You can leave some things like pussy grabbing behind but some shit sticks.
It is a trite story of course. Especially in the week the stories about his background and personal finances came out. They put into perspective clearly the moral and constitutional crusade to ‘drain the swamp.’
The grand knight rides in to rid his country of the rottenness at the core and put things right.
The thought of him being a fuckwit, or whatever else his detractors have him, was irrelevant, the mission was the important thing.
And so too the grand horse he rides in on to his crusade. It being a lying, fraudulent, corrupt steed is irrelevant. They don’t care.
It is clear Trump has a fan base in New Zealand. It seems clear the heroic money making deeds have many here in his thrall. That much of those deeds apparently are a lifetime of fraud, rorts and bullshit is irrelevant. (What bets that those who laud his acumen used their daggers on a local politician who at a young age rorted the system?)
Another negative story about him? Who cares. The more parodies the better.
Agree. Its funny in light of Trumps grandiosity. We have to remember their obsession with Presidential news in US, any president included. They have 24 hr news channels , which we dont have, which every minor event is done – even when he climbs the stairs to “Air Force Twos'” – (hat tip The Project) and there is nothing to see.
Yep it is. Trump is so much just a piece of s**t and that pic sums him up completely.
The world will sigh a sigh of huge relief when we do get to see the back of him for the last time. And when we do get to flush him and all his wicked works down the toilet – so much the better.
It was a “Gerald Ford stumbles” moment. At least it was light comedy, rather than the Gervais-level discomfort that normally comes out of the white house these days.
But I would love it if a group of international leaders at some important meeting all glued a piece of bog roll to their left shoe and walked around without saying a word!
It’s about time there were mandatory minimum redundancy payments and a much greater time frames before companies are allowed to make people redundant. Companies are now doing it to increase profits, not because they are losing money and they don’t care how it effects their employees.
Also time that NZ stops thinking overseas companies will create jobs and make NZ prosperous, the opposite is happening and the only way to stop that from happening is to encourage NZ owned and based companies to flourish who actually have more invested into NZ than just one location on a world map.
Up to 111 job losses as manufacturing moves overseas
Having been laid off twice in 5 years during the early 00s I’d say it would be nice if there was some help .
Faced with the dole or scrambling for what ever you can get sucks .
I chose scrambling but also chose after the second time never to go back to forestry so they lost 9 years experience and a good hard worker.
+1 – then next minute the industry will be complaining about skills shortages and how they can’t get anyone and need to bring in overseas workers!
Sadly redundancy has become the norm in NZ with nothing to stop directors getting their bonus by what traditionally ‘the markets’ love to hear, job losses or just plain incompetence by just short term cost cutting rather than innovating and actually creating better products that out compete other companies.
Funny enough the richest companies in the world like Apple tend to do the opposite and spend money on innovating and keeping ahead of the market rather than just cost cutting.
This is a very revealing article about how much worse off NZ is for redundancy than other countries aka we tend to lose a significant amount of wages post redundancy.
Major companies in the US like Amazon are realising they have to double wages past the (pathetic!) US minimum wage of $7.25
Wonder is that is to do with US direction to make it harder for lower paid workers to enter the US and stop the race to the bottom because companies now have to pay more to attract workers?
Without wanting to start an argument you might want to revisit Apple and Amazon as your examples
For example Apple farms out their manufacturing to China, have appalling conditions for their workers to the point of having to fit a net to the factory roof because workers were offing themselves, and despite Amazon despite it’s sudden appearance of caring for it’s workers treats it’s workers not a huge amount better than Walmart
@Chris T, Yep, you are right about offshore working conditions although apparently is supposed to be getting better.. ha ha.. My point with Apple is that they looked ahead, did not use offshore labour to design the iPhone and spent money on research and development, against many soon to be obsolete tech companies that just focus on cost cutting to save money and don’t spend the money on creating the next big thing.
As for Amazon, they have been forced to raise wages by criticism by Bernie Sanders and Trump (for different reasons) and the cheap factory labour worker was drying up in a tight labour market in the US so they have to raise wages and then hey presto the cheaper workers have somewhere to shift to and the absolute worst employers don’t have anyone to employ unless they just ship in cheap workers to undercut, which sounds like US policy has tightened up on. So business is forced to raise wages.
Funny enough that pay rise will keep more people voting trump, against the democrats position of globalism is so great and makes so much money (just inequality distributed for the 40% living on food stamps or hand to mouth in the US).
Employers like to regard the ‘human resources’ market as being like a toy store. Perhaps one with a lot of little lego figures. All the workers are there on the shelf in suspended animation, lift them down, turn the key and of they go like little kerbals scuttering round to and fro, self-energised.
There is no sense of NZ as a worthy trading nation, one with respect for citizens, and paying a living wage. Other countries are rich, and they don’t have decent wages (USA for a start) so if the elite and aspirational want to be rich well – do the same, learn from the goldmeisters.
@bwaghorn – apparently the ‘official’ version of why forestry can’t get workers is that they are all ‘drugged out’ lazies so interesting to hear your story of being laid off again and again.
When people are laid off constantly eventually workers will have had enough and not go back to that industry and that is where all the ‘experienced’ NZ workers are – disillusioned with being treated like garbage by industry in NZ which is fully supported by our ‘relaxed’ employment rules around redundancy that makes it a process rather than a difficult thing to do without a good reason.
This women managed to steal nearly a million dollars, commit benefit fraud, make whistleblowers redundant, give herself her own leave to escape the country and fraudulently hire two of her relatives. All under the ‘watchful’ sarc. eyes of one of our Auditor-General who was her boss at the time.
“Also time that NZ stops thinking overseas companies will create jobs and make NZ prosperous, the opposite is happening and the only way to stop that from happening is to encourage NZ owned and based companies to flourish…”
While I agree NZ needs to stop thinking overseas companies will make us prosper, I disagree the only way to stop that from happening is to encourage NZ owned and based companies to flourish. This is an area where we should all be pushing for the Government to play a more direct and stronger role.
That was supposed to be the idea around KiwiSaver. It would create a local capital pool which would invest in New Zealand businesses, and reduce overseas domination of our economy. Something I don’t see happening.
A nation grows it wealth via exporting. The problem is, the vast majority of NZ businesses are small and have no desire to export. Thus, leaving Kiwisaver with little viable local investment opportunities.
Not according to Ha Joon Chang. Domestic manufacturing is a path to wealth because that way your workers can afford to buy things.
And of course, unless you’re locked into a colonial low value commodity export model, your domestic market is where you trial and develop new products. Not something we see a lot of here.
“Selling products domestically doesn’t result in new money entering into the local economy, thus doesn’t result in growing a nations wealth.”
It could be said that you’re mistaking money for wealth there – they’re somewhat different things. And of course the old import substitution line remains valid – a penny saved is a penny earned – anything that improves our balance of payments whether by reducing an import or generating increased export value increases local monetary wealth, which can then be used to further inflate our property market, assuming any of it makes its way out of the hands of the large corporates who dominate the export sector.
In terms of domestic products, new or better products are almost invariably outgrowths of existing technologies. Which means that the capacity loss associated with decline of local manufacturing extends beyond the current generation who may lose their jobs in the transition.
Wealth is a term usually used when discussing total net worth. Which includes money, assets, etc…
While reducing an import will produce ongoing savings which will improve our fiscal position, unlike exporting, its growth potential is limited to the related saving made.
Generating increased export value can increase our export returns but if offshore owned, those returns will largely improve the fiscal position of other nations and not our own.
A local market is an obligate step in developing products for export. Unless one wants to be a price-taking commodity exporter, developing the local market is part of the export process.
“Developing the local market is part of the export process.”
Indeed. And as I said before, moving beyond the exporting of raw product requires domestic manufacturing to play a larger role in exporting.
As the majority of local private sector aren’t up to the task and offshore investment isn’t a viable long-term solution, this is where the Government should be taking a more hands on role.
i’m not sure about that millsy 9.24 – at one time the superfunf kiwisaver was only investing a tiny part in nz because of the possibility of skewing the local investment market and being over-exposed to nz business and market movements.
We need to restore many of our industries that we were very good at.
Like our former woolen carpeting factories that always supplied all our former ‘commonwealth’ countries as I saw in Canada and UK, as well as I saw also in the US during the 1980’s though they were outside the commonwealth.
As of now we have virtually no woolen carpeting factories here or around the world.
No date no one else other then China and India are making woolen carpeting (who have our complete wool clip export and are forcing the cost down to less than $3 dollars a kilo killing our sheep farmers incomes.
Woolen carpeting is the very best floor insulation against cold damp houses and would make our homes more healthy to live in now since nylon carpeting is found to be very toxic to our health, and poor at insulating our homes against cold damp homes.
My experience is that the difficulties arise when the NZ company is sold to overseas interests who are much larger entities. The new owner then ‘integrates’ their acquisition – which involves shipping NZ jobs to low wage locations and imposing internal processes and technology that are not necessarily a good fit. The overall effect is that the NZ operation gets hollowed out and the quality of what was being done declines.
I witnessed something like 40-50 well-paying (NZ$60k-100k) jobs being replaced by around 100 workers in India on the equivalent of NZ$15-20k), i.e. wages are 25% while the number of employees is 200%, still a theoretical win.
However, because much of the work required advanced English-language ability, quality declined badly. The new owners then gutted the product to eliminate those aspects where the quality decline was too obvious, threw money at additional training and spent fruitless effort on trying to automate as much as possible. A slow motion train wreck – easily predicted in advance, while those who did predict it were vilified.
Global capital roaming the world for quick returns and creating mayhem at the local level.
We need to protect us from these “carpetbaggers” of taking of our industries that use our “raw products”.
These overseas carpetbaggers hollow out our principal raw produced products and take them as raw products overseas.
Then they control the global buying of these and control our price for these raw products driving down the base price as we see all the time.
Those who say our industries must always be “viable” are hollowing out the argument as they dont consider the reasons above that our base prices given us for raw products are driven down by these overseas “carpetbaggers”.
This lowers our returns for our commodities and weakens our economy in the end.
“Those who say our industries must always be ‘viable’ are hollowing out the argument as they dont consider the reasons above that our base prices given us for raw products are driven down by these overseas ‘carpetbaggers’”.
Non-viable businesses won’t grow our wealth. Moreover, we require to be more innovated and move beyond merely exporting raw product.
Non-viable businesses won’t grow our wealth. Moreover, we require to be more innovated and move beyond merely exporting raw product.
Can you please clarify for me what you mean by a “non-viable business”?
I’d also like to know how we can be or become more innovative without taking risks and experiencing failures, from which we/others can learn.
Businesses that cease to do business don’t just disappear in thin air. They often feed (into) other existing or start-up businesses. Think of it as an ecosystem where life & death are not the beginning & end of things but simply points of and on an ongoing ‘life-cycle’.
Non-viable businesses are businesses that aren’t producing a return and are unlikely to produce a return going forward.
Risk is generally part and parcel of being in business. The key is minimising the risk. Ensuring one can afford to take a small risk, learn from ones mistake if it all turns to custard while being able to carry on trading (and not go bust) if it doesn’t pan out.
“Businesses that cease to do business don’t just disappear in thin air.”
Unfortunately, some do. Leaving behind a trail of unpaid debt, which can result in other related parties going bust.
From a single focus as business operator I can see that being viable or not may be the be-all-end-all question but from a holistic view of the economy as a business ‘ecosystem’ it looks very different IMO. In fact, I’d argue business failure is essential for a healthy ecosystem.
Existing businesses need to be flexible and adapt to changing conditions. If not, they become non-viable too. This is an inevitable ‘risk’ that’s locked in from even the first concept for a new start-up.
Any business that ceases to operate/exist leaves more than a “a trail of unpaid debt” if any debt at all; some unwind in a more controlled manner. You may want to look up articles on creative destruction, economic apoptosis and uncontrollability.
“Creative destruction”, yes I thought that is what you were initially hinting at.
While creative destruction is part of business evolution, it’s far from a win-win for all. Moreover, not all business failures are due to creative destruction.
Therefore, a failure here and there is to be expected but if business failures were to become systemic, it wouldn’t result in a healthy economy.
Agreed, but I wasn’t arguing for or about systemic large-scale business failure although even a man-made disaster like the GFC (or should that be a GFC?) didn’t destroy the ecosystem (AKA the economy). Businesses recovered, some faster than others, and innovation never really stopped.
Thank you for the positive engagement; you and I haven’t always achieved this but at least now we know it is possible, with a little bit of goodwill and mutual respect.
I agree, we do need improved safety nets and trajectories for those that find themselves no longer required. It’s an accelerating trend that isn’t going away anytime soon.
I also think it’s important to acknowledge that virtually nobody starts a business with the primary motivation of creating employment for people.
You’d be wrong there. We want to start up a business that explicitly wants to hire locals. Our issue is
A) finding local people that have some knowledge that can be built on and
B) ensuring that we can grow organically and ensure we hire accordingly
Most people starting a business realise they have to hire staff.
What you probably mean is: “virtually nobody recognises the need to pay staff in accordance with knowledge and skills rather than as expense accounts that can be opened and closed at will”
It’s a catch 22, NZ employers both foreign and domestic have created an idea that Kiwi workers should be cheap pliable workers and we pay cheap wages here. It started off with the employment contracts bill in the 1990’s and has gone down from there.
That encouraged Kiwi workers to leave to work overseas, as even OZ often paid around 30 -100% more than Kiwi employers and well as the massive sell off of our assets overseas.
To stop the rot they need to get wages in NZ up and keep the skills however it’s a huge issue as even for domestic companies they feel the need to bring in management from overseas that are often destroying wealth by focusing on short term profits and overseas models that don’t necessarily work in NZ (Fonterra, The warehouse) while a massive proportion of NZ companies are also owned by multinationals who couldn’t care a less about their NZ workers and destroy completely workable companies here (Cadbury, Dick Smith) or giving themselves massive profits while giving nothing back (banks).
I don’t think the current government has any handle on the problem as they seem to be enjoying glowing in the international globalist accolade and no doubt a rude shock when coming home in 2 years for the next election to find out that their domestic changes of higher taxes, selling off land and letting foreign and domestic companies rout everyone with higher electrical, water, rates, housing, transport, petrol and people now living in tents because landlords abandon the market and the places are snapped up by our growing migrant population or the Singapore and OZ investors … while the IYI class strategists and MSM tell everyone that things are just peachy and in the next 15 years all their great ideas of globalism and free trade will trickle down…
I not suggesting the Natz would be better in fact they would be worse, but I think that Labour, NZ First and Greens need to have a serious look at why people are not happy with globalism and trade when it effectively is allowed to screw people over (so many examples) and our laws in NZ are not robust enough to do anything about it – because – apparently decent labour laws and environmental laws and societal good laws -“scare the market’ – maybe it’s about time the exploitative employers are scared out of NZ so that we can actually create a prosperous, fair, unpolluted country again.
@James Thrace – perhaps like the old fashioned way you train workers with the knowledge or pay more to steal them from other places or treat them better so you create loyalty…
Hi James, I’ve found that if I don’t start a business with the primary motivation of turning a profit I burn through my start-up capital and before too long have to ask any workers to leave. Paying people well has always been a by-product of profitability in my experience.
I don’t hire workers these days, I appoint contractors. This cuts my workload by heaps, halves the hassles and those granting me their time make more money.
@David Mac, Even if they do set up in NZ, where is the longevity in NZ… like Gameloft, who were a French company that employed a significant migrant workforce into NZ, then after getting 3.5 million in grants, liquidated the company and set up in Nigeria.
Is that really the calibre of corporates we want in NZ?
Knew someone who worked there and he was a migrant worker. He said he could not ask for a pay rise, as every time Gameloft advertised a role, it was cheaper than the last. They just wanted the cheapest workers they could get… so no wonder they went out of business…. pity they were allowed under our laws to operate like that!
Hi Savenz, yep, I’m reluctant to get involved in any business pursuit that can be replicated more cost effectively offshore.
A beachfront holiday on a Kiwi beach can only be done here. Possum fur fibres have unique insulation qualities, they aren’t a mega population pest anywhere else in the world. That Finnish company making fossil fuel based packaging in Henderson that is pulling the pin, with the scrappy muck left behind by our logging operations, the raw materials for a green line of packaging could be close to free.
Competing with countries/companies that can prosper with slave labour is a race to the bottom. As standards of living rise in China, I think it’s just a matter of time until our TVs are assembled in Somalia.
Bridges has not made too many mistakes since becoming leader in February – the biggest one was commissioning the inquiry into the leaked expenses. But what is evident from events this week including his handling of Jami-Lee Ross’s health crisis is that he is an easy magnet for criticism and there is a low tolerance for errors from him. People like to dislike him which is a slight disadvantage in politics.
Though she does drop an unintentional nugget about Jami-Lee Ross:
The pile-on to Bridges seemed excessive – considering he acknowledged the error and offered a plausible explanation – that he was meaning “embarrassment” at having your personal health issues aired so publicly, and not that mental health issues were embarrassing.
Oh Christ! I’d forgotten about that. One of them was Venn Young right?
??
The stench goes back quite a long way really, though that sense of entitlement amongst the gNat elite wasn’t usually expressed in the crassness it is today.
Audrey’s defending the muppet because all the alternatives will lead to all out civil war within the National Party. This would probably be pretty rough and result in a splintered right wing side of New Zealand politics. Whether this is a good thing or not is moot, but if it does happen they will try to make it happen in a controlled manner.
sigh moan is just the placeholder until they can come up with a leader who can command the respect and loyalty of all factions of the party.
My understanding is the formal investigation has found no-one responsible for the leak. That’s right. Read it here first, but National and the power of an open chequebook could find no-one it can finger as being responsible.
…
We are nowhere near the truth, and when you add in the allegedly separate Jami-Lee Ross saga, confusion reigns.
You must have read a different article than i did.
She says he is a dead man walking ( i agree with that)
I would say it was an accurate article. I didn’t see anything about “Soimon being such a good boy”.
I agree that he is hopeless but taking the piss out of him because he cant pronounce words properly is a bit lame.
Have you not heard sparkle pony, poverdy, positividdy, egg widdy.
It seems to be a common fault in our leaders.
Following on from Dennis Franks’ cut and paste last night, cut and paste specialist, Dr Bryce Edwards, regurgitates what we’ve been reading all week.
As usual Dr Bryce provides zero analysis, preferring to let others to do that for him, including Cameron Slater who remarkably gets no political description tag at all, and Chris Trotter who is unfortunate enough to receive the only political designation in the piece from Edwards in being labelled “leftwing”.
In a bizarre attempt at trivialisation of the seriousness of Bridges’ problems, he signs off by linking to the Jono & Ben appearance.
Yes, Dr Bryce does his usual thing when dealing with National’s problems and that is to dispassionately relay what his right-leaning media associates have said.
Contrast this with his opinion heavy RNZ article dated 26 August – his own work this time which is telling.
In it, Dr Bryce literally fawns over Bridges’ decision to open the PWC and Simpson Grierson enquiries describing him as; showing ‘resolve’, being ‘calculated’, ‘star(ing) down a disloyal MP’, ‘responsible and humane’, and ‘reasonable’. Edwards pretty much went against all other analysis at that time who rightly questioned just what the hell Bridges was up to.
Well I wonder what Dr Bryce thinks reading back on that column this weekend!
Hey, not a bad critique, but to be fair to Bryce it seemed his intent was to report a hefty emerging consensus via the method of compiling quotes from sources. I thought it impressive enough to select highlights on the same basis to emphasise the political significance of the opinion swing against Bridges.
Nothing wrong with coming on like a partisan leftist, Muttonbird, inasmuch as this site was designed to cater for sectarian bias. But the leftist political cause can only advance nowadays by establishing sufficient consensus with centrists. Our current government being a suitable model thus far.
Also, a university political scientist cannot be seen to be partisan, so any public analysis by one will have to critique the left & right in a balanced way. Being fair to Bridges earlier is part of that prescription. Kiwis believe in a fair go, and we give credit where it’s due. Better a moderate, reasonable leader of the Nats than something worse. The current leader becoming irrational is news when it becomes obvious to centrists as well as leftists because it suggests a tectonic shift in voterland.
” university political scientist cannot be seen to be partisan”
Thats not the case. Helen Clark was a part timer while working on her PhD before being elected. The long time of the Department at the time ( Chapman)was clearly national leaning as he wrote books on nationals leaders
I think what you are alluding to is the media want their political scientist talking heads to be ‘balanced’.
Yes, I’ll accept that technical correction. Not just the media, though, because the credibility of any political analyst lies in their capacity for rising above the fray to present a more-or-less impartial view. I agree re Chapman, but political scientists lose credibility in the eyes of their students and peers to the extent that they push a partisan view.
I like to think that the students and peers of a political scientist know when he/she addresses a different audience for a different reason than lecturing or disseminating science.
I think there is a time & place for any political scientist to express their opinions and declare their leanings so to speak. It would be odd not to and stay on the fence forever as some kind of agnostic nihilist.
Yes, I agree that anyone ought to be able to express their political opinion. Political scientists could do so in an inappropriate manner by informing their audience that they are doing so, when they do it. There’s a learnt skill in being dispassionate and impartial, although some people seem more naturally adept at it – while most others are simply unable to transcend subjectivity.
For me, it was a late acquisition, in middle age, honed via self-discipline. The way I frame it internally is in the context of the group mind: any group I participate in, I try to mediate the microcosm/macrocosm relation. If that group is too insular (group-think), then relating issues to the broader societal context (macrocosm) and the body politic is the best way to go.
The professional ethics of academics requires them to declare any potential conflict of interest. Many peer-reviewed scientific journals have made it mandatory.
Academic audiences, be it students or peers, are (ought to be) smart (educated) enough to weigh up one personal’s bias against that of others and even their own.
Bias, or subjectivity, is impossible to avoid and the only proper way to deal with it, IMO, is to declare it. This raises awareness and avoids or minimises confusion from the outset and maybe this makes it possible to transcend subjectivity …
WASHINGTON — Judge Brett M. Kavanaugh appeared destined for final confirmation to the Supreme Court after two key undecided senators — Susan Collins of Maine and Joe Manchin III of West Virginia — announced Friday that they would support his elevation to the high court after the most divisive confirmation fight in decades.
Ms. Collins’ lengthy speech on the Senate floor dwelled as much on Judge Kavanaugh’s judicial record as on the sexual misconduct charges that have consumed his nomination. She did conclude, “We will be ill-served in the long run if we abandon the presumption of innocence.”
Looks like Democrats & women are combining to get him across the line. I presume they are motivated by the spirit of bipartisan consensus. Christians would frame that as god working in his usual mysterious way…
Democrat Manchin is only doing so as his state is very strongly pro Trump and hes up for election in a month.
Consensus ! . The self preservation for both . Collins isnt up for re-election this time but she will need big money support for the Republican Senate Campaign Committee if she is to survive in her democratic leaning state.
Interesting fact . The other Senator from Maine Angus King, and independent – but who sits with the Democrats- is facing re- election this year.
His democratic opponent, Zak Ringelstein is the only major-party candidate for Senate to be a dues-paying member of the Democratic Socialists of America. Likely that King will be relected though
Yeah I expected a response like that. Realpolitik. But the interesting part is that these politicians are seeking refuge in a centrist camouflage. In respect of their motivations driven by political psychology, we could reasonably suspect that there’s more to it than the obvious self-interest. Could be a signal of a pendulum swing back from extreme ideological polarisation towards pragmatic centrism.
“Could be a signal of a pendulum swing back from extreme ideological polarisation towards pragmatic centrism.”
Kavanaugh is one of the most partisan of Supreme court judges – ever. hardly a swing to pragmatic centralism- unless the centre has mover far right, even for US.
One of Obamas picks for Scotus was at the time Solicitor general, which acts much like our Solicitor General does. Republicans thought she was to partisan as it was a government job. Kavanaugh is 10x closer to government as he worked in GWB white House.
With Trump around there wont be a swing to consensus/centrisim. It seems to be just a thought of yours rather than something that is real.
Well yeah, but I was actually referring to the behaviour of the Democrat & woman senators who have decided to support Kavanaugh. I’ll reserve judgment on the Trump effect until the mid-term election results. A decisive pattern may emerge (rather than a muddle).
If not, we may get an effective stalemate within both main US parties, in which there’s an approximate balance between pragmatic careerists supporting the establishment and disaffected anti-establishment folk getting even further alienated by the system their democracy has produced.
He frames representative democracy as ” bounded rationality. Most of the people most of the time thought the system more or less worked – at least while their material standard of living kept rising and they felt reasonably safe and secure in their identity as one of a people in a nation. There was a high level of trust, the glue that holds liberal democracies together.”
“Bounded rationality still reigns in this country, where a recent survey found a marked lift since 2016 in trust and confidence in the government, ministers and MPs, thanks probably to the election of a remarkable young woman Prime Minister. But in northern hemisphere liberal democracies, the centre-left/centre-right hegemony has ended and with it bounded rationality.”
“That is because the material standard of living of a growing number of people in those liberal democracies has stalled or fallen or become insecure and/or they feel that migrants and other intrusions from outside such as hyperglobalisation are unstitching the fabric of what they think of as “their” “nation”. As a result, they no longer feel represented by, nor do they trust, the centre-left/centre-right cabal.”
“They see these parties as agents of a self-perpetuating, detached elite: the “other”, not “us”.” Precisely. Representative democracy discredited as a sham. Representatives pretending to represent voters rather than actually doing so, in the hope that voters won’t notice the lack of authenticity. But around half the electorate have now noticed the sham.
Are you for real???? Only 1 (ONE) democrat senator has given his support to Kavanaugh, and that for the craven reason explained by the Duke above.
As for women. Republican women are in many cases just as anti-human rights as their WhiteOldmen counterparts on the senate. In fact rupugnant senators are by and large white, old, and men. There are only a handful of Republican women senators – and one of those actually had enough gumption to vote against the other rupugnants and against Kavanaugh.
That wasn’t what you were saying above tho; was it.
No, Susan Collins has been looking for a way out of doing the decent thing by way of women, and humanity, and voting against Kavanaugh all week. The Whitehouse white wash “investigation” which lasted all of 2 days, interviewed only Kavanaugh supporters, and which only the FBI and senators are privy to, gave her the way out.
She still has time to regain her moral compass and vote “no” as does the Flaker. But be very aware – the US is now a deeply divided country. This in no way represents a swinging of the pendulum to the centre. Women are becoming energised as never before, and the forthcoming midterms are evidence of that. There were thousands protesting in the Senate over the past week and over 300 arrested. This will go down in history as one of Americas darkest moments.
Seems to me you’re allowing your subjective emotional reactions to cloud your view of the situation. I was pointing to the behaviour that could indicate the pendulum has swung so far toward polarisation that it can’t swing further. Historically what you usually get is a shift towards pragmatic acceptance of the need to move beyond the focus on differences to the need for a workable compromise and agreement on common ground.
Colin James explains why representative democracy can’t work when representatives betray the trust of voters. It’s just a question of these politicians waking up to the necessity of honouring their commitments instead of further undermining democracy. Any leftist tribalism and moral outrage is irrelevant (due to perceived lack of evidence) – but I suspect you didn’t even bother to read her reasoning for her decision (in that report).
yes. apparently even this sort of WH briefings have become fairly rare and Trumps press conferences even rarer. he will still occasionally do a Fox news only interview.
Reminds me in a way , of Keys first few years when he wouldnt do any interviews at all for Radio NZ.
None. back then RNZ didnt have audience surveys like now , when we know that Morning Report has the largest ‘weekly’? audience of any news radio station and many music ones.
Nice…. After JFK threatened to smash the CIA into a thousand pieces,… then along comes Howard Hunt and a few other Black Op characters into the the mix at Dealey Plaza…
Then decades later we have a guy who names the characters responsible… despite the fact that many of the perps are now dead because of the passage of time… dont change a thing…
And did you know the Republicans were anti slavery and the Democrats were pro slavery , – hence the American Civil War ??? … bet most of you didn’t, and even if you did,… wanted to hide that distasteful and embarrassing fact away…
The American public are not stupid, and know far more than we do in NZ about what effects their country and ultimately , the global community. I believe on the whole the American public is a good one. No other country on earth has such an open system, – despite the skulduggery that often happens there…they have many faults but just as many good points.
Come back Colonial Viper !
Here’s a magnificent speech by Trump about the reality of just who pulls the strings in this world… and yet all some of you can do is snicker like a pack of schoolkids about some paper around his shoe. He probably owns the company that made the paper.
President Donald Trump is very brave taking on the CIA now as his promise to “drain the washington Swamp” Got to give him credit for getting rid of the evil CIA as they have done some very bad shit over many years too many to document.
Remember the movie “Spy game 2001” with Robert Redford/Brad Pitt?
This movie was very close to the truth there when we see the current CIA administration under Robert Mueller as CIA ‘special investigator’ leaning on Trumps own inner circle for political reasons mostly to get forced admissions from them..
If those admissions of guilt are the truth, and can be backed up by evidence in court – as to date they have been – then what are you complaining about?
There is more evidence to come, and agent orange is in the firing line.
“CIA operative Nathan Muir (Redford) is on the brink of retirement when he finds out that his protege Tom Bishop (Pitt) has been arrested in China for espionage. No stranger to the machinations of the CIA’s top echelon, Muir hones all his skills and irreverent manner in order to find a way to free Bishop. As he embarks on his mission to free Bishop, Muir recalls how he recruited and trained the young rookie, at that time a sergeant in Vietnam, their turbulent times together as operatives and the woman who threatened their friendship.”
hes been fisked before over this tirade against US citizen Soros. But we are supposed to go easy because a brain injury makes him pro Trump !
#metoo is in his sights as well….
Half of university scholarships go to students from our wealthiest families, dismaying teachers in disadvantaged areas who see even their brightest students struggle to get a foot in the door.
A Weekend Herald investigation into five universities found, last year, high decile schools received four times the number of entry-level scholarships as those in the low deciles.
Schools in the most exclusive neighbourhoods were winning up to $1 million in prizes each year, while schools in more deprived areas were lucky to gain $100,000 in rewards.
For example, Epsom Girls’ Grammar, a decile 10, gained $225,000 worth of scholarships from Auckland University alone. Mangere College, a decile 1, was awarded one prize worth $20,000 by the university.
I found it strange that I as a parent was asked to pay $75 for my son last century to sit the scholarship exam along with the rest of the class. It was money I could not afford and I paid but he was not outstanding and i could have been paying for the child of some wealthier person.
In old books I read about poor children getting a chance to apply for a scholarship, and presumably there was a scholarship fund which paid out its interest and a little capital to provide. And bequests would keep renewing the fund. Schools now act as if everyone has plenty of discretionary money.
Good effort by these mana whenua – this will become more and more of an issue – help out their givealittle page if you can
Whānau of Huramua Marae in Wairoa are raising funds to exhume and shift the remains of 53 relatives buried in Mātiti cemetery, which is being eroded by the Wairoa River.
Chaans Tumataroa-Clarke from Huramua Marae says, “The key principal guiding us is to maintain the authority and heritage of our families, our elders, our ancestors.”
Over the last ten years, locals have attempted to hold the riverbank through planting and remedial work, but 6m on average is falling away every year due to increased rainfall.
Chaans Tumataroa-Clarke says, “We acknowledge the power and life-force of our river, know that we deliberated this issue and concluded to exhume our relatives, our ancestors and move them to rest near our marae.”
The site of Mātiti was an old village dating back to the year 1800, and in 1903 the first body was buried in the cemetery.
…
A large scale project, the exhumation and transport of the remains is estimated to cost over $265,000.
“America accuses Chinese warship of ‘unsafe’ manoeuvres after near collision with USS Decatur in South China Sea
Analysts said the incident shows China’s increasingly aggressive posture in the South China Sea amid an escalating confrontation with the US on both trade and security fronts.”
Worse still now there is another after the ‘Senate’ newly received FBI report has discovered that a witness in the swetnick accusation case has been found to have perjured himself also, – and a probe into that case is now being considered by GOP perhaps to be carried out according to the media..
Report: Ford’s FBI Friend, Monica McLean, Pressured Witness To Modify Testimony and Statement…
Posted on October 5, 2018 by sundance
“If you thought it was sketchy that Ms. Christine Blasey-Ford’s life-long best friend was a recently retired FBI agent and DOJ official, Monica McLean {Go Deep}; and if you thought it was sketchy that McLean and Ford were together on July 30th when Ford was writing a letter to Dianne Feinstein, likely making the friend Ms Ford’s “handler” for the operation against Kavanaugh; then it’s even more sketchy today with a report that McLean was pressuring witness Leland Keyser to shape her statements and testimony to the FBI.”
This case against Brett Kavanaugh was a bunch of absoluite litiny of lies and bulllshit, as the FBI ‘supplimental report was released today. Ford said she was never ‘before made familiar or aware before of any way to operate or use a polygraph machine, so she lied right there.
Quote;
“In a twist, Keyser told FBI investigators that she felt pressured to clarify her original statement saying she was unaware of any incident involving Kavanaugh and Ford, according to a Wall Street Journal report. Keyser, who later said she believed Ford even though she could not corroborate her story, told the investigators that she was urged to clarify her statement by Monica McLean, a former FBI agent and friend of Ford’s. (Ford’s ex-boyfriend told the Judiciary Committee that Ford had helped McLean prepare for a polygraph, directly contradicting Ford’s sworn testimony last Thursday).”
What’s happening in Gisborne cg? The USA can go to hell in a handcart but I don’t want that to happen to us. Can we keep thinking about NZ and our options for better government and policies?
In two minds about this, kinda glad he got prosecuted, but only 2nd degree murder??!? He got a trial which is somthing which many black americans don’t get.
And have to say I’m pissed at the police response. It like they can look at that video, then shrug, and utter “nothing to see here, move along”
I thought about $1 billion for a 20% increase in benefits based on the $5 billion mooted in this year’s Budget, in 1/10/2018 Open Mike discussion on Marama Davidson’s interview.
Shaw calculates $1.5bn for the increase.
Consider what that money would do firstly for the beneficiaries concerned, and secondly what it would do for the local economy since it would be mostly spent in NZ and the profits accrued by the companies getting this extra money then being taxed etc.
A fillip to the economy rather like the 1935 Christmas payment that so boosted the economy in 1935. “As a statement of intent a Christmas bonus was immediately paid to the unemployed and those receiving charitable aid.” https://nzhistory.govt.nz/media/photo/michael-joseph-savage-1935
Interestingly, the article above goes on to say, “In 1936 there was a landslide of legislation aimed at stimulating the economy, including a programme of state house construction.”
Here you go multinational companies selling us there chemicals and Genetic engineering. They don’t let the world see all the negative facts on there cancer causing products the long term side effects so what will these products do to our mokopunas low sperm count rising cancer rates ?? I bet these CEO will be eating organic food.
At a time when we need to change of way of life to respect the future generations and Papatuanuku prospects. This is a time to start farming Organically these organizations are trying to sell us there bad products.
NZ just need to target the high value markets with our produce that is some of the best PRODUCTS in the world . We will not lose our place as one of the best producers of safe food It won’t be long and the world will be chasing our food . Ka kite ano link’s below
SPONSORED CONTENT BY Corteva Agriscience, Agriculture Division of DowDupont
Kia ora Newshub look’s like the alcohol companies sales are dropping Lion is trying to sponsor the mental help health line I give a big KNOW to that move as alcohol is a major problem that causes mental health problems hippercritical business people.
I think its a good move turning the Islands in Tauranga were that container ship sunk into a marine sanctuaries
Why is MPI challenging it in court we need more we need more sanctuaries all around Aotearoa on te whenua and Tangaroa especially as I say the Quote system is not doing the job of protecting our fishes like it was sold to us.
There was a bit of compost coming out of that school and what do you know I can not bring up that story about the school that had the problem {cover—— the compost} story .
It was a good effort by the Sliver Ferns be patient wahine all in good time.
Ka kite ano
Open access notables A survey of interventions to actively conserve the frozen North, van Wijngaarden et al., Climatic Change:The frozen elements of the high North are thawing as the region warms much faster than the global mean. The dangers of sea level rise due to melting glacier ice, increased ...
Bryce Edwards writes – New Zealand’s biggest-ever political donations scandal is finally at an end. But what is the conclusion? No one can really be sure. The Court of Appeal released its judgement on Tuesday about the Serious Fraud Office case against the NZ First Foundation. On ...
In 2015, then-Prime Minister John Key announced plans for a huge ocean sanctuary around the Kermadec Islands, banning fishing and mining from 15% of Aotearoa's EEZ. It was bold, it was ambitious, and it suggested that National might actually care about the environment. Except they fucked it up: Key failed ...
1. Who has just been given the accolade New Zealander of the Year?a. The Kokakob. The Cook Strait Ferryc. Fair God. Dr Jim Salinger 2. Which of these is an affront to decent society?a. Dame Edna Everageb. Mrs Doubtfire c. Dr. Frank-N-Furterd. Brian 3. Who is Penny Simmonds?a. The aspiring actress in Big ...
New Zealand’s biggest-ever political donations scandal is finally at an end. But what is the conclusion? No one can really be sure.The Court of Appeal released its judgement on Tuesday about the Serious Fraud Office case against the NZ First Foundation. On the face of it, the court found ...
Buzz from the Beehive Waves of rain are set to lash much of the North Island during Easter Weekend as a low-pressure system forms east of New Zealand, according to a weather forecast published in the past day or so. Niwa was warning of a “moisture-laden” long weekend, with rain expected ...
Look around us…Nicola Willis’ promises of balancing the books, of cutting spending without reducing services, and of delivering game changing tax cuts are disappearing before her eyes.Everyday we see stories of violent crime ending in horrific injuries, or worse. The cost of living worsens, whereas the PM claimed renters would ...
TL;DR: My top six news of note on the morning of Thursday, March 28 include:The Government will have to borrow between $10 billion to $15 billion more than previously expected in order to make up for a slowing economy and to pay for $14.9 billion of tax cuts, according to ...
This story by Naveena Sadasivam and Kate Yoder was originally published by Grist and is part of Covering Climate Now, a global journalism collaboration strengthening coverage of the climate story. The long-awaited jobs board for the American Climate Corps, promised early in the Biden administration, will open next month, according to details shared exclusively ...
Should landlords be able to deduct the interest on the loans they take out to bankroll their property speculation? The US Senate Budget Committee and Bloomberg News don’t think this is a good idea, for reasons set out below. Regardless, our coalition government has been burning through a ton of ...
Treasury’s first report on the economy since the change of government presents a damning indictment of Labour’s economic management. The problem for National is that it is so damning that logically, coupled with a rapidly slowing economy, Finance Minister Nicola Willis should respond to it by postponing or even cancelling ...
Budget tensions are becoming evident within the Coalition Government. Winston Peters made numerous political points in his speech to the NZF annual conference. But the attack on his own government’s fiscal policies raised issues of substance. ‘Today in the Sunday Star Times, journalist and former advisor to the Labour ...
Buzz from the Beehive The media – sure enough – have been binging on Finance Minister Nicola Willis’ release of the Budget Policy Statement and a statement headed Government announces Budget priorities This assures us – or rather, this parrots the Luxon team mantra – that the Budget “will deliver ...
The Ides of March brought me COVID followed by a bereavement. No wonder they tell you to be careful of them.I’m home now and have resumed the interrupted recuperation. Very much looking forward to getting back to regular things. Meanwhile, some thoughts…OneThis new Prime Minister guy just keeps getting more dire. ...
News that the Chinese ATP 40 cyber-hacking unit penetrated parliamentary internet networks in 2021 has renewed concerns about the PRC’s malign intentions in Aotearoa. But is the hack that significant given the length of time that has passed since its … Continue reading → ...
When Parliament passed the Intelligence and security Act in 2017, they assured us all that it was full of safeguards. Any intrusive surveillance of New Zealanders would be subject to a "triple lock", requiring the approval of the Minister and (supposedly independent) Commissioner of Intelligence Warrants, as well as post-facto ...
Eric Crampton writes – Richard Harman’s Politik newsletter provides a bit of the context that ought to have been showing up in other media reports on potential reductions in public service staffing. Media has been reporting on staffing cuts on the order of about 7%. Is that ...
Mike Grimshaw writes – It’s becoming increasingly apparent that many perceive free speech to have become the preserve of the politically right wing, the religiously conservative, the libertarian fringe, the anti-trans, the anti-Māori and…. well, just fill in with whatever groups or individuals you don’t like and don’t ...
Don Brash writes – As everybody who is not blind and deaf is aware, there is a huge political preoccupation with climate change at the moment, a widespread (though by no means unanimous) belief that global temperatures are rising mainly as a result of the greenhouse gases created ...
TL;DR: My six things to note in Aotearoa’s political economy on Wednesday, March 27 include:Chris Bishop laid out his vision for filling Aotearoa-NZ’s $100 billion infrastructure deficit in a speech yesterday, emphasising user pays and private funding, but failed to say how to achieve bipartisanship on population, public borrowing and ...
Bryce Edwards writes – Former Finance Minister Grant Robertson and former Prime Minister Chris Hipkins have been conveying how unhappy they are with the tax system. Last week in his valedictory speech, Robertson called for the introduction of a wealth or capital gains tax. And this week Hipkins ...
On February 14, 2023 we announced our Rebuttal Update Project. This included an ask for feedback about the added "At a glance" section in the updated basic rebuttal versions. This weekly blog post series highlights this new section of one of the updated basic rebuttal versions and serves as a ...
Buzz from the Beehive China has loomed large in Beehive considerations over the past 24 hours, largely because of that country’s mischief-making in the cyber espionage department. Two media statements emerged on that subject hard on the heels of the PM baulking at questions put to him on RNZ’s Morning ...
Chris Trotter writes – WHY IS THE NATIONAL PARTY doing so much for landlords, property developers, trucking, and construction companies, and so little for everybody who isn’t already pretty well-off? It’s as if protecting landlords’ investments and building apartments and roads now constitute the whole of National’s ...
Bryce Edwards writes – When she was campaigning to be Minister of Finance last year, Nicola Willis pledged that she would resign from the job if she failed to deliver tax cuts in her first Budget. Now, it’s that pledge, along with Prime Minister Christopher Luxon’s ...
Robert MacCulloch writes – The Reserve Bank has doubled staff numbers in five years to 510, with personnel costs rising to $80 million in 2023 from $32 million in 2018 – up by a whopping 150%. I guess when you print $50 billion and flood markets with liquidity, ...
The furore. In case you didn’t notice there was a controversy in the weekend involving dolphins in a little town off the South Island. Don’t panic, they haven’t declared independence and resumed whaling, this was simply a sailing event.The problem began when racing was cancelled on the opening day of ...
For 20 years or more, the case for a meaningful capital tax gains has been mulled over and analysed to death, including by the tax working group chaired by Sir Michael Cullen. More than once, the International Monetary Fund has said a CGT would be a good idea for New ...
TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read: The Public Health Communications Centre (PHCC) call for urgent preventive action and a risk assessment survey of long covid in this briefing noteLocal scoop: NZ road deaths surpass OECD rates, so why is the govt reversing safety plans? ...
This story was originally published by Grist and is part of Covering Climate Now, a global journalism collaboration strengthening coverage of the climate story. This story is part of a collaboration with Grist and WABE to demystify the Georgia Public Service Commission, the small but powerful state-elected board that makes critical decisions about everything from raising ...
This is a guest post from Robert McLachlan Global warming is accelerating; 2023 was off the charts. We need to stop burning fossil fuels. In New Zealand, transport accounts for half of all fossil fuels burnt. In the Emissions Reduction Plan, transport emissions fall 41% by 2035. As the ...
Labour productivity has been receding rapidly over the past two years, reversing a post-lockdown rise. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: My six things to note in Aotearoa’s political economy as at 6:26am on Tuesday, March 26 include:Workers have been treading water in output per hour worked for 12 years, ...
TL;DR: The key events to watch in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy in the week to April 2 include:Today, Parliament resumes sitting at 2pm for the second week of a two-week session. Officials for SIS and GCSB report their annual reviews in public to the Intelligence and Security Select Committee from 5.10pm.Tomorrow, ...
Faced with a barrage of criticism over the promised tax cuts from usually supportive commentators, Finance Minister Nicola Willis yesterday reaffirmed her intention to include them in this year’s Budget. The Government is up against it over the cuts just about every way it turns. Commentators like Fran O’Sullivan, Matthew ...
Here’s my pick of today’s substack posts as of 6:26pm on Monday, March 25: writes via his substack that Market-rate housing will make your city cheaper writes via his substack about the problems talking to double-cab ute (truck) drivers about their vehicles. today about moments of radicalisation in ...
Buzz from the Beehive Just before Christmas, Finance Minister Nicola Willis delivered something that was pitched as a mini-budget and brayed about the decisive action being taken to repair the Government books and support income tax relief in Budget 2024. In a statement headed Fiscal repair job underway. she introduced ...
My sister Belinda asked Dad yesterday what one word would describe Mum best. He said: vivacious.If you only knew her from the photos on the slideshow we've made for today,you might wonder about that, because the camera tended to lie with Mum.If ever she saw a camera pointed at her, she ...
There are two major public consultations closing in the next week, Auckland Council’s Long Term Plan (LTP), and the draft Government Policy Statement on Land Transport (GPS). Closing dates and times: LTP closes Thursday 28 February, at 11.59pm – a minute to midnight! GPS closes Tuesday 2 April, at 12pm noon – note that’s ...
From Kiwiblog’s David Farrar – Bryce Wilkinson writes: Senior Fellow Bryce Wilkinson’s analysis reveals that since March 2009, New Zealand has spent $158 billion more overseas than it has earned, but its NIIP has only fallen by $32 billion.Statistics New Zealand shows that receipts from overseas reinsurers have ...
Is she hinting that the Coalition Government will have to back down on key promises it made in Opposition? Brian Easton writes – The Minister of Finance, Nicola Willis, is telling an evolving story about her fiscal challenges. In Opposition she was confident that she could ...
Dear Nicola Willis,Right now you’ve probably got lots of competing demands coming at you. Ministers who’ve inherited quite a mess, or so you’ve told us, looking for money in the budget to improve things. I imagine that’s why they came to parliament - to make things better.You’ll have to make ...
The Local Government, Transport and Auckland Minister hasthreatened councils with intervention if they don’t merge water assets to take them off balance sheet, just as the now-repealed Three Waters plan directed. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: My six things of note this morning for Monday, March 25 include:Simeon ...
A listing of 36 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, March 17, 2024 thru Sat, March 23, 2024. Story of the week Thanks to John Mason having the stamina to sit down to watch "Climate - the Movie" ...
This morning the Q&A programme had Simeon Brown on to talk about National’s replacement for Three Waters. In case anyone’s forgotten the three are - drinking water, waste water, and sewerage. It’s quite important not to get them mixed up. In much the same way that you wouldn’t want to ...
Today’s newsletter comes with a mini-podcast conversation between me and my buddy Liv Tennet, talking about her time as a child actor in Lord of the Rings. It’s a conversation with a lot of giggles as she talks about falling off a horse, and becoming a meme. Read ...
The Desmog Climate Disinformation Database documents, "individuals and organisations that have helped to delay and distract the public and our elected leaders from taking needed action to reduce greenhouse gas pollution and fight global warming." It's a who's who of the organised climate change denial movement, in other words. In ...
Bob Edlin writes – A High Court judge has decided miscreants who have mana – or who claim to have mana – should be treated differently from miscreants who have none. It’s a ruling that suggests indigenous law-breakers have a better chance of securing a discharge without conviction ...
Welcome to the first, and possibly last, edition of Brickbats, Bouquets and Bull’s Wool. In which I’ll take a look at the events of the last week or so, and rate them.In such ratings the numbers usually have more to do with the opinions of the reviewer, than the actual ...
Roger Partridge writes – My earlier column this month, New Zealand’s highest court could be facing a turning point, prompted a flood of feedback from business readers and lawyers alike. A common query was what Parliament can do to restrain an overreaching judiciary. This week I discuss two steps Parliament ...
TL;DR: In today’s ‘six-stack’ of substacks at 6.16pm on Friday, March 22: writes about New Zealand's Building Boom—And What the World Must Learn From It over at his substack. challenges the Auckland Council’s use of a 3.8 degrees of warming forecast to oppose a wave-park and data centre project ...
Is she hinting that the Coalition Government will have to back down on key promises it made in Opposition?The Minister of Finance, Nicola Willis, is telling an evolving story about her fiscal challenges. In Opposition she was confident that she could deliver her promised income tax cuts. Appointed minister, she ...
Buzz from the Beehive Ministers of the Crown have drawn attention to one sector of the science sector which is unlikely to be subjected to heavy spending cuts, a state-funded broadcaster which is doing nicely, thank you, and a sporting event that had $5.4 million from the public purse puffed ...
Abbott’s Freestyle Libre sensors allow continuous glucose monitoring (CGM). The sensor is applied to the back of the patient’s arm, with a thin filament under the skin measuring glucose levels constantly. But it costs around $100 per sensor and must be replaced once every 14 days. Photo by BSIP/Universal Images ...
The Inspector General of Intelligence and Security (IGIS) recently released a report in which he exposes the existence of a foreign intelligence partner-controlled technological “capability” inside the headquarters of the GCSB, NZ’s 5 Eyes-affiliated signals intelligence collection and analysis agency. … Continue reading → ...
Peter Dunne writes – Nearly three decades after the introduction of MMP and multiparty governments there should be a greater level of understanding about their finer points than often appears to be the case. The reaction to the despicable outburst from the Deputy Prime Minister at the weekend highlights ...
The sweet kisses from fruit of summerHave slowly been turning dullerYou say, "those times"And "remember the daysWhen we went outside and there still was the shade?"Taking no reason into play…Autumn. Clear, blue days shortening to longer nights, growing colder. Aotearoa.That’s us. The temperature dropping, the looming car crash - so ...
Bryce Edwards writes – “It is often said that behind every great man is a great woman”. This is the pitch by the National Party Botany electorate branch to attend their “Ladies Afternoon Tea with Amanda Luxon”. For $110 including GST, you can turn up on Saturday 20 April ...
David Farrar writes – The Electoral Commission has published the expense returns for political parties for the 2023 election. I’ve put them in a table with how many votes a party got so we can see the spend per vote. National only spent $3.34 for every vote they got, almost ...
Winston Peters’ headline-making actions over the past week may have been a show of political power intended to strengthen his hand in Budget negotiations. It was no accident that his State of the Nation speech was as it was. He made it as New Zealand First Leader, not as Deputy ...
Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The five things that mattered in Aotearoa’s political economy that we wrote and spoke about via The Kākā and elsewhere for paying subscribers in the last week included:Former Labour Finance Minister Grant Robertson bowed out of politics this week, giving a series of exit ...
Graham Adams writes — If you love the law or sausages, as the saying goes, best not to look too closely at how they are made. And after watching the orgy of self-pity when Newshub’s closure was announced on February 28, television journalism should definitely be added to the list of those ...
Venerable New Zealand political commentator, Chris Trotter (https://bowalleyroad.blogspot.com/), is a sad creature these days. Once one of the most reliable Leftist writers out there – Economic Left at that – Trotter seems to have absorbed the worldview of Auckland culture-war obsessives. It is not for me to categorise what he ...
The cruelty of short-term memory loss is that each time you ask where she is, you get the fresh shock and grief of the news. That was Dad's day yesterday.Comfortingly, it seems to be less so today. Last night he looked crumpled, today he seems more settled. There's a card ...
Photo by Alvan Nee on UnsplashIt’s that new day of the week (Thursday rather than Friday) when and I co-host our ‘hoon’ webinar with paying subscribers to The Kākā for an hour at 5 pm. Jump on this link on YouTube Livestream for our chat about the week’s news ...
Buzz from the Beehive One minister is talking tough while a colleague – whose ministry had acted tough and drawn a barrage of flak – has shown an official softening. Some ministers are doing what Labour was good at, which is distributing public funds to causes regarded as worthy or ...
A ballot for 4 Member's Bills was held today, and the following bills were drawn: Insurance Contracts Bill (Duncan Webb) Income Tax (Clean Transport FBT Exclusion) Amendment Bill (Julie Anne Genter) Crimes (Increased Penalties for Slavery Offences) Amendment Bill (Greg Fleming) Pae Ora (Healthy Futures) ...
One of the strongest narratives about "our" spy agencies is that they are basically institutional traitors, working for foreign powers (or just themselves), without any control or oversight by the elected government. And today, we have yet another report from the Inspector-General of Intelligence and Security which explicitly confirms this. ...
“It is often said that behind every great man is a great woman”. This is the pitch by the National Party Botany electorate branch to attend their “Ladies Afternoon Tea with Amanda Luxon”. For $110 including GST, you can turn up on Saturday 20 April to meet the Prime Minister’s ...
The Coalition Government’s plan to ‘get Auckland moving’ is a cuts cover-up that will ultimately cost Aucklanders more to move around the city, says Labour Auckland Issues spokesperson Shanan Halbert. ...
Slashing the Ministry of Pacific Peoples by 40% will have a devastating impact on pacific communities and further highlights how little this government cares about anything other than cutting taxes for the wealthiest few. ...
Labour has proposed an urgent inquiry to investigate the ever-increasing profits of supermarkets, aiming to lower costs for shoppers and food producers alike, says Labour Spokesperson for Commerce and Consumer Affairs Arena Williams and Primary Production Spokesperson Cushla Tangaere-Manuel. ...
With 14% of jobs on the line at the Ministry for Ethnic Communities, the responsible Minister Melissa Lee is failing to stand up for the very communities she’s meant to be representing. ...
COURT OF APPEAL: TRIFECTA OF VICTORY FOR NZ FIRST, TRIFECTA OF FAILURE FOR OPPONENTS For the third time since April 2020, New Zealand First has defeated the Serious Fraud Office and all those complicit in a malicious attack against a political party going about its lawful business in a lawful ...
The Green Party stands with people who live in public housing, people in dire housing need, experts and advocates in demanding better than the Government’s archaic approach to housing those who need our support the most. ...
New Zealand has recently lost the hosting rights of some major international sporting events including the America’s Cup, the Rugby Championship, Netball World Cup, and the Wellington Sevens. We are now at a huge risk of losing SailGP as well. And it won’t stop there. The recent issues with SailGP ...
A Member’s Bill drawn this week would modernise insurance law and make things fairer and more transparent for consumers, Christchurch Central MP Duncan Webb said. ...
The Minister for Disability Issues has confirmed she was aware of funding issues in mid-December and did nothing to stop it. On 14 March, she signed off on changes that were announced and implemented on 18 March without any consultation with disability communities. ...
Green Party MP Julie Anne Genter says her members' bill is an opportunity for the coalition government to plug the gap in electric vehicle incentives. ...
The National Government continues to talk about irresponsible tax cuts that will only drive up inflation, despite the country entering a technical recession. ...
The Minister for Disability Issues must act urgently to reinstate flexibility around the funding for disability support and apologise to disabled carers. ...
This story has been initiated by a leftie shill reporter who proactively sought to call a member of a former band, which disbanded twelve years ago, give their biased appraisal of what was said in my speech, and concocted a ham-fisted attempt at a story that does nothing but show ...
The Government has accepted Labour’s change to the Road User Charge (RUC) discount for hybrid vehicles, meaning there will still be some incentive for people to buy greener vehicles. ...
Many in the mainstream media have taken what was said in New Zealand First’s State of the Nation Speech in Palmerston North on Sunday and deliberately, deceitfully, and ignorantly misrepresented what I said and why I said it. The headlines and commentary on the news stated that I compared ‘co-governance ...
Kicking the most vulnerable people out of state housing and pushing them towards homelessness will result in a proliferation of poverty and trauma across our most vulnerable communities. ...
Te Pāti Māori co-leader and MP for Waiariki, Rawiri Waititi has penned a letter asking MPs to support his members bill to remove GST from all food. The bill is expected to go through its first reading in parliament this Wednesday. “I’m calling on all political parties to support my ...
Good afternoon. Thank you for, in your very busy lives, turning up to this meeting today. On October 14th last year New Zealanders overwhelmingly voted for change. That is exactly what this new government is bringing. New Zealand First campaigned to ‘take back our country’ and stop the disastrous economic ...
This year is about getting real with Kiwis and discussing the tough issues, as the National Government exacerbates inequality and divides New Zealand, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said ...
The Government adding Significant Natural Areas (SNAs) to its already roaring environmental policy bonfire is an assault on the future of wildlife that makes Aotearoa unique. ...
After 12 years of fighting to protect our moana we are finding ourselves back at square one and back at court. Today, the Environmental Protection Agency is sitting in Hawera to reconsider an application from Trans-Tasman Resources to dig up 50 million tonnes of the seabed in South Taranaki. This ...
Minister Shane Jones’ decision to step away from a seabed mining project is evidence of the murky waters surrounding the Government’s fast-track legislation. ...
The growth of Treaty of Waitangi clauses in legislation caused so much worry that a special oversight group was set up by the last government in a bid to get greater coherence in the publicservice on Treaty matters. When ministers first considered the need for tighter oversight in 2021, there ...
The growth of Treaty of Waitangi clauses in legislation caused so much worry that a special oversight group was set up by the last government in a bid to get greater coherence in the publicservice on Treaty matters. When ministers first considered the need for tighter oversight in 2021, there ...
The Coalition Government’s miscalculation saga continues as it has forgotten an eyewatering $90 million gap in its interest deductibility cost figures, say Labour Finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds and Revenue Spokesperson Deborah Russell. ...
He Pou a Rangi Climate Change Commission has today released advice that says if the Government doesn’t act now New Zealand is at risk of not meeting its climate goals. ...
The Coalition Government has today confirmed it is abandoning first home buyers who are struggling to get ahead, says Labour Finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds. ...
Transport Minister Simeon Brown has welcomed the passing of legislation to move light electric vehicles (EVs) and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) into the road user charges system from 1 April. “It was always intended that EVs and PHEVs would be exempt from road user charges until they reached two ...
New Zealand is strengthening its ability to combat illegal fishing outside its domestic waters and beef up regulation for its own commercial fishers in international waters through a Bill which had its first reading in Parliament today. The Fisheries (International Fishing and Other Matters) Amendment Bill 2023 sets out stronger ...
Economists Carl Hansen and Professor Prasanna Gai have been appointed to the Reserve Bank Monetary Policy Committee, Finance Minister Nicola Willis announced today. The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) is the independent decision-making body that sets the Official Cash Rate which determines interest rates. Carl Hansen, the executive director of Capital ...
Apartment owners and buyers will soon have greater protections as further changes to the law on unit titles come into effect, Housing Minister Chris Bishop says. “The Unit Titles (Strengthening Body Corporate Governance and Other Matters) Amendment Act had already introduced some changes in December 2022 and May 2023, and ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters will travel to Egypt and Europe from this weekend. “This travel will focus on a range of New Zealand’s traditional diplomatic and security partnerships while enabling broad engagement on the urgent situation in Gaza,” Mr Peters says. Mr Peters will attend the NATO Foreign ...
Transport Minister Simeon Brown is encouraging all road users to stay safe, plan their journeys ahead of time, and be patient with other drivers while travelling around this Easter long weekend. “Road safety is a responsibility we all share, and with increased traffic on our roads expected this Easter we ...
About 1.4 million New Zealanders will receive cost of living relief through increased government assistance from April 1 909,000 pensioners get a boost to Superannuation, including 5000 veterans 371,000 working-age beneficiaries will get higher payments 45,000 students will see an increase in their allowance Over a quarter of New Zealanders ...
Ensuring social housing is being provided to those with the greatest needs is front of mind as the Government restarts social housing tenancy reviews, Associate Housing Minister Tama Potaka says. “Our relentless focus on building a strong economy is to ensure we can deliver better public services such as social ...
The Kermadec Ocean Sanctuary will not go ahead, with Cabinet deciding to stop work on the proposed reserve and remove the Bill that would have established it from Parliament’s order paper. “The Kermadec Ocean Sanctuary Bill would have created a 620,000 sq km economic no-go zone,” Oceans and Fisheries Minister ...
Dam safety regulations are being amended so that smaller dams won’t be subject to excessive compliance costs, Minister for Building and Construction Chris Penk says. “The coalition Government is focused on reducing costs and removing unnecessary red tape so we can get the economy back on track. “Dam safety regulations ...
The coalition Government is expanding the medium-scale adverse event classification to parts of the North Island as dry weather conditions persist, Agriculture Minister Todd McClay announced today. “I have made the decision to expand the medium-scale adverse event classification already in place for parts of the South Island to also cover the ...
The passing of legislation giving effect to coalition Government tax commitments has been welcomed by Finance Minister Nicola Willis. “The Taxation (Annual Rates for 2023–24, Multinational Tax, and Remedial Matters) Bill will help place New Zealand on a more secure economic footing, improve outcomes for New Zealanders, and make our tax system ...
Science, Innovation and Technology Minister Judith Collins and Tertiary Education and Skills Minister Penny Simmonds today announced plans to transform our science and university sectors to boost the economy. Two advisory groups, chaired by Professor Sir Peter Gluckman, will advise the Government on how these sectors can play a greater ...
The Budget will deliver urgently-needed tax relief to hard-working New Zealanders while putting the government’s finances back on a sustainable track, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. The Finance Minister made the comments at the release of the Budget Policy Statement setting out the Government’s Budget objectives. “The coalition Government intends ...
The coalition Government will look at options to address a zoning issue that limits how much financial support Queenstown residents can get for accommodation. Cabinet has agreed on a response to the Petitions Committee, which had recommended the geographic information MSD uses to determine how much accommodation supplement can be ...
Cabinet has agreed to a short extension to the final reporting timeframe for the Royal Commission into Abuse in Care from 28 March 2024 to 26 June 2024, Internal Affairs Minister Brooke van Velden says. “The Royal Commission wrote to me on 16 February 2024, requesting that I consider an ...
The coalition Government is delivering an $18 million boost to New Zealanders needing to travel for specialist health treatment, Health Minister Dr Shane Reti says. “These changes are long overdue – the National Travel Assistance (NTA) scheme saw its last increase to mileage and accommodation rates way back in 2009. ...
The Government is recognising the innovative and rising talent in New Zealand’s growing space sector, with the Prime Minister and Space Minister Judith Collins announcing the new Prime Minister’s Prizes for Space today. “New Zealand has a growing reputation as a high-value partner for space missions and research. I am ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has confirmed New Zealand’s concerns about cyber activity have been conveyed directly to the Chinese Government. “The Prime Minister and Minister Collins have expressed concerns today about malicious cyber activity, attributed to groups sponsored by the Chinese Government, targeting democratic institutions in both New ...
Independent Reviewers appointed for School Property Inquiry Education Minister Erica Stanford today announced the appointment of three independent reviewers to lead the Ministerial Inquiry into the Ministry of Education’s School Property Function. The Inquiry will be led by former Minister of Foreign Affairs Murray McCully. “There is a clear need ...
State Highway 1 across the Brynderwyns will be open for Easter weekend, with work currently underway to ensure the resilience of this critical route being paused for Easter Weekend to allow holiday makers to travel north, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Today I visited the Brynderwyn Hills construction site, where ...
Introduction Good morning to you all, and thanks for having me bright and early today. I am absolutely delighted to be the Minister for Infrastructure alongside the Minister of Housing and Resource Management Reform. I know the Prime Minister sees the three roles as closely connected and he wants me ...
New Zealand stands with the United Kingdom in its condemnation of People’s Republic of China (PRC) state-backed malicious cyber activity impacting its Electoral Commission and targeting Members of the UK Parliament. “The use of cyber-enabled espionage operations to interfere with democratic institutions and processes anywhere is unacceptable,” Minister Responsible for ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters and Defence Minister Judith Collins today announced New Zealand will provide logistics support for the upcoming Solomon Islands election. “We’re sending a team of New Zealand Defence Force personnel and two NH90 helicopters to provide logistics support for the election on 17 April, at the request ...
The European Union Free Trade Agreement Legislation Amendment Bill received Royal Assent today, completing the process for New Zealand’s ratification of its free trade agreement with the European Union. “I am pleased to announce that today, in a small ceremony at the Beehive, New Zealand notified the European Union ...
Public consultation on the terms of reference for the Royal Commission into COVID-19 Lessons has concluded, Internal Affairs Minister Hon Brooke van Velden says. “I have been advised that there were over 11,000 submissions made through the Royal Commission’s online consultation portal.” Expanding the scope of the Royal Commission of ...
Hardworking families are set to benefit from a new credit to help them meet their early childcare education (ECE) costs, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. From 1 July, parents and caregivers of young children will be supported to manage the rising cost of living with a partial reimbursement of their ...
A specialised Independent Technical Advisory Group (ITAG) tasked with preparing and publishing independent non-binding advice on the design of a "green" (sustainable finance) taxonomy rulebook is being established, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. “Comprising experts and market participants, the ITAG's primary goal is to deliver comprehensive recommendations to the ...
Defence Minister Judith Collins has thanked the Chief of Army, Major General John Boswell, DSD, for his service as he leaves the Army after 40 years. “I would like to thank Major General Boswell for his contribution to the Army and the wider New Zealand Defence Force, undertaking many different ...
25 March 2024 Minister to meet Australian counterparts and Manufacturing Industry Leaders Small Business, Manufacturing, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly will travel to Australia for a series of bi-lateral meetings and manufacturing visits. During the visit, Minister Bayly will meet with his Australian counterparts, Senator Tim Ayres, Ed ...
Government commits almost $3 million for period products in schools The Coalition Government has committed $2.9 million to ensure intermediate and secondary schools continue providing period products to those who need them, Minister of Education Erica Stanford announced today. “This is an issue of dignity and ensuring young women don’t ...
Good morning, it’s great to be here. First, I would like to acknowledge the New Zealand Institute of Building Surveyors and thank you for the opportunity to be here this morning. I would like to use this opportunity to outline the Government’s ambitious plan and what we hope to ...
Minister for Pacific Peoples Dr Shane Reti has announced the Government’s commitment to the Auckland Secondary Schools Māori and Pacific Islands Cultural Festival, more commonly known as Polyfest. “The Ministry for Pacific Peoples is a longtime supporter of Polyfest and, as it celebrates 49 years in 2024, I’m proud to ...
Before moving onto the substance of today’s address, I want to recognise the very significant and ongoing contribution the Breast Cancer Foundation makes to support the lives of New Zealand women and their families living with breast cancer. I very much enjoy working with you. I also want to recognise ...
New Zealand has notched up a first with the launch of University of Canterbury research to the International Space Station, Science, Innovation and Technology and Space Minister Judith Collins says. The hardware, developed by Dr Sarah Kessans, is designed to operate autonomously in orbit, allowing scientists on Earth to study ...
Introduction Thank you for inviting me to speak with you today and I’m sorry I can’t be there in person. Yesterday I started in Wellington for Breakfast TV, spoke to a property conference in Auckland, and finished the day speaking to local government in Christchurch, so it would have been ...
The Coalition Government is contributing more than $1 million to support the establishment of an emergency multi-agency coordination centre in Northland. Emergency Management and Recovery Minister Mark Mitchell announced the contribution today during a visit of the Whangārei site where the facility will be constructed. “Northland has faced a number ...
New Zealanders have enjoyed a broader range of voices telling the story of Aotearoa thanks to the creation of Whakaata Māori 20 years ago, says Māori Development Minister Tama Potaka. The minister spoke at a celebration marking the national indigenous media organisation’s 20th anniversary at their studio in Auckland on ...
Commercial catch limits for some fisheries have been increased following a review showing stocks are healthy and abundant, Ocean and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. The changes, along with some other catch limit changes and management settings, begin coming into effect from 1 April 2024. "Regular biannual reviews of fish ...
Comment: Every year on February 2, a dozen men in tuxedos and top hats approach the burrow of a groundhog in Gobbler’s Knob, Pennsylvania and entice the beaver-like rodent to emerge and predict the weather. If the groundhog, named Punxsutawney Phil, sees its own shadow when it is summoned, legend ...
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Auckland Council has put a deadline on new weather-impacted property owners applying for categorisation as government funding looks set to run out. Councillors have voted to support a deadline of September 30 for property owners who haven’t accessed support to come forward and engage with the council’s recovery office. It ...
NONFICTION 1 BBQ Economics by Liam Dann (Penguin Random House, $40) “It’s official,” wrote Dann nine days ago in the Herald, where he works as business editor at large, “we’re in recession.” Yeah, great. He delivered the bad stats: “GDP fell 0.1 percent in the December 2023 quarter, compared with ...
By Anneke Smith, RNZ News political reporter A petition urging the New Zealand government to provide urgent humanitarian assistance to the Palestinian people has been tabled in the House. More than 200 people gathered on Parliament’s forecourt today and they were met by MPs from Labour, the Greens and Te ...
Pacific Media Watch The Paris-based global media freedom watchdog RSF (Reporters Without Borders) has appealed for information about the “disappearance” of Palestinian journalist Bayan Abusultan. She was reportedly last seen on March 19 among people “sequestered” in this week’s raid and siege of Al Shifa hospital by Israeli troops in ...
EDITORIAL:The Jakarta Post It happens again and again; indigenous Papuans fall victim to Indonesian soldiers. This time, we have photographic evidence for the brutality, with videos on social media showing a Papuan man being tortured by a group of plainclothes men alleged to be the Indonesian Military (TNI) members. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Robyn J. Whitaker, Director of the Wesley Centre for Theology, Ethics, and Public Policy & Associate Professor, New Testament, Pilgrim Theological College, University of Divinity A strange and eclectic range of activities takes place across these few weeks of the year. Some ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Panizza Allmark, Professor Visual & Cultural Studies, Edith Cowan University It’s Easter weekend, which means many of us will be kicking back with the greatest hits on repeat. But whether you’re a boomer, or an ‘80s or ’90s kid, you might be ...
RNZ Pacific Fiji’s Acting Public Prosecutor has filed an appeal against the sentences of former prime minister Voreqe Bainimarama and suspended police chief Sitiveni Qiliho in their corruption case. Bainimarama was granted an absolute discharge for attempting to pervert the course of justice while Qiliho received a conditional discharge with ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Arosha Weerakoon, Senior Lecturer and General Dentist, School of Dentistry, The University of Queensland Casezy idea/Shutterstock How does toothpaste work? What did people use before toothpaste was invented? – Amelia, age 7, Meanjin (Brisbane) Thanks for your ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Brett Hallam, Associate professor, UNSW Sydney IM Imagery/Shutterstock Solar SunShot is well named. The Australian government announced today it would plough A$1 billion into bringing back solar manufacturing to Australia, boosting energy security, swapping coal and gas jobs for those ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Clare Dix, Research Fellow in Nutrition & Dietetics, The University of Queensland Easter is the time for chocolate. The shops are full of fantastically packaged and shiny chocolates in all shapes and sizes, making trips to the supermarket with children more challenging ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Emma Felton, Adjunct Senior Researcher, University of South Australia Even in a stubborn cost-of-living crisis, it seems there’s one luxury most Australians won’t sacrifice – their daily cup of coffee. Coffee sales have largely remained stable, even as financial pressures have ...
Mining company Trans-Tasman Resources has unexpectedly withdrawn its application for a consent to suck the valuable metals vanadium and titanium from the Taranaki seafloor, as it apparently wagers on the Government’s new fast-track process. It had spent two-and-a-half days putting its case to the Environmental Protection Agency’s decision-making committee, at ...
Contrary to the Associate Minister of Education’s claims, analysis of Healthy School Lunches Programme - Ka Ora, Ka Ako assessments has revealed it provides excellent value for the taxpayer dollar, as a groundswell of public opposition to Government ...
Greenpeace says wannabe Taranaki seabed miner Trans-Tasman Resources is likely banking on Christopher Luxon’s fast-track process to side-step proper scrutiny of its Taranaki seabed mining proposal by bailing out of the Environmental Protection Agency hearing ...
Kiwis Against Seabed mining today slammed Australian owned would-be seabed miner Trans Tasman Resources (TTR) for abandoning its application to the Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) to mine the seabed of the South Taranaki Bight. The company ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Katie Attwell, Associate Professor, School of Social Sciences, The University of Western Australia Ground Picture/Shutterstock Months after COVID vaccines were introduced in 2021, governments and private organisations mandated them for various groups. Health and aged care workers were among the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Andrew Dzurak, Scientia Professor Andrew Dzurak, CEO and Founder of Diraq, UNSW Sydney Diraq For decades, the pursuit of quantum computing has struggled with the need for extremely low temperatures, mere fractions of a degree above absolute zero (0 Kelvin or ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Adrian Beaumont, Election Analyst (Psephologist) at The Conversation; and Honorary Associate, School of Mathematics and Statistics, The University of Melbourne A national Essential poll, conducted March 20–24 from a sample of 1,150, gave the Coalition a 50–44 lead including undecided, a reversal ...
The Taxpayers’ Union has today made a formal request under the Regulations of the People’s Republic of China on Open Government Information () for information held about how New Zealand Members of Parliament are spending taxpayer ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Robert Nelson, Honorary Principal Fellow, The University of Melbourne A Byzantine depiction of the Eucharist in Saint Sophia Cathedral, Kyiv.Jacek555/Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA A nasty quarrel arose in the 11th century over what kind of bread should be used in holy ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Patrick Hesp, Professor, Flinders University Patrick Hesp In some parts of Australia, coastal dunes are retreating from the ocean at an alarming rate, as waves carve up the beach and wind blows the sand inland. But coastal communities are largely ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Luke Heemsbergen, Senior Lecturer, Digital, Political, Media, Deakin University With an impressive 60% of the US smartphone market, Apple is undeniably big, but not a clear monopoly. Yet, years of innovation by Apple have effectively given the company its own exclusive ...
Whether you’re facing layoffs or are just an emotional junior staffer, it’s always a good idea to scout out a good crying place before you need it. It’s an incredibly hard time for Wellington. Across the city, thousands of public servants are hearing tough news about redundancies and layoffs. Government ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By James Miller-Jones, Professor, Curtin University Nuclear explosions on a neutron star feed its jets. Danielle Futselaar and Nathalie Degenaar, Anton Pannekoek Institute, University of Amsterdam, CC BY-SA How fast can a neutron star drive powerful jets into space? The answer, it ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Daryl Adair, Associate Professor of Sport Management, University of Technology Sydney Earlier this week, independent MP Andrew Wilkie accused the AFL of conducting “off the books” illicit drug testing to identify players using substances of abuse, then inappropriately withdrawing them from matches ...
The Government’s announcement that it will scrap plans for a vast marine sanctuary around the Kermadec Islands is ‘shameful’ and will make it impossible for Aotearoa New Zealand to meet its international commitments, says the World Wide Fund for Nature ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By John Quiggin, Professor, School of Economics, The University of Queensland Shutterstock The federal government has bowed to pressure from the car industry, announcing it will relax proposed emissions rules for utes and vans and delay enforcement of the new standards ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Suzanne Rutland, Professor Emerita, University of Sydney In his latest book, Jewish Life in Medieval Spain, Jonathan Ray focuses on the tumult of the 14th century in Spain – a time of the plague, civil strife and war between the two largest ...
While creating a slate of world-class shows, Whakaata Māori also developed a generation of world-class creatives. Television is an odd word. It mixes the Ancient Greek and Latin languages, and its most literal meaning is “far-off sight”. In the contemporary and living language of te reo Māori, “whakaata” as a ...
Yesterday the UN Security Council passed a resolution demanding an immediate ceasefire in Israel’s war on Gaza. This significant step and the deteriorating humanitarian situation in Gaza prompted an urgent debate in the New Zealand Parliament. Leader ...
The Government’s decision to reduce access to continuous glucose monitors (CGM) not only threatens the lives of children with type 1 diabetes and increases the potential for ‘Dead in Bed’ syndrome, but also threatens the health of their parents an ...
Apples are available year-round, but the wide variety on offer involves intensive scientific research – and large-scale commercialisation. What’s beautiful, red, sweet and crunchy? Tony Martin’s favourite kind of apple: Sassy. The CEO of apple and pear breeding organisation Prevar, Martin’s fondness for Sassy represents professional success as well as ...
Family violence specialist service Shine is calling on employers to stop asking for proof of domestic violence in order for employees to access domestic violence leave. The call comes five years after the introduction of the Domestic Violence ...
The Deputy Chairperson of the Finance and Expenditure Committee is calling for public submissions on the Budget Policy Statement 2024. The Budget Policy Statement 2024 (BPS) sets out the Government's priorities for the 2024 Budget. It explains the approach ...
Brutal government spending cuts that will see the size of the Ministry for Pacific Peoples slashed by 40% will hit Pasifika communities hard, the PSA says. The Ministry has told staff that it is seeking voluntary redundancies, and to redeploy and reassign ...
I live with five people I mostly love, but our different ideas about generosity are starting to really irk me.Want Hera’s help? Email your problem to helpme@thespinoff.co.nzDear Hera,This is a bit of a random one but here goes. I’m 22 and work an OK job (OK meaning I get paid ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Maria Nicholas, Senior Lecturer in Language and Literacy Education, Deakin University Earlier this month, the New South Wales government announced it would roll out programs for gifted students in every public school in the state. This comes amid concerns gifted school ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Christopher Rudge, Law lecturer, University of Sydney Massachusetts General Hospital In a world first, we heard last week that US surgeons had transplanted a kidney from a gene-edited pig into a living human. News reports said the procedure was a ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By David Tombs, Howard Paterson Chair of Theology and Public Issues, University of Otago The 5th-century Maskell panel showing Jesus in a loincloth.British Museum, CC BY-NC-SA When Jesus is shown on the cross, he is almost always depicted wearing a loincloth around ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Panizza Allmark, Professor Visual & Cultural Studies, Edith Cowan University Shutterstock When you think about a red object, you might picture a red carpet, or the massive ruby in the Queen’s crown. Indeed, Western monarchies and marketing from brands such ...
COMMENTARY:Jewish Voice for Peace The UN Security Council passed a resolution demanding an immediate ceasefire in Gaza on Monday — and for the first time since the beginning of the Israeli military’s genocide of Palestinians, the United States abstained rather than vetoing it. Security Council resolutions are legally binding, ...
Asia Pacific Report A New Zealand investigative journalist and author says the US spy system hosted by the Government Communications Security Bureau (GCSB) appears to be a controversial intelligence system used in global capture-kill operations. Writing a commentary for RNZ News today, Nicky Hager, author of Secret Power, a 1996 ...
While Nicola Willis wouldn’t give any details on its size, she said a package of tax cuts is definitely still coming in this year’s budget, writes Catherine McGregor in this excerpt from The Bulletin, The Spinoff’s morning news round-up. To receive The Bulletin in full each weekday, sign up here. ...
The Taxpayers’ Union is welcoming the investigation into the Department of Internal Affairs after it was revealed that the Department’s Chief Executive personally reached out to expedite a DJs passport application. Taxpayers’ Union Campaigns ...
Finance minister Nicola Willis delivers her first budget statement, and unwittingly helps Joel MacManus save his relationship. Nicola Willis strode into the Beehive Theatrette. Around me, on the green foldout seats, were the country’s top business and political journalists. They were all here to see her announce the Budget Policy ...
Twenty years ago today, Māori Television launched after much controversy. Jamie Tahana looks back on its survival and impact across two decades. Chad Chambers stepped onto the stage, the brim of his cap casting a shadow across his face. His smile beamed as bright as his white freezing works gumboots, ...
Tauranga, Rotorua, Wellsford, Onehunga, Westhaven marina – Gavin Strawhan walks the meanish streets of New Zealand in his entertaining debut novel The Call, almost sure to roar into the number 1 position on the Nielsen bestseller chart, its front cover bearing a rave from somebody: “A really good and genuinely ...
On a Thursday in February, at Wellington’s Conservation House, the Conservation Authority, a statutory body advising the eponymous department and minister, Tama Potaka, opened its 195th meeting. Under consideration that afternoon was an agenda item written by Tim Bamford, chief advisor in the Department of Conservation’s biodiversity, heritage and visitors ...
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A lengthy response to the recently released draft Government policy statement on transport will soon be delivered from Auckland Council to Minister of Transport Simeon Brown. A submission raising concerns about funding distribution and the plan’s treatment of Auckland passed through the council’s transport committee on Wednesday, despite some councillors ...
The unidentified foreign intelligence operation discussed in a scathing report by New Zealand’s Inspector-General of Intelligence and Security (IGIS) last week appears to be a controversial United States intelligence system. The IGIS report said the Government Communications Security Bureau (GCSB) decision to host a foreign system from 2012-2020 was “improper” ...
As a young gymnast, Aimee Didierjean was always conscious of making sure her underwear wasn’t showing on the competition floor. A peek of a bra strap, or briefs if a leotard rode up, would cost a gymnast points in her routines. “When I was growing and going through puberty, it ...
Jubi/West Papua Daily Repeated cases of Indonesian military (TNI) soldiers torturing civilians in Papua have been evident, as seen in the viral video depicting the torture of civilians in the Puncak Regency allegedly done by soldiers of Raider 300/Brajawijaya Infantry Battalion. There is a pressing need for stringent law enforcement ...
The President is on a roll
Was this a set up?
Is Trump being sabotaged by his own aides?
Or is this another case of the Emperor has no clothes where all his aides were too scared to tell him?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rSxvc8sSh0U
As much as I detest Trump, this is digging down desperate in the trying to bring out yet another negative story about him
You can leave some things like pussy grabbing behind but some shit sticks.
It is a trite story of course. Especially in the week the stories about his background and personal finances came out. They put into perspective clearly the moral and constitutional crusade to ‘drain the swamp.’
The grand knight rides in to rid his country of the rottenness at the core and put things right.
The thought of him being a fuckwit, or whatever else his detractors have him, was irrelevant, the mission was the important thing.
And so too the grand horse he rides in on to his crusade. It being a lying, fraudulent, corrupt steed is irrelevant. They don’t care.
It is clear Trump has a fan base in New Zealand. It seems clear the heroic money making deeds have many here in his thrall. That much of those deeds apparently are a lifetime of fraud, rorts and bullshit is irrelevant. (What bets that those who laud his acumen used their daggers on a local politician who at a young age rorted the system?)
Another negative story about him? Who cares. The more parodies the better.
9I’m not saying it’s bad it’s a negative story.
I mean it’s a pretty pathetic subject to create one.
A person has a piece of paper stuck to their shoe is national news?
It is just another thing he can throw in to his followers to show his bollocks about the media out to get him.
It’s an own goal to the press
And the media seem too stupid to work it out.
It’s like the boy who cried wolf
C,mon Chris T. It’s funny. I’m glad Jenny posted it.
Do you not have a SoH?
Yes, but it is stretched pretty thin with Trump
🙂
Totally agree the piece of bog roll is spread pretty thin! We will need a much larger bog roll to flush him, and all he represents down the toilet.
Agree. Its funny in light of Trumps grandiosity. We have to remember their obsession with Presidential news in US, any president included. They have 24 hr news channels , which we dont have, which every minor event is done – even when he climbs the stairs to “Air Force Twos'” – (hat tip The Project) and there is nothing to see.
Unintentional though it may be, in a metaphorical sense I think it is highly appropriate. 🙂
Yep it is. Trump is so much just a piece of s**t and that pic sums him up completely.
The world will sigh a sigh of huge relief when we do get to see the back of him for the last time. And when we do get to flush him and all his wicked works down the toilet – so much the better.
I think it’s great. I bet Chris T would be all over it if it was Jacinda.
??
If you say so
It was a “Gerald Ford stumbles” moment. At least it was light comedy, rather than the Gervais-level discomfort that normally comes out of the white house these days.
It isn’t really a story.
But I would love it if a group of international leaders at some important meeting all glued a piece of bog roll to their left shoe and walked around without saying a word!
Trump takes himself very seriously.
That, would be funny
Lol
“Trump takes himself very seriously”
That would be them laughing with him 😉
It’s about time there were mandatory minimum redundancy payments and a much greater time frames before companies are allowed to make people redundant. Companies are now doing it to increase profits, not because they are losing money and they don’t care how it effects their employees.
Also time that NZ stops thinking overseas companies will create jobs and make NZ prosperous, the opposite is happening and the only way to stop that from happening is to encourage NZ owned and based companies to flourish who actually have more invested into NZ than just one location on a world map.
Up to 111 job losses as manufacturing moves overseas
https://www.radionz.co.nz/national/programmes/checkpoint/audio/2018665614/up-to-111-job-losses-as-manufacturing-moves-overseas
Having been laid off twice in 5 years during the early 00s I’d say it would be nice if there was some help .
Faced with the dole or scrambling for what ever you can get sucks .
I chose scrambling but also chose after the second time never to go back to forestry so they lost 9 years experience and a good hard worker.
+1 – then next minute the industry will be complaining about skills shortages and how they can’t get anyone and need to bring in overseas workers!
Sadly redundancy has become the norm in NZ with nothing to stop directors getting their bonus by what traditionally ‘the markets’ love to hear, job losses or just plain incompetence by just short term cost cutting rather than innovating and actually creating better products that out compete other companies.
Funny enough the richest companies in the world like Apple tend to do the opposite and spend money on innovating and keeping ahead of the market rather than just cost cutting.
This is a very revealing article about how much worse off NZ is for redundancy than other countries aka we tend to lose a significant amount of wages post redundancy.
https://www.odt.co.nz/news/dunedin/big-read-why-being-made-redundant-nz-so-tough
Major companies in the US like Amazon are realising they have to double wages past the (pathetic!) US minimum wage of $7.25
Wonder is that is to do with US direction to make it harder for lower paid workers to enter the US and stop the race to the bottom because companies now have to pay more to attract workers?
Amazon jumps out ahead of its rivals, raises wages to $15
https://www.arkansasonline.com/news/2018/oct/02/amazon-ups-hourlywage-15-will-advocate-higher-pay/
Without wanting to start an argument you might want to revisit Apple and Amazon as your examples
For example Apple farms out their manufacturing to China, have appalling conditions for their workers to the point of having to fit a net to the factory roof because workers were offing themselves, and despite Amazon despite it’s sudden appearance of caring for it’s workers treats it’s workers not a huge amount better than Walmart
Having said that I get your over all point
@Chris T, Yep, you are right about offshore working conditions although apparently is supposed to be getting better.. ha ha.. My point with Apple is that they looked ahead, did not use offshore labour to design the iPhone and spent money on research and development, against many soon to be obsolete tech companies that just focus on cost cutting to save money and don’t spend the money on creating the next big thing.
As for Amazon, they have been forced to raise wages by criticism by Bernie Sanders and Trump (for different reasons) and the cheap factory labour worker was drying up in a tight labour market in the US so they have to raise wages and then hey presto the cheaper workers have somewhere to shift to and the absolute worst employers don’t have anyone to employ unless they just ship in cheap workers to undercut, which sounds like US policy has tightened up on. So business is forced to raise wages.
Funny enough that pay rise will keep more people voting trump, against the democrats position of globalism is so great and makes so much money (just inequality distributed for the 40% living on food stamps or hand to mouth in the US).
Employers like to regard the ‘human resources’ market as being like a toy store. Perhaps one with a lot of little lego figures. All the workers are there on the shelf in suspended animation, lift them down, turn the key and of they go like little kerbals scuttering round to and fro, self-energised.
There is no sense of NZ as a worthy trading nation, one with respect for citizens, and paying a living wage. Other countries are rich, and they don’t have decent wages (USA for a start) so if the elite and aspirational want to be rich well – do the same, learn from the goldmeisters.
@bwaghorn – apparently the ‘official’ version of why forestry can’t get workers is that they are all ‘drugged out’ lazies so interesting to hear your story of being laid off again and again.
When people are laid off constantly eventually workers will have had enough and not go back to that industry and that is where all the ‘experienced’ NZ workers are – disillusioned with being treated like garbage by industry in NZ which is fully supported by our ‘relaxed’ employment rules around redundancy that makes it a process rather than a difficult thing to do without a good reason.
This women managed to steal nearly a million dollars, commit benefit fraud, make whistleblowers redundant, give herself her own leave to escape the country and fraudulently hire two of her relatives. All under the ‘watchful’ sarc. eyes of one of our Auditor-General who was her boss at the time.
Whistleblowers tell of ‘incredible’ day their jobs were axed
https://www.radionz.co.nz/news/political/331250/whistleblowers-tell-of-incredible-day-their-jobs-were-axed
Did fraud suspect Joanne Harrison approve her own leave then flee NZ?
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/82387108/did-fraud-suspect-joanne-harrison-approve-her-own-leave-then-flee-nz
Extra jail time for Joanne Harrison after benefit fraud charges added
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11954395
“Also time that NZ stops thinking overseas companies will create jobs and make NZ prosperous, the opposite is happening and the only way to stop that from happening is to encourage NZ owned and based companies to flourish…”
While I agree NZ needs to stop thinking overseas companies will make us prosper, I disagree the only way to stop that from happening is to encourage NZ owned and based companies to flourish. This is an area where we should all be pushing for the Government to play a more direct and stronger role.
That was supposed to be the idea around KiwiSaver. It would create a local capital pool which would invest in New Zealand businesses, and reduce overseas domination of our economy. Something I don’t see happening.
A nation grows it wealth via exporting. The problem is, the vast majority of NZ businesses are small and have no desire to export. Thus, leaving Kiwisaver with little viable local investment opportunities.
“The problem is, the vast majority of NZ businesses are small and have no desire to export.”
You cannot export services or houses.
Some services can be and are exported while others attain the export dollar (whether directly or indirectly) from tourism.
Complex business exporting you need to be very financially sound, have strong cashflow’s and an understanding banker.
“A nation grows its wealth via exporting.”
Not according to Ha Joon Chang. Domestic manufacturing is a path to wealth because that way your workers can afford to buy things.
And of course, unless you’re locked into a colonial low value commodity export model, your domestic market is where you trial and develop new products. Not something we see a lot of here.
Moving beyond the exporting of raw product requires domestic manufacturing to play a larger role in exporting.
A nation can only grow its wealth via exporting dollars entering into its economy.
Selling products domestically doesn’t result in new money entering into the local economy, thus doesn’t result in growing a nations wealth.
“Selling products domestically doesn’t result in new money entering into the local economy, thus doesn’t result in growing a nations wealth.”
It could be said that you’re mistaking money for wealth there – they’re somewhat different things. And of course the old import substitution line remains valid – a penny saved is a penny earned – anything that improves our balance of payments whether by reducing an import or generating increased export value increases local monetary wealth, which can then be used to further inflate our property market, assuming any of it makes its way out of the hands of the large corporates who dominate the export sector.
In terms of domestic products, new or better products are almost invariably outgrowths of existing technologies. Which means that the capacity loss associated with decline of local manufacturing extends beyond the current generation who may lose their jobs in the transition.
Wealth is a term usually used when discussing total net worth. Which includes money, assets, etc…
While reducing an import will produce ongoing savings which will improve our fiscal position, unlike exporting, its growth potential is limited to the related saving made.
Generating increased export value can increase our export returns but if offshore owned, those returns will largely improve the fiscal position of other nations and not our own.
A local market is an obligate step in developing products for export. Unless one wants to be a price-taking commodity exporter, developing the local market is part of the export process.
“Developing the local market is part of the export process.”
Indeed. And as I said before, moving beyond the exporting of raw product requires domestic manufacturing to play a larger role in exporting.
As the majority of local private sector aren’t up to the task and offshore investment isn’t a viable long-term solution, this is where the Government should be taking a more hands on role.
i’m not sure about that millsy 9.24 – at one time the superfunf kiwisaver was only investing a tiny part in nz because of the possibility of skewing the local investment market and being over-exposed to nz business and market movements.
Agreed Chairman,
We need to restore many of our industries that we were very good at.
Like our former woolen carpeting factories that always supplied all our former ‘commonwealth’ countries as I saw in Canada and UK, as well as I saw also in the US during the 1980’s though they were outside the commonwealth.
As of now we have virtually no woolen carpeting factories here or around the world.
No date no one else other then China and India are making woolen carpeting (who have our complete wool clip export and are forcing the cost down to less than $3 dollars a kilo killing our sheep farmers incomes.
Woolen carpeting is the very best floor insulation against cold damp houses and would make our homes more healthy to live in now since nylon carpeting is found to be very toxic to our health, and poor at insulating our homes against cold damp homes.
http://www.sixwise.com/newsletters/05/03/22/the-toxic-dangers-of-carpetingare-the-carpets-in-your-home-or-office-a-health-hazard.htm
“We need to restore many of our industries that we were very good at.”
Only if they are viable, thus can produce a return we capitalize from.
Additionally, we also need to create new opportunities.
My experience is that the difficulties arise when the NZ company is sold to overseas interests who are much larger entities. The new owner then ‘integrates’ their acquisition – which involves shipping NZ jobs to low wage locations and imposing internal processes and technology that are not necessarily a good fit. The overall effect is that the NZ operation gets hollowed out and the quality of what was being done declines.
I witnessed something like 40-50 well-paying (NZ$60k-100k) jobs being replaced by around 100 workers in India on the equivalent of NZ$15-20k), i.e. wages are 25% while the number of employees is 200%, still a theoretical win.
However, because much of the work required advanced English-language ability, quality declined badly. The new owners then gutted the product to eliminate those aspects where the quality decline was too obvious, threw money at additional training and spent fruitless effort on trying to automate as much as possible. A slow motion train wreck – easily predicted in advance, while those who did predict it were vilified.
Global capital roaming the world for quick returns and creating mayhem at the local level.
+1000 AB
That is where our domestic laws should not allow this to happen.
100% SaveNZ.
We need to protect us from these “carpetbaggers” of taking of our industries that use our “raw products”.
These overseas carpetbaggers hollow out our principal raw produced products and take them as raw products overseas.
Then they control the global buying of these and control our price for these raw products driving down the base price as we see all the time.
Those who say our industries must always be “viable” are hollowing out the argument as they dont consider the reasons above that our base prices given us for raw products are driven down by these overseas “carpetbaggers”.
This lowers our returns for our commodities and weakens our economy in the end.
“Those who say our industries must always be ‘viable’ are hollowing out the argument as they dont consider the reasons above that our base prices given us for raw products are driven down by these overseas ‘carpetbaggers’”.
Non-viable businesses won’t grow our wealth. Moreover, we require to be more innovated and move beyond merely exporting raw product.
Can you please clarify for me what you mean by a “non-viable business”?
I’d also like to know how we can be or become more innovative without taking risks and experiencing failures, from which we/others can learn.
Businesses that cease to do business don’t just disappear in thin air. They often feed (into) other existing or start-up businesses. Think of it as an ecosystem where life & death are not the beginning & end of things but simply points of and on an ongoing ‘life-cycle’.
Non-viable businesses are businesses that aren’t producing a return and are unlikely to produce a return going forward.
Risk is generally part and parcel of being in business. The key is minimising the risk. Ensuring one can afford to take a small risk, learn from ones mistake if it all turns to custard while being able to carry on trading (and not go bust) if it doesn’t pan out.
“Businesses that cease to do business don’t just disappear in thin air.”
Unfortunately, some do. Leaving behind a trail of unpaid debt, which can result in other related parties going bust.
Thank you for your reply.
By “return” you mean profit, I assume.
From a single focus as business operator I can see that being viable or not may be the be-all-end-all question but from a holistic view of the economy as a business ‘ecosystem’ it looks very different IMO. In fact, I’d argue business failure is essential for a healthy ecosystem.
Existing businesses need to be flexible and adapt to changing conditions. If not, they become non-viable too. This is an inevitable ‘risk’ that’s locked in from even the first concept for a new start-up.
Any business that ceases to operate/exist leaves more than a “a trail of unpaid debt” if any debt at all; some unwind in a more controlled manner. You may want to look up articles on creative destruction, economic apoptosis and uncontrollability.
https://www.rug.nl/research/portal/en/publications/economic-apoptosis-and-uncontrollability(28f3f06d-2ee2-4f55-9886-ebeb835b8abe).html
Edit: for some reason (?) the link changed in the comment; you’ll need to copy the whole link including the “.html”
“Creative destruction”, yes I thought that is what you were initially hinting at.
While creative destruction is part of business evolution, it’s far from a win-win for all. Moreover, not all business failures are due to creative destruction.
Therefore, a failure here and there is to be expected but if business failures were to become systemic, it wouldn’t result in a healthy economy.
Agreed, but I wasn’t arguing for or about systemic large-scale business failure although even a man-made disaster like the GFC (or should that be a GFC?) didn’t destroy the ecosystem (AKA the economy). Businesses recovered, some faster than others, and innovation never really stopped.
Thank you for the positive engagement; you and I haven’t always achieved this but at least now we know it is possible, with a little bit of goodwill and mutual respect.
Timber would be a classic example ?
I agree, we do need improved safety nets and trajectories for those that find themselves no longer required. It’s an accelerating trend that isn’t going away anytime soon.
I also think it’s important to acknowledge that virtually nobody starts a business with the primary motivation of creating employment for people.
You’d be wrong there. We want to start up a business that explicitly wants to hire locals. Our issue is
A) finding local people that have some knowledge that can be built on and
B) ensuring that we can grow organically and ensure we hire accordingly
Most people starting a business realise they have to hire staff.
What you probably mean is: “virtually nobody recognises the need to pay staff in accordance with knowledge and skills rather than as expense accounts that can be opened and closed at will”
It’s a catch 22, NZ employers both foreign and domestic have created an idea that Kiwi workers should be cheap pliable workers and we pay cheap wages here. It started off with the employment contracts bill in the 1990’s and has gone down from there.
That encouraged Kiwi workers to leave to work overseas, as even OZ often paid around 30 -100% more than Kiwi employers and well as the massive sell off of our assets overseas.
To stop the rot they need to get wages in NZ up and keep the skills however it’s a huge issue as even for domestic companies they feel the need to bring in management from overseas that are often destroying wealth by focusing on short term profits and overseas models that don’t necessarily work in NZ (Fonterra, The warehouse) while a massive proportion of NZ companies are also owned by multinationals who couldn’t care a less about their NZ workers and destroy completely workable companies here (Cadbury, Dick Smith) or giving themselves massive profits while giving nothing back (banks).
I don’t think the current government has any handle on the problem as they seem to be enjoying glowing in the international globalist accolade and no doubt a rude shock when coming home in 2 years for the next election to find out that their domestic changes of higher taxes, selling off land and letting foreign and domestic companies rout everyone with higher electrical, water, rates, housing, transport, petrol and people now living in tents because landlords abandon the market and the places are snapped up by our growing migrant population or the Singapore and OZ investors … while the IYI class strategists and MSM tell everyone that things are just peachy and in the next 15 years all their great ideas of globalism and free trade will trickle down…
I not suggesting the Natz would be better in fact they would be worse, but I think that Labour, NZ First and Greens need to have a serious look at why people are not happy with globalism and trade when it effectively is allowed to screw people over (so many examples) and our laws in NZ are not robust enough to do anything about it – because – apparently decent labour laws and environmental laws and societal good laws -“scare the market’ – maybe it’s about time the exploitative employers are scared out of NZ so that we can actually create a prosperous, fair, unpolluted country again.
@James Thrace – perhaps like the old fashioned way you train workers with the knowledge or pay more to steal them from other places or treat them better so you create loyalty…
Hi James, I’ve found that if I don’t start a business with the primary motivation of turning a profit I burn through my start-up capital and before too long have to ask any workers to leave. Paying people well has always been a by-product of profitability in my experience.
I don’t hire workers these days, I appoint contractors. This cuts my workload by heaps, halves the hassles and those granting me their time make more money.
@David Mac, Even if they do set up in NZ, where is the longevity in NZ… like Gameloft, who were a French company that employed a significant migrant workforce into NZ, then after getting 3.5 million in grants, liquidated the company and set up in Nigeria.
Is that really the calibre of corporates we want in NZ?
Knew someone who worked there and he was a migrant worker. He said he could not ask for a pay rise, as every time Gameloft advertised a role, it was cheaper than the last. They just wanted the cheapest workers they could get… so no wonder they went out of business…. pity they were allowed under our laws to operate like that!
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/entertainment/news/article.cfm?c_id=1501119&objectid=11581181
Hi Savenz, yep, I’m reluctant to get involved in any business pursuit that can be replicated more cost effectively offshore.
A beachfront holiday on a Kiwi beach can only be done here. Possum fur fibres have unique insulation qualities, they aren’t a mega population pest anywhere else in the world. That Finnish company making fossil fuel based packaging in Henderson that is pulling the pin, with the scrappy muck left behind by our logging operations, the raw materials for a green line of packaging could be close to free.
Competing with countries/companies that can prosper with slave labour is a race to the bottom. As standards of living rise in China, I think it’s just a matter of time until our TVs are assembled in Somalia.
Soimon is such a good boy despite all that political failure that surrounds him, insists Nat hack Audrey Young: https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=12137567
Though she does drop an unintentional nugget about Jami-Lee Ross:
Did Audrey’s column on Simon read like a doting Mum excusing a wayward child regardless of the depth of his flaws?
Audrey has long been an NZ Herald ’embed’ in national party caucus. Her brother and father were national Mps after all.
Oh Christ! I’d forgotten about that. One of them was Venn Young right?
??
The stench goes back quite a long way really, though that sense of entitlement amongst the gNat elite wasn’t usually expressed in the crassness it is today.
Quite funny really if it wasn’t so sad.
How blatant a puff piece is that? Would Young have ever, ever shown Cunliffe or Little such consideration?
She turns a piece about Bridges in his worst week in politics into a pages long criticism of the government!
Young = RWNJ hack.
Audrey’s defending the muppet because all the alternatives will lead to all out civil war within the National Party. This would probably be pretty rough and result in a splintered right wing side of New Zealand politics. Whether this is a good thing or not is moot, but if it does happen they will try to make it happen in a controlled manner.
sigh moan is just the placeholder until they can come up with a leader who can command the respect and loyalty of all factions of the party.
Tracy Watkins polishes her kneepads and delivers another defense of the indefensible: https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/opinion/107630645/tracy-watkins-is-simon-bridges-a-dead-man-walking
The increasingly-frothy Duncan Garner adds some insider goss: https://www.stuff.co.nz/waikato-times/107639457/An-embarrassing-own-goal-when-Nationals-defence-wasn-t-even-under-pressure
Probably some confusion how the leak got out and there is probably not enough evidence to conduct an internal prosecution ?
You must have read a different article than i did.
She says he is a dead man walking ( i agree with that)
I would say it was an accurate article. I didn’t see anything about “Soimon being such a good boy”.
I agree that he is hopeless but taking the piss out of him because he cant pronounce words properly is a bit lame.
Have you not heard sparkle pony, poverdy, positividdy, egg widdy.
It seems to be a common fault in our leaders.
Which of the 3 articles I’ve linked to here are you talking about?
I read your post at 3 then read this link at 3.3
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/opinion/107630645/tracy-watkins-is-simon-bridges-a-dead-man-walking
So you’re a complete idiot, then.
Crawl back in your sewer Muttonhead
But he talks like a baby Nastiman. A big windy spoilt baby.
Following on from Dennis Franks’ cut and paste last night, cut and paste specialist, Dr Bryce Edwards, regurgitates what we’ve been reading all week.
As usual Dr Bryce provides zero analysis, preferring to let others to do that for him, including Cameron Slater who remarkably gets no political description tag at all, and Chris Trotter who is unfortunate enough to receive the only political designation in the piece from Edwards in being labelled “leftwing”.
In a bizarre attempt at trivialisation of the seriousness of Bridges’ problems, he signs off by linking to the Jono & Ben appearance.
Yes, Dr Bryce does his usual thing when dealing with National’s problems and that is to dispassionately relay what his right-leaning media associates have said.
Contrast this with his opinion heavy RNZ article dated 26 August – his own work this time which is telling.
In it, Dr Bryce literally fawns over Bridges’ decision to open the PWC and Simpson Grierson enquiries describing him as; showing ‘resolve’, being ‘calculated’, ‘star(ing) down a disloyal MP’, ‘responsible and humane’, and ‘reasonable’. Edwards pretty much went against all other analysis at that time who rightly questioned just what the hell Bridges was up to.
Well I wonder what Dr Bryce thinks reading back on that column this weekend!
Embarrassed?
Hey, not a bad critique, but to be fair to Bryce it seemed his intent was to report a hefty emerging consensus via the method of compiling quotes from sources. I thought it impressive enough to select highlights on the same basis to emphasise the political significance of the opinion swing against Bridges.
Nothing wrong with coming on like a partisan leftist, Muttonbird, inasmuch as this site was designed to cater for sectarian bias. But the leftist political cause can only advance nowadays by establishing sufficient consensus with centrists. Our current government being a suitable model thus far.
Also, a university political scientist cannot be seen to be partisan, so any public analysis by one will have to critique the left & right in a balanced way. Being fair to Bridges earlier is part of that prescription. Kiwis believe in a fair go, and we give credit where it’s due. Better a moderate, reasonable leader of the Nats than something worse. The current leader becoming irrational is news when it becomes obvious to centrists as well as leftists because it suggests a tectonic shift in voterland.
” university political scientist cannot be seen to be partisan”
Thats not the case. Helen Clark was a part timer while working on her PhD before being elected. The long time of the Department at the time ( Chapman)was clearly national leaning as he wrote books on nationals leaders
I think what you are alluding to is the media want their political scientist talking heads to be ‘balanced’.
Add to that professor Claire Robinson who is nothing more than the defacto president of the John Key fan club.
Yes, I’ll accept that technical correction. Not just the media, though, because the credibility of any political analyst lies in their capacity for rising above the fray to present a more-or-less impartial view. I agree re Chapman, but political scientists lose credibility in the eyes of their students and peers to the extent that they push a partisan view.
Interesting comments as usual, Dennis.
I like to think that the students and peers of a political scientist know when he/she addresses a different audience for a different reason than lecturing or disseminating science.
I think there is a time & place for any political scientist to express their opinions and declare their leanings so to speak. It would be odd not to and stay on the fence forever as some kind of agnostic nihilist.
Yes, I agree that anyone ought to be able to express their political opinion. Political scientists could do so in an inappropriate manner by informing their audience that they are doing so, when they do it. There’s a learnt skill in being dispassionate and impartial, although some people seem more naturally adept at it – while most others are simply unable to transcend subjectivity.
For me, it was a late acquisition, in middle age, honed via self-discipline. The way I frame it internally is in the context of the group mind: any group I participate in, I try to mediate the microcosm/macrocosm relation. If that group is too insular (group-think), then relating issues to the broader societal context (macrocosm) and the body politic is the best way to go.
The professional ethics of academics requires them to declare any potential conflict of interest. Many peer-reviewed scientific journals have made it mandatory.
Academic audiences, be it students or peers, are (ought to be) smart (educated) enough to weigh up one personal’s bias against that of others and even their own.
Bias, or subjectivity, is impossible to avoid and the only proper way to deal with it, IMO, is to declare it. This raises awareness and avoids or minimises confusion from the outset and maybe this makes it possible to transcend subjectivity …
Oct. 5, 2018
WASHINGTON — Judge Brett M. Kavanaugh appeared destined for final confirmation to the Supreme Court after two key undecided senators — Susan Collins of Maine and Joe Manchin III of West Virginia — announced Friday that they would support his elevation to the high court after the most divisive confirmation fight in decades.
Ms. Collins’ lengthy speech on the Senate floor dwelled as much on Judge Kavanaugh’s judicial record as on the sexual misconduct charges that have consumed his nomination. She did conclude, “We will be ill-served in the long run if we abandon the presumption of innocence.”
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/10/05/us/politics/brett-kavanaugh-vote-confirmed.html
Looks like Democrats & women are combining to get him across the line. I presume they are motivated by the spirit of bipartisan consensus. Christians would frame that as god working in his usual mysterious way…
Democrat Manchin is only doing so as his state is very strongly pro Trump and hes up for election in a month.
Consensus ! . The self preservation for both . Collins isnt up for re-election this time but she will need big money support for the Republican Senate Campaign Committee if she is to survive in her democratic leaning state.
Interesting fact . The other Senator from Maine Angus King, and independent – but who sits with the Democrats- is facing re- election this year.
His democratic opponent, Zak Ringelstein is the only major-party candidate for Senate to be a dues-paying member of the Democratic Socialists of America. Likely that King will be relected though
Yeah I expected a response like that. Realpolitik. But the interesting part is that these politicians are seeking refuge in a centrist camouflage. In respect of their motivations driven by political psychology, we could reasonably suspect that there’s more to it than the obvious self-interest. Could be a signal of a pendulum swing back from extreme ideological polarisation towards pragmatic centrism.
“Could be a signal of a pendulum swing back from extreme ideological polarisation towards pragmatic centrism.”
Kavanaugh is one of the most partisan of Supreme court judges – ever. hardly a swing to pragmatic centralism- unless the centre has mover far right, even for US.
One of Obamas picks for Scotus was at the time Solicitor general, which acts much like our Solicitor General does. Republicans thought she was to partisan as it was a government job. Kavanaugh is 10x closer to government as he worked in GWB white House.
With Trump around there wont be a swing to consensus/centrisim. It seems to be just a thought of yours rather than something that is real.
Well yeah, but I was actually referring to the behaviour of the Democrat & woman senators who have decided to support Kavanaugh. I’ll reserve judgment on the Trump effect until the mid-term election results. A decisive pattern may emerge (rather than a muddle).
If not, we may get an effective stalemate within both main US parties, in which there’s an approximate balance between pragmatic careerists supporting the establishment and disaffected anti-establishment folk getting even further alienated by the system their democracy has produced.
Colin James has a relevant analysis here: http://www.colinjames.co.nz/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/ASPG-NZ-version-18Sep12.pdf
He frames representative democracy as ” bounded rationality. Most of the people most of the time thought the system more or less worked – at least while their material standard of living kept rising and they felt reasonably safe and secure in their identity as one of a people in a nation. There was a high level of trust, the glue that holds liberal democracies together.”
“Bounded rationality still reigns in this country, where a recent survey found a marked lift since 2016 in trust and confidence in the government, ministers and MPs, thanks probably to the election of a remarkable young woman Prime Minister. But in northern hemisphere liberal democracies, the centre-left/centre-right hegemony has ended and with it bounded rationality.”
“That is because the material standard of living of a growing number of people in those liberal democracies has stalled or fallen or become insecure and/or they feel that migrants and other intrusions from outside such as hyperglobalisation are unstitching the fabric of what they think of as “their” “nation”. As a result, they no longer feel represented by, nor do they trust, the centre-left/centre-right cabal.”
“They see these parties as agents of a self-perpetuating, detached elite: the “other”, not “us”.” Precisely. Representative democracy discredited as a sham. Representatives pretending to represent voters rather than actually doing so, in the hope that voters won’t notice the lack of authenticity. But around half the electorate have now noticed the sham.
Are you for real????
Only 1 (ONE) democrat senator has given his support to Kavanaugh, and that for the craven reason explained by the Duke above.
As for women. Republican women are in many cases just as anti-human rights as their W
hiteOldmen counterparts on the senate. In fact rupugnant senators are by and large white, old, and men. There are only a handful of Republican women senators – and one of those actually had enough gumption to vote against the other rupugnants and against Kavanaugh.Well the headline news was real: “Susan Collins says she will vote yes to confirm Brett Kavanaugh”. https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/live/2018/oct/05/brett-kavanaugh-vote-latest-live-news-updates-confirmation-supreme-court-christine-blasey-ford-fbi-report
So she has publicised her voting intention. Doesn’t seem much chance she will change her mind in the next few hours.
That wasn’t what you were saying above tho; was it.
No, Susan Collins has been looking for a way out of doing the decent thing by way of women, and humanity, and voting against Kavanaugh all week. The Whitehouse white wash “investigation” which lasted all of 2 days, interviewed only Kavanaugh supporters, and which only the FBI and senators are privy to, gave her the way out.
She still has time to regain her moral compass and vote “no” as does the Flaker. But be very aware – the US is now a deeply divided country. This in no way represents a swinging of the pendulum to the centre. Women are becoming energised as never before, and the forthcoming midterms are evidence of that. There were thousands protesting in the Senate over the past week and over 300 arrested. This will go down in history as one of Americas darkest moments.
Seems to me you’re allowing your subjective emotional reactions to cloud your view of the situation. I was pointing to the behaviour that could indicate the pendulum has swung so far toward polarisation that it can’t swing further. Historically what you usually get is a shift towards pragmatic acceptance of the need to move beyond the focus on differences to the need for a workable compromise and agreement on common ground.
Colin James explains why representative democracy can’t work when representatives betray the trust of voters. It’s just a question of these politicians waking up to the necessity of honouring their commitments instead of further undermining democracy. Any leftist tribalism and moral outrage is irrelevant (due to perceived lack of evidence) – but I suspect you didn’t even bother to read her reasoning for her decision (in that report).
vs
I’ll leave it at that.
“White House Denies Trump Was Mocking Kavanaugh Accuser After Trump Mocks Kavanaugh Accuser”
yes. apparently even this sort of WH briefings have become fairly rare and Trumps press conferences even rarer. he will still occasionally do a Fox news only interview.
Reminds me in a way , of Keys first few years when he wouldnt do any interviews at all for Radio NZ.
None. back then RNZ didnt have audience surveys like now , when we know that Morning Report has the largest ‘weekly’? audience of any news radio station and many music ones.
Brilliant headline. Wonder how many here will actually miss its point. ROFL.
The ZAPRUDER film HQ real HQ – YouTube
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C7rLYh52fPE
Nice…. After JFK threatened to smash the CIA into a thousand pieces,… then along comes Howard Hunt and a few other Black Op characters into the the mix at Dealey Plaza…
Enjoy.
Gotta love those globalists.
Then decades later we have a guy who names the characters responsible… despite the fact that many of the perps are now dead because of the passage of time… dont change a thing…
And did you know the Republicans were anti slavery and the Democrats were pro slavery , – hence the American Civil War ??? … bet most of you didn’t, and even if you did,… wanted to hide that distasteful and embarrassing fact away…
The American public are not stupid, and know far more than we do in NZ about what effects their country and ultimately , the global community. I believe on the whole the American public is a good one. No other country on earth has such an open system, – despite the skulduggery that often happens there…they have many faults but just as many good points.
Come back Colonial Viper !
Here’s a magnificent speech by Trump about the reality of just who pulls the strings in this world… and yet all some of you can do is snicker like a pack of schoolkids about some paper around his shoe. He probably owns the company that made the paper.
Donald Trump – Our Movement Is About Replacing A Failed … – YouTube
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gNLXpVRO-0M
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Bloody hell! A trumpkin on The Standard! What next???
Have you completely lost your sense of reason?
lol – it wasn’t the paper that was the problem bubby – it’s the poo it was attached to.
I dunno mate – CV was pretty free with his facts toward the end there.
Nah katty, the yanker public are dumb as dirt.
1000% bang on perfectly Wild Katipo.
President Donald Trump is very brave taking on the CIA now as his promise to “drain the washington Swamp” Got to give him credit for getting rid of the evil CIA as they have done some very bad shit over many years too many to document.
Remember the movie “Spy game 2001” with Robert Redford/Brad Pitt?
https://www.idealfound.com/ottrack/cinematrix/?tag=pc_movie_top&moviename=Spy%2520Game
This movie was very close to the truth there when we see the current CIA administration under Robert Mueller as CIA ‘special investigator’ leaning on Trumps own inner circle for political reasons mostly to get forced admissions from them..
If those admissions of guilt are the truth, and can be backed up by evidence in court – as to date they have been – then what are you complaining about?
There is more evidence to come, and agent orange is in the firing line.
“CIA operative Nathan Muir (Redford) is on the brink of retirement when he finds out that his protege Tom Bishop (Pitt) has been arrested in China for espionage. No stranger to the machinations of the CIA’s top echelon, Muir hones all his skills and irreverent manner in order to find a way to free Bishop. As he embarks on his mission to free Bishop, Muir recalls how he recruited and trained the young rookie, at that time a sergeant in Vietnam, their turbulent times together as operatives and the woman who threatened their friendship.”
yeah just like real life lol
brave t.rump – oxymoronic!!!
Ooh look, a whole post about the latest US shenanigans: https://thestandard.org.nz/meanwhile-in-america/
US Democratic Party was hi-jacked by the billionaire Hungarian global convicted criminal; – George Soros of course read this;
http://humanevents.com/2011/04/02/top-10-reasons-george-soros-is-dangerous/
https://www.lifesitenews.com/news/pro-abort-billionaire-george-soros-gave-nearly-90-million-to-feminist-anti
https://yournewswire.com/george-soros-lawsuit-impeach-president-trump/
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2017/03/20/george-soros-democracy-alliance-anti-trump-activists-meeting/99417808/
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I for one would appreciate it if you comment over on the dedicated post rather than here.
hes been fisked before over this tirade against US citizen Soros. But we are supposed to go easy because a brain injury makes him pro Trump !
#metoo is in his sights as well….
im confused – what was your leading comment at 2.08 sacha but an invitation to cg?
Sorry, should have clearly written ‘hey go over there instead’.
Yes sacha it seems that cg is getting beyond irony.
I do have sympathy, but it has limits.
This is appalling
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=12137326
So the poor and disadvantaged continue to get pushed down.
There is a reckoning coming…
“So the poor and disadvantaged continue to get pushed down. Their is a reckoning coming…”
What “reckoning ” – please explain with evidence & citations.
lol – weak attempt cg
That is an important story. Social mobility is the exact opposite of what our current system encourages.
And this again exposes the ‘meritocracy’ lie, so loved by National and the right.
But there’s a year free education, that’s supposed to restore the meritocracy
Something wrong there especially if it is Public Money $$$’s ?
Scholarships are a poor way to get poorer people into tertiary education, Essentially it is charity for a chosen few.
I found it strange that I as a parent was asked to pay $75 for my son last century to sit the scholarship exam along with the rest of the class. It was money I could not afford and I paid but he was not outstanding and i could have been paying for the child of some wealthier person.
In old books I read about poor children getting a chance to apply for a scholarship, and presumably there was a scholarship fund which paid out its interest and a little capital to provide. And bequests would keep renewing the fund. Schools now act as if everyone has plenty of discretionary money.
Good effort by these mana whenua – this will become more and more of an issue – help out their givealittle page if you can
http://www.maoritelevision.com/news/regional/matiti-urupa-risk-erosion-wairoa-river
Was China really our quiet friend?
Now the Chinese dragon roars to life; Naval incident again; 5th October 2018.
China is now threatening US warships in the south pacific now and shows China’s increasingly aggressive posture .
https://www.scmp.com/news/china/military/article/2166849/us-chinese-warships-within-metres-collision-south-china-sea
“America accuses Chinese warship of ‘unsafe’ manoeuvres after near collision with USS Decatur in South China Sea
Analysts said the incident shows China’s increasingly aggressive posture in the South China Sea amid an escalating confrontation with the US on both trade and security fronts.”
they think that usa should stop trying to rule the world especially the bits they haven’t bombed or destroyed politically
Turnip futures surge in eastern Romania. Read all about it!
turn up for the books = but you didn’t supply link or context
Texas pork rind shortage too, I hear. Terrible. Up the workers!
Opps !!!!!
There are flaws of ‘witness tampering’ going on inside the anti -Kavanaugh camp now!!! –
https://www.foxnews.com/shows/tucker-carlson-tonight
Worse still now there is another after the ‘Senate’ newly received FBI report has discovered that a witness in the swetnick accusation case has been found to have perjured himself also, – and a probe into that case is now being considered by GOP perhaps to be carried out according to the media..
https://www.foxnews.com/shows/tucker-carlson-tonight
https://theconservativetreehouse.com/2018/10/05/report-fords-fbi-friend-monica-mclean-pressured-witness-to-modify-testimony-and-statement/comment-page-5/
Report: Ford’s FBI Friend, Monica McLean, Pressured Witness To Modify Testimony and Statement…
Posted on October 5, 2018 by sundance
“If you thought it was sketchy that Ms. Christine Blasey-Ford’s life-long best friend was a recently retired FBI agent and DOJ official, Monica McLean {Go Deep}; and if you thought it was sketchy that McLean and Ford were together on July 30th when Ford was writing a letter to Dianne Feinstein, likely making the friend Ms Ford’s “handler” for the operation against Kavanaugh; then it’s even more sketchy today with a report that McLean was pressuring witness Leland Keyser to shape her statements and testimony to the FBI.”
This case against Brett Kavanaugh was a bunch of absoluite litiny of lies and bulllshit, as the FBI ‘supplimental report was released today. Ford said she was never ‘before made familiar or aware before of any way to operate or use a polygraph machine, so she lied right there.
Quote;
“In a twist, Keyser told FBI investigators that she felt pressured to clarify her original statement saying she was unaware of any incident involving Kavanaugh and Ford, according to a Wall Street Journal report. Keyser, who later said she believed Ford even though she could not corroborate her story, told the investigators that she was urged to clarify her statement by Monica McLean, a former FBI agent and friend of Ford’s. (Ford’s ex-boyfriend told the Judiciary Committee that Ford had helped McLean prepare for a polygraph, directly contradicting Ford’s sworn testimony last Thursday).”
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/judiciary-committee-releases-executive-summary-of-supplemental-fbi-report-on-kavanaugh
What’s happening in Gisborne cg? The USA can go to hell in a handcart but I don’t want that to happen to us. Can we keep thinking about NZ and our options for better government and policies?
In two minds about this, kinda glad he got prosecuted, but only 2nd degree murder??!? He got a trial which is somthing which many black americans don’t get.
And have to say I’m pissed at the police response. It like they can look at that video, then shrug, and utter “nothing to see here, move along”
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-10-06/jason-van-dyke-chicago-police-convicted-murder-laquan-mcdonald/10346276
The police unions are a reminder that not all unions are on the side of good.
Yenta Hodge, start packing your bags
http://normanfinkelstein.com/2018/10/03/dame-hodge-start-packing-your-bag/
https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/shows/2018/10/james-shaw-fronts-with-the-welfare-numbers-marama-davidson-forgot.html
I thought about $1 billion for a 20% increase in benefits based on the $5 billion mooted in this year’s Budget, in 1/10/2018 Open Mike discussion on Marama Davidson’s interview.
Shaw calculates $1.5bn for the increase.
Consider what that money would do firstly for the beneficiaries concerned, and secondly what it would do for the local economy since it would be mostly spent in NZ and the profits accrued by the companies getting this extra money then being taxed etc.
A fillip to the economy rather like the 1935 Christmas payment that so boosted the economy in 1935. “As a statement of intent a Christmas bonus was immediately paid to the unemployed and those receiving charitable aid.” https://nzhistory.govt.nz/media/photo/michael-joseph-savage-1935
Interestingly, the article above goes on to say, “In 1936 there was a landslide of legislation aimed at stimulating the economy, including a programme of state house construction.”
What do the wise heads on the Standard say?
Here you go multinational companies selling us there chemicals and Genetic engineering. They don’t let the world see all the negative facts on there cancer causing products the long term side effects so what will these products do to our mokopunas low sperm count rising cancer rates ?? I bet these CEO will be eating organic food.
At a time when we need to change of way of life to respect the future generations and Papatuanuku prospects. This is a time to start farming Organically these organizations are trying to sell us there bad products.
NZ just need to target the high value markets with our produce that is some of the best PRODUCTS in the world . We will not lose our place as one of the best producers of safe food It won’t be long and the world will be chasing our food . Ka kite ano link’s below
SPONSORED CONTENT BY Corteva Agriscience, Agriculture Division of DowDupont
https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/farming/107618005/adopt-ge-or-risk-falling-behind-
competitors-federated-farmers-president
https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/farming/agribusiness/107599053/dramatic-increases-in-yield-a-possibility-for-kiwi-farmers P.S notice the word possibility like could or would
Some Eco Maori Music.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pHq2CELf_Ic
Kia ora Newshub look’s like the alcohol companies sales are dropping Lion is trying to sponsor the mental help health line I give a big KNOW to that move as alcohol is a major problem that causes mental health problems hippercritical business people.
I think its a good move turning the Islands in Tauranga were that container ship sunk into a marine sanctuaries
Why is MPI challenging it in court we need more we need more sanctuaries all around Aotearoa on te whenua and Tangaroa especially as I say the Quote system is not doing the job of protecting our fishes like it was sold to us.
There was a bit of compost coming out of that school and what do you know I can not bring up that story about the school that had the problem {cover—— the compost} story .
It was a good effort by the Sliver Ferns be patient wahine all in good time.
Ka kite ano