No politics section in today’s online Herald, of course nothing of merit to report at all so replace it with fluff and other passing issues. Are their shills struggling to create content and spin around the latest blatant ‘ f you’ to the electorate by the NACT.
Further to this did I miss the Digipoll the Herald usually runs to coincide with the start of the new parliamentary session or did they not bother this year? Also (though it’s hard to believe it’s possible) TVNZ’s political coverage seems to be even more useless than it used to be.
Police bosses are considering laying off staff and closing some stations in an effort to save $360 million over the next three years.
The staff cuts would include police officers and non-sworn staff.
Commissioner Peter Marshall is not commenting on the proposal, but says frontline policing resources will not be reduced.
Oh good, frontline services will improve with a slashing of support! Yeah Right….
Hi Carol Re asset sales and the general picture worldwide:
The decline phase of I.C. (Industrial Civilisation) sounds momentous eh!? continues to collapse to a simpler less rich for the 99% level while the 1% aided by the likes of shonkey and dunny paper shore up their nests with aquiring real assets rather than paper junk!
More Proof the World Is Going to Hell
Get a Proper Job, Says Michael C. Ruppert
By Andy Capper
money is only a symbol for what energy can do.
Michael C. Ruppert: The only education worth taking a loan out for now is a practical trade. Do something that will help you stay alive. Industrial society is collapsing and there will be no recovery. We are past peak oil and nobody can deny that.
There is a 96 percent correlation between GDP growth and greenhouse gas emissions, which means there can be no [economic] recovery without burning oil and coal. China is scrambling all over the world for coal because their factories are closing down because they rely on coal for energy.
There are reports that the British police are starting to militarise. More weapons and armoured vehicles (like the Jankel Guardian pictured below) are being acquired, and officers are receiving SAS training tactics. The mainstream press says this is to protect people from a Mumbai-style terror attack, but the concern at ground level is that when the UK’s economy really hits the skids there is going to be a new form of extreme rioting that the country has never seen before.
That is going to happen all over Europe. There is a catch-22 in progress for police departments who are being cut back globally due to budget issues, in places by as much as 50 percent, yet still have the mandate to keep order.
Richard Boock posts the obvious truth about the keyman
“every time Key opts to avoid what the rest of us regard as the blindingly obvious, he becomes a little more of a hollow man; a PM without answers, a leader without a vision. A bloke who’s just realised the world he once knew doesn’t exist anymore. And that it won’t be returning.
A complete banker, just in the wrong place at the wrong time.”
A work of beauty, that article. Thanks for linking it…
Yes, some folk will point to Key’s comments over the Government’s “sinking lid” policy for pokie machines. They need to think more about that. If the numbers of machines are being forced to decrease nationally, yet SkyCity’s are allowed to increase, then not only is Key selling policy advantages to the casino, he’s also selling a competitive advantage. The rules will be bent in return for a favour. Not much different from the days of brown paper bags filled with money, really.
I was having a real rant about this to my partner. Great to see it articulated so clearly.
Can anyone tell me why Statistics NZ’s series on work stoppages stops in December 2010. There is no 2011 data. Have they stopped collecting or posting the data? Or am I missing something?
May be quake related. Stats NZ building was stuffed quite early on and seem to remember that loads of info and data were trapped in red zone and not backed up off site.
We don’t know how lucky we are as workers in NZ and it’s easy to forget gains hard one by our forebears through unions and sacrifice. Without them we would no doubt be in a similar situations to the people outlined below…
My wife is from eastern Europe and her family still live there so often I here first hand how bad things are getting employment wise.
Her father who is relatively high up the chain as a head engineer at a heating plant was told if he takes a holiday this year not to come back because he won’t have a job to come back to, It seems that the company owner is insisting that all workers give up their paid holidays for the foreseeable future.
Her Mother works for a company doing work related to EU funds she is a project manager on @ 500nzd per month working 60 hour weeks, Her boss recently awarded himself a $100,000 euro bonus on winning a multi million dollar contract
The other common theme is that people just aren’t getting paid at all or only a fraction of what they should be.
Unfortunately with no protection, no help and desperation people are to scared of losing what little income they have they put with this shit. I get the impression tensions are rising and the shit may really hit the fan over the next few years with corruption endemic and poverty ever increasing.
Also of interest French banks are moving there labour force over to her country as someone will do for $250 nz per week that someone in France was doing for $1500 nz and thanks to the wonders of the internet and call centre tech to the average customer you would assume you were dealing with someone in France.
Whilst everyone looks over their neighbour’s fence and belatedly wakes up to the Asset Sales debacle, we miss the dissembled denial of everyones’ right to a safe and just society. There are thousands of books that have been written which speak most plainly how freedom of the press is all that stands between society and slavery.
Freedom of the press: perpetrate creation and maintenance of stereotype; support free market ideology; embark on trial-by-media circumventions of justice; publish distract and delay, designed to be addictive, badly researched, unprofessional, opinion as fact, racist delusions on a daily basis.
Yeah, don’t really think our media needs any more “freedom”. They seem to be complaining that one of them might have to find some courage, stand up for what a real fourth estate might be and risk going to prison.
I can see it now, the office-bound hero abandoned by shameful doe-eyed collegues and editors- in-chief, betraying them and shrugging their shoulders; all of them more interested in selling the story of the persecuted journalist than the story the journalist was chasing. Bunch of jackles and weasels the lot.
With our imaginary fourth estate gone, finally, and good riddance, something new can take it’s place, most likely beginning in the blogosphere; but if laws change to stop that, then maybe a return to printing presses and community meetings.
I completely agree what we currently consume is the editorial equivalent of fast food. I sincerely wish people would walk away from the neon lit queues of factless fodder and head home to a table laden with the real food our forebearers had so earnestly fought for. Even if most of the ideas they were fighting and fighting for, were themselves myths and lies.
That does not alter the stark reality that this shift is designed to silence those who may speak out. It is not about the Journalist. They gave up any right to be respected long ago. It is absolutely about the whistleblower. The single voice that has the strength to speak truth to power.
The threat of exposure and the ensuing melee inevitably extinguish the career the health, at times the family and even the very life of the whistleblower. This course of events has regularly been shown to be a very effective muzzle in despotic regimes and free democracies alike. The idea that secrecy is only for Governments has been and continues to be a core poison to the consumers of real and true democracy.
Truth is now a minuscule smattering of seeds left on a vast banquet table of frozen TV dinners.
Seeds that every corporate owned government on this planet work so diligently against propogating. Simple seeds that they never again want to see planted in the rich soil of freedom.
Advertisers began pulling their support immediately after the comments. Limbaugh apologised over the weekend for the attack, but immediately ran into more trouble as critics charged that his apology was insincere.
“I think it is absolutely absurd that during these very serious political times, we are discussing personal sexual recreational activities before members of Congress,” he wrote on his website. “My choice of words was not the best, and in the attempt to be humorous, I created a national stir. I sincerely apologise to Ms Fluke for the insulting word choices.”
Fluke told ABC’s The View that Limbaugh had been trying to silence her. She rejected the apology: “I don’t think that a statement like this, issued saying that his choice of words was not the best, changes anything. Especially when that statement is issued when he’s under significant pressure from his sponsors, who have begun to pull support from his show.”
Hopefully he’ll be taken off air, given his track record.
Affco workers air safety concerns
Posted at 11:45am Tuesday 06th Mar, 2012
Meat workers at the latest Affco plant to be locked out are concerned new workers’ safety is being put at risk to undermine the union.
Talley’s locked out 200 workers at the Rangiuru freezing works near Te Puke at 5am, taking the total number of locked out meat workers nationwide to 1000.
There are 150 workers striking in solidarity with the workers outside the plant with over 750 striking at the company’s seven other North Island plants. The company locked out 750 workers last Wednesday and previously said it wouldn’t lock out any more workers.
The Rangiuru site president for the Meat Workers Union is Kaipara McGarvey, 47, from Tuhoe, and he is a lamb cutter. “This dispute isn’t about pay or anything like that, it’s about getting rid of the union,” he says. “Talley’s is a well-known anti-union company and we all feel it’s pretty low that they’d stoop to putting new workers’ safety at risk just to undermine us.”
Rakai Tamihana, 39, from Nga Tamanuihiri, is a boner in his third season. He joined the union when he started in 2010 and was quickly approached by the company. “The company pressured me out of the union and put my safety at risk to undermine union workers,” he says. “They took me into a room and offered me $1000 and three per cent pay rise to pull out; then they put me on the slaughterfloor without any training where I got an electric shock from the railing.
“I felt like a guinea pig – they only put me there to create division with the skilled workers who were all in the union.”
Rariri Potaka, 48, from Ngati Waitaha, has worked at the plant for 18 years. He is a supervisor (leader hand) on mutton slaughter.
“I was threatened with disciplinary action for refusing to put a new starter who had only been at the plant four hours on the chain,” he says. “Mutton slaughter is a dangerous job and we don’t wear protective clothing or mesh gloves because of contamination issues. I was willing to put my job on the line so I wouldn’t risk the workers’ safety.”
Potaka says new staff are labourers and usually work up to skilled jobs through years of training.
For those that can get past the fact this is about something on Kiwiblog and involves Judith Collins this is well worth noting.
It also involves Charles Chauvel:
It is clear that this is a much better bill. There are significant modifications to the proposed surveillance device regime, better regulation of the more intrusive forms of surveillance that were originally proposed, a reduction in the warrantless surveillance period, better rules over the retention of data, stronger reporting requirements for surveillance device warrants, and better controls over examination and production orders.
So it is absolutely the case that Parliament did what it is expected to do via the select committee process on this measure. It did look at the detail. The parties worked together and they did produce a better bill.
High praise for the side of parliament we don’t hear much about – where much of the actual work is done.
Charles also says:
The Minister and I met yesterday. She wrote to me today, and I accept her good-faith attempt to try to resolve these problems, and in passing I should say that, in respect of at least two other measures I can think of, I appreciate the approach she has already shown in this portfolio.
She is willing to stand back and take a look at whether a measure is really necessary and whether or not it really commands stakeholder support, and if it does not she is willing to give it another look, and that is something that ought to be said for the record.
And David Parker:
I repeat the thanks that have been expressed by my colleague Charles Chauvel for the way in which the National Party conducted itself at the Justice and Electoral Committee. The committee was chaired by Chester Borrows.
The Search and Surveillance Bill is one of the most complex and difficult pieces of legislation that I have considered in any select committee since I have been in Parliament. It is one in which the select committee took very seriously the proper balance between the protection of civil liberties and the necessary powers to be afforded to State agencies to investigate criminal conduct.
Sounds like it’s well done by all involved, on a very tricky and contentious bit of legislation.
DPF calls it Rare Praise. I hope we can get to see this approach as normal.
In response to the concerns of some groups, the 7-year threshold means that examination orders are not available to investigate such crimes as protesting, trespass, disorderly behaviour or unlawful assembly. -Judith Collins
such crimes as protestingThat’s a hell of a freudian slip.
Iran – Next In Line For Western ‘Intervention’?
Media Lens, March 01, 2012
What would it take for journalists to seriously challenge government propaganda? A war with over one million dead, four million refugees, a country’s infrastructure shattered, and the increased threat of retail ‘terror’ in response to the West’s wholesale ‘terror’? How horrifying do even very recent experiences have to be, how great the war crimes, before media professionals begin to exhibit scepticism towards Western governments’ hyping of yet another ‘threat’. Why is warmongering the default mode for the corporate media?
[deleted]
[lprent: We’re not a cut’n’paste site. We’re interested in what you have to say and you appear to be somewhat laconic. It’d pay not to be in the future. We boot people who are incapable of expressing themselves.
If you are going to quote something, then use blockquote or italics to make it clear what is yours and what is someone elses. Only quote small relevant section(s) and as you did, put a link in. Then people can go to the link if you have interested them enough. And read the policy. ]
The question has been quietly asked in Chch about the efforts of rescuers following Feb 22 and whether mistakes had been made that resulted in deaths. It is hoped the Royal Commission is considering this (which is not an attack on the rescuers, merely a legitimate questioning of the methods, policies etc which guided them).
“Treasury says the government’s corporate tax take may miss forecasts for the rest of the financial year, leaving the Crown vulnerable to a bigger-than-expected annual deficit. : Todays NZ Herald
Hang on, Key and Co have done all they can to shrink Government and lay the conditions they believe support the business sector. When are the corporates going to contribute their fair share?
And from this http://nz.finance.yahoo.com/news/nz-corporate-tax-dwindle-2012-214756006.html
“…and the Debt Management Office has slipped behind the run-rate needed to meet this year’s bond programme to raise $13.5 billion”. We ae having sporting slang now being applied to the govts finances. Next there will be the required run rate graph, when we are well behind the required rate worry as then it will be obvious that no one will want to loan to us and our only option will be asset sales …… mmmmm
I gather this deficit is whythere is such a slash and burn attitude towards govt departments- refer to the rumoured cutting of the police budget and the resulting loss of front line staff- Cannot wait for SST outbusrts to follow 😉
Unpaid interns are among the 800 extra doctors the Government says it has hired since taking office, with a union calling the figure “misleading”.
The Resident Doctors Association says Health Minister Tony Ryall’s figure for the number of doctors hired since National took office in 2008 includes house surgeons, house officers, probationers and interns.
The union’s national president Curtis Walker said it was wrong for the figure to include interns, who were in their last year of training at university and were not registered doctors.
“To include interns as new doctors is incorrect and misleading to the public,” he said.
So those frontline staff are actually unpaid students, thanks Tony Pink Tie!
The Resident Doctors Association says Health Minister Tony Ryall’s figure for the number of doctors hired since National took office in 2008 includes house surgeons, house officers, probationers and interns.
I was reading Ryall’s excuses in the Herald last night.. Disgusting!
But seriously, what has happened in the past when a ship has arrived from a port that didn’t have union workers affiliated to the NZ Labour party ? Has it been unloaded or do these guys really have the mafia style control they think they have ?
Once upon a time workers had a legal right to withdraw their labour. A right which still exists in the rest of the “free” world.
In NZ even the industrial action taken by Sam Purnell in Wellington for a 40 hour week would be illegal today.
Why should they work a ship loaded by scabs?
A ship which is itself manned by scab labour. Undercutting NZ rates of pay and taking NZ jobs. Without even getting into the safety issues and risks attached to Flag of Convenience shipping.
May I suggest the best course of action would seem to be for the unions and their associates to setup their own port. Purchase their own port infrastructure and staff it. They would then have full control over which ships come and go via that port.
Isn’t work a transaction between the owners of financial capital and the owners of work capital, based on an agreement? If that agreement is changed don’t both parties have the right to withdraw from the transaction? – Owners of financial capital can sack bad workers, or if they can’t pay for work agree on terms to cancel the contract (redundancy). If the owners of work capital find the agreement is being broken by the owners of financial capital they have the right to withdraw their work in the same way. It’s not a subordinate relationship – it’s an agreement.
As for a setting up their own port, why don’t the owners of financial capital do their own work then they wouldn’t have to worry about agreements with the owners of work capital? Better still why not both sides come to an agreement to set up a cooperative?
Yes there is an agreement between the owners of capital (the port) and the owners of labour (the workers). It’s called an employment contract. It’s the thing the employment court has ruled on.
Now if the employment contract explicitly said the workers were withing their rights to pick and choose which vessels they work on based on the work place associations of the people that loaded them – then I suspect the employment court would have ruled in their favour.
If the owners of labour (the workers) don’t like the work they are required to do under their contract then they can certainly withdraw their labour. But to do that, they need to actually withdraw their labour – resign. They can’t simply tell the owners of capital (the port) that they have made up a new employment condition and expect it to stand. This is evidenced by the employment court ruling that they must get back to work… or I guess resign.
Resign? It’s just as easy to say that if Employers can’t manage a dispute they could sell up to more competent providers of capital or the management could resign – It depends on whether the workers and businesses would prefer that to renegotiating the agreement. Generally I’d expect both employers and workers would work on the principle that they would prefer an agreement with the current workers/businesses Often it suits no-one for any other outcome.
The only reason the employers are trying this on is because of high unemployment, in a tight labour market I doubt you’d see the same thing happening. And before you say it… yes workers should maintain the principle of negotiating a fair agreement in a tight labour market, and in the past there have been some occasions when they haven’t. This is not a case of holding port management to ransom – it’s fighting to maintain conditions from a base of proven productivity.
And in terms of the Wellington port workers & the Employment Court (a different, albeit related issue), I don’t see that workers are being unreasonable.
This morning, Maritime Union Wellington secretary Mike Clark said workers would comply with any court ruling. “You can’t disobey a court order.”
You can’t call their tactics fair and honourable when they are overturned by a court as being illegal. The union have lawyers – they must have know they were acting illegally.
How would we be talking about the port if their actions were thrown out in a court – we would call them scum…
I didn’t call the actions fair or honourable, I said not unreasonable…and who’s ‘we’? I don’t think I’ve read you using the word ‘scum’ in the context of poor employers. And It’s not a word I use.
The situation with the Auckland port management actions is completely different, btw.
Those who are too incompetent and gutless to start a real business for themselves want to control someone else’s….
Jeez, I’d Love to hear you say that to the next engineer or doctor you meet.
Sure, if I meet a Doctor that decides that they won’t treat me because I’m not a union member or an engineer who refuses his services because I’m not a union member then I’ll certainly tell them they have crossed the line. I’ll find another doctor or another engineer. In the case of the doctor I’d also lay a complaint.
Doctors take an oath to preserve life – they put that ahead of all else. Engineers are required to act within established standards and guidelines…
I’m not sure what your point is – the port workers have in this case decided that their employment contract terms can be varied based on something the port has no control over – how is that even comparable to an engineer or a doctor ?
So when did the doctors union insist that doctors classify patients according to their union affiliations…. of that’s right – DR’s are smart and don’t make up the rules as they go along…. The patient comes first – their disputes second. Shame you couldn’t find a better way to make yourself look like a tool.
Bringing the doctors union into this really isn’t helping the port workers…..
Apparently we are being offered something we already own and given that the government is responsible for getting a best possible return on its revenue for its citizens, ummm now, if the assets are really such a good buy and investment, can one assume that the government will be first in line to buy them when they offer them for sale … duh
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Building your own computer can be a rewarding and cost-effective way to get a high-performance machine tailored to your specific needs. However, it also requires careful planning and execution, and one of the most important factors to consider is the time it will take. The exact time it takes to ...
Sleep mode is a power-saving state that allows your computer to quickly resume operation without having to boot up from scratch. This can be useful if you need to step away from your computer for a short period of time but don’t want to shut it down completely. There are ...
Introduction Computer-Assisted Translation (CAT) has revolutionized the field of translation by harnessing the power of technology to assist human translators in their work. This innovative approach combines specialized software with human expertise to improve the efficiency, accuracy, and consistency of translations. In this comprehensive article, we will delve into the ...
In today’s digital age, mobile devices have become an indispensable part of our daily lives. Among the vast array of portable computing options available, iPads and tablet computers stand out as two prominent contenders. While both offer similar functionalities, there are subtle yet significant differences between these two devices. This ...
A computer is an electronic device that can be programmed to carry out a set of instructions. The basic components of a computer are the processor, memory, storage, input devices, and output devices. The Processor The processor, also known as the central processing unit (CPU), is the brain of the ...
Voice Memos is a convenient app on your iPhone that allows you to quickly record and store audio snippets. These recordings can be useful for a variety of purposes, such as taking notes, capturing ideas, or recording interviews. While you can listen to your voice memos on your iPhone, you ...
Laptop screens are essential for interacting with our devices and accessing information. However, when lines appear on the screen, it can be frustrating and disrupt productivity. Understanding the underlying causes of these lines is crucial for finding effective solutions. Types of Screen Lines Horizontal lines: Also known as scan ...
Right-clicking is a common and essential computer operation that allows users to access additional options and settings. While most desktop computers have dedicated right-click buttons on their mice, laptops often do not have these buttons due to space limitations. This article will provide a comprehensive guide on how to right-click ...
Powering up and shutting down your ASUS laptop is an essential task for any laptop user. Locating the power button can sometimes be a hassle, especially if you’re new to ASUS laptops. This article will provide a comprehensive guide on where to find the power button on different ASUS laptop ...
Dell laptops are renowned for their reliability, performance, and versatility. Whether you’re a student, a professional, or just someone who needs a reliable computing device, a Dell laptop can meet your needs. However, if you’re new to Dell laptops, you may be wondering how to get started. In this comprehensive ...
Two-thirds of the country think that “New Zealand’s economy is rigged to advantage the rich and powerful”. They also believe that “New Zealand needs a strong leader to take the country back from the rich and powerful”. These are just two of a handful of stunning new survey results released ...
In today’s digital world, screenshots have become an indispensable tool for communication and documentation. Whether you need to capture an important email, preserve a website page, or share an error message, screenshots allow you to quickly and easily preserve digital information. If you’re an Asus laptop user, there are several ...
A factory reset restores your Gateway laptop to its original factory settings, erasing all data, apps, and personalizations. This can be necessary to resolve software issues, remove viruses, or prepare your laptop for sale or transfer. Here’s a step-by-step guide on how to factory reset your Gateway laptop: Method 1: ...
“You talking about me?”The neoliberal denigration of the past was nowhere more unrelenting than in its depiction of the public service. The Post Office and the Railways were held up as being both irremediably inefficient and scandalously over-manned. Playwright Roger Hall’s “Glide Time” caricatures were presented as accurate depictions of ...
Roger Partridge writes – When the Coalition Government took office last October, it inherited a country on a precipice. With persistent inflation, decades of insipid productivity growth and crises in healthcare, education, housing and law and order, it is no exaggeration to suggest New Zealand’s first-world status was ...
Rob MacCulloch writes – In 2022, the Curriculum Centre at the Ministry of Education employed 308 staff, according to an Official Information Request. Earlier this week it was announced 202 of those staff were being cut. When you look up “The New Zealand Curriculum” on the Ministry of ...
Chris Bishop’s bill has stirred up a hornets nest of opposition. Photo: Lynn Grieveson for The KākāTL;DR: The six things that stood out to me in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, poverty and climate from the last day included:A crescendo of opposition to the Government’s Fast Track Approvals Bill is ...
Monday left me brokenTuesday, I was through with hopingWednesday, my empty arms were openThursday, waiting for love, waiting for loveThe end of another week that left many of us asking WTF? What on earth has NZ gotten itself into and how on earth could people have voluntarily signed up for ...
Hello! Here comes the Saturday edition of More Than A Feilding, catching you up on the past week’s editions.State of humanity, 20242024, it feels, keeps presenting us with ever more challenges, ever more dismay.Do you give up yet? It seems to ask.No? How about this? Or this?How about this?Full story Share ...
Determining the hardest sport in the world is a subjective matter, as the difficulty level can vary depending on individual abilities, physical attributes, and experience. However, based on various factors including physical demands, technical skills, mental fortitude, and overall accomplishment, here is an exploration of some of the most challenging ...
The allure of sport transcends age, culture, and geographical boundaries. It captivates hearts, ignites passions, and provides unparalleled entertainment. Behind the spectacle, however, lies a fascinating world of financial investment and expenditure. Among the vast array of competitive pursuits, one question looms large: which sport carries the hefty title of ...
Introduction Pickleball, a rapidly growing paddle sport, has captured the hearts and imaginations of millions around the world. Its blend of tennis, badminton, and table tennis elements has made it a favorite among players of all ages and skill levels. As the sport’s popularity continues to surge, the question on ...
Abstract: Soccer, the global phenomenon captivating millions worldwide, has a rich history that spans centuries. Its origins trace back to ancient civilizations, but the modern version we know and love emerged through a complex interplay of cultural influences and innovations. This article delves into the fascinating journey of soccer’s evolution, ...
Tinting car windows offers numerous benefits, including enhanced privacy, reduced glare, UV protection, and a more stylish look for your vehicle. However, the cost of window tinting can vary significantly depending on several factors. This article provides a comprehensive guide to help you understand how much you can expect to ...
The pungent smell of gasoline in your car can be an alarming and potentially dangerous problem. Not only is the odor unpleasant, but it can also indicate a serious issue with your vehicle’s fuel system. In this article, we will explore the various reasons why your car may smell like ...
Our two-tiered system for veterans’ support is out of step with our closest partners, and all parties in Parliament should work together to fix it, Labour veterans’ affairs spokesperson Greg O’Connor said. ...
Stripping two Ministers of their portfolios just six months into the job shows Christopher Luxon’s management style is lacking, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said. ...
It appears Nicola Willis is about to pull the rug out from under the feet of local communities still dealing with the aftermath of last year’s severe weather, and local councils relying on funding to build back from these disasters. ...
The Government is making short-sighted changes to the Resource Management Act (RMA) that will take away environmental protection in favour of short-term profits, Labour’s environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said today. ...
Labour welcomes the release of the report into the North Island weather events and looks forward to working with the Government to ensure that New Zealand is as prepared as it can be for the next natural disaster. ...
The Labour Party has called for the New Zealand Government to recognise Palestine, as a material step towards progressing the two-State solution needed to achieve a lasting peace in the region. ...
Some of our country’s most important work, stopping the sexual exploitation of children and violent extremism could go along with staff on the frontline at ports and airports. ...
The Government’s Fast Track Approvals Bill will give projects such as new coal mines a ‘get out of jail free’ card to wreak havoc on the environment, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said today. ...
Cuts to frontline hospital staff are not only a broken election promise, it shows the reckless tax cuts have well and truly hit the frontline of the health system, says Labour Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall. ...
The Green Party has joined the call for public submissions on the fast-track legislation to be extended after the Ombudsman forced the Government to release the list of organisations invited to apply just hours before submissions close. ...
New Zealand’s good work at reducing climate emissions for three years in a row will be undone by the National government’s lack of ambition and scrapping programmes that were making a difference, Labour Party climate spokesperson Megan Woods said today. ...
More essential jobs could be on the chopping block, this time Ministry of Education staff on the school lunches team are set to find out whether they're in line to lose their jobs. ...
The Government is trying to bring in a law that will allow Ministers to cut corners and kill off native species, Labour environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said. ...
Cancelling urgently needed new Cook Strait ferries and hiking the cost of public transport for many Kiwis so that National can announce the prospect of another tunnel for Wellington is not making good choices, Labour Transport Spokesperson Tangi Utikere said. ...
A laundry list of additional costs for Tāmaki Makarau Auckland shows the Minister for the city is not delivering for the people who live there, says Labour Auckland Issues spokesperson Shanan Halbert. ...
The Green Party has today launched a step-by-step guide to help New Zealanders make their voice heard on the Government’s democracy dodging and anti-environment fast track legislation. ...
The National Government’s proposed changes to the Residential Tenancies Act will mean tenants can be turfed from their homes by landlords with little notice, Labour housing spokesperson Kieran McAnulty said. ...
Green Party co-leader Marama Davidson is calling on all parties to support a common-sense change that’s great for the planet and great for consumers after her member’s bill was drawn from the ballot today. ...
A significant milestone has been reached in the fight to strike an anti-Pasifika and unfair law from the country’s books after Teanau Tuiono’s members’ bill passed its first reading. ...
New Zealand has today missed the opportunity to uphold the right to a clean, healthy, and sustainable environment, says James Shaw after his member’s bill was voted down in its first reading. ...
Today’s advice from the Climate Change Commission paints a sobering reality of the challenge we face in combating climate change, especially in light of recent Government policy announcements. ...
Minister for Disability Issues Penny Simmonds appears to have delayed a report back to Cabinet on the progress New Zealand is making against international obligations for disabled New Zealanders. ...
The Government’s newly announced review of methane emissions reduction targets hints at its desire to delay Aotearoa New Zealand’s urgent transition to a climate safe future, the Green Party said. ...
The Government must commit to the Maitai School building project for students with high and complex needs, to ensure disabled students from the top of the South Island have somewhere to learn. ...
Mental Health Minister Matt Doocey and his Government colleagues have made a meal of their mental health commitments, showing how flimsy their efforts to champion the issue truly are, says Labour Mental Health spokesperson Ingrid Leary. ...
Paul Goldsmith will take on responsibility for the Media and Communications portfolio, while Louise Upston will pick up the Disability Issues portfolio, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon announced today. “Our Government is relentlessly focused on getting New Zealand back on track. As issues change in prominence, I plan to adjust Ministerial ...
Recreational catch limits will be reduced in areas of Fiordland and the Chatham Islands to help keep those fisheries healthy and sustainable, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. The lower recreational daily catch limits for a range of finfish and shellfish species caught in the Fiordland Marine Area and ...
Energy Minister Simeon Brown has welcomed an important milestone in New Zealand’s hydrogen future, with the opening of the country’s first network of hydrogen refuelling stations in Wiri. “I want to congratulate the team at Hiringa Energy and its partners K one W one (K1W1), Mitsui & Co New Zealand ...
The coalition Government is delivering on its commitment to improve resource management laws and give greater certainty to consent applicants, with a Bill to amend the Resource Management Act (RMA) expected to be introduced to Parliament next month. RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop has today outlined the first RMA Amendment ...
Overseas models for regulating the oil and gas sector, including their decommissioning regimes, are being carefully scrutinised as a potential template for New Zealand’s own sector, Resources Minister Shane Jones says. The Coalition Government is focused on rebuilding investor confidence in New Zealand’s energy sector as it looks to strengthen ...
Emergency Management and Recovery Minister Mark Mitchell has today released the Report of the Government Inquiry into the response to the North Island Severe Weather Events. “The report shows that New Zealand’s emergency management system is not fit-for-purpose and there are some significant gaps we need to address,” Mr Mitchell ...
Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith is today travelling to Europe where he’ll update the United Nations Human Rights Council on the Government’s work to restore law and order. “Attending the Universal Periodic Review in Geneva provides us with an opportunity to present New Zealand’s human rights progress, priorities, and challenges, while ...
Associate Agriculture Minister, Mark Patterson, formally reopened the world’s largest wool processing facility today in Awatoto, Napier, following a $50 million rebuild and refurbishment project. “The reopening of this facility will significantly lift the economic opportunities available to New Zealand’s wool sector, which already accounts for 20 per cent of ...
Hon Andrew Bayly, Minister for Small Business and Manufacturing At the Southland Otago Regional Engineering Collective (SOREC) Summit, 18 April, Dunedin Ngā mihi nui, Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Ko Whanganui aho Good Afternoon and thank you for inviting me to open your summit today. I am delighted ...
The Government is delivering on its commitment to bring back the Three Strikes legislation, Associate Justice Minister Nicole McKee announced today. “Our Government is committed to restoring law and order and enforcing appropriate consequences on criminals. We are making it clear that repeat serious violent or sexual offending is not ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has today announced four new diplomatic appointments for New Zealand’s overseas missions. “Our diplomats have a vital role in maintaining and protecting New Zealand’s interests around the world,” Mr Peters says. “I am pleased to announce the appointment of these senior diplomats from the ...
New Zealand is contributing NZ$7 million to support communities affected by severe food insecurity and other urgent humanitarian needs in Ethiopia and Somalia, Foreign Minister Rt Hon Winston Peters announced today. “Over 21 million people are in need of humanitarian assistance across Ethiopia, with a further 6.9 million people ...
Minister for Arts, Culture and Heritage Paul Goldsmith is congratulating Mataaho Collective for winning the Golden Lion for best participant in the main exhibition at the Venice Biennale. "Congratulations to the Mataaho Collective for winning one of the world's most prestigious art prizes at the Venice Biennale. “It is good ...
The Government is reforming financial services to improve access to home loans and other lending, and strengthen customer protections, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly and Housing Minister Chris Bishop announced today. “Our coalition Government is committed to rebuilding the economy and making life simpler by cutting red tape. We are ...
“China remains a strong commercial opportunity for Kiwi exporters as Chinese businesses and consumers continue to value our high-quality safe produce,” Trade and Agriculture Minister Todd McClay says. Mr McClay has returned to New Zealand following visits to Beijing, Harbin and Shanghai where he met ministers, governors and mayors and engaged in trade and agricultural events with the New ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has completed a successful trip to Singapore, Thailand and the Philippines, deepening relationships and capitalising on opportunities. Mr Luxon was accompanied by a business delegation and says the choice of countries represents the priority the New Zealand Government places on South East Asia, and our relationships in ...
New Zealand is demonstrating its commitment to reducing global greenhouse emissions, and supporting clean energy transition in South East Asia, through a contribution of NZ$41 million (US$25 million) in climate finance to the Asian Development Bank (ADB)-led Energy Transition Mechanism (ETM). Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Climate Change Minister Simon Watts announced ...
The Government is today releasing a list of organisations who received letters about the Fast-track applications process, says RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop. “Recently Ministers and agencies have received a series of OIA requests for a list of organisations to whom I wrote with information on applying to have a ...
Attorney-General Judith Collins today announced the appointment of Wellington Barrister David Jonathan Boldt as a Judge of the High Court, and the Honourable Justice Matthew Palmer as a Judge of the Court of Appeal. Justice Boldt graduated with an LLB from Victoria University of Wellington in 1990, and also holds ...
Education Minister Erica Stanford will lead the New Zealand delegation at the 2024 International Summit on the Teaching Profession (ISTP) held in Singapore. The delegation includes representatives from the Post Primary Teachers’ Association (PPTA) Te Wehengarua and the New Zealand Educational Institute (NZEI) Te Riu Roa. The summit is co-hosted ...
A stopbank upgrade project in Tairawhiti partly funded by the Government has increased flood resilience for around 7000ha of residential and horticultural land so far, Regional Development Minister Shane Jones says. Mr Jones today attended a dawn service in Gisborne to mark the end of the first stage of the ...
Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters will represent the Government at Anzac Day commemorations on the Gallipoli Peninsula next week and engage with senior representatives of the Turkish government in Istanbul. “The Gallipoli campaign is a defining event in our history. It will be a privilege to share the occasion ...
Science, Innovation and Technology and Defence Minister Judith Collins will next week attend the OECD Science and Technology Ministerial conference in Paris and Anzac Day commemorations in Belgium. “Science, innovation and technology have a major role to play in rebuilding our economy and achieving better health, environmental and social outcomes ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon held a bilateral meeting today with the President of the Philippines, Ferdinand Marcos Jr. The Prime Minister was accompanied by MP Paulo Garcia, the first Filipino to be elected to a legislature outside the Philippines. During today’s meeting, Prime Minister Luxon and President Marcos Jr discussed opportunities to ...
The Government has announced that $20 million in funding will be made available to Westport to fund much needed flood protection around the town. This measure will significantly improve the resilience of the community, says Local Government Minister Simeon Brown. “The Westport community has already been allocated almost $3 million ...
The Government is proud to support the first ever Repco Supercars Championship event in Taupō as up to 70,000 motorsport fans attend the Taupō International Motorsport Park this weekend, says Economic Development Minister Melissa Lee. “Anticipation for the ITM Taupō Super400 is huge, with tickets and accommodation selling out weeks ...
Local Government Minister Simeon Brown has announced an increase to the Rates Rebate Scheme, putting money back into the pockets of low-income homeowners. “The coalition Government is committed to bringing down the cost of living for New Zealanders. That includes targeted support for those Kiwis who are doing things tough, such ...
The Coalition Government is investing in a project to boost survival rates of New Zealand mussels and grow the industry, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones has announced. “This project seeks to increase the resilience of our mussels and significantly boost the sector’s productivity,” Mr Jones says. “The project - ...
Benefit figures released today underscore the importance of the Government’s plan to rebuild the economy and have 50,000 fewer people on Jobseeker Support, Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston says. “Benefit numbers are still significantly higher than when National was last in government, when there was about 70,000 fewer ...
The Government’s commitment to doubling New Zealand’s renewable energy capacity is backed by new data showing that clean energy has helped the country reach its lowest annual gross emissions since 1999, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. New Zealand’s latest Greenhouse Gas Inventory (1990-2022) published today, shows gross emissions fell ...
The Government is bringing the earthquake-prone building review forward, with work to start immediately, and extending the deadline for remediations by four years, Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk says. “Our Government is focused on rebuilding the economy. A key part of our plan is to cut red tape that ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and his Thai counterpart, Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin, have today agreed that New Zealand and the Kingdom of Thailand will upgrade the bilateral relationship to a Strategic Partnership by 2026. “New Zealand and Thailand have a lot to offer each other. We have a strong mutual desire to build ...
RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop and Transport Minister Simeon Brown have today announced the Coalition Government’s intention to extend port coastal permits for a further 20 years, providing port operators with certainty to continue their operations. “The introduction of the Resource Management Act in 1991 required ports to obtain coastal ...
Today’s announcement that inflation is down to 4 per cent is encouraging news for Kiwis, but there is more work to be done - underlining the importance of the Government’s plan to get the economy back on track, acting Finance Minister Chris Bishop says. “Inflation is now at 4 per ...
Refreshed health guidance released today will help parents and schools make informed decisions about whether their child needs to be in school, addressing one of the key issues affecting school attendance, says Associate Education Minister David Seymour. In recent years, consistently across all school terms, short-term illness or medical reasons ...
Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones is streamlining high-level oceans management while maintaining a focus on supporting the sector’s role in the export-led recovery of the economy. “I am working to realise the untapped potential of our fishing and aquaculture sector. To achieve that we need to be smarter with ...
Associate Agriculture Minister Mark Patterson is speaking at the International Wool Textile Organisation Congress in Adelaide, promoting New Zealand wool, and outlining the coalition Government’s support for the revitalisation the sector. "New Zealand’s wool exports reached $400 million in the year to 30 June 2023, and the coalition Government ...
The Government is making legislative changes to make it easier for new early learning services to be established, and for existing services to operate, Associate Education Minister David Seymour says. The changes involve repealing the network approval provisions that apply when someone wants to establish a new early learning service, ...
Changes to the Resource Management Act will align consenting for coal mining to other forms of mining to reduce barriers that are holding back economic development, Resources Minister Shane Jones says. “The inconsistent treatment of coal mining compared with other extractive activities is burdensome red tape that fails to acknowledge ...
Trade, Agriculture and Forestry Minister Todd McClay has concluded productive discussions with ministerial counterparts in Beijing today, in support of the New Zealand-China trade and economic relationship. “My meeting with Commerce Minister Wang Wentao reaffirmed the complementary nature of the bilateral trade relationship, with our Free Trade Agreement at its ...
Asia Pacific Report Students and activist staff at Australia’s University of Sydney (USyd) have set up a Gaza solidarity encampment in support of Palestinians and similar student-led protests in the United States. The camp was pitched as mass graves, crippled hospitals, thousands of civilian deaths and the near-total destruction of ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By James B. Dorey, Lecturer in Biological Sciences, University of Wollongong Australian teddy bear bees are cute and fluffy, but get a look at that massive (unbarbed) stinger! James Dorey Photography Most of us have been stung by a bee and we ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jen Roberts, Senior Lecturer, School of Humanities and Social Inquiry, University of Wollongong Aussie~mobs/FlickrVictor Farr, a private in the 1st Infantry Battalion, was among the first to land at Anzac Cove just before dawn on April 25 1915. Victor Farr ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Gregory Moore, Senior Research Associate, School of Ecosystem and Forest Sciences, The University of Melbourne Gregory Moore I had the good fortune to care for the sugar gum at The University of Melbourne’s Burnley Gardens in Victoria where I worked for ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By John Hawkins, Senior Lecturer, Canberra School of Politics, Economics and Society, University of Canberra BagzhanSadvakassov/Upsplash, CC BY-SA Australia’s inflation rate has fallen for the fifth successive quarter, and it’s now less than half of what it was back in late 2022. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Rachel Ong ViforJ, ARC Future Fellow & Professor of Economics, Curtin University Just when we think the price of rentals could not get any worse, this week’s Rental Affordability Snapshot by Anglicare has revealed low-income Australians are facing a housing crisis like ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Meighen McCrae, Associate Professor of Strategic & Defence Studies, Australian National University American and Australian stretcher bearers working together near the front line during the Battle of Hamel in 1918.Australian War Memorial While the AUKUS alliance is new, the Australian-American partnership ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Tracey Holmes, Professorial Fellow in Sport, University of Canberra When the news broke last weekend that 23 Chinese swimmers had tested positive to a banned drug in early 2021 and were allowed to compete at the Tokyo Olympic Games six months later ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Cally Jetta, Senior Lecturer and Academic Lead; College for First Nations, University of Southern Queensland Australian War MemorialAboriginal and Torres Strait Islander readers are advised this article contains names and images of deceased people, as well as sensitive historical information ...
RNZ News Melissa Lee has been ousted from New Zealand’s coalition cabinet and stripped of the Media portfolio, and Penny Simmonds has lost the Disability Issues portfolio in a reshuffle. Climate Change and Revenue Minister Simon Watts will take Lee’s spot in cabinet. Simmonds was a minister outside of cabinet. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By David Lindenmayer, Professor, Fenner School of Environment and Society, Australian National University laurello/Shutterstock Some reports and popular books, such as Bill Gammage’s Biggest Estate on Earth, have argued that extensive areas of Australia’s forests were kept open through frequent burning by ...
Analysis - Christopher Luxon framing the demotion of two ministers as the portfolios getting "too complex" is a charitable way of saying they weren't up to the job. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra With Jim Chalmers’s third budget on May 14, Australians will be looking for some more cost-of-living relief – beyond the tax cuts – although they have been warned extra measures will be modest. As ...
Analysis: Melissa Lee has lost the media portfolio and her spot in Cabinet after multiple failed attempts to find solutions for a media industry in crisis. On Wednesday, the Prime Minister announced Lee would be losing her spot in Cabinet along with her media and communications ministerial portfolio. The job ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Simon Wilmot, Senior Lecturer, Film, Deakin University Among the many Australian who served during the second world war, there is a small group of people whose stories remain largely untold. These are the Muslim men and women who, while small in number, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kelly Saunders, PhD Candidate, University of Canberra There has been much analysis and praise of Justice Michael Lee’s recent judgement in Bruce Lehrmann’s defamation case against Channel Ten. Many people were openly relieved to read Lee’s “forensic” and “nuanced” application of law ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kathy Gibbs, Program Director for the Bachelor of Education, Griffith University zEdward_Indy/Shutterstock Around one in 20 people has attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). It’s one of the most common neurodevelopmental disorders in childhood and often continues into adulthood. ADHD is diagnosed ...
The Fairer Future coalition of anti-poverty groups say Whaikaha must be properly funded going forward, and that to argue that poor financial management of the new Ministry is a red herring by the Prime Minister. ...
The Taxpayers’ Union is today congratulating Hon. Paul Goldsmith on his appointment as Minister for Media and Communications and urges him to rule out state intervention in the private media sector. ...
Asia Pacific Report The West Papuan resistance OPM leader has condemned Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and US President Joe Biden, accusing their countries of “six decades of treachery” over Papuan independence. The open letter was released today by OPM chairman Jeffrey P Bomanak on the eve of ANZAC Day ...
Welcome to The Spinoff Books Confessional, in which we get to know the reading habits and quirks of New Zealanders at large. This week: writer and one of Time Magazine’s 100 most influential people of 2024, Lauren Groff.The book I wish I’d writtenIf I wish I’d written a ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By David Fechner, Research Fellow, Social Marketing, Griffith University mavo/Shutterstock Imagine having dinner at a restaurant. The menu offers plant-based meat alternatives made mostly from vegetables, mushrooms, legumes and wheat that mimic meat in taste, texture and smell. Despite being given that ...
“Three Strikes is a dead-end policy proposed by a dead-end government. The Three Strikes law ignores the causes of crime, instead just brutalising people already crushed by the cost of living.” ...
By Don Wiseman, RNZ Pacific senior journalist An Australian-born judge in Kiribati could well face deportation later this week after a tribunal ruling that he should be removed from his post. The tribunal’s report has just been tabled in the Kiribati Parliament and is due to be debated by MPs ...
With its clear mandate for police use, political nuances, and nuanced public trust, Denmark's insights provide valuable considerations for Australia and New Zealand. ...
Books editor Claire Mabey reviews poet Louise Wallace’s debut novel. A famous poet once said to me that he’s always suspicious when a poet publishes a novel. I never really understood why but maybe it’s something to do with cheating on your first form. Louise Wallace is a poet. She’s ...
For a few months at the turn of the millennium, TrueBliss burned bright as the biggest pop stars in the country. Alex Casey chats to two superfans who still hold the flame. During a humble backyard wedding in Nelson, 1999, one of the cordially invited guests had to excuse themselves ...
How will the recent wave of job cuts impact ethnic diversity in the media? In November last year, I was working a very busy day in the newsroom of a large online news site, interviewing whānau about their concerns over the imminent closure of one of the few puna reo ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ruth Knight, Researcher, Queensland University of Technology Have you ever felt sick at work? Perhaps you had food poisoning or the flu. Your belly hurt, or you felt tired, making it hard to concentrate and be productive. How likely would you be ...
Despite heavy criticism and an ongoing select committee process, the Police Minister says the Government will forge ahead with a ban on gang patches. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sam Whiting, Lecturer – Creative Industries, University of South Australia Shutterstock Everyone has a favourite band, or a favourite composer, or a favourite song. There is some music which speaks to you, deeply; and other music which might be the current ...
A new survey says ‘outlook not great’ for those charged with building infrastructure, while RMA changes delight farmers and depress environmentalists, writes Anna Rawhiti-Connell in this excerpt from The Bulletin, The Spinoff’s morning news round-up. To receive The Bulletin in full each weekday, sign up here. First RMA changes announced ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Olli Hellmann, Associate Professor of Political Science, University of Waikato Getty Images When New Zealanders commemorate Anzac Day on April 25, it’s not only to honour the soldiers who lost their lives in World War I and subsequent conflicts, but also ...
A leaked document shows the Canterbury/Waitaha arm of health agency Te Whatu Ora is scurrying to save $13.3 million by July. The “financial sustainability target”, which was “allocated” to Waitaha, is consistent with what’s happening in other districts, says Sarah Dalton, executive director of the Association of Salaried Medical Specialists. ...
A look at the state of the previous government’s affordable housing scheme, and what could come next.Remind me: What’s KiwiBuild again?First announced in 2012, KiwiBuild was a flagship policy of the Labour Party heading into both its 2014 and 2017 election campaigns. With Jacinda Ardern as prime minister, ...
Labour in opposition will be shocked to learn which party had six years in power but squandered any chance to make real change. Grant Robertson’s valedictory speech was a predictably entertaining trip down memory lane. The acid-tongued incoming Otago University chancellor administered a sick burn to the coalition government. He ...
Taiwan’s semiconductor industry is seen some as its ‘silicon shield’ against invasion – but how will overseas expansion affect that protection? The post The state of Taiwan’s silicon shield appeared first on Newsroom. ...
There’s relief for building owners bending under the weight of earthquake strengthening rules – and costs – that came into force seven years ago. Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk has announced a scheduled 2027 review of the earthquake-prone building regulations will now start this year. Owners will also get ...
Opinion: It has been announced that nine percent of roles at Oranga Tamariki will be disestablished, presumably to help fund the tax cuts promised by the coalition Government. I am reminded of the graphics used to illustrate pandemic events, where five thousand people are standing in a field and then ...
After more than two sleepless days, running through savage terrain, Greig Hamilton didn’t know if he was going to finish one of the most gruelling psychological assaults in sport. He was metres away from the finish line, a yellow gate made famous in a Netflix documentary; a race he’d dreamed ...
Loading…(function(i,s,o,g,r,a,m){var ql=document.querySelectorAll('A[quiz],DIV[quiz],A[data-quiz],DIV[data-quiz]'); if(ql){if(ql.length){for(var k=0;k<ql.length;k++){ql[k].id='quiz-embed-'+k;ql[k].href="javascript:var i=document.getElementById('quiz-embed-"+k+"');try{qz.startQuiz(i)}catch(e){i.start=1;i.style.cursor='wait';i.style.opacity='0.5'};void(0);"}}};i['QP']=r;i[r]=i[r]||function(){(i[r].q=i[r].q||[]).push(arguments)},i[r].l=1*new Date();a=s.createElement(o),m=s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];a.async=1;a.src=g;m.parentNode.insertBefore(a,m)})(window,document,'script','https://take.quiz-maker.com/3012/CDN/quiz-embed-v1.js','qp'); Got a good quiz question?Send Newsroom your questions. The post Newsroom daily quiz, Wednesday 24 April appeared first on Newsroom. ...
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Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Dan Jerker B. Svantesson, Professor specialising in Internet law, Bond University Do Australian courts have the right to decide what foreign citizens, located overseas, view online on a foreign-owned platform? Anyone inclined to answer “yes” to this question should perhaps also ask ...
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No politics section in today’s online Herald, of course nothing of merit to report at all so replace it with fluff and other passing issues. Are their shills struggling to create content and spin around the latest blatant ‘ f you’ to the electorate by the NACT.
Further to this did I miss the Digipoll the Herald usually runs to coincide with the start of the new parliamentary session or did they not bother this year? Also (though it’s hard to believe it’s possible) TVNZ’s political coverage seems to be even more useless than it used to be.
This is on their web page – must relate to national’s tough stance on crime and their investment in justice?
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10790077
Police bosses are considering laying off staff and closing some stations in an effort to save $360 million over the next three years.
The staff cuts would include police officers and non-sworn staff.
Commissioner Peter Marshall is not commenting on the proposal, but says frontline policing resources will not be reduced.
Oh good, frontline services will improve with a slashing of support! Yeah Right….
Meanwhile Stuff has a few significant articles today:
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/6527665/26k-for-3-day-McCully-fly-by
accompanied by a poll asking if this trip is worth the money
A very significant artilce of asset sales:
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/6527608/Law-won-t-give-Kiwis-first-rights-to-shares
and another artcle on, what amounts to, the Maori Party major sell-out on asset sales:
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/6527609/SOEs-Waitangi-lite-but-coalition-tight
What a shameful end for the Maori Party.
Hi Carol Re asset sales and the general picture worldwide:
The decline phase of I.C. (Industrial Civilisation) sounds momentous eh!? continues to collapse to a simpler less rich for the 99% level while the 1% aided by the likes of shonkey and dunny paper shore up their nests with aquiring real assets rather than paper junk!
More Proof the World Is Going to Hell
Get a Proper Job, Says Michael C. Ruppert
By Andy Capper
money is only a symbol for what energy can do.
Michael C. Ruppert: The only education worth taking a loan out for now is a practical trade. Do something that will help you stay alive. Industrial society is collapsing and there will be no recovery. We are past peak oil and nobody can deny that.
There is a 96 percent correlation between GDP growth and greenhouse gas emissions, which means there can be no [economic] recovery without burning oil and coal. China is scrambling all over the world for coal because their factories are closing down because they rely on coal for energy.
There are reports that the British police are starting to militarise. More weapons and armoured vehicles (like the Jankel Guardian pictured below) are being acquired, and officers are receiving SAS training tactics. The mainstream press says this is to protect people from a Mumbai-style terror attack, but the concern at ground level is that when the UK’s economy really hits the skids there is going to be a new form of extreme rioting that the country has never seen before.
That is going to happen all over Europe. There is a catch-22 in progress for police departments who are being cut back globally due to budget issues, in places by as much as 50 percent, yet still have the mandate to keep order.
Link: http://www.collapsenet.com/free-resources/collapsenet-public-access/news-alerts/item/6773-get-a-proper-job-michael-c-ruppert
http://whoar.co.nz/2012/commentwhoar-original-cartoon-lockwood-smith-vs-winston-peters/
phil-at-whoar.
Doesn’t Phil O’Reilly know that workers may also be “mums and dads”.
Richard Boock posts the obvious truth about the keyman
“every time Key opts to avoid what the rest of us regard as the blindingly obvious, he becomes a little more of a hollow man; a PM without answers, a leader without a vision. A bloke who’s just realised the world he once knew doesn’t exist anymore. And that it won’t be returning.
A complete banker, just in the wrong place at the wrong time.”
http://www.stuff.co.nz/auckland/blogs/an-auckland-minute/6526335/John-Key-Dishonest-or-deluded
A work of beauty, that article. Thanks for linking it…
I was having a real rant about this to my partner. Great to see it articulated so clearly.
Can anyone tell me why Statistics NZ’s series on work stoppages stops in December 2010. There is no 2011 data. Have they stopped collecting or posting the data? Or am I missing something?
This year’s spike will make fascinating reading.
May be quake related. Stats NZ building was stuffed quite early on and seem to remember that loads of info and data were trapped in red zone and not backed up off site.
Thanks Andy. That makes sense.
We don’t know how lucky we are as workers in NZ and it’s easy to forget gains hard one by our forebears through unions and sacrifice. Without them we would no doubt be in a similar situations to the people outlined below…
My wife is from eastern Europe and her family still live there so often I here first hand how bad things are getting employment wise.
Her father who is relatively high up the chain as a head engineer at a heating plant was told if he takes a holiday this year not to come back because he won’t have a job to come back to, It seems that the company owner is insisting that all workers give up their paid holidays for the foreseeable future.
Her Mother works for a company doing work related to EU funds she is a project manager on @ 500nzd per month working 60 hour weeks, Her boss recently awarded himself a $100,000 euro bonus on winning a multi million dollar contract
The other common theme is that people just aren’t getting paid at all or only a fraction of what they should be.
Unfortunately with no protection, no help and desperation people are to scared of losing what little income they have they put with this shit. I get the impression tensions are rising and the shit may really hit the fan over the next few years with corruption endemic and poverty ever increasing.
Also of interest French banks are moving there labour force over to her country as someone will do for $250 nz per week that someone in France was doing for $1500 nz and thanks to the wonders of the internet and call centre tech to the average customer you would assume you were dealing with someone in France.
Whilst everyone looks over their neighbour’s fence and belatedly wakes up to the Asset Sales debacle, we miss the dissembled denial of everyones’ right to a safe and just society. There are thousands of books that have been written which speak most plainly how freedom of the press is all that stands between society and slavery.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/6526793/Surveillance-bill-to-target-privilege
Freedom of the press: perpetrate creation and maintenance of stereotype; support free market ideology; embark on trial-by-media circumventions of justice; publish distract and delay, designed to be addictive, badly researched, unprofessional, opinion as fact, racist delusions on a daily basis.
Yeah, don’t really think our media needs any more “freedom”. They seem to be complaining that one of them might have to find some courage, stand up for what a real fourth estate might be and risk going to prison.
I can see it now, the office-bound hero abandoned by shameful doe-eyed collegues and editors- in-chief, betraying them and shrugging their shoulders; all of them more interested in selling the story of the persecuted journalist than the story the journalist was chasing. Bunch of jackles and weasels the lot.
With our imaginary fourth estate gone, finally, and good riddance, something new can take it’s place, most likely beginning in the blogosphere; but if laws change to stop that, then maybe a return to printing presses and community meetings.
I completely agree what we currently consume is the editorial equivalent of fast food. I sincerely wish people would walk away from the neon lit queues of factless fodder and head home to a table laden with the real food our forebearers had so earnestly fought for. Even if most of the ideas they were fighting and fighting for, were themselves myths and lies.
That does not alter the stark reality that this shift is designed to silence those who may speak out. It is not about the Journalist. They gave up any right to be respected long ago. It is absolutely about the whistleblower. The single voice that has the strength to speak truth to power.
The threat of exposure and the ensuing melee inevitably extinguish the career the health, at times the family and even the very life of the whistleblower. This course of events has regularly been shown to be a very effective muzzle in despotic regimes and free democracies alike. The idea that secrecy is only for Governments has been and continues to be a core poison to the consumers of real and true democracy.
Truth is now a minuscule smattering of seeds left on a vast banquet table of frozen TV dinners.
Seeds that every corporate owned government on this planet work so diligently against propogating. Simple seeds that they never again want to see planted in the rich soil of freedom.
Good to see Rush Limbaugh getting his comeuppance for his word vomit at Sandra Fluke, after she testifying in Congress to support access to contraceptives under medical insurance.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2012/mar/05/rush-limbaugh-sincerely-sorry-aol
Hopefully he’ll be taken off air, given his track record.
America’s Paul Holmes.
http://whoar.co.nz/2012/spying-on-the-koch-brothers/
“…Inside the discreet retreat where the elite meet to plot Barack Obama’s defeat…”
phil-at-whoar.
… however they have yet to come up against Stan the man with the tan van who has the golden an…
http://www.sunlive.co.nz/news/22682-affco-workers-air-safety-concerns.html
Affco workers air safety concerns
Posted at 11:45am Tuesday 06th Mar, 2012
Meat workers at the latest Affco plant to be locked out are concerned new workers’ safety is being put at risk to undermine the union.
Talley’s locked out 200 workers at the Rangiuru freezing works near Te Puke at 5am, taking the total number of locked out meat workers nationwide to 1000.
There are 150 workers striking in solidarity with the workers outside the plant with over 750 striking at the company’s seven other North Island plants. The company locked out 750 workers last Wednesday and previously said it wouldn’t lock out any more workers.
The Rangiuru site president for the Meat Workers Union is Kaipara McGarvey, 47, from Tuhoe, and he is a lamb cutter. “This dispute isn’t about pay or anything like that, it’s about getting rid of the union,” he says. “Talley’s is a well-known anti-union company and we all feel it’s pretty low that they’d stoop to putting new workers’ safety at risk just to undermine us.”
Rakai Tamihana, 39, from Nga Tamanuihiri, is a boner in his third season. He joined the union when he started in 2010 and was quickly approached by the company. “The company pressured me out of the union and put my safety at risk to undermine union workers,” he says. “They took me into a room and offered me $1000 and three per cent pay rise to pull out; then they put me on the slaughterfloor without any training where I got an electric shock from the railing.
“I felt like a guinea pig – they only put me there to create division with the skilled workers who were all in the union.”
Rariri Potaka, 48, from Ngati Waitaha, has worked at the plant for 18 years. He is a supervisor (leader hand) on mutton slaughter.
“I was threatened with disciplinary action for refusing to put a new starter who had only been at the plant four hours on the chain,” he says. “Mutton slaughter is a dangerous job and we don’t wear protective clothing or mesh gloves because of contamination issues. I was willing to put my job on the line so I wouldn’t risk the workers’ safety.”
Potaka says new staff are labourers and usually work up to skilled jobs through years of training.
http://www.sunlive.co.nz/news/22682-affco-workers-air-safety-concerns.html
Good on him! But the whole thing is evil…
For those that can get past the fact this is about something on Kiwiblog and involves Judith Collins this is well worth noting.
It also involves Charles Chauvel:
High praise for the side of parliament we don’t hear much about – where much of the actual work is done.
Charles also says:
And David Parker:
Sounds like it’s well done by all involved, on a very tricky and contentious bit of legislation.
DPF calls it Rare Praise. I hope we can get to see this approach as normal.
In response to the concerns of some groups, the 7-year threshold means that examination orders are not available to investigate such crimes as protesting, trespass, disorderly behaviour or unlawful assembly. -Judith Collins
such crimes as protestingThat’s a hell of a freudian slip.
http://www.medialens.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=668:iran-next-in-line-for-western-intervention&catid=25:alerts-2012&Itemid=69
[deleted]
[lprent: We’re not a cut’n’paste site. We’re interested in what you have to say and you appear to be somewhat laconic. It’d pay not to be in the future. We boot people who are incapable of expressing themselves.
If you are going to quote something, then use blockquote or italics to make it clear what is yours and what is someone elses. Only quote small relevant section(s) and as you did, put a link in. Then people can go to the link if you have interested them enough. And read the policy. ]
The question has been quietly asked in Chch about the efforts of rescuers following Feb 22 and whether mistakes had been made that resulted in deaths. It is hoped the Royal Commission is considering this (which is not an attack on the rescuers, merely a legitimate questioning of the methods, policies etc which guided them).
This article http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/6530540/Inept-rescue-effort-blamed-for-deaths appears today which clearly indicates the question is real and serious.
Vamos!
http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/finance/ambroseevans-pritchard/100015432/spains-sovereign-thunderclap-and-the-end-of-merkels-europe/#disqus_thread
Excellent.
The needs of the people come before the desires of the money-lenders.
It is this concept which is strangely alien to Key and corps.
NACT Budget Blow Out
“Treasury says the government’s corporate tax take may miss forecasts for the rest of the financial year, leaving the Crown vulnerable to a bigger-than-expected annual deficit. : Todays NZ Herald
Hang on, Key and Co have done all they can to shrink Government and lay the conditions they believe support the business sector. When are the corporates going to contribute their fair share?
Never whilst key is in charge
And from this http://nz.finance.yahoo.com/news/nz-corporate-tax-dwindle-2012-214756006.html
“…and the Debt Management Office has slipped behind the run-rate needed to meet this year’s bond programme to raise $13.5 billion”. We ae having sporting slang now being applied to the govts finances. Next there will be the required run rate graph, when we are well behind the required rate worry as then it will be obvious that no one will want to loan to us and our only option will be asset sales …… mmmmm
I gather this deficit is whythere is such a slash and burn attitude towards govt departments- refer to the rumoured cutting of the police budget and the resulting loss of front line staff- Cannot wait for SST outbusrts to follow 😉
Here’s another National mistruth blown out of the water
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10790179
So those frontline staff are actually unpaid students, thanks Tony Pink Tie!
And another – 2000 more nurses!! Another lie
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10789874
And pretty outright lies, too – doctors and I believe nurses need not only to have completed specific qualifications, but to be registered as well.
That’s just desperate. If he repeats the claim in the House, it would be contempt or whatever MPs get done for.
Under Lockwood they get a stern look at a see me after sitting note whe they probably get told off for making his job tougher.
And the MSM sit by and do jack along with the opposition who are paid to front up and call him out of these lies…..a sense of futility grows.
I was reading Ryall’s excuses in the Herald last night.. Disgusting!
Stuff: Wharfies ordered to unload ship
OMG – Told to do their job…. where will it end !
But seriously, what has happened in the past when a ship has arrived from a port that didn’t have union workers affiliated to the NZ Labour party ? Has it been unloaded or do these guys really have the mafia style control they think they have ?
Once upon a time workers had a legal right to withdraw their labour. A right which still exists in the rest of the “free” world.
In NZ even the industrial action taken by Sam Purnell in Wellington for a 40 hour week would be illegal today.
Why should they work a ship loaded by scabs?
A ship which is itself manned by scab labour. Undercutting NZ rates of pay and taking NZ jobs. Without even getting into the safety issues and risks attached to Flag of Convenience shipping.
Nothing stopping them withdrawing their labour – they can resign !
I though their job was unloading ships not playing Labour party politics…..
I thought Gibson’s job was running a port. Not playing NACT politics.
KJT
May I suggest the best course of action would seem to be for the unions and their associates to setup their own port. Purchase their own port infrastructure and staff it. They would then have full control over which ships come and go via that port.
Isn’t work a transaction between the owners of financial capital and the owners of work capital, based on an agreement? If that agreement is changed don’t both parties have the right to withdraw from the transaction? – Owners of financial capital can sack bad workers, or if they can’t pay for work agree on terms to cancel the contract (redundancy). If the owners of work capital find the agreement is being broken by the owners of financial capital they have the right to withdraw their work in the same way. It’s not a subordinate relationship – it’s an agreement.
As for a setting up their own port, why don’t the owners of financial capital do their own work then they wouldn’t have to worry about agreements with the owners of work capital? Better still why not both sides come to an agreement to set up a cooperative?
rosy
Yes there is an agreement between the owners of capital (the port) and the owners of labour (the workers). It’s called an employment contract. It’s the thing the employment court has ruled on.
Now if the employment contract explicitly said the workers were withing their rights to pick and choose which vessels they work on based on the work place associations of the people that loaded them – then I suspect the employment court would have ruled in their favour.
If the owners of labour (the workers) don’t like the work they are required to do under their contract then they can certainly withdraw their labour. But to do that, they need to actually withdraw their labour – resign. They can’t simply tell the owners of capital (the port) that they have made up a new employment condition and expect it to stand. This is evidenced by the employment court ruling that they must get back to work… or I guess resign.
Resign? It’s just as easy to say that if Employers can’t manage a dispute they could sell up to more competent providers of capital or the management could resign – It depends on whether the workers and businesses would prefer that to renegotiating the agreement. Generally I’d expect both employers and workers would work on the principle that they would prefer an agreement with the current workers/businesses Often it suits no-one for any other outcome.
The only reason the employers are trying this on is because of high unemployment, in a tight labour market I doubt you’d see the same thing happening. And before you say it… yes workers should maintain the principle of negotiating a fair agreement in a tight labour market, and in the past there have been some occasions when they haven’t. This is not a case of holding port management to ransom – it’s fighting to maintain conditions from a base of proven productivity.
And in terms of the Wellington port workers & the Employment Court (a different, albeit related issue), I don’t see that workers are being unreasonable.
rosy
You can’t call their tactics fair and honourable when they are overturned by a court as being illegal. The union have lawyers – they must have know they were acting illegally.
How would we be talking about the port if their actions were thrown out in a court – we would call them scum…
I didn’t call the actions fair or honourable, I said not unreasonable…and who’s ‘we’? I don’t think I’ve read you using the word ‘scum’ in the context of poor employers. And It’s not a word I use.
The situation with the Auckland port management actions is completely different, btw.
Yes the situation with Auckland is entirely different. So WTF did the Wellington workers think they were doing ?
They did.
Once upon a time. It was called State ownership.
Like the power companies, our roads, NZ rail etc etc. the Unions and their associates, the former Labour party, paid for and set up.
Unfortunately, we did too good a job and made them too attractive to RWNJ thieves.
Those who are too incompetent and gutless to start a real business for themselves want to steal ours!
Yes in a fairy tale the state was the union….. And they all lived happily ever after….
The state isn’t one-in-the-same as the trade unions. The trade unions may be the funding arm of one political party – but they are not the state.
Those who are too incompetent and gutless to start a real business for themselves want to control someone else’s….
Those who are too incompetent and gutless to start a real business for themselves want to control someone else’s….
Jeez, I’d Love to hear you say that to the next engineer or doctor you meet.
Sure, if I meet a Doctor that decides that they won’t treat me because I’m not a union member or an engineer who refuses his services because I’m not a union member then I’ll certainly tell them they have crossed the line. I’ll find another doctor or another engineer. In the case of the doctor I’d also lay a complaint.
Doctors take an oath to preserve life – they put that ahead of all else. Engineers are required to act within established standards and guidelines…
I’m not sure what your point is – the port workers have in this case decided that their employment contract terms can be varied based on something the port has no control over – how is that even comparable to an engineer or a doctor ?
Doctors are smart and have their own unions you moron, very effective unions they are too.
So when did the doctors union insist that doctors classify patients according to their union affiliations…. of that’s right – DR’s are smart and don’t make up the rules as they go along…. The patient comes first – their disputes second. Shame you couldn’t find a better way to make yourself look like a tool.
Bringing the doctors union into this really isn’t helping the port workers…..
True. Smashing the Board and POAL management is the only thing left at this point.
Has Pita Sharples and Tariana Turia sold their souls? To John Key? How much? And for what end?
http://tvnz.co.nz/politics-news/iwi-leader-calls-maori-party-leave-coalition-4761842
Gee, Pita, can you really hear yourself these days? And actually even believe in what you say?
http://podcast.radionz.co.nz/mnr/mnr-20120306-0812-harawira_urges_maori_party_to_quit_government_over_asset_sales-048.mp3
Power sharing.
Apparently we are being offered something we already own and given that the government is responsible for getting a best possible return on its revenue for its citizens, ummm now, if the assets are really such a good buy and investment, can one assume that the government will be first in line to buy them when they offer them for sale … duh