IMHO it’s divisiveness that send people offshore, or cause them to stay away permanently; if they find it’s just as safe to live elsewhere, they may as well stay there. The whole NZ is the best place to bring up kids is no longer the case.
[That’s pretty damned close to link-whoring. It’s not welcome anywhere. You get away with it this time because you put into OpenMike, but consider this a polite warning…RL]
[lprent: It is RL. But if you read the policy, It is exactly within the bounds. Link plus small content saying why people should click it, and OpenMike doesn’t have a topic so it is within context….
The policy is deliberately set at that level to allow people to promote their sites. That is how the jackal and others pick up readers. If they keep them is up to their writing and moderation skills. ]
[Errg… too early in the morning to be thinking clearly. You’re right it is exactly in bounds. RL]
Well the NZ Herald answers some. Kiwis need to live in Aussie for a certain number of years now to be elligible for some welfare, e.g.
They must stay two years to be eligible for health cards for low-income-earners and senior citizens. And they must live in Australia continuously for 10 years to receive the dole or sickness or disability benefits for six months, during which time they can get state help to find work.
There have also been well reported issues eg disabled children not getting benefits. Kwis used to be elligible for such welfare immediately before Howard’s government changed the laws.
The lawsuit comes after a flurry of discrimination cases involving New Zealanders living in Australia, including a nine-year-old autistic boy in Western Australia who was not allowed access to disability services, and Kiwis denied disaster recovery payouts after last summer’s Queensland floods.
All Australians who intend to live in New Zealand for more than two years are entitled to claim the same social services as Kiwis.
The question is of course, what did we give up in order to get any concession from the Australians? Given that this was a joint-cabinet meeting under the auspices of CER what kinds of things could be on the table? Australia has a heap of cashed up pension funds, we have a heap of state assets that need to raise funds from a local populace who simply doesn’t have the cash to pay the sums the current Government needs to make the books balance. Perhaps a loop-hole to the Kiwimumsndads rhetoric based on the claim we cannot exclude equal participation by Australians under our international commitments?
Australia has a heap of cashed up pension funds, we have a heap of state assets that need to raise funds from a local populace who simply doesn’t have the cash to pay the sums the current Government needs to make the books balance.
Wrong. All that this government needed to do to make the books balance and pay for the needed investment was to raise taxes on the rich. In fact, this is a good example of why we can’t afford rich people.
Except, of course our brightest students who are actively courted by well funded Australian universities to re-locate to Australia as soon as they finish secondary school with the promise of residency on graduation.
And it looks like more of or productive land is going to a foreign buyer, and the buyer will convert this land from farming to forestry – not the best use of NZ land at a time when the world will be faced with food shortages:
A mysterious foreign buyer could be just days away from snapping up more than 2000 hectares of eastern Taranaki farmland in a deal that locals fear will destroy their community.
An application for approval to buy four beef and sheep farms for conversion to pine forestry in the Whangamomona-Tahora area was lodged with the Overseas Investment Office (OIO) in the middle of last year.
It is believed the office is just days away from deciding whether the deal can go through.
Colin Couchman, of Shamrock Station at Kohuratahi, is expecting the purchase to go ahead despite offers on at least two of the farms from neighbouring farmers.
“The only ones that are reasonably happy are the ones trying to sell. A lot of people don’t want it but they don’t want to put pen to paper,” he said.
“I haven’t got a problem with overseas investors. I have got a problem with them changing the land use. We are a very small community out here. If you let four properties go to pine we lose four families and you need everyone here working just to keep the community going.”
Mr Couchman said he wanted to buy one of the farms and employ people to run it but his offer could not compete with that made by the foreign investor.
And not only are we losing productive farm lands, and possibly (not clear from the article), profits going offshore, but wealthy foreign investors (including the likes of James Cameron), push up the price of NZ land, putting it out of reach of large numbers of ordinary Kiwis. And there will be negative knock-on effects from all that on the NZ economy, employment, spending power etc.
And just to note I’m as opposed to this land sale as well as all the others to overseas buyers.
Once again local farmers are priced out of the market to those with bigger overseas wallets.
Exactly. I read the same article with a sinking heart. The thing people must understand is that this land alienation process is not self-limiting.
The rest of the world is vastly larger than New Zealand, and it’s elites and their corporate vehicles have access to funds far cheaper than us. They can ALWAYS outbid the local buyers if they want, and right now they seem to want to.
You can’t build a nation when so many of the leaders and owners of that nation are short term minded sell-outs.
EDIT the true madness is the selling of our hard, productive, strategic assets for computer generated, printed fiat paper currency which is being constantly debased and devalued. And which will be worthless in a few years.
Its hard to say, Postie. There is a culture amongst farmers to see the Tories as their natural political home and the history supports that, as National was formed out of the merger of two conservative parties, one urban, the other rural. And farms are businesses, so the usual business support networks reinforce that link.
However, their staff are a puzzle. I guess decades of non-unionisation, semi-feudal working conditions and the vague promise of making it as a farm owner themselves keeps them aloof from the alternatives. Certainly, Labour are seen as the party of townies, pooftahs and bludgers (ie anyone who doesn’t do a ‘real’ job).
However, it is encouraging to see in the small rural town that I call home that the Crafar Farm decision has pissed a lot of them off. They know damn well that the consolidation of small farms and holdings into Kiwi owned dairy conglomerates mean that entering the farming game is going to get harder and harder for individuals. But, even worse is selling our farms off to overseas buyers, because the control of the industry will shift out of our hands altogether in quick time if it is not stopped.
Actually, I think changing to forestry is a good idea as it will help to clean up the pollution from the previous use and the neighbouring farms. Would prefer natives to pines though and a domestic buyer.
A recent offshore oil industry disaster which seems to have escaped notice in the NZ MSM is a gas rig explosion and fire off the Nigerian coast on 16 January. Pollution is continuing and the fire is still burning. Chevron says it could be burning for another month before they drill a relief well and hopefully kill the fire.
This is at the same time as Chevron is being prosecuted for an oil spill off the coast of Brazil last November. Federal police have recommended charges be brought against 17 employees of Chevron and Transocean, including Chevron’s president in Brazil, George Buck. The police found that Chevron and Transocean had committed environmental damage and withheld information, the officer leading the investigation, Fabio Scliar, said. “”I am utterly convinced that the company’s institutional policy is reckless and irresponsible.
I wonder how these disasters and the authorities’ responses are being viewed by the New Zealand Petroleum and Minerals division, which is actively approaching oil companies (including Chevron) to encourage exploration in NZ’s offshore basins?
“The new policy allowed “shaping of bid rounds over the next decade or more”, and a “mix and match approach for different kinds of opportunities.”
– Seems like long term plans are already in the pipeline, and more opportunities to rape NZ of its resources
“That’s the intelligent way to approach the industry,” Clarke said, who said New Zealand’s six million square kilometre Exclusive Economic Zone represented an enormous opportunity, at one-fifth the size of continental Africa.
– Strategic consultant Duncan Clarke, of Global Pacific & Partners, who also assisted in selecting attendees – So he was part of the team who assisted in “targeting” participants – No chance he could be comprimised (will have to check who he has worked for)
He (Clarke) dismissed concerns about the environmental dangers of deepwater drilling as “illogical”, saying the same argument could be equally applied to shallow water drilling.
– So Clarke confirms that drilling of any type is in fact an environmental danger – Thanks, that will help steer our government away from mining!
The big issue is unlocking national wealth. It’s a vote for poverty not to do it. Maybe New Zealand is rich enough to afford that, but I doubt it. In the developing world, no one is in the position to indulge that view”
– Clarke again shows his poor selling skills, and corrupted nature by stating “its a vote for poverty (like we will, as a nation be getting rich out of this, and he confirms that stance with his “in the developing world no one is in a position to indulge that view” comments, because of course in the developing world their “natural is wealth unlocked” too for the nations benefit eh Duncan, and like NZ, the opposing voices and views will not be indulged!
More is revealed of the right’s vision for the poor of tomorrow.
Now that the plans for reducing wages, benefits, work safety, job security, privacy, human rights, health and education services, are well underway it’s time for phase two.
As well as being ready at all times, day and night, for the privilege of wiping some rich person’s arse, for a pittance, in any conditions, the poor are to gradually become inured to harvesting their bodies more directly, as crash-test dummies for drugs and medical proceedures they will never be able to afford for their themselves and their families.
From the herald today:
The health of patients who take part in treatment trials may be put in danger by Government changes to ethics committees, says a group of academics.
After a health select committee inquiry last year into making New Zealand more attractive to companies wanting to run clinical trials, .
Nek minnit they’ll be “relaxing the rules” on selling organs, and other human tissue, and discrete, exclusive holiday resort clinics will start popping up to cater for the uber-rich international elite medical proceedure market.
The future’s so bright we’ll all be wearing shades.
Yeah and when the drug trials fuck up and our citizens wear the long term injury, its our health budget which will be hit looking after them, while the drug companies go along their merry way making their profits but accepting none of the responsibilities or the costs.
Yeah…often these drugs trials are the last hope of some terminally ill patients, you fucken idiot.
You’d grab the chance too if your doctor told you nothing else could be done.
Know people who’ve been in the situation….they are desperate to get on one of these trials.
[Wayne… your constant abuse of other commenters is getting tiresome. No-one is lily-pure in this respect, but there is an upper limit, one that you are treading close to. It’s not that any of us haven’t heard it all before, but that kind of language is nothing more than a crude attempt to derail, shame and shutdown the debate. And that isn’t tolerated here. ..RL]
Yeah? What percentage of all drug trials worldwide are for drugs for “terminally ill cancer patients”?
You do realise that most drug trials are conducted on healthy people who are participating for money? It’s already happening here now. How does undermining our current ethical controls benefit these participants? Who are the main beneficiaries – keeping in mind that just a small percentage of trialled drugs are found to be safe and useful enough to ever hit the market?
Yeah…often these drugs trials are the last hope of some terminally ill patients, you fucken idiot.
You’d grab the chance too if your doctor told you nothing else could be done.
Know people who’ve been in the situation….they are desperate to get on one of these trials.
There’s often a good reason why over 90% of drugs which enter phase I human trials never make it to market, or are pulled off the market very quickly (within 5 years) even if they are launched.
Such as, they do more harm than good. And when they do harm – who picks up the pieces? Why our health service and our health dollars.
Iain Parker from Public Credit or bust got me on to this amazing lecture of a lady called Joan Veon who sadly passed away due to cancer in Oktober 2010 . If you want to understand the evil that is the international banker take over this is what to watch and be in awe of her insight as all she spoke about is unfolding with terrifying speed/
And let me take this opportunity to say thank you for allowing these links on the open mike because it is one way in which we can all educate each other about the situation we are finding ourselves in and it is much appreciated.
It’s kind of funny that Simon Collins is still employed by the rampantly right-wing rag that pushes National lines in every editorial. Good on him, though.
If I gave out Canon Media Awards he would win one every year.
Herald have a few, mccarten is another but note the timing, a long weekend, frequency and placement versus those given to shills like Fran, Armstrong, coddrignton etc etc.
I’d be great to see them alongside each other but that would be balance…..can’t have that now.
At one level “Isaac best candidate for education task force” is bizarre, but possibly it was intended to be a spoof – or at least a demonstration of the madness of the National mindset that only political appointees can implement public sector change. “Private hands will steer mixed-model assets” raises some important issues both aboutthe decisions that are being made and the cynicism of National’s spin machine.
Righto, participatory democracy time, Standardistas!
I’ve been considering changing my handle from The Voice of Reason to something less confrontational. I’m using the te Reo version today (thanks, Hateatea) and while it has the same meaning, it doesn’t seem quite as pompous as the English words, possibly because maori is such a beautiful language.
I would be interested in the views of my fellow posters. Stay with The Voice of Reason, shorten that to TVoR or go forward with Te Reo Putake? Whaddya reckon?
I like it too. I also think Maori is a beautiful language and I often wish I had taken the time to dust off my Te Reo tutor audio tape and booklet and get stuck in. I vividly recall holidaying in Moorea several years ago and stayed at a Government run hotel, similar to our old Tourist Hotel Corporation hotels. I was totally gobsmacked that the local staff [Tahitian] were fluent in French, Tahitian [Maori?] and English – and I struggle with the intricacies of English at times!
Infometrics does seem to have some very far-right ideas, with simplistic mantra outweighing reasoned argument. One that I do have some agreement with is http://www.infometrics.co.nz/article.asp?id=5709
which talks about bail-outs through nationalisation rather than effectively giving money away.
Again they are too simplistic – such a “single solution” policy could trigger big problems in market confidence; better to require banks to be required to issue shares to the government at a price agreed with the government whenever more than trivial overnight support is required, with the bank being required to re-purchase at market value when they have sufficient capital to make the purchase. That way a small crisis may be able to be covered by a sale of shares at say 90% of market value – and a large crisis becoming effectively a takeover at a much smaller percentage of market value.
Labour has been calling for more flexibility in the way the Reserve Bank operates – there should be as few restrictions as possible in the way in which they should be able to act in the interests of the country.
More neo-liberal BS. The taxes are bad, WAAAAGH without any appreciation of the dead weight loss of profit (more accurately described as a tax than actual taxes). Profit* is a direct tax on the work of other people.
* I view profit as anything above what you need to live a reasonable standard of living.
I don’t lose any sleep at night because society has voted in governments who spend and tax at a level I personally think is excessive.
Yes he does or he wouldn’t be writing an entire column in the NZHerald about it.
Another inconsistent tax policy is Labour’s proposed $5000 tax-free threshold. On the surface it might look like this policy is targeted at low-income earners, but even John Key would receive the full value of the tax cut as the first $5000 of his income would be tax-free.
And the tax increase on his income over hundred and something thousand which would more than offset the small amount from the tax free bracket.
Again, this revenue would need to be raised in other ways, unless spending were cut (which would have been unlikely if Labour and the Greens had formed the current government).
It was more likely than under National or Act. Holiday Highways anyone?
Tax should be seen as a means to raise revenue and not as a way to deliver welfare or meet political objectives.
And this is where he really loses touch with reality. Looking after the people in the community is a function of government and the most efficient way to raise the funds (while we’re working in a financial rather than a real system) is taxes, charity doesn’t cut it. And taxes are always for political ends and it’s the people supposedly voting for those ends.
Commentators above have already noted the Herald article on inequality. But did they see the Len Brown quoted at the end.
The first draft Auckland Plan, due to be finalised by the council next month, proposes a vision of “a strong and equitable society”. Mayor Len Brown says the plan will aim for “equality of opportunity”.
“I’m setting a platform in place so that everyone feels included in the city. That in this city, no matter where they are living, they have the very best opportunities for getting an excellent education, then opportunities for jobs, and then opportunities for raising their families and living a great life.”
In todays Herald we read that ardent Royalist John Key has invited the Prince of Wales to a tour of Aotearoa .Bloody hell ! will we never be free from those parasites and upholders of the awful British class system ?
I expect we all will be embarassed by Key bobbing up and down and touching his forlock . All in the cause of his future knighthood so he can go and live in his overseas mansions and be called Sir John.
There’s an encouraging post and follow up comments from David Cunliffe today. He talks about the need for sustainability in relation to the rising cost of fuel, the need for getting along side people who make a difference (including the unions) rather than a top down approach:
So our constituency is not just the so-called ‘underclass’; it is most New Zealanders.
No-one wants to be poor.
Every Kiwi kid deserves good fresh food, a few treats and trips to the beach.
Being poor is grinding and demoralising.
It takes all your time; and your gut turns when your kids go without.
[…]
In terms of the 1% reference: no apologies – according to Prof Robert Wade of Cambridge University, since the Reagan era the top 1% have appropriated somethinglike 75% of the net increase in GDP in the US in Europe. Also such incredible concentration of wealth correlates with high instability in financial markets, bubbles and deleveraging. In other words, extreme inequality is not even good for capitalism. Free market capitalism eats its own young in the end.
[…]
Hence my comment about getting alongside those in our community that are making a difference – including unions – and being an active but engaging, listening and partnering state.
[…]
Sustainablity (like sovereignty and identity) must be integral to everything we do.
Yes I enjoyed reading David Cunliffe’s post too. Good to see further credit to Simon Collins’s article, as already given by Blue earlier today in Open Mike, by both David and Trevor on Red Alert. The reality of how difficult living on low wages is needs to be constantly in the public arena.
Race Relations Commissioner Joris de Bres criticised those Pakeha who still resisted moves to give “special treatment” to disadvantaged Maori, thousands of whom suffered inequality.
I am a Pekeha who came to New Zealand in 1986 and became a citizen in 2002. I and my children deserve to be accorded all the rights and responsibilities of citizenship. There should only ever be one class of citizenship. I have never and will never discriminate against any of my fellow citizens. I can support “special treatment” for my fellow citizens based on need. In doing so I will be gender blind, religion blind and race blind. I will be blind to any other non-need factors be it hair colour or sexual preference or political persuasion.
I am one of the Pakeha citizens of New Zealand whom Joris de Bres criticises. I do strongly object and resist moves to give “special treatment” purely due to the race of some citizens. I do so because I believe in one class of citizenship irrespective of race. His racial preference views are incompatible with his role.
Always easy for someone new and privileged in this land to criticise the long standing and under privileged eh. What is the indigenous history of NZ to you? Nothing. And nothing is always easily dismissed.
In doing so I will be gender blind, religion blind and race blind. I will be blind to any other non-need factors be it hair colour or sexual preference or political persuasion.
Blind to history, and therefore blind to the present too. Describes yourself perfectly.
Hi Viped
How goes the past? Still there? As you said 27/01/2012
“My personal hope is that we are able to maintain a 1940′s and 1950′s lifestyle (with specific technical advancements) here in NZ, for the long term.”
Found a Black&White TV yet? Hope the programs are riveting.
To us in 2012 – this “world view” is still hilarious.
There is the rather famous quote from Thomas Jefferson; “There is nothing more unequal than the equal treatment of unequals” that is highly pertinent here.
Since Jefferson said this quote the much has changed, making it perhaps a less than helpful guide in modernity. A liberal will see the quote and agree in the name of equality we need to treat people differently since some have been given more than others to start.
While a conservative will see the quote and agree that nothing is more unequal than punishing the successful in the name of the unsuccessful.
Strict equality under the law would demand that we treat everyone the same under that law, with no difference shown to the anyone regardless of economic status. This is the position Fisiani is expressing.
On the other hand equality of conditions, or opportunities, demands that equality can only exist when there is equality at an economic and social level. Colonial Viper responded with this.
Both are advocating for something they are calling equality, but are working with two different concepts of it.
Well this will be a challenge for the EU carbon charge for airlines :
China has banned its airlines from paying the new European Union carbon charge, state news agency Xinhua has reported – stepping up the international battle over the scheme.
The levy applies to all airlines flying to and from EU countries. Companies that do not comply face fines and ultimately could be banned from using EU airports.
The Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) said on Monday that airlines were not allowed to pay the EU charge, increase freight costs or add other fees, according to Xinhua. It cited authorisation from the state council, China’s cabinet.
Hinting at possible retaliation, Xinhua added: “China will consider adopting necessary measures to protect interests of Chinese individuals and companies, pending the development of the issue.”
An opening position for an upcoming EU/China summit? e.g. drop the charge and we’ll give you bailout money? The EU are not going to ground Chinese flights, are they?
It also opens up a concerted attack on the charges from other opposed nations e.g. the U.S and India.
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I never mentioned anythingAbout the songs that I would singOver the summer, when we'd go on tourAnd sleep on floors and drink the bad beerI think I left it unclearSong: Bad Beer.Songwriter: Jacob Starnes Ewald.Last night, I was watching a movie with Fi and the kids when I glanced ...
Last night I spoke about the second inauguration of Donald Trump with in a ‘pop-up’ Hoon live video chat on the Substack app on phones.Here’s the summary of the lightly edited video above:Trump's actions signify a shift away from international law.The imposition of tariffs could lead to increased inflation ...
An interesting article in Stuff a few weeks ago asked a couple of interesting questions in it’s headline, “How big can Auckland get? And how big is too big?“. Unfortunately, the article doesn’t really answer those questions, instead focusing on current growth projections, but there were a few aspects to ...
Today is Donald J Trump’s second inauguration ceremony.I try not to follow too much US news, and yet these developments are noteworthy and somehow relevant to us here.Only hours in, parts of their Project 2025 ‘think/junk tank’ policies — long planned and signalled — are already live:And Elon Musk, who ...
How long is it going to take for the MAGA faithful to realise that those titans of Big Tech and venture capital sitting up close to Donald Trump this week are not their allies, but The Enemy? After all, the MAGA crowd are the angry victims left behind by the ...
California Burning: The veteran firefighters of California and Los Angeles called it “a perfect storm”. The hillsides and canyons were full of “fuel”. The LA Fire Department was underfunded, below-strength, and inadequately-equipped. A key reservoir was empty, leaving fire-hydrants without the water pressure needed for fire hoses. The power companies had ...
The Waitangi Tribunal has been one of the most effective critics of the government, pointing out repeatedly that its racist, colonialist policies breach te Tiriti o Waitangi. While it has no powers beyond those of recommendation, its truth-telling has clearly gotten under the government's skin. They had already begun to ...
I don't mind where you come fromAs long as you come to meBut I don't like illusionsI can't see them clearlyI don't care, no I wouldn't dareTo fix the twist in youYou've shown me eventually what you'll doSong: Shimon Moore, Emma Anzai, Antonina Armato, and Tim James.National Hugging Day.Today, January ...
Is Rwanda turning into a country that seeks regional dominance and exterminates its rivals? This is a contention examined by Dr Michela Wrong, and Dr Maria Armoudian. Dr Wrong is a journalist who has written best-selling books on Africa. Her latest, Do Not Disturb. The story of a political murder ...
The economy isn’t cooperating with the Government’s bet that lower interest rates will solve everything, with most metrics indicating per-capita GDP is still contracting faster and further than at any time since the 1990-96 series of government spending and welfare cuts. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāLong stories short in ...
Hi,Today is the day sexual assaulter and alleged rapist Donald Trump officially became president (again).I was in a meeting for three hours this morning, so I am going to summarise what happened by sharing my friend’s text messages:So there you go.Welcome to American hell — which includes all of America’s ...
This is a re-post from the Climate BrinkI have a new paper out today in the journal Dialogues on Climate Change exploring both the range of end-of-century climate outcomes in the literature under current policies and the broader move away from high-end emissions scenarios. Current policies are defined broadly as policies in ...
Long story short: I chatted last night with ’s on the substack app about the appointment of Chris Bishop to replace Simeon Brown as Transport Minister. We talked through their different approaches and whether there’s much room for Bishop to reverse many of the anti-cycling measures Brown adopted.Our chat ...
Last night I chatted with Northland emergency doctor on the substack app for subscribers about whether the appointment of Simeon Brown to replace Shane Reti as Health Minister. We discussed whether the new minister can turn around decades of under-funding in real and per-capita terms. Our chat followed his ...
Christopher Luxon is every dismal boss who ever made you wince, or roll your eyes, or think to yourself I have absolutely got to get the hell out of this place.Get a load of what he shared with us at his cabinet reshuffle, trying to be all sensitive and gracious.Dr ...
The text of my submission to the Ministry of Health's unnecessary and politicised review of the use of puberty blockers for young trans and nonbinary people in Aotearoa. ...
Hi,Last night one of the world’s biggest social media platforms, TikTok, became inaccessible in the United States.Then, today, it came back online.Why should we care about a social network that deals in dance trends and cute babies? Well — TikTok represents a lot more than that.And its ban and subsequent ...
Sometimes I wake in the middle of the nightAnd rub my achin' old eyesIs that a voice from inside-a my headOr does it come down from the skies?"There's a time to laugh butThere's a time to weepAnd a time to make a big change"Wake-up you-bum-the-time has-comeTo arrange and re-arrange and ...
Former Health Minister Shane Reti was the main target of Luxon’s reshuffle. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāLong stories short to start the year in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, poverty and climate: Christopher Luxon fired Shane Reti as Health Minister and replaced him with Simeon Brown, who Luxon sees ...
Yesterday, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon announced a cabinet reshuffle, which saw Simeon Brown picking up the Health portfolio as it’s been taken off Dr Shane Reti, and Transport has been given to Chris Bishop. Additionally, Simeon’s energy and local government portfolios now sit with Simon Watts. This is very good ...
The sacking of Health Minister Shane Reti yesterday had an air of panic about it. A media advisory inviting journalists to a Sunday afternoon press conference at Premier House went out on Saturday night. Caucus members did not learn that even that was happening until yesterday morning. Reti’s fate was ...
Yesterday’s demotion of Shane Reti was inevitable. Reti’s attempt at a re-assuring bedside manner always did have a limited shelf life, and he would have been a poor and apologetic salesman on the campaign trail next year. As a trained doctor, he had every reason to be looking embarrassed about ...
A listing of 25 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, January 12, 2025 thru Sat, January 18, 2025. This week's roundup is again published soleley by category. We are still interested in feedback to hone the categorization, so if ...
After another substantial hiatus from online Chess, I’ve been taking it up again. I am genuinely terrible at five-minute Blitz, what with the tight time constraints, though I periodically con myself into thinking that I have been improving. But seeing as my past foray into Chess led to me having ...
Rise up o children wont you dance with meRise up little children come and set me freeRise little ones riseNo shame no fearDon't you know who I amSongwriter: Rebecca Laurel FountainI’m sure you know the go with this format. Some memories, some questions, letsss go…2015A decade ago, I made the ...
In 2017, when Ghahraman was elected to Parliament as a Green MP, she recounted both the highlights and challenges of her role -There was love, support, and encouragement.And on the flipside, there was intense, visceral and unchecked hate.That came with violent threats - many of them. More on that later.People ...
It gives me the biggest kick to learn that something I’ve enthused about has been enough to make you say Go on then, I'm going to do it. The e-bikes, the hearing aids, the prostate health, the cheese puffs. And now the solar power. Yes! Happy to share the details.We ...
Skeptical Science is partnering with Gigafact to produce fact briefs — bite-sized fact checks of trending claims. This fact brief was written by Sue Bin Park from the Gigafact team in collaboration with members from our team. You can submit claims you think need checking via the tipline. Can CO2 be ...
The old bastard left his ties and his suitA brown box, mothballs and bowling shoesAnd his opinion so you'd never have to choosePretty soon, you'll be an old bastard tooYou get smaller as the world gets bigThe more you know you know you don't know shit"The whiz man" will never ...
..Thanks for reading Frankly Speaking ! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.The Numbers2024 could easily have been National’s “Annus Horribilis” and 2025 shows no signs of a reprieve for our Landlord PM Chris Luxon and his inept Finance Minister Nikki “Noboats” Willis.Several polls last year ...
This Friday afternoon, Māori Development Minister Tama Potaka announced an overhaul of the Waitangi Tribunal.The government has effectively cleared house - appointing 8 new members - and combined with October’s appointment of former ACT leader Richard Prebble, that’s 9 appointees.[I am not certain, but can only presume, Prebble went in ...
The state of the current economy may be similar to when National left office in 2017.In December, a couple of days after the Treasury released its 2024 Half Year Economic and Fiscal Update (HEYFU24), Statistics New Zealand reported its estimate for volume GDP for the previous September 24 quarter. Instead ...
So what becomes of you, my love?When they have finally stripped you ofThe handbags and the gladragsThat your poor old granddadHad to sweat to buy you, babySongwriter: Mike D'aboIn yesterday’s newsletter, I expressed sadness at seeing Golriz Ghahraman back on the front pages for shoplifting. As someone who is no ...
It’s Friday and time for another roundup of things that caught our attention this week. This post, like all our work, is brought to you by a largely volunteer crew and made possible by generous donations from our readers and fans. If you’d like to support our work, you can join ...
Note: This Webworm discusses sexual assault and rape. Please read with care.Hi,A few weeks ago I reported on how one of New Zealand’s richest men, Nick Mowbray (he and his brother own Zuru and are worth an estimated $20 billion), had taken to sharing posts by a British man called ...
The final Atlas Network playbook puzzle piece is here, and it slipped in to Aotearoa New Zealand with little fan fare or attention. The implications are stark.Today, writes Dr Bex, the submission for the Crimes (Countering Foreign Interference) Amendment Bill closes: 11:59pm January 16, 2025.As usual, the language of the ...
The Green Party is calling on the Government to stand firm and work with allies to progress climate action as Donald Trump signals his intent to pull out of the Paris Climate Accords once again. ...
The Green Party has welcomed the provisional ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas, and reiterated its call for New Zealand to push for an end to the unlawful occupation of Palestine. ...
The Green Party welcomes the extension of the deadline for Treaty Principles Bill submissions but continues to call on the Government to abandon the Bill. ...
Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters has announced three new diplomatic appointments. “Our diplomats play an important role in ensuring New Zealand’s interests are maintained and enhanced across the world,” Mr Peters says. “It is a pleasure to announce the appointment of these senior diplomats from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and ...
Ki te kahore he whakakitenga, ka ngaro te Iwi – without a vision, the people will perish. The Government has achieved its target to reduce the number of households in emergency housing motels by 75 per cent five years early, Associate Housing Minister Tama Potaka says. The number of households ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has announced the new membership of the Public Advisory Committee on Disarmament and Arms Control (PACDAC), who will serve for a three-year term. “The Committee brings together wide-ranging expertise relevant to disarmament. We have made six new appointments to the Committee and reappointed two existing members ...
Ka nui te mihi kia koutou. Kia ora, good morning, talofa, malo e lelei, bula vinaka, da jia hao, namaste, sat sri akal, assalamu alaikum. It’s so great to be here and I’m ready and pumped for 2025. Can I start by acknowledging: Simon Bridges – CEO of the Auckland ...
The Government has unveiled a bold new initiative to position New Zealand as a premier destination for foreign direct investment (FDI) that will create higher paying jobs and grow the economy. “Invest New Zealand will streamline the investment process and provide tailored support to foreign investors, to increase capital investment ...
Science, Innovation and Technology Minister Judith Collins today announced the largest reset of the New Zealand science system in more than 30 years with reforms which will boost the economy and benefit the sector. “The reforms will maximise the value of the $1.2 billion in government funding that goes into ...
Turbocharging New Zealand’s economic growth is the key to brighter days ahead for all Kiwis, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon says. In the Prime Minister’s State of the Nation Speech in Auckland today, Christopher Luxon laid out the path to the prosperity that will affect all aspects of New Zealanders’ lives. ...
The latest set of accounts show the Government has successfully checked the runaway growth of public spending, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. “In the previous government’s final five months in office, public spending was almost 10 per cent higher than for the same period the previous year. “That is completely ...
The Government’s welfare reforms are delivering results with the number of people moving off benefits into work increasing year-on-year for six straight months. “There are positive signs that our welfare reset and the return consequences for job seekers who don't fulfil their obligations to prepare for or find a job ...
Jon Kroll and Aimee McCammon have been appointed to the New Zealand Film Commission Board, Arts Minister Paul Goldsmith says. “I am delighted to appoint these two new board members who will bring a wealth of industry, governance, and commercial experience to the Film Commission. “Jon Kroll has been an ...
Finance Minister Nicola Willis has hailed a drop in the domestic component of inflation, saying it increases the prospect of mortgage rate reductions and a lower cost of living for Kiwi households. Stats NZ reported today that inflation was 2.2 per cent in the year to December, the second consecutive ...
Two new appointed members and one reappointed member of the Employment Relations Authority have been announced by Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Brooke van Velden today. “I’m pleased to announce the new appointed members Helen van Druten and Matthew Piper to the Employment Relations Authority (ERA) and welcome them to ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has delivered a refreshed team focused on unleashing economic growth to make people better off, create more opportunities for business and help us afford the world-class health and education Kiwis deserve. “Last year, we made solid progress on the economy. Inflation has fallen significantly and now ...
Veterans’ Affairs and a pan-iwi charitable trust have teamed up to extend the reach and range of support available to veterans in the Bay of Plenty, Veterans Minister Chris Penk says. “A major issue we face is identifying veterans who are eligible for support,” Mr Penk says. “Incredibly, we do ...
A host of new appointments will strengthen the Waitangi Tribunal and help ensure it remains fit for purpose, Māori Development Minister Tama Potaka says. “As the Tribunal nears its fiftieth anniversary, the appointments coming on board will give it the right balance of skills to continue its important mahi hearing ...
Almost 22,000 FamilyBoost claims have been paid in the first 15 days of the year, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. The ability to claim for FamilyBoost’s second quarter opened on January 1, and since then 21,936 claims have been paid. “I’m delighted people have made claiming FamilyBoost a priority on ...
The Government has delivered a funding boost to upgrade critical communication networks for Maritime New Zealand and Coastguard New Zealand, ensuring frontline search and rescue services can save lives and keep Kiwis safe on the water, Transport Minister Simeon Brown and Associate Transport Minister Matt Doocey say. “New Zealand has ...
Mahi has begun that will see dozens of affordable rental homes developed in Gisborne - a sign the Government’s partnership with Iwi is enabling more homes where they’re needed most, Associate Housing Minister Tama Potaka says. Mr Potaka attended a sod-turning ceremony to mark the start of earthworks for 48 ...
New Zealand welcomes the ceasefire deal to end hostilities in Gaza, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says. “Over the past 15 months, this conflict has caused incomprehensible human suffering. We acknowledge the efforts of all those involved in the negotiations to bring an end to the misery, particularly the US, Qatar ...
The Associate Minster of Transport has this week told the community that work is progressing to ensure they have a secure and suitable shipping solution in place to give the Island certainty for its future. “I was pleased with the level of engagement the Request for Information process the Ministry ...
Associate Health Minister David Seymour says he is proud of the Government’s commitment to increasing medicines access for New Zealanders, resulting in a big uptick in the number of medicines being funded. “The Government is putting patients first. In the first half of the current financial year there were more ...
New Zealand's first-class free trade deal and investment treaty with the United Arab Emirates (UAE) have been signed. In Abu Dhabi, together with UAE President His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed, New Zealand Prime Minister, Christopher Luxon, witnessed the signing of the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) and accompanying investment treaty ...
The latest NZIER Quarterly Survey of Business Opinion, which shows the highest level of general business confidence since 2021, is a sign the economy is moving in the right direction, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. “When businesses have the confidence to invest and grow, it means more jobs and higher ...
Events over the last few weeks have highlighted the importance of strong biosecurity to New Zealand. Our staff at the border are increasingly vigilant after German authorities confirmed the country's first outbreak of foot and mouth disease (FMD) in nearly 40 years on Friday in a herd of water buffalo ...
Associate Justice Minister Nicole McKee reminds the public that they now have an opportunity to have their say on the rewrite of the Arms Act 1983. “As flagged prior to Christmas, the consultation period for the Arms Act rewrite has opened today and will run through until 28 February 2025,” ...
Complaints about disruptive behaviour now handled in around 13 days (down from around 60 days a year ago) 553 Section 55A notices issued by Kāinga Ora since July 2024, up from 41 issued during the same period in the previous year. Of that 553, first notices made up around 83 ...
The time it takes to process building determinations has improved significantly over the last year which means fewer delays in homes being built, Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk says. “New Zealand has a persistent shortage of houses. Making it easier and quicker for new homes to be built will ...
Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden is pleased to announce the annual list of New Zealand’s most popular baby names for 2024. “For the second consecutive year, Noah has claimed the top spot for boys with 250 babies sharing the name, while Isla has returned to the most popular ...
Work is set to get underway on a new bus station at Westgate this week. A contract has been awarded to HEB Construction to start a package of enabling works to get the site ready in advance of main construction beginning in mid-2025, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says.“A new Westgate ...
Minister for Children and for Prevention of Family and Sexual Violence Karen Chhour is encouraging people to use the resources available to them to get help, and to report instances of family and sexual violence amongst their friends, families, and loved ones who are in need. “The death of a ...
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Unemployment in New Zealand is forecast to soar back to pandemic levels – rising from 4.8 percent in the last quarter of 2024 to 5.5 by mid-year.The good news is, it should improve after that.But that can’t come soon enough for those who have already lost a job and can’t ...
Equitable urban liveability is challenged by housing affordability, environmental pressures, and increasing uncertainties about participation rights in urban planning. The Fast-track Approvals Bill, for example, has raised uncertainties about community input and environmental stewardship also for housing projects, exposing systemic disparities rooted in colonialism and market-driven systems.This raises an important ...
The election of Donald Trump to a second term as President of the United States will have widespread effects and consequences around the world. These effects will not be restricted to the United States.Grounds for apprehension exist considering his record in the same office between 2016 and 2020. Given his ...
Pacific Media Watch Among his first official acts on returning to the White House, President Donald Trump issued an executive order “restoring freedom of speech and ending federal censorship”. Implicit in this vaguely written document: the United States is done fighting mis- and disinformation online, reports the Paris-based global media ...
At Rātana commemorations on Friday Christopher Luxon repeated his mantra that National would vote down the Act-authored Government Bill at its second reading. ...
The prime minister says he can mend the relationship with Māori after the bill is voted down, and he would refuse a future referendum in the next election's coalition negotiations. ...
By Lagipoiva Cherelle Jackson For Doddy Morris, a journalist with the Vanuatu Daily Post, the 7.3 magnitude earthquake that struck Vanuatu last month on December 17, 2024, was more than just a story — it was a personal tragedy. Amid the chaos, Morris learned his brother, an Anglican priest, had ...
Rupert Murdoch’s News Corporation has misled the Australian Parliament and is liable to prosecution — not that government will lift a finger to enforce the law, reports Michael West Media.SPECIAL REPORT:By Michael West Rupert Murdoch’s News Corporation has misled the Australian Parliament. In a submission to the Senate, ...
Opinion: Architecture has the power to shape our lives, not only in our homes and workplaces but in the public spaces that we all share. Civic architecture – our public libraries, train stations, swimming pools, schools, and other community facilities – is more than just functional infrastructure.These buildings are the ...
Asia Pacific Report A co-founder of a national Palestinian solidarity network in Aotearoa New Zealand today praised the “heroic” resilience and sacrifice of the people of Gaza in the face of Israel’s ruthless attempt to destroy the besieged enclave of more than 2 million people. Speaking at the first solidarity ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra Neale Daniher, a campaigner in the fight against motor neurone disease and a former champion Essendon footballer, is the 2025 Australian of the Year, Himself a sufferer from the deadly disease Daniher, 63, who ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra Peter Dutton has chosen a dark horse in naming David Coleman for the key shadow foreign affairs portfolio, in a reshuffle that also seeks to boost the opposition’s credentials with women. Coleman has been ...
By Harry Pearl of BenarNews Vanuatu’s top lawyer has called out the United States for “bad behavior” after newly inaugurated President Donald Trump withdrew the world’s biggest historic emitter of greenhouse gasses from the Paris Agreement for a second time. The Pacific nation’s Attorney-General Arnold Loughman, who led Vanuatu’s landmark ...
ACT leader David Seymour is being slammed for his "extreme right-wing policies" after saying Aotearoa needs to get past its "squeamishness" about privatisation. ...
By Moera Tuilaepa-Taylor, RNZ Pacific manager RNZ International (RNZI) began broadcasting to the Pacific region 35 years ago — on 24 January 1990, the same day the Auckland Commonwealth Games opened. Its news bulletins and programmes were carried by a brand new 100kW transmitter. The service was rebranded as RNZ ...
If you believe Prime Minister Chris Luxon economic growth will solve our problems and, if this is not just around the corner, it is at least on the horizon. It won’t be too long before things are “awesome” again. If you believe David Seymour the country is beset by much greater ...
Opinion: New Zealand’s universities are failing to prepare students for the entrepreneurial realities of the modern economy. That is a key finding of the Science System Advisory Group report released Thursday as part of the Government’s major science sector overhaul.The report highlights major gaps in entrepreneurship and industry-focused training. PhD ...
I first met Neve at a house party in Mount Maunganui. She was tall, blonde and tanned. An influencer typecast. She wore a string of pearls and a shell necklace that sat around her collarbones, and a silk dress that barely passed her crotch. Her hair was in tight curls—I ...
The Angry LeftSummer in New Zealand, and what does Christopher Luxon do about it? He goes fishing. Unbelievable.And worse, he does it in a boat. How tone-deaf is that? There he is, fishing, at sea, in a boat that would be better put to some practical use, like housing. How ...
A Complete Unknown may be fictionalised but it gets the key parts right. What is biography for? Especially the biopic, in which years and people and facts must be compressed into a mass-audience-friendly, sub-three-hour format. And what does biography do with an artist as immortal, inimitable and unwilling as Bob ...
The pool is a summery delight for swimmers and a smart move from the mayor. Last week I walked through Auckland’s Wynyard Quarter, commando and braless. After smugly setting off that morning for my second swim at the Karanga Plaza pool, dubbed Browny’s Pool by mayor Wayne Brown, I realised ...
Following his headline act in the Christchurch Buskers Festival, Alex Casey chats to Sam Wills about spending two decades as the elusive Tape Face. It’s a Thursday night at The Isaac Theatre Royal in Ōtautahi, and the fly swats, rubbish bags, and coat hangers littered across the stage make it ...
In my late 50s, I discovered long-distance hiking – and woke up to a new life infused with the rhythms of nature. The Spinoff Essay showcases the best essayists in Aotearoa, on topics big and small. Made possible by the generous support of our members.It began innocuously, just before my ...
The comedian and actor takes us through his life in television, including the British sitcom that changed his life and the trauma of 80s Telethons. You may know him best as Murray from Flight of the Conchords, or Stede Bonnet from Our Flag Means Death, but Rhys Darby is taking ...
Madeleine Chapman reflects on the week that was. Nearly every piece of advice or social trend can be boiled down to encouraging people to say “yes” more or “no” more. Dating advice has a foundation of saying yes, putting yourself out there, being open to new people and possibilities. The ...
Asia Pacific Report The Fijians for Palestine Solidarity Network (FPSN) and its allies have called for “justice and accountability” over Israel’s 15 months of genocide and war crimes. The Pacific-based network met in a solidarity gathering last night in the capital Suva hosted by the Fiji Women’s Crisis Centre and ...
Analysis - There needs to be recognition of the significant risks associated with focusing on mining and tourism, Glenn Banks and Regina Scheyvens write. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Mark Patrick Taylor, Chief Environmental Scientist, EPA Victoria; Honorary Professor, School of Natural Sciences, Macquarie University Andriana Syvanych/Shutterstock Most of us are fortunate that, when we turn on the tap, clean, safe and high-quality water comes out. But a senate inquiry ...
Analysis: Try as they might, Christopher Luxon and his partners in NZ First have been unable to distance themselves from the division caused by the Treaty Principles Bill, hampering the potential for further progress in areas where the Prime Minister believes the Crown and tangata whenua can collaborate.While the celebration ...
The Treaty Principles Bill continues to dog the National Party despite Luxon's repeated efforts to communicate the legislation will not go beyond second reading. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Julia Richardson, Professor of Human Resource Management, Head of School of Management, Curtin University Gorodenkoff/Shutterstock US President Donald Trump has called time on working from home. An executive order signed on the first day of his presidency this week requires all ...
http://nowoccupy.blogspot.com/2012/02/hullo-waitangi-day-then-goodbye-new.html
IMHO it’s divisiveness that send people offshore, or cause them to stay away permanently; if they find it’s just as safe to live elsewhere, they may as well stay there. The whole NZ is the best place to bring up kids is no longer the case.
[That’s pretty damned close to link-whoring. It’s not welcome anywhere. You get away with it this time because you put into OpenMike, but consider this a polite warning…RL]
[lprent: It is RL. But if you read the policy, It is exactly within the bounds. Link plus small content saying why people should click it, and OpenMike doesn’t have a topic so it is within context….
The policy is deliberately set at that level to allow people to promote their sites. That is how the jackal and others pick up readers. If they keep them is up to their writing and moderation skills. ]
[Errg… too early in the morning to be thinking clearly. You’re right it is exactly in bounds. RL]
I can always go pimp myself elsewhere like Trademe but I figure I might get a decent quality of debate via The Standard.
Something similar in topic on the herald opinion:
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/opinion/news/article.cfm?c_id=466&objectid=10783660
What is it exactly that Key wants from Gillard given the benefits extended to kiwis thus far. Just askin.What welfare rights exactly.
Well the NZ Herald answers some. Kiwis need to live in Aussie for a certain number of years now to be elligible for some welfare, e.g.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/dominion-post/news/6297643/Disabled-teens-family-sue-Aussie
The lawsuit comes after a flurry of discrimination cases involving New Zealanders living in Australia, including a nine-year-old autistic boy in Western Australia who was not allowed access to disability services, and Kiwis denied disaster recovery payouts after last summer’s Queensland floods.
All Australians who intend to live in New Zealand for more than two years are entitled to claim the same social services as Kiwis.
The question is of course, what did we give up in order to get any concession from the Australians? Given that this was a joint-cabinet meeting under the auspices of CER what kinds of things could be on the table? Australia has a heap of cashed up pension funds, we have a heap of state assets that need to raise funds from a local populace who simply doesn’t have the cash to pay the sums the current Government needs to make the books balance. Perhaps a loop-hole to the Kiwimumsndads rhetoric based on the claim we cannot exclude equal participation by Australians under our international commitments?
Wrong. All that this government needed to do to make the books balance and pay for the needed investment was to raise taxes on the rich. In fact, this is a good example of why we can’t afford rich people.
6 months worth of unemployment insurance after 10 years of residing there? That’s a tokenistic joke.
+1 again, Carol
Guestworker status – New Zealanders are seen as a disposable reserve of cheap labour.
Except, of course our brightest students who are actively courted by well funded Australian universities to re-locate to Australia as soon as they finish secondary school with the promise of residency on graduation.
Not just our brightest students, but our brightest postgrads and academics as well.
40%-50% more pay, far better equipment and more generous research budgets. Only problem is all the Australians.
Female version of Pete George……..
And it looks like more of or productive land is going to a foreign buyer, and the buyer will convert this land from farming to forestry – not the best use of NZ land at a time when the world will be faced with food shortages:
http://www.stuff.co.nz/business/farming/6370358/Taranaki-foreign-farms-buy-up-nearer
And not only are we losing productive farm lands, and possibly (not clear from the article), profits going offshore, but wealthy foreign investors (including the likes of James Cameron), push up the price of NZ land, putting it out of reach of large numbers of ordinary Kiwis. And there will be negative knock-on effects from all that on the NZ economy, employment, spending power etc.
And just to note I’m as opposed to this land sale as well as all the others to overseas buyers.
Once again local farmers are priced out of the market to those with bigger overseas wallets.
Exactly. I read the same article with a sinking heart. The thing people must understand is that this land alienation process is not self-limiting.
The rest of the world is vastly larger than New Zealand, and it’s elites and their corporate vehicles have access to funds far cheaper than us. They can ALWAYS outbid the local buyers if they want, and right now they seem to want to.
You can’t build a nation when so many of the leaders and owners of that nation are short term minded sell-outs.
EDIT the true madness is the selling of our hard, productive, strategic assets for computer generated, printed fiat paper currency which is being constantly debased and devalued. And which will be worthless in a few years.
Which makes me wonder once again ,why the hell do those farmers and their under-paid workers vote National. is there anybody out there who knows.
Its hard to say, Postie. There is a culture amongst farmers to see the Tories as their natural political home and the history supports that, as National was formed out of the merger of two conservative parties, one urban, the other rural. And farms are businesses, so the usual business support networks reinforce that link.
However, their staff are a puzzle. I guess decades of non-unionisation, semi-feudal working conditions and the vague promise of making it as a farm owner themselves keeps them aloof from the alternatives. Certainly, Labour are seen as the party of townies, pooftahs and bludgers (ie anyone who doesn’t do a ‘real’ job).
However, it is encouraging to see in the small rural town that I call home that the Crafar Farm decision has pissed a lot of them off. They know damn well that the consolidation of small farms and holdings into Kiwi owned dairy conglomerates mean that entering the farming game is going to get harder and harder for individuals. But, even worse is selling our farms off to overseas buyers, because the control of the industry will shift out of our hands altogether in quick time if it is not stopped.
Actually, I think changing to forestry is a good idea as it will help to clean up the pollution from the previous use and the neighbouring farms. Would prefer natives to pines though and a domestic buyer.
Domestic buyers and domestic high value added processing.
I am opposed too.
A change to forestry indicates an offset of carbon credits perhaps?
A recent offshore oil industry disaster which seems to have escaped notice in the NZ MSM is a gas rig explosion and fire off the Nigerian coast on 16 January. Pollution is continuing and the fire is still burning. Chevron says it could be burning for another month before they drill a relief well and hopefully kill the fire.
This is at the same time as Chevron is being prosecuted for an oil spill off the coast of Brazil last November. Federal police have recommended charges be brought against 17 employees of Chevron and Transocean, including Chevron’s president in Brazil, George Buck. The police found that Chevron and Transocean had committed environmental damage and withheld information, the officer leading the investigation, Fabio Scliar, said. “”I am utterly convinced that the company’s institutional policy is reckless and irresponsible.
I wonder how these disasters and the authorities’ responses are being viewed by the New Zealand Petroleum and Minerals division, which is actively approaching oil companies (including Chevron) to encourage exploration in NZ’s offshore basins?
No one cares about Nigeria.
Exactly, even Nigerians don’t care about Nigeria……..
I hope that doesn’t include you!
“The new policy allowed “shaping of bid rounds over the next decade or more”, and a “mix and match approach for different kinds of opportunities.”
– Seems like long term plans are already in the pipeline, and more opportunities to rape NZ of its resources
“That’s the intelligent way to approach the industry,” Clarke said, who said New Zealand’s six million square kilometre Exclusive Economic Zone represented an enormous opportunity, at one-fifth the size of continental Africa.
– Strategic consultant Duncan Clarke, of Global Pacific & Partners, who also assisted in selecting attendees – So he was part of the team who assisted in “targeting” participants – No chance he could be comprimised (will have to check who he has worked for)
He (Clarke) dismissed concerns about the environmental dangers of deepwater drilling as “illogical”, saying the same argument could be equally applied to shallow water drilling.
– So Clarke confirms that drilling of any type is in fact an environmental danger – Thanks, that will help steer our government away from mining!
The big issue is unlocking national wealth. It’s a vote for poverty not to do it. Maybe New Zealand is rich enough to afford that, but I doubt it. In the developing world, no one is in the position to indulge that view”
– Clarke again shows his poor selling skills, and corrupted nature by stating “its a vote for poverty (like we will, as a nation be getting rich out of this, and he confirms that stance with his “in the developing world no one is in a position to indulge that view” comments, because of course in the developing world their “natural is wealth unlocked” too for the nations benefit eh Duncan, and like NZ, the opposing voices and views will not be indulged!
More is revealed of the right’s vision for the poor of tomorrow.
Now that the plans for reducing wages, benefits, work safety, job security, privacy, human rights, health and education services, are well underway it’s time for phase two.
As well as being ready at all times, day and night, for the privilege of wiping some rich person’s arse, for a pittance, in any conditions, the poor are to gradually become inured to harvesting their bodies more directly, as crash-test dummies for drugs and medical proceedures they will never be able to afford for their themselves and their families.
From the herald today:
The health of patients who take part in treatment trials may be put in danger by Government changes to ethics committees, says a group of academics.
After a health select committee inquiry last year into making New Zealand more attractive to companies wanting to run clinical trials, .
Nek minnit they’ll be “relaxing the rules” on selling organs, and other human tissue, and discrete, exclusive holiday resort clinics will start popping up to cater for the uber-rich international elite medical proceedure market.
The future’s so bright we’ll all be wearing shades.
Yeah and when the drug trials fuck up and our citizens wear the long term injury, its our health budget which will be hit looking after them, while the drug companies go along their merry way making their profits but accepting none of the responsibilities or the costs.
Yeah…often these drugs trials are the last hope of some terminally ill patients, you fucken idiot.
You’d grab the chance too if your doctor told you nothing else could be done.
Know people who’ve been in the situation….they are desperate to get on one of these trials.
[Wayne… your constant abuse of other commenters is getting tiresome. No-one is lily-pure in this respect, but there is an upper limit, one that you are treading close to. It’s not that any of us haven’t heard it all before, but that kind of language is nothing more than a crude attempt to derail, shame and shutdown the debate. And that isn’t tolerated here. ..RL]
“often”? How often?
Yeah? What percentage of all drug trials worldwide are for drugs for “terminally ill cancer patients”?
You do realise that most drug trials are conducted on healthy people who are participating for money? It’s already happening here now. How does undermining our current ethical controls benefit these participants? Who are the main beneficiaries – keeping in mind that just a small percentage of trialled drugs are found to be safe and useful enough to ever hit the market?
There’s often a good reason why over 90% of drugs which enter phase I human trials never make it to market, or are pulled off the market very quickly (within 5 years) even if they are launched.
Such as, they do more harm than good. And when they do harm – who picks up the pieces? Why our health service and our health dollars.
Iain Parker from Public Credit or bust got me on to this amazing lecture of a lady called Joan Veon who sadly passed away due to cancer in Oktober 2010 . If you want to understand the evil that is the international banker take over this is what to watch and be in awe of her insight as all she spoke about is unfolding with terrifying speed/
And let me take this opportunity to say thank you for allowing these links on the open mike because it is one way in which we can all educate each other about the situation we are finding ourselves in and it is much appreciated.
The Herald’s only real journalist has a good article in today’s paper, about inequality in Auckland:
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10783636
It’s kind of funny that Simon Collins is still employed by the rampantly right-wing rag that pushes National lines in every editorial. Good on him, though.
If I gave out Canon Media Awards he would win one every year.
Herald have a few, mccarten is another but note the timing, a long weekend, frequency and placement versus those given to shills like Fran, Armstrong, coddrignton etc etc.
I’d be great to see them alongside each other but that would be balance…..can’t have that now.
Looking at recent articles by Armstrong, he seems to be having a bit each way.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/john-armstrong-on-politics/news/headlines.cfm?c_id=1502865
At one level “Isaac best candidate for education task force” is bizarre, but possibly it was intended to be a spoof – or at least a demonstration of the madness of the National mindset that only political appointees can implement public sector change. “Private hands will steer mixed-model assets” raises some important issues both aboutthe decisions that are being made and the cynicism of National’s spin machine.
+1 Excellent. Simon has written a thought provoking, well balanced article.
Righto, participatory democracy time, Standardistas!
I’ve been considering changing my handle from The Voice of Reason to something less confrontational. I’m using the te Reo version today (thanks, Hateatea) and while it has the same meaning, it doesn’t seem quite as pompous as the English words, possibly because maori is such a beautiful language.
I would be interested in the views of my fellow posters. Stay with The Voice of Reason, shorten that to TVoR or go forward with Te Reo Putake? Whaddya reckon?
Confound the rwnjs and go with this one. I like it, and it will be interesting to see how racist the responses become. 🙂
I like it too. I also think Maori is a beautiful language and I often wish I had taken the time to dust off my Te Reo tutor audio tape and booklet and get stuck in. I vividly recall holidaying in Moorea several years ago and stayed at a Government run hotel, similar to our old Tourist Hotel Corporation hotels. I was totally gobsmacked that the local staff [Tahitian] were fluent in French, Tahitian [Maori?] and English – and I struggle with the intricacies of English at times!
Te Reo Putake gets my vote but do be prepared for the teko to hit the fan 😉
Kapai TRP.
We can call you ‘TRiP’ for short!
More like TRiPe
Always nice to hear from a fan, Fisi.
An attack on government taxation masquerading as home-owners advice:
http://www.stuff.co.nz/business/opinion/6364712/To-DIY-or-not
Infometrics does seem to have some very far-right ideas, with simplistic mantra outweighing reasoned argument. One that I do have some agreement with is
http://www.infometrics.co.nz/article.asp?id=5709
which talks about bail-outs through nationalisation rather than effectively giving money away.
Again they are too simplistic – such a “single solution” policy could trigger big problems in market confidence; better to require banks to be required to issue shares to the government at a price agreed with the government whenever more than trivial overnight support is required, with the bank being required to re-purchase at market value when they have sufficient capital to make the purchase. That way a small crisis may be able to be covered by a sale of shares at say 90% of market value – and a large crisis becoming effectively a takeover at a much smaller percentage of market value.
Labour has been calling for more flexibility in the way the Reserve Bank operates – there should be as few restrictions as possible in the way in which they should be able to act in the interests of the country.
More neo-liberal BS. The taxes are bad, WAAAAGH without any appreciation of the dead weight loss of profit (more accurately described as a tax than actual taxes). Profit* is a direct tax on the work of other people.
* I view profit as anything above what you need to live a reasonable standard of living.
Yes he does or he wouldn’t be writing an entire column in the NZHerald about it.
And the tax increase on his income over hundred and something thousand which would more than offset the small amount from the tax free bracket.
It was more likely than under National or Act. Holiday Highways anyone?
And this is where he really loses touch with reality. Looking after the people in the community is a function of government and the most efficient way to raise the funds (while we’re working in a financial rather than a real system) is taxes, charity doesn’t cut it. And taxes are always for political ends and it’s the people supposedly voting for those ends.
Seeing it’s Waitangi day it must be time for some infectious pacific reggae, and this seems approriate:
Kora ‘Politician’
Len Brown pushes “Equality of Opportunity”
Commentators above have already noted the Herald article on inequality. But did they see the Len Brown quoted at the end.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10783692
Where has Len been recently ?
He is noticeable by his absence. He usually has an answer to everything.
In todays Herald we read that ardent Royalist John Key has invited the Prince of Wales to a tour of Aotearoa .Bloody hell ! will we never be free from those parasites and upholders of the awful British class system ?
I expect we all will be embarassed by Key bobbing up and down and touching his forlock . All in the cause of his future knighthood so he can go and live in his overseas mansions and be called Sir John.
There’s an encouraging post and follow up comments from David Cunliffe today. He talks about the need for sustainability in relation to the rising cost of fuel, the need for getting along side people who make a difference (including the unions) rather than a top down approach:
http://blog.labour.org.nz/2012/02/06/feeding-our-kids/
Yes I enjoyed reading David Cunliffe’s post too. Good to see further credit to Simon Collins’s article, as already given by Blue earlier today in Open Mike, by both David and Trevor on Red Alert. The reality of how difficult living on low wages is needs to be constantly in the public arena.
Race Relations Commissioner Joris de Bres criticised those Pakeha who still resisted moves to give “special treatment” to disadvantaged Maori, thousands of whom suffered inequality.
I am a Pekeha who came to New Zealand in 1986 and became a citizen in 2002. I and my children deserve to be accorded all the rights and responsibilities of citizenship. There should only ever be one class of citizenship. I have never and will never discriminate against any of my fellow citizens. I can support “special treatment” for my fellow citizens based on need. In doing so I will be gender blind, religion blind and race blind. I will be blind to any other non-need factors be it hair colour or sexual preference or political persuasion.
I am one of the Pakeha citizens of New Zealand whom Joris de Bres criticises. I do strongly object and resist moves to give “special treatment” purely due to the race of some citizens. I do so because I believe in one class of citizenship irrespective of race. His racial preference views are incompatible with his role.
Always easy for someone new and privileged in this land to criticise the long standing and under privileged eh. What is the indigenous history of NZ to you? Nothing. And nothing is always easily dismissed.
Blind to history, and therefore blind to the present too. Describes yourself perfectly.
Joris de Bres is unlikely to be underprivileged. Your ‘straw man’ argument about indigenous history does you no credit. Have another try.
Oh yeah I was talking about you.
+1 CV. I sometimes wonder if the Fisianis of this world are deserving of NZ citizenship. Based on his claims at 14, the answer is NO.
Hi Viped
How goes the past? Still there? As you said 27/01/2012
“My personal hope is that we are able to maintain a 1940′s and 1950′s lifestyle (with specific technical advancements) here in NZ, for the long term.”
Found a Black&White TV yet? Hope the programs are riveting.
To us in 2012 – this “world view” is still hilarious.
Laugh it up while you still can, big boy.
There is the rather famous quote from Thomas Jefferson; “There is nothing more unequal than the equal treatment of unequals” that is highly pertinent here.
Since Jefferson said this quote the much has changed, making it perhaps a less than helpful guide in modernity. A liberal will see the quote and agree in the name of equality we need to treat people differently since some have been given more than others to start.
While a conservative will see the quote and agree that nothing is more unequal than punishing the successful in the name of the unsuccessful.
Strict equality under the law would demand that we treat everyone the same under that law, with no difference shown to the anyone regardless of economic status. This is the position Fisiani is expressing.
On the other hand equality of conditions, or opportunities, demands that equality can only exist when there is equality at an economic and social level. Colonial Viper responded with this.
Both are advocating for something they are calling equality, but are working with two different concepts of it.
Well this will be a challenge for the EU carbon charge for airlines :
An opening position for an upcoming EU/China summit? e.g. drop the charge and we’ll give you bailout money? The EU are not going to ground Chinese flights, are they?
It also opens up a concerted attack on the charges from other opposed nations e.g. the U.S and India.