Why can’t New Zealand news presenters properly pronounce the names of cities such as Guangzhou and Guadalajara? It’s not particularly difficult.
I dread the day when something happens in Managua, Nicaragua or Ougadougou, Burkina Faso and the carefully coiffed knuckleheads try to wrap their talking gear around those.
…and when is anyone going to pull that useless rugby commentating pair of ignorant fuckwits, Nesbitt and Smith on their pronunciation of pasifikan surnames ?
they go right out of their way to pronounce the saffas names properly, with their stupid spellings of names that dont even sound like the way they’re spelt but revel in mispronouncing ours.
it’s the pasifikan names that have an O in them that particularly grates me. Kaino, Toeava and Vito spring to mind. It’s not fucking Kane-oh or Tow-e-ahva or Vi-tow.
I mean jeez, how fucking hard is it to pronounce AW instead of OH, so the O sound comes out like AW as in Brad Thawn ?
…thus making Kaino – Kai naw, Toeava -Taw e ahva, and Vito – Vi taw.
I’d love to see the players themselves front foot the issue in any interviews and state clearly and forthrightly how their names are to be pronounced.
I don’t mind when people make an effort and it still doesn’t sound right – we all have different accents, different histories of hearing a word. It’s when an effort is not made at all that grates…e.g. my surname is not common and has a silent ‘e’. I don’t mind that the ‘e’ is said when it shouldn’t be, but do mind when the first exceedingly simple syllable is mispronounced.
And yes, I do mispronounce Maori and Pacific words, hopefully not badly enough that people think I am not making an effort. I find the combined vowels are difficult – probably because I visualise the spelling rather than the sound. I also find ‘r’ rolling difficult (as do many others, I guess, hence Brad Thorn being Brad Thawn – you’d never hear a Scot saying that!).
Anyway, my pronunciation problem at the moment is trying to make the German ‘ich’ sound like an ‘e’ then a cat’s hiss sound rather ‘ch’ as in chair, or ‘k’. *sigh*. and on that note I also wonder if some of Key’s mangling of English is in part due to his Austrian mother – lots of ‘sh’ sounds in Austrian-accented German.
Why can’t we find kiwis to read, tv3 has a weather presenter who sounds Irish I think…..why? It’s a national NZ news service so how about kiwis mediawonks.
Why do we still have to have reporters who insist on the first question they will ask visiting personalities to “Godzone” is going to tell us how beautiful the country is and how friendly we are? Cringe …! (Must be part of Journalism 101. We need to understand now that our ancestors did not make a mistake migrating here all those years ago.)
What about knowing where places are? e.g. radio announcer not knowing where Otago is. Place names – how about Tuck-son, Arizona… looking at you – Sasha, TV3.
Why the hell do we need news readers on screen at all, bringing their “personalities” and “anchor” abilities? Non of them know shit from clay so why give them any credibility?
Another example of NZ media corporations following the US lead. Make the MSM (and its presenters) as ignorant and uneducated as possible, (New Zealand, that’s in Norway, right?) in order to achieve the same effect in the population.
Seriously lol. It was awhile ago now, so probably mean of me to mention it – but it’s my yardstick for ignorance of presenters (along with the NZer not knowing where Otago is).
Jeez the history of the evolution of language is replete with mispronunciation! Is it right that because we have the technology to do so, we should encourage the stasis of language?
I say nay, fight oral conservatism!
Quite right. If we listened to all the language freaks who freak out at mispronunciation and new words then quite obviously we would still be speaking cavemanwoman language. In fact actually, there are still traces of it to be heard in John Key’s speech if you listen carefully.
Jeez the history of the evolution of language is replete with mispronunciation! Is it right that because we have the technology to do so, we should encourage the stasis of language?
I say nay, fight oral conservatism!
Sure, language changes. But to mispronounce Tucson and Guadalajara is simply rude, and unnecessary – and so much difficulty would be prevented by newsreaders simply rehearsing their script before going on air! Language changes, but the change can’t be a matter of one person’s choice… I had huge confusion with a friend who said “appo-sight” when he meant apposite – he’d learned the word by reading it and had never heard it said… (Home schooling?) If every one just used their own idiolect even worse confusion would reign than already does. Plus which, there are an increasing number of non-native speakers of English in NZ – do you want them to be unable to understand a news bulletin?
‘jing’ is a soft ‘ch’ sound (as in chair – what presenters sit on and try not to fall off).
Please try to get the pinyin consonants and vowels right. Not that hard. Or get in someone to take the whole radio/tv cast through it.
Shanghai has a long ‘aah’ sound (ie Shaang-hai) and does not rhyme with hang high, but rhymes with hung high.
This applies too all other languages. With modern technology (eg a free skype call), check with local counterparts who know how to get the pronounciation right.
Set a good example to help make us Kiwi say it correctly – in NZ and when we are overseas.
edit. Oh, and that strangely strangled almost backwards ‘moo’ with a happy ‘ah’ thrown in that weather reporters utter when (over) pronouncing Oamaru. (Kind of like the sound I’d expect from a cow experiencing relief at the end of a difficult calfing)
hah yeah, i don’t even bother anymore and just call it Motch, which incidentally is just round the corner from the rather posh lifestyle community of Moo tree…
…and of course that’s Upper Moutere, not to be condfused with the bottom feeders slum dwelling in the bowels of Lower Moo Tree
Oh dear our pronunsion isn’t the best is it. One non-Maori word that I notice gets mangled, the lieberry (where we borrow books in case you don’t recognise).
And pollywog I shame-facedly admit that I use some of those bad verbals myself, though I try to correct myself. I have taken up the pronunciation of Motueka in the past with a Radionz reporter. Seems a bit odd that we have the Maori greetings at the beginning of news programs but the interest in the language doesn’t go to checks on place-name mangling.
Ah yes, that’s an example of the Americanisation of New Zealand English. Things such as Eye-rack and Eye-racki (Iraq, Iraqi) and Mos-cow (Moscow) were never heard 10 years back…
Other examples are ‘sked-yool’ and gotten both of which seem to have taken over completely. Gotten particularly irks me – Americans use it only for past perfect whereas NZers use it for past simple and past perfect and no one seems to even know the difference!
In all fairness to the local pronounciators, the actual pronounciation of the “cow” in “Moscow” should probably be something like “kva”. I have no idea whether the mispronounciation or the misspelling came first.
Similarly, there would be fewer bad pronounciations of “Oamaru” around if its (as far as I know) superfluous first ‘a’ disappeared.
One TV3 journo said that a woman had suffered “punctuation” wounds!
She (her name was Tilda Ampersand) was obviously in a comma having come to a full stop after receiving a backslash to her colon which opened her parentheses. She made a dash to the hospital where they made a hash of it and failed to close her parentheses. She now drinks carets through straws and has to wear braces.
“Two hundred years ago industry said that the end of the slave trade was uneconomic and would lead to loss of jobs, and there was public demand for slaves as they were a necessity. Industry proposed that reductions in use of slaves should be left to market forces and self regulation, and that industry itself would improve conditions and limit numbers. Legislation against the slave trade led to the industries involved developing hugely successful technological solutions in very short timescales.
“By legislating against ecocide, companies would develop new technologies and new ways of working far more rapidly than they would otherwise.”
Polly Higgins & Ecocide
People’s Book Prize Winner 2011
9:20am, Today (Mon 5 Sep)
Nine to Noon with Kathryn Ryan, Radio NZ
7 – 9pm, Today (Mon 5 Sep)
Auckland University
Lecture Theatre 260-098, Owen Glenn Building
‘Traditional’ slaves weren’t anywhere near as necessary in industrial settings as they were in intensive agriculture. (Not saying there wasn’t bonded labour in factories throughout the north of England and elsewhere. There was.)
But essentially, slavery wasn’t so much abolished as subjected to a shift in focus that resulted in an explosion in the number and size of available markets (as well as profit levels) through the enforced imposition of new social inventions called jobs. Slavery wasn’t abolished but simply expanded to encompass the people we term today as workers.
Strange then, how we measure individual worth by the degree of exhibited acceptance and involvement in the workforce, no?
@Bill – Slavery, as it was practised with entrapment and kidnapping from home family and country to be carted away in ships with minimum conditions for living needs, and then sold to other people and used as human animals, was abolished by law. Don’t confuse that please.
One of the points Polly Higgins makes is that William Wilberforce and others, had to work hard for change against the cry that the economy depended on the trade. But she makes the point that after abolition other businesses were started. You make the point that these did not offer good working conditions either. But the push for better fairer treatment of each other is on-going, its utopian to consider otherwise when looking at our past. And reining in greed to get more dosh at the expense of workers, or union members at the expense of the public (as with the Cook Strait ferries) is an ongoing task.
@ Jim Nald Well that interview went through smoothly. What do you know how about the dissemination of a taped interview from public radio? Even if it could be bought from Replay Radio, it would be dear at about $25 I think for a 15 minute interview. Would anyone take exception if I distributed the taped interview? And what if I charged for the cost of the tape say $3? Any advice?
I thought Lynn Freeman ran the interview well and managed & allowed the interview to get the most out of Polly. Good questions asked also so there’s a good Nine-to-Noon team thinking and working well.
Polly’s proposal is solidly grounded in law, legal/court practice, and comes from the right places. She probably very likely, in her previous job, advised corporations how to ‘catch them if [the law enforcers] can’. Also, from what she referred to about her closed meetings with corporations, corporations have told her they welcome an incentive, legal authority & the policy of nation-states to help them move on to a new, green economy.
2. Suggest you direct people to the RNZ webpage and the link to the podcast or streaming. That will be free with existing internet connection and just the power bill. The podcast should be up soon and I will be back here to note it for the benefit of all.
3. Another option would be to download the podcast, convert that MP3 format to WAV, and burn it onto a CD that can play on standard CD players. *** BUT *** you should check with the RNZ folks first. We don’t want you to get into trouble over copyright, appropriate acknowledgments and charging!
How about email ninetonoon@radionz.co.nz to ask?
4. Bill – I have comments to that but that will have to wait till later. Go to her lecture tonight in AKL if possible and you can hear for yourself the argument, elaboration and clarification made out intelligently. Or ask your question.
So what I cannot get my head around is how Melissa Lee moved UP three places in National’s list.
It is very obvious that they have a token ethnic representative bracket on their list and that talent and ability are not requirements to inhabit this list.
Like as not there were usual suspects pushing some climate change skepticism round these parts, based on some startling new research published peer reviewed NASA blah blah.
Editor of the journal that published same has just issued mea culpa and resigned. paper was awful and should never have been published:
The hype surrounding a new paper by Roy Spencer and Danny Braswell is impressive (see for instance Fox News); unfortunately the paper itself is not. News releases and blogs on climate denier web sites have publicized the claim from the paper’s news release that “Climate models get energy balance wrong, make too hot forecasts of global warming”. The paper has been published in a journal called Remote sensing which is a fine journal for geographers, but it does not deal with atmospheric and climate science, and it is evident that this paper did not get an adequate peer review. It should not have been published.
John Abraham, an associate professor at the University of St Thomas’s school of engineering in Minnesota who criticised the Spencer paper upon its publication, told the Guardian: “It is remarkable that an editor-in-chief has stepped down from his role at a journal because of the publication of a flawed paper. This significant event reflects on the significance of the flaws in the paper and its review process. It is commendable that Wagner has reacted responsibly to the situation.”
He continued: “Spencer and his colleagues have a long history of minimising the effects of human-caused climate change; they also have a long history of making serious technical errors. This latest paper is only one in a decade-long track record of errors that have forced Spencer to revise his work as the errors are brought to light. Spencer is well known in the scientific community for publishing high-profile papers that initially dispute global warming and only later are found to be faulty.
“This latest article reportedly showed that the climate is not as sensitive to increases in greenhouse gases. It also called into question the cause-and-effect relationship between clouds and climate change. Wolfgang’s resignation was based on the quality of the review the paper received and the obvious technical errors which the paper contained.”
Autocide? prob not given the missus was reported to be at the wheel. Some of the cops car crash forensic investigations do turn up interesting details. Most NZ towns and regions have money lenders and rentiers that operate on patronage and the odd spot of sponsorship and philanthropy. They contribute to the local money go round, but once Hubbard became involved with bank guarantees and speccies his credibility was gone for good.
I realise the poor bugger is dead but I believe Hubbard and perhaps his wife were a couple of con people.,I also wonder just how many of those rich Canterbury investers would have supported him if the poor old tax payers had not paid out a billion dollars to them .I also wonder how many of those same people would support some poor Solo mum charged with pinching a few dollars to exist.?
All in the Labour party who denigrated Glenn’s integrity to save Clark from admitting she was wrong backing a proven liar should resign in shame. “self serving” is what Glenn called Labour and Winston…. he was right. The message – “Don’t bite the hand that feeds you” springs to mind.
Vaguely interesting – man who didn’t quite make it clear he was paying a bribe in exchange for a consulship (rather than just a donation) is explicitly stating he’s buying votes.
c900,000 14 y.o. or under = c$100 to each family for every child they have, as long as they vote national. Fucker should be charged.
Nah – I just don’t think he made it clear at the time he was trying to pay a bribe, rather than just making a donation to a party that had led the best government in 25 years (not that that’s saying much).
This time he’s being repulsively blunt about buying votes. The disgusting thing is that he probably will get away with making the offer, whether it works or not.
Does that count as third-party campaigning? Isn’t $100mil a tad over the limit?
Not when they try to buy votes by waving it under the nose of the some 12,000 people who bothered to watch The Nation last Saturday. Let’s just see what the Police Commissioner has to say about it shall we.
If you’ve got the dosh Owen, put your money where your mouth is and donate it now. Give it to an organization that is really going to help young people ie not the Govt. Why wait until after the election?
So individuals should not be allowed to decide how they donate their own money ?
Its more like no individual or organisation should be allowed to use their own money to subvert the course of democratic discussion, or to have more of a voice than someone else who does not have the same levels of money to spend.
As opposed to being abhorrent when it’s NZ1, but okay when it’s National?
Or okay when it’s the Brethren supporting National?
Like I said, last time Glenn may or may not have adequately communicated that he was trying to bribe someone, rather than just make a donation. This time he’s outright said he will give X for Y. How much longer before he finally gets investigated under the electoral act?
How much longer before he finally gets investigated under the electoral act?
Apparently all he needs to do is deny it long enough for the statue of limitations to expire then he can’t be prosecuted – if he can’t be prosecuted because the statute of limitations has expired then he’s exonerated and did nothing wrong – that was the position of the Labour-led govt.
Or perhaps National can retrospectively validate his actions and the lovers of corruption will say it’s ALL OK.
rather than just making a donation to a party that had led the best government in 25 years
We didn’t even know that he had donated it – Winston didn’t declare it and continued to deny it (with his “NO” sign) till such time as he had to admit it….
And you call a govt that takes donations and fails to declare them the best govt in 25 years…. Is corruption one of the big things you like in govt ?
Nah, it’s not the main factor. I prefer to judge a government by it’s record on GDP, addressing inequality, child health, housing, employment, infrastructure investment, mortality rates, public health, inflation, and so on. Corruption is included, but as a negative.
Six New Zealand institutions feature in the Quacquarelli Symonds World University Rankings and five of them have slipped down.
Auckland Uni went from 68th to 82nd.
According to Vice-chancellor Stuart McCutcheon New Zealand’s overall result is worrying but not unexpected. “Mr McCutcheon says the Government’s tertiary education spending is weighted toward student support, rather than toward improving the quality of tertiary institutions.”
Six New Zealand institutions feature in the Quacquarelli Symonds World University Rankings and five of them have slipped down.
Auckland Uni went from 68th to 82nd.
According to Vice-chancellor Stuart McCutcheon New Zealand’s overall result is worrying but not unexpected. “Mr McCutcheon says the Government’s tertiary education spending is weighted toward student support, rather than toward improving the quality of tertiary institutions.”
That deterioration in standards is a result of lower entry criteria and easy access to low-interest student loans from the last labour admin to cozy up to light-weight impressionable first-time voters…
R&D cuts wouldn’t have any thing to do with it no no.
running universities into ground capping funding no no .
No increases in staff wages .
Having universities going back to the competitive model.
Steven Joyce as tertiary minister.Stickto petrol sniffing and building holiday highways to john Keys bach.
Then our universities might start climbing again.
Be careful micky savage. If you ask real questions then some tory jackanapes is going to jump up and accuse you of being mean and spiteful because you want the truth.
OK, not even the right are asking the questions here (other than Hickey and Morgan), but the criticism against the left – the politicians and intellectuals, not the activists – in this article seem pretty consistent with what we see here.
Is it really just because the media is corrupt, or do people need to be yelling louder, speaking more truthfully and provocatively?
Because, to quote / steal the punchline…”for Labour’s old crusade to make capitalism virtuous, it is a case of: “If not now, when?”
Too true, but not the point; it seems the people most vocal about it’s current predicament are from the Right.
Why aren’t the Left, not the activists but the leaders, the MP’s, the intellectuals, taking the opportunity of the current situation – that even the climate and peak oil and everything else deniers can’t deny – inequality, unemployment, the markets, the double dip depression, the failings of austerity and the surely irrefutable failing of the neo-liberal ideal?
I already know you don’t buy it DTB, but the public aren’t hearing a decent conversation from the people who represent them, cause their all too busy playing the political game and pandering to their fear of the focus group. And they can’t continue to blame that on the Right, or on the media, the media is reporting it all around the world, just not from the mouths of the Left.
I’ve said it before. If the paliamentarians allegedly representing the left did their job they would be reported. Meaningless waffle will only be reported when it comes out of the arse, I mean mouth of Key.
One of the big stories of the moment that our bloody useless MSM have been ignoring is an ongoing series of massive demonstrations in Israel over the rising cost of living, rents in particular. On Saturday, some 430 000 people took part in marches across the country. That’s over 5% of the population and the largest show of public anger since “400,000 that took to the streets in September 1982 to protest Israel’s role in the massacre at Sabra and Shatilla refugee camp in Beirut” (WSWS). The marchers apparently include both Jewish-Israelis and Arab-Israelis. Some links:
uke what 1st world country is not experiencing this phenomena ?
If this news item was given air to breath imagine all those out there that may realise that the current system is not working for them !!!
Couple this with that CEOs, corporations and the like are creaming it e.g Ref Joe 16 above, and there are some out there wanting to give to this group even more, so how do we fund societial needs? http://news.scotland.efinancialcareers.co.uk/newsandviews_item/newsItemId-34339
The utilitarian society that many of us experienced is only unfortunately here in name only.
Yep, you’re right – it’s part of this bigger problem. But I think the neglect of these Israeli protests is a good test-case for MSM bias. They just don’t fit right-wing narratives about Israel (or left-wing ones for that matter). Who would ever think that Israeli society might be suffering the social inequality problems like other Western countries?
Guess we haven’t quite experienced the mass protest-rioting stage in NZ. If NACT win the upcoming election, however, I am confident we would see a big riot within the next 3 years.
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Introduction Automobiles have become ubiquitous in modern society, serving as a primary mode of transportation and a symbol of economic growth and personal mobility. With countless vehicles traversing roads and highways worldwide, it begs the question: how many cars are there in the world? Determining the precise number is a ...
Maintaining a safe and reliable vehicle requires regular inspections. Whether it’s a routine maintenance checkup or a safety inspection, knowing how long the process will take can help you plan your day accordingly. This article delves into the factors that influence the duration of a car inspection and provides an ...
Mazda Motor Corporation, commonly known as Mazda, is a Japanese multinational automaker headquartered in Fuchu, Aki District, Hiroshima Prefecture, Japan. The company was founded in 1920 as the Toyo Cork Kogyo Co., Ltd., and began producing vehicles in 1931. Mazda is primarily known for its production of passenger cars, but ...
Your car battery is an essential component that provides power to start your engine, operate your electrical systems, and store energy. Over time, batteries can weaken and lose their ability to hold a charge, which can lead to starting problems, power failures, and other issues. Replacing your battery before it ...
In most states, you cannot register a car without a valid driver’s license. However, there are a few exceptions to this rule. Exceptions to the RuleIf you are under 18 years old: In some states, you can register a car in your name even if you do not ...
Mazda, a Japanese automotive manufacturer with a rich history of innovation and engineering excellence, has emerged as a formidable player in the global car market. Known for its reputation of producing high-quality, fuel-efficient, and driver-oriented vehicles, Mazda has consistently garnered praise from industry experts and consumers alike. In this article, ...
Struts are an essential part of a car’s suspension system. They are responsible for supporting the weight of the car and damping the oscillations of the springs. Struts are typically made of steel or aluminum and are filled with hydraulic fluid. How Do Struts Work? Struts work by transferring the ...
Car registration is a mandatory process that all vehicle owners must complete annually. This process involves registering your car with the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) and paying an associated fee. The registration process ensures that your vehicle is properly licensed and insured, and helps law enforcement and other authorities ...
Zoom is a video conferencing service that allows you to share your screen, webcam, and audio with other participants. In addition to sharing your own audio, you can also share the audio from your computer with other participants. This can be useful for playing music, sharing presentations with audio, or ...
Building your own computer can be a rewarding and cost-effective way to get a high-performance machine tailored to your specific needs. However, it also requires careful planning and execution, and one of the most important factors to consider is the time it will take. The exact time it takes to ...
Sleep mode is a power-saving state that allows your computer to quickly resume operation without having to boot up from scratch. This can be useful if you need to step away from your computer for a short period of time but don’t want to shut it down completely. There are ...
Introduction Computer-Assisted Translation (CAT) has revolutionized the field of translation by harnessing the power of technology to assist human translators in their work. This innovative approach combines specialized software with human expertise to improve the efficiency, accuracy, and consistency of translations. In this comprehensive article, we will delve into the ...
In today’s digital age, mobile devices have become an indispensable part of our daily lives. Among the vast array of portable computing options available, iPads and tablet computers stand out as two prominent contenders. While both offer similar functionalities, there are subtle yet significant differences between these two devices. This ...
A computer is an electronic device that can be programmed to carry out a set of instructions. The basic components of a computer are the processor, memory, storage, input devices, and output devices. The Processor The processor, also known as the central processing unit (CPU), is the brain of the ...
Voice Memos is a convenient app on your iPhone that allows you to quickly record and store audio snippets. These recordings can be useful for a variety of purposes, such as taking notes, capturing ideas, or recording interviews. While you can listen to your voice memos on your iPhone, you ...
Laptop screens are essential for interacting with our devices and accessing information. However, when lines appear on the screen, it can be frustrating and disrupt productivity. Understanding the underlying causes of these lines is crucial for finding effective solutions. Types of Screen Lines Horizontal lines: Also known as scan ...
Right-clicking is a common and essential computer operation that allows users to access additional options and settings. While most desktop computers have dedicated right-click buttons on their mice, laptops often do not have these buttons due to space limitations. This article will provide a comprehensive guide on how to right-click ...
Powering up and shutting down your ASUS laptop is an essential task for any laptop user. Locating the power button can sometimes be a hassle, especially if you’re new to ASUS laptops. This article will provide a comprehensive guide on where to find the power button on different ASUS laptop ...
Dell laptops are renowned for their reliability, performance, and versatility. Whether you’re a student, a professional, or just someone who needs a reliable computing device, a Dell laptop can meet your needs. However, if you’re new to Dell laptops, you may be wondering how to get started. In this comprehensive ...
Two-thirds of the country think that “New Zealand’s economy is rigged to advantage the rich and powerful”. They also believe that “New Zealand needs a strong leader to take the country back from the rich and powerful”. These are just two of a handful of stunning new survey results released ...
In today’s digital world, screenshots have become an indispensable tool for communication and documentation. Whether you need to capture an important email, preserve a website page, or share an error message, screenshots allow you to quickly and easily preserve digital information. If you’re an Asus laptop user, there are several ...
A factory reset restores your Gateway laptop to its original factory settings, erasing all data, apps, and personalizations. This can be necessary to resolve software issues, remove viruses, or prepare your laptop for sale or transfer. Here’s a step-by-step guide on how to factory reset your Gateway laptop: Method 1: ...
“You talking about me?”The neoliberal denigration of the past was nowhere more unrelenting than in its depiction of the public service. The Post Office and the Railways were held up as being both irremediably inefficient and scandalously over-manned. Playwright Roger Hall’s “Glide Time” caricatures were presented as accurate depictions of ...
Roger Partridge writes – When the Coalition Government took office last October, it inherited a country on a precipice. With persistent inflation, decades of insipid productivity growth and crises in healthcare, education, housing and law and order, it is no exaggeration to suggest New Zealand’s first-world status was ...
Rob MacCulloch writes – In 2022, the Curriculum Centre at the Ministry of Education employed 308 staff, according to an Official Information Request. Earlier this week it was announced 202 of those staff were being cut. When you look up “The New Zealand Curriculum” on the Ministry of ...
Chris Bishop’s bill has stirred up a hornets nest of opposition. Photo: Lynn Grieveson for The KākāTL;DR: The six things that stood out to me in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, poverty and climate from the last day included:A crescendo of opposition to the Government’s Fast Track Approvals Bill is ...
Monday left me brokenTuesday, I was through with hopingWednesday, my empty arms were openThursday, waiting for love, waiting for loveThe end of another week that left many of us asking WTF? What on earth has NZ gotten itself into and how on earth could people have voluntarily signed up for ...
Hello! Here comes the Saturday edition of More Than A Feilding, catching you up on the past week’s editions.State of humanity, 20242024, it feels, keeps presenting us with ever more challenges, ever more dismay.Do you give up yet? It seems to ask.No? How about this? Or this?How about this?Full story Share ...
Determining the hardest sport in the world is a subjective matter, as the difficulty level can vary depending on individual abilities, physical attributes, and experience. However, based on various factors including physical demands, technical skills, mental fortitude, and overall accomplishment, here is an exploration of some of the most challenging ...
The allure of sport transcends age, culture, and geographical boundaries. It captivates hearts, ignites passions, and provides unparalleled entertainment. Behind the spectacle, however, lies a fascinating world of financial investment and expenditure. Among the vast array of competitive pursuits, one question looms large: which sport carries the hefty title of ...
Our two-tiered system for veterans’ support is out of step with our closest partners, and all parties in Parliament should work together to fix it, Labour veterans’ affairs spokesperson Greg O’Connor said. ...
Stripping two Ministers of their portfolios just six months into the job shows Christopher Luxon’s management style is lacking, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said. ...
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. ...
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. ...
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. ...
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. ...
The Government’s newly announced review of methane emissions reduction targets hints at its desire to delay Aotearoa New Zealand’s urgent transition to a climate safe future, the Green Party said. ...
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 ...
Associate Agriculture Minister Mark Patterson is speaking at the International Wool Textile Organisation Congress in Adelaide, promoting New Zealand wool, and outlining the coalition Government’s support for the revitalisation the sector. "New Zealand’s wool exports reached $400 million in the year to 30 June 2023, and the coalition Government ...
The Government is making legislative changes to make it easier for new early learning services to be established, and for existing services to operate, Associate Education Minister David Seymour says. The changes involve repealing the network approval provisions that apply when someone wants to establish a new early learning service, ...
Changes to the Resource Management Act will align consenting for coal mining to other forms of mining to reduce barriers that are holding back economic development, Resources Minister Shane Jones says. “The inconsistent treatment of coal mining compared with other extractive activities is burdensome red tape that fails to acknowledge ...
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: ...
“Never again - No AUKUS” was the message of the wreath laid at this morning’s national ANZAC Day commemorative service at Pukeahu National War Memorial Park this morning by the Stop AUKUS group. ...
Until this month, Auckland swimmer Hazel Ouwehand had never met a qualifying time in an Olympic event for a New Zealand team, even as a junior. Now she’s very likely off to the Paris Olympics after swimming well under the qualifying standard in the 100m butterfly twice – both in ...
While Anzac Day has experienced a resurgence in recent years, our other day of remembrance has slowly faded from view.The Sunday Essay is made possible thanks to the support of Creative New Zealand. Original illustrations by Hope McConnell.First published in 2022.The high school’s head girl and ...
Australian and New Zealand volunteers fought together in the Waikato War, yet still its place in the Anzac tradition is unacknowledged by our defence forces or Returned Services Association.First published in 2018.When I was a boy cub I attended Anzac Day services in the South Auckland suburb of ...
A poem by Wellington writer Tayi Tibble.Hoki Mai She kisses him goodbye with her eyes still wet and alight from their last swim in the Awatere river. At the train station celebration, she leads the Kapa Haka but her voice keeps breaking under and over itself like waves. ...
A poem from Bill Manhire’s 2017 book of verse Some Things to Place in a Coffin.My World War I Poem Inside each trench, the sound of prayer. Inside each prayer, the sound of digging. Image courtesy of Auckland War Memorial Museum. ...
There are three books I have wolfed down in one sitting over the last two years. Colleen Maria Lenihan’s gorgeous and sad debut Kōhine, Noelle McCarthy’s memoir Grand about becoming her mother and then unbecoming her, and now Hine Toa, a staunch yet gentle self-portrait by living legend Ngāhuia te ...
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Asia Pacific Report Students and activist staff at Australia’s University of Sydney (USyd) have set up a Gaza solidarity encampment in support of Palestinians and similar student-led protests in the United States. The camp was pitched as mass graves, crippled hospitals, thousands of civilian deaths and the near-total destruction of ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By James B. Dorey, Lecturer in Biological Sciences, University of Wollongong Australian teddy bear bees are cute and fluffy, but get a look at that massive (unbarbed) stinger! James Dorey Photography Most of us have been stung by a bee and we ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jen Roberts, Senior Lecturer, School of Humanities and Social Inquiry, University of Wollongong Aussie~mobs/FlickrVictor Farr, a private in the 1st Infantry Battalion, was among the first to land at Anzac Cove just before dawn on April 25 1915. Victor Farr ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Gregory Moore, Senior Research Associate, School of Ecosystem and Forest Sciences, The University of Melbourne Gregory Moore I had the good fortune to care for the sugar gum at The University of Melbourne’s Burnley Gardens in Victoria where I worked for ...
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. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Rachel Ong ViforJ, ARC Future Fellow & Professor of Economics, Curtin University Just when we think the price of rentals could not get any worse, this week’s Rental Affordability Snapshot by Anglicare has revealed low-income Australians are facing a housing crisis like ...
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 ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Tracey Holmes, Professorial Fellow in Sport, University of Canberra When the news broke last weekend that 23 Chinese swimmers had tested positive to a banned drug in early 2021 and were allowed to compete at the Tokyo Olympic Games six months later ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Cally Jetta, Senior Lecturer and Academic Lead; College for First Nations, University of Southern Queensland Australian War MemorialAboriginal and Torres Strait Islander readers are advised this article contains names and images of deceased people, as well as sensitive historical information ...
RNZ News Melissa Lee has been ousted from New Zealand’s coalition cabinet and stripped of the Media portfolio, and Penny Simmonds has lost the Disability Issues portfolio in a reshuffle. Climate Change and Revenue Minister Simon Watts will take Lee’s spot in cabinet. Simmonds was a minister outside of cabinet. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By David Lindenmayer, Professor, Fenner School of Environment and Society, Australian National University laurello/Shutterstock Some reports and popular books, such as Bill Gammage’s Biggest Estate on Earth, have argued that extensive areas of Australia’s forests were kept open through frequent burning by ...
Analysis - Christopher Luxon framing the demotion of two ministers as the portfolios getting "too complex" is a charitable way of saying they weren't up to the job. ...
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*mini-rant*
Why can’t New Zealand news presenters properly pronounce the names of cities such as Guangzhou and Guadalajara? It’s not particularly difficult.
I dread the day when something happens in Managua, Nicaragua or Ougadougou, Burkina Faso and the carefully coiffed knuckleheads try to wrap their talking gear around those.
Maaori also dispair – when things happen in Porirua, Tamaki Makaurau, Papatoetoe etc, etc, etc.
…and when is anyone going to pull that useless rugby commentating pair of ignorant fuckwits, Nesbitt and Smith on their pronunciation of pasifikan surnames ?
they go right out of their way to pronounce the saffas names properly, with their stupid spellings of names that dont even sound like the way they’re spelt but revel in mispronouncing ours.
it’s the pasifikan names that have an O in them that particularly grates me. Kaino, Toeava and Vito spring to mind. It’s not fucking Kane-oh or Tow-e-ahva or Vi-tow.
I mean jeez, how fucking hard is it to pronounce AW instead of OH, so the O sound comes out like AW as in Brad Thawn ?
…thus making Kaino – Kai naw, Toeava -Taw e ahva, and Vito – Vi taw.
I’d love to see the players themselves front foot the issue in any interviews and state clearly and forthrightly how their names are to be pronounced.
Worcestershire.
Always a laugh to hear butchered, either as a place or a sauce.
I don’t mind when people make an effort and it still doesn’t sound right – we all have different accents, different histories of hearing a word. It’s when an effort is not made at all that grates…e.g. my surname is not common and has a silent ‘e’. I don’t mind that the ‘e’ is said when it shouldn’t be, but do mind when the first exceedingly simple syllable is mispronounced.
And yes, I do mispronounce Maori and Pacific words, hopefully not badly enough that people think I am not making an effort. I find the combined vowels are difficult – probably because I visualise the spelling rather than the sound. I also find ‘r’ rolling difficult (as do many others, I guess, hence Brad Thorn being Brad Thawn – you’d never hear a Scot saying that!).
Anyway, my pronunciation problem at the moment is trying to make the German ‘ich’ sound like an ‘e’ then a cat’s hiss sound rather ‘ch’ as in chair, or ‘k’. *sigh*. and on that note I also wonder if some of Key’s mangling of English is in part due to his Austrian mother – lots of ‘sh’ sounds in Austrian-accented German.
Why can’t we find kiwis to read, tv3 has a weather presenter who sounds Irish I think…..why? It’s a national NZ news service so how about kiwis mediawonks.
Why do we still have to have reporters who insist on the first question they will ask visiting personalities to “Godzone” is going to tell us how beautiful the country is and how friendly we are? Cringe …! (Must be part of Journalism 101. We need to understand now that our ancestors did not make a mistake migrating here all those years ago.)
What about knowing where places are? e.g. radio announcer not knowing where Otago is. Place names – how about Tuck-son, Arizona… looking at you – Sasha, TV3.
Why the hell do we need news readers on screen at all, bringing their “personalities” and “anchor” abilities? Non of them know shit from clay so why give them any credibility?
Another example of NZ media corporations following the US lead. Make the MSM (and its presenters) as ignorant and uneducated as possible, (New Zealand, that’s in Norway, right?) in order to achieve the same effect in the population.
Tuck-son? Seriously?
🙂 Unreal…
Seriously lol. It was awhile ago now, so probably mean of me to mention it – but it’s my yardstick for ignorance of presenters (along with the NZer not knowing where Otago is).
Might that sound like Oh-tay-go or Oh-t-air-go ?
Or why not let them mutilate Otepoti.
Jeez the history of the evolution of language is replete with mispronunciation! Is it right that because we have the technology to do so, we should encourage the stasis of language?
I say nay, fight oral conservatism!
Quite right. If we listened to all the language freaks who freak out at mispronunciation and new words then quite obviously we would still be speaking cavemanwoman language. In fact actually, there are still traces of it to be heard in John Key’s speech if you listen carefully.
Sure, language changes. But to mispronounce Tucson and Guadalajara is simply rude, and unnecessary – and so much difficulty would be prevented by newsreaders simply rehearsing their script before going on air! Language changes, but the change can’t be a matter of one person’s choice… I had huge confusion with a friend who said “appo-sight” when he meant apposite – he’d learned the word by reading it and had never heard it said… (Home schooling?) If every one just used their own idiolect even worse confusion would reign than already does. Plus which, there are an increasing number of non-native speakers of English in NZ – do you want them to be unable to understand a news bulletin?
Otakou Otepeti is Dunedins name Otakou is the original Maori name mangled to Ootaa gooooo.
Oh no, she didn’t! Horror! 😀
And Beijing becomes Bei-zzhh-ing.
‘jing’ is a soft ‘ch’ sound (as in chair – what presenters sit on and try not to fall off).
Please try to get the pinyin consonants and vowels right. Not that hard. Or get in someone to take the whole radio/tv cast through it.
Shanghai has a long ‘aah’ sound (ie Shaang-hai) and does not rhyme with hang high, but rhymes with hung high.
This applies too all other languages. With modern technology (eg a free skype call), check with local counterparts who know how to get the pronounciation right.
Set a good example to help make us Kiwi say it correctly – in NZ and when we are overseas.
My personal ‘favorite’ is the ‘cow’ in Moscow.
edit. Oh, and that strangely strangled almost backwards ‘moo’ with a happy ‘ah’ thrown in that weather reporters utter when (over) pronouncing Oamaru. (Kind of like the sound I’d expect from a cow experiencing relief at the end of a difficult calfing)
Motueka is the placename that causes lots of difficulty from what I hear. Lots of ‘chew’ in there when mispronounced.
hah yeah, i don’t even bother anymore and just call it Motch, which incidentally is just round the corner from the rather posh lifestyle community of Moo tree…
…and of course that’s Upper Moutere, not to be condfused with the bottom feeders slum dwelling in the bowels of Lower Moo Tree
@pollywog – Ever been to Warkupawark?
yeah, it’s just down the road from Addawai isn’t it ?
close to where my my kids go to school at Hi-rah
man, i love living here in Wockatoo…
‘noose in’ I think you mean
Oh dear our pronunsion isn’t the best is it. One non-Maori word that I notice gets mangled, the lieberry (where we borrow books in case you don’t recognise).
And pollywog I shame-facedly admit that I use some of those bad verbals myself, though I try to correct myself. I have taken up the pronunciation of Motueka in the past with a Radionz reporter. Seems a bit odd that we have the Maori greetings at the beginning of news programs but the interest in the language doesn’t go to checks on place-name mangling.
Here’s grinning air’chew 😉
bless you 🙂
…at Oh -ar -mar-roo!!
Ah yes, that’s an example of the Americanisation of New Zealand English. Things such as Eye-rack and Eye-racki (Iraq, Iraqi) and Mos-cow (Moscow) were never heard 10 years back…
Other examples are ‘sked-yool’ and gotten both of which seem to have taken over completely. Gotten particularly irks me – Americans use it only for past perfect whereas NZers use it for past simple and past perfect and no one seems to even know the difference!
In all fairness to the local pronounciators, the actual pronounciation of the “cow” in “Moscow” should probably be something like “kva”. I have no idea whether the mispronounciation or the misspelling came first.
Similarly, there would be fewer bad pronounciations of “Oamaru” around if its (as far as I know) superfluous first ‘a’ disappeared.
One TV3 journo said that a woman had suffered “punctuation” wounds!
She (her name was Tilda Ampersand) was obviously in a comma having come to a full stop after receiving a backslash to her colon which opened her parentheses. She made a dash to the hospital where they made a hash of it and failed to close her parentheses. She now drinks carets through straws and has to wear braces.
@William Joyce – Choice!
happynz:
Come on now. who the hell can pronounce Guadalajara??
Your post was satire?
Who the hell can’t? Come on, it’s not difficult!
Oh exactly! They are fertile fields for me to gather ‘infelicities’ for my language blog… I have heard some breath-takingly awful things…
“Two hundred years ago industry said that the end of the slave trade was uneconomic and would lead to loss of jobs, and there was public demand for slaves as they were a necessity. Industry proposed that reductions in use of slaves should be left to market forces and self regulation, and that industry itself would improve conditions and limit numbers. Legislation against the slave trade led to the industries involved developing hugely successful technological solutions in very short timescales.
“By legislating against ecocide, companies would develop new technologies and new ways of working far more rapidly than they would otherwise.”
Polly Higgins & Ecocide
People’s Book Prize Winner 2011
9:20am, Today (Mon 5 Sep)
Nine to Noon with Kathryn Ryan, Radio NZ
7 – 9pm, Today (Mon 5 Sep)
Auckland University
Lecture Theatre 260-098, Owen Glenn Building
Strong recommendation from prism and Jim Nald
http://thestandard.org.nz/open-mike-04092011/#comment-371102
Otago Daily Times records Polly’s visit (thanks, John Gibb!):
http://www.odt.co.nz/campus/university-otago/176219/nz-urged-battle-ecocide
‘Traditional’ slaves weren’t anywhere near as necessary in industrial settings as they were in intensive agriculture. (Not saying there wasn’t bonded labour in factories throughout the north of England and elsewhere. There was.)
But essentially, slavery wasn’t so much abolished as subjected to a shift in focus that resulted in an explosion in the number and size of available markets (as well as profit levels) through the enforced imposition of new social inventions called jobs. Slavery wasn’t abolished but simply expanded to encompass the people we term today as workers.
Strange then, how we measure individual worth by the degree of exhibited acceptance and involvement in the workforce, no?
@Bill – Slavery, as it was practised with entrapment and kidnapping from home family and country to be carted away in ships with minimum conditions for living needs, and then sold to other people and used as human animals, was abolished by law. Don’t confuse that please.
One of the points Polly Higgins makes is that William Wilberforce and others, had to work hard for change against the cry that the economy depended on the trade. But she makes the point that after abolition other businesses were started. You make the point that these did not offer good working conditions either. But the push for better fairer treatment of each other is on-going, its utopian to consider otherwise when looking at our past. And reining in greed to get more dosh at the expense of workers, or union members at the expense of the public (as with the Cook Strait ferries) is an ongoing task.
@ Jim Nald Well that interview went through smoothly. What do you know how about the dissemination of a taped interview from public radio? Even if it could be bought from Replay Radio, it would be dear at about $25 I think for a 15 minute interview. Would anyone take exception if I distributed the taped interview? And what if I charged for the cost of the tape say $3? Any advice?
I thought Lynn Freeman ran the interview well and managed & allowed the interview to get the most out of Polly. Good questions asked also so there’s a good Nine-to-Noon team thinking and working well.
Polly’s proposal is solidly grounded in law, legal/court practice, and comes from the right places. She probably very likely, in her previous job, advised corporations how to ‘catch them if [the law enforcers] can’. Also, from what she referred to about her closed meetings with corporations, corporations have told her they welcome an incentive, legal authority & the policy of nation-states to help them move on to a new, green economy.
1. Google tells me info about Replay Radio is at:
http://www.radionz.co.nz/replayradio
2. Suggest you direct people to the RNZ webpage and the link to the podcast or streaming. That will be free with existing internet connection and just the power bill. The podcast should be up soon and I will be back here to note it for the benefit of all.
3. Another option would be to download the podcast, convert that MP3 format to WAV, and burn it onto a CD that can play on standard CD players. *** BUT *** you should check with the RNZ folks first. We don’t want you to get into trouble over copyright, appropriate acknowledgments and charging!
How about email ninetonoon@radionz.co.nz to ask?
4. Bill – I have comments to that but that will have to wait till later. Go to her lecture tonight in AKL if possible and you can hear for yourself the argument, elaboration and clarification made out intelligently. Or ask your question.
Lynn Freeman (interviewer), Catherine Walbridge (producer) & the team at Radio New Zealand – well done.
We (NZ) will rate high with being one of the first and earliest in helping generate discussion of Polly’s proposal by mp3.
Go to the following and look up Polly’s interview:
http://www.radionz.co.nz/national/programmes/ninetonoon/20110905
More specifically, go directly to
mp3 at
http://podcast.radionz.co.nz/ntn/ntn-20110905-0925-polly_higgins_-_eradicating_ecocide-048.mp3
ogg at
http://podcast.radionz.co.nz/ntn/ntn-20110905-0925-polly_higgins_-_eradicating_ecocide-00.ogg
Think! And have fun, folks.
Also works when you legislate for higher wages and more tax on the wealthy.
Anyone know who bought the Crafar Farms? Rumour mill says they’ve been sold…!
So what I cannot get my head around is how Melissa Lee moved UP three places in National’s list.
It is very obvious that they have a token ethnic representative bracket on their list and that talent and ability are not requirements to inhabit this list.
Movement up the Nat list must be in inverse amount to IQ?????
Erm … the outcome of the brains trust being out & about and filling up?
http://thestandard.org.nz/brains-trust/
That would mean Tau Henare was intellectual, which he is not!
Like as not there were usual suspects pushing some climate change skepticism round these parts, based on some startling new research published peer reviewed NASA blah blah.
Editor of the journal that published same has just issued mea culpa and resigned. paper was awful and should never have been published:
http://thinkprogress.org/romm/2011/09/02/310889/editor-denier-bunk-resigns-spencer/
Expect retractions in, nah.
More:
“Misdiagnosis of Surface Temperature Feedback”
The hype surrounding a new paper by Roy Spencer and Danny Braswell is impressive (see for instance Fox News); unfortunately the paper itself is not. News releases and blogs on climate denier web sites have publicized the claim from the paper’s news release that “Climate models get energy balance wrong, make too hot forecasts of global warming”. The paper has been published in a journal called Remote sensing which is a fine journal for geographers, but it does not deal with atmospheric and climate science, and it is evident that this paper did not get an adequate peer review. It should not have been published.
And: Journal editor resigns over ‘flawed’ paper co-authored by climate sceptic
John Abraham, an associate professor at the University of St Thomas’s school of engineering in Minnesota who criticised the Spencer paper upon its publication, told the Guardian: “It is remarkable that an editor-in-chief has stepped down from his role at a journal because of the publication of a flawed paper. This significant event reflects on the significance of the flaws in the paper and its review process. It is commendable that Wagner has reacted responsibly to the situation.”
He continued: “Spencer and his colleagues have a long history of minimising the effects of human-caused climate change; they also have a long history of making serious technical errors. This latest paper is only one in a decade-long track record of errors that have forced Spencer to revise his work as the errors are brought to light. Spencer is well known in the scientific community for publishing high-profile papers that initially dispute global warming and only later are found to be faulty.
“This latest article reportedly showed that the climate is not as sensitive to increases in greenhouse gases. It also called into question the cause-and-effect relationship between clouds and climate change. Wolfgang’s resignation was based on the quality of the review the paper received and the obvious technical errors which the paper contained.”
Well here it is: Who runs the world!
Not my paranoia after all but solid science. And Merrill Lynch, John Key’s bank is number 10 in the top 50 of most powerful economic actors.
Thanks, very interesting.
🙂
The Contradictions of David Farrar #1
Now we all know David Farrar from Kiwibog can be inconsistent at the best of times, but once in a while he really outdoes himself…
I wonder if Alan Hubbard was wearing his seat belt? Being precautionary like.
Autocide? prob not given the missus was reported to be at the wheel. Some of the cops car crash forensic investigations do turn up interesting details. Most NZ towns and regions have money lenders and rentiers that operate on patronage and the odd spot of sponsorship and philanthropy. They contribute to the local money go round, but once Hubbard became involved with bank guarantees and speccies his credibility was gone for good.
I realise the poor bugger is dead but I believe Hubbard and perhaps his wife were a couple of con people.,I also wonder just how many of those rich Canterbury investers would have supported him if the poor old tax payers had not paid out a billion dollars to them .I also wonder how many of those same people would support some poor Solo mum charged with pinching a few dollars to exist.?
The one that got away… well not so much got away – was chased away.
TV3 News: Multi millionaire businessman now backs National
All in the Labour party who denigrated Glenn’s integrity to save Clark from admitting she was wrong backing a proven liar should resign in shame. “self serving” is what Glenn called Labour and Winston…. he was right. The message – “Don’t bite the hand that feeds you” springs to mind.
Vaguely interesting – man who didn’t quite make it clear he was paying a bribe in exchange for a consulship (rather than just a donation) is explicitly stating he’s buying votes.
c900,000 14 y.o. or under = c$100 to each family for every child they have, as long as they vote national. Fucker should be charged.
McFlock
You still upset he showed up the previous Labour party and Winston as liars ?
Nah – I just don’t think he made it clear at the time he was trying to pay a bribe, rather than just making a donation to a party that had led the best government in 25 years (not that that’s saying much).
This time he’s being repulsively blunt about buying votes. The disgusting thing is that he probably will get away with making the offer, whether it works or not.
Does that count as third-party campaigning? Isn’t $100mil a tad over the limit?
Isn’t $100,000 a tad over the limit ? Oh let me guess, it’s OK when it benefits the Labour-led govt ?
As posted yesterday, any donation should be to the country, not the government – give it to ChCh to fix the schools FFS!
So individuals should not be allowed to decide how they donate their own money ?
Not when they try to buy votes by waving it under the nose of the some 12,000 people who bothered to watch The Nation last Saturday. Let’s just see what the Police Commissioner has to say about it shall we.
How manipulative is that. Owen Glenn is such a self serving con-artist.
If you’ve got the dosh Owen, put your money where your mouth is and donate it now. Give it to an organization that is really going to help young people ie not the Govt. Why wait until after the election?
Its more like no individual or organisation should be allowed to use their own money to subvert the course of democratic discussion, or to have more of a voice than someone else who does not have the same levels of money to spend.
You might also remember he has already donated a significant sum to ChCh. Was that not enough for you ?
I’d be a lot more impressed if he just paid tax like everyone else has to.
As opposed to being abhorrent when it’s NZ1, but okay when it’s National?
Or okay when it’s the Brethren supporting National?
Like I said, last time Glenn may or may not have adequately communicated that he was trying to bribe someone, rather than just make a donation. This time he’s outright said he will give X for Y. How much longer before he finally gets investigated under the electoral act?
Apparently all he needs to do is deny it long enough for the statue of limitations to expire then he can’t be prosecuted – if he can’t be prosecuted because the statute of limitations has expired then he’s exonerated and did nothing wrong – that was the position of the Labour-led govt.
Or perhaps National can retrospectively validate his actions and the lovers of corruption will say it’s ALL OK.
How are Environment Canterbury going?
Oh, and anything else been pushed through under urgency lately? The list os so loooong…
We didn’t even know that he had donated it – Winston didn’t declare it and continued to deny it (with his “NO” sign) till such time as he had to admit it….
And you call a govt that takes donations and fails to declare them the best govt in 25 years…. Is corruption one of the big things you like in govt ?
Nah, it’s not the main factor. I prefer to judge a government by it’s record on GDP, addressing inequality, child health, housing, employment, infrastructure investment, mortality rates, public health, inflation, and so on. Corruption is included, but as a negative.
This govt fails on all counts.
Poor old Pansey Wong and her rip off husband with their good friend Shipley .
Jail time
Or coverup!
Nup … no jail time, no cover-up …
… it’s a get-out-of-jail-free card…
…wouldn’t hold my breath waiting for an apology from the schmuck brigade though, despite all their nastiness
Joe you are such a trier. So Pansy did nothing wrong but resigned because the awful socialists were being mean to her??
As if.
Hey Tolley, how about this for a league table?
Six New Zealand institutions feature in the Quacquarelli Symonds World University Rankings and five of them have slipped down.
Auckland Uni went from 68th to 82nd.
According to Vice-chancellor Stuart McCutcheon New Zealand’s overall result is worrying but not unexpected. “Mr McCutcheon says the Government’s tertiary education spending is weighted toward student support, rather than toward improving the quality of tertiary institutions.”
Shouldn’t you like be doing something about it?
Is Tolley tertiary minister? No.
Oops right you are. Obviously need more coffee. Will try again.
Hey Joyce, how about this for a league table?
Six New Zealand institutions feature in the Quacquarelli Symonds World University Rankings and five of them have slipped down.
Auckland Uni went from 68th to 82nd.
According to Vice-chancellor Stuart McCutcheon New Zealand’s overall result is worrying but not unexpected. “Mr McCutcheon says the Government’s tertiary education spending is weighted toward student support, rather than toward improving the quality of tertiary institutions.”
Shouldn’t you like be doing something about it?
tedious repeater. Correlation doesn’t imply causation…
That deterioration in standards is a result of lower entry criteria and easy access to low-interest student loans from the last labour admin to cozy up to light-weight impressionable first-time voters…
I have a feeling its more because Australian universities (for instance) have way better pay and facilities to attract and keep good staff members.
And have superior post grad scholarships too, so accepting a PhD programme in Oz instead of New Zealand is the thing to do, if you are offered it.
R&D cuts wouldn’t have any thing to do with it no no.
running universities into ground capping funding no no .
No increases in staff wages .
Having universities going back to the competitive model.
Steven Joyce as tertiary minister.Stickto petrol sniffing and building holiday highways to john Keys bach.
Then our universities might start climbing again.
No, Sneaky Steven Joyce is.
Is Tolley tertiary minister? No…–Gingercrush.
That would be Hollowman Joyce. A fullyformed professional rightwinger, Tolley is just an amateur.
News you may have missed #582
US government conceals Bush surveillance memos.
Ex-CIA bin Laden Unit boss wants rendition back
French firm helped Gaddafi spy on opposition.
Be careful micky savage. If you ask real questions then some tory jackanapes is going to jump up and accuse you of being mean and spiteful because you want the truth.
Colonial Viper:
Cspan, NPR are all class, dont think all usa media outlets to the likes of Fox News.
“Why are the failings of capitalism only being exposed by the right?”
http://m.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2011/aug/21/ed-miliband-capitalism-rightwing-critics?cat=commentisfree&type=article
OK, not even the right are asking the questions here (other than Hickey and Morgan), but the criticism against the left – the politicians and intellectuals, not the activists – in this article seem pretty consistent with what we see here.
Is it really just because the media is corrupt, or do people need to be yelling louder, speaking more truthfully and provocatively?
Because, to quote / steal the punchline…”for Labour’s old crusade to make capitalism virtuous, it is a case of: “If not now, when?”
Can’t make capitalism virtuous as all the slime (psychopaths) rise to the top and then corruption sets in.
Too true, but not the point; it seems the people most vocal about it’s current predicament are from the Right.
Why aren’t the Left, not the activists but the leaders, the MP’s, the intellectuals, taking the opportunity of the current situation – that even the climate and peak oil and everything else deniers can’t deny – inequality, unemployment, the markets, the double dip depression, the failings of austerity and the surely irrefutable failing of the neo-liberal ideal?
I already know you don’t buy it DTB, but the public aren’t hearing a decent conversation from the people who represent them, cause their all too busy playing the political game and pandering to their fear of the focus group. And they can’t continue to blame that on the Right, or on the media, the media is reporting it all around the world, just not from the mouths of the Left.
I’ve said it before. If the paliamentarians allegedly representing the left did their job they would be reported. Meaningless waffle will only be reported when it comes out of the arse, I mean mouth of Key.
And they currently have a global narrative upon which to hang it.
Daily Kos: Serfs up: how coddling the rich is destroying the American dream
Think Progress: Since 2009, 88 Percent Of Income Growth Went To Corporate Profits, Just One Percent Went To Wages
We get this from Ant R0b – Which technically is niot a racists comment
http://thestandard.org.nz/cheeky-darkie-holmes-at-it-again/#comment-350235
But what outcry is there resulting from this?
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10749568
Pity principles are less important than the “us” versus “them” attitude
One of the big stories of the moment that our bloody useless MSM have been ignoring is an ongoing series of massive demonstrations in Israel over the rising cost of living, rents in particular. On Saturday, some 430 000 people took part in marches across the country. That’s over 5% of the population and the largest show of public anger since “400,000 that took to the streets in September 1982 to protest Israel’s role in the massacre at Sabra and Shatilla refugee camp in Beirut” (WSWS). The marchers apparently include both Jewish-Israelis and Arab-Israelis. Some links:
400,000 rally for social justice across the country (Jerusalem Post)
Israeli protests: 430,000 take to streets to demand social justice (The Guardian)
Israel’s largest ever protests oppose inequality (WSWS)
uke what 1st world country is not experiencing this phenomena ?
If this news item was given air to breath imagine all those out there that may realise that the current system is not working for them !!!
Couple this with that CEOs, corporations and the like are creaming it e.g Ref Joe 16 above, and there are some out there wanting to give to this group even more, so how do we fund societial needs?
http://news.scotland.efinancialcareers.co.uk/newsandviews_item/newsItemId-34339
The utilitarian society that many of us experienced is only unfortunately here in name only.
Yep, you’re right – it’s part of this bigger problem. But I think the neglect of these Israeli protests is a good test-case for MSM bias. They just don’t fit right-wing narratives about Israel (or left-wing ones for that matter). Who would ever think that Israeli society might be suffering the social inequality problems like other Western countries?
Guess we haven’t quite experienced the mass protest-rioting stage in NZ. If NACT win the upcoming election, however, I am confident we would see a big riot within the next 3 years.
They were however mentioned on the BBC WS – albeit briefly…
Sorry, should have been more specific – I was mainly referring to the New Zealand MSM.