I’m going to march for the right for me to lead the country, because I’m selfish like that and full of my own self importance, it’s all about me, me, me. My cause is myself.
And that’s the problem with this government, selfishness and their own self inflated self importance.
I live near Wanaka, vote Green but also strongly support Labour. There are other members in the town.
I have put up some Labour billboards in Wanaka/Hawea and am organising a meeting 7pm Tuesday 12th Sept in Wanaka on Labour’s “Clean Rivers” water royalty policy. David Parker will explain all.
can you get parker to clear up the uses labour plans for the tax money gained from the water tax and find out when they plan to start on the city rivers we can’t swim in
Don’t be silly bwaghorn. ‘City rivers’ – you miss the point about having clean water which is a necessity for all people. You are so deep into the idea of division between country and town is all important and the real basis of the argument. The truth is that the problem is country people against other country people. It is farmers who are adopting unsustainable practices to squeeze out more profit for themselves, and using a resource that is priceless to us all, more important than diamonds. And while we dither as to who owns water and has rights to remove it with a piece of paper from some entity this priceless resource is not being managed properly for everyone’s good.
Spraying properties with water all the time and overstocking and over-fertilising the ground with either on-farm spraying of cowpoo, or it leaching into the water, along with artificial fertiliser is the problem. And it is caused by practices from some farmers, not all. Stop trying to find fault with the cities, the quick way of improving water quality is to stop present farming practices, and all to institute clean water practices. Practically all cities have treatment plants, they deal with the enormous amount of pollution we all cause every day. Farmers can manage to deal with it by reducing their animal numbers and stopping jumping on the ‘milk rush’ which has become a bubble, and when it bursts for some reason will cause even more pollution from the unwanted milk that has to be dumped.
Grow up and think. As I said man up, but differently from the narrow, money-bound constipated thinking of Fed Farmers.
Industrial areas are as likely to turn on the hose and spray chemicals off the footpath, into the gutter and down the nearest drain as any cow cocky.
Those happy places in cities with their too-small rubbish bins and their lazy customers turfing packaging anywhere – including by the rivers and at the beach to end up in a rather large gyre out in the Pacific.
The lazy ones with the big 4WD and a load of garden trash or worse that they don’t want to take to the tip. Over the edge. Into the creek. Plus vehicles with their burden of oil and grease and decomposing components.
Putting creeks and streams underground for human convenience. Goodbye creek fauna and a resource for ‘our wonderful birds’. (Where’s OUR Suzuki? Or aren’t koura as important as salmon?)
Subdivisions with earth-moving – silt into waterways.
And urban people would prefer to swim in rivers that are local. Kids don’t have cars. They do have bikes – and the best swimming holes are the ones you can get to after school on your bike or on foot.
Andrea
Can’t understand your rant. It doesn’t affect the fact that there are millions of cows pooing not in a toilet where the excrement goes to a tank where it is treated then through special wetlands. Cities full of humans where people are encouraged and prosecuted in an effort to control pollutions.
Country full of dairy cows stealing the water that the land and oceans need as well as the conurbations. The country is under-populated by people so the people aren’t the cause of their areas pollution. Just their actions in over-stocking and under-caring.
Try thinking along those lines instead of exploding in a shitstorm of holy righteousness.
cheers
although i note in a farmer’s mag today O’conner (the west coast one} suggested the tax may be used to build water holding infrastructure and such ,i’m guessing so they can keep rivers above minimum flow levels in summer , i could support that , it would be nice to have a clear idea though.
The biggest standout stat in Queenstown lakes is the pitiful turnout, not sure if it’s due to a lot of people who can’t vote or what. But 2000 odd in Wanaka and just short of 4500 in Wakatipu form resident populations about four times that seems a bit low
I thought the people on the Rock did not delve in politics. But they have and they don’t want to shear there lollies ether there $15000 K + salaries Labour want to set there tax plan so it is fair on everyone DON’T you get IT boys.I’m losing my admiration of you Boys
I have always felt there was a pretty clear right bias to the rock. They use to fawn over Key in a disgusting way. I love the music but it is one of the reasons I just couldn’t keep listening to them. I am always keen to hear other opinions but listening to someone kiss someone else’s ass is bloody horrible.
Wow the NZ police must not have liked my post I wrote last nite and this morning.
There was a marked cop car on my ass in the middle of tauranga and rotorua my blood pressure went up a bit but Fuck THEM I’m keeping up the good fight for our environment and people Boy on the Rock sorry for bursting you bubble but I will call anyone out on these issues stay neutral
Apologies to the boys on the Rock I should not try and impose my opinion on you guys
After all you have the rights to free speech and so have I Paddy Is Bills boy he is not a neutral reporter he is national through and through and I will tell everyone how I think of you guys to ta
I liked what Jacinda wore in last night’s debate. It felt like she was representing her generation by her outfit and it felt real and normal. One can’t escape the power of appearances for making a statement.
I didn’t notice. Probably because I couldn’t get passed the fact that on my laptop English’s podium looked blue and Ardern’s looked pink (tbh might have been the warm light filter on my laptop)
I would like to have the average wage myth debunked.
If most people are on a wage between the minimum and living wage, and a few are paid obscenely well, it puts the average wage well above $20 an hour.
This is a distortion and doesn’t apply to any person.
Jacinda got close last night after the PM went on about ‘the economy’, she asked “how do people feel?”.
It seems the Tories have no idea what life is like for most of us (those in poverty and the working poor), and blindly quote averages.
This also allows hooten to quote “average households” and the tax hit they will take, again a distortion and a fiction.
1A number expressing the central or typical value in a set of data, in particular the mode, median, or (most commonly) the mean, which is calculated by dividing the sum of the values in the set by their number. ”
The problem is the word “average” can mean one of at least three statistical measures, so it’s a really sloppy word to use. Unfortunately it’s commonly taken to mean the mean, so as you point out it’s really unsuitable to describe a badly skewed distribution like incomes. The median is really a much better single-number measure in this case.
Actually in the case of highly skewed data such as incomes – the best measure of central tendency is the mode – the score that occurs the most frequently. In the case of incomes the mode (the income most people get) lies well below the mean (average), and the median (middle score). For NZ the modal income is around $20,000. (it was $15,000 in 2006) http://www.treasury.govt.nz/publications/research-policy/wp/2008/08-04/06.htm
see fig 2.
Joe and Jane Public usually read “average” as half of us are above average and half below. That’s pretty much the definition of median.
The spikes in the distribution at benefit levels and tax rate change thresholds tell an interesting story, and the shape and length of the tail explains a lot about why there’s a big difference between the mean and the median for this distribution. But whenever I try to explain anything like that to someone that’s not math oriented, I get “that look” real fast. I tend to kinda call it a job well done if I can get as far as clarifying the difference between median and mean, and delving into the the situations where the mode might be the more significant measure gets a bit wonky. Not to mention that how you set your intervals for the distribution can affect what number ends up being the mode.
Yeah I’m well aware of how Joe Public view the concept of average and it’s what devious politicians prey upon.
I worked in the research branch of Dept of Stats for a while and taught Stats. It really annoys me the way they constantly use the mean when it is so patently gives a false impression of how things are. But as Disreali said “There are lies, damned lies, and Statistics”
They need to use the median value rather than average, averages can easily distort reality bc the very high values distort the result, the median is the middle number undistorted
Listen to interview about robots and future work coming on Radionz now.
Living with Robots
University of Auckland’s Professor of Connectivity, Darl Kolb, on what life will be like for humans as robots have an increasing presence in our lives. Darl Kolb’s main research interest has been in the area of managing personal and organisational connectivity for performance and well-being.
Also of interest:
Survival of soil organisms a wake-up call for bio-security
From Nine To Noon, 9:08 am on 1 September 2017
http://www.radionz.co.nz/national/programmes/ninetonoon/audio/201856932/survival-of-soil-organisms-a-wake-up-call-for-bio-security
Listen duration 12′ :48″
Tiny creatures in soil that attack plants have shown the ability to survive for at least three years in new research, giving new insights into the bio-security threats posed by passenger travel and trade between countries. The creatures, called nematodes, are very small worm-like organisms – and are estimated to cause billions of dollars of crop damage worldwide each year. They can survive in dried out, seemingly harmless soil attached to a shoe or a freight container coming across t
I love it how the media is reporting Bill English’s fake throwaway ‘100,000 kids out of poverty’ line last night as serious policy which Labour are somehow scrambling to match.
Bingles just panicked and dropped it in on the fly. Someone needs to ask him about the strategy they’ve been working on for oh so long.
My take on it is that Bill English tells lies and has done so throughout his parliamentary career, and that anyone who believes a word he says is part of the problem.
Enabling this recidivist fraud makes you an accessory.
Yes Muttonbird bill still got our media by the balls What happen to the Big story on Sunday when Bennett wanted to take privacy rights away from gang next left commenter and protesters green peace.
Now they have a body language expert on news hub
Lying for bill they are pulling all the tricks out of there ass
As there are 300,000 people living in poverty in this country, lifting 1/3 out of poverty while leaving the rest in poverty is unconscionable. It might salve the consciences of some but is immoral, when we have the capacity in this country to remove all from poverty.
If you think about it – the ones who are “lifted out of poverty” are the JAMIs (those Just about making it) leaving those below them in the socio-economic spectrum still floundering. It is the easiest “solution” to a problem and the one with the least cost. It is far from being the best or fairest solution.
A promise of lifting 100k out of poverty is actually worse than that. It’s like the nats reporting x-thousand new state homes – great, they’ve bought new ones, but they’ve sold more than they bought.
What they’re hiding behind is the fact that it’ll take more than a year to eliminate poverty.
Firstly, it needs to be reduced as a proportion of the total population, and those reductions need to be assessed consistently and regularly.
Secondly, those reductions can’t exclude particular demographic areas, such as Maori or solo parents.
Thirdly, as you point out it can’t just be about those close to the measuring line – those in greater need need greater effort to assist.
How Arlene Foster helped nationalism find its teeth.
“If you feed a crocodile it will keep coming back and looking for more.”
There is talk of efforts to get the Northern Ireland assembly up and running again. Yesterday many news outlets reported on Sinn Fein “rejecting” a proposal frpom Arlene Foster the leader of the DUP to come together.
(Seoul, September 4, 2017) – China appears to be intensifying its crackdowns on North Korean escapees attempting to transit through China to seek protection, Human Rights Watch said today. According to activists and North Koreans living South Korea who are in contact with people in China and North Korea, China has detained at least 41 North Korean refugees, and an undetermined number of their guides, in the past two months.
[…]
“China has known for years that North Korea security officials use torture as a matter of longstanding state policy and practice, and imprison people who leave the country without permission,” said Phil Robertson, deputy Asia Director at Human Rights Watch. “By returning them to a place of torture and persecution, China is clearly violating international law and its obligations as a nation that has ratified the UN Refugee Convention.”
The real question about poverty is has it increased and has the poverty line (or the standard of living in New Zealand) risen? If even one child is below the line or if the standard of living has not improved then it is not good enough. Provide some meaningful measures.
In all this heart-rending syrup about ‘kids out of poverty’ could someone please do the details on what they will be doing for the parents of said kids?
“If the answer is more money, there is no problem”
And the answer is NOT more distribution of money.
We already don’t have enough teachers, or assorted medical people, or mental health providers – and they won’t be magicked into being in three years. We tried that for radiographers and that wasn’t a clap hands success.
We already don’t have enough entry level work or on the job training or reliable work for people to develop skills, then upgrade or change to gain better income. Three years free tertiary? What a joke (the sort anyone would go eeeew! to.)
Both of the larger parties are still feeding the Good People who Make Money (from the misery of others).
SEOUL – South Korea’s defense minister on Monday said it was worth reviewing the redeployment of American tactical nuclear weapons to the Korean Peninsula to guard against the North, a step that analysts warn – if taken – would sharply increase the risk of an accidental conflict.
It sounds like Campbell saw a slightly longer version of the video than the Herald published. Isn’t making false allegations illegal? Though I suppose there is a case for common assault, but that just wasn’t sensational enough for Smith.
A pogrom seventy years in the making and look who turns up.
.
When the whole world is looking for a way to resolve the fresh escalation of the Rohingya crisis in Rakhine State, Israel has refused to stop supplying arms to Myanmar army saying “the matter is clearly diplomatic”.
There is relatively little criticism toward the military operation within Myanmar itself, however. Army commander Sr. Gen. Min Aung Hlaing’s remarks on Friday suggest it won’t ease off its campaign, describing it as “unfinished business” dating back to World War II.
Speaking in the capital Naypyitaw, he said the army was pursuing its patriotic duty to preserve Myanmar’s borders and prevent Rohingya insurgents carving out their own territory in northern Rakhine State. He referred to communal violence in the area in 1942, when ethnic Rohingya who sided with the retreating British forces clashed with local ethnic-Rakhine Buddhists, who aligned themselves with the Japanese. Tens of thousands of people died in a failed attempt to create a Rohingya state.
INteresting move by Ardern to state she will move to decriminalise Abortion (as a conscience vote). In order for Bill to go home tonight he has said he thinks the current laws work really well thank you.
Well done Ardern. Response and length of response to this will be interesting.
I agree with you, weka. But there is no evidence that he raped anyone. Certainly the two young women inveigled and badgered by the authorities to file those absurd charges have refuted them.
He’s Australian isn’t he?
Sorry that is a slur on our cozzie bros across the ditch and I know some are very fair minded…
But they do have (and support) some of the most outlandish immigration and racial policies.
No, there is nothing in what he said that is racist. It was crass and sexist, but you’d have to interpret it with the malice of that Blairite shill Helen Lewis to say it was racist. Of course, poor old rhinocrates didn’t think twice before he flicked on her smug and vicious tweet.
Julian Assange is a thoughtful and eloquent person, and he has no history of racist comments, so he deserves the benefit of the doubt over that (admittedly dodgy) tweet about childless female politicians. It’s the sort of comment that the outgoing National MPs routinely made about Helen Clark when she was prime minister.
If you want to see what real racism looks like, have a view of this wicked and cynical speech….
Assange is rubbing shoulders with some strange folk online – the Russians have identified him as a channel for some of their releases. The Russians are typically uncritically antiIslamic, cheerfully anti-Semitic, and judging by their recent actions in Chechnya, not LGBT friendly. If Assange begins to mirror those views it may reflect the company he’s keeping.
And you’re in your weirdo element and apparently out of your mind. I’d say stop now, but I doubt you’re capable or if it’s even possible.
All I know, if I were accused of rape, I’d fight through every court to prove my innocence.
I certainly wouldn’t hide out in a foreign embassy to avoid justice.
And I certainly wouldn’t have helped Trump get elected. What a disgrace is your hero Assange, weirdo.
His anti feminism gives big clues about his views on women. I don’t trust him or his motives a bit.
Graham Adams writes about the $55m media fund — When Patrick Gower was asked by Mike Hosking last week what he would say to the many Newstalk ZB callers who allege the Labour government bribed media with $55 million of taxpayers’ money via the Public Interest Journalism Fund — and ...
Note: this blog post has been put together over the course of the week I followed the happenings at the conference virtually. Should recordings of the Great Debates and possibly Union Symposia mentioned below, be released sometime after the conference ends, I'll include links to the ones I participated in. ...
The following was my submission made on the “Fast Track Approvals Bill”. This potential law will give three Ministers unchecked powers, un-paralled since the days of Robert Muldoon’s “Think Big” projects.The submission is written a bit tongue-in-cheek. But it’s irreverent because the FTAB is in itself not worthy of respect. ...
One Could Reduce Child Poverty At No Fiscal CostFollowing the Richardson/Shipley 1990 ‘redesign of the welfare state’ – which eliminated the universal Family Benefit and doubled the rate of child poverty – various income supplements for families have been added, the best known being ‘Working for Families’, introduced in 2005. ...
Buzz from the Beehive A few days ago, Point of Order suggested the media must be musing “on why Melissa is mute”. Our article reported that people working in the beleaguered media industry have cause to yearn for a minister as busy as Melissa Lee’s ministerial colleagues and we drew ...
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Jack Vowles writes – New Zealand is said to be suffering from ‘serious populist discontent’. An IPSOS MORI survey has reported that we have an increasing preference for strong leaders, think that the economy is rigged toward the rich and powerful, and political elites are ignoring ‘hard-working people’. ...
Chris Trotter writes – MELISSA LEE should be deprived of her ministerial warrant. Her handling – or non-handling – of the crisis engulfing the New Zealand news media has been woeful. The fate of New Zealand’s two linear television networks, a question which the Minister of Broadcasting, Communications ...
TL;DR: The podcast above features co-hosts and , along with regular guests Robert Patman on Gaza and AUKUS II, and on climate change.The six things that mattered in Aotearoa’s political economy that we wrote and spoke about via The Kākā and elsewhere for paying subscribers in the ...
Policymakers rarely wish to make plain or visible their desire to dismantle environmental policy, least of all to the young. Photo: Lynn GrievesonTL;DR: Here’s the top five news items of note in climate news for Aotearoa-NZ this week, and a discussion above between Bernard Hickey and The Kākā’s climate correspondent ...
I like to keep an eye on what’s happening in places like the UK, the US, and over the ditch with our good mates the Aussies. Let’s call them AUKUS, for want of a better collective term. More on that in a bit.It used to be, not long ago, that ...
TL;DR: The global economy will be one fifth smaller than it would have otherwise been in 2050 as a result of climate damage, according to a new study by the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK) and published in the journal Nature. (See more detail and analysis below, and ...
New Zealand is said to be suffering from ‘serious populist discontent’. An IPSOS MORI survey has reported that we have an increasing preference for strong leaders, think that the economy is rigged toward the rich and powerful, and political elites are ignoring ‘hard-working people’. The data is from February this ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters is understood to be planning a major speech within the next fortnight to clear up the confusion over whether or not New Zealand might join the AUKUS submarine project. So far, there have been conflicting signals from the Government. RNZ reported the Prime Minister yesterday in ...
Life throws curveballs, and sometimes, those curveballs necessitate wiping your iPhone clean and starting anew. Whether you’re facing persistent software glitches, preparing to sell your device, or simply wanting a fresh start, knowing how to factory reset iPhone without a computer is a valuable skill. While using a computer with ...
Gone are the days when communication was limited to landline phones and physical proximity. Today, computers have become powerful tools for connecting with people across the globe through voice and video calls. But with a plethora of applications and methods available, how to call someone on a computer might seem ...
Open access notables Glacial isostatic adjustment reduces past and future Arctic subsea permafrost, Creel et al., Nature Communications:Sea-level rise submerges terrestrial permafrost in the Arctic, turning it into subsea permafrost. Subsea permafrost underlies ~ 1.8 million km2 of Arctic continental shelf, with thicknesses in places exceeding 700 m. Sea-level variations over glacial-interglacial cycles control ...
The operating system (OS) is the heart and soul of a computer, orchestrating every action and interaction between hardware and software. But have you ever wondered where on a computer is the operating system generally stored? The answer lies in the intricate dance between hardware and software components, particularly within ...
Laptops have become essential tools for work, entertainment, and communication, offering portability and functionality. However, with rising energy costs and growing environmental concerns, understanding a laptop’s power consumption is more important than ever. So, how many watts does a laptop use? The answer, unfortunately, isn’t straightforward. It depends on several ...
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The annual inventory report of New Zealand's greenhouse gas emissions has been released, showing that gross emissions have dropped for the third year in a row, to 78.4 million tons: All-told gross emissions have decreased by over 6 million tons since the Zero Carbon Act was passed in 2019. ...
Experiencing a locked computer can be frustrating, especially when you need access to your files and applications urgently. The methods to unlock your computer will vary depending on the specific situation and the type of lock you encounter. This guide will explore various scenarios and provide step-by-step instructions on how ...
While the world has largely transitioned to digital communication, faxing still holds relevance in certain industries and situations. Fortunately, gone are the days of bulky fax machines and dedicated phone lines. Today, you can easily send and receive faxes directly from your computer, offering a convenient and efficient way to ...
In our increasingly digital world, home computers have become essential tools for work, communication, entertainment, and more. However, this increased reliance on technology also exposes us to various cyber threats. Understanding these threats and taking proactive steps to protect your home computer is crucial for safeguarding your personal information, finances, ...
In the ever-evolving world of technology, server-based computing has emerged as a cornerstone of modern digital infrastructure. This article delves into the concept of server-based computing, exploring its various forms, benefits, challenges, and its impact on the way we work and interact with technology. Understanding Server-Based Computing: At its core, ...
The absolute brass neck of this guy.We want more medical doctors, not more spin doctors, Luxon was saying a couple of weeks ago, and now we’re told the guy has seven salaried adults on TikTok duty. Sorry, doing social media. The absolute brass neck of it. The irony that the ...
Buzz from the Beehive Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones relishes spatting and eagerly takes issue with environmentalists who criticise his enthusiasm for resource development. He relishes helping the fishing industry too. And so today, while the media are making much of the latest culling in the public service to ...
Having written, taught and worked for the US government on issues involving unconventional warfare and terrorism for 30-odd years, two things irritate me the most when the subject is discussed in public. The first is the Johnny-come-lately academics-turned-media commentators who … Continue reading → ...
Eric Crampton writes – Kainga Ora is the government’s house building agency. It’s been building a lot of social housing. Kainga Ora has its own (but independent) consenting authority, Consentium. It’s a neat idea. Rather than have to deal with building consents across each different territorial authority, Kainga Ora ...
Muriel Newman writes – The Coalition Government says it is moving with speed to deliver campaign promises and reverse the damage done by Labour. One of their key commitments is to “defend the principle that New Zealanders are equal before the law.” To achieve this, they have pledged they “will not advance ...
Chris Trotter writes – The absence of anything resembling a fightback from the public servants currently losing their jobs is interesting. State-sector workers’ collective fatalism in the face of Coalition cutbacks indicates a surprisingly broad acceptance of impermanence in the workplace. Fifty years ago, lay-offs in the thousands ...
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Lindsay Mitchell writes – Ten years ago, I wrote the following in a Listener column: Every year around one in five new-born babies will be reliant on their caregivers benefit by Christmas. This pattern has persisted from at least 1993. For Maori the number jumps to over one in three. ...
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It’s a simple deal. We pay taxes in order to finance the social services we want and need. The carnage now occurring across the public sector though, is breaking that contract. Over 3,000 jobs have been lost so far. Many are in crucial areas like Education where the impact of ...
Hi,A friend had their 40th over the weekend and decided to theme it after Curb Your Enthusiasm fashion icon Susie Greene. Captured in my tiny kitchen before I left the house, I ending up evoking a mix of old lesbian and Hillary Clinton — both unintentional.Me vs Hillary ClintonIf you’re ...
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Today in our National-led authoritarian nightmare: Shane Jones thinks Ministers should be above the law: New Zealand First MP Shane Jones is accusing the Waitangi Tribunal of over-stepping its mandate by subpoenaing a minister for its urgent hearing on the Oranga Tamariki claim. The tribunal is looking into the ...
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Citizen Science writes – Last week saw two significant developments in the debate over the treatment of trans-identifying children and young people – the release in Britain of the final report of Dr Hilary Cass’s review into gender healthcare, and here in New Zealand, the news that the ...
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Turning what Labour called the “holiday highway” into a four-lane expressway from Auckland to Whangarei could bring at least an economic benefit of nearly two billion a year for Northland each year. And it could help bring an end to poverty in one of New Zealand’s most deprived regions. The ...
Tonight’s six-stack includes: launching his substack with a bunch of his previous documentaries, including this 1992 interview with Dame Whina Cooper. and here crew give climate activists plenty to do, including this call to submit against the Fast Track Approvals bill. writes brilliantly here on his substack ...
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Karl du Fresne writes – There’s a crisis in the news media and the media are blaming it on everyone except themselves. Culpability is being deflected elsewhere – mainly to the hapless Minister of Communications, Melissa Lee, and the big social media platforms that are accused of hoovering ...
I don’t normally send out two newsletters in a day but I figured I’d say something about… the news. If two newsletters is a bit much then maybe just skip one, I don’t want to overload people. Alternatively if you’d be interested in sometimes receiving multiple, smaller updates from me, ...
Buzz from the Beehive David Seymour and Winston Peters today signalled that at least two ministers of the Crown might be in Wellington today. Seymour (as Associate Minister of Education) announced the removal of more red tape, this time to make it easier for new early learning services to be ...
Politicians across the political spectrum are implicated in the New Zealand media’s failing health. Either through neglect or incompetent interventions, successive governments have failed to regulate, foster, and allow a healthy Fourth Estate that can adequately hold politicians and the powerful to account. Our political system is suffering from the ...
David Farrar writes – The Broadcasting Standards Authority ruled: Comments by radio host Kate Hawkesby suggesting Māori and Pacific patients were being prioritised for surgery due to their ethnicity were misleading and discriminatory, the Broadcasting Standards Authority has found. It is a fact such patients are prioritised. ...
PRC and its proxies in Solomons have been preparing for these elections for a long time.A lot of money, effort and intelligence have gone into ensuring an outcome that won’t compromise Beijing’s plans. Cleo Paskall writes – On April 17th the Solomon Islands, a country of ...
Is speeding up the trip to and from Wellington airport by 12 minutes worth spending up more than $10 billion? Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The six news items that stood out to me in the last day to 8:26 am today are:The Lead: Transport Minister Simeon Brownannounced ...
You're a fraud, and you know itBut it's too good to throw it all awayAnyone would do the sameYou've got 'em goingAnd you're careful not to show itSometimes you even fool yourself a bitIt's like magicBut it's always been a smoke and mirrors gameAnyone would do the sameForty six billion ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections The June general election in Mexico could mark a turning point in ensuring that the country’s climate policies better reflect the desire of its citizens to address the climate crisis, with both leading presidential candidates expressing support for renewable energy. Mexico is the ...
2024, 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?When I say 2024 I really mean the state of humanity in 2024.Saturday night, we watched Civil War because that is one terrifying cliff we've ...
Buzz from the Beehive A pet project and governmental tunnel vision jump out from the latest batch of ministerial announcements. The government is keen to assure us of its concern for the wellbeing of our pets. It will be introducing pet bonds in a change to the Residential Tenancies Act ...
A recent report generated from a Growing Up in New Zealand (GUiNZ) survey of 1,224 rangatahi Māori aged 11-12 found: Cultural connectedness was associated with fewer depression symptoms, anxiety symptoms and better quality of life. That sounds cut and dry. But further into the report the following appears: Cultural connectedness is ...
David Farrar writes – The Herald reports: From the gory details of job-cuts news, you’d think the public service was being eviscerated. While the media’s view of the cuts is incomplete, it’s also true that departments have been leaking the particulars faster than a Wellington ...
Remember the good old days, back when New Zealand had a PM who could think and speak calmly and intelligently in whole sentences without blustering? Even while Iran’s drones and missiles were still being launched, Helen Clark was live on TVNZ expertly summing up the latest crisis in the Middle ...
Costello did not pass on analysis of the benefits of the smokefree reforms to Cabinet, emphasising instead the extra tax revenues of repealing them. Photo: Hagen Hopkins, Getty Images TL;DR: The six news items that stood out to me at 7:26 am today are:The Lead: Casey Costello never passed on ...
True loveYou're the one I'm dreaming ofYour heart fits me like a gloveAnd I'm gonna be true blueBaby, I love youI’ve written about the job cuts in our news media last week. The impact on individuals, and the loss to Aotearoa of voices covering our news from different angles.That by ...
While commentators, including former Prime Minister Helen Clark, are noting a subtle shift in New Zealand’s foreign policy, which now places more emphasis on the United States, many have missed a key element of the shift. What National said before the election is not what the government is doing now. ...
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. ...
The Government must commit to the Maitai School building project for students with high and complex needs, to ensure disabled students from the top of the South Island have somewhere to learn. ...
Mental Health Minister Matt Doocey and his Government colleagues have made a meal of their mental health commitments, showing how flimsy their efforts to champion the issue truly are, says Labour Mental Health spokesperson Ingrid Leary. ...
Māori are yet to see anything from this Government except cuts, reversals and taking our people backwards, Māori Development spokesperson Willie Jackson said. ...
The Coalition Government’s refusal to commit to ongoing funding for social housing is seeing the sector pull back on developments and families watch their dreams of securing a home fade away, says Labour Housing spokesperson Kieran McAnulty. ...
Changes to minimum wage and benefit indexation means many New Zealanders will get less this year, as the Government gives a big tax break to landlords instead. ...
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 ...
Trade, Agriculture and Forestry Minister Todd McClay has concluded productive discussions with ministerial counterparts in Beijing today, in support of the New Zealand-China trade and economic relationship. “My meeting with Commerce Minister Wang Wentao reaffirmed the complementary nature of the bilateral trade relationship, with our Free Trade Agreement at its ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon today paid tribute to Singapore’s outgoing Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong. Meeting in Singapore today immediately before Prime Minister Lee announced he was stepping down, Prime Minister Luxon warmly acknowledged his counterpart’s almost twenty years as leader, and the enduring legacy he has left for Singapore and South East ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon held a bilateral meeting today with Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong. While in Singapore as part of his visit to South East Asia this week, Prime Minister Luxon also met with Singapore President Tharman Shanmugaratnam and will meet with Deputy Prime Minister Lawrence Wong. During today’s meeting, Prime Minister Luxon ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has made further appointments to the Board of Antarctica New Zealand as part of a continued effort to ensure the Scott Base Redevelopment project is delivered in a cost-effective and efficient manner. The Minister has appointed Neville Harris as a new member of the Board. Mr ...
Finance Minister Nicola Willis will travel to the United States on Tuesday to attend a meeting of the Five Finance Ministers group, with counterparts from Australia, the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom. “I am looking forward to meeting with our Five Finance partners on how we can work ...
The coalition Government has today announced purrfect and pawsitive changes to the Residential Tenancies Act to give tenants with pets greater choice when looking for a rental property, says Housing Minister Chris Bishop. “Pets are important members of many Kiwi families. It’s estimated that around 64 per cent of New ...
State Highway 1 (SH1) through Wellington City is heavily congested at peak times and while planning continues on the duplicate Mt Victoria Tunnel and Basin Reserve project, the Government has also asked NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) to consider and provide advice on a Long Tunnel option, Transport Minister Simeon Brown ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Foreign Minister Winston Peters have condemned Iran’s shocking and illegal strikes against Israel. “These attacks are a major challenge to peace and stability in a region already under enormous pressure," Mr Luxon says. "We are deeply concerned that miscalculation on any side could ...
Hundreds of people in little over a week have turned out in Northland to hear Regional Development Minister Shane Jones speak about plans for boosting the regional economy through infrastructure. About 200 people from the infrastructure and associated sectors attended an event headlined by Mr Jones in Whangarei today. Last ...
Health Minister Dr Shane Reti has today thanked outgoing Health New Zealand – Te Whatu Ora Chair Dame Karen Poutasi for her service on the Board. “Dame Karen tendered her resignation as Chair and as a member of the Board today,” says Dr Reti. “I have asked her to ...
The NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) has signalled their proposed delivery approach for the Government’s 15 Roads of National Significance (RoNS), with the release of the State Highway Investment Proposal (SHIP) today, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Boosting economic growth and productivity is a key part of the Government’s plan to ...
New Zealand is renewing its connections with a world facing urgent challenges by pursuing an active, energetic foreign policy, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says. “Our country faces the most unstable global environment in decades,” Mr Peters says at the conclusion of two weeks of engagements in Egypt, Europe and the United States. “We cannot afford to sit back in splendid ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has announced the Australian Governor-General, His Excellency General The Honourable David Hurley and his wife Her Excellency Mrs Linda Hurley, will make a State visit to New Zealand from Tuesday 16 April to Thursday 18 April. The visit reciprocates the State visit of former Governor-General Dame Patsy Reddy ...
Associate Health Minister David Seymour has announced that Medsafe has approved 11 cold and flu medicines containing pseudoephedrine. Pharmaceutical suppliers have indicated they may be able to supply the first products in June. “This is much earlier than the original expectation of medicines being available by 2025. The Government recognised ...
New Zealand and the United States have recommitted to their strategic partnership in Washington DC today, pledging to work ever more closely together in support of shared values and interests, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says. “The strategic environment that New Zealand and the United States face is considerably more ...
April 11, 2024 Joint Declaration by United States Secretary of State the Honorable Antony J. Blinken and New Zealand Minister of Foreign Affairs the Right Honourable Winston Peters We met today in Washington, D.C. to recommit to the historic partnership between our two countries and the principles that underpin it—rule ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has announced further New Zealand cooperation with the United States in the Pacific Islands region through $16.4 million in funding for initiatives in digital connectivity and oceans and fisheries research. “New Zealand can achieve more in the Pacific if we work together more urgently and ...
Kia Ora Gaza A passionate haka reverberated through Auckland International Airport as a medical team of three New Zealand doctors received an emotional farewell from a big crowd of supporters before flying to Turkey to join the international Freedom Flotilla to Gaza. The doctors, who left Auckland yesterday, hope to ...
With submissions closing today, Macassey-Pickard says groups around the country have been supporting a huge range of people to make their submissions. ...
Our response to the new legislation is informed by targeted conversations with practitioners working in the system and through an implementation lens. ...
The new ‘Fast-track Approvals Bill’ would give just three Ministers the power to approve or deny development projects. They would avoid the usual checks and balances that are in place to protect rivers, land, the ocean, and communities. ...
COMMENTARY:By Eugene Doyle Helen Clark, how I miss you. The former New Zealand Prime Minister — the safest pair of hands this country has had in living memory — gave a masterclass on the importance of maintaining an independent foreign policy when she spoke at an AUKUS symposium held ...
The government's released the list of organisations provided with information on how to apply - just hours before public submissions on the bill close. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Milton Speer, Visiting Fellow, School of Mathematical and Physical Sciences, University of Technology Sydney Before climate change really got going, eastern Australia’s flash floods tended to concentrate on our coastal regions, east of the Great Dividing Range. But that’s changing. Now ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Elizabeth Finkel, Vice-Chancellor’s Fellow, La Trobe University Sia Duff / South Australian Museum In February, the South Australian Museum “re-imagined” itself. In the face of rising costs and inadequate government funds, CEO David Gaimster, who took the reins last June, declared ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Alan Pearce, Professor, School of Allied Heath, Human Services & Sport, La Trobe University, La Trobe University This week, Collingwood AFL player Nathan Murphy announced his retirement, brought on by his concussion history and ongoing issues. The 24-year-old’s seemingly sudden retirement, ...
The Mental Health Foundation provides support and resources for those facing the loss of their job, so it’s wrong in the very week the Government adds another 1000 jobs to its tally of cuts, that this is happening. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Alexander Howard, Senior Lecturer, Discipline of English and Writing, University of Sydney Daniel Boud/Sydney Theatre Company Decay, terror, revulsion. These are three of the central themes of Thomas Bernhard’s rarely performed play The President. The Austrian is one of the greatest ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ye In (Jane) Hwang, Postdoctoral Research Associate at School of Population Health, UNSW Sydney Shutterstock You’d be hard pressed to find any aspect of daily life that doesn’t require some form of digital literacy. We need only to look back ten ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon says threats by ministers Shane Jones and David Seymour to reform or close down the Waitangi Tribunal were “ill-considered”, as legal experts say the ministers may have breached Cabinet Manual conventions. “I think those comments are ill-considered and we expect all ministers to actually exercise good ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Rob Newton, Professor of Exercise Medicine, Edith Cowan University Pexels/RDNE stock project You’re not in your 20s or 30s anymore and you know regular health checks are important. So you go to your GP. During the appointment they measure your waist. ...
A new poem by Evangeline Riddiford Graham. Mitochondrial Problem I. It was long drive to Kansas for the man and his dog but you have to understand he said She doesn’t fly. Which calls to mind not carsick shitting barking or whining but a dog who chooses not to as ...
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)Hot off the press, this debut ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Laura Wajnryb McDonald, PhD candidate in Criminology, University of Sydney Less than 24 hours after Ashlee Good was murdered in Bondi Junction, her family released a statement requesting the media take down photographs they had reproduced of Ashlee and her family without ...
Chief executive Shaun Robinson said it has not had any government funding cut, but government-funded contracts have not kept pace with rising costs. ...
The Ministry of Health has delayed the release of its evidence brief on the safety, reversibility and mental health and wellbeing outcomes for puberty blockers. While we wait, Julia de Bres speaks to those with firsthand experience. Best practice gender-affirming healthcare is based on trans people’s self-determination and agency. The ...
Barcelona’s city streets have gone from traffic-clogged to pedestrian-friendly. How? Superblocks. Ellen Rykers explains. This is an excerpt from our weekly environmental newsletter Future Proof. Sign up here. Last week I read a great interview with renowned urbanist Janette Sadik-Khan by The Spinoff’s Wellington editor Joel MacManus: “You can reimagine streets, ...
Student groups ‘Climate Action VUW’, Schools Strike 4 Climate and VUWSA will be on the street in Wellington today, the last day for submissions on the Fast-track Approvals Bill, with a message that the fight against the Government’s ‘War on ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sofia Ammassari, Research Fellow, Griffith University Since 2014, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s popularity has grown exponentially – and so has the formidable organisational machine of his Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). These two factors will be key to delivering the BJP a ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Brendon Hyndman, Associate Professor of Education (Adjunct) & Senior Manager (BCE), Charles Sturt University During COVID almost all Australian students and their families experienced online learning. But while schools have long since gone back to in-person teaching, online learning has not gone ...
Yes, they’re better for the environment. No, that’s not a good enough reason for me to use them. Once every 26 days or so, my period arrives, and if struck by an act of God, I am caught red-crotched without products. How, after 17 years of this, do I still ...
“It will cause significant harm to our environment and communities. It is completely at odds with New Zealanders’ relationship with nature and our need for a low-carbon, sustainable economic future." ...
The Chair of the National Maori Authority, Matthew Tukaki, has warned a Parliamentary Select Committee that fast-tracking legislation is a perilous practice that undermines the core tenets of democracy, transparency, and accountability. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Tim Tenbensel, Associate Professor, Health Policy, University of Auckland, Waipapa Taumata Rau Getty Images Since coming into power, the coalition government has adopted a simple but shrewd see-how-fast-we-can-move political strategy. However, in the health sector this need for speed entails ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Anastasia Hronis, Clinical Psychologist, University of Technology Sydney Darya Sannikova/Pexels Whether you’re watching TV, attending a footy game, or eating a meal at your local pub, gambling is hard to escape. Although the rise of gambling is not unique to Australia, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Mark Wong, Forrest Fellow, School of Biological Sciences, The University of Western Australia Have you ever wondered if there are more insects out at night than during the day? We set out to answer this question by combing through the scientific ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Carol T Kulik, Research Professor, University of South Australia IR Stone/Shutterstock In Australia, it’s not the done thing to know – let alone ask – what our colleagues are paid. Yet, it’s easy to see how pay transparency can make pay ...
The Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) is sounding a warning to migrants, that running foul of the law may see them leaving the country prematurely. ...
The government’s plan to get 50,000 people off jobseeker support by 2030 has had a rocky start, 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 up here. Beneficiary numbers are up – and so are ...
Raglan Roast is a staple of Wellington coffee culture. But with five branches across the capital, which one is the best? I am a die-hard Raglan Roast fan. It’s consistently the most affordable cafe in Wellington, and one of the only places you can get a coffee after 3pm. So, ...
Residents of University of Auckland halls are being urged to withhold their accommodation fees from May 1, in a bid to force the university to take student concerns over rent hikes seriously.The University of Auckland is facing a strike from students over the cost of on-campus accommodation. The Students ...
Opinion: With maths understanding at 42 percent for Year 8 students, there’s no doubt something has to be done. But how? The post Financial literacy should be on all of us appeared first on Newsroom. ...
Hineaupounamu ‘Missy’ Nuku has been scaling mountains in Canada for her college basketball team, the Lakeland Rustlers. Alberta is currently home for the 20-year-old point guard, who is in her first year of a scholarship at Lakeland College, where she is studying for a business degree. She has certainly made ...
New Zealand and the Philippines have signed a new maritime security agreement and stated their concerns over activity in the South China Sea, as Chinese vessels continue to flout international law. Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Philippines President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos committed to signing a Mutual Logistics Supporting Arrangement by ...
The thousands of government “back-office” job cuts are causing widespread pain in the capital city. In today’s episode of The Detail, we speak to three journalists and a think tank researcher, looking at the larger picture around the cuts and what effect it will have on Wellington, a city that’s ...
Opinion: The famed American architect and urban designer Daniel Burnham once said, “Make no little plans. They have no magic to stir men’s blood!” Burnham wouldn’t have been referring to the transport plans in Aotearoa New Zealand over the past five years; projects so big they hadn’t the credibility to ...
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Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra When ASIO boss Mike Burgess delivered his annual threat assessment earlier this year, he stressed the rising danger posed by espionage and foreign interference. “In 2024, threats to our way of life have surpassed ...
The Tribunal had called on Minister for Children Karen Chhour to provide evidence at an urgent inquiry into the repeal of Section 7AA of the Oranga Tamariki Act. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By T.J. Thomson, Senior Lecturer in Visual Communication & Digital Media, RMIT University Midjourney image by T.J. Thomson As more than half of Australian office workers report using generative artificial intelligence (AI) for work, we’re starting to see this technology affect every ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Lisa Nicole Sharwood, Injury epidemiologist | Expert Witness, UNSW Sydney Sergey Novikov/Shutterstock Injuries are the leading cause of disability and death among Australian children and adolescents. At least a quarter of all emergency department presentations during childhood are injury-related. Injuries can ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Di Winkler, Adjunct Associate Professor, Living with Disability Research Centre, La Trobe University Shutterstock/Ground PictureMany Australians with disability feel on the edge of a precipice right now. Recommendations from the disability royal commission and the NDIS review were released late ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Salman Shooshtarian, Senior Lecturer, School of Property, Construction and Project Management, RMIT University Salman Shooshtarian Asbestos has been found in mulch used for playgrounds, schools, parks and gardens across Sydney and Melbourne. Local communities naturally fear for the health of their ...
Family First says that the latest abortion statistics make grim and upsetting reading, with a 25% increase in abortions since the decriminalisation of abortion in March 2020. According to an Official Information Act request received by Right to Life ...
Ipsos New Zealand's inaugural participation in a global study on populism reveals a pervasive sense of societal and economic decline among New Zealanders. MORE DETAILS AND FULL REPORT HERE Ipsos New Zealand's inaugural participation in a global study ...
Murdoch.
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DIx1vP8UEAAm6vq?format=jpg
+1
I’m going to march for the right for me to lead the country, because I’m selfish like that and full of my own self importance, it’s all about me, me, me. My cause is myself.
And that’s the problem with this government, selfishness and their own self inflated self importance.
Yep. He was honest there lol.
I watched on fbook live – i like sending emotioncons as they speak. The comments were so fast couldn’t keep up let alone read them.
Everytime bill spoke the flood of angry faces was so good to see.
Are there any Labour supporters in Wanaka?
I live near Wanaka, vote Green but also strongly support Labour. There are other members in the town.
I have put up some Labour billboards in Wanaka/Hawea and am organising a meeting 7pm Tuesday 12th Sept in Wanaka on Labour’s “Clean Rivers” water royalty policy. David Parker will explain all.
can you get parker to clear up the uses labour plans for the tax money gained from the water tax and find out when they plan to start on the city rivers we can’t swim in
Don’t be silly bwaghorn. ‘City rivers’ – you miss the point about having clean water which is a necessity for all people. You are so deep into the idea of division between country and town is all important and the real basis of the argument. The truth is that the problem is country people against other country people. It is farmers who are adopting unsustainable practices to squeeze out more profit for themselves, and using a resource that is priceless to us all, more important than diamonds. And while we dither as to who owns water and has rights to remove it with a piece of paper from some entity this priceless resource is not being managed properly for everyone’s good.
Spraying properties with water all the time and overstocking and over-fertilising the ground with either on-farm spraying of cowpoo, or it leaching into the water, along with artificial fertiliser is the problem. And it is caused by practices from some farmers, not all. Stop trying to find fault with the cities, the quick way of improving water quality is to stop present farming practices, and all to institute clean water practices. Practically all cities have treatment plants, they deal with the enormous amount of pollution we all cause every day. Farmers can manage to deal with it by reducing their animal numbers and stopping jumping on the ‘milk rush’ which has become a bubble, and when it bursts for some reason will cause even more pollution from the unwanted milk that has to be dumped.
Grow up and think. As I said man up, but differently from the narrow, money-bound constipated thinking of Fed Farmers.
“Stop trying to find fault with the cities,” Why?
Industrial areas are as likely to turn on the hose and spray chemicals off the footpath, into the gutter and down the nearest drain as any cow cocky.
Those happy places in cities with their too-small rubbish bins and their lazy customers turfing packaging anywhere – including by the rivers and at the beach to end up in a rather large gyre out in the Pacific.
The lazy ones with the big 4WD and a load of garden trash or worse that they don’t want to take to the tip. Over the edge. Into the creek. Plus vehicles with their burden of oil and grease and decomposing components.
Putting creeks and streams underground for human convenience. Goodbye creek fauna and a resource for ‘our wonderful birds’. (Where’s OUR Suzuki? Or aren’t koura as important as salmon?)
Subdivisions with earth-moving – silt into waterways.
And urban people would prefer to swim in rivers that are local. Kids don’t have cars. They do have bikes – and the best swimming holes are the ones you can get to after school on your bike or on foot.
Andrea
Can’t understand your rant. It doesn’t affect the fact that there are millions of cows pooing not in a toilet where the excrement goes to a tank where it is treated then through special wetlands. Cities full of humans where people are encouraged and prosecuted in an effort to control pollutions.
Country full of dairy cows stealing the water that the land and oceans need as well as the conurbations. The country is under-populated by people so the people aren’t the cause of their areas pollution. Just their actions in over-stocking and under-caring.
Try thinking along those lines instead of exploding in a shitstorm of holy righteousness.
Will put the question to him
cheers
although i note in a farmer’s mag today O’conner (the west coast one} suggested the tax may be used to build water holding infrastructure and such ,i’m guessing so they can keep rivers above minimum flow levels in summer , i could support that , it would be nice to have a clear idea though.
Where and what venue?
Armstrong Room, Lake Wanaka Centre-spread the word please.
We’ll be there.
Seriously have to retire faster and get down full time.
Ad
They were fairly thin on the ground at the last Election
So much so that the Greens (a la Bearded Git) were more than twice as popular amongst Wanakistas
2014
Labour = 167 Party Votes (8%)
Greens = 393 Party Votes (19%)
Total Vote = 2097
She’s a Blue Town & no mistake !
(Mind you – exclude the local farmers = slightly less Blue)
Even Parker in 2008 could only muster 12,000 electorate votes against Dean: who reigns on 23-25,000 votes.
Waitaki only gets a smattering of non-blue votes out of Oamaru and Moeraki. It’s National’s equivalent of Mangere.
The biggest standout stat in Queenstown lakes is the pitiful turnout, not sure if it’s due to a lot of people who can’t vote or what. But 2000 odd in Wanaka and just short of 4500 in Wakatipu form resident populations about four times that seems a bit low
I thought the people on the Rock did not delve in politics. But they have and they don’t want to shear there lollies ether there $15000 K + salaries Labour want to set there tax plan so it is fair on everyone DON’T you get IT boys.I’m losing my admiration of you Boys
I have always felt there was a pretty clear right bias to the rock. They use to fawn over Key in a disgusting way. I love the music but it is one of the reasons I just couldn’t keep listening to them. I am always keen to hear other opinions but listening to someone kiss someone else’s ass is bloody horrible.
Thanks for correcting me crashcart I made a ass of myself assumption +100 News hub forgot the lipstick for there guest what his name
Wow the NZ police must not have liked my post I wrote last nite and this morning.
There was a marked cop car on my ass in the middle of tauranga and rotorua my blood pressure went up a bit but Fuck THEM I’m keeping up the good fight for our environment and people Boy on the Rock sorry for bursting you bubble but I will call anyone out on these issues stay neutral
Man these Muppets insult me all the time !!!!!!!the cops
Apologies to the boys on the Rock I should not try and impose my opinion on you guys
After all you have the rights to free speech and so have I Paddy Is Bills boy he is not a neutral reporter he is national through and through and I will tell everyone how I think of you guys to ta
Look at who owns it…..then it becomes obvious.
Mediawonks
Mediawonks, Clowns dressed up as people
I liked what Jacinda wore in last night’s debate. It felt like she was representing her generation by her outfit and it felt real and normal. One can’t escape the power of appearances for making a statement.
I didn’t notice. Probably because I couldn’t get passed the fact that on my laptop English’s podium looked blue and Ardern’s looked pink (tbh might have been the warm light filter on my laptop)
I would like to have the average wage myth debunked.
If most people are on a wage between the minimum and living wage, and a few are paid obscenely well, it puts the average wage well above $20 an hour.
This is a distortion and doesn’t apply to any person.
Jacinda got close last night after the PM went on about ‘the economy’, she asked “how do people feel?”.
It seems the Tories have no idea what life is like for most of us (those in poverty and the working poor), and blindly quote averages.
This also allows hooten to quote “average households” and the tax hit they will take, again a distortion and a fiction.
Oxford dictionary:
” average
NOUN
1A number expressing the central or typical value in a set of data, in particular the mode, median, or (most commonly) the mean, which is calculated by dividing the sum of the values in the set by their number. ”
The problem is the word “average” can mean one of at least three statistical measures, so it’s a really sloppy word to use. Unfortunately it’s commonly taken to mean the mean, so as you point out it’s really unsuitable to describe a badly skewed distribution like incomes. The median is really a much better single-number measure in this case.
Actually in the case of highly skewed data such as incomes – the best measure of central tendency is the mode – the score that occurs the most frequently. In the case of incomes the mode (the income most people get) lies well below the mean (average), and the median (middle score). For NZ the modal income is around $20,000. (it was $15,000 in 2006)
http://www.treasury.govt.nz/publications/research-policy/wp/2008/08-04/06.htm
see fig 2.
Joe and Jane Public usually read “average” as half of us are above average and half below. That’s pretty much the definition of median.
The spikes in the distribution at benefit levels and tax rate change thresholds tell an interesting story, and the shape and length of the tail explains a lot about why there’s a big difference between the mean and the median for this distribution. But whenever I try to explain anything like that to someone that’s not math oriented, I get “that look” real fast. I tend to kinda call it a job well done if I can get as far as clarifying the difference between median and mean, and delving into the the situations where the mode might be the more significant measure gets a bit wonky. Not to mention that how you set your intervals for the distribution can affect what number ends up being the mode.
Yeah I’m well aware of how Joe Public view the concept of average and it’s what devious politicians prey upon.
I worked in the research branch of Dept of Stats for a while and taught Stats. It really annoys me the way they constantly use the mean when it is so patently gives a false impression of how things are. But as Disreali said “There are lies, damned lies, and Statistics”
They need to use the median value rather than average, averages can easily distort reality bc the very high values distort the result, the median is the middle number undistorted
+100 gsays
Both.
https://thestandard.org.nz/open-mike-16092015/#comment-1071308
Listen to interview about robots and future work coming on Radionz now.
Living with Robots
University of Auckland’s Professor of Connectivity, Darl Kolb, on what life will be like for humans as robots have an increasing presence in our lives. Darl Kolb’s main research interest has been in the area of managing personal and organisational connectivity for performance and well-being.
Also of interest:
Survival of soil organisms a wake-up call for bio-security
From Nine To Noon, 9:08 am on 1 September 2017
http://www.radionz.co.nz/national/programmes/ninetonoon/audio/201856932/survival-of-soil-organisms-a-wake-up-call-for-bio-security
Listen duration 12′ :48″
Tiny creatures in soil that attack plants have shown the ability to survive for at least three years in new research, giving new insights into the bio-security threats posed by passenger travel and trade between countries. The creatures, called nematodes, are very small worm-like organisms – and are estimated to cause billions of dollars of crop damage worldwide each year. They can survive in dried out, seemingly harmless soil attached to a shoe or a freight container coming across t
I love it how the media is reporting Bill English’s fake throwaway ‘100,000 kids out of poverty’ line last night as serious policy which Labour are somehow scrambling to match.
Bingles just panicked and dropped it in on the fly. Someone needs to ask him about the strategy they’ve been working on for oh so long.
Thankfully Lloyd Burr is onto it.
http://www.newshub.co.nz/home/election/2017/09/lloyd-burr-where-s-the-detail-on-bill-english-s-new-poverty-targets.html
JA should hammer English on this. Hard. But the ‘relentless positivity’ policy precludes it.
My take on it was while it was on the fly its probably something he’s been thinking about for awhile so now hes brought it forward
Is it really so bad hes pledged it though
It looks bad because National have spent the last last nine years denying that there’s a problem with poverty in NZ.
My take on it is that Bill English tells lies and has done so throughout his parliamentary career, and that anyone who believes a word he says is part of the problem.
Enabling this recidivist fraud makes you an accessory.
That’s right OAB, over 40% of the population are indeed accessories. It is a shameful situation.
Nope.
At the highest level of their support, the National Party were supported by slightly less than 30% of the electorate.
You’re forgetting the non voters, and electorate ≠ population.
Edit: akshully, it’s slightly less than 30% of registered voters, which isn’t even the entire electorate.
Not bad, but without definitions of which poverty he’s talking about, it’s hard to really judge it other than as a throwaway line.
he plucked straight out of his arse and the useful idiots like garner lapped itup
Yes Muttonbird bill still got our media by the balls What happen to the Big story on Sunday when Bennett wanted to take privacy rights away from gang next left commenter and protesters green peace.
Now they have a body language expert on news hub
Lying for bill they are pulling all the tricks out of there ass
As there are 300,000 people living in poverty in this country, lifting 1/3 out of poverty while leaving the rest in poverty is unconscionable. It might salve the consciences of some but is immoral, when we have the capacity in this country to remove all from poverty.
If you think about it – the ones who are “lifted out of poverty” are the JAMIs (those Just about making it) leaving those below them in the socio-economic spectrum still floundering. It is the easiest “solution” to a problem and the one with the least cost. It is far from being the best or fairest solution.
A promise of lifting 100k out of poverty is actually worse than that. It’s like the nats reporting x-thousand new state homes – great, they’ve bought new ones, but they’ve sold more than they bought.
What they’re hiding behind is the fact that it’ll take more than a year to eliminate poverty.
Firstly, it needs to be reduced as a proportion of the total population, and those reductions need to be assessed consistently and regularly.
Secondly, those reductions can’t exclude particular demographic areas, such as Maori or solo parents.
Thirdly, as you point out it can’t just be about those close to the measuring line – those in greater need need greater effort to assist.
Or Bill promising 173,000 new jobs every year! Yeah 173,000 jobs advertised maybe.
Total Billshit.
How Arlene Foster helped nationalism find its teeth.
“If you feed a crocodile it will keep coming back and looking for more.”
There is talk of efforts to get the Northern Ireland assembly up and running again. Yesterday many news outlets reported on Sinn Fein “rejecting” a proposal frpom Arlene Foster the leader of the DUP to come together.
Here is a very good article that gives context to this “rejection”.
https://www.irishtimes.com/news/politics/how-arlene-foster-helped-nationalism-find-its-teeth-1.3208198
Always the human cost.
(Seoul, September 4, 2017) – China appears to be intensifying its crackdowns on North Korean escapees attempting to transit through China to seek protection, Human Rights Watch said today. According to activists and North Koreans living South Korea who are in contact with people in China and North Korea, China has detained at least 41 North Korean refugees, and an undetermined number of their guides, in the past two months.
[…]
“China has known for years that North Korea security officials use torture as a matter of longstanding state policy and practice, and imprison people who leave the country without permission,” said Phil Robertson, deputy Asia Director at Human Rights Watch. “By returning them to a place of torture and persecution, China is clearly violating international law and its obligations as a nation that has ratified the UN Refugee Convention.”
https://www.hrw.org/news/2017/09/03/china-redoubling-crackdowns-fleeing-north-koreans
The real question about poverty is has it increased and has the poverty line (or the standard of living in New Zealand) risen? If even one child is below the line or if the standard of living has not improved then it is not good enough. Provide some meaningful measures.
How many more do you need before you actually care enough to do anything about it?
Nine years and counting.
In all this heart-rending syrup about ‘kids out of poverty’ could someone please do the details on what they will be doing for the parents of said kids?
“If the answer is more money, there is no problem”
And the answer is NOT more distribution of money.
We already don’t have enough teachers, or assorted medical people, or mental health providers – and they won’t be magicked into being in three years. We tried that for radiographers and that wasn’t a clap hands success.
We already don’t have enough entry level work or on the job training or reliable work for people to develop skills, then upgrade or change to gain better income. Three years free tertiary? What a joke (the sort anyone would go eeeew! to.)
Both of the larger parties are still feeding the Good People who Make Money (from the misery of others).
Plus ça change, plus c’est la même chose …
Check: the UBI scenario pays for itself in 2016 NZ economy.
Twitter thread.
72! He’ll be 75 in 2020. Have there ever been any 75 year old nz ministers?
Walter Nash became Prime Minister at 75 and left office when he was 78.
That is the oldest one I can think off in New Zealand.
Shit’s getting real on the Korean peninsula.
SEOUL – South Korea’s defense minister on Monday said it was worth reviewing the redeployment of American tactical nuclear weapons to the Korean Peninsula to guard against the North, a step that analysts warn – if taken – would sharply increase the risk of an accidental conflict.
http://nationalpost.com/news/world/south-korea-raises-idea-of-bringing-back-tactical-u-s-nuclear-weapons-to-guard-against-north-korea
It seems that Nick Smith lied about the rat poison… http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11917037
Another Gingerfibber?
Hat tip ad.
A National minister lied to the public, and police, for his own short term political gain during an election ? Must be a day ending in a “y”.
http://www.radionz.co.nz/national/programmes/checkpoint/audio/201857263/video-evidence-appears-to-contradict-nick-smith-s-claim
It sounds like Campbell saw a slightly longer version of the video than the Herald published. Isn’t making false allegations illegal? Though I suppose there is a case for common assault, but that just wasn’t sensational enough for Smith.
A pogrom seventy years in the making and look who turns up.
.
When the whole world is looking for a way to resolve the fresh escalation of the Rohingya crisis in Rakhine State, Israel has refused to stop supplying arms to Myanmar army saying “the matter is clearly diplomatic”.
http://www.dhakatribune.com/world/2017/09/04/israel-refuses-halt-arms-supply-myanmar-army/
.
There is relatively little criticism toward the military operation within Myanmar itself, however. Army commander Sr. Gen. Min Aung Hlaing’s remarks on Friday suggest it won’t ease off its campaign, describing it as “unfinished business” dating back to World War II.
Speaking in the capital Naypyitaw, he said the army was pursuing its patriotic duty to preserve Myanmar’s borders and prevent Rohingya insurgents carving out their own territory in northern Rakhine State. He referred to communal violence in the area in 1942, when ethnic Rohingya who sided with the retreating British forces clashed with local ethnic-Rakhine Buddhists, who aligned themselves with the Japanese. Tens of thousands of people died in a failed attempt to create a Rohingya state.
https://www.wsj.com/articles/myanmar-army-chief-defends-clearing-rohingya-villages-1504410530?mod=e2tw
Poor old George Stephanooulos flogging a dead horse
Bill Clinton’s brain-dead ex-Director of Communications makes Sarah Huckabee look smarter than him…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eQYjZFcs48s
INteresting move by Ardern to state she will move to decriminalise Abortion (as a conscience vote). In order for Bill to go home tonight he has said he thinks the current laws work really well thank you.
Well done Ardern. Response and length of response to this will be interesting.
Just a reminder that rapist Julian Assange is a racist too:
https://twitter.com/helenlewis/status/904290514597498880
He’s concerned about the decline of the white race and it’s feminism’s fault. Lovely.
Prime news–no tax hole ya!!
Yep we are watching 3 just because our computer won’t stream one
You’re repeating a slander instigated by the U.S. and British governments. Shame on you rhinocrates.
How would you interpret Assange’s tweet? Because it certainly is very weird.
I agree with you, weka. But there is no evidence that he raped anyone. Certainly the two young women inveigled and badgered by the authorities to file those absurd charges have refuted them.
so you agree he’s racist?
He’s Australian isn’t he?
Sorry that is a slur on our cozzie bros across the ditch and I know some are very fair minded…
But they do have (and support) some of the most outlandish immigration and racial policies.
No, there is nothing in what he said that is racist. It was crass and sexist, but you’d have to interpret it with the malice of that Blairite shill Helen Lewis to say it was racist. Of course, poor old rhinocrates didn’t think twice before he flicked on her smug and vicious tweet.
Julian Assange is a thoughtful and eloquent person, and he has no history of racist comments, so he deserves the benefit of the doubt over that (admittedly dodgy) tweet about childless female politicians. It’s the sort of comment that the outgoing National MPs routinely made about Helen Clark when she was prime minister.
If you want to see what real racism looks like, have a view of this wicked and cynical speech….
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j0uCrA7ePno
Assange is rubbing shoulders with some strange folk online – the Russians have identified him as a channel for some of their releases. The Russians are typically uncritically antiIslamic, cheerfully anti-Semitic, and judging by their recent actions in Chechnya, not LGBT friendly. If Assange begins to mirror those views it may reflect the company he’s keeping.
“If Assange begins to mirror those views it may reflect the company he’s keeping.”
Then the British government should grant him his liberty and let him mix with ordinary people again.
By the way, your generic comments about “the Russians” indicate you know nothing about them.
And a rapist, and a Trump supporter, and a hide away coward.
No smoke without fire, no matter what the weirdos post in his defence.
Fool, you can say that as many times as you want, but there is no evidence to support your foolish lies.
Obvious weirdo is obvious.
You’re out of your depth. Please stop now.
And you’re in your weirdo element and apparently out of your mind. I’d say stop now, but I doubt you’re capable or if it’s even possible.
All I know, if I were accused of rape, I’d fight through every court to prove my innocence.
I certainly wouldn’t hide out in a foreign embassy to avoid justice.
And I certainly wouldn’t have helped Trump get elected. What a disgrace is your hero Assange, weirdo.
His anti feminism gives big clues about his views on women. I don’t trust him or his motives a bit.