For some bizarre reason, Espiner uses the opportunity to grill Little about this.
Why not ask some hard questions about Key not fronting, Mr Espiner.
Such a Tory and corporate lackey.
No wonder RNZ is losing listeners.
Little handles Espiner with increasing aplomb these days.
It was interesting to hear Little say he was unaware of the breadth of the surveillance undertaken which seems to suggest that the government is only providing the Leader of the Opposition with the bare minimum of intelligence they can constitutionally get away with.
Pythonesque really – Australia still dealing to Afghanistan.
Sorry people it’s just cricket but it is another case of the Bournemouth gynaecologists versus the Long John Silvers eleven. So Australia made the biggest score of world cup cricket ever. And it’s headline news. Mmmmmm.
yeah had to laugh – I wonder what the money made around the world on these ‘games’ get used for – wouldn’t surprise me if it was a closed loop – weapons cost and so does ammunition and ‘intelligence’.
hi all its kinda crowd source time.
i originally posted this last night but would like to do it here today.
i wish to send a letter to the baywide crew asking a few questions re the payment of fines and accountability issues.
a few questions:
how to word it without it falling into ‘thats an employment issue and its none of yr business…’
to whom to address it.
here is a rough draft, i welcome input from y’all.
(I will use capitals etc in the proper one)
dear so and so,
i wish to seek reassurance that the members/clients of the credit union will not be contributing to the recent fine imposed by the employment tribunal following the ms hammond affair.
i also humbly request an broad indication from you what consequence the people involved can expect. (not intimate details, as i accept following this confidentiality is to be upheld.
i look forward to your response.
my name etc.
Credit Unions are owned by members so technically the members will be paying the fines. Unless the individuals involved are? Can’t remember the details of the decision. Maybe you could be more specific about what you mean by members not paying.
hi weka, upon re reading my missive it is a little vague (i blame the scrumpy and a head of steam).
by members i mean the depositors. i accept that ultimately we will pay as the executives salaries come from the depositors, however i feel the executives should be penalized financially if there is to be a punitive effect to this $168,000 finding.
The members own the credit union, and are the same as the depositors. You can’t have an account without being a member (at least that’s how Credit Union Otago works).
Given that the CU is paying, I would probably phrase it more as an open question.
Dear sir/madam,
As a member of the Baywide CU, I have two questions about the recent HRC case.
Can you please provide an explanation about how the CU is going to pay the fines, and how this will impact on the running of the CU and on the members?
I also humbly request an broad indication from you what consequence the people involved can expect.
yours etc.
Thinking about TRP’s comment and how the CU is structured, it would be interesting to see what role the members have in determining employment policy. I agree attending the AGM is a good idea.
**BREAKING NEWS**
The Chinese have billboards putting forward the RNB as the new world reserve currency. Back on point….perhaps it’s time NZ view the US as a nation who’s time has passed and get into position for the new world leader, China.
89 state homes were bowled and, in their place, a new subdivision named Riverside Gardens was started… Of the 150 new homes, Housing NZ would buy about 20 of them to use as state homes.
It looks great, but I wonder where the other 69 families have gone and why the redevelopment couldn’t have be done for them?
Getting rid of low income Maori/Pasifika families and replacing them with young white middle class professional couples who got their deposit from mummy and daddy.
Drugmakers don’t just compromise doctors; they also undermine top medical journals and skew medical research
But in 2002, the Journal of the American Medical Association flipped the HRT script when it published the unspun results of a Women’s Health Initiative study of 16,000 U.S. women on HRT. The drugs in Premarin and Prempro elevated the risk of the diseases they were intended to prevent, resulting in a 41 percent increase in stroke risk, a 29 percent increase in heart attack risk, a 26 percent increase in the risk of breast cancer, and a 22 percent increase in cardiovascular disease risks. These revelations about the dangers of HRT prompted many doctors to withdraw most of their patients from its drug regimens. However, Wyeth persisted in “educational” efforts, such as seminars directed at defecting doctors—some scripted by the ghostwriters of DesignWrite.
The release of the polio vaccine prompted criticism. In December 1960, a health news magazine called the ‘Herald of Health’ published a crucial report titled ‘The Great Salk Vaccine Fiasco: Misuse of statistics, blackout of vaccine cases, cited by eminent Chicago doctor’ By Ernest B. Zeisler, M.D. (which can be found at http://www.vaclib.org) who disagreed with Dr. Salk’s claims that the vaccine was safe or even useful against polio. Dr. Zeisler wrote a personal note to the publisher of the magazine M. S. Arnoni and told him that “No newspaper, periodical or medical journal will touch this. Many authorities in this field agree with me, and some have written me to say so and to congratulate me for what they call my ‘courage.’But no medical man will agree with me publicly”.
The field trial itself had violated the cardinal principles of scientific procedure. As said by Brownlee in the Journal of the American Statistical Association:
“. . . 59 per cent of the trial was worthless because of the lack of adequate controls. The remaining 41 per cent may be all right but contains internal evidence of bias in favor of the vaccinated. .. The reviewer . . . would point out that gamma globulin was triumphantly proclaimed effective by the National Foundation after a similar trial . .
As an aside, polio vaccinations are far less effective in nations where children are distressed and malnourished. Even multiple doses will sometimes fail to provide any significant protection to those children.
No surprise that the immune system can’t respond adequately if it is being starved.
Or that research done on well off white kids in well off suburbs don’t pick things like this up. As I say – each vaccination has to be judged on its own merits, and within its own context. Any blanket up or down perspective is an unscientific perspective.
There is a poorly understood ‘intestinal barrier’ to successful immunization of people in less developed countries who receive oral vaccines.
It is posited that diminished immune responses in these areas (particularly two northern states in India) are correlated with poor sanitation, a high prevalence of diarrheal illness at the time of vaccination, competing enteric viruses and competition of type 2 with types 1 and 3 vaccine viruses.
The most accessible overview of polio vaccination and the possible elimination of polio and cessation of immunisation is covered in the article below.
Yeah I predicted Molly Hughes would throw his feathers in the nest. He does anger Key and Joyce for some strange reason. He should have contested the By-Election since there already is cut throating.
Good article in the ODT by David Fisher on Snowden’s files showing NZ spying on its friendliest neighbours. GCSB going into full take collection, and article raises issues of NZers living in Pacific countries given GCSB isn’t supposed to spy on NZ citizens. The NZ PM and chief spy tell predictable lies at the end. Had to laugh at the spook saying they are subject to independent oversight.
In the USA the FISA courts and Senate/House intelligence committees set up decades ago after the Church commission were supposed to provide “independent oversight.”
They’ve been utterly compromised by the intelligence services and are now into the realms of “secret interpretations” of laws, which even law makers don’t know about and never intended.
According to Bill Binney, Nancy Pelosi as a ranking member of one of those intelligence committees was briefed by the NSA on its mass collection programme sometime soon after 2001 and raised no substantial objections.
Secret committees cannot provide democratic oversight.
I look forward to Labour candidate Willow-Jean Prime, building Labour’s profile and electorate base in the Northland by-election.
More importantly, (for the best interests of the majority of New Zealanders, in my opinion) I look forward to Labour supporters exercising political maturity and understanding of ‘strategic’ voting under MMP, by ‘doing an Epsom’ and voting Winston Peters, in order to take Northland off National.
Which will leave National with only 59 out of 121 MPs – and make it FAR more difficult to pass their pro-corporate / anti- worker / pro-WAR on the POOR legislation.
I do hope Labour Party supporters in Northland are a lot more politically astute than some Labour Party supporters who ‘opine’ on this blog?
Meant in a deadly serious, but caring way …..
Penny Bright
(Whom, arguably would have got FAR more ‘electorate’ votes when she stood against John Key in Helensville, had the ‘left’ understood ‘strategic’ voting under MMP?)
For those interested in May 7th’s historic, and possibly last, UK of GB & NI General Election the pollster Ashcroft has published his latest findings.
Labour and Tories neck and neck giving the SNP the balance of power.
Scottish Labour will have the Last Rites read on election night.
Radionz headline – NZ $ soars against …… Oh great. Just what we need. Slowly going down would be most efficacious and useful. Fat chance while the fat cats play amongst themselves.
Radionz this a.m. http://www.radionz.co.nz/audio/player/20169683
Are we heading towards a cashless society? ( 16′ 20″ )
09:34 The head of the Australian National University’s School of Economics, Professor Rabee Tourkey believes physical cash will be phased out within a decade. He says it will likely be replaced by a government issued digital currency, similar to bitcoin, but fully centralised.
Some action is being taken by McDonalds to stop? injecting antibiotics into chickens as an automatic part of their rearing. The practice of using antibiotics as prophylactics started around 1958. Concern about antibiotic resistance has been around for a long time. It takes a long time to get a hearing about a necessary restraint or ban and then a dangerous lag before any reasonable, practical action is started.
@ Cklemgeopin
I heard McDonalds and then I heard about chickens. So not sure whether I am right. But the takeaways all tend to have chicken wings etc now so could be McDonalds. For versimilitude? it would pay to check it oneself as I am trying to multi-taks and not being efficient at it!.
Interested in the plight of women who seem to receive les respect than cows?
Tomorrow on Radionz there is an interesting interview.
Coming Up on Nine To Noon
10:05 am Friday 6 March: Sonia Faleiro
In her latest book, 13 Men, award-winning Indian-born journalist and author, Sonia Faleiro investigates one of her country’s high profile rape cases, in which it was alleged a 20-year-old was gang raped under orders of the village council for falling in love with an outsider.
Sonia Faleiro travelled to the isolated village in West Bengal and interviewed the victim as well as local villagers and the village council and found the media coverage of the story had been in many cases wrong, and the issues were far more complex than many realised.
Sonia Faleiro has previously delved into the murky world of Bombay’s dance bars and has written for Vogue India, India Today and the New York Times. She a co-founder of Deca, a global journalists cooperative that creates long-form stories to read on mobile devices
Quite frankly, in my considered opinion, neither you lprent nor Chris Trotter actually understand MMP and ‘strategic’ voting?
I REALLY hope that Northland ‘ordinary left-leaning’ voters ‘get it’ and vote strategically for Winston Peters, whom, in my considered opinion, has the best chance of taking Northland off National.
Because it seems, in my opinion, you folk are unable or unwilling to do the VERY basic maths?
If National lose Northland – they will have only 59 out of 121 MPs – thus be ‘wing-clipped’ in the House, regarding the passage of legislation, for which they need 61 MPs?
It’s not complicated.
Why on earth would you not support giving this potential outcome – the best chance of success?
By promoting voting Winston Peters for Northland?
The Labour Party arguably can’t do / say that – but YOU could?
So – why aren’t you – if you’re really opposed to this John Key led National Government?
Quite frankly, in my considered opinion, neither you lprent nor Chris Trotter actually understand MMP and ‘strategic’ voting?
The point that you don’t seem to understand is that strategic voting is a choice for voters. Parties shouldn’t be involved in subverting MMP for their party by reducing the choices offered to voters. That is a processs that is called “machine politics” and is basically a way of rorting voters.
MMP is about providing choice to voters. That was what they voted for in 1993. What you and others fail to see is that you clearly don’t understand MMP from the voters perspective. You and others just seem to always want to screw the voters by removing their choices. It shows a singular ability to respect voters.
If Winston and you clearly manage to explain those choices to the voters and convince them it is worthwhile, then they may vote that way. If they vote elsewhere as they did in the Te Tai Tokerau election, then the voters have made their choice and you and the other fantasy election fools should respect that.
The Press Wednesday 25 February 2015 Section B1.
Reports about refugees many from Syria, and their despair. in Greece and Italy. A quote from an Italian RW politician ‘Let them drown’. They are being deluged by desperate people. What assistance are such recipient governments being given by the world’s big war spenders which are causing much of the problem.
The world can’t cope with the devastation, displacement and disruption of wars.
Then there is the camel problem in Australia. They were imported then abandoned when cars took over. Instead of them being a source of revenue, manufactured goods and meat the various states seem to have done little intelligent resource planning and business development. Numbers estimated a decade ago were 500,000. They have attempted to control camel numbers, but haven’t succeeded and when camels started mobbing and damaging infrastructure in search of food and water a decade ago a mass cull killed 100,000.
Now the camels are crazed by the increasingly hot weather and lack of water and ripping up irrigation, smashing Aboriginal people’s camps. They are in groups of 200, big and desperate, so scary. ‘They crashed through our troughs last week, buckled all the pipes, let the water out of the tanks, and ripped up fences.” That is on a 2.5 million hectare Mt Weld cattle station.
The world can’t cope intelligently with the d..d…d.. above caused by climate change.
Is it any wonder that some people are getting impatient even angry as others continue inaction, orate on lovely theories or sit around comparing each other’s belly fluff.
This video includes conclusions of the creator climate scientist Dr. Simon Clark. It is presented to our readers as an informed perspective. Please see video description for references (if any). This year you will be lied to! Simon Clark helps prebunk some misleading statements you'll hear about climate. The video includes ...
It is all very well cutting the backrooms of public agencies but it may compromise the frontlines. One of the frustrations of the Productivity Commission’s 2017 review of universities is that while it observed that their non-academic staff were increasing faster than their academic staff, it did not bother to ...
Buzz from the Beehive Two speeches delivered by Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters at Anzac Day ceremonies in Turkey are the only new posts on the government’s official website since the PM announced his Cabinet shake-up. In one of the speeches, Peters stated the obvious: we live in a troubled ...
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…it has a restricted jurisdiction which must not be abused: it is not an inquisitionNOTE – this article was published before the High Court ruled that Karen Chhour does not have to appear before the Waitangi Tribunal Gary Judd writes – The High Court ...
Lindsay Mitchell writes – One of reasons Oranga Tamariki exists is to prevent child neglect. But could the organisation itself be guilty of the same?Oranga Tamariki’s statistics show a decrease in the number and age of children in care. “There are less children ...
David Farrar writes: Graeme Edgeler wrote in 2017: In the first five years after three strikes came into effect 5248 offenders received a ‘first strike’ (that is, a “stage-1 conviction” under the three strikes sentencing regime), and 68 offenders received a ‘second strike’. In the five years prior to ...
Bryce Edwards writes – Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has surprised everyone with his ruthlessness in sacking two of his ministers from their crucial portfolios. Removing ministers for poor performance after only five months in the job just doesn’t normally happen in politics. That’s refreshing and will be extremely ...
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Hi,Today I mainly want to share some of your thoughts about the recent piece I wrote about success and failure, and the forces that seemingly guide our lives. But first, a quick bit of housekeeping: I am doing a Webworm popup in Los Angeles on Saturday May 11 at 2pm. ...
It is hard to see what Melissa Lee might have done to “save” the media. National went into the election with no public media policy and appears not to have developed one subsequently. Lee claimed that she had prepared a policy paper before the election but it had been decided ...
Open access notablesIce acceleration and rotation in the Greenland Ice Sheet interior in recent decades, Løkkegaard et al., Communications Earth & Environment:In the past two decades, mass loss from the Greenland ice sheet has accelerated, partly due to the speedup of glaciers. However, uncertainty in speed derived from satellite products ...
Buzz from the Beehive A statement from Children’s Minister Karen Chhour – yet to be posted on the Government’s official website – arrived in Point of Order’s email in-tray last night. It welcomes the High Court ruling on whether the Waitangi Tribunal can demand she appear before it. It does ...
Mr Bombastic:Ironically, the media the academic experts wanted is, in many ways, the media they got. In place of the tyrannical editors of yesteryear, advancing without fear or favour the interests of the ruling class; the New Zealand news media of today boasts a troop of enlightened journalists dedicated to ...
It's hard times try to make a livingYou wake up every morning in the unforgivingOut there somewhere in the cityThere's people living lives without mercy or pityI feel good, yeah I'm feeling fineI feel better then I have for the longest timeI think these pills have been good for meI ...
In 1974, the US Supreme Court issued its decision in United States v. Nixon, finding that the President was not a King, but was subject to the law and was required to turn over the evidence of his wrongdoing to the courts. It was a landmark decision for the rule ...
Every day now just seems to bring in more fresh meat for the grinder.In their relentlessly ideological drive to cut back on the “excessive bloat” (as they see it) of the previous Labour-led government, on the mountains of evidence accumulated in such a short period of time do not ...
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Morning in London Mother hugs beloved daughter outside the converted shoe factory in which she is living.Afternoon in London Travelling writer takes himself and his wrist down to A&E, just to be sure. Read more ...
Mike Grimshaw writes – The recent announcement of the University Advisory Group, chaired by Sir Peter Gluckman, makes very clear where the Government’s focus and priorities lie. The remit of the Advisory Group is that Group members will consider challenges and opportunities for improvement in the university sector including: ...
Eric Crampton writes – The Reserve Bank of New Zealand desperately wants to find reasons to have workstreams in climate change. It makes little sense. They’ve run another stress test on the banks looking to see if they could find a prudential regulation case. They couldn’t. They ...
Rob MacCullough writes – Pundits from the left and the right are arguing that National’s Fast Track Bill that is designed to speed up infrastructure decisions could end up becoming mired in a cesspool of corruption. Political commentator ...
Looking at the headlines this morning it’s hard to feel anything other than pessimistic about the future of humanity.Note that I’m not speaking about the future of mankind, but the survival of our humanity. The values that we believe in seem to be ebbing away, by the day.Perhaps every generation ...
Swabbing mixed breed baby chicks to test for avian influenzaUh oh. Bird flu – often deadly to humans – is not only being transmitted from infected birds to dairy cows, but is now travelling between dairy cows. As of last Friday, Bloomberg News reports, there were 32 American dairy herds ...
On February 14, 2023 we announced our Rebuttal Update Project. This included an ask for feedback about the added "At a glance" section in the updated basic rebuttal versions. This weekly blog post series highlights this new section of one of the updated basic rebuttal versions and serves as a ...
What is it with the mining industry? Its not enough for them to pillage the earth - they apparently can't even be bothered getting resource consent to do so: The proponent behind a major mine near the Clutha River had already been undertaking activity in the area without a ...
Photo # 1 I am a huge fan of Singapore’s approach to housing, as described here two years ago by copying and pasting from The ConversationWhat Singapore has that Australia does not is a public housing developer, the Housing Development Board, which puts new dwellings on public and reclaimed land, ...
Buzz from the Beehive Reactions to news of the government’s readiness to make urgent changes to “the resource management system” through a Bill to amend the Resource Management Act (RMA) suggest a balanced approach is being taken. The Taxpayers’ Union says the proposed changes don’t go far enough. Greenpeace says ...
I’m starting to wonder if Anna Burns-Francis might be the best political interviewer we’ve got. That might sound unlikely to you, it came as a bit of a surprise to me.Jack Tame can be excellent, but has some pretty average days. I like Rebecca Wright on Newshub, she asks good ...
Chris Trotter writes – Willie Jackson is said to be planning a “media summit” to discuss “the state of the media and how to protect Fourth Estate Journalism”. Not only does the Editor of The Daily Blog, Martyn Bradbury, think this is a good idea, but he has also ...
Graeme Edgeler writes – This morning [April 21], the Wellington High Court is hearing a judicial review brought by Hon. Karen Chhour, the Minister for Children, against a decision of the Waitangi Tribunal. This is unusual, judicial reviews are much more likely to brought against ministers, rather than ...
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Calling all journalists, academics, planners, lawyers, political activists, environmentalists, and other members of the public who believe that the relationships between vested interests and politicians need to be scrutinised. We need to work together to make sure that the new Fast-Track Approvals Bill – currently being pushed through by the ...
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The ability of the private sector to quickly establish major new projects making use of the urban and natural environment is to be supercharged by the new National-led Government. Yesterday it introduced to Parliament one of its most significant reforms, the Fast Track Approvals Bill. The Government says this will ...
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Our two-tiered system for veterans’ support is out of step with our closest partners, and all parties in Parliament should work together to fix it, Labour veterans’ affairs spokesperson Greg O’Connor said. ...
Stripping two Ministers of their portfolios just six months into the job shows Christopher Luxon’s management style is lacking, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said. ...
Tonight’s court decision to overturn the summons of the Children’s Minister has enabled the Crown to continue making decisions about Māori without evidence, says Te Pāti Māori spokesperson for Children, Mariameno Kapa-Kingi. “The judicial system has this evening told the nation that this government can do whatever they want when ...
It appears Nicola Willis is about to pull the rug out from under the feet of local communities still dealing with the aftermath of last year’s severe weather, and local councils relying on funding to build back from these disasters. ...
The Government is making short-sighted changes to the Resource Management Act (RMA) that will take away environmental protection in favour of short-term profits, Labour’s environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said today. ...
Labour welcomes the release of the report into the North Island weather events and looks forward to working with the Government to ensure that New Zealand is as prepared as it can be for the next natural disaster. ...
The Labour Party has called for the New Zealand Government to recognise Palestine, as a material step towards progressing the two-State solution needed to achieve a lasting peace in the region. ...
Some of our country’s most important work, stopping the sexual exploitation of children and violent extremism could go along with staff on the frontline at ports and airports. ...
The Government’s Fast Track Approvals Bill will give projects such as new coal mines a ‘get out of jail free’ card to wreak havoc on the environment, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said today. ...
The government's decision to reintroduce Three Strikes is a destructive and ineffective piece of law-making that will only exacerbate an inherently biased and racist criminal justice system, said Te Pāti Māori Justice Spokesperson, Tākuta Ferris, today. During the time Three Strikes was in place in Aotearoa, Māori and Pasifika received ...
Cuts to frontline hospital staff are not only a broken election promise, it shows the reckless tax cuts have well and truly hit the frontline of the health system, says Labour Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall. ...
The Green Party has joined the call for public submissions on the fast-track legislation to be extended after the Ombudsman forced the Government to release the list of organisations invited to apply just hours before submissions close. ...
New Zealand’s good work at reducing climate emissions for three years in a row will be undone by the National government’s lack of ambition and scrapping programmes that were making a difference, Labour Party climate spokesperson Megan Woods said today. ...
More essential jobs could be on the chopping block, this time Ministry of Education staff on the school lunches team are set to find out whether they're in line to lose their jobs. ...
Te Pāti Māori is disgusted at the confirmation that hundreds are set to lose their jobs at Oranga Tamariki, and the disestablishment of the Treaty Response Unit. “This act of absolute carelessness and out of touch decision making is committing tamariki to state abuse.” Said Te Pāti Māori Oranga Tamariki ...
The Government is trying to bring in a law that will allow Ministers to cut corners and kill off native species, Labour environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said. ...
Cancelling urgently needed new Cook Strait ferries and hiking the cost of public transport for many Kiwis so that National can announce the prospect of another tunnel for Wellington is not making good choices, Labour Transport Spokesperson Tangi Utikere said. ...
A laundry list of additional costs for Tāmaki Makarau Auckland shows the Minister for the city is not delivering for the people who live there, says Labour Auckland Issues spokesperson Shanan Halbert. ...
Te Pāti Māori co-leader Rawiri Waititi, and Mema Paremata mō Tāmaki-Makaurau, Takutai Tarsh Kemp, will travel to the Gold Coast to strengthen ties with Māori in Australia next week (15-21 April). The visit, in the lead-up to the 9th Australian National Kapa haka Festival, will be an opportunity for both ...
The Green Party has today launched a step-by-step guide to help New Zealanders make their voice heard on the Government’s democracy dodging and anti-environment fast track legislation. ...
The National Government’s proposed changes to the Residential Tenancies Act will mean tenants can be turfed from their homes by landlords with little notice, Labour housing spokesperson Kieran McAnulty said. ...
Green Party co-leader Marama Davidson is calling on all parties to support a common-sense change that’s great for the planet and great for consumers after her member’s bill was drawn from the ballot today. ...
A significant milestone has been reached in the fight to strike an anti-Pasifika and unfair law from the country’s books after Teanau Tuiono’s members’ bill passed its first reading. ...
New Zealand has today missed the opportunity to uphold the right to a clean, healthy, and sustainable environment, says James Shaw after his member’s bill was voted down in its first reading. ...
Today’s advice from the Climate Change Commission paints a sobering reality of the challenge we face in combating climate change, especially in light of recent Government policy announcements. ...
Minister for Disability Issues Penny Simmonds appears to have delayed a report back to Cabinet on the progress New Zealand is making against international obligations for disabled New Zealanders. ...
Ambassador Millar, Burgemeester, Vandepitte, Excellencies, military representatives, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen – good morning and welcome to this sacred Anzac Day dawn service. It is an honour to be here on behalf of the Government and people of New Zealand at Buttes New British Cemetery, Polygon Wood – a deeply ...
Distinguished guests - It is an honour to return once again to this site which, as the resting place for so many of our war-dead, has become a sacred place for generations of New Zealanders. Our presence here and at the other special spaces of Gallipoli is made ...
Mai ia tawhiti pamamao, te moana nui a Kiwa, kua tae whakaiti mai matou, ki to koutou papa whenua. No koutou te tapuwae, no matou te tapuwae, kua honoa pumautia. Ko nga toa kua hinga nei, o te Waipounamu, o te Ika a Maui, he okioki tahi me o ...
Paul Goldsmith will take on responsibility for the Media and Communications portfolio, while Louise Upston will pick up the Disability Issues portfolio, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon announced today. “Our Government is relentlessly focused on getting New Zealand back on track. As issues change in prominence, I plan to adjust Ministerial ...
Recreational catch limits will be reduced in areas of Fiordland and the Chatham Islands to help keep those fisheries healthy and sustainable, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. The lower recreational daily catch limits for a range of finfish and shellfish species caught in the Fiordland Marine Area and ...
Energy Minister Simeon Brown has welcomed an important milestone in New Zealand’s hydrogen future, with the opening of the country’s first network of hydrogen refuelling stations in Wiri. “I want to congratulate the team at Hiringa Energy and its partners K one W one (K1W1), Mitsui & Co New Zealand ...
The coalition Government is delivering on its commitment to improve resource management laws and give greater certainty to consent applicants, with a Bill to amend the Resource Management Act (RMA) expected to be introduced to Parliament next month. RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop has today outlined the first RMA Amendment ...
Overseas models for regulating the oil and gas sector, including their decommissioning regimes, are being carefully scrutinised as a potential template for New Zealand’s own sector, Resources Minister Shane Jones says. The Coalition Government is focused on rebuilding investor confidence in New Zealand’s energy sector as it looks to strengthen ...
Emergency Management and Recovery Minister Mark Mitchell has today released the Report of the Government Inquiry into the response to the North Island Severe Weather Events. “The report shows that New Zealand’s emergency management system is not fit-for-purpose and there are some significant gaps we need to address,” Mr Mitchell ...
Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith is today travelling to Europe where he’ll update the United Nations Human Rights Council on the Government’s work to restore law and order. “Attending the Universal Periodic Review in Geneva provides us with an opportunity to present New Zealand’s human rights progress, priorities, and challenges, while ...
Associate Agriculture Minister, Mark Patterson, formally reopened the world’s largest wool processing facility today in Awatoto, Napier, following a $50 million rebuild and refurbishment project. “The reopening of this facility will significantly lift the economic opportunities available to New Zealand’s wool sector, which already accounts for 20 per cent of ...
Hon Andrew Bayly, Minister for Small Business and Manufacturing At the Southland Otago Regional Engineering Collective (SOREC) Summit, 18 April, Dunedin Ngā mihi nui, Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Ko Whanganui aho Good Afternoon and thank you for inviting me to open your summit today. I am delighted ...
The Government is delivering on its commitment to bring back the Three Strikes legislation, Associate Justice Minister Nicole McKee announced today. “Our Government is committed to restoring law and order and enforcing appropriate consequences on criminals. We are making it clear that repeat serious violent or sexual offending is not ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has today announced four new diplomatic appointments for New Zealand’s overseas missions. “Our diplomats have a vital role in maintaining and protecting New Zealand’s interests around the world,” Mr Peters says. “I am pleased to announce the appointment of these senior diplomats from the ...
New Zealand is contributing NZ$7 million to support communities affected by severe food insecurity and other urgent humanitarian needs in Ethiopia and Somalia, Foreign Minister Rt Hon Winston Peters announced today. “Over 21 million people are in need of humanitarian assistance across Ethiopia, with a further 6.9 million people ...
Minister for Arts, Culture and Heritage Paul Goldsmith is congratulating Mataaho Collective for winning the Golden Lion for best participant in the main exhibition at the Venice Biennale. "Congratulations to the Mataaho Collective for winning one of the world's most prestigious art prizes at the Venice Biennale. “It is good ...
The Government is reforming financial services to improve access to home loans and other lending, and strengthen customer protections, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly and Housing Minister Chris Bishop announced today. “Our coalition Government is committed to rebuilding the economy and making life simpler by cutting red tape. We are ...
“China remains a strong commercial opportunity for Kiwi exporters as Chinese businesses and consumers continue to value our high-quality safe produce,” Trade and Agriculture Minister Todd McClay says. Mr McClay has returned to New Zealand following visits to Beijing, Harbin and Shanghai where he met ministers, governors and mayors and engaged in trade and agricultural events with the New ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has completed a successful trip to Singapore, Thailand and the Philippines, deepening relationships and capitalising on opportunities. Mr Luxon was accompanied by a business delegation and says the choice of countries represents the priority the New Zealand Government places on South East Asia, and our relationships in ...
New Zealand is demonstrating its commitment to reducing global greenhouse emissions, and supporting clean energy transition in South East Asia, through a contribution of NZ$41 million (US$25 million) in climate finance to the Asian Development Bank (ADB)-led Energy Transition Mechanism (ETM). Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Climate Change Minister Simon Watts announced ...
The Government is today releasing a list of organisations who received letters about the Fast-track applications process, says RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop. “Recently Ministers and agencies have received a series of OIA requests for a list of organisations to whom I wrote with information on applying to have a ...
Attorney-General Judith Collins today announced the appointment of Wellington Barrister David Jonathan Boldt as a Judge of the High Court, and the Honourable Justice Matthew Palmer as a Judge of the Court of Appeal. Justice Boldt graduated with an LLB from Victoria University of Wellington in 1990, and also holds ...
Education Minister Erica Stanford will lead the New Zealand delegation at the 2024 International Summit on the Teaching Profession (ISTP) held in Singapore. The delegation includes representatives from the Post Primary Teachers’ Association (PPTA) Te Wehengarua and the New Zealand Educational Institute (NZEI) Te Riu Roa. The summit is co-hosted ...
A stopbank upgrade project in Tairawhiti partly funded by the Government has increased flood resilience for around 7000ha of residential and horticultural land so far, Regional Development Minister Shane Jones says. Mr Jones today attended a dawn service in Gisborne to mark the end of the first stage of the ...
Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters will represent the Government at Anzac Day commemorations on the Gallipoli Peninsula next week and engage with senior representatives of the Turkish government in Istanbul. “The Gallipoli campaign is a defining event in our history. It will be a privilege to share the occasion ...
Science, Innovation and Technology and Defence Minister Judith Collins will next week attend the OECD Science and Technology Ministerial conference in Paris and Anzac Day commemorations in Belgium. “Science, innovation and technology have a major role to play in rebuilding our economy and achieving better health, environmental and social outcomes ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon held a bilateral meeting today with the President of the Philippines, Ferdinand Marcos Jr. The Prime Minister was accompanied by MP Paulo Garcia, the first Filipino to be elected to a legislature outside the Philippines. During today’s meeting, Prime Minister Luxon and President Marcos Jr discussed opportunities to ...
The Government has announced that $20 million in funding will be made available to Westport to fund much needed flood protection around the town. This measure will significantly improve the resilience of the community, says Local Government Minister Simeon Brown. “The Westport community has already been allocated almost $3 million ...
The Government is proud to support the first ever Repco Supercars Championship event in Taupō as up to 70,000 motorsport fans attend the Taupō International Motorsport Park this weekend, says Economic Development Minister Melissa Lee. “Anticipation for the ITM Taupō Super400 is huge, with tickets and accommodation selling out weeks ...
Local Government Minister Simeon Brown has announced an increase to the Rates Rebate Scheme, putting money back into the pockets of low-income homeowners. “The coalition Government is committed to bringing down the cost of living for New Zealanders. That includes targeted support for those Kiwis who are doing things tough, such ...
The Coalition Government is investing in a project to boost survival rates of New Zealand mussels and grow the industry, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones has announced. “This project seeks to increase the resilience of our mussels and significantly boost the sector’s productivity,” Mr Jones says. “The project - ...
Benefit figures released today underscore the importance of the Government’s plan to rebuild the economy and have 50,000 fewer people on Jobseeker Support, Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston says. “Benefit numbers are still significantly higher than when National was last in government, when there was about 70,000 fewer ...
The Government’s commitment to doubling New Zealand’s renewable energy capacity is backed by new data showing that clean energy has helped the country reach its lowest annual gross emissions since 1999, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. New Zealand’s latest Greenhouse Gas Inventory (1990-2022) published today, shows gross emissions fell ...
The Government is bringing the earthquake-prone building review forward, with work to start immediately, and extending the deadline for remediations by four years, Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk says. “Our Government is focused on rebuilding the economy. A key part of our plan is to cut red tape that ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and his Thai counterpart, Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin, have today agreed that New Zealand and the Kingdom of Thailand will upgrade the bilateral relationship to a Strategic Partnership by 2026. “New Zealand and Thailand have a lot to offer each other. We have a strong mutual desire to build ...
RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop and Transport Minister Simeon Brown have today announced the Coalition Government’s intention to extend port coastal permits for a further 20 years, providing port operators with certainty to continue their operations. “The introduction of the Resource Management Act in 1991 required ports to obtain coastal ...
Today’s announcement that inflation is down to 4 per cent is encouraging news for Kiwis, but there is more work to be done - underlining the importance of the Government’s plan to get the economy back on track, acting Finance Minister Chris Bishop says. “Inflation is now at 4 per ...
Refreshed health guidance released today will help parents and schools make informed decisions about whether their child needs to be in school, addressing one of the key issues affecting school attendance, says Associate Education Minister David Seymour. In recent years, consistently across all school terms, short-term illness or medical reasons ...
Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones is streamlining high-level oceans management while maintaining a focus on supporting the sector’s role in the export-led recovery of the economy. “I am working to realise the untapped potential of our fishing and aquaculture sector. To achieve that we need to be smarter with ...
I was initially resistant to the idea often suggested to me that the Government should deliver an arts strategy. The whole point of the arts and creativity is that people should do whatever the hell they want, unbound by the dictates of politicians in Wellington. Peter Jackson, Kiri Te Kanawa, Eleanor ...
Asia Pacific Report The Freedom Flotilla is ready to sail to Gaza, reports Kia Ora Gaza. All the required paperwork has been submitted to the port authority, and the cargo has been loaded and prepared for the humanitarian trip to the besieged enclave. However, organisers received word of an “administrative ...
Pacific Media Watch Palestine solidarity protesters today demonstrated at the Auckland headquarters of Television New Zealand, accusing the country’s major TV network of broadcasting “propaganda” backing Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza. About 50 protesters targeted the main entrance to the TVNZ building near Sky Tower and also picketed a side ...
Opinion by Lynley Hood. Forty years on from my 1985 Fulbright Grant, my disquiet over the war in Gaza evoked some troubling questions. The answer to my first question – What is the primary purpose of the Fulbright Programme? – was on the Fulbright NZ website. It says: US Senator, ...
The ministers responsible for green-lighting major projects need to be open about potential conflicts of interest, says Transparency International. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Anastasia Powell, Professor, Family and Sexual Violence, RMIT University It has been a particularly distressing start to the year. There is little that can ease the current grief of individuals, families and communities who have needlessly lost a loved one to men’s ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Gregory Moore, Senior Research Associate, School of Ecosystem and Forest Sciences, The University of Melbourne Lichen, the first described example of symbiosis.AdeJ Artventure/Shutterstock Once known only to those studying biology, the word symbiosis is now widely used. Symbiosis is the intimate ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kim Hemsley, Head, Childhood Dementia Research Group, Flinders Health and Medical Research Institute, College of Medicine and Public Health, Flinders University Olena Ivanova/Shutterstock “Childhood” and “dementia” are two words we wish we didn’t have to use together. But sadly, around 1,400 ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Peter Whiteford, Professor, Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University The government’s Economic Inclusion Advisory Committee has just published its second report. It was set up by Treasurer Jim Chalmers and Minister for Social Services Amanda Rishworth in 2022 to provide: ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Adrian Beaumont, Election Analyst (Psephologist) at The Conversation; and Honorary Associate, School of Mathematics and Statistics, The University of Melbourne The Queensland state election will be held in October. A YouGov poll for The Courier Mail, conducted April 9–17 from a sample ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Amin Naeni, PhD candidate at Alfred Deakin Institute for Citizenship and Globalisation, Deakin University There’s been much talk in recent months about what a possible second Donald Trump presidency in the United States could mean for Europe, Russia’s war in Ukraine, the ...
A brief round-up of submissions on the controversial proposed law. This is an excerpt from our weekly environmental newsletter Future Proof. Sign up here. Last week, submissions on the controversial Fast-track Approvals Bill closed just hours after the government released a list of stakeholder organisations who were sent letters advising how they could ...
A poem from Robin Peace’s new collection Detritus of Empire: feather / grass / rock. Cereal giving I see a woman’s hands, see her curious hands break a stalk as she walks through the tall prairie, the savannah, the steppe, wherever it was. See her idly bite the grass that ...
The only published and available best-selling indie book chart in New Zealand is the top 10 sales list recorded every week at Unity Books’ stores in High St, Auckland, and Willis St, Wellington.AUCKLAND1 Hemingway’s Goblet by Dermot Ross (Mary Egan Publishing, $38)A handsomely produced (debossed cover, lovely ...
The Commissioner's decision validates the longstanding efforts of the local community and ensures that Awataha Marae will be managed to serve the needs of the local community, particularly for hosting tangihanga. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Tristan Salles, Associate professor, University of Sydney Examples of Australian landscapes.Unsplash Seventy thousand years ago, the sea level was much lower than today. Australia, along with New Guinea and Tasmania, formed a connected landmass known as Sahul. Around this time – ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Felicity Castagna, Lecturer, Creative Writing, Western Sydney University Day Day Market, ParramattaPhoto: Garry Trinh I live on the edge of Parramatta, Australia’s fastest-growing city, on the kind of old-fashioned suburban street that has 1950s fibros constructed in the post-war housing boom, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michael Ryan, Teaching Fellow in Economics, University of Waikato GettyImagesfatido/Getty Images There is an ongoing global debate over whether the high inflation seen in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic can be lowered without a recession. New Zealand is not ...
The ‘Wicked Game’ heartthrob is in his late 60s now. That didn’t stop him putting on a lively, goofy and very sparkly show. Apart from ‘Wicked Game’, which graces a sultry playlist of mine simply called 💋, my last sustained Chris Isaak listening session took place when I was about ...
Analysis - Two ministers were stripped of portfolios in a warning to Cabinet, drama broke out at the Waitangi Tribunal, and the gang patch ban bill ran into opposition. ...
Tara Ward makes an impassioned plea for some vital pop culture merch. In April 1999, I became obsessed with a new reality television show called Popstars. Every Tuesday night, five strangers transformed into music royalty before my very eyes as Joe, Keri, Carly, Erika and Megan were chosen to form ...
PNG Post-Courier In the early hours of ANZAC Day, aerial photographs captured an impressive gathering of Australians and Papua New Guineans at Isurava in the Northern (Oro) Province. The solemn dawn service yesterday was held at a site steeped in history, where some of the fiercest battles of World War ...
The PSA is shocked that Oranga Tamariki has used the cost cutting drive to downgrade its commitment to Te Ao Māori and remove many specialist Māori roles. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ian Kemish, Adjunct Professor, School of Historical and Philosophical Inquiry, The University of Queensland There can be no more powerful symbol of the relationship between Australia and Papua New Guinea than the prime ministers of these neighbouring countries walking together on the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sharon Robinson, Distinguished Professor and Deputy Director of ARC Securing Antarctica’s Environmental Future (SAEF), University of Wollongong, University of Wollongong Andrew Netherwood Over the last 25 years, the ozone hole which forming over Antarctica each spring has started to shrink. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Viktoria Kahui, Senior Lecturer in Environmental Economics, University of Otago Getty Images/Amy Toensing Biodiversity is declining at rates unprecedented in human history. This suggests the ways we currently use to manage our natural environment are failing. One emerging concept focuses on ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Timothy Colin Bednall, Associate Professor in Management, Swinburne University of Technology marvent/Shutterstock Finding the best person to fill a position can be tough, from drafting a job ad to producing a shortlist of top interview candidates. Employers typically consider information from ...
Wondering where to host your next BYO? Whether its a small gathering or a massive party, we’ve got some recommendations. I was first introduced to the concept of BYOs at Dunedin’s India Gardens, a legendary but sadly defunct establishment, which purveyed enormous quantities of mango chicken to Aotearoa’s drunkest future ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Julien Cooper, Honorary Lecturer, Department of History and Archaeology, Macquarie University Julien Cooper The hyper-arid desert of Eastern Sudan, the Atbai Desert, seems like an unlikely place to find evidence of ancient cattle herders. But in this dry environment, my new ...
The sector says it’s hopeful her replacement Paul Goldsmith will be able to throw it a lifeline, after six months with a minister deemed missing in action, writes Catherine McGregor in this excerpt from The Bulletin, The Spinoff’s morning news round-up. To receive The Bulletin in full each weekday, sign ...
The government can't just rely on axing public sector jobs and has to do more to cut spending, says the chief economist at a free market think tank. ...
Rock The Vote NZ, known for its advocacy for minor party unity and its role within the Freedoms NZ Coalition during the 2023 General Election, celebrates this merger as a strategic enhancement of its operational strength and outreach. ...
Nearly everyone has experienced the frustration of something you use breaking and being difficult or expensive to fix. Proposed legislation could change that. It’s been raining on and off all Sunday afternoon but people are lining up outside a building in a corner of Gribblehirst Park in Sandringham, Auckland. In ...
What does a forever relationship look like when you don’t believe in marriage? And how do you celebrate it? This essay is part of our Sunday Essay series, made possible thanks to the support of Creative New Zealand.I’m going to do it, right now. I’m going to say ...
The Prime Minister has committed to resuming direct flights to Thailand. But it’s not a promise he will be able to deliver on anytime soon. The post Prime Minister jumps the gun in Thailand appeared first on Newsroom. ...
It’s not that long ago Eliza McCartney was seriously wondering if the Paris Olympics would be her pole vaulting swansong. After years of being hounded by injury after injury, the Rio Olympics bronze medallist was still confident she would compete at her second Olympics in Paris in July, unless something ...
FICTION 1 Take Two by Danielle Hawkins (Allen & Unwin, $36.99) There’s commercial fiction, like this book, and then there’s quality fiction, quality writers, quality literature; the forthcoming Auckland Writers Festival is full of quality, and ReadingRoom has two tickets to give away to the following events: Paul Lynch (Dublin ...
Loading…(function(i,s,o,g,r,a,m){var ql=document.querySelectorAll('A[quiz],DIV[quiz],A[data-quiz],DIV[data-quiz]'); if(ql){if(ql.length){for(var k=0;k<ql.length;k++){ql[k].id='quiz-embed-'+k;ql[k].href="javascript:var i=document.getElementById('quiz-embed-"+k+"');try{qz.startQuiz(i)}catch(e){i.start=1;i.style.cursor='wait';i.style.opacity='0.5'};void(0);"}}};i['QP']=r;i[r]=i[r]||function(){(i[r].q=i[r].q||[]).push(arguments)},i[r].l=1*new Date();a=s.createElement(o),m=s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];a.async=1;a.src=g;m.parentNode.insertBefore(a,m)})(window,document,'script','https://take.quiz-maker.com/3012/CDN/quiz-embed-v1.js','qp'); Got a good quiz question?Send Newsroom your questions. The post Newsroom daily quiz, Friday 26 April appeared first on Newsroom. ...
You can’t have missed the Gallipoli story as the movies, documentaries, essays and books capture what it was like for New Zealand troops in their eight-month campaign on the Peninsula. But this Anzac Day the Auckland War Memorial Museum has published a book that sheds light on a little-known aspect of the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra In the free-for-all between the Australian government and Big Tech boss Elon Musk this week, the government had to be on a winner. Most people would have little sympathy with Musk’s vociferous opposition to ...
Asia Pacific Report Chief Mandla Mandela, a member of the National Assembly of South Africa and Nelson Mandela’s grandson, has joined the Freedom Flotilla in istanbul as the ships prepare to sail for Gaza, reports Kia Ora Gaza. Mandela is also the ambassador for the Global Campaign to Return to ...
Pacific Media Watch Journalists who report on environmental issues are encountering growing difficulties in many parts of the world, reports Reporters Without Borders. According to the tally kept by RSF, 200 journalists have been subjected to threats and physical violence, including murder, in the past 10 years because they were ...
Analysis by Dr Bryce Edwards, Democracy Project (https://democracyproject.nz)Political scientist, Dr Bryce Edwards. Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has surprised everyone with his ruthlessness in sacking two of his ministers from their crucial portfolios. Removing ministers for poor performance after only five months in the job just doesn’t normally happen in ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By John Hawkins, Senior Lecturer, Canberra School of Politics, Economics and Society, University of Canberra BagzhanSadvakassov/Upsplash, CC BY-SA Australia’s inflation rate has fallen for the fifth successive quarter, and it’s now less than half of what it was back in late 2022. ...
ACT's Rural Communities and Veterans spokesman Mark Cameron responds to cancellations and protests of ANZAC Day commemorations in Wellington. He says, "These pitiful attempts to detract from ANZAC Day are not at all indicative of the feelings of mainstream ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Meighen McCrae, Associate Professor of Strategic & Defence Studies, Australian National University American and Australian stretcher bearers working together near the front line during the Battle of Hamel in 1918.Australian War Memorial While the AUKUS alliance is new, the Australian-American partnership ...
Pōneke based peace activists staged a silent protest at the ANZAC day service to highlight New Zealand’s complicity in war and genocide, and urge the government to take concrete steps to stop the genocide in Palestine. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Magdalena M.E. Bunbury, Postdoctoral Researcher, James Cook University Burial with a horse at the Rákóczifalva site, Hungary (8th century AD).Sándor Hegedűs, Hungarian National Museum, CC BY How do we understand past societies? For centuries, our main sources of information have been ...
Amanda Thompson doesn’t really do Anzac Day. But what she does do is remember the people she knew who had a lifetime to remember stuff they didn’t really want to, because of a war they didn’t ask for. And she does make Anzac biscuits.First published in 2021.All my ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kathryn Willis, Postdoctoral Researcher, CSIRO Xavier Boulenger/Shutterstock In the two decades to 2019, global plastic production doubled. By 2040, plastic manufacturing and processing could consume as much as 20% of global oil production and use up 15% of the annual carbon ...
With our collective remembrance, and steadfast belief in our common humanity, we strengthen our hope and resolve to do what we can to foster dialogue and understanding, and to heal divisions in our pursuit of peace. ...
Principal reasons for the opposition is the loss of the public’s democratic right to have “a fair say” and the vital need for a government free from corruption, said Casey Cravens of Dunedin, president of the New Zealand Federation of Freshwater ...
Never mind the scoreboard – in the 2000 Bledisloe Cup decider, the real trans-Tasman battle was won before kickoff.First published in 2016. The dawn of the new millennium was a dark time for the All Blacks. Their final game pre-Y2K was a 22-18 loss to South Africa in the ...
I’m on the wrong side of 40, I never pursued creative work and now my job is killing my soul. Help! Want Hera’s help? Email your problem to helpme@thespinoff.co.nzDear Hera,May I start with the least original conversation opener you’re likely to hear around the motu at the moment, particularly in Wellington: ...
John Key really has destroyed our independent foreign policy.
We send our soldiers to fight for the US in Iraq to be part of their club.
And we spy on our friends and neighbours and pass on all that information to Key’s US masters.
Sneaky spying. That required guts, Mr Key.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11411730
The PM declined to be interviewed on RNZ.
Gutless.
For some bizarre reason, Espiner uses the opportunity to grill Little about this.
Why not ask some hard questions about Key not fronting, Mr Espiner.
Such a Tory and corporate lackey.
No wonder RNZ is losing listeners.
Little handles Espiner with increasing aplomb these days.
It was interesting to hear Little say he was unaware of the breadth of the surveillance undertaken which seems to suggest that the government is only providing the Leader of the Opposition with the bare minimum of intelligence they can constitutionally get away with.
Thanks Paul.
TBH my response to John Key is that he living down to my expectations.
But I get a positive burst of admiration for those involved: Glenn Greenwald, Edward Snowden and Nicky Hager and David Fisher.
+100 Molly
Pythonesque really – Australia still dealing to Afghanistan.
Sorry people it’s just cricket but it is another case of the Bournemouth gynaecologists versus the Long John Silvers eleven. So Australia made the biggest score of world cup cricket ever. And it’s headline news. Mmmmmm.
Better for the capitalist media to talk about that than stuff that really matters.
That might make people question what is going on…..
yeah had to laugh – I wonder what the money made around the world on these ‘games’ get used for – wouldn’t surprise me if it was a closed loop – weapons cost and so does ammunition and ‘intelligence’.
Another day, another fawning, vomit-inducing article on Key. Also showing students as superficial, shallow, money-chasing monkeys. Gah!
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/66968082/selfies-in-vogue-as-pm-calls-on-oweek-crowd
Narcissism.
Key’s ally.
From the link:
* And he found plenty of fans when he stopped in to O-Week festivities at the University of Waikato.
“Doing good, cuz. Good job running the country, John,” a student called.
It wasn’t long before other students realised the prime minister had arrived, and flocked to him for a photo.
National supporter Jamie Braithwaite, 18, was stoked to meet Key for the first time – and get the photo to prove it.
“I support National so it was really cool meeting him,” she said. “I was like ‘Oh hi’ but then I got really nervous.”
Rajbir Singh, 22, also managed to get herself a shot with Key.
“It’s pretty exciting. He came to little old Hamilton . . . It’s a good way to interact with him.”
Key told the students:
—————–
* The mass of smartphone selfies was a big difference from Key’s uni years at Canterbury.
“We weren’t taking a lot of selfies because we didn’t have phones that were capable – in fact we didn’t have phones,” he said.
—————
* When Key made it to the mic at the centre of O-Week festivities for a brief speech,
he told the students
“you’ve got the best rugby team in the country” and assured them the Government was working to deliver a strong economy.
—————
“* The mass of smartphone selfies was a big difference from Key’s uni years at Canterbury.
“We weren’t taking a lot of selfies because we didn’t have phones that were capable – in fact we didn’t have phones,” he said.”
I’m amazed he can remember such detail from his uni days considering that he can’t remember the fricking SPRINGBOK TOUR.
hi all its kinda crowd source time.
i originally posted this last night but would like to do it here today.
i wish to send a letter to the baywide crew asking a few questions re the payment of fines and accountability issues.
a few questions:
how to word it without it falling into ‘thats an employment issue and its none of yr business…’
to whom to address it.
here is a rough draft, i welcome input from y’all.
(I will use capitals etc in the proper one)
dear so and so,
i wish to seek reassurance that the members/clients of the credit union will not be contributing to the recent fine imposed by the employment tribunal following the ms hammond affair.
i also humbly request an broad indication from you what consequence the people involved can expect. (not intimate details, as i accept following this confidentiality is to be upheld.
i look forward to your response.
my name etc.
Credit Unions are owned by members so technically the members will be paying the fines. Unless the individuals involved are? Can’t remember the details of the decision. Maybe you could be more specific about what you mean by members not paying.
hi weka, upon re reading my missive it is a little vague (i blame the scrumpy and a head of steam).
by members i mean the depositors. i accept that ultimately we will pay as the executives salaries come from the depositors, however i feel the executives should be penalized financially if there is to be a punitive effect to this $168,000 finding.
Looking at TRP’s comments in this link, it seems that the CU is paying not the employees. So yes, members are paying.
http://thestandard.org.nz/dim-post-on-that-168k-cake-story/#comment-979713
The members own the credit union, and are the same as the depositors. You can’t have an account without being a member (at least that’s how Credit Union Otago works).
Given that the CU is paying, I would probably phrase it more as an open question.
Dear sir/madam,
As a member of the Baywide CU, I have two questions about the recent HRC case.
Can you please provide an explanation about how the CU is going to pay the fines, and how this will impact on the running of the CU and on the members?
I also humbly request an broad indication from you what consequence the people involved can expect.
yours etc.
Thinking about TRP’s comment and how the CU is structured, it would be interesting to see what role the members have in determining employment policy. I agree attending the AGM is a good idea.
**BREAKING NEWS**
The Chinese have billboards putting forward the RNB as the new world reserve currency. Back on point….perhaps it’s time NZ view the US as a nation who’s time has passed and get into position for the new world leader, China.
http://www.sovereignman.com/trends/the-chinese-have-put-out-billboard-ads-announcing-the-renminbi-as-the-new-world-currency-16318/
Some good examples from across the ditch of the kind of workers’ resistance we need a lot more of here: https://rdln.wordpress.com/2015/03/05/workers-in-control-some-good-examples-from-across-the-ditch/
Phil
Carter Holt Harvey cladding – the disaster continues: today’s Herald article.
Housing Corp redevelopment
It looks great, but I wonder where the other 69 families have gone and why the redevelopment couldn’t have be done for them?
Getting rid of low income Maori/Pasifika families and replacing them with young white middle class professional couples who got their deposit from mummy and daddy.
Ethnic cleansing without the guns.
https://theamericanscholar.org/flacking-for-big-pharma
Drugmakers don’t just compromise doctors; they also undermine top medical journals and skew medical research
But in 2002, the Journal of the American Medical Association flipped the HRT script when it published the unspun results of a Women’s Health Initiative study of 16,000 U.S. women on HRT. The drugs in Premarin and Prempro elevated the risk of the diseases they were intended to prevent, resulting in a 41 percent increase in stroke risk, a 29 percent increase in heart attack risk, a 26 percent increase in the risk of breast cancer, and a 22 percent increase in cardiovascular disease risks. These revelations about the dangers of HRT prompted many doctors to withdraw most of their patients from its drug regimens. However, Wyeth persisted in “educational” efforts, such as seminars directed at defecting doctors—some scripted by the ghostwriters of DesignWrite.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/31/business/31drug.html?_r=0
No more ‘goodies’ for Doctors from drug makers
+100 The Murphey
The Jonas Salk Polio Vaccine: A Medical Breakthrough or a Propaganda Campaign for Big Pharma?
The release of the polio vaccine prompted criticism. In December 1960, a health news magazine called the ‘Herald of Health’ published a crucial report titled ‘The Great Salk Vaccine Fiasco: Misuse of statistics, blackout of vaccine cases, cited by eminent Chicago doctor’ By Ernest B. Zeisler, M.D. (which can be found at http://www.vaclib.org) who disagreed with Dr. Salk’s claims that the vaccine was safe or even useful against polio. Dr. Zeisler wrote a personal note to the publisher of the magazine M. S. Arnoni and told him that “No newspaper, periodical or medical journal will touch this. Many authorities in this field agree with me, and some have written me to say so and to congratulate me for what they call my ‘courage.’But no medical man will agree with me publicly”.
The field trial itself had violated the cardinal principles of scientific procedure. As said by Brownlee in the Journal of the American Statistical Association:
“. . . 59 per cent of the trial was worthless because of the lack of adequate controls. The remaining 41 per cent may be all right but contains internal evidence of bias in favor of the vaccinated. .. The reviewer . . . would point out that gamma globulin was triumphantly proclaimed effective by the National Foundation after a similar trial . .
As an aside, polio vaccinations are far less effective in nations where children are distressed and malnourished. Even multiple doses will sometimes fail to provide any significant protection to those children.
No surprise that the immune system can’t respond adequately if it is being starved.
Or that research done on well off white kids in well off suburbs don’t pick things like this up. As I say – each vaccination has to be judged on its own merits, and within its own context. Any blanket up or down perspective is an unscientific perspective.
There is a poorly understood ‘intestinal barrier’ to successful immunization of people in less developed countries who receive oral vaccines.
It is posited that diminished immune responses in these areas (particularly two northern states in India) are correlated with poor sanitation, a high prevalence of diarrheal illness at the time of vaccination, competing enteric viruses and competition of type 2 with types 1 and 3 vaccine viruses.
The most accessible overview of polio vaccination and the possible elimination of polio and cessation of immunisation is covered in the article below.
http://rstb.royalsocietypublishing.org/content/368/1623/20120140
must be why my polio’s acting up again /sarc
A medical breakthrough.
A thought provoking poignant story.
One-in-a-million-baby-girl
http://www.stuff.co.nz/life-style/life/66965628/One-in-a-million-baby-girl
https://nz.news.yahoo.com/a/-/top-stories/26522702/gareth-hughes-puts-hand-up-for-green-leadership/ Will he win?
Yeah I predicted Molly Hughes would throw his feathers in the nest. He does anger Key and Joyce for some strange reason. He should have contested the By-Election since there already is cut throating.
Good article in the ODT by David Fisher on Snowden’s files showing NZ spying on its friendliest neighbours. GCSB going into full take collection, and article raises issues of NZers living in Pacific countries given GCSB isn’t supposed to spy on NZ citizens. The NZ PM and chief spy tell predictable lies at the end. Had to laugh at the spook saying they are subject to independent oversight.
In the USA the FISA courts and Senate/House intelligence committees set up decades ago after the Church commission were supposed to provide “independent oversight.”
They’ve been utterly compromised by the intelligence services and are now into the realms of “secret interpretations” of laws, which even law makers don’t know about and never intended.
According to Bill Binney, Nancy Pelosi as a ranking member of one of those intelligence committees was briefed by the NSA on its mass collection programme sometime soon after 2001 and raised no substantial objections.
Secret committees cannot provide democratic oversight.
I agree with my very good friend, State Housing tenant, and State Housing advocate Sue Henry – who says:
“The key thing in life is to BE EFFECTIVE”
Couldn’t agree more.
Which is why I invested 4 hours last night – putting up anti-TPPA posters where THOUSANDS of people will see them.
Penny Bright
Go for it Penny. Putting your Mahi where your mouth is.
I look forward to Labour candidate Willow-Jean Prime, building Labour’s profile and electorate base in the Northland by-election.
More importantly, (for the best interests of the majority of New Zealanders, in my opinion) I look forward to Labour supporters exercising political maturity and understanding of ‘strategic’ voting under MMP, by ‘doing an Epsom’ and voting Winston Peters, in order to take Northland off National.
Which will leave National with only 59 out of 121 MPs – and make it FAR more difficult to pass their pro-corporate / anti- worker / pro-WAR on the POOR legislation.
I do hope Labour Party supporters in Northland are a lot more politically astute than some Labour Party supporters who ‘opine’ on this blog?
Meant in a deadly serious, but caring way …..
Penny Bright
(Whom, arguably would have got FAR more ‘electorate’ votes when she stood against John Key in Helensville, had the ‘left’ understood ‘strategic’ voting under MMP?)
+100 Penny …” voting Winston Peters, in order to take Northland off National.”
For those interested in May 7th’s historic, and possibly last, UK of GB & NI General Election the pollster Ashcroft has published his latest findings.
Labour and Tories neck and neck giving the SNP the balance of power.
Scottish Labour will have the Last Rites read on election night.
http://lordashcroftpolls.com/2015/03/campaign-state-play-plus-latest-marginals/
i’m beginning to agree with Chris Trotter more and more. Is this a good thing?
http://bowalleyroad.blogspot.co.nz/2015/03/sorry-winston-why-labour-needs-to-stand.html
No. It’s a bad thing to think that Trotter puts forward a coherent view. It changes week by week.
Radionz headline – NZ $ soars against …… Oh great. Just what we need. Slowly going down would be most efficacious and useful. Fat chance while the fat cats play amongst themselves.
Radionz this a.m.
http://www.radionz.co.nz/audio/player/20169683
Are we heading towards a cashless society? ( 16′ 20″ )
09:34 The head of the Australian National University’s School of Economics, Professor Rabee Tourkey believes physical cash will be phased out within a decade. He says it will likely be replaced by a government issued digital currency, similar to bitcoin, but fully centralised.
just in case anyone wants/needs some culture
http://www.maoritelevision.com/tv/shows/te-matatini-2015/S01E001/te-matatini-2015-live-web-stream-air
Some action is being taken by McDonalds to stop? injecting antibiotics into chickens as an automatic part of their rearing. The practice of using antibiotics as prophylactics started around 1958. Concern about antibiotic resistance has been around for a long time. It takes a long time to get a hearing about a necessary restraint or ban and then a dangerous lag before any reasonable, practical action is started.
Are you sure your are talking about McDonalds and not KFC?
@ Cklemgeopin
I heard McDonalds and then I heard about chickens. So not sure whether I am right. But the takeaways all tend to have chicken wings etc now so could be McDonalds. For versimilitude? it would pay to check it oneself as I am trying to multi-taks and not being efficient at it!.
Interested in the plight of women who seem to receive les respect than cows?
Tomorrow on Radionz there is an interesting interview.
Coming Up on Nine To Noon
10:05 am Friday 6 March: Sonia Faleiro
In her latest book, 13 Men, award-winning Indian-born journalist and author, Sonia Faleiro investigates one of her country’s high profile rape cases, in which it was alleged a 20-year-old was gang raped under orders of the village council for falling in love with an outsider.
Sonia Faleiro travelled to the isolated village in West Bengal and interviewed the victim as well as local villagers and the village council and found the media coverage of the story had been in many cases wrong, and the issues were far more complex than many realised.
Sonia Faleiro has previously delved into the murky world of Bombay’s dance bars and has written for Vogue India, India Today and the New York Times. She a co-founder of Deca, a global journalists cooperative that creates long-form stories to read on mobile devices
Quite frankly, in my considered opinion, neither you lprent nor Chris Trotter actually understand MMP and ‘strategic’ voting?
I REALLY hope that Northland ‘ordinary left-leaning’ voters ‘get it’ and vote strategically for Winston Peters, whom, in my considered opinion, has the best chance of taking Northland off National.
Because it seems, in my opinion, you folk are unable or unwilling to do the VERY basic maths?
If National lose Northland – they will have only 59 out of 121 MPs – thus be ‘wing-clipped’ in the House, regarding the passage of legislation, for which they need 61 MPs?
It’s not complicated.
Why on earth would you not support giving this potential outcome – the best chance of success?
By promoting voting Winston Peters for Northland?
The Labour Party arguably can’t do / say that – but YOU could?
So – why aren’t you – if you’re really opposed to this John Key led National Government?
You are – aren’t you?
Just asking ….
Penny Bright
The point that you don’t seem to understand is that strategic voting is a choice for voters. Parties shouldn’t be involved in subverting MMP for their party by reducing the choices offered to voters. That is a processs that is called “machine politics” and is basically a way of rorting voters.
MMP is about providing choice to voters. That was what they voted for in 1993. What you and others fail to see is that you clearly don’t understand MMP from the voters perspective. You and others just seem to always want to screw the voters by removing their choices. It shows a singular ability to respect voters.
If Winston and you clearly manage to explain those choices to the voters and convince them it is worthwhile, then they may vote that way. If they vote elsewhere as they did in the Te Tai Tokerau election, then the voters have made their choice and you and the other fantasy election fools should respect that.
But I suspect that isn’t going to happen.
The Press Wednesday 25 February 2015 Section B1.
Reports about refugees many from Syria, and their despair. in Greece and Italy. A quote from an Italian RW politician ‘Let them drown’. They are being deluged by desperate people. What assistance are such recipient governments being given by the world’s big war spenders which are causing much of the problem.
The world can’t cope with the devastation, displacement and disruption of wars.
Then there is the camel problem in Australia. They were imported then abandoned when cars took over. Instead of them being a source of revenue, manufactured goods and meat the various states seem to have done little intelligent resource planning and business development. Numbers estimated a decade ago were 500,000. They have attempted to control camel numbers, but haven’t succeeded and when camels started mobbing and damaging infrastructure in search of food and water a decade ago a mass cull killed 100,000.
Now the camels are crazed by the increasingly hot weather and lack of water and ripping up irrigation, smashing Aboriginal people’s camps. They are in groups of 200, big and desperate, so scary. ‘They crashed through our troughs last week, buckled all the pipes, let the water out of the tanks, and ripped up fences.” That is on a 2.5 million hectare Mt Weld cattle station.
The world can’t cope intelligently with the d..d…d.. above caused by climate change.
Is it any wonder that some people are getting impatient even angry as others continue inaction, orate on lovely theories or sit around comparing each other’s belly fluff.