Maybe Labour understand that there are tough times ahead with any amount of unrest…..
I would invite readers to delve daily into the markets on http://markets.on.nytimes.com/research/markets/overview/overview.asp . There are some interestingly rapid movements during the last month, commodities are well down, only Brent Crude over $100, light crude down near $70. Shares are crashing. What this all indicates is a deflationary spiral as prices have peaked, a lack of liquidity in the markets. Money is looking for safe hedges and has nowhere to go.
What does it mean…tough times ahead with more disruption, more dissent. national as the next government (should they gain that poisoned challice) will end up needing all the police powers they can muster. The legitimacy of the current system is on the line, and rather than face the challenge positively they seem to want the right to repress whilst they loot our assets for their mates benefit.
You need to ask one more “why”. Why, after the US Federal Reserve has pumped $16T in new cash into the financial markets via the major banks, is there still a “lack of liquidity” in the markets?
And really, its a very simple issue. There is no shortage of money. There is an excess of debt and liabilities.
In other words, this isn’t a liquidity issue, its a solvency issue.
They can impoverish the middle class and under class all they like now, there are not enough assets in the OECD to compensate for the hundreds of trillions of potential loan and derivative bad (false) assets now hidden on bank balance sheets. At a time when the banks themselves have maximised their leverage in an attempt to maximise their profits, hence are woefully undercapitalised.
Some of the largest banks in the world are operating at leverage ratios of over 30:1. This is exactly like taking a million dollar mortgage out with a $30K deposit. Guess what, if the housing market tanks by just 5% you are suddenly left underwater.
That’s where all the banks are right now, except with trillion dollar bigger sums, and the markets set to tank by 40%-50%.
Yes, solvency is the big underlying issue. Creating credit out of thin air gives short term liquidity but it all gets dissolved or has nowhere safe to go. Creating any more credit just increases solvency problems.Bail outs are just a waste of time propping up the edifice.
Yep. A “bail out” is simply more debt, creating a short term supply of money to help pay off debts already owed to banks.
The Greek “bail outs” increase Greek debt further, and the money is paid straight to bankers.
The Greek ‘socialist’ government is working hand in hand with the bankers and the corporatists against their own people.
The Greeks defaulted in the first half of the 20th century, and they should do so again. And this time, they should get their tax systems and enforcement sorted out.
IT does have another side effect devaluing the American dollar forcing ours up if we don’t do something our export sector will get damaged again just when it is showing some resilience laissez fair for us social credit for them =disaster for our export sector just when we need it to keep our economy afloat , Their is a difference between borrowing and printing .Blinglish will have to borrow more if he doesn’t print and that will cost more and weaken our economy further.
“Maybe Labour understand that there are tough times ahead with any amount of unrest…..”
Wow, ‘ tough times ahead’, this is a valid reason for increasing the powers of the state?
Tough times for whom, and unrest from where? More importantly, how will increasing the Orwellian surveillance powers of a Government address the financial minefields, the increasing costs and the ballooning employment shortages we know make up the bulk of the tough times ahead.
Yeah let’s continue to ignore the problems that lead to the unjust laws and just give the State more and more of our freedoms. If we are to believe all the info distributed from our great leader the ‘serious crimes, the ones that desperately required National to remove even more of the freedoms fought for by our soldiers in bloody wars past, relate primarily to the cultivation and trafficking of marijuana.
A subject which only highlights exactly how uninterested they are in solving the problem.
Wow, ‘ tough times ahead’, this is a valid reason for increasing the powers of the state?
In the eyes of Right Wing Authoritarians it is. Labour has been centre-right for a while now and it now seems to be shifting into the authoritarian mode along with National, Act and United Future.
More importantly, how will increasing the Orwellian surveillance powers of a Government address the financial minefields…
It won’t but it will allow the government to oppress the populace to protect the thieves capitalists.
IMO, Anybody who’s voted Labour before because they were the party of the working class should now either be voting Mana, Alliance or Greens. None of the other parties are there for the majority of the populace.
amen, jenny.
i had just put a comment on another posting here but will repeat it here.
i seem to be missing something here, i thought the tories where all for less (nanny) state in our lives and yet we get this legislation.
equally i see a major left wing party struggling to get traction in polls, rushing to the aid of the tories to help them push thru this disgusting piece of lawmaking.
it has helped to decide where this one will vote come november and it aint gonna be for the nat lite crew. sorry guys.
peace.
The Tories are for anything which will secure their status and power when citizen uprisings occur. Just watch the UK.
And it is a shame that after 9/11, UK Labour led the charge into increased surveillance and CCTV powers, more than what was ever necessary to combat the IRA.
i seem to be missing something here, i thought the tories where all for less (nanny) state in our lives and yet we get this legislation.
That’s what the Tories say that they’re for but any reading of history will show the exact opposite. The Tories are the dictators that they warn people about.
Should MPs be party puppets or individual representatives?
John Key is famous for being an open and accessible PM, amicable and chatty, but National have become famous for saying as little as possible about stuff that matters.
Phil Goff looks more like he’s on slogan autopilot, but Labour MPs like Trevor Mallard, Clare Curran and Darien Fenton have generated publicity for speaking their own minds – for better or worse.
The Maori Party speaks as “our people” while Hone Harawira says what he likes.
Depends on what it is about. There are obviously party positions and ministerial responsibilities, but I have not been given any limitiation on what I can say from a personal point of view and how wider issues might effect my own region.
Isn’t this current public discussion around the future of the RWC just another example of the wider cultural cringe that we as a nation suffer from. (“Please world, love us, please! Please endorse that our decision to live here was the right one!”)
We talk about whinging Poms.
Where else in the world would you get such a debate dominating the media.
And at an event as it enters its final and high profile stage.
Strange thing is at school Kiwi kids are taught that the game is bigger than the man …
(People, the sun will continue to rise in the East whether the ABs are there or not)
Oh yes, my goodness yes, you do! Anyone old enough to remember that git Bickerstaff and his “punch a Pom a day” campaign? All in fun, he said… sadly my ex-husband took that as an instruction, and guess who the “Pom” was that he had ready to hand? 🙁
As a ‘pommy youth’ I well remember the shadow the ‘bash a pom a day’ sentiment cast over my family. I guess to many New Zealanders it was just harmless fun at the expense of the plummy voiced English (which we weren’t/aren’t) or part of Muldoon’s anti-union barrage (Dad was a shop steward).
To my family it was simply an experience of hostility and non-belonging. I remember Mum crying and just wanting to go ‘home’.
Having said that, I had very good friends (some of my best friends – still – are New Zealanders :)).
And don’t get me on to my ‘identity’ – I’ve given up on that as a bad joke.
Yeah but the likes of Deaker has a soft spot for the Irish, Welsh, or Scots. But they despise the English.
It seems that people can wave the flags of any nationality here in Godzone and say they are proud of their “homeland”, but look out if you are English or from areas of Asia.
but look out if you are English or from areas of Asia.
That is so true! My students are for the most part Asian, which is something I’ve learned not to talk about, if I don’t want to hear stereotypes and ignorant abuse. “They’re taking our jobs”, etc..
I remember a student at Unitec in tears over the abuse she got from a bus driver when she asked a question about his route. My son and his friend Jinkoo were catching a bus near their school Western Springs College and they got on together. Jinkoo (Korean, and quite dark-skinned) started to ask something and the driver responded with “I’m sick of you bloody Chinese coming here, you don’t even speak English, and your bloody stupid questions…”. WSC doesn’t have uniforms, goodness knows how old this driver thought they were, but they were just kids! Jinkoo grew up in Germany until he was 8, then in Titirangi. His English is perfect, and his response was scathing!
As a ‘pommy youth’ I well remember the shadow the ‘bash a pom a day’ sentiment cast over my family. I guess to many New Zealanders it was just harmless fun at the expense of the plummy voiced English (which we weren’t/aren’t) or part of Muldoon’s anti-union barrage (Dad was a shop steward)
I was glad at the time that my Dad hadn’t lived to see it! When we girls started school, we had our Dad’s Scouse accent, but we were gobsmacked to be mobbed by 6 year olds screaming “Get back to Pongolia, garn!” My Dutch friend Ellen actually did get punched for speaking Dutch in the street, she was 5 years old, her sister 4.. (Her father then declared that they would all speak English in the home from then on.) New Zealanders seem deeply suspicious of and hostile to “foreigners”..
It’s been the subject of much mirth that our glorious leader John “100% pure compared to other countries” Keys doesn’t seem to know what a percentage is.
But this latest bit of innumeracy has me stunned. From question time yesterday:
When Standard & Poors were giving a meeting in New Zealand about a month ago what they did say, was there was about a 30% chance, ah, that we would be downgraded, that’s what happens when you’re on negative outlook, they did go on to say though, if there was a change of government then that downgrade would be much more likely.
Everyone catch that?
Keys is now crowing that the likelyhood of something that has already happened would be even higher if National weren’t in govt.
Keys dropped the ball. But it’s a good thing Keys is in charge, ‘cos if it were someone else they might’ve dropped the ball.
FFS people used to let this idiot play with their money? Oh that’s right, we still do.
There used to be lots of money slopping around for the idiot to play with….but now?????
“100% pure compared to other countries….” the fekker should have been standing in the stream with me opening day watching effluent dumping, I would have submerged his TV friendly little nostrils deep into it for as long as it took for him to wise up..
Yep Bored, just after opening day on a river in the back of beyond seemingly clear and 100% pure as they come. After not too long me net and screens all clogged with dairy farm shit. And there aint even hardly none dairy farms in this catchment !!
Fertiliser use up 700% in last decade.
Imagine if everyone’s business could just dump their refuse in the street.
Got broken off and then thrown off on the Tuki, rainbows, one large, one little….took a fish out of the top of the Manawatu. Rainbow, 1.5Kgs. Some council idiots plough the Hawkes Bay rivers to”help” river flood flows..buggers the pools big time.
Season looking good if you are prepared to walk into difficult spots around Tararuas / Ruahines. Those streams dont turn to black bottomed slime drains (courtesy of fertilizer / dairy) like the lower country streams. The Manawatu, Mangatainoka, Makakahi, and to the Ruamahanga have been pretty much stuffed with algae by mid season for the last few years. Its a disgrace, and Keys willful ignorance of this makes me despise him more.
Businesses do dump their refuse in the street. The difference is that it can actually be picked up and is organised to be so. Farm refuse can’t be and no in government is bothered about either cleaning it up or preventing it from being dumped in the first place.
Yes, well it is the fundamental issue. How many businesses are still allowed to dump their refuse in the public estate like streets or creeks? None.
There seems to be some kind of implicit understanding that the farming sector can so dump. Similarly with the mining sector, though less so.
The farming one stems of course from NZ’s historical agricultural development when such things were relatively somewhat understandable. But that has morphed and changed to such an extent that if pre-european NZ was subjected to a resource consent application for the agricultural practices as practised today it would not progress very far methinks …
Farms should stop dumping anything outside the farm gate. Big ask for the current generation and would take time but that is what needs to happen. And people get grumpy WHEN ANOTHER FUKCING SHAKE RUMBLES THROUGH MID-SENTENCE … AAARRRRGH! … now where was my brain cells … ah yes, people get grumpy when that sector fails to acknowledge that very particular and major point.
What about TripleD (dipton double dipper) saying on morning report about the deposit guarantee scheme, “nobody knew how to do it”.
Well why the hell didnt they find out?
Oh I see, they needed the opportunity to dispense funds to their mates under a cloak of legality.
Nice work if you can get it.
The Gormless Fool formerly known as Oleolebiscuitbarrell 5.1
You should listen to the interview. English barely mentioned that Labour were the ones who set it up – I figured he’d be crowing from the rooftops that that was the case.
National supports the Government’s plans to offer a guarantee of $150 billion in retail banking deposits, but says there still many unknowns about how the scheme will work.
National leader John Key was briefed by Reserve Bank Governor Alan Bollard this afternoon about the plan after the Government announced the policy at the Labour Party campaign launch.
Makes no difference, marsman. If they hadn’t extended it, SCF would have gone into liquidation in the first period specifically to get the advantage of the scheme.
you cannot have it both ways, If they were unstable, the Government should not have extended the Guarantee, If they were fine then they simply manipulated the NZ Govt to make a buck
So either Blingless was an idiot signing them an extension or the SCF are guilty of serious misconduct
The Gormless Fool formerly known as Oleolebiscuitbarrell 5.1.2.1.1.1
If the government had not extended the guarantee, SCF would have triggered the payout earlier while under the protection of the original term extended to them by Labour.
On November 19th 2008, Key and his ministers were sworn in. That very day, Treasury Head John Whitehead signed the deed admitting SCF into the retail deposit guarantee scheme “on behalf of the Minister of Finance” Bill English.
Labour didn’t sign SCF into the scheme – National did and they did so while aware that SCF was not up to the terms of the scheme.
Fascinating to hear Bill English on Morning Report clouding the issue so thoroughly that the answer was not his problem and he was not responsible. The good thing was that he actually fronted up.
I do not care who it was that originally signed SCF on. It could have been Tinkerbell trembling in fear when she signed, asCaptain Hook held a shimmering longblade to her tiny throat. It is irrelevant. If SCF had failed during the term of that agreement then the relevant questions would be asked. The FACTS plainly show that the EXTENDED coverage was signed on by National, THREE TIMES My earlier statement stands
” either Blingless was an idiot signing them an extension
or the SCF are guilty of serious misconduct ”
I have seen figures reported at various places that show as much as a billion dollars was added to the risk value in the period between National coming to power and the actual collapse
The Gormless Fool formerly known as Oleolebiscuitbarrell …
Gormless, ( at 3:08) still has trouble with the FACTS that hundreds of millions of dollars of liability were added to the guarantee AFTER National extended the scheme for SCF. What about that data is so hard to understand?
Fox: Your colleague, she’d seen the protests in Greece and Europe and elsewhere. Did you guys take your cue from that? Are you hoping to cite certainly what was a lot of the tension, if not police activity. I know over the weekend there were over 100 arrests and you guys got things fired up. Are you taking your cues from the international movement and how do you want to see this? If you could have it in a perfect way, how would it be?
Jesse: Well I don’t know, its really difficult to answer questions leading to those conclusions. I’d say that we didn’t take our cue leading off of anybody really. It became a more spontaneous movement. As far as seeing this end, I wouldn’t like to see this end. I would like to see the conversation continue. This is what we should have been talking about in 2008 when the economy collapsed. We basically patched a hole on the tire and said let the car keep rolling. Unfortunately it’s fun to talk to the propaganda machine and the media especially conservative media networks such as yourself, because we find that we cant get conversations for the department of Justice’s ongoing investigation of News Corporation, for which you are an employee. But we can certainly ask questions like you know, why are the poor engaging in class warfare? After 30 years of having our living standards decrease while the wealthiest 1% have had it better than ever, I think it’s time for some maybe, I don’t know, participation in our democracy that isn’t funded by news cameras and gentlemen such as yourself.
Fox: But, uh, yeah well, let me give you this challenge Jesse.
Jesse: Sure.
Fox: We’re here giving you an opportunity on the record […] to put any
message you want out there, to give you fair coverage and I’m not
going to in any way
Jesse: That’s awesome!
Fox:…give you advice about it. So, there is an exception in the case, because you wouldn’t be able to get your message out there without us.
Jesse: No, surely, I mean, take for instance when Glenn Beck was doing his protest and he called the President, uh, a person who hates white people and white culture. That was a low moment in Americans’ history and you guys kinda had a big part in it. So, I’m glad to see you coming around and kind of paying attention to what the other 99 percent of Americans are paying attention to, as opposed to the far-right fringe, who who would just love to destroy the middle class entirely.
Fox: Alright, fair enough. You have a voice, an important reason to criticize myself, my company and anyone else. But, let me ask you that, in fairness, does this administration, President Obama, have any criticism as to the the financial situation the country’s in…?
Jesse: I think, myself, uh, as well as many other people, would like to see a little but more economic justice or social justice—Jesus stuff—as far as feeding the poor, healthcare for the sick. You know, I find it really entertaining that people like to hold the Bill of Rights up while they’re screaming at gay soldiers, but they just can’t wrap their heads around the idea that a for-profit healthcare system doesn’t work. So, let’s just look at it like this, if we want the President to do more, let’s talk to him on a level that actually reaches people, instead of asking for his birth certificate and wasting time with total nonsense like Solyndra.
I’ve been looking at the comments on the stuff political blogs for a while now. Every time John Pagani writes a blog he gets dozens of incredibly vitriolic, and often very uninformed, people commenting. A lot of them repeat the lies that Labour left us in a huge deficit hole and wasted all the money etc. They’re all generally very very anti-Labour and very pro-National.
When DPF writes a blog the comments are sort of 60/40 supportive or anti, with the anti ones saying stuff about him deliberately manipulating the media spin for his paymasters.
Yet when a new post goes up in the What (S)he Said blog, which is by Andrea Vance and John Hartevelt who are in the parliamentary press gallery, the comments are usually a lot more anti-national.
It makes me think there’s a whole bunch of righties just waiting for DPF and Pagani’s blogs so they can go in an astroturf hither and yon. But they ignore What (S)he Said and as a result we get more honest commenting going on.
I thought Pagani’s role was to act as a punchbag for Paul Holmes, Richard Griffin, Matthew Hooton and whoever else on the right wants a workout on an agreeable patsy.
The Gormless Fool formerly known as Oleolebiscuitbarrell 8
I wasn’t ill-informed, it is unfortunately, a subject that I know rather too well (as John already knew). John Pagani however was quite ill-informed on the subject he was writing on – which is why he got my comment pointing out one aspect of why he was ill-informed. Apparently he didn’t like by characterization of his motivation for writing such cobblers.
In any event, the comment didn’t survive there. So I repeated and expanded it here.
Japan is to resume whaling in the Southern Ocean next month with military security to protect its boats from the radical environment group Sea Shepherd which has promised to launch “Operation Divine Wind” or kamikaze against them.
On the tsunami and nuclear meltdown in Japan being connected to the emperor of Japan having sex with the sun goddess
“That happened many, many years ago, and that created a spiritual atmosphere over Japan which was an atmosphere ruled by the powers of darkness. The sun goddess is not a very nice lady. The sun goddess is a power of darkness, which is headed up by the kingdom of Satan. And so the sun goddess wants natural disasters to come to Japan. Sometimes the hand of God, which is more powerful, will prevent them. And when he decides to prevent them and when he doesn’t is far beyond anything that we can predict.”
Why the surprise? This creationism crap is worming its way into schools. It comes from the cell groups that set themselves up in the libraries of our teacher colleges. The graduates go out into the world and this drivel slowly permeates the classrooms – particularly, but not exclusively, in the lower decile schools where the communities are receptive and indeed request it – the communities’ boards recruit them. (Further confirming the warnings that were given when Picot set in train the self managing schools model).
It’s a toss up between English and Heatley as being the worst cabinet ministers. Both have caused immense financial hardship to those in the lowest income bracket.
I am concerned about how much Heatley has wasted on his screwed up housing policies. The man simply does NOT get it that his newly developed social housing unit will not deliver affordable rental properties to those who do not qualify for a HNZ property.
NZ has such an aging population who require medical treatment. Unless there is a robust, affordable secure housing policy, the elderly in particular are going to require more health resources. This can be said for children as well and people with permanent health conditions which impede working more than several hours a week.
Heatley has 40 million for his social housing unit EXPERIMENT, which has redirected money away from housing people in need, while far too many HNZ homes are unoccupied.
Dosent help that the HCC is full of Tea-Party wannabes, and Julie Hardaker is trying her best to be like Michelle Bachman without the god-bothering.
Heatley is probably in the pocket of the slumlords union Property Investors’ Federation.
Fortunately, the Tea Parters on my council are a) most of the time all bluff and bluster and b) too caught up into having admission fees established for the local art gallery to be any sort of threat to council services.
Profit is a dead weight loss so I’m not overly concerned about that especially considering that it is the profit drive (pure greed) that is destroying the environment.
No, we needed the lab time to tell us that those effects were good for us rather than the End of Civilisation which seems to be the reason why such drugs are banned.
“The majority of voters for all main political parties want the government to phase out battery cages. When asked whether animal welfare laws should prohibit cages, 70 per cent of the respondents said they should. When told the government is considering phasing out battery cages and asked if they agreed with this, 81 per cent said they did,” says SAFE campaign director Eliot Pryor.
So, is the government listening to the public on this or are they still defending the use of battery hens?
However, the Horizon poll finds 64% say they are not well enough informed or not informed at all on Preferential voting (64%); Single Transferable Vote (62.2%) and
Supplementary Member (71.3%). Only on the former electoral system, First Past the Post, do a majority (58.1%) feel informed or well informed, while 28% feel ill-informed on it.
Asked if they would like the electoral Commission to send them information about the alternative voting systems to MMP, 74.2% say yes, 25.8% no.
Well, at least people are asking for the information. Now hopefully that will be made available to them. Although I’m pretty sure that NAct will prefer to keep people uninformed.
Among voters who are registered, intend to vote, have decided which party to support or who don’t know but express a current preference, Mana has 2.2% (up from 1.9% in July). The Maori Party has 1.1%. Some 21% of those supporting Mana voted for the Maori Party at the 2008 general election.
National has 39.5% (up 2.2% since July), Act 4.8% and United Future 0.8%.
Labour has 27% (no change), the Green party 10.7% (+ 0.5%), New Zealand First 7.3% (+1.3%).
Actually, the most important point of that poll is that Labour would only be able to form a coalition with the support of Mana. Phil Goff should, about now, be feeling really stupid for saying that he won’t work with Hone.
This one’s the most disturbing though. Apparently, most people believe that employers should have a say in your recreation.
Whao! What just happened in the public gallery in Parliament? It happened as Goff was beginning his speech in the general debate, and apparently our friendly PM blamed the incident on Labour.
I think the speaker got it wrong. But the PM obviously said something during/just after the kerfuffle in the gallery that got right up the nose of the opposition.
The incident interrupted a speech by Labour leader Phil Goff and several MPs leapt to their feet out of concern.
At the time Prime Minister John Key was shouting across the House “shame on Labour”. Question time had just finished and MPs were engaged in a general debate.
[…]
Earthquake Recovery Minister Gerry Brownlee said security guards were on the scene “very, very quickly”.
[…]
“[We were] shocked because you don’t know why he was wanting to leap. When he went out he made a few statements that were fairly clear what he was about. I’d rather not go into that.”
The man was heard calling out about Work and Income, Prime Minister John Key and Social Development Minister Paula Bennett.
I happened to read an article today entitled Key Nats’ ace; Goff sidelined, published on the Otago Daily Times website today. The fictional piece is so obviously a beat up that I’m surprised it reached publication…
Dalefield School principal Kevin Jephson said the standards would reward only those pupils “who arrive at school from extremely advantaged backgrounds such as inherited intelligence, emotional security, financial prospects and pro-active parenting”.
“The many children who come to school less advantaged not only demonstrate their lack of readiness to learn at higher academic levels but also inflict on the school their many and varied social problems.”
National Standards had allowed politicians and bureaucrats to “get in by the back door” and influence policy and practice in schools, which under parent control were “more relaxed and human”, he said.
Now boards of trustees face the axe for not implementing National Standards and teachers are hamstrung and demotivated by “countless restrictive practices”. “With the tyranny of officialdom flooding our schools they will soon descend into mediocrity and then over time become ripe for closure and mergers.”
(funny that is already happening in Dunedin and Kawerau, and the rumour mill suggests those are ‘pilots’ for future amalgamations)
and…
“We at Dalefield cannot afford to wait any longer for the minister to wake up and rescind an unworkable, treacherous and anti-child educational law. “It is time for the lawmakers to stand up and apologise to our citizens for wasting precious taxpayer funds and degrading high performing schools on a political whim.”
I’d love to see Tolley do that! And finally
“We have a duty to the children of this country to maintain the very high educational standards we have now and not just let our children’s futures and our high international rankings be destroyed by a political neoliberal ideology which has captured the present government,”
Well said Kevin Jephson and well spotted Ian.
Last week buried in a column somewhere I saw a quote from Anne Tolley to the effect that National Standards were just a beginning and that she had many more things to improve NZ education. Ominous.
And watch that Mandate that National will seize in order to justify massive changes.
So what about the wairarapa times age running a meet john key forum and putting a two inch bannner for key on the bottom of every page for a week?
When the goebbles golum come back to life?
Noting that effective enforcement of intellectual property rights is critical to sustaining economic growth across all industries and globally;
Is completely contrary to reality. Preventing people from applying their imagination and coming up with ideas, which is what IP enforcement does, actively prevents development of the economy.
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The Council of Disobedient Women There is a regular segment in the Speak Up For Women podcasts called “Absolutely Blasted Mad Moment of the Week”. Each podcast the speaker and the host discuss a recent event that is the most insane thing they have seen in the gender critical space ...
Todd Muller - Dishonest National Party leaderIt seems that dishonest Todd Muller is, like many right-wing politicians, entirely morally bankrupt. I mean just look at the National Party’s leaking omni-shambles over the last week or so. They’ve imploded in a spectacular display of backfiring dirty politics, the likes of which ...
TUESDAY JULY 14Yorkshire Airport (Prime, 7.30pm). Bloomin’ ’eck, behind the scenes at Leeds Bradford Airport. Apparently, there is plenty of “northern charm”, although reaction in the UK ranged from “brilliant” to “patronising”. It is narrated by Hugh Dennis, whose middle name might be “Arch”.WEDNESDAY JULY 15Queen: Live at Wembley (Prime, ...
MONDAY JULY 13Bodyguard (TVNZ 1, 8.30pm). It's the final; if you haven't seen this already on Netflix, get ready, the ending is batshit.Unforgotten (Vibe, Sky 006, 8.30pm). I wonder if Sanjeev Bhasksar's character has got rid of that damn backpack in the third season of this cold case drama? Although, come ...
Simon Bridges must be the unluckiest person in New Zealand politics. When he was elected as leader of the National party, he also became Leader of the Opposition – a position, he was entitled to assume, that would require him to “oppose”. But the government he set out to oppose ...
This is a re-post from The Guardian by Damian Carrington Spreading rock dust on farmland could suck billions of tonnes of carbon dioxide from the air every year, according to the first detailed global analysis of the technique. The chemical reactions that degrade the rock particles lock the greenhouse gas into ...
Check out Speak Up For Women’s new podcasts: Episode 3 In this episode Speak Up For Women spokeswoman Ani O’Brien (@aniobrien) is joined by Beth Johnson (@beth_nosnhoj) to discuss the proposal from Statistics NZ to change standard data collection policy to “gender by default” rather than sex. They discuss why the ...
During a recent public consultation on the future of Archives New Zealand, a key report was suppressed. The Ombudsman has ruled that the refusal was unjustified. Sadly, the consultation was over by the time of the the decision has been made. However, the law on the use of the ...
National MP - Michael WoodhouseUnbelievable! Michelle Boag also sent National’s Michael Woodhouse confidential emails about COVD-19 patients, and he continued to publicly attack the Government over these very same breaches of privacy.This is the biggest political self-own since the Act Party’s David Garrett admitted in Parliament that he used a ...
Transcript: National Party policy announcement on roads – 8 July, 2020 Muller: Good afternoon everybody. Thank you for coming. Reporter 1: Is Hamish Walker a racist? Muller: Hang on… you haven’t even said good afternoon to me yet. Reporter 1: Good afternoon Mr Muller. Is Hamish Walker a racist? ...
Back in April, I wrote about trials in Iran of a fixed-dose combination of two existing anti-viral drugs used to treat hepatitis C – sofosbuvir and daclatasvir – that could point to an effective treatment for Covid-19 symptoms.At the time, data from those trials was not available outside the hospitals ...
Prof Nick Wilson, Dr Anja Mizdrak, Dr Jennifer Summers, Prof Michael BakerThe pandemic-related lockdown is possibly the most dramatic public health intervention in NZ history. It helped achieve the elimination of community transmission of the COVID-19 virus in NZ. But it was also associated with 548 fewer total ...
Reprehensible: There is much that could be said about Michael Woodhouse, but what would be the point? Any man who willingly involves himself in a situation as reprehensible as the one depicted in the above photograph has already vouchsafed all that decent people need to know about his character. That there have ...
As the debate over assisted dying rages in the run-up to the referendum at the election on September 19, a persistent problem continues to dog the discussions. That is to say, a prominent spokesperson for a particular group takes a strong public stand in opposition without acknowledging that they don’t ...
No Other Suspects? The mainstream news media was willing to print and broadcast harsh Opposition criticism of the Government, even though they knew that the source of the leaked information was a National Party MP. Even though, by pushing the story up towards the top of every news bulletin they were ...
Sacrificial Lamb: If the stories about Mr Taogaga and the unauthorised release of confidential medical data had been deliberately orchestrated by Labour’s political opponents, their deflection of the news media’s attention away from the Prime Minister’s address to the Labour Party Congress could hardly have been more successful.THE LABOUR PARTY ...
The East is Rent: The consequences of unleashing the young against the old; of elevating ideological rigor above reasoned debate; and of setting the present against the past; was a decade of unprecedented social stress and tension, interspersed with explosions of murderous mob violence and tragic material destruction. More than ...
The Green Party of Aotearoa-New Zealand could go from helping Jacinda Ardern run the country, to being turfed out of Parliament altogether in ten weeks. And that could see the end of Labour in government. Without them, Labour would likely have to do what no party has done since the ...
Remember the government's tyrannicalTerrorism Suppression (Control Orders) Bill? Remember how it was rammed through Parliament, with a four-day submission period and a select committee process that was a democratic fraud? At the time, the government gave the impression that there was an urgent need for this legislation, that a ...
Attack journalist - Tova O'BrienWe all know that much of the mainstream media in New Zealand is terribly biased. They are in effect another branch of the National Party, and can often be even more prejudiced than their right wing bosses.In fact many right wing politicians moonlight as journalists and ...
Former National Party President - Michelle BoagAfter the complete botch job Hamish Walker made of leaking the private details of COVID-19 patients to the mainstream media last week, the best-case scenario for Todd Muller and the National Party would be if the news cycle went quiet about their involvement.But unfortunately ...
One of the challenges of working on illegal wildlife markets, is you don’t really have scope to talk about your research into illegal wildlife markets. There is some stuff though that willbe coming out on Asiatic black bears in China, and before Covid19, I was delving more into rhinos. Which ...
Some are surprised at this sudden brain implosion on the part of both Michelle Boag, former National Party President, and the National Party in general, in exposing the private, confidential details of COVID patients. Others…? Let’s be blunt: not so much. Too many of that Party have long operated with ...
Michelle Boag - Former National Party PresidentWhen Todd Muller decided not to discipline Hamish Walker for his horribly racist press release last week, you had to wonder if his lack of proper leadership had something to do with a shared belief system? After all, the whiteness of the blue “team” ...
On Twitter today, lawyer Felix Geiringer asked a good question: why are MP's exempt from the Privacy Act? The Act imposes its obligations on "agencies", and s8 of the 2020 Act states that this term does not include... a member of Parliament in their official capacity The 1993 Act, ...
Climate Explained is a collaboration between The Conversation, Stuff and the New Zealand Science Media Centre to answer your questions about climate change.If you have a question you’d like an expert to answer, please send it to climate.change@stuff.co.nzWhat was the climate and sea level like at times ...
So now we know, beyond all doubt. The National party has no interest in joining the “team of five million” in our fight against the pandemic but its priority is to take every opportunity it can to damage the government. The cynicism is breathtaking. It was prepared to leak the ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Jeff Masters The massive dust storm that formed over the Sahara Desert in mid-June invaded the southeastern U.S. June 25-28, bringing dangerous levels of air pollution, low visibility, and colorful sunsets. The air pollution event over parts of Texas and the Gulf ...
In 1987, as a British Labour MP, I was elected to the Shadow Cabinet by my colleagues and was asked by the party leader to direct Labour’s campaign in the general election of that year. The election was to take place at the height of Mrs Thatcher’s dominance and we ...
National MP Nicola WillisHousing, which I would argue is a fundamental human right, has long been a problem in New Zealand. Not only do we have some of the most overpriced houses in the entire world, much of the housing stock is substandard and therefore affects not just people’s health ...
If the government has not lined up behind a "Yes" vote in this year's cannabis referendum the way some reformers would have liked, one entirely laudable thing it did do was commission some science around the public's choice.That science landed today, in the form of the report from an expert ...
Associate Professor Sara WaltonAt the heart of the discussion on opening up our borders is the dichotomy of health and the economy – both of which are actually intertwined, like many things with our economy, as this epidemic has shown.If we think about our country as a system, ...
This is a re-post from Carbon Brief by Josh Gabbatiss This year will see the largest ever drop globally in both investment and consumer spending on energy as the coronavirus pandemic hits every major sector, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA). The crisis is accelerating the shutdown of older fossil-fuelled ...
A short opinion piece – Friday 26th June 2020 Whilst our Government has treated many financial victims of the current Covid-19 virus with appropriate generosity, the same cannot be said for those of the two earlier “epidemics” in NZ. The “Covid-84” virus (also called “Rogernomics”) spread systemic greed, with the ...
Everyone deserves a a decent life. We know this is possible with a fairer approach to income support and tax Read the Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand’s Poverty Action Plan here ...
After a long break, the government is back inserting secrecy clauses in legislation. This time its the Overseas Investment Amendment Bill (No 3), which in its clause allowing Ministers to exempt purchasers of farm land from the usual rules also allows them to exempt an exemption from the publication requirement: ...
Over the past two years the government has repeatedly delayed a scheme to put cameras on boats to monitor Mew Zealand's pervasively criminal fishing industry. But it turns out that the industry actually wants cameras: Three of the country's biggest seafood companies have broken ranks with the rest of the ...
Louise Delany (public health lawyer)Health and emergency laws have played a critical role in this country’s successful elimination of community transmission of the COVID-19 pandemic. This blog details key aspects of the legislation and comments on issues around testing, payments by incoming travellers for quarantine costs, and mask use. ...
I like Andrew Curry’s succinct and insightful futures blog The Next Wave. His most recent post is about social change. In particular, the decadal-long periods usually required for changes in values. He highlights a 2016 paper by Inglehart and Norris, who examined whether economic insecurity or a “cultural backlash” ...
Story of the Week... Toon of the Week... Coming Soon on SkS... Poster of the Week... SkS Week in Review... Story of the Week... Stop making sense: why it's time to get emotional about climate changeThe science has been settled to the highest degree, so now ...
MONDAY JULY 6Washington (History, Sky 073, 7.30pm). The brilliant Doris Kearns Goodwin is the executive producer of this six-part series about America's first president. It combines interviews with live action and is narrated by Jeff Daniels. It's engaging, said Salon.TUESDAY JULY 7The ABC Murders (Prime, 8.30pm). Sarah Phelps has done incredible things with ...
I think we can all agree that the mainstream media in New Zealand has a very different set of rules for the right wing compared to the left. While Labour and Green Party politicians don’t seem to be able to fart without it becoming a sackable offence, National and Act ...
A chronological listing of news articles linked to on the Skeptical Science Facebook Page during the past week: Sun, June 28 through Sat, July 4, 2020Editor's Choice'2040': A funny, entertaining, upbeat climate documentaryA timely Australian documentary takes a 'solutions' approach, with the filmmaker inspired by visions of ...
Racist National MP Hamish WalkerEven before Todd Muller's coup ousted Simon Bridges by a single vote, it was patently obvious that the National Party promotes and stands for white privilege. In fact they’ve always worked to ensure the discriminatory status quo in New Zealand doesn’t change.So it’s no surprise that ...
Dave HeatleyZero community transmission. Just a handful of active cases, all in quarantine. New Zealand is in an attractive situation, at least compared to much of the world. The situation could be robust and enduring – or it might be fragile, just one border incursion away from a “second ...
Is the consequence of the Simpson Report proposals for restructuring the health system poorer accountability to people? When in doubt, centralise‘ has been a persistent theme in New Zealand public policy throughout our history. The current government is no exception. Here are some examples. - The regional polytechs have been ...
I wrote earlier in the week about the Scientology front organisations Drug Free World and Drug Free Ambassadors and their quite prominent role in anti-cannabis reform "coalition" assembled by Family First and a newloca branch of the American prohibitionist organisation SAM.It turns out Family First aren't the only ones helping ...
Nik GreenMuch of the public debate about the response to the COVID-19 pandemic has focused on the extent to which government regulations have restricted personal and business activity.Oxford University Blavatnik School of Government Here in New Zealand, the question of when to change Alert Levels dominated the ...
Rt Hon Winston Peters, Leader of New Zealand First New Zealand First Leader Winston Peters acknowledged today the heavy price of trying to lead the National Party today. ‘One’s sympathy goes out to Todd Muller and his family. Todd is a good man, unlike most of his colleagues he does ...
We're keeping New Zealand moving, one progress-packed week at a time. Read below to find out how we're creating jobs, protecting the environment, looking out for the health of New Zealanders', and upgrading our critical infrastructure - and that's only this week. ...
We're keeping New Zealand moving, one progress-packed week at a time. Read below to find out how we're creating jobs, protecting the environment, looking out for the health of New Zealanders', and upgrading our critical infrastructure - and that's only this week. ...
Hon Shane Jones, Minister for Regional Economic Development The Provincial Growth Fund is providing up to $19.5 million to boost innovative primary sector businesses and create training and job opportunities for Northland locals through the construction of an innovation and enterprise park at Ngawha, Regional Economic Development Minister Shane Jones ...
The Green Party is today unveiling part one of its plan for a fossil-fuel free Aotearoa, including an immediate ban on new industrial coal boilers. ...
Mark Patterson MP, Spokesperson for Primary Industry New Zealand First is supporting calls by hunters and the New Zealand Tahr Foundation (NZTF) to halt a large scale cull of Himalayan Tahr by the Department of Conservation in National Parks. The calls are supported by a 40,000 strong petition and the ...
Rt Hon Winston Peters, Leader of New Zealand First New Zealand First leader Winston Peters today scoffed at suggestions that a team of six political operatives have been dispatched to New Zealand to assist his campaign. ‘As President Ronald Reagan once said, ‘there they go again.’ ‘The clickbait journos can’t ...
New Zealand First is pleased to announce Jenny Marcroft as the party’s election 2020 candidate for the Auckland Central electorate. Jenny spent years working in Auckland Central, having spent a vast proportion of her broadcasting career there. She says she, "knows the place and knows the people." Ms Marcroft says ...
New Zealanders deserve healthy rivers and lakes that are safe to swim in - but they have been getting worse for decades. That's why, with our latest announcement, we're investing in projects that will help clean up our rivers and lakes and restore them to health, within a generation. ...
This week we moved into the second half of 2020 - and our Government delivered another week of big changes and major progress for New Zealanders. Read below for a wrap of the key things moments from the week - from extending paid parental leave, to making major investments in ...
The Green Party has opposed the COVID-19 Recovery Fast-track Consenting Bill which shortcuts normal consenting processes under the Resource Management Act (RMA), reduces public participation and narrows environmental considerations. ...
Hon Shane Jones, Minister of Regional Economic Development A regional freight hub for the lower North Island will be built just northeast of Palmerston North, Regional Development Minister Shane Jones has announced. The Government is investing $40 million through the Provincial Growth Fund to designate and buy land and design ...
Green Party Co-leader Marama Davidson is calling for the introduction of a Guaranteed Minimum Income to lift hundreds of thousands of people out of poverty and prevent more families entering into further debt with the Ministry of Social Development. ...
There has been renewed focus on New Zealand First acting as a handbrake on the Government after our decision to not support Auckland light rail. We are a handbrake for bad ideas, that istrue, but our track record since 2017 has seen New Zealand First constructively also serve as an ...
Mark Patterson MP, New Zealand First List MP New Zealand First’s Fair Residency for Superannuation Bill passed its First Reading in Parliament today. The Bill makes a significant change to NZ Super by raising the minimum residency requirement from 10 to 20 years, after age 20. “Currently, a migrant of ...
Darroch Ball MP, Spokesperson for Law and Order A New Zealand First member’s bill in the name of Darroch Ball introducing a six-month minimum prison sentence for assaults on first responders has passed its second reading in Parliament. The new offence of "injuring a first responder or corrections officer with ...
Fletcher Tabuteau MP, Deputy Leader of New Zealand First New Zealand First welcomes the launch of the new Criminal Cases Review Commission, gifted with the name from Waikato-Tainui - Te Kāhui Tātari Ture, announced in Hamilton today by Justice Minister Andrew Little. “New Zealand First has long believed in and ...
The Green Party is celebrating over $800m in new funding for green projects, which will get people into jobs while solving New Zealand’s long-term challenges. ...
Mark Patterson MP, Spokesperson for Primary Industries New Zealand First is appalled that Meridian seems to have been unnecessarily spilling water from its dams to drive up its profits."While New Zealanders have been coming together in some of our darkest hours, we don’t expect power gentailers to waste water and ...
We wrapped up the first half of 2020 with a busy month, taking additional steps to support New Zealanders as we continue with our economic recovery. We rolled out targeted packages to support key industries like tourism and construction, helped create jobs in the environmental and agriculture sectors, and set ...
Hon Shane Jones, Minister for Infrastructure Infrastructure Minister Shane Jones has welcomed the appointment of Maurice Davis and his deep infrastructure and construction experience to the board of the Infrastructure Commission. Mr Davis (Ngāti Maniapoto), is the seventh and final appointment to the board led by former Reserve Bank Governor ...
Rt Hon Winston Peters, Leader of New Zealand First New Zealand’s click bait journalism is taking a turn for the worse, with yet another example of sensationalist, wilful-misrepresentation of the facts. “New Zealand First has worked constructively with its Coalition partner on hundreds of pieces of legislation and policy, and ...
The Green Party is today unveiling its Poverty Action Plan, which includes a Guaranteed Minimum Income to ensure people have enough to live with dignity. ...
Rt Hon Winston Peters, Deputy Prime Minister Fletcher Tabuteau MP, Under-Secretary for Regional Economic Development The Rotorua Museum redevelopment and Whakarewarewa and Tokorangi Forest projects will be accelerated thanks to a $2.09 million Provincial Growth Fund (PGF) boost, Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters and Under-Secretary for Regional Economic Development Fletcher ...
This week, we rolled out the next steps of our recovery plan, with new infrastructure investment, extra support for tourism operators, and a new programme to get Kiwis into agriculture careers. The global economic consequences of COVID-19 will continue to be a challenge, but we have a detailed plan to ...
Jenny Marcroft MP, Spokesperson for Health New Zealand First welcomes the passage of the Mental Health and Wellbeing Commission Bill through its final reading in Parliament today fulfilling a coalition agreement commitment. “This is an important step in saving the lives of New Zealanders and delivers a key coalition commitment ...
Whakatāne has been given a $2.5 million boost to speed up previously funded projects and create more than 450 jobs in the next decade. Of those, the equivalent of 160 full-time jobs could be delivered in the next six weeks. Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters is in town to make ...
Rt Hon Winston Peters, Deputy Prime Minister Fletcher Tabuteau MP, Under-Secretary for Regional Economic Development The Provincial Growth Fund (PGF) is investing $2.5 million to accelerate three infrastructure projects in Whakatāne, Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters and Under-Secretary for Regional Economic Development Fletcher Tabuteau announced today. “This package is about ...
Infrastructure Minister Shane Jones is throwing his weight behind a bid by the Auckland Council to fast-track the more than doubling of the city's water allowance from the Waikato River. And he's coming out strongly against anyone who plans on getting in the way of this campaign. "It is my ...
The Green Party is thrilled to see changes to the Resource Management Act (RMA) that mean consents for large projects can be declined if they will have significant climate change implications that are inconsistent with the Zero Carbon Act and Aotearoa New Zealand’s Paris Agreement obligations. ...
Hon Ron Mark, Minister of Defence The Royal New Zealand Navy’s new ship, Aotearoa, set sail for New Zealand on 10 June from the Republic of Korea, and is due to arrive in Auckland tomorrow, announced Minister of Defence Ron Mark. “Aotearoa is the Royal New Zealand Navy’s new fleet ...
Rt Hon Winston Peters, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister for Racing Racing Minister Winston Peters has today welcomed the Racing Industry Bill passing its third reading, creating the legislative framework for revitalising the racing industry while limiting the need for future government intervention. “For too long our domestic racing industry has ...
A package of wellbeing infrastructure investments in Kaipara which focuses on improving the lives of the elderly and upgrading the iconic Kauri Museum has been announced by Regional Economic Development Minister Shane Jones today. “These shovel-ready projects will have significant benefits for their respective communities and I’m pleased this funding ...
More support is rolling out for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) from the COVID Response and Recovery Fund, to help them adapt and innovate to deal with the impact of the virus. The Ministers for Economic Development and Small Business have announced a further $40 million for the Regional Business ...
Stephen Clark, Māori Land Court Judge of Hamilton has been appointed as a District Court Judge with jury jurisdiction to be based in Hamilton, Attorney-General David Parker announced today. Judge Clark graduated with an LLB from Auckland University in 1988 and was admitted to the Bar in the same year. ...
The Crown will provide a loan to Hawke’s Bay Airport to ensure it can trade through COVID-19 economic impacts, support the region’s recovery and protect up to 200 jobs. The Crown has a 50 percent shareholding in Hawke’s Bay Airport Limited (HBAL), with Napier City Council holding 26 percent and ...
Four celebrated Māori and Pasifika events will receive up to $100,000 each in funding from the new Creative and Cultural Events Incubator fund, Economic Development Minister Phil Twyford announced today. The four events that were successful in the inaugural funding round are: Kia Mau Festival, Wellington Māoriland Film Festival, Otaki ...
The Minister for Pacific Peoples, Aupito William Sio is pleased to announce the inaugural launch of Kiribati Language Week as part of the 2020 Pacific language Weeks programme. “I am so pleased that this year we are able to provide resourcing support to the Kiribati community in Aotearoa which will ...
Wildlife institutions affected by a loss of visitor revenue during the COVID-19 lockdown are set to receive government support with nearly $15 million of funding available announced Minister of Conservation Eugenie Sage. “Eco-sanctuaries, zoos, aquariums, wildlife parks, and wildlife rescue, hospital and rehabilitation facilities provide crucial support for the recovery ...
The Government is expanding and accelerating frontline mental health and wellbeing services at tertiary education institutes (TEI) to help students manage ongoing stresses related to COVID-19. “The lockdown has been hugely disruptive for students. Many of them have had to relocate and move to online learning, isolating them from their ...
The Minister of Police says a major operation against the Mongrel Mob in Waikato will make a big dent in drug harm and violent offending linked to organised crime networks. “Senior leadership of the Waikato Mongrel Mob has been taken out as a result of Operation Kingsville, which resulted in ...
The Government is extending the border exception criteria to enable some offshore victims and support people of the Christchurch mosque attacks to attend the sentencing of the accused beginning on 24 August2020, says Immigration Minister Iain Lees-Galloway. “We want to support our valued Muslim brothers and sisters who were directly ...
A project to support volunteer efforts to look after streams and rivers is getting a boost thanks to support from DOC’s Community Conservation Fund announced Minister of Conservation Eugenie Sage today. “The government is backing efforts to look after waterways with $199,400 for the Mountains to Sea Conservation Trust from ...
Minister for Women Julie Anne Genter today announced that funding for the COVID-19 Community Fund for women and girls will be doubled, as the first successful funding applications for the initial $1million were revealed. “Women and girls across the country have suffered because of the effects of COVID-19, and I ...
The Government’s books were better than forecast with a higher GST take as the economy got moving again after lockdown, Finance Minister Grant Robertson says. The Crown Accounts for the 11 months to the end of May indicate the year end results for tax revenue will be stronger than forecast. ...
A plan to revitalise New Zealand’s strong wool sector and set it on a new, more sustainable and profitable path was unveiled today by Agriculture Minister Damien O’Connor. The newly-released report - Vision and Action for New Zealand’s Wool Sector - was developed by the Wool Industry Project Action Group ...
Community efforts to create a Predator Free Whangārei will receive a $6 million boost, Regional Economic Development Minister Shane Jones and Conservation Minister Eugenie Sage announced today. The new funding, through Government company Predator Free 2050 Ltd, will create around 12 jobs while enabling the complete removal of possums over ...
Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters has announced that the New Zealand Government is reviewing the settings of its relationship with Hong Kong. “China’s decision to pass a new national security law for Hong Kong has fundamentally changed the environment for international engagement there,” Mr Peters said. “New Zealand remains deeply ...
Regional Economic Development Minister Shane Jones has announced details of a multimillion-dollar investment in Whangārei for infrastructure projects that will help it recover from the economic fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic. More than 200 jobs are expected to be created through the $26 million investment from the Government’s rejuvenation package ...
Following a second incident in which a person escaped from a managed isolation facility, security is being enhanced, including more police presence onsite, Minister Megan Woods said. “The actions of some individuals who choose to break the very clear rules to stay within the facilities means that more resourcing is ...
Waste reduction and recycling programmes in Kaipara are set to get a boost with Associate Environment Minister Eugenie Sage today announcing a $361,447 grant from the Ministry for the Environment’s Waste Minimisation Fund (WMF) Sustainable Kaipara. “The new funding will allow Sustainable Kaipara to partner with local schools, kura, community ...
The Government will support the Southland economy in the wake of multinational mining company Rio Tinto’s decision to follow through with its long signalled closure of the Tiwai Point aluminium smelter. “This day has unfortunately been on the cards for some time now, but nevertheless the final decision is a ...
New tools being developed to help boost Aotearoa’s Predator Free 2050 effort were unveiled today by Minister of Conservation Eugenie Sage and Under Secretary for Regional Economic Development Fletcher Tabuteau. A new rat poison, a camera with predator recognition software to detect and report predators, a new predator lure and a ...
The Coalition Government has approved the purchase of a fleet of Bushmaster vehicles to replace the New Zealand Army’s armoured Pinzgauers, Defence Minister Ron Mark has announced today. The new fleet of 43 Australian-designed and built Bushmaster NZ5.5 will provide better protection for personnel and improved carrying capacity. “The age ...
The Government’s three prevention frameworks to reduce family violence in Aotearoa were launched this week by Associate Minister for Social Development Poto Williams. The frameworks were developed in partnership with communities around New Zealand, and build on the work the Government has already begun with its new family violence prevention ...
The Government is pleased to confirm funding for improvements to radiology and surgical services at Hawke's Bay DHB, Health Minister Chris Hipkins says. "The Minister of Finance the Hon Grant Robertson and former Health Minister Dr David Clark approved funding for Hawke's Bay DHB’s redevelopment of their radiology facilities ...
• New funding for four beds at Napier’s Springhill Residential Addiction Centre • A new managed withdrawal home and community service, and peer support before and after residential care at Tairāwhiti DHB • A co-ordinated network of withdrawal management services throughout the South Island • Peer support in Rotorua and ...
Introduction, seafarers and POAL Good morning everyone, I am delighted to be online with you all today. Before I begin, I have to acknowledge that COVID-19 has disrupted the maritime sector on an unprecedented scale. The work of seafarers and the maritime industry is keeping many economies around the world ...
A $13 million investment from Government will create jobs and improve the resilience of the rail connection between Christchurch and the West Coast, Infrastructure Minister Shane Jones and Regional Economic Development Under-Secretary Fletcher Tabuteau say. The funding comes from the tagged contingency set aside in Budget 2020 for infrastructure projects ...
The Government is investing $761 million to assist local government upgrade under-pressure water services across the country, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and Local Government Minister Nanaia Mahuta announced today. The announcement was made at the site of the water bore that was found to be the source of the fatal ...
Recognised Seasonal Employers and migrant seasonal workers stranded in New Zealand will be able to continue working and supporting themselves with more flexible hours and roles, says Immigration Minister Iain Lees-Galloway. The time-limited visa changes are: Stranded RSE workers will be able to work part-time (a minimum of 15 hours ...
The Government is making immediate short-term changes to visa settings to support temporary migrants already onshore in New Zealand and their employers, while also ensuring New Zealanders needing work are prioritised, Immigration Minister Iain Lees-Galloway says. We are: Extending temporary work visas due to expire by the end of 2020 ...
Professor Peter Skelton CNZM has been appointed as Chief Freshwater Commissioner and Alternate Environment Court Judge Craig James Thompson as Deputy Chief Freshwater Commissioner for the newly established Freshwater Planning Process (FPP). Environment Minister David Parker today also announced the appointment of Chief Environment Court Judge Laurie Newhook as the ...
Auckland Queen’s Counsel Neil Campbell has been appointed a Judge of the High Court, Attorney‑General David Parker announced today. Justice Campbell graduated with a BCom and LLB (Hons) from the University of Auckland in 1992. He spent two years with Bell Gully Buddle Weir in Auckland before travelling to the United ...
The Associate Minister for Greater Christchurch Regeneration, Poto Williams, is seeking feedback on a proposal to better enable the development and operation of commercial film and video facilities in Christchurch. The Proposal, developed by Regenerate Christchurch in response to a request from Christchurch City Council, asks that powers under section ...
The Government has launched a bold plan to boost primary sector export earnings by $44 billion over the next decade, while protecting the environment and growing jobs. Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern today released Fit for a Better World – Accelerating our Economic Potential, a 10-year roadmap to unlock greater value ...
A new approach to prevent family harm that encourages greater collaboration across government and community groups is being celebrated at the opening of a new facility in Auckland. Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern today opened the Multi-Disciplinary Family Harm Prevention Hub Te Taanga Manawa in Lambie Road in Manukau. The facility ...
The Government has released a major new report on the options for relocating the Port of Auckland’s freight operations while deferring any decision on the issue. “That decision needs to be informed by policy analysis that is still to be completed. As a result it will be up to a ...
The history of Rāpaki is being restored through the inclusion of te reo in thirteen official place names on Te Pātaka-o-Rākaihautū / Banks Peninsula and around Lyttelton Harbour/Whakaraupō, the Minister for Land Information, Eugenie Sage, announced today. “I am pleased to approve the proposals from Te Hapū o Ngāti ...
Bookings for seats on Air New Zealand flights into New Zealand will be managed in the short term to ensure the Government is able to safely place New Zealanders arriving home into a managed isolation or quarantine facility, says Housing Minister Megan Woods. “Last week Air Commodore Darryn Webb and I ...
Grant Robertson has today announced the first major release of funding from the $265 million Sport Recovery Package announced at Budget 2020. “Today we’re setting out how $80 million will be invested, with $54 million of that over the 2020/2021 financial year for organisations from community level through to elite ...
The Government is maintaining current levy rates for the next 2 years, as part of a set of changes to help ease the financial pressures of COVID-19 providing certainty for businesses and New Zealanders, ACC Minister Iain Lees-Galloway says. “New Zealanders and businesses are facing unprecedented financial pressures as a ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Anne Twomey, Professor of Constitutional Law, University of Sydney For more than four decades, the question has been asked: did the queen know the governor-general, Sir John Kerr, was about to dismiss the Whitlam government, and did she encourage or support that ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Gery Karantzas, Associate professor in Social Psychology / Relationship Science, Deakin University From songs and poems to novels and movies, romantic love is one of the most enduring subjects for artworks through the ages. But what about the science? Historical, cultural and ...
The scamp of New Zealand publishing is laid to rest, for now. In 2005 I wrote and released a book called On the conditions and possibilities of Helen Clark taking me as her Young Lover. I gave myself the name Richard Meros.My real name is Murdoch. Some people think that sounds ...
Neon’s gender-flipped version of High Fidelity features Zoë Kravitz in the role John Cusack made famous 20 years ago. And it works far better than you might expect, writes Catherine McGregor.By now we’ve all accepted the fact that every last artistic touchstone we hold dear will one day end up ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By John Quiggin, Professor, School of Economics, The University of Queensland Australia’s response to the health and economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic is rightly considered one of the world’s best. At their best, our federal and state politicians have put aside the ...
Todd Muller’s brief leadership of the National Party ended this morning and his resignation creates opportunities for truly centrist, more stable and independent parties not under investigation by the SFO. Unfortunately this does point to some ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Damien Manuel, Director, Centre for Cyber Security Research & Innovation (CSRI), Deakin University Prime Minister Scott Morrison revealed last month Australia is actively being attacked by hostile foreign governments. An advisory note posted on the government’s Australian Cyber Security Centre website said ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ross Tapsell, Senior Lecturer in the School of Culture, History and Language, College of Asia and the Pacific., Australian National University The recent police interrogations of six Al Jazeera journalists in Malaysia – five of whom are Australian – was not about ...
ANALYSIS:By Liam Hehir The detailed reasons for opposition National Party leader Todd Muller’s shock resignation are something we are not yet given to know. At this point, anything other than the statement made by Muller himself is nothing more than speculation. The announcement was a bolt from the blue ...
The rich become that way because they work hard to provide the everyday things that our nation needs. So runs the story that underpins the economic system we live under. Its something that is so taken for granted, it often goes uncommented upon. It seems ...
In every discussion about who could lead the National Party since John Key resigned in 2016, one name has always figured high in speculation: Judith Collins.The controversial yet popular MP for Papakura has put her name forward twice – losing to Bill English and Simon Bridges. Since then, Collins has ...
Maternal mental health is far more complex than most realise, and for many women,problems start well before the baby is born. Here, four women share their experiences of perinatal distress – and how to get through it. Josie Gritten has three littlies and she is a perpetual motion machine, a superwoman. One ...
Former Prime Minister Jim Bolger says the National Party needs to choose a new leader who is bold enough to talk publicly about tax increases and New Zealand's post-Covid economic future. ...
At last Pretty Penny has met its judicial fate and been sent packing from New Zealand. Debtfix co-founder, Christine Liggins says; “Far from ‘helping everyday people’ as their tagline states, Pretty Penny was a thorn in the side of those who deal with ...
Analysis - The National Party has been thrown into utter confusion by Todd Muller's resignation and now the caucus has to find someone prepared to take a hospital pass, writes Peter Wilson. ...
“The Council has been using the water crisis as an excuse to prime Auckland ratepayers for a painful 3.5% increase in rates. Supposedly, the crisis has introduced $239 million in new costs.” “However, the Government has now announced $196 million ...
Todd Muller's resignation now puts Jacinda Ardern in the awkward position of having to say what she really, really wants to do with her second term. Bernard Hickey analyses her choices. Jacinda Ardern is reputed to have played a few Spice Girls tracks as a DJ at the Morrinsville College after-ball ...
Latest from the Beehive – While National’s Todd Muller was thinking hard about his future as leader, the government was getting on with the job of governing and redistributing taxpayers’ money. At least, we presume that’s what Muller was doing . He was also giving a highly instructive lesson in ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Richard Shaw, Professor of Politics, Massey University And then there was none. Early this morning the National Party caucus awoke to a nightmare. Todd Muller, their newly minted leader of some 53 days, had resigned his position. This is not just another ...
After Todd Muller’s shock resignation, a crushing electoral defeat for National looks all but assured. But is a historically weak opposition really something for the left to celebrate, asks Danyl Mclauchlan. It probably doesn’t matter who takes over as leader of the National Party. Todd Muller’s sudden resignation ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Audrey Courty, PhD candidate, School of Humanities, Languages and Social Science, Griffith University Amid claims of social media platforms stifling free speech, a new challenger called Parler is drawingattention for its anti-censorship stance. Last week, Harper’s Magazine published an open letter ...
So is the election now a foregone conclusion? With Jacindamania still raging, and the National Party shattered by its own shambolic performance, it looks like a walk in the park for the Labour Party and its coalition partners. Certainly NZ First leader Winston Peters wasn’t slow to rub salt into ...
Toby Manhire, Annabelle Lee-Mather and Ben Thomas reel at the announcement that Todd Muller has resigned as leader of the opposition. At 7.30am, just 53 days after he replaced Simon Bridges as leader of the National Party, Todd Muller announced his immediate resignation from the job.How did it come to this, ...
The Minister of Immigration has dropped another bombshell today relating to temporary visa holders and their families, says Ms June Ranson, chair of the New Zealand Association of Migration and Investment (NZAMI). Having granted an automatic six-month extension ...
A success story of the New Zealand Made Products Facebook page, this Christchurch start-up has grown from a backyard workshop to a centre for sustainable architecture and building all in the space of a few months.Two Christchurch guys needed a table for their flat. So they built one out of ...
Power Play - Who will seize the day now National is a party looking for a leader? RNZ political editor Jane Patterson takes a look at a party that was supposed to be settling in to fight its election campaign. ...
An announcement today that three Police raids of firearm licence holders following the Christchurch Mosque shootings were illegal, raises questions about Police over-reacting to what people say on social media, according to the Council of Licenced Firearms ...
Just over seven weeks after he rolled Simon Bridges to become leader of the opposition, and with under 10 weeks to go to the election, Todd Muller has quit. Here’s a reminder of how it unfurled – and unravelled.May 21A Colmar Brunton poll for TVNZ puts National at 29%. It’s ...
Todd Muller's stint as National leader has been cut short by a commendable decision to put his own wellbeing first - but now the party must try to find a path forward to September 19 For all that National’s critics claimed to predict it, the news was a shock. Just ...
The Independent Police Conduct Authority has found three searches conducted by Police following the 15 March Mosque attacks were unlawful. Following the attacks, Police identified people of interest to national security and set up an operation aimed ...
CEAC want Gov’t to protect communities using ‘OECD/WHO/EU standards traffic noise for residential traffic noise Confirmation of reports to urban residents both from NZTA/Transit-NZ acoustical consultants have since 2001 warned residents that ...
“What a mess” said Hannah Tamaki. “Todd Muller’s resignation this morning is a further indication of the insidious problems hidden in the belly of New Zealand politics. With all three major political parties under investigation by the Serious ...
A recent media story highlighting the fact that a convicted paedophile has worked on a popular New Zealand children’s tv show reveals the serious inadequacies of current legislation which is supposed to protect our children, according to Safeguarding ...
The country's electoral donation laws are being questioned with a third major political party now the subject of a Serious Fraud Office investigation. ...
Mistrust in the government and generational trauma mean Māori communities are more at risk of falling victim to conspiracies relating to the 5G spectrum. Alice Webb-Liddall finds out what needs to be done to combat this dangerous misinformation.The real danger of conspiracy theories can sometimes be hard to grasp. When ...
Nearly two months ago Todd Muller stepped up to wrestle the leadership of the National Party from Simon Bridges, he won. But after just 53 days, he has resigned. Here's a quick look at his background. ...
Greenpeace NZ is challenging Coca Cola to face up to its embarrassing contribution to ocean pollution for Plastic Free July. Coca Cola Amatil floods NZ with hundreds of millions of plastic bottles annually - the majority of which end up in landfill ...
With just over two months to go before the election, National suddenly, shockingly finds itself in need of a new leader. Who are the potential candidates?Late leadership changes before an election aren’t unheard of in politics. The current prime minister is living proof of that, taking over from Andrew Little ...
Source: Statement by Todd Muller – New Zealand National Party I have taken time over the weekend to reflect on my experience over the last several weeks as Leader of the Opposition. It has become clear to me that I am not the best person to be Leader of the Opposition ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Audrey Courty, PhD candidate, School of Humanities, Languages and Social Science, Griffith University Amid claims of social media platforms stifling free speech, a new challenger called Parler is drawingattention for its anti-censorship stance. Last week, Harper’s Magazine published an open letter ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jenny Hocking, Emeritus Professor, Monash University Forty-five years after they were written, hundreds of previously secret letters between the queen and the governor-general of Australia, Sir John Kerr, relating to the dismissal of the Whitlam government in 1975 will be released in ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Thea van de Mortel, Professor, Nursing and Deputy Head (Learn & Teaching), School of Nursing and Midwifery, Griffith University The recent lockdown of nine social housing towers in Melbourne’s north to contain the spread of COVID-19 led to widespread concerns for residents’ ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Francesco Paolucci, Associate Professor of Health Economics, University of Bologna, and Professor of Health Economics, University of Newcastle Australia has fared better than most countries in reducing its COVID-19 cases to very low numbers. However, on June 15, new clusters of infection ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Paul Burke, Associate Professor, Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University Putting a price on carbon should reduce emissions, because it makes dirty production processes more expensive than clean ones, right? That’s the economic theory. Stated baldly, it’s obvious, but there ...
Politics editor Justin Giovannetti reports from Wellington.National Party leader Todd Muller has resigned citing health reasons, only 53 days after he rolled Simon Bridges to take over the largest party in New Zealand’s parliament. The next general election is in 66 days.Muller’s short leadership was marked by disarray within the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Fiona David, Visiting Fellow, University of Western Australia In previous recessions in Australia, far larger numbers of men than women lost their jobs. This reflected realities at that time. Men had higher levels of workforce participation than women, and the construction and ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Brendon O’Connor, Associate Professor in American Politics at the United States Studies Centre, University of Sydney Curtis Sittenfeld has a knack of putting her readers in uncomfortable places in her fiction. In her short story Gender Studies she puts you in the ...
After just over a month in the job, National leader Todd Muller has stepped aside National leader Todd Muller has resigned from the role a little over a month after deposing Simon Bridges, citing the heavy toll the job has taken on him and his family. In a brief statement, ...
For all The Spinoff’s latest coverage of Covid-19 see here. Read Siouxsie Wiles’s work here. New Zealand is currently in alert level one – read about what that means here. For official government advice, see here.The Spinoff’s coverage of the Covid-19 outbreak is made possible thanks to donations from Spinoff Members. To support this ...
Good morning and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Serious Fraud Office announces investigation into donations made to Labour, deportations from Australia to resume, and retail businesses up against it on rent.In a short statement released yesterday afternoon, the Serious Fraud Office made it clear that donations to the ...
The 2020 longlist for the APRA Silver Scroll Awards – New Zealand’s premiere songwriting awards – have just been announced. Here’s the full list of the 20 finalists, with the songs themselves to listen to.This morning saw the announcement of the longlist for the APRA Silver Scroll, New Zealand’s most ...
It was claimed as a win but last week’s court decision on tahr control was mostly legal shots thumping harmlessly into a wall. David Williams reports ANALYSIS: Last Friday, hunting groups welcomed a “landmark” High Court decision, “halting” a controversial plan to “exterminate” all tahr in national parks and sharply ...
Dr Neal Curtis explains why we shouldn't simply dismiss people trying to resist discrimination by calling them anti-democratic You may have heard a lot about ‘cancel culture’ recently, not least because of the 150 signatories to the Harper’s Magazine letter last week that supposedly cancelled cancel culture. ‘Cancelling’ is a ...
The closure of the Tiwai Point aluminium smelter has left the door open for another electricity-intensive project to take its place at the south tip of the South Island. ...
A complaint has been made to the Department of Internal Affairs against a book of short stories How do you know you’ve “made it” as a writer? Is it, as one friend recently commented on a photo of me holding my new book, when Facebook refuses to allow you to ...
Terminally ill man Stuart Armstrong responds to a first-person piece on assisted dying Newsroom ran last week, arguing people should have the option to choose a death that reflects their life and beliefs This week Serena Jones wrote an article describing her position on the upcoming referendum on the End ...
What New Zealand must do to play virtual host to APEC next year is something perhaps never attempted before. The rewards could be big. Virtual hosting of 2021 APEC: a rewarding challenge for NZ New Zealand’s confirmation that it will proceed with hosting APEC in 2021, using virtual digital platforms, ...
A major infrastructure announcement by the National Party slated to take place today needs to defy stereotypes about what they are all about. COMMENT: It didn't take a genius to realise that a major infrastructure announcement down south by the National Party would turn out to be a road of ...
LISTEN: In our podcast, A Neesh Audience, Black Cap Jimmy Neesham talks to playmakers who'll be part of the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup 2021 in New Zealand. In this episode, he chats with White Ferns captain Sophie Devine. Sophie Devine has been on a roll of late. Whether it be ...
There’s concern the Department of Conservation’s assessment of proposed changes to a yet-to-be-constructed hydro scheme underestimates their potential impact A West Coast small hydro scheme’s proposed new pipeline path could require over 1000 native trees be felled on public conservation land. What was supposed to be a thin pipe lying on top ...
If there’s any time for ambitious, agenda-setting policy ideas, it’s now, write Max Harris and Laura O’Connell Rapira. Here are seven suggestions that might just transform New Zealand for the better.In a pre-budget speech, finance minister Grant Robertson said it was time to “address long-term issues”, but then when the ...
The SpinoffBy Max Harris and Laura O'Connell Rapira
St John Ambulance is paying wages on borrowed money - and that can't keep happening. Most people would say there are three branches of emergency services in New Zealand: police, fire, and ambulance. Police are fully funded by the government. Fire and Emergency New Zealand is funded through an ...
By Jimmy Kalebe in Port Moresby Papua New Guinea police have intercepted and confiscated almost K200,000 (about NZ$90,000) in K2 and K5 notes hidden in a container on a ship which arrived at the Lae wharf in a suspected money laundering case. The cash, packed into three boxes inside the ...
National MP Amy Adams has apologised for wrongly claiming one of her party's candidates is Chinese. Catherine Chu was born and raised in Christchurch and her parents are from South Korea. ...
Open mike 05/10/2011 
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Some are surprised at this sudden brain implosion on the part of both Michelle Boag, former National Party President, and the National Party in general, in exposing the private, confidential details of COVID patients. Others…? Let’s be blunt: not so much. Too many of that Party have long operated with ...6 days ago
Rt Hon Winston Peters, Leader of New Zealand First New Zealand First Leader Winston Peters acknowledged today the heavy price of trying to lead the National Party today. ‘One’s sympathy goes out to Todd Muller and his family. Todd is a good man, unlike most of his colleagues he does ...10 hours ago
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There’s concern the Department of Conservation’s assessment of proposed changes to a yet-to-be-constructed hydro scheme underestimates their potential impact A West Coast small hydro scheme’s proposed new pipeline path could require over 1000 native trees be felled on public conservation land. What was supposed to be a thin pipe lying on top ...14 hours ago
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Where does the left/right divide fall?
The Labour Party will vote with the right wing parties to introduce the Orwellian Video Surveillance bill.
For:
Labour
National
ACT
Against:
Maori Party
Green Party
Mana Party
No wonder flaxroots voters are confused and/or indifferent when it comes to voting time.
Maybe Labour understand that there are tough times ahead with any amount of unrest…..
I would invite readers to delve daily into the markets on http://markets.on.nytimes.com/research/markets/overview/overview.asp . There are some interestingly rapid movements during the last month, commodities are well down, only Brent Crude over $100, light crude down near $70. Shares are crashing. What this all indicates is a deflationary spiral as prices have peaked, a lack of liquidity in the markets. Money is looking for safe hedges and has nowhere to go.
What does it mean…tough times ahead with more disruption, more dissent. national as the next government (should they gain that poisoned challice) will end up needing all the police powers they can muster. The legitimacy of the current system is on the line, and rather than face the challenge positively they seem to want the right to repress whilst they loot our assets for their mates benefit.
You need to ask one more “why”. Why, after the US Federal Reserve has pumped $16T in new cash into the financial markets via the major banks, is there still a “lack of liquidity” in the markets?
And really, its a very simple issue. There is no shortage of money. There is an excess of debt and liabilities.
In other words, this isn’t a liquidity issue, its a solvency issue.
They can impoverish the middle class and under class all they like now, there are not enough assets in the OECD to compensate for the hundreds of trillions of potential loan and derivative bad (false) assets now hidden on bank balance sheets. At a time when the banks themselves have maximised their leverage in an attempt to maximise their profits, hence are woefully undercapitalised.
Some of the largest banks in the world are operating at leverage ratios of over 30:1. This is exactly like taking a million dollar mortgage out with a $30K deposit. Guess what, if the housing market tanks by just 5% you are suddenly left underwater.
That’s where all the banks are right now, except with trillion dollar bigger sums, and the markets set to tank by 40%-50%.
Yes, solvency is the big underlying issue. Creating credit out of thin air gives short term liquidity but it all gets dissolved or has nowhere safe to go. Creating any more credit just increases solvency problems.Bail outs are just a waste of time propping up the edifice.
Yep. A “bail out” is simply more debt, creating a short term supply of money to help pay off debts already owed to banks.
The Greek “bail outs” increase Greek debt further, and the money is paid straight to bankers.
The Greek ‘socialist’ government is working hand in hand with the bankers and the corporatists against their own people.
The Greeks defaulted in the first half of the 20th century, and they should do so again. And this time, they should get their tax systems and enforcement sorted out.
Keiser today had some speculation that the Germans would revert to the Deutchsmark, and leave the Euro altogether…. http://rt.com/programs/keiser-report/episode-192-max-keiser/
And in the UK, the anti- Euro pot is boiling.
http://rt.com/news/uk-referendum-eu-membership-863/
IT does have another side effect devaluing the American dollar forcing ours up if we don’t do something our export sector will get damaged again just when it is showing some resilience laissez fair for us social credit for them =disaster for our export sector just when we need it to keep our economy afloat , Their is a difference between borrowing and printing .Blinglish will have to borrow more if he doesn’t print and that will cost more and weaken our economy further.
“Maybe Labour understand that there are tough times ahead with any amount of unrest…..”
Wow, ‘ tough times ahead’, this is a valid reason for increasing the powers of the state?
Tough times for whom, and unrest from where? More importantly, how will increasing the Orwellian surveillance powers of a Government address the financial minefields, the increasing costs and the ballooning employment shortages we know make up the bulk of the tough times ahead.
Yeah let’s continue to ignore the problems that lead to the unjust laws and just give the State more and more of our freedoms. If we are to believe all the info distributed from our great leader the ‘serious crimes, the ones that desperately required National to remove even more of the freedoms fought for by our soldiers in bloody wars past, relate primarily to the cultivation and trafficking of marijuana.
A subject which only highlights exactly how uninterested they are in solving the problem.
In the eyes of Right Wing Authoritarians it is. Labour has been centre-right for a while now and it now seems to be shifting into the authoritarian mode along with National, Act and United Future.
It won’t but it will allow the government to oppress the populace to protect the
thievescapitalists.IMO, Anybody who’s voted Labour before because they were the party of the working class should now either be voting Mana, Alliance or Greens. None of the other parties are there for the majority of the populace.
amen, jenny.
i had just put a comment on another posting here but will repeat it here.
i seem to be missing something here, i thought the tories where all for less (nanny) state in our lives and yet we get this legislation.
equally i see a major left wing party struggling to get traction in polls, rushing to the aid of the tories to help them push thru this disgusting piece of lawmaking.
it has helped to decide where this one will vote come november and it aint gonna be for the nat lite crew. sorry guys.
peace.
The Tories are for anything which will secure their status and power when citizen uprisings occur. Just watch the UK.
And it is a shame that after 9/11, UK Labour led the charge into increased surveillance and CCTV powers, more than what was ever necessary to combat the IRA.
That’s what the Tories say that they’re for but any reading of history will show the exact opposite. The Tories are the dictators that they warn people about.
Should MPs be party puppets or individual representatives?
John Key is famous for being an open and accessible PM, amicable and chatty, but National have become famous for saying as little as possible about stuff that matters.
Phil Goff looks more like he’s on slogan autopilot, but Labour MPs like Trevor Mallard, Clare Curran and Darien Fenton have generated publicity for speaking their own minds – for better or worse.
The Maori Party speaks as “our people” while Hone Harawira says what he likes.
Peter Dunne has made it clear UnitedFuture is “not a one man band”.
Should there be strict party message control?
Should parliament be a house of parties or a house of representaives – or a balance of both?
Just about fell over laughing at the irony
Danyl does National to an N.
http://dimpost.wordpress.com/2011/10/05/i-hope-this-doesnt-get-me-in-trouble-with-the-electoral-commission/
Oh that is good.
Serious question: Dunne seems to be saying feel free to speak your mind on local issues. What about wider issues?
Depends on what it is about. There are obviously party positions and ministerial responsibilities, but I have not been given any limitiation on what I can say from a personal point of view and how wider issues might effect my own region.
A one man band says he is not a one man band? Hopefully a zero man band by Nov 27.
People still vote United?
Dunne has been in so many parties it a job to remember which is which.Is he still in United ? Let’s hope this is the last we will see of him.
No Pete George forges 20,00o signatures.2 man band the only supporter outside ohariu
Isn’t this current public discussion around the future of the RWC just another example of the wider cultural cringe that we as a nation suffer from. (“Please world, love us, please! Please endorse that our decision to live here was the right one!”)
We talk about whinging Poms.
Where else in the world would you get such a debate dominating the media.
And at an event as it enters its final and high profile stage.
Strange thing is at school Kiwi kids are taught that the game is bigger than the man …
(People, the sun will continue to rise in the East whether the ABs are there or not)
Oh yes, my goodness yes, you do! Anyone old enough to remember that git Bickerstaff and his “punch a Pom a day” campaign? All in fun, he said… sadly my ex-husband took that as an instruction, and guess who the “Pom” was that he had ready to hand? 🙁
I remember the seventies well.
As a ‘pommy youth’ I well remember the shadow the ‘bash a pom a day’ sentiment cast over my family. I guess to many New Zealanders it was just harmless fun at the expense of the plummy voiced English (which we weren’t/aren’t) or part of Muldoon’s anti-union barrage (Dad was a shop steward).
To my family it was simply an experience of hostility and non-belonging. I remember Mum crying and just wanting to go ‘home’.
Having said that, I had very good friends (some of my best friends – still – are New Zealanders :)).
And don’t get me on to my ‘identity’ – I’ve given up on that as a bad joke.
Yeah but the likes of Deaker has a soft spot for the Irish, Welsh, or Scots. But they despise the English.
It seems that people can wave the flags of any nationality here in Godzone and say they are proud of their “homeland”, but look out if you are English or from areas of Asia.
That is so true! My students are for the most part Asian, which is something I’ve learned not to talk about, if I don’t want to hear stereotypes and ignorant abuse. “They’re taking our jobs”, etc..
I remember a student at Unitec in tears over the abuse she got from a bus driver when she asked a question about his route. My son and his friend Jinkoo were catching a bus near their school Western Springs College and they got on together. Jinkoo (Korean, and quite dark-skinned) started to ask something and the driver responded with “I’m sick of you bloody Chinese coming here, you don’t even speak English, and your bloody stupid questions…”. WSC doesn’t have uniforms, goodness knows how old this driver thought they were, but they were just kids! Jinkoo grew up in Germany until he was 8, then in Titirangi. His English is perfect, and his response was scathing!
I was glad at the time that my Dad hadn’t lived to see it! When we girls started school, we had our Dad’s Scouse accent, but we were gobsmacked to be mobbed by 6 year olds screaming “Get back to Pongolia, garn!” My Dutch friend Ellen actually did get punched for speaking Dutch in the street, she was 5 years old, her sister 4.. (Her father then declared that they would all speak English in the home from then on.) New Zealanders seem deeply suspicious of and hostile to “foreigners”..
Oh frack.
It’s been the subject of much mirth that our glorious leader John “100% pure compared to other countries” Keys doesn’t seem to know what a percentage is.
But this latest bit of innumeracy has me stunned. From question time yesterday:
Everyone catch that?
Keys is now crowing that the likelyhood of something that has already happened would be even higher if National weren’t in govt.
Keys dropped the ball. But it’s a good thing Keys is in charge, ‘cos if it were someone else they might’ve dropped the ball.
FFS people used to let this idiot play with their money? Oh that’s right, we still do.
There used to be lots of money slopping around for the idiot to play with….but now?????
“100% pure compared to other countries….” the fekker should have been standing in the stream with me opening day watching effluent dumping, I would have submerged his TV friendly little nostrils deep into it for as long as it took for him to wise up..
Yep Bored, just after opening day on a river in the back of beyond seemingly clear and 100% pure as they come. After not too long me net and screens all clogged with dairy farm shit. And there aint even hardly none dairy farms in this catchment !!
Fertiliser use up 700% in last decade.
Imagine if everyone’s business could just dump their refuse in the street.
Speaking of, how’s the season down there apart from the cowshit and chemicals?
Oh you know felix, there not much about …… just cupfuls or enough for a feed …..
Seasons opening was beaut…who needs rugby?
Got broken off and then thrown off on the Tuki, rainbows, one large, one little….took a fish out of the top of the Manawatu. Rainbow, 1.5Kgs. Some council idiots plough the Hawkes Bay rivers to”help” river flood flows..buggers the pools big time.
Season looking good if you are prepared to walk into difficult spots around Tararuas / Ruahines. Those streams dont turn to black bottomed slime drains (courtesy of fertilizer / dairy) like the lower country streams. The Manawatu, Mangatainoka, Makakahi, and to the Ruamahanga have been pretty much stuffed with algae by mid season for the last few years. Its a disgrace, and Keys willful ignorance of this makes me despise him more.
I think vto is talking about whitebait. Only a week to go before heading off to the Coast to give it a crack myself……
Businesses do dump their refuse in the street. The difference is that it can actually be picked up and is organised to be so. Farm refuse can’t be and no in government is bothered about either cleaning it up or preventing it from being dumped in the first place.
Yes, well it is the fundamental issue. How many businesses are still allowed to dump their refuse in the public estate like streets or creeks? None.
There seems to be some kind of implicit understanding that the farming sector can so dump. Similarly with the mining sector, though less so.
The farming one stems of course from NZ’s historical agricultural development when such things were relatively somewhat understandable. But that has morphed and changed to such an extent that if pre-european NZ was subjected to a resource consent application for the agricultural practices as practised today it would not progress very far methinks …
Farms should stop dumping anything outside the farm gate. Big ask for the current generation and would take time but that is what needs to happen. And people get grumpy WHEN ANOTHER FUKCING SHAKE RUMBLES THROUGH MID-SENTENCE … AAARRRRGH! … now where was my brain cells … ah yes, people get grumpy when that sector fails to acknowledge that very particular and major point.
time for a drink now
What about TripleD (dipton double dipper) saying on morning report about the deposit guarantee scheme, “nobody knew how to do it”.
Well why the hell didnt they find out?
Oh I see, they needed the opportunity to dispense funds to their mates under a cloak of legality.
Nice work if you can get it.
Umm, randal. Labour set it up. You know that, right?
You should listen to the interview. English barely mentioned that Labour were the ones who set it up – I figured he’d be crowing from the rooftops that that was the case.
Actually National/Key said they backed the bank deposit guarantee scheme when Labour first announced it:
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10537163
But Labour did NOT sign SCF on for a second time, that was Bill English, within days of being in office.
Makes no difference, marsman. If they hadn’t extended it, SCF would have gone into liquidation in the first period specifically to get the advantage of the scheme.
you cannot have it both ways, If they were unstable, the Government should not have extended the Guarantee, If they were fine then they simply manipulated the NZ Govt to make a buck
So either Blingless was an idiot signing them an extension or the SCF are guilty of serious misconduct
If the government had not extended the guarantee, SCF would have triggered the payout earlier while under the protection of the original term extended to them by Labour.
so you are saying English knowingly extended the guarantee to a failing company.
Thanks for clearing that up.
Labour didn’t sign SCF into the scheme – National did and they did so while aware that SCF was not up to the terms of the scheme.
To be fair this was the first scheme. But there are some real questions to be asked about allowing SCF retain Govt Guarantee later.
Fascinating to hear Bill English on Morning Report clouding the issue so thoroughly that the answer was not his problem and he was not responsible. The good thing was that he actually fronted up.
I do not care who it was that originally signed SCF on. It could have been Tinkerbell trembling in fear when she signed, asCaptain Hook held a shimmering longblade to her tiny throat. It is irrelevant. If SCF had failed during the term of that agreement then the relevant questions would be asked. The FACTS plainly show that the EXTENDED coverage was signed on by National, THREE TIMES My earlier statement stands
” either Blingless was an idiot signing them an extension
or the SCF are guilty of serious misconduct ”
I have seen figures reported at various places that show as much as a billion dollars was added to the risk value in the period between National coming to power and the actual collapse
If they hadn’t given the extension, SCF would have gone into liquidation while it was still covered. Same result.
Gormless, ( at 3:08) still has trouble with the FACTS that hundreds of millions of dollars of liability were added to the guarantee AFTER National extended the scheme for SCF. What about that data is so hard to understand?
Occupy Wall Street: NYPD’s arrests boosting mob’s numbers?
Also, Dailylife timeline of Occupy Wall Street coverage.
An interview you wont see.
Transcript:
Fox: Jesse, so Ray, your partner here, your ..
Ray: comrade.
Fox: Your colleague, she’d seen the protests in Greece and Europe and elsewhere. Did you guys take your cue from that? Are you hoping to cite certainly what was a lot of the tension, if not police activity. I know over the weekend there were over 100 arrests and you guys got things fired up. Are you taking your cues from the international movement and how do you want to see this? If you could have it in a perfect way, how would it be?
Jesse: Well I don’t know, its really difficult to answer questions leading to those conclusions. I’d say that we didn’t take our cue leading off of anybody really. It became a more spontaneous movement. As far as seeing this end, I wouldn’t like to see this end. I would like to see the conversation continue. This is what we should have been talking about in 2008 when the economy collapsed. We basically patched a hole on the tire and said let the car keep rolling. Unfortunately it’s fun to talk to the propaganda machine and the media especially conservative media networks such as yourself, because we find that we cant get conversations for the department of Justice’s ongoing investigation of News Corporation, for which you are an employee. But we can certainly ask questions like you know, why are the poor engaging in class warfare? After 30 years of having our living standards decrease while the wealthiest 1% have had it better than ever, I think it’s time for some maybe, I don’t know, participation in our democracy that isn’t funded by news cameras and gentlemen such as yourself.
Fox: But, uh, yeah well, let me give you this challenge Jesse.
Jesse: Sure.
Fox: We’re here giving you an opportunity on the record […] to put any
message you want out there, to give you fair coverage and I’m not
going to in any way
Jesse: That’s awesome!
Fox:…give you advice about it. So, there is an exception in the case, because you wouldn’t be able to get your message out there without us.
Jesse: No, surely, I mean, take for instance when Glenn Beck was doing his protest and he called the President, uh, a person who hates white people and white culture. That was a low moment in Americans’ history and you guys kinda had a big part in it. So, I’m glad to see you coming around and kind of paying attention to what the other 99 percent of Americans are paying attention to, as opposed to the far-right fringe, who who would just love to destroy the middle class entirely.
Fox: Alright, fair enough. You have a voice, an important reason to criticize myself, my company and anyone else. But, let me ask you that, in fairness, does this administration, President Obama, have any criticism as to the the financial situation the country’s in…?
Jesse: I think, myself, uh, as well as many other people, would like to see a little but more economic justice or social justice—Jesus stuff—as far as feeding the poor, healthcare for the sick. You know, I find it really entertaining that people like to hold the Bill of Rights up while they’re screaming at gay soldiers, but they just can’t wrap their heads around the idea that a for-profit healthcare system doesn’t work. So, let’s just look at it like this, if we want the President to do more, let’s talk to him on a level that actually reaches people, instead of asking for his birth certificate and wasting time with total nonsense like Solyndra.
I’ve been looking at the comments on the stuff political blogs for a while now. Every time John Pagani writes a blog he gets dozens of incredibly vitriolic, and often very uninformed, people commenting. A lot of them repeat the lies that Labour left us in a huge deficit hole and wasted all the money etc. They’re all generally very very anti-Labour and very pro-National.
When DPF writes a blog the comments are sort of 60/40 supportive or anti, with the anti ones saying stuff about him deliberately manipulating the media spin for his paymasters.
Yet when a new post goes up in the What (S)he Said blog, which is by Andrea Vance and John Hartevelt who are in the parliamentary press gallery, the comments are usually a lot more anti-national.
It makes me think there’s a whole bunch of righties just waiting for DPF and Pagani’s blogs so they can go in an astroturf hither and yon. But they ignore What (S)he Said and as a result we get more honest commenting going on.
I thought Pagani’s role was to act as a punchbag for Paul Holmes, Richard Griffin, Matthew Hooton and whoever else on the right wants a workout on an agreeable patsy.
Every time John Pagani writes a blog he gets dozens of incredibly vitriolic, and often very uninformed, people commenting.
Like Lprent.
No Stalebiscuit, like you.
I wasn’t ill-informed, it is unfortunately, a subject that I know rather too well (as John already knew). John Pagani however was quite ill-informed on the subject he was writing on – which is why he got my comment pointing out one aspect of why he was ill-informed. Apparently he didn’t like by characterization of his motivation for writing such cobblers.
In any event, the comment didn’t survive there. So I repeated and expanded it here.
Japan is to resume whaling in the Southern Ocean next month with military security to protect its boats from the radical environment group Sea Shepherd which has promised to launch “Operation Divine Wind” or kamikaze against them.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/world/asia/5734445/Japan-to-whale-again-with-extra-security
But I thought John Key had fixed it, with an amazing compromise solution that no one else was capable of thinking of, ’cause he’s so smart?
Sigh! Lanthanide, you have to stop trying to undermine the utter reality of John Key’s promises and claims about what he’s doing with … reality.
Play fair.
The World
is going madhas gone mad, edition #I’mlosingcount.C. Peter Wagner, a prominent figure in the Apostolic world with connections to a potential U.S presidential candidate , interviewed by NPR:
On the tsunami and nuclear meltdown in Japan being connected to the emperor of Japan having sex with the sun goddess
“That happened many, many years ago, and that created a spiritual atmosphere over Japan which was an atmosphere ruled by the powers of darkness. The sun goddess is not a very nice lady. The sun goddess is a power of darkness, which is headed up by the kingdom of Satan. And so the sun goddess wants natural disasters to come to Japan. Sometimes the hand of God, which is more powerful, will prevent them. And when he decides to prevent them and when he doesn’t is far beyond anything that we can predict.”
they elected Bush and he said , speaking as President, in front of real people and all that,
“God wanted me to be President”
the world has been nuts a very long time
Oh my giddy aunt! How completely nuts… He needs to learn, shit happens..
Why the surprise? This creationism crap is worming its way into schools. It comes from the cell groups that set themselves up in the libraries of our teacher colleges. The graduates go out into the world and this drivel slowly permeates the classrooms – particularly, but not exclusively, in the lower decile schools where the communities are receptive and indeed request it – the communities’ boards recruit them. (Further confirming the warnings that were given when Picot set in train the self managing schools model).
Auditor General Slams Treasury
A few days ago the Auditor General released her report on the way the Treasury implemented and managed the Retail Deposit Guarantee Scheme…
It’s a toss up between English and Heatley as being the worst cabinet ministers. Both have caused immense financial hardship to those in the lowest income bracket.
I am concerned about how much Heatley has wasted on his screwed up housing policies. The man simply does NOT get it that his newly developed social housing unit will not deliver affordable rental properties to those who do not qualify for a HNZ property.
Housing not likely to buy flats
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/economy/news/article.cfm?c_id=34&objectid=10756481
NZ has such an aging population who require medical treatment. Unless there is a robust, affordable secure housing policy, the elderly in particular are going to require more health resources. This can be said for children as well and people with permanent health conditions which impede working more than several hours a week.
Heatley has 40 million for his social housing unit EXPERIMENT, which has redirected money away from housing people in need, while far too many HNZ homes are unoccupied.
I vote Tolley!
How about a toss up between Brownlee and Tolley because they are 3 and 4 on my list?
Dosent help that the HCC is full of Tea-Party wannabes, and Julie Hardaker is trying her best to be like Michelle Bachman without the god-bothering.
Heatley is probably in the pocket of the
slumlords unionProperty Investors’ Federation.Fortunately, the Tea Parters on my council are a) most of the time all bluff and bluster and b) too caught up into having admission fees established for the local art gallery to be any sort of threat to council services.
An athlete with a heart and a brain…
See, drugs are good.
Single treatment – that’s got to be better than ongoing treatments of prozac.
Not as profitable.
Profit is a dead weight loss so I’m not overly concerned about that especially considering that it is the profit drive (pure greed) that is destroying the environment.
Err, shrooms increase your “openness to new ideas or experiences [and] awareness of feelings in the self and others”.
Did we seriously need to spend lab time to tell us that?
No, we needed the lab time to tell us that those effects were good for us rather than the End of Civilisation which seems to be the reason why such drugs are banned.
Overwhelming opposition to battery hen cages
So, is the government listening to the public on this or are they still defending the use of battery hens?
Voters feel poorly informed on MMP alternatives
Well, at least people are asking for the information. Now hopefully that will be made available to them. Although I’m pretty sure that NAct will prefer to keep people uninformed.
Horizon Poll
Actually, the most important point of that poll is that Labour would only be able to form a coalition with the support of Mana. Phil Goff should, about now, be feeling really stupid for saying that he won’t work with Hone.
This one’s the most disturbing though. Apparently, most people believe that employers should have a say in your recreation.
Stockholm syndrome in action.
Whao! What just happened in the public gallery in Parliament? It happened as Goff was beginning his speech in the general debate, and apparently our friendly PM blamed the incident on Labour.
Dunno but the Chairman referred to the “Member has been removed.” What?
I think the speaker got it wrong. But the PM obviously said something during/just after the kerfuffle in the gallery that got right up the nose of the opposition.
Stuff has breaking news that a man tried to jump into the debating chamber.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/5738033/Man-tries-to-jump-at-parliament
Yeah, for change of trousers!
He looked pale, slouched in his seat, and didn’t move. For a moment I thought he was dead……and then he moved *sigh*
Not classy, WJ. Sure, it’s a “joke”, but still … not a good one.
A very disturbing incident in Parliament, could have been even worse. Thankfully it wasn’t.
What? Too soon?
Update:
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/5738033/Man-tries-to-jump-at-parliament
A full report on the Herald with Key apparently justifying “Down to you,” at Goff and “a throat slashing gesture,” by Key, motivated by Labour’s complaint of excessive use of the Dip Squad. Eh???
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10756747
John Key’s office cleaner wants more than $43 to spend on groceries each week for her 4 children and 4 grandchildren:
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/5737904/John-Keys-cleaner-campaigns-for-better-wages
meanwhile across the road, Treasury spends up large
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/5737438/Treasury-spent-13-8m-on-consultants-Greens
Dene MacKenzie Biased
I happened to read an article today entitled Key Nats’ ace; Goff sidelined, published on the Otago Daily Times website today. The fictional piece is so obviously a beat up that I’m surprised it reached publication…
If you said anything else as a reporter for the ODT you would be fired immediately his boss is the national and ACT leader in Otago.
Although DM is an enthusiastic propogandist, rather than reluctant collaborator.
From todays Herald http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10756735
(funny that is already happening in Dunedin and Kawerau, and the rumour mill suggests those are ‘pilots’ for future amalgamations)
I’d love to see Tolley do that! And finally
Well said Kevin Jephson and well spotted Ian.
Last week buried in a column somewhere I saw a quote from Anne Tolley to the effect that National Standards were just a beginning and that she had many more things to improve NZ education. Ominous.
And watch that Mandate that National will seize in order to justify massive changes.
So what about the wairarapa times age running a meet john key forum and putting a two inch bannner for key on the bottom of every page for a week?
When the goebbles golum come back to life?
The full text of ACTA has been released. The first sentence in it:
Is completely contrary to reality. Preventing people from applying their imagination and coming up with ideas, which is what IP enforcement does, actively prevents development of the economy.
Go watch Everything is a Remix to get some idea.
As it’s a document designed to protect capitalism by preventing competition I’m sure it goes downhill from there.