If they put in a Nat then their is less vitriol from them later maybe? Bolger is not the worst at least unlike Key, he cares about this countries future longer than 3 years and not just asset stripping and enriching his mates.
The murder of Razan Najar is a war crime.
And one of the most ghastly aspects of the whole story is that the media ignored it.
Time for a new media.
The old media is dead.
“The War Crime committed against #RazanNajar has gone virtually unremarked amongs our political class and its hireling lickspittle media. Yet on my Twitter alone more than 1m people in not 36 hours have engaged with it. The MSM is a doomed hollowed out shell. This is the future .”
Being spoon-fed by George Galloway isn’t “research”. It’s all very well talking about motes and beams, but what about when there’s a deciduous forest in your eye?
Unknown journalist (or was he more a blogger?) might have been killed by Russian interests, and it was ‘grist to the mill’ and therefor front page headline news.
Unknown medic gets killed in “clashes” or “ongoing slaughter” (depending on perspective) and it gets a whole lot less coverage than front page news.
I’m guessing that’s the type of contrast Ed was trying to point to.
I haven’t clicked to the Galloway link, and won’t, because the guy’s a bombastic arse who I generally can’t be bothered with. That said, his personality and my prejudice towards him hasn’t got anything to do with the validity of some point he might be making.
Is “our” media a busted flush? Many would say that’s the case.
Well said Anon. Galloway’s self-serving clickbait is a liability to any cause he inserts himself into.
Najar’s murder has been condemned by the UN. Article 24 of the Geneva Conventions states:
Medical personnel exclusively engaged in the search for, or the collection, transport or treatment of the wounded or sick, or in the prevention of disease, staff exclusively engaged in the administration of medical units and establishments, as well as chaplains attached to the armed forces, shall be respected and protected in all circumstances.
Israel says it was too smoky for the snipers to see what they were shooting at. They think this counts as a defence 🙄
Except the Israeli army is acknowledged as one of the most professional in the World. That isn’t to state they aren’t capable of screwing up monumentally. However they are also well aware of having a force that will follow standards of military discipline.
It also seems rational to me that they’d have some manner of selecting the troops who go into areas like Gaza and the West Bank – from the regime’s perspective, it’s better to err on the side of “racist psycho nutbar” than “conchy who might even switch sides”.
Lprent….Israeli (Zionist) war crimes supported and paid for by the Donald Trump administration. Either the soldiers are incompetent or this is a clearly orchestrated genocidal strategy. And the world is powerless to take Israel to task.
Given the fact that the Palestinian population in both Gaza and the West Bank has grown hugely since 1967 it isn’t a terribly effective genocidal strategy if it is being followed by the Israelis.
“Thousands of Palestinians have attended the funeral in Gaza of a volunteer medic who was killed by Israeli fire during protests on the border. Razan al-Najar, 21, was shot dead as she ran towards the border fence on Friday to help a casualty, Palestinian health officials said.”
Shooting a (clearly uniformed) medic is a war crime. the IDF says they are looking into the incident, for as much as that is worth. No outcome has been reported yet.
Israelis need aid please. Glasses to wear for their eyesight, so they stop making a spectacle of themselves. It’s ugly to see what they do. Haven’t they any pride in their country? Now they have it they are letting their army which consists of their young people mainly, learn brutalising attitudes and commit crimes, and the memory of those they will carry throughout their lives.
A war crime committed by those calling themselves ‘palestinians’, but who really are just terrorist stooges. The solution is simple. Stop throwing bombs at Israel, and the retaliation will stop.
You need to go and read up the on the Laws of Armed Conflict to enlighten your so-called wisdom that shoot unarmed civilians is justified just because they Palestinians. The IA have turned themselves into a bunch of Thugs because any half decent Army would not shoot unarmed civilians throwing stones 300m away because it’s against the rules of LOAC.
Little stones picked up off the ground and thrown over a fence by the hands of youths is sufficient to draw murderous Israeli live fire. You can forget about bombs.
Quite right of course. How dare those sub-human Palestinian youths throw stones…..snort snort ! ! !
The formerly oppressed now the oppressor. For 70 years.
Of course you’re right Gabb. Just as it would have been far more sensible for Nelson Mandela never to have said a word. And for Jewish people in Nazi Germany to have falsely disported a ravenous taste for bratwurst with their sauerkraut.
The Nazi’s here are the Palestinian leaders. Israel have a right to exist, and yet their borders have been under attack since they were re-formed as a modern nation. There is no other country in the world who has to defend itself so often against neighbouring terrorism. The Palestinians continue to elect terrorists. They will continue to pay the price.
‘Little stones’? You mean thousands of rockets fired over decades by people sadly manipulated by murderous hamas terrorists. Don’t mess with the Israeli’s and their right to exist. They fight back. As they damn well should.
“A war crime committed by those calling themselves ‘palestinians’, but who really are just terrorist stooges.”
DO I REALLY NEED TO READ THIS RACIST CRAP ON THE STANDARD?
Seriously dude, you are a racist scumbag. I’d suggest some quiet reflection and some soul searching, but your idiocy would probably be a real blocker on that.
Key wasnt with them when the cartel was operating for the share raising in 2015.
Since they would have known about the pending action for some time, Im sure his deal making skills will be used to try and extricate themselves from this tricky situation.
To give some background: Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions (CDPP) on Friday flagged it would launch a criminal case alleging ANZ and its investment bankers came to “an arrangement or understanding” about how 25.5 million shares, worth $789.2 million, would be sold after they failed to find buyers during the capital raising process. -AFR
Essentially ANZ executives along with the big international banks/vampire squids Deutsche Bank and Citigroup tried to rig the trading in ANZ shares after the placement fell short and they were left holding the baby and the bathwater.
JP Morgan seems to have cooperated with the DPP in the investigation, otherwise would be in the dock too.
Their defence seems to be : we do as we please and everyone else does it like this as well, the law be dammed and we can screw the little shareholders in favour of the big boys like we allways have.
As a southerly winter blast rolls up the island, my thoughts go out to weka.
I trust she is safe, warm and happy.
I have missed your contributions of late.
“Bolger working group could take NZ back to 70s, National warns”
You mean take New Zealand back to a time of full employment and affordable housing ?
An era when there were no beggars on the streets, kids weren’t starving, levels of inequality were far less, the country was not owned by foreign interests?
Good one, Ed! Yes the new right neoliberal worst fears, full employment and not selling off the country to multinational mates for progress… starvation and homelessness is welcomed by the new right… they can then get some social bonds going and private prisons to make even more money from the problems they cause, and off high rise housing slum builds, oh I mean estates.
Yup…the 70s when being gay was against the law, domestic abuse was no ones business, you stayed married for the kids, maori rights (what maori rights), drink drivings sweet as
And none of those have anything to do with employment laws? We can have better employment and an economy that works for everyone and not the privileged few, but not give up our progress in social benefits
Female participation in the workforce was a hell of a lot lower than now. All those 1970s “housewives” did not earn an income, but were never recorded as unemployed.
When a wife went to work in those days, her salary would be extra for the joint income and by living cheaply they could soon save a deposit for a house and the money was a great boost to them both and boosted their standard of living. Now, it helps pay for the electricity bill and the car payments so that they can get to work, the doctor, the school, take the kids to sport, if they can afford that etc.
mary_a
Yes Big Norm. He seemed a good guy. But I seem to remember he wouldn’t look after his health, see the doctor. Rod Donald went early too. Sad. And good you responded. I think I’ll take a break at present but the last comment I’ll keep in mind is in agreement.
Yes, we may be only 28 in the OECD, but luckily Richard Prebbles tractors are safe now that we don’t have usable train services in most places for the imaginary tractors to fall off from. We just have what few trains we have working, derailing from the Chinese steel and faulty materials and labour, bit like the leaky buildings when they used mostly Ozzy timber that was untreated for our house frames, after they closed many timber mills in NZ, while forgetting we don’t live in a desert. That solved it! sarcasm.
That’s right: some places have moved forwards whilst we’ve gone backwards, as the World Bank and IMF have quantified. Who could have predicted that throwing people on the scrap-heap, shitting on them and then blaming them for it would result in lost productivity?
Oh, that’s right, all the people who predicted it.
We were in an artificially inflated position thanks to subsidies, once those subsidies were ended NZ ended up in its rightful place, in fact NZ is doing better then could be expected given our location and small population
Your premise (that we are now worse off in terms of trade and the profits thereof) is a lie: the pie is bigger, it just isn’t being shared as equitably.
Yes, that’s what I’m saying. No, wait, sorry I misspoke. It’s just you demonstrating that you can’t argue your position without resorting to bullshit strawmen.
As the World Bank and IMF have quantified, business is being “hobbled” by the hollowing out of the middle class and the human rights abuses perpetrated against the lowest quintile.
Lost productivity is lost productivity, no matter how much you twist and squeal and betray your betters.
“*insert any number of s**t hole socialist countries here*”
Thing is, we don’t have to. NZ had it better than these before it swallowed this Rockstar lie about Gnat economic competence and worked for the public instead of sleazy corporates. It’s a model proven to work here, albeit without gifting Mazeratis to braindead morons like Hoskings or unearned millions to Key.
I don’t think that is what most people want to bring back from the 1970’s, you know progress taking the good and making it better. Sadly in NZ for many, we have gone backwards a lot of other areas.
As for Maori rights, with TPPA and their voting power being quietly diminished while being in coalition with the Nat via lazy immigration and no voting in prison with 3 strikes laws , I think there is a new onslaught of power imbalances for Maori they should be looking out for.
Yesterday the oil was an interesting example if they sue or not. Same is going to happen with TPPA which Labour and National and NZ First signed and it aint gonna be pretty.
How much money do Maori have to defend lawsuits? It’s Treaty of Waiting betrayal all over again with corporations and a bunch of lawyers deciding the outcomes based on their views.
Newsflash, ISDS stil in there Solka… that means that if Maori or anyone else tries to stop some corporations profits they will be in international court fighting it out… not NZ.
After all this time you still don’t understand what you are complaining about. Maori entities cannot be sued under ISDS. ISDS is a mechanism by which governments can be sued when they change the rules.
Yes, but under the treaty many Maori signed up for dual rule with the British and retaining sovereignty or at least dual sovereignty over the assets… not private exploitation and government rules and overseas tribunals to support that.
You were talking about Maori being sued and whether they have the money to fight this in court, how would that happen under TPPA? Who is suing Maori over oil?
I see Councillor Mike Lee has taken his obsessive opposition to the proposed Britomart to Airport Light Rail to a new level and formed a lobby group to push for a heavy rail express link. They have taken aim at the “slow” journey time (about 40-45 minutes) that light rail will provide, but we know from some excellent work at Greater Auckland that light rail compares favourably with heavy rail journey times and may even be a bit quicker. They also fail to mention the sizeable cost of the heavy rail option and the likelihood that it will require ongoing substantial subsidies to run.
Hey, ScottGN you should be on the committee for the fake Meth rules that just evicted 1000’s of vulnerable people with fake science and reports and using a dedicated committee approach that already had the answers.
Aka tell everyone that Trams stopping and taking not just airport traffic but normal passengers too, will be faster and take more passengers than dedicated services and then complain if someone who is actually an elected MP disputes this bizarre finding of a dysfunctional organisation.
One of the biggest flaws of our pathetic public transport system is how slow it is, most people can’t waste an extra 2 hours a day supporting dysfunctional AT who already take up 54% of everyone’s rates! Just two stages already takes about 3 times longer than a car. I hate to think how long an airport journey will be combined with already peak passenger traffic.
Since if you put in a journey from Pt Chev to central Auckland into AT it takes 45 minutes it is hard to work out how it’s the same time from the airport which is much further away????
Of course those who are part of AT or their support groups often live in Wellington or central Auckland so they don’t exactly worry about what happens to the majority of people not living their lovely transport free life and just have to worry about taxing out everyone else off the roads and out of the city via rates, so they can get to their Bach up North or in Coromandel quicker.
Hey saveNZ, I don’t think I quite deserved your diatribe and, frankly, trying to conflate the transit issue with the fiasco at Housing NZ is a pretty cheap shot.
A few questions for you.
Do you think the heavy rail airport express trains are going to be able to zoom along the track from Britomart to Puhinui at 100+ Ks an hour or are they going to have to share the same line as the lumbering commuter trains you complain about and other trains that use the network currently?
Or do you think we should build a dedicated line all the way through? Rather than just the spur from Puhinui to the airport? How much would that cost?
Do you think there are enough passengers going to the central city, as opposed to all the other places in Auckland that airport passengers might want to go to, to justify that cost? How much would a ticket cost? And how much subsidy would each ticket require?
Are you aware that, for example, both Sydney and Toronto, cities much larger than Auckland have found the ongoing cost of maintaining their respective airport express services so steep they’ve each considered shutting down the service?
Have you ever been on the Heathrow Express? Sure it’s faster than the Piccadilly Line but it’s over £25 (or $50) one way and consequently nearly always pretty empty, in fact it sounds a lot like your gold plated highways for rich folks to take to their baches.
I can see you people have your minds exercised about this railway. But mine is a bit sluggish.
Facts I have gained.
1 Mike Lee who has been a stalwart in doing the best for Auckland against the fancy throwaway ideas of neolib nuts has ideas not favoured by you ScottGN.
2 He and others favour a heavy rail express link from Britomart to Airport. This will likely be as fast as light rail.
3 It may cost more to build, and require substantial subsidies to operate it? I am wondering about this.
(3a My thought – what happens to heavy rail now? Would this new heavy/light rail replace another? Would it impede the travel and frequency of people going to the airport – that would be a major disadvantage?)
3b (Further – how much longer in time would it take to build a heavy express line over what a light express line would take? How much more money? – It seems that while the earthworks and inconvenience is present for light, it would be better to take the opportunity to spend a little more and get a line of bigger capacity which would be preparing for future need now.)
I think that the report from Auckland Transport that you give a link to, finishes with what I consider a statement showing muddled thinking. It says: after all we’re trying to build a PT (public transport) network that is useful to a lot of people, not just one that provides an express service to one location. I thought that the particular priority is to get people to and from the airport, the gateway at present, to Auckland city, as fast as reasonable. Therefore I think that sentence should spell this out like this: we’re trying to build a PT network that provides a service to the airport, that is reliable and also in a reasonable, reliable time possibly an express service at least en route to the airport, which also provides services to as many people as possible.
(This may take the form of an express service, or perhaps with one stop, to the airport and a fast service with more stops, going to the city when the time period is not inflexible.
or From further reading it would be slowed down by present heavy freight trains?
and commuter trains, so not practical for fast access to airport. And also the airport travellers would have to get off at Puhini and onto a bus, is that the idea?
But a light rail link could be an express on another line, either to Puhini or direct to airport?)
It is a bit confusing. So if anyone wishes to enlighten me if they could go down my comment in order of numbering and pondering at bottom it would help.
If you go back some years they were originally in favour of heavy rail but were talked around by the arguments in favour of the tram route – which forms part of another complementary regional network that does not subtract from train capacity.
Thanks Sacha
I am relying on what the experts say. I made myself sit and read through the links this morning but haven’t time to research it. I have been looking at Gisborne and the political and environmental situation there for a few days. And have to limit my time on the computer.
I guess you know how it can eat up your day.
Firstly the line from the airport should be met by the travellers using the airport in an airport tax on visitors not the rate payers many of who are not benefiting from all the tourists, quite the opposite they are being caught up in massive congestion and forced to pay petrol taxes and high rates.
The days when hotels and so forth are NZ owned and operated are long gone, so have the taxes and the jobs for locals in that industry. Look around our hotel chains are not locally owned or operated now, like many of the cafes and tourist industries and quite a few of them just seem to be scams for immigration to bring cheap workers into Auckland that the workers probably pay for the job. $20k is the going rate apparently.
I have lived all around the world and well used to decent transport from airports. NZ has one of the worst trips from the airport public transport wise, in my view and that is why most people drive it.
You don’t need to use the Healthrow express in many cases because they also have tubes leaving every 2 minutes and transfers from all parts of the city and country going within minutes too. That is why they can move the volumes of people.
And I don’t have an opinion of what is the best solution but I would back Mike Lee decision making skills any day over AT who are idiots. AT are incompetent and deliver poor service and they are getting more incompetent and more arrogant. They can’t even synchronise with their own board that is how dysfunctional they are.
If a corporation is frightened of somebody questioning them, and trying to close debate down or influence blogs and so forth, that is why there is the problem. AT is a monopoly that is run like a fiefdom with the public being forced to pay for their bad decisions and service.
The key thing for airport users/travelers is not the 40-45 minutes journey time (which is fine) but that they can jump on a nice, reliable, regular tram/light rail service at a station(s) in the centre of Akl and get to the airport.
yes, as a first step. Rome wasn’t built in a day, but it seems it was built a damn sight faster than anything to do with public transport in Auckers
But while we’re doing it, let’s not preclude further options such as eventually having a ‘heavy rail’ loop link to Auckland Airport – which after all serves more regional needs.
Some things to consider:
-light rail rolling stock could run on heavy rail, not so the other way round.
-Hamilton/TeAwamutu are gearing up as a major freight hub
-Ports of Oakland is a big fuckup and probably isn’t going to last other than to provide Oaklanders with pissy little treats and trinkets from the third world. Besides, there are too many urban libs concerned about the destruction of their harbour (and rightly so) to allow intensification of freight movements. Pesky little oil depots, and car import depots are such a hassle.
-Appropriate rolling stock could run on existing heavy rail between centres (such as)
Auckland-Hamilton; Auckland-Rotorua; New Plymouth-Stratford’; Masterton to Wellington; TePuke/Pangaroa-Tauranga; Tauranga-Airport; Auckland-Airport, and many others including the South Island.
but for the fact we think in terms of traditional light versus heavy.
Yes we should ban single use plastic bags among other things.
Down here we aren’t waiting for a law change, Motueka may be a small town, but the anti plastic movement is strong here, be the change you want to see in the world.
Interestingly Celcius coffees largest customer base are workmen, yes men in fluro vests with muddy boots, doing their part to help the environment by not using throw away coffee cups. Love this town 🙂
A valid point, cars are cheaper to live in than houses. With the new petrol charges, maybe the new trade deal will be we offshore the NZ poor to China/India and they live there while the middle class and wealthy Chinese come to NZ… sounds far fetched but who could have predicted the state of affairs now with globalism and now we have some of the biggest NZ homeless in OZ as well as our own country while being told how great everything is by the economists? The real poor have to go somewhere, and they are being pushed very firmly out of Auckland and told to go to the provinces.
Britain has pretty much closed it’s doors to NZ too. As the cost of living in NZ gets more expensive and we get richer people who don’t pay taxes and more poorer people who don’t pay taxes, where does the money come from as more and more people need subsidies just to live even or forced out by certain percentage seem to be living in modern million dollar homes in Auckland with zero to little income?
If we have a look at Auckland council, apparently 50% of the total rates tax take is predicted next year to be just on themselves. So if currently 54% of rates goes to AT, figures ain’t looking too promising as Auckland council look to PPP’s to pretend it’s all not happening and their massive ‘construction’ boom to continue to keep the Ponzi they collaborated with the Natz on, and our productivity even lower with their actions.
Increasing inequality and the cause of the problems somehow controlling the ‘problems’ are finding new ways to profit from it.
Even the F-in g Meth took money from the poor and middle class of NZ and rerouted into the real estate industry. In fact Real Estate of NZ apparently was on the committee for the standards!
Cars better to live in – I wondered why there were so many people movers around. I thought they just cluttered the place, but in fact they are emergency caravans. The freedom campers R’US.
‘By the late 1950s, Wellington’s housing needs were identified as ‘particularly acute’. In the 1960s voluntary organisations recorded a gradual increase in some groups experiencing housing difficulties. The Christchurch Methodist Church night shelter found that their main users were employed people who could not afford other accommodation, unmarried women with children, and those leaving homes because of domestic violence also increasingly sought shelter.’
In 1975, the Housing Corporation referred to the ‘serious effects’ of a housing shortage with ‘many situations of overcrowding’, and a 1979 pilot survey of Auckland found that numerous people did not have access to adequate housing.’
Comparing apples with cucumbers I see – those report writers from way back then would not have been able to conceive (in their worst nightmares) how truly fucked up the housing situation is now.
19 Surely the fate of human beings is like that of the animals; the same fate awaits them both: As one dies, so dies the other. All have the same breath ; humans have no advantage over animals. Everything is meaningless.
20 All go to the same place; all come from dust, and to dust all return.
Ecclesiastes 3: 19-20
That’s not an indication of support for Jones. If it were then you’d also have to admit that 3.5 million not voting National last election was a total rejection of them.
I’ve no doubt that you do support Jones on this because you are a racist too.
“silly little people”
There are people like Sir Bob (and James) and then there are little people.
Little people are not to voice opinions on matters that are clearly in the public domain and of public interest, they are to be cowed and threatened by the asymmetric power available to the rich.
Says it all really, natural authoritarians always out themselves.
A turd who wants to act like a young turk but be called a peer of the realm. Can’t have it both ways – either he’s respectable, in which case he doesn’t author racists rants, or he’s a shitbird, no title for him.
How is any of this defamatory? He’s just proved again what an ass he is. The petition showed people see him as an ass – how specifically has that affected him?
Even this quote defines his assishness
[Whale Oil] “I’m delighted to report that my libel writ has been served on Maihi. Now it’s my turn.”
Bob Jones the Perrenial Racist winding the show up again, I might just go to the Court Case for an afternoon’s entertainment, or maybe TV One could screen it live ?
How is Jones racist ? It was quite obvious to all but the most literal that his piece in the NBR was satire and even if it wasn’t it could perhaps be considered somewhat bigoted, I find people throw the racism accusation about very freely these days.
Most people these days seem to have lost their sense of humour and satire is indeed lost to them. They see everything in literal terms only, no matter how clear it is that someone is taking the piss.
Bizarrely too, it has become a white wannabe celebrity thing to overcompensate on racism especially on TV panels. Saw some show where the panel was overtaken by a white person complaining about other white people’s racism and everyone was white apart from one women of colour who barely got a word in, about experiences of racism. that the topic was about.
The rest was about how tough white jews have it these days and how Corbyn was a racist for apparently including in Palestinians and other nations who have racism against them. It was classic TV fodder and explains why so many people are turning off both MSM and politics.
(Possibly taking the piss on the NBR was where Jones went wrong, I don’t read NBR so therefore have no idea what Jones actually said).
Good morning The AM Show I should have known the Taranaki Mans whano are good Ruby players Paddy Gower that is what’s he up to he will put out another good story soon.
Many thanks to the Tauranga Council for buying those Bella Vista houses off the tangata. Can’t have the dirty washing displayed in public.
Many thanks to the Coalition government for putting ear plugs in and going with the carbon neutral by 2050 yes we have to lead the changes to carbon because the leader is lost. And we will create a renewal energy industry that will export the products and knowledge gained from this our society will be much better off. Loyed in London a Heathrow Airport is getting a 3rd one day planes will be elictric container ships will be solar and sailing cannot wait.
Our Farmers need to embrace becoming Carbon neutral and the rest of the World will embrace they produce its logical no it’s just big businesses distraught the logic to line there pockets. Ka kite ano
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Geoffrey Miller writes – The gloves are off. That might seem to be the undertone of surprisingly tough talk from New Zealand’s foreign and trade ministers. Winston Peters, the foreign minister, may be facing legal action after making allegations about former Australian foreign minister Bob Carr on Radio New Zealand. ...
Brian Easton writes – This is about the time that the Treasury will be locking up its economic forecasts to be published in the 2024 Budget Economic and Fiscal Update (BEFU) on budget day, 30 May. I am not privy to what they will be (I will report on them ...
TL;DR:Winston Peters is reported to have won a budget increase for MFAT. David Seymour wanted his Ministry of Regulation to be three times bigger than the Productivity Commission. Simeon Brown is appointing a Crown Monitor to Watercare to protect the Claytons Crown Guarantee he had to give ratings agencies ...
The gloves are off. That might seem to be the undertone of surprisingly tough talk from New Zealand’s foreign and trade ministers. Winston Peters, the foreign minister, may be facing legal action after making allegations about former Australian foreign minister Bob Carr on Radio New Zealand. Carr had made highly ...
I could be a florist'Round the corner from Rye LaneI'll be giving daisies to craziesBut, baby, I'll wrap you up real safe Oh, I can give you flowers At the end of every dayFor the center of your table, a rainbowIn case you have people 'round to stay Depending on ...
TL;DR: The six key events to watch in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy in the week to May 12 include:PM Christopher Luxon is scheduled to hold a post-Cabinet news conference at 4 pm today. Finance Minister Nicola Willis will give a pre-budget speech on Thursday.Parliament sits from Question Time at 2pm on ...
The price of the foreign affairs “reset” is now becoming apparent, with Defence set to get a funding boost in the Budget. Finance Minister Nicola Willis has confirmed that it will be one of the few votes, apart from Health and Education and possibly Police, which will get an increase ...
A listing of 26 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, April 28, 2024 thru Sat, May 4, 2024. Story of the week "It’s straight out of Big Tobacco’s playbook. In fact, research by John Cook and his colleagues ...
Yesterday I received come lovely feedback following my Star Wars themed newsletter. A few people mentioned they’d enjoyed reading the personal part at the beginning.I often begin newsletters with some memories, or general thoughts, before commencing the main topic. This hopefully sets the mood and provides some context in which ...
April 30 was going to be the day we’d be calling Mum from London to wish her a happy birthday. Then it became the day we would be going to St. Paul's at Evensong to remember her. The aim of the cathedral builders was to find a way to make their ...
Rob MacCulloch writes – Can’t remember the last book by a Kiwi author you read? Think the NZ government should spend less on the arts in favor of helping the homeless? If so, as far as Newsroom is concerned, you probably deserve to be called a cultural ignoramus ...
Eric Crampton writes – Grudges are bad. Better to move on. But it can be fun to keep a couple of really trivial ones, so you’re not tempted to have other ones. For example, because of the rootkit fiasco of 2005, no Sony products in our household. ...
A new report warns an estimated third of the adult population have unmet need for health care.Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāHere’s the six key things I learned about Aotaroa’s political economy this week around housing, climate and poverty:Politics - Three opinion polls confirmed support for PM Christopher Luxon ...
Today is May the fourth. Which was just a regular day when my mother took me to see the newly released Star Wars at the Odeon in Rotorua. The queue was right around the corner. Some years later this day became known as Star Wars Day, the date being a ...
Buzz from the Beehive Much more media attention is being paid to something Winston Peters said about former Australian Foreign Minister Bob Carr than to a speech he delivered to the New Zealand China Council. One word is missing from the speech: AUKUS. But AUKUS loomed large in his considerations ...
Is the economy in another long stagnation? If so, why?This is about the time that the Treasury will be locking up its economic forecasts to be published in the 2024 Budget Economic and Fiscal Update (BEFU) on budget day, 30 May. I am not privy to what they will be ...
The annual list of who's been bribing our politicians is out, and journalists will no doubt be poring over it to find the juiciest and dirtiest bribes. The government's fast-track invite list is likely to be a particular focus, and we already know of one company on the list which ...
In the weeks after the October 7 Hamas attacks on Southern Israel I wrote about the possible 2nd, 3rd and even 4th order effects of the conflict. These included new fronts being opened in the West Bank (with Hamas), Golan … Continue reading → ...
Peter Dunne writes – It is one of the oldest truisms that there is never a good time for MPs to get a pay rise. This week’s announcement of pay raises of around 2.8% backdated to last October could hardly have come at a worse time, with the ...
David Farrar writes – Newshub reports: Newshub can reveal a fresh allegation of intimidation against Green MP Julie-Anne Genter. Genter is subject to a disciplinary process for aggressively waving a book in the face of National Minister Matt Doocey in the House – but it’s not the first time ...
The Treasury has published a paper today on the global productivity slowdown and how it is playing out in New Zealand: The productivity slowdown: implications for the Treasury’s forecasts and projections. The Treasury Paper examines recent trends in productivity and the potential drivers of the slowdown. Productivity for the whole economy ...
Winston Peters’ comments about former Australian foreign minister look set to be an ongoing headache for both him and Luxon. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The podcast above of the weekly ‘hoon’ webinar for subscribers features co-hosts and , along with regular guests on Gaza and ...
These puppet strings don't pull themselvesYou're thinking thoughts from someone elseHow much time do you think you have?Are you prepared for what comes next?The debating chamber can be a trying place for an opposition MP. What with the person in charge, the speaker, typically being an MP from the governing ...
The land around Lyme Regis, where Meryl Streep once stood, in a hood, on the Cobb, is falling into the sea.MerylThe land around Lyme Regis, around the Cobb that made it rich, has always been falling slowly but surely into the sea. Read more ...
Buzz from the Beehive Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters was bound to win headlines when he set out his thinking about AUKUS in his speech to the New Zealand Institute of International Affairs. The headlines became bigger when – during an interview on RNZ’s Morning Report today – he criticised ...
The Post reports on how the government is refusing to release its advice on its corrupt Muldoonist fast-track law, instead using the "soon to be publicly available" refusal ground to hide it until after select committee submissions on the bill have closed. Fast-track Minister Chris Bishop's excuse? “It's not ...
As pressure on it grows, the livestock industry’s approach to the transition to Net Zero is increasingly being compared to that of fossil fuel interests. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / Getty ImagesTL;DR: Here’s the top five news items of note in climate news for Aotearoa-NZ this week, and a discussion above ...
The New Zealand Herald reports – Stats NZ has offered a voluntary redundancy scheme to all of its workers as a way to give staff some control over their “future” amidst widespread job losses in the public sector. In an update to staff this morning, seen by the Herald, Statistics New Zealand ...
On Werewolf/Scoop, I usually do two long form political columns a week. From now on, there will be an extra column each week about music and movies. But first, some late-breaking political events:The rise in unemployment numbers for the March quarter was bigger than expected – and especially sharp ...
David Farrar writes – The Herald reports: TVNZ says it is dealing with about 50 formal complaints over its coverage of the latest 1News-Verian political poll, with some viewers – as well as the Prime Minister and a former senior Labour MP – critical of the tone of the 6pm report. ...
Muriel Newman writes – When Meridian Energy was seeking resource consents for a West Coast hydro dam proposal in 2010, local Maori “strenuously” objected, claiming their mana was inextricably linked to ‘their’ river and could be damaged. After receiving a financial payment from the company, however, the Ngai Tahu ...
Alwyn Poole writes – “An SEP,’ he said, ‘is something that we can’t see, or don’t see, or our brain doesn’t let us see, because we think that it’s somebody else’s problem. That’s what SEP means. Somebody Else’s Problem. The brain just edits it out, it’s like a ...
Our trust in our political institutions is fast eroding, according to a Maxim Institute discussion paper, Shaky Foundations: Why our democracy needs trust. The paper – released today – raises concerns about declining trust in New Zealand’s political institutions and democratic processes, and the role that the overuse of Parliamentary urgency ...
This article was prepared for publication yesterday. More ministerial announcements have been posted on the government’s official website since it was written. We will report on these later today …. Buzz from the BeehiveThere we were, thinking the environment is in trouble, when along came Jones. Shane Jones. ...
New Zealand now has the fourth most depressed construction sector in the world behind China, Qatar and Hong Kong. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: These are the six things that stood out to me in news and commentary on Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy at 8:46am on Thursday, May 2:The Lead: ...
Hi,I am just going to state something very obvious: American police are fucking crazy.That was a photo gracing the New York Times this morning, showing New York City police “entering Columbia University last night after receiving a request from the school.”Apparently in America, protesting the deaths of tens of thousands ...
Winston Peters’ much anticipated foreign policy speech last night was a work of two halves. Much of it was a standard “boilerplate” Foreign Ministry overview of the state of the world. There was some hardening up of rhetoric with talk of “benign” becoming “malign” and old truths giving way to ...
Graham Adams assesses the fallout of the Cass Review — The press release last Thursday from the UN Special Rapporteur on violence against women and girls didn’t make the mainstream news in New Zealand but it really should have. The startling title of Reem Alsalem’s statement — “Implementation of ‘Cass ...
This open-for-business, under-new-management cliché-pockmarked government of Christopher Luxon is not the thing of beauty he imagines it to be. It is not the powerful expression of the will of the people that he asserts it to be. It is not a soaring eagle, it is a malodorous vulture. This newest poll should make ...
The latest labour market statistics, showing a rise in unemployment. There are now 134,000 unemployed - 14,000 more than when the National government took office. Which is I guess what happens when the Reserve Bank causes a recession in an effort to Keep Wages Low. The previous government saw a ...
Three opinion polls have been released in the last two days, all showing that the new government is failing to hold their popular support. The usual honeymoon experienced during the first year of a first term government is entirely absent. The political mood is still gloomy and discontented, mainly due ...
National's Finance Minister once met a poor person.A scornful interview with National's finance guru who knows next to nothing about economics or people.There might have been something a bit familiar if that was the headline I’d gone with today. It would of course have been in tribute to the article ...
Rob MacCulloch writes – Throughout the pandemic, the new Vice-Chancellor-of-Otago-University-on-$629,000 per annum-Can-you-believe-it-and-Former-Finance-Minister Grant Robertson repeated the mantra over and over that he saved “lives and livelihoods”.As we update how this claim is faring over the course of time, the facts are increasingly speaking differently. NZ ...
Chris Trotter writes – IT’S A COMMONPLACE of political speeches, especially those delivered in acknowledgement of electoral victory: “We’ll govern for all New Zealanders.” On the face of it, the pledge is a strange one. Why would any political leader govern in ways that advantaged the huge ...
Bryce Edwards writes – The list of former National Party Ministers being given plum and important roles got longer this week with the appointment of former Deputy Prime Minister Paula Bennett as the chair of Pharmac. The Christopher Luxon-led Government has now made key appointments to Bill ...
TL;DR: These are the six things that stood out to me in news and commentary on Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy at 10:06am on Wednesday, May 1:The Lead: Business confidence fell across the board in April, falling in some areas to levels last seen during the lockdowns because of a collapse in ...
Over the past 36 hours, Christopher Luxon has been dong his best to portray the centre-right’s plummeting poll numbers as a mark of virtue. Allegedly, the negative verdicts are the result of hard economic times, and of a government bravely set out on a perilous rescue mission from which not ...
Green Party MP Hūhana Lyndon says her Public Works (Prohibition of Compulsory Acquisition of Māori Land) Amendment Bill is an opportunity to right some past wrongs around the alienation of Māori land. ...
A senior, highly respected King’s Counsel with decades of experience in our law courts, Gary Judd KC, has filed a complaint about compulsory tikanga Māori studies for law students - highlighting the utter depths of absurdity this woke cultural madness has taken our society. The tikanga regulations will compel law ...
The Government needs to be clear with the people of the Nelson Marlborough region about the changes it is considering for the Nelson Hospital rebuild, Labour health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall said. ...
Ministers must front up about which projects it will push through under its Fast Track Approvals legislation, Labour environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said today. ...
The Government is again adding to New Zealand’s growing unemployment, this time cutting jobs at the agencies responsible for urban development and growing much needed housing stock. ...
With Minister Karen Chhour indicating in the House today that she either doesn’t know or care about the frontline cuts she’s making to Oranga Tamariki, we risk seeing more and more of our children falling through the cracks. ...
The Labour Party is saddened to learn of the death of Sir Robert Martin, a globally renowned disability advocate who led the way for disability rights both in New Zealand and internationally. ...
Labour is calling for the Government to urgently rethink its coalition commitment to restart live animal exports, Labour animal welfare spokesperson Rachel Boyack said. ...
Today’s Financial Stability Report has once again highlighted that poverty and deep inequality are political choices - and this Government is choosing to make them worse. ...
The Green Party is calling on the Government to do more for our households in most need as unemployment rises and the cost of living crisis endures. ...
Unemployment is on the rise and it’s only going to get worse under this Government, Labour finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds said. Stats NZ figures show the unemployment rate grew to 4.3 percent in the March quarter from 4 percent in the December quarter. “This is the second rise in unemployment ...
The New Zealand Labour Party welcomes the entering into force of the European Union and New Zealand free trade agreement. This agreement opens the door for a huge increase in trade opportunities with a market of 450 million people who are high value discerning consumers of New Zealand goods and ...
The National-led Government continues its fiscal jiggery pokery with its Pharmac announcement today, Labour Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall says. “The government has increased Pharmac funding but conceded it will only make minimal increases in access to medicine”, said Ayesha Verrall “This is far from the bold promises made to fund ...
This afternoon’s interim Waitangi Tribunal report must be taken seriously as it affects our most vulnerable children, Labour children’s spokesperson Willow-Jean Prime. ...
Te Pāti Māori are demanding the New Zealand Government support an international independent investigation into mass graves that have been uncovered at two hospitals on the Gaza strip, following weeks of assault by Israeli troops. Among the 392 bodies that have been recovered, are children and elderly civilians. Many of ...
Our two-tiered system for veterans’ support is out of step with our closest partners, and all parties in Parliament should work together to fix it, Labour veterans’ affairs spokesperson Greg O’Connor said. ...
Stripping two Ministers of their portfolios just six months into the job shows Christopher Luxon’s management style is lacking, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said. ...
Tonight’s court decision to overturn the summons of the Children’s Minister has enabled the Crown to continue making decisions about Māori without evidence, says Te Pāti Māori spokesperson for Children, Mariameno Kapa-Kingi. “The judicial system has this evening told the nation that this government can do whatever they want when ...
It appears Nicola Willis is about to pull the rug out from under the feet of local communities still dealing with the aftermath of last year’s severe weather, and local councils relying on funding to build back from these disasters. ...
The Government is making short-sighted changes to the Resource Management Act (RMA) that will take away environmental protection in favour of short-term profits, Labour’s environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said today. ...
Labour welcomes the release of the report into the North Island weather events and looks forward to working with the Government to ensure that New Zealand is as prepared as it can be for the next natural disaster. ...
The Labour Party has called for the New Zealand Government to recognise Palestine, as a material step towards progressing the two-State solution needed to achieve a lasting peace in the region. ...
Some of our country’s most important work, stopping the sexual exploitation of children and violent extremism could go along with staff on the frontline at ports and airports. ...
The Government’s Fast Track Approvals Bill will give projects such as new coal mines a ‘get out of jail free’ card to wreak havoc on the environment, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said today. ...
The government's decision to reintroduce Three Strikes is a destructive and ineffective piece of law-making that will only exacerbate an inherently biased and racist criminal justice system, said Te Pāti Māori Justice Spokesperson, Tākuta Ferris, today. During the time Three Strikes was in place in Aotearoa, Māori and Pasifika received ...
Cuts to frontline hospital staff are not only a broken election promise, it shows the reckless tax cuts have well and truly hit the frontline of the health system, says Labour Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall. ...
The Green Party has joined the call for public submissions on the fast-track legislation to be extended after the Ombudsman forced the Government to release the list of organisations invited to apply just hours before submissions close. ...
New Zealand’s good work at reducing climate emissions for three years in a row will be undone by the National government’s lack of ambition and scrapping programmes that were making a difference, Labour Party climate spokesperson Megan Woods said today. ...
Defence Minister Judith Collins tonight announced the recipients of the Minister of Defence Awards of Excellence for Industry, saying they all contribute to New Zealanders’ security and wellbeing. “Congratulations to this year’s recipients, whose innovative products and services play a critical role in the delivery of New Zealand’s defence capabilities, ...
Welcome to you all - it is a pleasure to be here this evening.I would like to start by thanking Greg Lowe, Chair of the New Zealand Defence Industry Advisory Council, for co-hosting this reception with me. This evening is about recognising businesses from across New Zealand and overseas who in ...
It is a pleasure to be speaking to you as the Minister for Digitising Government. I would like to thank Akolade for the invitation to address this Summit, and to acknowledge the great effort you are making to grow New Zealand’s digital future. Today, we stand at the cusp of ...
New Zealand is urging both Israel and Hamas to agree to an immediate ceasefire to avoid the further humanitarian catastrophe that military action in Rafah would unleash, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says. “The immense suffering in Gaza cannot be allowed to worsen further. Both sides have a responsibility to ...
A new online data dashboard released today as part of the Government’s school attendance action plan makes more timely daily attendance data available to the public and parents, says Associate Education Minister David Seymour. The interactive dashboard will be updated once a week to show a national average of how ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has announced Rosemary Banks will be New Zealand’s next Ambassador to the United States of America. “Our relationship with the United States is crucial for New Zealand in strategic, security and economic terms,” Mr Peters says. “New Zealand and the United States have a ...
The Government is considering creating a new tier of minerals permitting that will make it easier for hobby miners to prospect for gold. “New Zealand was built on gold, it’s in our DNA. Our gold deposits, particularly in regions such as Otago and the West Coast have always attracted fortune-hunters. ...
Minister for Trade Todd McClay today announced that New Zealand and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) will commence negotiations on a free trade agreement (FTA). Minister McClay met with his counterpart UAE Trade Minister Dr Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi in Dubai, where they announced the launch of negotiations on a ...
New Zealand Sign Language Week is an excellent opportunity for all Kiwis to give the language a go, Disabilities Issues Minister Louise Upston says. This week (May 6 to 12) is New Zealand Sign Language (NZSL) Week. The theme is “an Aotearoa where anyone can sign anywhere” and aims to ...
Six tertiary students have been selected to work on NASA projects in the US through a New Zealand Space Scholarship, Space Minister Judith Collins announced today. “This is a fantastic opportunity for these talented students. They will undertake internships at NASA’s Ames Research Center or its Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), where ...
New Zealanders will be safer because of a $1.9 billion investment in more frontline Corrections officers, more support for offenders to turn away from crime, and more prison capacity, Corrections Minister Mark Mitchell says. “Our Government said we would crack down on crime. We promised to restore law and order, ...
The OECD’s latest report on New Zealand reinforces the importance of bringing Government spending under control, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. The OECD conducts country surveys every two years to review its members’ economic policies. The 2024 New Zealand survey was presented in Wellington today by OECD Chief Economist Clare Lombardelli. ...
The Government has delivered on its election promise to provide a financially sustainable model for Auckland under its Local Water Done Well plan. The plan, which has been unanimously endorsed by Auckland Council’s Governing Body, will see Aucklanders avoid the previously projected 25.8 per cent water rates increases while retaining ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters discussed the need for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, and enhanced cooperation in the Pacific with German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock during her first official visit to New Zealand today. "New Zealand and Germany enjoy shared interests and values, including the rule of law, democracy, respect for the international system ...
The Minister Responsible for RMA Reform, Chris Bishop today released his decision on four recommendations referred to him by the Western Bay of Plenty District Council, opening the door to housing growth in the area. The Council’s Plan Change 92 allows more homes to be built in existing and new ...
Thank you, John McKinnon and the New Zealand China Council for the invitation to speak to you today. Thank you too, all members of the China Council. Your effort has played an essential role in helping to build, shape, and grow a balanced and resilient relationship between our two ...
The Government is modernising insurance law to better protect Kiwis and provide security in the event of a disaster, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly announced today. “These reforms are long overdue. New Zealand’s insurance law is complicated and dated, some of which is more than 100 years old. ...
The coalition Government is refreshing its approach to supporting pay equity claims as time-limited funding for the Pay Equity Taskforce comes to an end, Public Service Minister Nicola Willis says. “Three years ago, the then-government introduced changes to the Equal Pay Act to support pay equity bargaining. The changes were ...
Structured literacy will change the way New Zealand children learn to read - improving achievement and setting students up for success, Education Minister Erica Stanford says. “Being able to read and write is a fundamental life skill that too many young people are missing out on. Recent data shows that ...
Trade Minister Todd McClay says Canada’s refusal to comply in full with a CPTPP trade dispute ruling in our favour over dairy trade is cynical and New Zealand has no intention of backing down. Mr McClay said he has asked for urgent legal advice in respect of our ‘next move’ ...
The rights of our children and young people will be enhanced by changes the coalition Government will make to strengthen oversight of the Oranga Tamariki system, including restoring a single Children’s Commissioner. “The Government is committed to delivering better public services that care for our most at-risk young people and ...
The Government is making it easier for minor changes to be made to a building consent so building a home is easier and more affordable, Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk says. “The coalition Government is focused on making it easier and cheaper to build homes so we can ...
New Zealand lost a true legend when internationally renowned disability advocate Sir Robert Martin (KNZM) passed away at his home in Whanganui last night, Disabilities Issues Minister Louise Upston says. “Our Government’s thoughts are with his wife Lynda, family and community, those he has worked with, the disability community in ...
Good evening – Before discussing the challenges and opportunities facing New Zealand’s foreign policy, we’d like to first acknowledge the New Zealand Institute of International Affairs. You have contributed to debates about New Zealand foreign policy over a long period of time, and we thank you for hosting us. ...
From today, passengers travelling internationally from Auckland Airport will be able to keep laptops and liquids in their carry-on bags for security screening thanks to new technology, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Creating a more efficient and seamless travel experience is important for holidaymakers and businesses, enabling faster movement through ...
People with an interest in the health of Northland’s marine ecosystems are invited to a public meeting to discuss how to deal with kina barrens, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. Mr Jones will lead the discussion, which will take place on Friday, 10 May, at Awanui Hotel in ...
Kiwi exporters are $100 million better off today with the NZ EU FTA entering into force says Trade Minister Todd McClay. “This is all part of our plan to grow the economy. New Zealand's prosperity depends on international trade, making up 60 per cent of the country’s total economic activity. ...
There are heartening signs that the extractive sector is once again becoming an attractive prospect for investors and a source of economic prosperity for New Zealand, Resources Minister Shane Jones says. “The beginnings of a resurgence in extractive industries are apparent in media reports of the sector in the past ...
The return of the historic Ō-Rākau battle site to the descendants of those who fought there moved one step closer today with the first reading of Te Pire mō Ō-Rākau, Te Pae o Maumahara / The Ō-Rākau Remembrance Bill. The Bill will entrust the 9.7-hectare battle site, five kilometres west ...
Energy Minister Simeon Brown has announced 25 new high-speed EV charging hubs along key routes between major urban centres and outlined the Government’s plan to supercharge New Zealand’s EV infrastructure. The hubs will each have several chargers and be capable of charging at least four – and up to 10 ...
The coalition Government will not proceed with the previous Government’s plans to regulate residential property managers, Housing Minister Chris Bishop says. “I have written to the Chairperson of the Social Services and Community Committee to inform him that the Government does not intend to support the Residential Property Managers Bill ...
The Government has announced an independent review into the disability support system funded by the Ministry of Disabled People – Whaikaha. Disability Issues Minister Louise Upston says the review will look at what can be done to strengthen the long-term sustainability of Disability Support Services to provide disabled people and ...
Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith has attended the Universal Periodic Review in Geneva and outlined the Government’s plan to restore law and order. “Speaking to the United Nations Human Rights Council provided us with an opportunity to present New Zealand’s human rights progress, priorities, and challenges, while responding to issues and ...
The Government and Rotorua Lakes Council are committed to working closely together to end the use of contracted emergency housing motels in Rotorua. Associate Minister of Housing (Social Housing) Tama Potaka says the Government remains committed to ending the long-term use of contracted emergency housing motels in Rotorua by the ...
Trade Minister Todd McClay heads overseas today for high-level trade talks in the Gulf region, and a key OECD meeting in Paris. Mr McClay will travel to Riyadh to meet with counterparts from Saudi Arabia and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). “New Zealand’s goods and services exports to the Gulf region ...
Education Minister Erica Stanford has outlined six education priorities to deliver a world-leading education system that sets Kiwi kids up for future success. “I’m putting ambition, achievement and outcomes at the heart of our education system. I want every child to be inspired and engaged in their learning so they ...
The new NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) App is a secure ‘one stop shop’ to provide the services drivers need, Transport Minister Simeon Brown and Digitising Government Minister Judith Collins say. “The NZTA App will enable an easier way for Kiwis to pay for Vehicle Registration and Road User Charges (RUC). ...
Whānau with tamariki growing up in emergency housing motels will be prioritised for social housing starting this week, says Associate Housing Minister Tama Potaka. “Giving these whānau a better opportunity to build healthy stable lives for themselves and future generations is an essential part of the Government’s goal of reducing ...
Racing Minister Winston Peters has paid tribute to an icon of the industry with the recent passing of Dave O’Sullivan (OBE). “Our sympathies are with the O’Sullivan family with the sad news of Dave O’Sullivan’s recent passing,” Mr Peters says. “His contribution to racing, initially as a jockey and then ...
Assalaamu alaikum, greetings to you all. Eid Mubarak, everyone! I want to extend my warmest wishes to you and everyone celebrating this joyous occasion. It is a pleasure to be here. I have enjoyed Eid celebrations at Parliament before, but this is my first time joining you as the Minister ...
ANALYSIS:By Olli Hellmann, University of Waikato When New Zealanders commemorate Anzac Day today on April 25, it’s not only to honour the soldiers who lost their lives in World War I and subsequent conflicts, but also to mark a defining event for national identity. The battle of Gallipoli against ...
By Robin Martin, RNZ News reporter A New Zealand local authority, Whanganui District Council, has passed a motion calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, condemnation of all acts of violence and terror against civilians on both sides of the conflict and the immediate return of hostages. It comes as ...
Asia Pacific Report The Aotearoa chapter of the Women’s International league for Peace and Freedom (WILPF) has appealed to the New Zealand government to call out Israel over the “cruel and barbaric use of force” in Gaza and demand a permanent ceasefire. The league’s open letter was sent to Prime ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra The Albanese government will invest $566 million over a decade on data, maps and other tools to promote exploration and development in Australia’s resources industry. The project will fund “the first comprehensive map of what’s ...
Asia Pacific Report Following an open letter by Auckland University academics speaking out in support of their students’ right to protest against the genocidal Israeli war on Gaza, a group of academics at Otago University have today also called on New Zealand academic institutions to “repair colonial violence” and end ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Linda J. Graham, Professor and Director of the Centre for Inclusive Education, Queensland University of Technology Ryan Tauss/ Unsplash, CC BY Two male students have been expelled from a Melbourne private school for their involvement in a list ranking female students. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Peter Martin, Visiting Fellow, Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University The Reserve Bank is now assuming Australians will see no interest rate cuts this year – and quite possibly none before the next federal election, due next May. That’s ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By David Hayward, Emeritus Professor of Public Policy, RMIT University The Victorian budget offered more of the same on Tuesday, with the only change being how the budget papers were packaged. The usual shrink wrap was gone, hinting at savings in the pages ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra The Coalition is demanding extensive amendments to the government’s legislation targeting non-citizens who refuse to co-operate with their removal. In a dissenting report to the senate inquiry into the legislation, the Coalition says it ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Vanita Yadav, Senior Research Fellow, Urban Transformations Research Centre, Western Sydney University Brett Boardman/Belvoir The complex and grappling issue of violence against women takes centre stage in the soul-stirring solo dance drama Nayika: A Dancing Girl. During a dinner conversation ...
Disruption to patient care from a nationwide junior doctors strike is bordering on unsafe, a senior doctor claims, despite what health officials say. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sarah Diepstraten, Senior Research Officer, Blood Cells and Blood Cancer Division, Walter and Eliza Hall Institute Ground Picture/Shutterstock The anti-cancer drug abemaciclib (also known as Vernezio) has this month been added to the Australian Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) to treat certain ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Dominic McAfee, Postdoctoral researcher, marine ecology, University of Adelaide Robbie Porter, OzFish Unlimited Around Australia, hundreds of people are coming together to help a once-prized, but decimated and largely forgotten marine ecosystem. They’re busy restoring Australia’s native oyster and mussel reefs. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sara Webb, Lecturer, Centre for Astrophysics and Supercomputing, Swinburne University of Technology Austin Human/Unsplash How does Earth stop meteors from hitting Earth and hurting people? –Asher, 6 years 11 months, New South Wales Alright, let’s embark on a meteor ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Rory Mulcahy, Associate Professor of Marketing, University of the Sunshine Coast Professional sports organisations regularly promote and develop initiatives to support diversity, equity and inclusion. While sport has the power to change attitudes by sparking conversations about political issues and social ...
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What are the Coalition government thinking of?
Putting the fox in charge of the chicken coop! Bolger to chair the discussions on a fair wage system!
Or do they have such a cunning plan you could put a tail on it and call it a weasel?
They baffle me!
It’s life, Jim, but not as we know it.
Let’s see shall we, Bolger’s not unlike Winnie in so far as he seems to want a positive legacy to perhaps act as some form of contrition.
Age tends to bring out some soul searching on your past.
If they put in a Nat then their is less vitriol from them later maybe? Bolger is not the worst at least unlike Key, he cares about this countries future longer than 3 years and not just asset stripping and enriching his mates.
In a show called the 9th Floor last year, he expressed his regrets about the introduction of neoliberalism to the country.
Yep, he came across well in 9th Floor. He opened Pandora’s box with neoliberalism, hopefully he finds a way to close it.
Sadly Bolger is probably safer on neoliberalism than many in Labour who are still fervent believers.
It was hardly Bolger who opened the box. In fact he didn’y want to go far enough for his party so they dumped him for Shipley.
I suspect Bolger is on some sort of vanity trip. Or perhaps its a redemption trip.
Except his involvement is being dismissed by many linked to the National party so that approach looks like it is a non-starter.
Did you missed the memo on Liberalism, and the fact that labour are right wing economically Tony Veitch (not etc)?
Evidently he is the best person they could find in NZ ?
The murder of Razan Najar is a war crime.
And one of the most ghastly aspects of the whole story is that the media ignored it.
Time for a new media.
The old media is dead.
“The War Crime committed against #RazanNajar has gone virtually unremarked amongs our political class and its hireling lickspittle media. Yet on my Twitter alone more than 1m people in not 36 hours have engaged with it. The MSM is a doomed hollowed out shell. This is the future .”
https://mobile.twitter.com/georgegalloway/status/1003338230027247623
Hmm, paranoid rantings don’t tell me anything about this supposed story.
Research it then.
Something tells me Ed that is the last thing Anon will do…
Being spoon-fed by George Galloway isn’t “research”. It’s all very well talking about motes and beams, but what about when there’s a deciduous forest in your eye?
Unknown journalist (or was he more a blogger?) might have been killed by Russian interests, and it was ‘grist to the mill’ and therefor front page headline news.
Unknown medic gets killed in “clashes” or “ongoing slaughter” (depending on perspective) and it gets a whole lot less coverage than front page news.
I’m guessing that’s the type of contrast Ed was trying to point to.
I haven’t clicked to the Galloway link, and won’t, because the guy’s a bombastic arse who I generally can’t be bothered with. That said, his personality and my prejudice towards him hasn’t got anything to do with the validity of some point he might be making.
Is “our” media a busted flush? Many would say that’s the case.
Well said Anon. Galloway’s self-serving clickbait is a liability to any cause he inserts himself into.
Najar’s murder has been condemned by the UN. Article 24 of the Geneva Conventions states:
Israel says it was too smoky for the snipers to see what they were shooting at. They think this counts as a defence 🙄
They have to be kidding!
Spraying live fire at unarmed civilians is bad enough. But can possibly be justified based on defending borders.
Killing medics who are clearly marked is quite clearly a criminal act under international law.
Any soldier who did that should be given a summary court martial and incarcerated. Their commanding officers as well if their instructions led to it.
Basically it doesn’t sound like the Israeli army are competent or well led. More like a rabble.
Except the Israeli army is acknowledged as one of the most professional in the World. That isn’t to state they aren’t capable of screwing up monumentally. However they are also well aware of having a force that will follow standards of military discipline.
Then the IDF will have no problem putting the perpetrators into a civil court to test their professionalism out.
They’re also a draftee army.
It also seems rational to me that they’d have some manner of selecting the troops who go into areas like Gaza and the West Bank – from the regime’s perspective, it’s better to err on the side of “racist psycho nutbar” than “conchy who might even switch sides”.
Which means that they purposefully carried out a war-crime.
Go and educate yourself by reading the Laws of Armed Conflict, because the IA aren’t following the LOAC atm but acting like thugs.
Lprent….Israeli (Zionist) war crimes supported and paid for by the Donald Trump administration. Either the soldiers are incompetent or this is a clearly orchestrated genocidal strategy. And the world is powerless to take Israel to task.
Given the fact that the Palestinian population in both Gaza and the West Bank has grown hugely since 1967 it isn’t a terribly effective genocidal strategy if it is being followed by the Israelis.
Headline:
“Incompetent Genocide Is Okay” – Gosman.
To help Ed make his point
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-44343263
Shooting a (clearly uniformed) medic is a war crime. the IDF says they are looking into the incident, for as much as that is worth. No outcome has been reported yet.
Ah. cheers for that.
Man, the IDF fucks me off.
Israelis need aid please. Glasses to wear for their eyesight, so they stop making a spectacle of themselves. It’s ugly to see what they do. Haven’t they any pride in their country? Now they have it they are letting their army which consists of their young people mainly, learn brutalising attitudes and commit crimes, and the memory of those they will carry throughout their lives.
A war crime committed by those calling themselves ‘palestinians’, but who really are just terrorist stooges. The solution is simple. Stop throwing bombs at Israel, and the retaliation will stop.
So shooting a uniformed medical worker is ok?
Those calling themselves ‘semites’
FIFY
You need to go and read up the on the Laws of Armed Conflict to enlighten your so-called wisdom that shoot unarmed civilians is justified just because they Palestinians. The IA have turned themselves into a bunch of Thugs because any half decent Army would not shoot unarmed civilians throwing stones 300m away because it’s against the rules of LOAC.
Little stones picked up off the ground and thrown over a fence by the hands of youths is sufficient to draw murderous Israeli live fire. You can forget about bombs.
Quite right of course. How dare those sub-human Palestinian youths throw stones…..snort snort ! ! !
The formerly oppressed now the oppressor. For 70 years.
From a practical standpoint it would be sensible not to throw stones at people who evidently enjoy shooting you northy.
Back in the barracks these IDF pups will be hailed as heroes of the Jewish state.
Of course you’re right Gabb. Just as it would have been far more sensible for Nelson Mandela never to have said a word. And for Jewish people in Nazi Germany to have falsely disported a ravenous taste for bratwurst with their sauerkraut.
The Nazi’s here are the Palestinian leaders. Israel have a right to exist, and yet their borders have been under attack since they were re-formed as a modern nation. There is no other country in the world who has to defend itself so often against neighbouring terrorism. The Palestinians continue to elect terrorists. They will continue to pay the price.
No other group has been kicked out of so many countries…
Each time, a misunderstanding…
Are you a paid agitator who doesn’t know that Adolf was in fact _______
“No other group has been kicked out of so many countries…”
Careful, your anti Semitism is showing!
‘Little stones’? You mean thousands of rockets fired over decades by people sadly manipulated by murderous hamas terrorists. Don’t mess with the Israeli’s and their right to exist. They fight back. As they damn well should.
“A war crime committed by those calling themselves ‘palestinians’, but who really are just terrorist stooges.”
DO I REALLY NEED TO READ THIS RACIST CRAP ON THE STANDARD?
Seriously dude, you are a racist scumbag. I’d suggest some quiet reflection and some soul searching, but your idiocy would probably be a real blocker on that.
Calling terrorists “terrorists” is not racist. Labelling all Palestinians terrorists, now that would be racist.
Isn’t Key the boss at ANZ?
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=12065040
ANZ in NZ has been found to be corruption free according to MSM ?
As Rachel Stewart says, the banks have learnt nothing from 2008.
ANZ corruption free, yeah right…
Go Ozzies… that is why in NZ they always employ ex MP’s/PM’s on the board so they don’t get investigated…
Key wasnt with them when the cartel was operating for the share raising in 2015.
Since they would have known about the pending action for some time, Im sure his deal making skills will be used to try and extricate themselves from this tricky situation.
To give some background:
Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions (CDPP) on Friday flagged it would launch a criminal case alleging ANZ and its investment bankers came to “an arrangement or understanding” about how 25.5 million shares, worth $789.2 million, would be sold after they failed to find buyers during the capital raising process. -AFR
Essentially ANZ executives along with the big international banks/vampire squids Deutsche Bank and Citigroup tried to rig the trading in ANZ shares after the placement fell short and they were left holding the baby and the bathwater.
JP Morgan seems to have cooperated with the DPP in the investigation, otherwise would be in the dock too.
Their defence seems to be : we do as we please and everyone else does it like this as well, the law be dammed and we can screw the little shareholders in favour of the big boys like we allways have.
I think I read that Deutsche Bank’s rating has dropped to junk status, BBB or something?
not far away from junk status, with a negative outlook:
https://www.db.com/ir/en/current-ratings.htm
They said at the time it was a good fit for key, no bloody wonder lolz.
As a southerly winter blast rolls up the island, my thoughts go out to weka.
I trust she is safe, warm and happy.
I have missed your contributions of late.
Yes, hope Weka is safe and well.
+1
probably still contributing. but not on blogs
Well said.
Indeed, one of the more balanced contributors to this site
“Bolger working group could take NZ back to 70s, National warns”
You mean take New Zealand back to a time of full employment and affordable housing ?
An era when there were no beggars on the streets, kids weren’t starving, levels of inequality were far less, the country was not owned by foreign interests?
Those terrible 70s…….
Good one, Ed! Yes the new right neoliberal worst fears, full employment and not selling off the country to multinational mates for progress… starvation and homelessness is welcomed by the new right… they can then get some social bonds going and private prisons to make even more money from the problems they cause, and off high rise housing slum builds, oh I mean estates.
Yep, when one wage was enough to raise a family.
Yup…the 70s when being gay was against the law, domestic abuse was no ones business, you stayed married for the kids, maori rights (what maori rights), drink drivings sweet as
I mean if we’re cherry picking and all
And none of those have anything to do with employment laws? We can have better employment and an economy that works for everyone and not the privileged few, but not give up our progress in social benefits
Partly True
Female participation in the workforce was a hell of a lot lower than now. All those 1970s “housewives” did not earn an income, but were never recorded as unemployed.
When a wife went to work in those days, her salary would be extra for the joint income and by living cheaply they could soon save a deposit for a house and the money was a great boost to them both and boosted their standard of living. Now, it helps pay for the electricity bill and the car payments so that they can get to work, the doctor, the school, take the kids to sport, if they can afford that etc.
greywarshark (6.2.1.1.1) … True.
The early 70s also had man of the ordinary Kiwi Big Norm as our PM, albeit far too briefly.
Poor Norm must be turning in his grave to see what neo liberalism has done to his beloved working class!
RIP Norm. You were the best.
mary_a
Yes Big Norm. He seemed a good guy. But I seem to remember he wouldn’t look after his health, see the doctor. Rod Donald went early too. Sad. And good you responded. I think I’ll take a break at present but the last comment I’ll keep in mind is in agreement.
Back then we would have called you retarded now we call you special
We were ranked in the top 5 in the OECD in the 1970’s I think we are now 28th ?
Yes, we may be only 28 in the OECD, but luckily Richard Prebbles tractors are safe now that we don’t have usable train services in most places for the imaginary tractors to fall off from. We just have what few trains we have working, derailing from the Chinese steel and faulty materials and labour, bit like the leaky buildings when they used mostly Ozzy timber that was untreated for our house frames, after they closed many timber mills in NZ, while forgetting we don’t live in a desert. That solved it! sarcasm.
If Labour can get Great Britain to buy all our produce (why we were ranked top three) like in the 70s they’ll have my vote for life
Winnie’s working on it PR. But I think that boat has sailed.
Now we don’t have to worry about exports because we sold the farms for export and/or gold bricks, instead of the milk, lamb, Kiwifruit and butter.
Don’t worry there’s a great business opportunity in China…..if you lose money, try again, and again, oh and probably again…
The boat has sailed so i don’t think harking back to 70s is useful, yeah it’d be nice to get there but the world has changed
That’s right: some places have moved forwards whilst we’ve gone backwards, as the World Bank and IMF have quantified. Who could have predicted that throwing people on the scrap-heap, shitting on them and then blaming them for it would result in lost productivity?
Oh, that’s right, all the people who predicted it.
We were in an artificially inflated position thanks to subsidies, once those subsidies were ended NZ ended up in its rightful place, in fact NZ is doing better then could be expected given our location and small population
We’re slightly below the global half-way in population, and have disproportionately wealthy and lush natural resources.
We ain’t a superpower, but we ain’t exactly little battlers, either.
Yeah – who needs the 1970’s when you can be rolled back to the 1890’s?
Most of our productive assets are being bought up by offshore investors.
Your premise (that we are now worse off in terms of trade and the profits thereof) is a lie: the pie is bigger, it just isn’t being shared as equitably.
So these other countries should just give us money, we should be subsidised is what you’re saying?
Yes, that’s what I’m saying. No, wait, sorry I misspoke. It’s just you demonstrating that you can’t argue your position without resorting to bullshit strawmen.
Pathetic, but we’re used to it.
No whats pathetic is the left saying the pie isn’t being shared yet have no problem with industries that produce things people want being hobbled
As the World Bank and IMF have quantified, business is being “hobbled” by the hollowing out of the middle class and the human rights abuses perpetrated against the lowest quintile.
Lost productivity is lost productivity, no matter how much you twist and squeal and betray your betters.
Bollix. Trade not aid is the way to increase everything positive you want.
Lost productivity, Wormtongue.
Trade, pleb.
Colonial economic model – exploiting rather than upskilling – hence the hordes of cheap labourers.
It’s far to say the Right never had a fucking clue how to grow the economy – but then it was only cash in their own pockets they ever cared about.
Well if you don’t like it you could head to *insert any number of s**t hole socialist countries here* and see how well it works for you
Sadly they got confused and gave aid to trade not the other way around.
“*insert any number of s**t hole socialist countries here*”
Thing is, we don’t have to. NZ had it better than these before it swallowed this Rockstar lie about Gnat economic competence and worked for the public instead of sleazy corporates. It’s a model proven to work here, albeit without gifting Mazeratis to braindead morons like Hoskings or unearned millions to Key.
All you have to do now is explain how you came by the fatuous notion that I’m anti trade. Yes, numb-nuts, that’s the “strawman” I referred to earlier.
I think that you are temporally disconnected.
That appears to be the 1960s that you are describing.
The music was better too. Right across the spectrum, nice mellow lush sounds. Though vinyl as a playback medium is considerably overrated.
Do you not remember Disco? *shudders as cold sensation travels up spine
There was some good music in the 70s but there was a huge amount of crap also. Just like most decades really.
That’s true of every decade.
NAh, NAh, NAhhhh
I don’t think that is what most people want to bring back from the 1970’s, you know progress taking the good and making it better. Sadly in NZ for many, we have gone backwards a lot of other areas.
As for Maori rights, with TPPA and their voting power being quietly diminished while being in coalition with the Nat via lazy immigration and no voting in prison with 3 strikes laws , I think there is a new onslaught of power imbalances for Maori they should be looking out for.
Yesterday the oil was an interesting example if they sue or not. Same is going to happen with TPPA which Labour and National and NZ First signed and it aint gonna be pretty.
How much money do Maori have to defend lawsuits? It’s Treaty of Waiting betrayal all over again with corporations and a bunch of lawyers deciding the outcomes based on their views.
How much money do Maori have to defend lawsuits?
Who is suing Maori? What has this got to do with the TPPA?
Newsflash, ISDS stil in there Solka… that means that if Maori or anyone else tries to stop some corporations profits they will be in international court fighting it out… not NZ.
After all this time you still don’t understand what you are complaining about. Maori entities cannot be sued under ISDS. ISDS is a mechanism by which governments can be sued when they change the rules.
Yes, but under the treaty many Maori signed up for dual rule with the British and retaining sovereignty or at least dual sovereignty over the assets… not private exploitation and government rules and overseas tribunals to support that.
You were talking about Maori being sued and whether they have the money to fight this in court, how would that happen under TPPA? Who is suing Maori over oil?
I see Councillor Mike Lee has taken his obsessive opposition to the proposed Britomart to Airport Light Rail to a new level and formed a lobby group to push for a heavy rail express link. They have taken aim at the “slow” journey time (about 40-45 minutes) that light rail will provide, but we know from some excellent work at Greater Auckland that light rail compares favourably with heavy rail journey times and may even be a bit quicker. They also fail to mention the sizeable cost of the heavy rail option and the likelihood that it will require ongoing substantial subsidies to run.
https://www.greaterauckland.org.nz/2018/05/08/calculating-travel-times/
https://i.stuff.co.nz/auckland/104412552/transport-minister-phil-twyford-says-light-rail-not-primarily-for-tourists
Hey, ScottGN you should be on the committee for the fake Meth rules that just evicted 1000’s of vulnerable people with fake science and reports and using a dedicated committee approach that already had the answers.
Aka tell everyone that Trams stopping and taking not just airport traffic but normal passengers too, will be faster and take more passengers than dedicated services and then complain if someone who is actually an elected MP disputes this bizarre finding of a dysfunctional organisation.
One of the biggest flaws of our pathetic public transport system is how slow it is, most people can’t waste an extra 2 hours a day supporting dysfunctional AT who already take up 54% of everyone’s rates! Just two stages already takes about 3 times longer than a car. I hate to think how long an airport journey will be combined with already peak passenger traffic.
Since if you put in a journey from Pt Chev to central Auckland into AT it takes 45 minutes it is hard to work out how it’s the same time from the airport which is much further away????
Of course those who are part of AT or their support groups often live in Wellington or central Auckland so they don’t exactly worry about what happens to the majority of people not living their lovely transport free life and just have to worry about taxing out everyone else off the roads and out of the city via rates, so they can get to their Bach up North or in Coromandel quicker.
Hey saveNZ, I don’t think I quite deserved your diatribe and, frankly, trying to conflate the transit issue with the fiasco at Housing NZ is a pretty cheap shot.
A few questions for you.
Do you think the heavy rail airport express trains are going to be able to zoom along the track from Britomart to Puhinui at 100+ Ks an hour or are they going to have to share the same line as the lumbering commuter trains you complain about and other trains that use the network currently?
Or do you think we should build a dedicated line all the way through? Rather than just the spur from Puhinui to the airport? How much would that cost?
Do you think there are enough passengers going to the central city, as opposed to all the other places in Auckland that airport passengers might want to go to, to justify that cost? How much would a ticket cost? And how much subsidy would each ticket require?
Are you aware that, for example, both Sydney and Toronto, cities much larger than Auckland have found the ongoing cost of maintaining their respective airport express services so steep they’ve each considered shutting down the service?
Have you ever been on the Heathrow Express? Sure it’s faster than the Piccadilly Line but it’s over £25 (or $50) one way and consequently nearly always pretty empty, in fact it sounds a lot like your gold plated highways for rich folks to take to their baches.
I can see you people have your minds exercised about this railway. But mine is a bit sluggish.
Facts I have gained.
1 Mike Lee who has been a stalwart in doing the best for Auckland against the fancy throwaway ideas of neolib nuts has ideas not favoured by you ScottGN.
2 He and others favour a heavy rail express link from Britomart to Airport. This will likely be as fast as light rail.
3 It may cost more to build, and require substantial subsidies to operate it? I am wondering about this.
(3a My thought – what happens to heavy rail now? Would this new heavy/light rail replace another? Would it impede the travel and frequency of people going to the airport – that would be a major disadvantage?)
3b (Further – how much longer in time would it take to build a heavy express line over what a light express line would take? How much more money? – It seems that while the earthworks and inconvenience is present for light, it would be better to take the opportunity to spend a little more and get a line of bigger capacity which would be preparing for future need now.)
I think that the report from Auckland Transport that you give a link to, finishes with what I consider a statement showing muddled thinking. It says:
after all we’re trying to build a PT (public transport) network that is useful to a lot of people, not just one that provides an express service to one location. I thought that the particular priority is to get people to and from the airport, the gateway at present, to Auckland city, as fast as reasonable. Therefore I think that sentence should spell this out like this:
we’re trying to build a PT network that provides a service to the airport, that is reliable and also in a reasonable, reliable time possibly an express service at least en route to the airport, which also provides services to as many people as possible.
(This may take the form of an express service, or perhaps with one stop, to the airport and a fast service with more stops, going to the city when the time period is not inflexible.
or From further reading it would be slowed down by present heavy freight trains?
and commuter trains, so not practical for fast access to airport. And also the airport travellers would have to get off at Puhini and onto a bus, is that the idea?
But a light rail link could be an express on another line, either to Puhini or direct to airport?)
It is a bit confusing. So if anyone wishes to enlighten me if they could go down my comment in order of numbering and pondering at bottom it would help.
I can really recommend reading through some of the posts on the topic at Greater Auckland – very thorough: https://www.greaterauckland.org.nz/?s=airport
If you go back some years they were originally in favour of heavy rail but were talked around by the arguments in favour of the tram route – which forms part of another complementary regional network that does not subtract from train capacity.
Thanks Sacha
I am relying on what the experts say. I made myself sit and read through the links this morning but haven’t time to research it. I have been looking at Gisborne and the political and environmental situation there for a few days. And have to limit my time on the computer.
I guess you know how it can eat up your day.
It can be quite technical stuff, yes. And the day job gets in the way. 🙂
A lot of very muddled thinking coming out of AT and Central Government on Auckland Transport Problems ?
Firstly the line from the airport should be met by the travellers using the airport in an airport tax on visitors not the rate payers many of who are not benefiting from all the tourists, quite the opposite they are being caught up in massive congestion and forced to pay petrol taxes and high rates.
The days when hotels and so forth are NZ owned and operated are long gone, so have the taxes and the jobs for locals in that industry. Look around our hotel chains are not locally owned or operated now, like many of the cafes and tourist industries and quite a few of them just seem to be scams for immigration to bring cheap workers into Auckland that the workers probably pay for the job. $20k is the going rate apparently.
I have lived all around the world and well used to decent transport from airports. NZ has one of the worst trips from the airport public transport wise, in my view and that is why most people drive it.
You don’t need to use the Healthrow express in many cases because they also have tubes leaving every 2 minutes and transfers from all parts of the city and country going within minutes too. That is why they can move the volumes of people.
And I don’t have an opinion of what is the best solution but I would back Mike Lee decision making skills any day over AT who are idiots. AT are incompetent and deliver poor service and they are getting more incompetent and more arrogant. They can’t even synchronise with their own board that is how dysfunctional they are.
If a corporation is frightened of somebody questioning them, and trying to close debate down or influence blogs and so forth, that is why there is the problem. AT is a monopoly that is run like a fiefdom with the public being forced to pay for their bad decisions and service.
The key thing for airport users/travelers is not the 40-45 minutes journey time (which is fine) but that they can jump on a nice, reliable, regular tram/light rail service at a station(s) in the centre of Akl and get to the airport.
So go light-rail; let’s do this.
“So go light-rail; let’s do this.”
yes, as a first step. Rome wasn’t built in a day, but it seems it was built a damn sight faster than anything to do with public transport in Auckers
But while we’re doing it, let’s not preclude further options such as eventually having a ‘heavy rail’ loop link to Auckland Airport – which after all serves more regional needs.
Some things to consider:
-light rail rolling stock could run on heavy rail, not so the other way round.
-Hamilton/TeAwamutu are gearing up as a major freight hub
-Ports of Oakland is a big fuckup and probably isn’t going to last other than to provide Oaklanders with pissy little treats and trinkets from the third world. Besides, there are too many urban libs concerned about the destruction of their harbour (and rightly so) to allow intensification of freight movements. Pesky little oil depots, and car import depots are such a hassle.
-Appropriate rolling stock could run on existing heavy rail between centres (such as)
Auckland-Hamilton; Auckland-Rotorua; New Plymouth-Stratford’; Masterton to Wellington; TePuke/Pangaroa-Tauranga; Tauranga-Airport; Auckland-Airport, and many others including the South Island.
but for the fact we think in terms of traditional light versus heavy.
But…..whatever. Go for it.
Light rail is not just about the rolling stock, and it’s not a halfway step to heavy rail. Their rails can handle steeper slopes and tighter corners.
Yes we should ban single use plastic bags among other things.
Down here we aren’t waiting for a law change, Motueka may be a small town, but the anti plastic movement is strong here, be the change you want to see in the world.
Kudos Steph and Megan 🙂
https://www.tvnz.co.nz/one-news/new-zealand/ripple-effect-has-been-amazing-motueka-inspiring-rest-new-zealand-solutions-cut-down-plastic-bags-disposable-coffee-cups
Interestingly Celcius coffees largest customer base are workmen, yes men in fluro vests with muddy boots, doing their part to help the environment by not using throw away coffee cups. Love this town 🙂
No homelessness in the 1970’s by the way.
Apparently in the 1970’s so few unemployed aka a handful of people that their version of WINZ knew them all by name.
Sounds like something Robert Muldoon once said, if memory serves
It’s paraphrasing Holyoake not Muldoon – get that head checked
I always understood it to be a quote from Tom Shand one time Minister of Labour
Car are cheaper these days and less costly than real estate in Auckland
A valid point, cars are cheaper to live in than houses. With the new petrol charges, maybe the new trade deal will be we offshore the NZ poor to China/India and they live there while the middle class and wealthy Chinese come to NZ… sounds far fetched but who could have predicted the state of affairs now with globalism and now we have some of the biggest NZ homeless in OZ as well as our own country while being told how great everything is by the economists? The real poor have to go somewhere, and they are being pushed very firmly out of Auckland and told to go to the provinces.
Britain has pretty much closed it’s doors to NZ too. As the cost of living in NZ gets more expensive and we get richer people who don’t pay taxes and more poorer people who don’t pay taxes, where does the money come from as more and more people need subsidies just to live even or forced out by certain percentage seem to be living in modern million dollar homes in Auckland with zero to little income?
If we have a look at Auckland council, apparently 50% of the total rates tax take is predicted next year to be just on themselves. So if currently 54% of rates goes to AT, figures ain’t looking too promising as Auckland council look to PPP’s to pretend it’s all not happening and their massive ‘construction’ boom to continue to keep the Ponzi they collaborated with the Natz on, and our productivity even lower with their actions.
Increasing inequality and the cause of the problems somehow controlling the ‘problems’ are finding new ways to profit from it.
Even the F-in g Meth took money from the poor and middle class of NZ and rerouted into the real estate industry. In fact Real Estate of NZ apparently was on the committee for the standards!
MSM still talking about Bill English the architect of the “Rockstar Economy” ?
“Rock-Star Economy” was a quote from an Aussie journalist about NZ but said in jest I think.
Cars better to live in – I wondered why there were so many people movers around. I thought they just cluttered the place, but in fact they are emergency caravans. The freedom campers R’US.
Probably better for you and more comfortable than some of the rotting housing stock that we have as well.
Interestingly cars in relative terms were cheaper in the 1970’s than today: http://wgntv.com/2016/04/25/the-average-car-now-costs-25449-how-much-was-a-car-the-year-you-were-born/
It says in the US in the 70’s the average car cost was US$21.000-22,000 (adjusted to today’s prices), while today it costs US$ 25,000-26,000.
Try taking off your rose coloured glasses
https://www.parliament.nz/en/pb/research-papers/document/00PLEcoRP14021/homelessness-in-new-zealand
‘By the late 1950s, Wellington’s housing needs were identified as ‘particularly acute’. In the 1960s voluntary organisations recorded a gradual increase in some groups experiencing housing difficulties. The Christchurch Methodist Church night shelter found that their main users were employed people who could not afford other accommodation, unmarried women with children, and those leaving homes because of domestic violence also increasingly sought shelter.’
In 1975, the Housing Corporation referred to the ‘serious effects’ of a housing shortage with ‘many situations of overcrowding’, and a 1979 pilot survey of Auckland found that numerous people did not have access to adequate housing.’
Comparing apples with cucumbers I see – those report writers from way back then would not have been able to conceive (in their worst nightmares) how truly fucked up the housing situation is now.
The only good thing about the 1970’s, was the release of the first Star Wars movie…we had to wait until 1978 before NZ saw it.
It was released in NZ December 77 for xmas holidays same time as the UK.
It was released May 15, 1977 in the US….still 6 months before the UK or NZ saw it. Do we want life to be like that again?
Star Wars movies are way more important than housing ?
Why does it even bother you? Seeing it earlier doesn’t actually make it any better.
Terry Pratchett on religion – enjoyable – he is enjoying some red wine while he speaks.
“We have a tendency to good. People who are left to their own without undue pressure are really quite nice. ”
Well said Terry.
19 Surely the fate of human beings is like that of the animals; the same fate awaits them both: As one dies, so dies the other. All have the same breath ; humans have no advantage over animals. Everything is meaningless.
20 All go to the same place; all come from dust, and to dust all return.
Ecclesiastes 3: 19-20
https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/new-zealand/2018/06/sir-bob-jones-files-defamation-action-after-petition-for-knighthood-to-be-revoked-report.html
Bob Jones files defamation action against petitioner.
Interesting – but it should come as no surprise (he did say he was going to do it).
The more who signed is only going to increase his payout.
She will get massive support from a wide section of society and from the law community to fight this arsehole.
It will put him in his grave.
Where is the Give a Little?
No doubt next to ecomaoris – I think with support from people here he raised $5
Fascinating, agitated James doing schadenfreude again – must be an envious lefty.
Mwahahahaha Lefties tend to stop their support when they have to put their hands in their pockets
And for righties support for others is a foreign concept altogether, monetary or otherwise.
MS Maihi did get 68,000 signatures on her petition…
Nonsense. I support jones on this one. 4 million didn’t sign it.
That’s not an indication of support for Jones. If it were then you’d also have to admit that 3.5 million not voting National last election was a total rejection of them.
I’ve no doubt that you do support Jones on this because you are a racist too.
No I support jones bacause silly little people like this need to be taught a lesson.
Hope she has deep pockets.
I thought it was the racist arsehole who needed to be taught a lesson.
You do know it’s comments like yours that he can give as evidence when he’s asking for damages right ?
What is in dispute? Racist or arsehole? Plenty of evidence for both.
You can add misogynistic pig as well just to keep it rounded.
“silly little people”
There are people like Sir Bob (and James) and then there are little people.
Little people are not to voice opinions on matters that are clearly in the public domain and of public interest, they are to be cowed and threatened by the asymmetric power available to the rich.
Says it all really, natural authoritarians always out themselves.
Of course they can opinion views on whatever the like.
But say something about a person and if they consider it libel – then they are entitled to have their day in court.
‘Legacy‘ Jones is a national ‘treasure’, struggling for relevance – seem remarkably thin-skinned for a wealthy person.
Maybe he’ll fare better than the Hagamans – is he richer?
James you are clearly a piece of shit.
DB keeping it classy as always.
You support Jones because he’s a fellow traveler.
A turd who wants to act like a young turk but be called a peer of the realm. Can’t have it both ways – either he’s respectable, in which case he doesn’t author racists rants, or he’s a shitbird, no title for him.
How is any of this defamatory? He’s just proved again what an ass he is. The petition showed people see him as an ass – how specifically has that affected him?
Even this quote defines his assishness
[Whale Oil] “I’m delighted to report that my libel writ has been served on Maihi. Now it’s my turn.”
He had his turn in the NBR. Looks like he doesn’t know when to give up.
Should be a good laugh, I might pop up to watch if it’s in Auckland.
POOR KIWI LIVES MATTER !!!!
Bob Jones the Perrenial Racist winding the show up again, I might just go to the Court Case for an afternoon’s entertainment, or maybe TV One could screen it live ?
How is Jones racist ? It was quite obvious to all but the most literal that his piece in the NBR was satire and even if it wasn’t it could perhaps be considered somewhat bigoted, I find people throw the racism accusation about very freely these days.
So if Hone Harawira stated “that poor Maori’s should start eating white people again is not a racist statement ? “.
After being properly cured first, one should follow OHS on this. 🙂
😆
Ha, nope it’s not racist at all.
Anyway they prefer KFC and McDonald’s these days, they reckon the pakeha’s were a bit tough and salty.
Aahhh, but have they tried Kentucky Fried Pakeha?
Most people these days seem to have lost their sense of humour and satire is indeed lost to them. They see everything in literal terms only, no matter how clear it is that someone is taking the piss.
Bizarrely too, it has become a white wannabe celebrity thing to overcompensate on racism especially on TV panels. Saw some show where the panel was overtaken by a white person complaining about other white people’s racism and everyone was white apart from one women of colour who barely got a word in, about experiences of racism. that the topic was about.
The rest was about how tough white jews have it these days and how Corbyn was a racist for apparently including in Palestinians and other nations who have racism against them. It was classic TV fodder and explains why so many people are turning off both MSM and politics.
(Possibly taking the piss on the NBR was where Jones went wrong, I don’t read NBR so therefore have no idea what Jones actually said).
Good morning The AM Show I should have known the Taranaki Mans whano are good Ruby players Paddy Gower that is what’s he up to he will put out another good story soon.
Many thanks to the Tauranga Council for buying those Bella Vista houses off the tangata. Can’t have the dirty washing displayed in public.
Many thanks to the Coalition government for putting ear plugs in and going with the carbon neutral by 2050 yes we have to lead the changes to carbon because the leader is lost. And we will create a renewal energy industry that will export the products and knowledge gained from this our society will be much better off. Loyed in London a Heathrow Airport is getting a 3rd one day planes will be elictric container ships will be solar and sailing cannot wait.
Our Farmers need to embrace becoming Carbon neutral and the rest of the World will embrace they produce its logical no it’s just big businesses distraught the logic to line there pockets. Ka kite ano
Some music for te tangata caused global warming link below.
https://youtu.be/6ad4MH7fMLs Ka kite ano