Pagani and the whole Neo-lib tribe that currently occupies ‘the middle ground’ is that the ‘problem’ is always framed as being ‘WELFARE’,
That of course allows them to concentrate solely upon a narrow line of dialogue, and thus ‘reforms’ become acceptable in that ‘middle ground’,
It is in fact ‘the economy’ and ’employment’ where the focus should be, it is obvious to everyone except the most blatant of LIARS that there are more people available for work than there is work in the economy,
Thus continually whipping those reliant upon welfare to even ‘look’ for work is simply BULLSHIT,(as a commenter pointed out Pagani’s comments were),
As Pagani is firmly mired in the middle class when She talks of Socialism, She is talking of the Socialism of the middle classes where that class is continually pandered to by the political class…
Pagani would seem to argue that Blair invaded other countries for good reasons, while his partner in crime, Bush, was invading the same countries for bad reasons. I have a real love/hate relationship with the way these fake lefties are able to contort their ideas to suit any actions whatsoever. It’s frightening and enetertaining at the same time.
Just listened to the first part of the interview….in the first minute or so Ryan reveals the number of people on the unemployment benefit for 15 years or more? TWELVE PEOPLE.
The number of people on the dole for 20 years or more? FOUR.
Citing extreme examples to illustrate we have an issue that only they (National) have the guts to solve has been the approach to welfare.
That was the good part of the whole interview, how Bennett and the government on one hand are exposed as exploiting and abusing figures to portray a “dramatic” “crisis” kind of scenario asking for urgent action, and how especially the MSM totally mis-report, misrepresent and basically LIE to the public about what is happening in the area of benefit dependence, needs and challenges.
It is all only about headlines about selected, bizarre, totally out of the ordinary EXTREME cases, that they report on, NOT FACTS and balanced figures and details!
This must be exposed more, for sure, as the MSM appear to be complicit in the war on the welfare system and affected beneficiaries this government is leading now. That is NOT what the so-called “4th estate” is there for.
What interested me was the bloke up Gizzy way that had been on the dole for 25 years, now that man should be given a gold watch,
By being a well behaved citizen over that 25 years, he has quite heroically in my opinion given up the pursuit of more money so as to enable others to take up any work on offer,
In a province of economic decline this man has selflessly gone without on the doles meager income allowing others to earn those higher wages,
Should this man have entered the workforce at any time in those 25 years in a province with a declining economy someone else would have had to take the position previously occupied by that bloke,
While the above is a little out of left field it is in ‘fact’ the truth, in a declining economy for a person to gain employment there is every chance that someone in another part of that economy will have stopped being employed…
He’s a lazy good for nothing.
Probably grows dope, deals and sits on his fat bum, stoned most of the time.
A quarter century doing nothing?
Jeez, KP, I thought you were keen on the entrepeneurial spirit? Why are you putting the boot into a man you believe to be running an effective small business for quarter of a century?
Y’know, in that 25 years, the bloke will have seen various welfare administrations, maybe ten Ministers of Employment, several name changes at the DOSS/Social Welfare/WINZ/MOBIE and countless case managers who would all have bounced him off the dole in a heartbeat if they could.
Presumably he has been getting the benefit for 25 years for dinkum reasons. That’s fine by me.
“…countless case managers who would all have bounced him off the dole in a heartbeat if they could. ”
As you well know the stories of incompetency are endless coming out of the welfare system.
Maybe he’s got a few “cussie brews” in that little country town branch.
Pathetic use of a popularism of language you dick-head, even a 5 year old knows that its cuzzy-bro…
Yeah but the way you spell it isn’t phonetic, lol.
I can’t even understand half what most Maoris say their English pronunciation is so poor.
So is there some difference in 1 person ‘doing nothing’ for 25 years as you put it and 10 people over the same period spending 18 months each doing nothing,
i realize that your a ‘wing-nut’ so have to take into account your limited ability to actually ‘think’ but in a Gisborne type situation with an economy in continual decline someone ‘has’ to be unemployed,
Given that little ‘fact’ our ‘gold watch’ beneficiary would have to take someone else’s employment or if a newly created employment position appeared in the local economy deny someone else that employment position,
Which simply means that should that Bloke in Gizzy have ‘got a job’ someone else in Gizzy wouldn’t have one…
Engaging in sophistry there, bad12 – not that you would know what the word means without looking it up first.
The idea that the long term unemployed are taking one for the team is so self evidently absurd, I can only respond with the same question re Draco T below, why don’t any of the Left parties use your brilliant dazzling argument in their public statements on the issue?
because of bigoted voters like you?
What is exactly misleading or wrong about the above statement you sexually self-fulfilling, pathetic T thing that resides under a bridge, aint a goat, but in all probability has the odor of one,
Because you have attached to the above the label of sophism means little, nay nothing, without first having provided a narrative which proves the sophism,
Or perhaps you like Paula believe in the magic of the word ‘seeking’ and thus the more people seeking work the more people will have work which is in fact the real sophism,
Of course you also believe that the free market rules in which case the 175,000-185,000 currently seeking work are simply part of a natural market lead pool of available labour,
To believe in both tho is to simply point out that you are in all likely-hood a sufferer of Schizophrenia or some other disease of the mind a fact that none here would find surprising about you…
Paula?
I don’t like her. I’m not a right winger. I’m not a neo-con.
I like old skool Left Liberalism plus any ideas that are free from too much ideological constraint.
For example, Gareth Morgan’s take on the Welfare System – Health, Pension etc. It’s in a crisis, his Big Kahuna idea deals with the issues and makes an interesting proposal for a solution.
I don’t like Feminist Man Haters/Deconstructionists/Anti-white, anti-Western Multiculturalists.
The Left has crashed and burned thanks to those idiots.
AAAAAH dummy lift your game, ”perhaps you like Paula” is obviously a reference to you being ‘alike’ in attitude even a 4 year old could have figured that,
I see no narrative which proves the sophism of your accusation and changing the subject at 100 k an hour just does not cut it,
I don’t much care what or who you are, your comments reek of SCUM, therefor you shall be known by your comments…
plus any ideas that are free from too much ideological constraint.
Lol…your ‘white is right’ is the most powerful ideology we’ve ever had…shame for you it went out of fashion in the 80s
How do you know he was doing nothing?
In fact, if he was growing dope he couldn’t possibly have been sitting on his arse and he would have been providing a service that the community wants. It’s not his fault that the laws are so stupid as to outlaw a service that the community wants forcing him to declare himself unemployed (that’s if he was growing dope which we’re only speculating upon).
Really, what it comes down to is the simple fact that you’re an idiot. You didn’t even realise that you contradicted yourself.
There is no contradiction.
The idea that growing dope is necessarily a busy full time occupation is one you are assuming in order to create your straw man argument.
So you are the idiot.
‘providing a service that the community wants.’
Too bad David Shearer and the Labour Party don’t put that in their speeches, eh? Guess you think that just goes to show the Labour Party are a bunch of neo liberal sell outs and have betrayed the true Leftists like your enlightened self.
Sigh.
Regardless of whatever you think about cannabis use it’s self-evidently a high demand product. I don’t see how you can argue that cannabis growers are not providing a service any more than you could argue that neither do tomato growers or parsley growers or broccoli growers.
I suppose that’s why you didn’t bother.
I haven’t argue he is not providing a service, you muppet.
Fish fingers or chicken nuggets? And get off the computer or you can’t watch Glee :nob:
“I haven’t argue he is not providing a service, you muppet.”
I realise that, you fraggle. However you did quote the phrase and then made a vague attempt to ridicule the bearer of it, so I think it’s fair to assume that you have an opinion on the matter.
I’m just trying to provide you with an opportunity to express it.
“I don’t see how you can argue that cannabis growers are not providing a service”
You are contradicting yourself, are you are Deconstructionist Feminist?
Please show the contradiction.
“Deconstructionist Feminist?”
😆
If it’s a labelling contest, beat Elephantine phallustistic and I’ll let you watch Glee afterall.
So, according to you, farmers aren’t busy full time workers?
So you are trying to equate some useless bum doing some small time growing or dealing to supplement his indolent lifestyle with a farmer.
Well done. Are you a Deconstructionist?
Useless bum? That’s no way to address the entrepreneurial spirit. Shame on you, falling for the tall poppy (hemp) syndrome.
Wow KP, is that the lifestyle you’d choose if you could?
You sound kind of bitter for a hippy.
Maybe on planet McFlock it works that way, but back in the real world, yeah there are plenty of slackers.
most of them are slack in thought, rather than industry.
Well you are definitely guilty of the first.
See? No creativity, man.
You took the obvious gimme and added nothing.
Did you write for Melody Rules?
“Did you write for Melody Rules?”
Is that your idea of creative is it, lol?
you’re almost there. Wake up those lazy neurons…
If he’s the same bloke I read a story about in the paper a while ago then he gets about $10 a week because his earnings don’t reach the cut off point.
There was quite a lengthy interview with David Shearer on the Larry Williams show on Newstalk ZB yesterday, about 8 minutes. All the important questions were asked. Highly recommend it. Does it remind anyone else of overnight talkback?
http://www.newstalkzb.co.nz/auckland/player/ondemand/1540088868-david-shearer-to-prove-he-can-lead-the-nation
Also for anyone who hasn’t seen it: Matthew Hooton’s NBR piece which suggests that Shearer should freeze Cunliffe out completely: http://www.nbr.co.nz/article/cunliffes-throat-must-now-be-cut-ck-135370
In the Newstalk ZB clip, it’s interesting that Shearer brought up the reshuffle himself when asked what would happen to Cunliffe, while remaining non-committal. I wonder if he’s planning to offer Cunliffe a front-bench portfolio in exchange for a public pledge of loyalty/endorsement?
And in true talkback style, I’d like to know what others think.
Does it remind anyone else of overnight talkback?
That’s exactly what I thought. You have to pinch yourself and say “My God, this really is the leader of the opposition!”, not dotty Don from Dargaville at 3 a.m.
This is why Shearer’s defenders on here totally miss the point. The number of “negative” comments on the Standard is dwarfed by the audience for Newstalk ZB.
Shearer cocks up in front of millions, every week.
But if we point out his cock-ups, apparently we’re the real problem?
heh
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-02-04/economic-forecasts-no-better-than-a-random-walk/4499098
yep. That’s why economists are so dangerous.
I’ve just read a quote from one of John Buchan’s books. He was a great Empire man, strong on duty and colonial exploration and resource hunting and became Governor General of Canada.
This from The Runagates Club published 1928.
It has relevance for today in English speaking countries with the move to the right and desire for excess and self rather than the national and people’s interest and service with good governance.
From the Bath, in its most exotic form, degenerate patrician youth passed to the coarse delights of the Circus, and thence to that parody of public duties which it was still the fashion of their class to patronise.
Von Letterbeck: Imperial Rome>/i>
The Greens should get their engines running and all their ducks in a row,because i
am picking there will be an influx of left wing voters in 2014.
The Green Party has had for quite a number of years now had ‘it’s engines running’ and this is evidenced by the number of ‘hits’ scored on the Slippery lead National Government in the House at question time, and the ‘fact’ that when seeking comment on any issue of the day the media are just as likely to ask the Green Party for comment as they are to ask Labour,
The Green Party Housing policy in content and intent shows that the Green Party is well ahead in developing policy which directly benefits those most in need in our society and i believe that in the next 18 months we will see much more of this intelligent policy released to the electorate…
Agreed bad12,that’s why i am now getting their e-mails, i have seen the light.
Lolz, bloody good on you then, the constant flow of what i see as negativity which flows through the pages of the Standard toward Labour is in my view counter-productive,
Labour at present(this is opinion), as a party are mostly middle class people, probably in the main well educated and comfortable in their employment,
Socialism has in the main been educated out of the psyche of such people as they have embraced the newer culture of ‘what’s in it for me’,
Labour, as in the last Labour lead Government and the present Labour Opposition simply reflect this comfortable middle class and the continuous venting of anger at them hasn’t as far as i can see changed that one iota,
There may be a ‘mood’ within the Labour Party it’self to change that but my view is that such a ‘mood’ from within the Party will take 10 years to translate into a change in the attitude of the Party’s MP’s,
Given that, there are 2 choices activist member of the broad left have, the first being to become even more active within the Party, not necessarily as a means to gain immediate change in the make-up and attitude of the Labour MP’s, but as a 10 year plan to transform the Party back if you will excuse the use of the word to expressing the core of Labour values,
Option 2 of course is to simply walk away from Labour and give both our monetary and electoral support to the Party which best expresses at this point in time our political and economic values…
http://www.kiwiblog.co.nz/2013/02/a_standard_strategy.html
Comment from the Sewer that is factually incorrect, now who would have thunk that???,
Annette King was commenting on the Standard weeks befor the Leadership vote held yesterday, while Annette cannot as She is bound to support the Caucus and the Party’s policies stray far from simply stating those policies much ‘Could’ be changed by commentor’s here at the Standard putting up comments that highlight any flaws perceived in Labour Party policy while proposing well thought out alternatives…
…Annette cannot as She is bound…
Is she divine?
The Gormless Fool, the name suits you and when applied to you is obviously correct, which is about the only thing you have ever got right in your brief occupation of the skin you are in,
What the f**k is that comment supposed to mean, other than a display of your abject stupidity that is???…
Why don’t you explain the system, as you understand it, for the capitalisation of nouns. Let’s then see who is gormless.
I profess to having not an iota of adherence to any such system as you inquire about,
Gormless we all already know who is gormless around here the fact of which you continually prove beyond a doubt…
Well done on title case. Punctuation still needs work, however.
That comment is as limp as every appendage attached to you torso…
Cause I have a small penis. Geddit?
The long game,
Folks, we are in a real crisis here. Wealthy right-wing interest groups and sectarian lobbies are waging an all-out war on public schools. They want to destroy the public school system and move to a market-driven system where taxpayers are forced to support religious and other private schools of all sorts.
http://www.secularnewsdaily.com/2013/02/seven-days-of-deception-school-choice-week-is-over/
lol – wonder if anyone will take up shearers idea of saying, “Happy Waitangi Day” – what a fuckwit he is.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/8262156/Shearer-urges-honours-on-Waitangi-Day
He may as well say “happy wankers day”, referring to the day he “won” over Carcass Caucus.
Unemployment is this- Having cut the civil service to the bare minimum needed to operate such a service the present Slippery lead National Government has ‘defined’ for us what a market lead economy will deliver to us as a nation in terms of the number of actual jobs in the economy,
So given that there are currently 175,000-185,000 unemployed in this country we can ‘see’ that this is a ‘true’ reflection of the market economies ability to employ people,
OK, another given is that we are currently in the midst of a economic depression we can also ‘see’ that given an ‘upturn’ the actual number of those the market economy has the ability to employ would still leave us with 125,000-135,000 souls who that market does not have the ability to employ,
It then also becomes obvious to us all that to continually require those who the market economy has FAILED to find an economic use for to seek work which does not exist and prove that they have actually been seeking this non-existent employment would at the least require a belief in ‘magic’ in that anyone who believes that a person simply seeking such employment will radically alter what is a ‘fact’ of that market economy,
The truth of the little ‘fact’ above is to be found in the numbers of those who are unemployed and currently receiving the unemployment benefit attached to which is the requirement to seek work,
Obviously if the act of simply ‘seeking’ work radically changed the ‘market economy’ there would be a radical decline in the numbers of those receiving that particular benefit,
Until such time as Politicians begin to tell the truth about how many of us can be employed by the market economy unemployment is always going to be addressed from the narrow confines of dialogue where the reality is ignored in favor of a belief in magic solutions and further denigration of those the market economy has FAILED to be capable of employing,
I would suggest that as a first step that those politicians which have shown a propensity to believe in such magic solutions to the ‘problem’ of unemployment while claiming the ‘market economy’ is working as it should be should be examined by a medical professional for signs of Schizophrenia as any belief in both is in fact a belief in 2 propositions at the same point on the same subject that are diametrically opposed to each other…
There is a cartoon on the herald which it tags ‘Next time,Mr Shearer’
‘Just appoint yourself to the roll and they will take it on the chin,works
for me every time’
Eludes to Titewhai Harawira at Te tii Marae happenings.
The Wit of Graham Bell
The Panel, National Radio, Tuesday 5 February 2013
Jim Mora, Graham Bell, David Slack
JIM MORA: Noelle, what is the world talking about?
NOELLE McCARTHY: Well, a story that has caught our attention is one from right here in New Zealand, about a kea in the South Island. It stole one thousand dollars from a Scottish tourist who left the money on the front seat of his car.
GRAHAM BELL: That’s unusual for a Scotsman! A ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!
[Long, awkward silence. Nobody else laughs. Nobody.]
Just before the news, an item about gender-based driving aptitude leads to another unleashing of the finely honed Bell wit….
GRAHAM BELL: That will be good news for men, because women are always teaching us how to drive.
[Long silence]
GRAHAM BELL: A ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!
[Awkward silence]
JIM MORA: Oh! I see what you mean. Ha.
DAVID SLACK: [uneasily] Hur hur hur.
[Awkward silence]
MORA: Okay, time for the four o’clock news.
Brain disease is slow and gradual, Alzheimers is one of them, hardly noticed at first.
According to the Waikato Times today, the Waikato town of Pokeno will be home to the first Chinese milk processing plant in New Zealand if Chinese company Yashili International, is given the green light (by the Overseas Investment Office) to buy land for its planned $210 million baby formula operation – creating 100 local jobs. Yashili International, one of China’s biggest baby formula and soymilk powder makers, has a conditional agreement to buy land in Pokeno’s Gateway business park.
Here we go again! NZ is becoming a soft touch for this type of deal and it appears it is now open season to all comers to establish this type of operation in one of our key industries on land we are prepared to sell for this purpose.
It appears that Chinese company Shanghai Pengxin (buyer of the Crafar Farms), may have been the pathfinder in setting a template for this operation currently under consideration. It goes something like this – establish a NZ registered company and then appoint a New Zealander to front it to legitimise it. It appears these moves into NZ are being encouraged by the Chinese government’s decision to substantially reduce import tariffs on finished milk formula.
What are we doing in this country? We must not continue to sell our land to allow major overseas players to establish in our key industries and compete against us.
That just highlights a major failure of Fonterra’s business model, while making adult milk formula and milk formula for small children other than babies Fonterra has failed it’s share-holders by it’s lax attitude to the baby milk formula market in the Asian economies,
Fonterra chose instead to simply supply the raw product to another company i have forgotten the name of under contract which has lad in turn to Fonterra supplying a major competitor, Nestle, as that company has now purchased that company and the supply contracts,
My belief is that the ‘internationalists’ in control of Fonterra will at some stage have removed from the farmer share-holders enough ‘power’ to be able to on-sell Fonterra on the global market,
That as the Chinese are at present seriously building what will eventually become a huge dairy herd will be at a heavily discounted price…
Chinese majority owned Synlait already have more than one milk plant planned/up and running.
PREPARE for the influx of “specially skilled” employees under the China NZ FTA, as in that plant, it will be likely that Mandarin and/or Cantonese will at least be the “official” language of instructions, so any staff working there, will naturally require sufficient language skills, to be able to understand such instructions and to communicate.
NZ Immigration is always very helpful and works together with other agencies and stakeholders and employers to find the most suitable solutions to help everyone involved.
Take it then, there will be the clause used, to get as many Mainland Chinese workers in as they can, to also work “efficiently” and according to “cultural” and other just economic, social and scientific requirements, that are specific to meeting the very needs of the Mainland Chinese consumer. Particular recipes, mixtures and whatever, to get the end product, will be highly commercially sensitive, and this will only be able to be entrusted to, and handled by, competent, knowledgeable, suitably skilled and qualified, also Mandarin or Cantonese literate employees.
Permits granted!
HOOTON, and Fran O Sullivan, now you come!
But…but..NZ is multicultural!
Multiculturalism will only make NZ culture richer!
You are just privileged, white male, heteronormative, cisgender, rape culture promoting, racist, colonialist, imperialistic, essentialist scumbags!!!
If you have any economic points to make in-between your irrelevant ranting, please feel free.
The world owes an awful lot to Abba Alhadi and his friends.
http://bigstory.ap.org/article/people-timbuktu-save-manuscripts-invaders
And to think the multiculturalists are happy to let as many Muslims into New Zealander as want to come.
That may be “multiculturalist muslims” though. KPee
And to think that peoples from Arab countries now living in New Zealand have anything to do with such destruction a world away makes you-(search for big word), just scum..
What are you on about, got a problem? Arabs, non arabs, all other nationalities get on with their lives, you just start arguing about something I cannot even decipher. It is nonsensical what you last wrote.
I probably misuderstood you in a wrong way, as you may have been more worked up with commenter “above”, sorry.
Your really ‘on’ the ball tonight X, read, take a deep breath and read again, yes my habit of not naming the persona i am replying to could be confusing…
But I got one more bone to pick with you on the other thread!
Oh good, chewing up bones is one of my favorite occupations…
Got it chewed now, got da message?
Yeah, the problem being that the message i get from you is that you are a childish simpleton prone to paranoid delusions..
Really?
So the massive flood of Muslims into Western Europe hasn’t brought their problems with them?
Multiculturalism has been a resounding success in Europe has it?
And you think we can look forward to the same wondrous effects in NZ, right?
You are in self denial or maybe you welcome the erosion of Western Civilization.
KPee – you love Breivik, it seems, or at least agree with his “philosophy”, right, yeah right, I should say and ask?!
KPee I am perhaps also a JIHADEE, so what are you going to do about it, hypothetically???
Let me get someone from “Anonymous” onto you while you wait, we will soon find out, who you are, what you do, where you live and the rest of it. That will make you feel very trusting, I am sure, as I trust you fully, and as you can trust me fully, that is if that can all work, aye?!
So that’s how it works around here, you threaten and intimidate anyone who doesn’t go along with your nonsense.
You are just as crazy as any ideologue of Left or Right
KPee Have thou any fear???
The demise of Western civilization, perlease!!!, that nearly fucking got my heart to stop, the laughter at you for inserting such a phrase into a comment that is,
Can you please, please, please expand upon this destruction of western civilization for me, fuck i love a laugh and your a hoot, the biggest one in town,
It’s all a Muslim conspiracy right KP, out of 20 households in my small street there are 2 that are definitely from the Arab countries, do you think i should bar the windows and put extra locks on the door against the time they break out screaming Allah Akbar whilst mowing down the neighborhood cats with the un-stashed AK47’s,
Actually you useless piece of cum-stain they just do normal things the same as what everyone else in the street does, they pretty much keep to themselves which shock-horror the white folks majority of the street does as well…
bad12: You do NOT understand that you must forthwith conform and convert to ISLAM. That is the ONLY “true” religion. I fyou cannot convert, the devil will get you! That is the truth about religion. Get a fear of the devil now, I tell, you for Jesus Muhammed and others.
So the massive flood of Muslims into Western Europe hasn’t brought their problems with them?
Yes, Muslims didn’t bring their problems with them…Muslim problems in Western Europe developed in Western Europe and also involve a Western Europeans…as well as economic, social and political inequality.
Multiculturalism has been a resounding success in Europe has it?
No, there are multiple reasons for this, including: the incoming culture, the existing culture, economic issues, political issues etc
And you think we can look forward to the same wondrous effects in NZ, right?
Yes, if we continue to deal with it in the same way that Europe has.
You are in self denial or maybe you welcome the erosion of Western Civilization.
Yes, but not complete erosion. Just until one civilisation is no longer dominant to the point that it oppresses another cilivilisation.
Yes, so did say, the master before, to warn of vermin, Adolfus Hitlerius.
Are email notifications likely to ever work for me again?