Meanwhile, while we weren’t looking, transnational corporates loot the NZ economy, stealing billions from NZers.
“Westpac post record half-year
The local division of the Australasian lender reported interim cash earnings of $432 million yesterday, a 17 per cent increase on the same period a year earlier.”
The Herald posts a front page story about a taxi company ripping off its customers, while hidden inside is a tale of a massive ongoing heist happening to our country.
From CAFCA’s website.
“Transnational corporations (TNCs) make massive profits out of New Zealand. These can truly be called New Zealand’s biggest invisible export. In the year to March 2013 at $8.3 billion their profits were almost as much as the $8.5 billion earned by the combined exports of seafood and milk powder. In the decade 2004-2013, TNCs made $73.4 billion in profits from New Zealand. Only 27% was reinvested.
Yes but all those frontline resources johnny promised to tackle such practices….oh wait they slashed public servants and installed compliant dept heads instead.
I dont recall any action against large corporates by the ird under this regime.
Paul-‘While we weren’t looking..’
Yes. We are too busy over miserable contrived scandals about Collins and that other guy, Williams, McWilliams or whatever his name is? Two politicians whose survival is guaranteed by the majority they hold in right wing electorates. Their reputations are perceptually impaired but provide great distractions from the Key/ English desecration of our once envied egalitarian society.
Its the Judith and Maurice Muppet Show folks!
The important election issues have been successfully sidelined.
Key( Kermit) will be seen as strong, decisive. Collins (Miss Piggy) and Williamson (Gonzo)will be back unharmed and we’ll all applaud another great show..
We all believed deeply in Enspiral – but Enspiral as it was meant to be, not this. None of us had signed up to be anyone’s manager or boss.
We looked at each other around the room. When had supporting the people and the network we loved become so frustrating and depressing? Only a few people were running things behind the scenes, while everyone else was disconnected from the core work. And now those few people were fed up.
Interesting figure that took them to the limit. That magic number, 150 people max comes up over and over again in different guises, effective co-housing, Rank Xerox limited their division sizes at one point to 150.
In practice – anything bigger and you cannot communicate effectively with all members AND have systems in place that allow everyone to fully participate.
when you think back on it..from that first breezy disavowal from collins..
..that spontaneous ‘just dropping into oravida for a cup of tea..on the way to the airport’…
..everything out of her mouth has been a whopping great lie..
..and i think national/key will be surprised at how much this has hurt their third-term aspirations..
..the stench of corruption coming from collins..with key standing behind her..propping her up..(why?..must be the next question..just how postal could collins go..if given the boot..
FFS Screams distraction. And what pray tell me is the cost of these calls- $10? $20?. Why bother with rorts in the millions elsewhere when you can concentrate on this. Wonderful sense of proportion the Herald has.
Has Nigeria sked for interntional help in this matter? No, I don’t think they have.
Is there any similarity at all between a missing civilian passenger jet full of foreign nationals magically disapearing over international waters and what is primarily a domestic matter in a failing state? No, not really.
Is it racist to suggest western intervention because Nigeria obviously can’t deal with it’s own issues. Oh yes, yes it is.
Well you’re the one making unsubstantiated claims. Has Nigeria asked for help – or are you suggesting some sort of unilateral intervention? (because we know how well that usually goes).
You are suggesting that Africa can’t handle Africa’s affairs without the west holding their hand, so if the racist hat fits…
So, has Nigeria asked for international help? Cite reference please?
Yea well – shame Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala has stated publicly that she’d like anyone and everyone to assist. She doesn’t give a fuck whether it’s African Union or Western nations intervention getting involved.
(Quest/CNN – to quote a dubious source – but said in plain language)
Pops – you remind me of an IBM operating system: it gets so big and complex before it can get out of its own way to do anything productive – but its ambitious, well-managed/managing, and full of kaka.
(In your case it seems to me to be OVER-ambition, self-aggrandisement, ego-building, various exception responses and sense codes to do with maintaining an aura of plitkul kreckniss, and a starting point from which you can claim you’re always ‘right’ (or at least just a little 3rd way).
Wipe it up, wipe it up with X-L-O (and if that doesn’t work – consult Craig R for an aunt Daisy sloos-shun
Well last time I checked the Minister of Finance doesn’t get to make that call. You seem to be suggesting that we can cavalierly pick and choose who we invade. Arguably the US is supressing terrorists and Taliban in various middle eastern and asian countries by invitation. Arguably Russia invaded Georgia and Crimea by invitation. Unfortunately in the real world these situations are never black and white and inevitably bite the arse of anyone stupid enough to get involved in the sovereign affairs of another state. I’d be very much suprised if you weren’t calling France and the US very bad names over Libya and Syria. About the only occasion such an intervention can be described as legitimate and ethical was Kosovo, and even then you’ll see cretinous Chomskyites using it as an example of US warmongering.
The question isn’t about ‘suggesting western intervention’. It’s noting that there’s a clear disparity in attention and concern when 234 black girls are abducted by religious extremists. If it were 234 white girls in France, you wouldn’t be able to move for headlines about it. The lives of women of colour are treated as less valuable that those of white women. That’s the racism.
it’s a bit bigger than a “domestic matter”… or ought to be. Girls kidnapped for sale because of a belief no females should be educated. Imagine if some skinheads kipnapped some jews for sale as slaves because judaism is evil… and the state didnt ask anyone to intervene, just a domestic matter populuxe?
Well, either the west is morally obliged to unilaterally intervene in other countries or it’s not. Which is it? Basically you are just handing a big fat excuse to Russia, the US and any big power eyeing up their more marginal neighbours. You’ve just justified Libya, Afganistan, Crimea, and god knows what else. Hell, Indonesia could probably use that as an excuse to invade PNG.
The Arab Spring has nothing to do with this (I suspect you were probably one of the people wringing your hands and demanding that the west stay out of Libya and Syria). And yes, today, and most of last week, what’s your fucking point? Shit is happening all over the world all the time. Potential war between nuclear powers in Eastern Europe may be slightly more presing.
And you would advise what Phillip, that the Western World invade 3 countries in search of those kidnapped in what is said to be an act of political revenge upon the Nigerian State for their soldiers involvement in another countries conflict???…
So says the self admitted poly-addict Phillip, your continuous drug rants explaining to us all the danger of the addictive psyche engaging in any drug use,
Trapped forever, scarred by the needle,(and the damage done),a Junky forever…
I haven’t read your article phillip but I would say there appears to be a double standard at work. Consider the almost blind eye treatment towards a large group of abducted Nigerian girls to 7 years of investigations into Madelaine McCann’s disappearance, the trashy mag stories about the heartbreak of the McCann’s and the media attention – it still goes on.
In those 7 years I wonder how many boys and girls have been abducted in human trafficking rings around the world. The pain of those parents will be no different to that of the McCann’s.
i have always had a disquieting question about the McCann’s, ”what sort of parents holidaying in a strange place leave their 3 year old alone in a hotel room while they go out for hours slurping wines and partaking of the local culinary delights”…
Parents do other things beside looking after their children. The McCanns had a right to believe that the children would be safe and were checking on them It is not clear from the reports I have read as to how anyone could get into the apartment, perhaps their windows were open.
Wikipedia –
Madeleine and her younger siblings had been left asleep at 20:30 in the ground-floor apartment while her parents, Kate and Gerry McCann, dined with their travelling companions in a restaurant 50 metres (160 ft) away.[5] The parents checked on the children throughout the evening until Madeleine’s mother discovered she was missing at 22:00.
50 metres is 50 paces at one or two paces per second. So they were not that distant in time or location from the children. The depravity of people who would kidnap a child would be unknown to the McCanns as to most people. Some areas of Europe have a long tradition of kidnap I think.
On a slightly related theme: It seems we still have work to do in NZ in regard to our perceptions of non white kids educational aspirations and access to opportunities.
Yeah Rosie i read that the other day and thought exactly the same thing, how can Maori rise above such stereotyping,(call it what it is, racism), that a professional body seems to regularly take into the classroom with them,
It seems from the outside ”attitudes” have changed, but, deep within the psyche of many within the ”profession” lurks some very ugly beliefs which must color their attitudes to certain students, and, effect the outcomes for those students,
i must admit that my view of those who are tasked with providing education was discolored by being dragged from a social studies class in the early 1970’s and caned for daring to ask the question, ”where were all this lot when this discovery was occurring” as the teacher explained to us all that ”Captain Cook discovered New Zealand”, 3/4 of the class being local Pa kids it seemed at the time a logical question to ask,
Small wonder that Maori are favoring charter schools…
Yeah, it’s interesting, what attitudes are publicly displayed and in contrast, what attitudes remain in the safety and privacy of the living room. Hypocritical really.
Not being a parent and knowing nothing about primary education I had assumed that we must have evolved, culturally and socially since I started out at school in 1975, where incidentally I witnessed many violent episodes such as you experienced. (We also had other teachers who were wonderful, and looking back on it now must have been liberally minded as we were taught peace songs and how to be nice to one another!)
Neither am I qualified to speak of charter schools except to say they sound like an unwise path to go down given the failure of charter schools in the US, that there is something wrong with publicly funded schools being run privately and that they are not subject to the same standards as state schools. However, given the mixed results for Maori achievement, it is understandable, whether it be right or wrong, that Maori would feel inclined to move away from a Pakeha based educational system that they may see is failing them, to a system they can claim as their own, and be of genuine benefit to their children. Maybe this is what they are hoping for.
In the past we’ve tried to squeeze Maori into Pakeha ways of thinking within our institutions, education, health, justice and so on. Maybe they are just trying to reclaim their own autonomy and influence by showing in interest in charter schools.
Who says the world is “relaxed”? I’m horrified, I would be equally horrified if it was 230 purple pygmies from Alaska or 230 blond boys from Wainuiomata. Then again I am not the “world”. The implication is racism is it not? Well I know about it, I heard it on Russian TV, on CNN, on TVNZ so the story has jumped “racism” filters.
So the response? Yeah, lets call in the Good “Ol US Marines…bugger, although they are largely black and latino…well they are needed around some oil war somewhere…and there is no oil up there, or a big enough Monsanto contract so, flag that.
UN Peacekeepers, fully deployed. Legitimate local authorities and forces? Who knows? Send the NZ Army perhaps? The “world”…well who are they? Not saying I don’t want help for these poor girls but how?
Watch them hypocrites dance, the whole Parliament is about to fall all over the place in a gross knee-jerk reaction against legal highs,(John Campbell must be laughing up His sleeve,
No animals will suffer the use of such drugs upon them to ascertain the ‘safe’ level of consumption for us humans, the mantra from the hypocrites being that ”there’s a big difference in testing for recreational drugs and testing for drugs that might save human lives”,
Here is the real story of the testing of ”products” on animals, from the gunk that the humans spread on their bodies to make them feel ”prettier”, smell ”better”, or look ”nicer”, the products of human vanity are regularly tested on animals to the point of those animals deaths,
No one knows the exact numbers of animals that are killed on behalf of human vanity yearly in this country the link below says at least 50% of the 200,000 animals, from rats to dogs, suffer to the point of death on behalf of our vanities each year,
for me..despite the delights on offer from collins..that dairy-based banquet..
..the television moment of the week..(so far..)..was john banks getting sneered at by the compere of that q&a..for his stand against testing legal highs on animals..
..the subject of the overdose test was raised..and the compere sneered:..’we don’t even know what that test is’..
..banks snapped back:..’yes we do..!’
..he then went on to describe how the overdose regime works:..
..ten bred-to-be-used-for-testing beagle dogs are strapped down..(banks said their ears are nailed down..to keep them fixed in one place..to aid testing..)
..the ten dogs are then given ever-increasing doses of these drugs..until five of them die..
..that level of drugs causing the death of the five dogs..
..is then deemed to be the official overdose-level of that drug..
.are we all relaxed/comfortable with that..?
..i can also provide blow-by-blow details of how these scum torture/kill animals to test cosmetics/laundry-products..etc..
..and as for the number of animals tortured/killed in nz by the vivisectors each/every year..?
..my understanding is that it is over 300,000..
..nearly a thousand animals..each and every day..
..and of course..we must not forget that most of that testing could be done using computer-models etc..
..the reason these over 300,000 animals are tortured/killed each/every year by these scum…
..is a matter of cost..
..torturing animals costs much less than using computer-modelling etc..
it’s good to see he cares about animals phi… if he gave a toss about more than 1% of humans in this country, maybe their lives would improve along with their attitudes toward meat eating and animals?
No one knows the exact numbers of animals that are killed on behalf of human vanity yearly in this country.
Looks like Anthony Hubbard from Stuff has some pretty solid numbers in this article
In total, more than 87,000 animals died or were put down during experiments in 2012. In some years the number is much higher – in 2009 it was 163,000.
Personally I cannot see why so many animals need to be tortured? The testing for most products we use was concluded many years ago and the amount of new products is limited. In fact we already have ample products to choose from and so no further animal testing is actually required.
When so many animals are dying, John Key proclaiming that no animals will have synthetic cannabis chemicals tested on them is misleading! His statement to gain media attention is also not based in reality, because it was his government that legislated for synthetic cannabis chemicals to be tested on animals.
Now that there’s a public outcry and Labour have gained the upper hand, John Key pretending he cares about fluffy bunnies and saying “think of the cute little animals” is all a bit dishonest!
Reformulations using existing components/ingredients usually require no additional testing.
So “new” products can certainly appear, but if they are essentially only derivative in nature, and its the same old parabens, colours, stabilisers and flavour enhancers just in a different combo then its very unlikely it will be tested.
+1
With the compound simulators that stampede across vast plains of terabytes these days, the resulting data is probably more controlled and more accurate than any animal testing torture chamber could deliver.
and the easy manner of a wisecracking Scorsese character.
She looks incredible –
with a zest for life that belies her age (85).
She credits ‘masturbation – pot – and raw garlic’..”
(cont..)
(..heh..!..there ya go..!..there’s the formula..
..the mp&g-plan..
..and on that subject..of elder use of cannabis..
..one of the findings coming out of colorado’ new legal-weed regime..
..is that it is not the younger ones using increasing in number..(those that do already do..)
..the jumps in numbers using/buying legal-pot..
..are those in their 40’s-50’s and 60’s..
..(with the aphrodisiac/sex-enhancement qualities of pot appreciated by long-time-together couples..)
..we will see the same thing here..
..when sanity prevails..
..and of course the health-benefits to/for those elders swapping from booze to pot are another (as yet unquantified) positive outcome from ending cannabis prohibition..
Philip you are very naughty!…other recipes for longevity and health
The place to go for longevity ( active over 90) or at least emulate their life style is Ikaria Island in Greece…lots of red wine, lots of coffee, lots of naps, lots of fun, lots of domino playing….a very very simple life style ( opposite of Shanghai or New York …over population and stress….Nact and vulgar money hangers- on can go take a running jump)
Meanwhile the National Party released its immigration policy. You may wonder what this means for the property market. It is clear from research that immigration is one of the key drivers of house price growth.
The logic is simple. If you import more people into the country, then you need more houses. Supply and demand means that prices are then pushed up, this is particularly so in Auckland.
While the latest immigration numbers show the number of people coming into New Zealand is starting to rise, the Nat’s policy looks like it wants to increase immigration levels even further.
(Although it is unclear what sort of number they are targeting.)
This policy is, arguably, a plus for people who want house prices to rise. (But may be not so good for first home owners wanting to buy.)
My guess has always been that property investors lean heavily towards the right rather than the left. (This was made clear in an email newsletter I saw from one developer this week.)
Why are Labour dragging the chain over the nominations for the candidate in the Tamaki-Makaurau seat,
Selecting Shane Taurima at this point would seem to be offering up National a ‘free hit’ in the future, Julian Wilcox i would suggest would make a winning candidate for Labour in the seat,
Mind you the longer the delay the more the contest might be one between the Maori Party and Mana Party…
“Claims that immigrants improve the economy, introduce new technology and grow the business sector are being exaggerated,” Clydesdale said. “Much of the literature suggesting immigrants bring in new technology and contribute to a growing business sector is misleading. “There is often no economic evidence to support the claims made.” He quoted Department of Labour figures that showed only 2% of business immigrants introduced new technology. Many new arrivals under the business, investment and entrepreneurial categories bought existing businesses such as restaurants, cafes and takeaways, Clydesdale said. “There is little new activity. There’s no added value, it’s just a change of ownership,” Clydesdale said. There were also very real costs. “An extra $3600 a year in your pocket, or more immigrants? “The question is one New Zealanders should be considering because it sums up the relationship between rising mortgage interest rates and our current immigration policy,” Clydesdale said. He estimated people with an average $160,000 fixed mortgage would be be $3600 a year better off if rates had remained steady in the latest Reserve Bank rate hike. “Of course, immigration is not the only force driving inflation, but we only need to get inflation down within a limited range to stop the interest rate increases,” Clydesdale said. “Dramatically reducing immigration may keep inflation within that range, without the economic casualties. “The Government’s current policy mix is putting real estate agents ahead of exporters.”
Has Labour started listening to Treasury, Reserve Bank.. Savings Working Group, (Australian Productivity Commission)?
Cunliffe said he had seen the research, but disagreed. “House prices are a complex phenomenon which reflect the interaction of a wide variety of factors,” he said. Those factors included interest rates, wage levels and population growth, of which migration was just one component. “Net migration is itself a balancing factor between people leaving New Zealand and people arriving,” Cunliffe said. According to Statistics New Zealand, during the 12 months to December 31, 2006, the population grew by 45,100 to 4,165,600, Cunliffe said. The contribution of net migration to that was just 14,600 people. “Businesses are still telling us that skills shortages are a constraint to their growth,” Cunliffe said. “There is no denying that we have ageing populations, lower birth rates and the need for a growing workforce. “As Kiwis traditionally go overseas and some do not return, immigration is a must to supplement the workforce we need to ensure our country continues to prosper,” Cunliffe said.
Migrant benefit ‘overstated’ By DAN EATON – The Press | Saturday, 7 April 2007
The more fundamental question need still be asked of the Reserve Bank Governor of why He sees the need to hike the Official Cash Rate twice when inflation is only at an annual rate of 1.6%,
A move which hands the Trading Banks the perfect excuse to dramatically increase their profit taking from the New Zealand economy…
During my visit to Houston there was much fuss about a high-rise apartment being build next to a very plush community of single family homes. The pro-zoning elite were using this as an argument for a comprehensive city plan complete with zoning and the usual host of regulations and controls.
However, people who buy into a neighbourhood controlled by a Homeowners’ Association know very well that the edge properties are vulnerable to such unexpected activities and hence sell at a considerable discount. Buyers pay their money and accept the risk.
Houston – the well-planned City without a Plan
Owen McShane
May 1, 2014 | Updated: May 1, 2014 9:19pm
Developers can move forward with the proposed Ashby high-rise after a much-anticipated ruling Thursday by a judge who agreed the tower is a nuisance for its immediate neighbors but concluded there was no way he could stop the project or determine a more appropriate alternative.
“If an injunction is granted, there is no question but that it will have a chilling effect on other developments in Houston,” wrote state District Judge Randy Wilson, a stance that drew mostly positive comments from the development community for eliminating uncertainty for groups considering future projects.
But Wilson also awarded $1.2 million in damages to 20 of those residents who had filed suit against the developer, Buckhead Investment Partners of Houston. While that is $438,000 less than a jury recommended in December, it still reflects a belief that those who live closest to the project, on a 1.6-acre site at 1717 Bissonnet, will see their property values suffer.
In firmly denying the residents’ primary request, however, Wilson said a permanent injunction would be difficult to enforce and would invite an “endless series of lawsuits” testing various tweaks and revisions to the project’s scope.
“A 21-story residential development is believed by the neighbors (and the jury) to be too big,” Wilson said in the ruling. “However, this court has zero evidence with which to find what size is just right.”
More evidence that Key’s philosophy on life is purely self interest and
making money. The man doesn’t know what a “conscience” is.
It is some comfort to know that we have Joky Hen PM and not Joky Hen MD.
Imagine going to Key as your doctor with symptoms of severe stress. He gives you a
sick note for a few days off but not before you have to face a couple more days of
what has put you into this state… (is he trying to tip you over the top).
The attempt to link NZ First MP Tracey Martin with Williamson is a bit desperate:
“A New Zealand First MP wrote to a senior police boss to voice “significant issues” about the possible transfer of a local sergeant who was also on the same school board of trustee as her.
Tracey Martin wrote a letter to Inspector Scott Webb on her official MP letterhead in her capacity as the chair of the Mahurangi College board of trustees about the redeployment of long-serving Sergeant Bede Haughey, the officer in charge of the Warkworth station.”
Sounds like Martin is doing the job an MP is supposed to do, ie. advocate for a community in their best interests, not try and pervert the course of justice in regard to a rich donor.
Is Jared Savage using the OIA to get these communications or are Collins flunkies releasing them?
not a ps staffer suggested yesterday that as the oias are out of mfat the fingers point toward mccully… fellow strategist of joyce and suffering majorly from small man syndrome. also a major control freak.
That’s total desperation. Tracey Martin is representing her community in a way that MPs used to do, before the ACT wing of Labour imported the idea that community doesn’t exist and they should only help wealthy individuals. I can see how a Herald journalist might get confused after sucking on the neolib Koolaid for 30 years or more. This just makes Winston First look like a party that actually does something.
IMHO The Herald is openly attempting to besmirch the community minded actions of the NZ First MP. Here is an MP simply doing her job. In the letter, (see PDF below) it is clear that Tracey Martin was responsibly advocating for the strength and continuity of her community.
By including the Williamson reference, the NZH is not just ‘presenting context to the story’, it is taking the legitimate actions of a MP who is openly concerned with what she perceived to be uncertainty over significant changes in their community and deliberately associating these actions to Williamson’s active support of a person involved in a domestic violence investigation. This perverse act suggests The Herald is facing a hell of a lot of pressure to muddy the waters as fast and as widely as possible.
National is obviously hurting
Is it 2pm yet 🙂
Question re PDF:
Is the reason Cameron Slater’s name is listed in the index of the PDF something to do with the application process of the OIA?
I recall talking to an English policeman about issues in the force. He must have been a manager. I recall him talking about the need to rotate officers or they can become too comfortable and (perhaps) lead to corruption. It made sense at the time.
I think the difference here is that it is just a community issue rather than a (excuse me) greasy businessman from China.
This story is nothing to do with corruption in the community, or the Police. It even has nothing to do with your suspiciously xenophobic imagination! Staff get rotated, but sometimes these staff movements need to be properly reviewed in case details might have been overlooked. Central office might not have been fully aware of just how heavily involved the officer was in these projects. The obvious concerns of the community were responsibly and sensibly raised by the MP representing that community.
One MP is doing their job, one MP is abusing their position,
Slater must be OIAing something too, maybe the cops used the same master document to produce a number of OIA PDF responses then deleted Slater’s email.
Probably shows that the directions for Slater’s dirt digging and Savage’s are coming from the same source: Collins.
PR, I do not know any details other than what is in the Herald. Maybe they were all secretly involved in illegal activities, but if Slater had any actual [or imagined] details, that showed wrongdoing, then we would all be hearing about it!
Instead we have heinous acts like helping thy neighbour and building a brighter future for their community. What unseen horrors have these people been creating in these community groups? What dark shadows lurk? Based on what is presented I am perplexed that a rational person would think there is anything untoward to see here.
From the wording of the email on WOBH, it is not unreasonable to think that Slater has sent OIA requests to every Police District in the country on a major a fishing expedition. An expedition that will use hundreds of hours of Police time? Is this a justifiable use of resources? If any other person, including journalists, submitted (what we can imagine is) a large number of OIA requests so openly vague in their intention and so obvious in their motivation, they would very likely not get processed without repeated communications requesting more precise definition of the OIA objectives.
Maybe it exposes how much pressure is being applied. The last few days have seen some extraordinary events. From outside the government camp it looks as if stones are being thrown, and thrown blindly in rapid fire succession in every direction. Has Slater considered, even for a moment, the collateral damage his innuendo might inject into these communities? Just suggesting wrongdoing can be enough to permanently destabilise the complex relationships in community groups.
What I see in that NZH article is a MP wanting a good cop to stay on in their community .
I really really want to know what seems so out of place with a MP directly and openly advocating for her community, by writing a letter to the Police in an official capacity using official correspondence?
What MW did is of no comparison apart from both used the english language. Slater’s non-specific fishing trip is a distinctly suspicious waste of public resources. OIA requests are generally not processed in five days. As I said above, when the OIA objective is so poorly defined they are usually not answered at all, except for requests demanding greater detail.
I would wager that the sinkhole has nothing and will deliver nothing on this story.
The story has now plummeted down the NZH page,
that should tell you a lot about how much water the fisherman has in his waders.
Sounds like Slater has some really juicy stuff… LOL no it doesn’t, Slater yet again reveals how much of an entry level political operator he actually is, couldn’t even get Brown with the dirt of the century.
Oh no a MP is telling police how good a cop is for the community! Watchout career ender right there.
has slater posted his requests for oia releases? it would be useful to see what he requested. i dont expect him to post that until he has the info, but for completeness when he posts the docs, it would be useful to see the nature of his request/s
are all his referenced docs stamped with the oia red?
The bill has moved down the agenda (‘order paper’) as a large number of Members bills have been reported back from select committee for second reading – and second readings take precedence over first readings on Members days. At this stage we’re anticipating it will come up in late May/mid-June.
Is it likely to have the votes to pass at first reading?
We need 61 votes and we currently have 60! Hone is continuing to meet with National Party MPs to try to get it passed but National is holding to the line that the KickStart breakfast programme they partially fund is enough. Our analysis shows it feeds about 12,000 of the 100,000 children estimated to go hungry each school day – so it’s not enough at all. We’re still hoping someone in National is able to do the maths and agree to support the bill.
What else has been done to build support?
Hone has continued to promote the bill and recently hosted two events at Parliament (see the MANA website, http://www.mana.org.nz, for speeches and media statements and http://www.feedthekids.org.nz for news stories and photos):
The first was a morning tea to thank the 30+ organisations who’ve supported the bill as part of the Community Coalition for Food in Schools, and helped make it the major policy news story of 2013. Many thanks to the guest speakers, Deborah Morris-Travers (Unicef), Kiri Smith (NZEI), Angela Roberts (PPTA), Lisa Beech (Caritas NZ), Major Pam Waugh (Salvation Army), Rawiri Wright (Ngā Rūnanganui o Ngā Kura Kaupapa Māori o Aotearoa), and Katherine Rich (Food and Grocery Council).
The second was a lunch event with 50+ senior students of Naenae College who help run the school’s breakfast club. The students fielded questions with the media, went on a tour of Parliament, and attended question time to watch Hone challenge the government to do more to support the 100,000 students who go to school hungry each day.
What can I do to help?
Continue to lobby your local MP, and especially if they’re John Banks, Peter Dunne, or a National MP! See http://www.feedthekids.org.nz for info and further suggestions.
let them eat cake. the govt has rich guys to assist. have contacted my mp, mr banks. have asked him to show similar compassion to children as he does to animals.
Nope. With work estimated to decrease by about 50% over the next decade or so and more after that we really need to think of something better than wages.
There’s going to be more than enough work to do Draco, that result will be natural in an era where the population is massively aging and fossil fuels are disappearing; it’s just that the economic system as it stands cannot or will not structure that work as paid employment.
Good work CV, you are on the button: when my personal “energy slaves” of fossil fuel no longer is available to “transport me in my metal overcoat”, nor plough the fields, nor truck stuff around…well its back to the humble Clydesdale, the water mill and the gleaners after the fallen corn. We will live in a Constable picture. It will be hard work, and there will be lots of it.
A mate and I moved a bit of firewood in the weekend, not much, maybe 300-400kg’s worth and it didn’t take long. Up and down hills was a piece of cake – with a Falcon V8 and a trailer, that is. With horses and a cart, it would have taken an entire day and been far more troublesome.
Life post fossil-fuels is going to be a lot slower and a lot harder than people are used to right now.
But somehow, all our politicians can keep chanting about is “growth” of one kind or another (green, sustainable, export, global, etc.). It’s like some kind of religious litany.
See, that’s a good example of what’s not going to happen any more as fossil fuels dry up as it will be a lot easier to build and maintain renewable generation and heat pumps. Renewable generation that can also maintain the present farming, mining and pretty much all other industries. About the only thing that it won’t be able to support is private motor vehicles.
Have they changed the boundaries? Has she increased in size and crossed the boundaries without having to move? Do the boundaries neatly bisect her current position? In the absence of Judith challenging Keys leadership is she the next cab off the rank? So many questions!
i know. shes holding her meetings in keys electorate but close to her new seate. so, the convenience of her constituents is irrelevant, shes looking after herself, as she so ineloquently said in parliament today
I thought Paula Bennett may have had a wee snort of something or other today prior to coming into the House. She got a bit carried away there for a while and was generally on a bit of a trip (maybe to Christchurch).
“The rebuild following the Christchurch earthquakes was creating thousands of jobs and there were people ready to take them up but who did not have the means to get to Christchurch.”
“To qualify the job must be for over 30 hours a week and be longer for 91 days. The
payment would be non-taxable and exempt from any income and asset test.”
“If you only qualify after 91 days then the $3000 isn’t going to be available to relocate is it?”
I understand the incentive programme is set up so the job you are being offered must be for longer than 90 days, which means it being a job that the employer is not attaching the 90 trial contract to. Which is immediately removing a large number of employers from the pool of jobs that the Government is counting on.
The focus is stated to be on 18-24 year olds, this makes this is a quizzical incentive as they are the group most likely to be faced with a 90 day trial contract.
Maybe it is the cynic in me but on one hand I feel the actual number of these incentives that will be paid out, according to what they have ascribed to the policy, is likely to be very small. On the other, I suspect the programme will be manipulated somehow and ‘special circumstances’ will see the incentivet applied to jobs that turn out not to be so permanent after all.
It could be simply that the job is intended to be permanent, so even with a 90-day trial you can still get the incentive. Probably worth holding on to it though, for when you find yourself in a city far from your family and friends, newly unemployed, again.
According to what the Government has said, the job must be for over 90 days, I take that to mean the 90 day trial can not be applied to any job that is taken as ‘collateral’ for the incentive payment.
What I understand that to say is any persons taking up this offer will not have to sign a 90 day trial contract. If any of these jobs are unfairly terminated or fail to be permanent, the lucky employees will be able to utilize all aspects of our employment laws, not just a select few.
Certainly is an added bonus for those who find a job 🙂
Which is a shame, because the idea of WINZ paying people’s relocation costs to get them jobs in areas which need workers isn’t bad. But it needs to be their actual relocation costs, not some pittance, and it needs to be risk-free for them. Relocating to another city for a job is risky enough, and WINZ should be trying to reduce that risk, rather than pile more on top of it.
something has to be done about this nostrum abroad that MP’s are employees. They are there to represent the electorate in the parliament. as long as people have the idea that MP’s are employees then people like collins can bamboozle ordinary folks that she can do the sort of shit she has been putting down in china.
Spot on Captain, I also despise the whole language of government that crept in with Roger and Geoff Palmer. making it a corporate professional place where a man had to wear a suit. Fekk it if I ever get elected I will wear a “boiler suit”. A bright orange one. And I will refuse to have “clients”, or even “constituents” (a much older word)…just “people” I “represent” and “advocate for”..
justifying the unjustifiable. his voice is cracking as he tries to equate refunded secret donations with telling the cops to do a thorough job cos your mate has lots of money… even he doesnt believe the shite he is spouting.
key making others front speaks volumes about his lack of leadership.
closing by norman was great… linking the low standards to the lack of leadership. not that the leader would have heard. as if to prove normans point, he was long gone.
The discipline of the opposition during qt was good to see, it started slipping by about Q7 but tomorrow is a new day and I hope we see a lot more of such discipline.
Good spine shown by Mallard too.
I get the distinct feeling there is some clear agreement amongst the opposition in how to manage National’s behaviour in the House. Silence is often the loudest argument.
It shows up National for the school yard principles that are their modus operandi and would certainly limit how selective The Speaker can be in what he perceives as having occurred.
US tax payers fleeced by oligarchs through costly, opaque public pension fund investments
For all you peeps who think that making KiwiSaver compulsory and giving even more workers’ money to Wall St is a good idea.
When you think of the term “public pension fund,” you probably imagine hyper-cautious investment strategies kept in check by no-nonsense fiduciary laws.
But you probably shouldn’t.
An increasing number of those pension funds are being stealthily diverted into high-fee, high-risk “alternative investments” that deliver spectacular rewards for the Wall Street firms paid to manage them – but not such great returns for pensioners and taxpayers.
And yet… despite the fact that they deal with the expenditure of taxpayer money, the agreements between public pension systems and alternative investment firms are almost entirely secret.
Surely it is better that we push for tight rules on how that money is invested rather than have it handed over to banks who will conduct the same corrupt practices with it – and considerably more on top of those ones anyway?
A very good performance by John Key “paraphrasing Helen Clark” was a good ending but wheres the passion from Cunliffe? Sounded like he was reading out his shopping list, at least Norman gets excited every now and then…
Whatever Cunliffe manage to garner in his election trust is pretty small beer don’t you think, compared to the nationwide scam called Cabinet Club that National is running. Where if you pay enough cash you get facetime with a Cabinet Minister. Once again the Cabinet Manual is just a guideline eh?
At the moment sir, the cut off point seems to be a taxpayer funded trip to China where you use your ministerial kudos to try an influence a border official to go easy on a dairy company that your husband happens to be a director of and which is run by close friends. Mind you, given what we’ve learned tonight about National’s shoddy scam to raise funds it’s no wonder Collins and Williamson don’t think they’ve done anything wrong.
The ironing was strong today when the PM described Twitter users (who dared front up to Judith, using her own language and medium of choice) as bottom feeders and trolls. This, when his own office “employs” a certain bottom feeding, trolling blog-which-wants-to-be-known-as-media to do its dirty work.
It’s funny how the will is found to report things like cabinet club once journos get pissed off. Must not have been much of secret around the press gallery.
Also it’s correspondingly scary that the only political discourse some people are exposed to is shaped by these chumps.
As much as I’m glad the Nats are taking a pounding the idea that the major improprieties of a government only get reported if the journos get all ornery is pretty unsettling.
The unemployed in the UK are to lose the benefit for three months or more as sanction if they refuse to take a zero guaranteed hours job.
Does anyone know Work and Income’s rules around refusing to accept jobs with no guaranteed hours?
It’s not clear from the ‘obligations’ section of Work and Income’s website what constitutes suitable work.
Unbelievable! And then the UK government will crow about improved employment stats. How inhumane are such MPs?
More than one in 10 employers are using such contracts, which are most likely to be offered to women, young people and people over 65. The figure rises to almost half of all employers in the tourism, catering and food sector.
The article says that benefits will be paid for the weeks not worked – fluctuating payments. But i can’t see WINZ organising that efficiently. And in the UK critics are saying it’ll be hard to do training to improve work prospects, or to get another job, if a person has a zero hour job.
As I understand it, if you don’t accept a suitable job you will get your benefit cut. I have no idea as to what they mean by the word suitable. I’d say that a job that could leave you worse off would be unsuitable but National’s in power so they may consider a job with no hours suitable.
The spectre of flooding and drought in different parts of the world appears to be looming large as an increasing number of climate scientists predict the return of El Nino.
————————–
The last major El Nino was in 1997-8. It was blamed for the flooding along the Yangtze River in China, which killed more than 1,500 people.
Globally, the economic cost of this event was calculated at $35 to $45 billion, largely as a result of its impact on the agriculture and fishing industries.
And, yeah, it’s looking like it’s going to be a big one.
Globally, the economic cost of this event was calculated at $35 to $45 billion, largely as a result of its impact on the agriculture and fishing industries.
It’s so common, news sources framing the impact of environmental, political and social disruption in terms of how it affects capitalism and investors. Meh.
Of course Labours for it because they can’t raise any decent money on their own, I’m against it because I support National so why would I want any of my tax payers money go towards the Greens
xox
Where are all the libertarians shouting about nanny state taking away individuals rights on legal highs. The same ones who shouted out about lightbulbs, shower roses, and compulsory insulation and superannuation. And Helping out needy Warners, Rio Tinto, Americas Cup, Sky, etc. The hypocrisy and our msm complicity is incredible. We have been had.
This video includes personal musings and conclusions of the creator climate scientist Dr. Adam Levy. It is presented to our readers as an informed perspective. Please see video description for references (if any). Wherever you look, you'll hear headlines claiming we've passed 1.5 degrees of global warming. And while 2024 saw ...
Photo by Heather M. Edwards on UnsplashHere’s the key news, commentary, reports and debate around Aotearoa’s politics and economy in the week to Feb 10 below. That’s ahead of live chats on the Substack App and The Kākā’s front page on Substack at 5pm with: on his column in The ...
Is there anyone in the world the National Party loves more than a campaign donor? Why yes, there is! They will always have the warmest hello and would you like to slip into something more comfortable for that great god of our age, the High Net Worth Individual.The words the ...
Waste and fraud certainly exist in foreign aid programs, but rightwing celebration of USAID’s dismantling shows profound ignorance of the value of soft power (as opposed to hard power) in projecting US influence and interests abroad by non-military/coercive means (think of “hearts and minds,” “hugs, not bullets,” “honey versus vinegar,” ...
Health New Zealand is proposing to cut almost half of its data and digital positions – more than 1000 of them. The PSA has called on the Privacy Commissioner to urgently investigate the cuts due to the potential for serious consequences for patients. NZNO is calling for an urgent increase ...
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Let us not dance daintily around the elephant in the room. Our politicians who serve us in the present are not honest, certainly not as honest as they should be, and while the right are taking out most of the trophies for warping narratives and literally redefining “facts”, the kiwi ...
A few weeks ago I took a look at public transport ridership in 2024. In today’s post I’m going to be looking a bit deeper at bus ridership. Buses make up the vast majority of ridership in Auckland with 70 million boardings last year out of a total of 89.4 ...
Oh, you know I did itIt's over and I feel fineNothing you could say is gonna change my mindWaited and I waited the longest nightNothing like the taste of sweet declineSongwriters: Chris Shiflett / David Eric Grohl / Nate Mendel / Taylor Hawkins.Hindsight is good, eh?The clarity when the pieces ...
Photo by Towfiqu barbhuiya on UnsplashHere’s what we’re watching in the week to February 16 and beyond in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, climate and poverty:Monday, February 10The Kākā’s weekly wrap-up of news about politics and the economy is due at midday, followed by webinar for paying subscribers in Substack’s ...
A listing of 23 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, February 2, 2025 thru Sat, February 8, 2025. This week's roundup is again published soleley by category. We are still interested in feedback to hone the categorization, so if ...
Today, I stumbled across a Twitter Meme: the ending of The Lord of the Rings as a Chess scenario: https://x.com/mellon_heads/status/1887983845917564991 It gets across the basic gist. Aragorn and Gandalf offering up ‘material’ at the Morannon allows Frodo and Samwise to catch Sauron unawares – fair enough. But there are a ...
Last week, Kieran McAnulty called out Chris Bishop and Nicola Willis for their claims that Kāinga Ora’s costs were too high.They had claimed Kāinga Ora’s cost were 12% higher than market i.e. private devlopersBut Kāinga Ora’s Chair had already explained why last year:"We're not building to sell, so we'll be ...
Stuff’s Political Editor Luke Malpass - A Fellow at New Zealand IniativeLast week I half-joked that Stuff / The Post’s Luke Malpass1 always sounded like he was auditioning for a job at the New Zealand Initiative.Mountain Tui is a reader-supported publication. For a limited time, subscriptions are 20% off. Thanks ...
At a funeral on Friday, there were A4-sized photos covering every wall of the Dil’s reception lounge. There must have been 200 of them, telling the story in the usual way of the video reel but also, by enlargement, making it more possible to linger and step in.Our friend Nicky ...
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. Is methane the ...
The Government’s idea is that the private sector and Community Housing Providers will fund, build and operate new affordable housing to address our housing crisis. Meanwhile, the Government does not know where almost half of the 1,700 children who left emergency housing actually went. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāLong ...
Oh, home, let me come homeHome is wherever I'm with youOh, home, let me come homeHome is wherever I'm with youSongwriters: Alexander Ebert / Jade Allyson CastrinosMorena,I’m on a tight time frame this morning. In about an hour and a half, I’ll need to pack up and hit the road ...
This is a post about the Mountain Tui substack, and small tweaks - further to the poll and request post the other day. Please don’t read if you aren’t interested in my personal matters. Thank you all.After oohing-and-aahing about how to structure the Substack model since November, including obtaining ...
This transcript of a recent conversation between the Prime Minister and his chief economic adviser has not been verified.We’ve announced we are the ‘Yes Government’. Do you like it?Yes, Prime Minister.Dreamed up by the PR team. It’s about being committed to growth. Not that the PR team know anything about ...
The other day, Australian Senator Nick McKim issued a warning in the Australian Parliement about the US’s descent into fascim.And of course it’s true, but I lament - that was true as soon as Trump won.What we see is now simply the reification of the intention, planning, and forces behind ...
Among the many other problems associated with Musk/DOGE sending a fleet of teenage and twenty-something cultists to remove, copy and appropriate federal records like social security, medicaid and other supposedly protected data is the fact that the youngsters doing the data-removal, copying and security protocol and filter code over-writing have ...
Jokerman dance to the nightingale tuneBird fly high by the light of the moonOh, oh, oh, JokermanSong by Bob Dylan.Morena folks, I hope this fine morning of the 7th of February finds you well. We're still close to Paihia, just a short drive out of town. Below is the view ...
It’s been an eventful week as always, so here’s a few things that we have found interesting. We also hope everyone had a happy and relaxing Waitangi Day! This week in Greater Auckland We’re still running on summer time, but provided two chewy posts: On Tuesday, a guest ...
Queuing on Queen St: the Government is set to announce another apparently splashy growth policy on Sunday of offering residence visas to wealthy migrants. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāLong stories short, the top six things in our political economy around housing, climate and poverty on Friday, February 7:PM Christopher ...
The fact that Waitangi ended up being such a low-key affair may mark it out as one of the most significant Waitangi Days in recent years. A group of women draped in “Toitu Te Tiriti” banners who turned their backs on the politicians’ powhiri was about as rough as it ...
Hi,This week’s Flightless Bird episode was about “fake seizure guy” — a Melbourne man who fakes seizures in order to get members of the public to sit on him.The audio documentary (which I have included in this newsletter in case you don’t listen to Flightless Bird) built on reporting first ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Karin Kirk The 119th Congress comes with a price tag. The oil and gas industry gave about $24 million in campaign contributions to the members of the U.S. House and Senate expected to be sworn in January 3, 2025, according to a ...
Early morning, the shadows still long, but you can already feel the warmth building. Our motel was across the road from the historic homestead where Henry Williams' family lived. The evening before, we wandered around the gardens, reading the plaques and enjoying the close proximity to the history of the ...
Thanks folks for your feedback, votes and comments this week. I’ll be making the changes soon. Appreciate all your emails, comments and subscriptions too. I know your time is valuable - muchas gracias.A lot is happening both here and around the world - so I want to provide a snippets ...
Data released today by Statistics NZ shows that unemployment rose to 5.1%, with 33,000 more people out of work than last year said NZCTU Te Kauae Kaimahi Economist Craig Renney. “The latest data shows that employment fell in Aotearoa at its fastest rate since the GFC. Unemployment rose in 8 ...
The December labour market statistics have been released, showing yet another increase in unemployment. There are now 156,000 unemployed - 34,000 more than when National took office. And having thrown all these people out of work, National is doubling down on cruelty. Because being vicious will somehow magically create the ...
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This week Kiwirail and Auckland Transport were celebrating the completion of the summer rail works that had the network shut or for over a month and the start of electric trains to Pukekohe. First up, here’s parts of the press release about the shutdown works. Passengers boarding trains in Auckland ...
Through its austerity measures, the coalition government has engineered a rise in unemployment in order to reduce inflation while – simultaneously – cracking down harder and harder on the people thrown out of work by its own policies. To that end, Social Development Minister Louise Upston this week added two ...
This year, we've seen a radical, white supremacist government ignoring its Tiriti obligations, refusing to consult with Māori, and even trying to legislatively abrogate te Tiriti o Waitangi. When it was criticised by the Waitangi Tribunal, the government sabotaged that body, replacing its legal and historical experts with corporate shills, ...
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The tighter sanctions are modelled on ones used in Britain, which did push people off ‘the dole’, but didn’t increase the number of workers, and which evidence has repeatedly shown don’t work. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāLong stories short, the top six things in our political economy around housing, ...
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Hi,I woke up feeling nervous this morning, realising that this weekend Flightless Bird is going to do it’s first ever live show. We’re heading to a sold out (!) show in Seattle to test the format out in front of an audience. If it works, we’ll do more. I want ...
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I'm going, I'm goingWhere the water tastes like wineI'm going where the water tastes like wineWe can jump in the waterStay drunk all the timeI'm gonna leave this city, got to get awayI'm gonna leave this city, got to get awayAll this fussing and fighting, man, you know I sure ...
Waitangi Day is a time to honour Te Tiriti o Waitangi and stand together for a just and fair Aotearoa. Across the motu, communities are gathering to reflect, kōrero, and take action for a future built on equity and tino rangatiratanga. From dawn ceremonies to whānau-friendly events, there are ...
Subscribe to Mountain Tūī ! Where you too can learn about exciting things from a flying bird! Tweet.Yes - I absolutely suck at marketing. It’s a fact.But first -My question to all readers is:How should I set up the Substack model?It’s been something I’ve been meaning to ask since November ...
Here’s the key news, commentary, reports and debate around Aotearoa’s political economy on politics and in the week to Feb 3:PM Christopher Luxon began 2025’s first day of Parliament last Tuesday by carrying on where left off in 2024, letting National’s junior coalition partner set the political agenda and dragging ...
The PSA have released a survey of 4000 public service workers showing that budget cuts are taking a toll on the wellbeing of public servants and risking the delivery of essential services to New Zealanders. Economists predict that figures released this week will show continued increases in unemployment, potentially reaching ...
The Prime Minister’s speech 10 days or so ago kicked off a flurry of commentary. No one much anywhere near the mainstream (ie excluding Greens supporters) questioned the rhetoric. New Zealand has done woefully poorly on productivity for a long time and we really need better outcomes, and the sorts ...
President Trump on the day he announced tariffs against Mexico, Canada and China, unleashing a shock to supply chains globally that is expected to slow economic growth and increase inflation for most large economies. Photo: Getty ImagesLong stories short, the top six things in our political economy around housing, climate ...
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Trump being Trump, it won’t come as a shock to find that he regards a strong US currency (bolstered by high tariffs on everything made by foreigners) as a sign of America’s virility, and its ability to kick sand in the face of the world. Reality is a tad more ...
A listing of 24 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, January 26, 2025 thru Sat, February 1, 2025. This week's roundup is again published soleley by category. We are still interested in feedback to hone the categorization, so if ...
What seems to be the common theme in the US, NZ, Argentina and places like Italy under their respective rightwing governments is what I think of as “the politics of cruelty.” Hate-mongering, callous indifference in social policy-making, corporate toadying, political bullying, intimidation and punching down on the most vulnerable with ...
If you are confused, check with the sunCarry a compass to help you alongYour feet are going to be on the groundYour head is there to move you aroundSo, stand in the place where you liveSongwriters: Bill Berry / Michael Mills / Michael Stipe / Peter Buck.Hot in the CityYesterday, ...
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Warning: This post contains references to sexual assaultOn Saturday, I spent far too long editing a video on Tim Jago, the ACT Party President and criminal, who has given up his fight for name suppression after 2 years. He voluntarily gave up just in time for what will be a ...
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. Is global warming ...
Our low-investment, low-wage, migration-led and housing-market-driven political economy has delivered poorer productivity growth than the rest of the OECD, and our performance since Covid has been particularly poor. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāLong stories short, the top six things in our political economy around housing, climate and poverty this ...
..Thanks for reading Frankly Speaking ! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.As far as major government announcements go, a Three Ministers Event is Big. It can signify a major policy development or something has gone Very Well, or an absolute Clusterf**k. When Three Ministers assemble ...
One of those blasts from the past. Peter Dunne – originally neoliberal Labour, then leader of various parties that sought to work with both big parties (generally National) – has taken to calling ...
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And I said, "Mama, mama, mama, why am I so alone"'Cause I can't go outside, I'm scared I might not make it homeWell I'm alive, I'm alive, but I'm sinking inIf there's anyone at home at your place, darlingWhy don't you invite me in?Don't try to feed me'Cause I've been ...
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Te Whatu Ora Chief Executive Margie Apa leaving her job four months early is another symptom of this government’s failure to deliver healthcare for New Zealanders. ...
The Green Party is calling for the Prime Minister to show leadership and be unequivocal about Aotearoa New Zealand’s opposition to a proposal by the US President to remove Palestinians from Gaza. ...
The latest unemployment figures reveal that job losses are hitting Māori and Pacific people especially hard, with Māori unemployment reaching a staggering 9.7% for the December 2024 quarter and Pasifika unemployment reaching 10.5%. ...
Waitangi 2025: Waitangi Day must be community and not politically driven - Shane Jones Our originating document, theTreaty of Waitangi, was signed on February 6, 1840. An agreement between Māori and the British Crown. Initially inked by Ngā Puhi in Waitangi, further signatures were added as it travelled south. ...
Despite being confronted every day with people in genuine need being stopped from accessing emergency housing – National still won’t commit to building more public houses. ...
The Green Party says the Government is giving up on growing the country’s public housing stock, despite overwhelming evidence that we need more affordable houses to solve the housing crisis. ...
Before any thoughts of the New Year and what lies ahead could even be contemplated, New Zealand reeled with the tragedy of Senior Sergeant Lyn Fleming losing her life. For over 38 years she had faithfully served as a front-line Police officer. Working alongside her was Senior Sergeant Adam Ramsay ...
Green Party co-leader Marama Davidson will return to politics at Waitangi on Monday the 3rd of February where she will hold a stand up with fellow co-leader Chlöe Swarbrick. ...
Te Pāti Māori is appalled by the government's blatant mishandling of the school lunch programme. David Seymour’s ‘cost-saving’ measures have left tamariki across Aotearoa with unidentifiable meals, causing distress and outrage among parents and communities alike. “What’s the difference between providing inedible food, and providing no food at all?” Said ...
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A new monthly podiatry clinic has been launched today in Wairoa and will bring a much-needed service closer to home for the Wairoa community, Health Minister Simeon Brown says.“Health New Zealand has been successful in securing a podiatrist until the end of June this year to meet the needs of ...
The Judicial Conduct Commissioner has recommended a Judicial Conduct Panel be established to inquire into and report on the alleged conduct of acting District Court Judge Ema Aitken in an incident last November, Attorney-General Judith Collins said today. “I referred the matter of Judge Aitken’s alleged conduct during an incident ...
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Meanwhile, while we weren’t looking, transnational corporates loot the NZ economy, stealing billions from NZers.
“Westpac post record half-year
The local division of the Australasian lender reported interim cash earnings of $432 million yesterday, a 17 per cent increase on the same period a year earlier.”
The Herald posts a front page story about a taxi company ripping off its customers, while hidden inside is a tale of a massive ongoing heist happening to our country.
From CAFCA’s website.
“Transnational corporations (TNCs) make massive profits out of New Zealand. These can truly be called New Zealand’s biggest invisible export. In the year to March 2013 at $8.3 billion their profits were almost as much as the $8.5 billion earned by the combined exports of seafood and milk powder. In the decade 2004-2013, TNCs made $73.4 billion in profits from New Zealand. Only 27% was reinvested.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=11249942
That’s what you get when private banks have the privilege to print a countries money with interest.
Yes but all those frontline resources johnny promised to tackle such practices….oh wait they slashed public servants and installed compliant dept heads instead.
I dont recall any action against large corporates by the ird under this regime.
which explains why their economists are always talking up interest rate increased. legalised theft boys and girls.
The entire banking system is legalised theft and needs to be thrown out.
Paul-‘While we weren’t looking..’
Yes. We are too busy over miserable contrived scandals about Collins and that other guy, Williams, McWilliams or whatever his name is? Two politicians whose survival is guaranteed by the majority they hold in right wing electorates. Their reputations are perceptually impaired but provide great distractions from the Key/ English desecration of our once envied egalitarian society.
Its the Judith and Maurice Muppet Show folks!
The important election issues have been successfully sidelined.
Key( Kermit) will be seen as strong, decisive. Collins (Miss Piggy) and Williamson (Gonzo)will be back unharmed and we’ll all applaud another great show..
The big issues will have been forgotten.
COLLABORATIVE FUNDING: DISSOLVE AUTHORITY, EMPOWER EVERYONE, AND CROWDSOURCE A SMARTER, TRANSPARENT BUDGET
Which is what every manager needs to do.
which is why “its just a job” was such a transparent cop out.
Good read.
Interesting figure that took them to the limit. That magic number, 150 people max comes up over and over again in different guises, effective co-housing, Rank Xerox limited their division sizes at one point to 150.
In practice – anything bigger and you cannot communicate effectively with all members AND have systems in place that allow everyone to fully participate.
she went to china to lecture them on transparency in government. what a bloody lie. These tories dont know up from down and cant lie straight in bed.
when you think back on it..from that first breezy disavowal from collins..
..that spontaneous ‘just dropping into oravida for a cup of tea..on the way to the airport’…
..everything out of her mouth has been a whopping great lie..
..and i think national/key will be surprised at how much this has hurt their third-term aspirations..
..the stench of corruption coming from collins..with key standing behind her..propping her up..(why?..must be the next question..just how postal could collins go..if given the boot..
..why is key scared of her..?..)
..that stench is getting overwhelming..
..this govt. is rotting from the head down..
q-time was largely an anti-climax..let’s hope they try harder 2morrow..
http://whoar.co.nz/2014/new-zealand-parliament-list-of-questions-for-oral-answer-tuesday-6-may-2014/
The sound of barrels being scraped at the Herald re Len Brown’s phone use. No wonder the authorities dislike pay as you go phones!
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11249986
FFS Screams distraction. And what pray tell me is the cost of these calls- $10? $20?. Why bother with rorts in the millions elsewhere when you can concentrate on this. Wonderful sense of proportion the Herald has.
Really, where the hell did that come from? That’s been a closed case for nearly a year now. More distraction from National’s troubles by the NZHerald?
Names being bandied about in the expected Labour reshuffle of portfolios caused by ‘Shane Who’s’ resignation,
Trevor Mallard, Clayton Cosgrove, Damien O’Conner, damn refreshing i have to say…
…Mens men through and through. Earth to Labour… there is in some circumstances a time for ‘man bans’.
hopefully its misinformation so the real shadows will be embraced wildly
am i the only one feeling/surprised by this..?
http://whoar.co.nz/2014/boko-haram-claims-responsibility-for-kidnapping-nigeria-schoolgirls-comment-how-is-this-not-the-most-telling-example-of-international-racism-in-a-very-long-time/
(excerpt..)
“…next question:..
..would the world have been so relaxed about this..
..if these 200+ kidnapped girls had been blond/european..?..”
from the usa…
Has Nigeria sked for interntional help in this matter? No, I don’t think they have.
Is there any similarity at all between a missing civilian passenger jet full of foreign nationals magically disapearing over international waters and what is primarily a domestic matter in a failing state? No, not really.
Is it racist to suggest western intervention because Nigeria obviously can’t deal with it’s own issues. Oh yes, yes it is.
ok pops..so i’m the ‘racist’..for asking the question..?
..ok..
..carry on..!
..and a strong/evidence-based case you make:..eh..?
“..Has Nigeria sked for interntional help in this matter? No, I don’t think they have…”
(should we categorise that purler as an unproven orifice-pluck..?..)
Well you’re the one making unsubstantiated claims. Has Nigeria asked for help – or are you suggesting some sort of unilateral intervention? (because we know how well that usually goes).
You are suggesting that Africa can’t handle Africa’s affairs without the west holding their hand, so if the racist hat fits…
So, has Nigeria asked for international help? Cite reference please?
Yea well – shame Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala has stated publicly that she’d like anyone and everyone to assist. She doesn’t give a fuck whether it’s African Union or Western nations intervention getting involved.
(Quest/CNN – to quote a dubious source – but said in plain language)
Pops – you remind me of an IBM operating system: it gets so big and complex before it can get out of its own way to do anything productive – but its ambitious, well-managed/managing, and full of kaka.
(In your case it seems to me to be OVER-ambition, self-aggrandisement, ego-building, various exception responses and sense codes to do with maintaining an aura of plitkul kreckniss, and a starting point from which you can claim you’re always ‘right’ (or at least just a little 3rd way).
Wipe it up, wipe it up with X-L-O (and if that doesn’t work – consult Craig R for an aunt Daisy sloos-shun
Well last time I checked the Minister of Finance doesn’t get to make that call. You seem to be suggesting that we can cavalierly pick and choose who we invade. Arguably the US is supressing terrorists and Taliban in various middle eastern and asian countries by invitation. Arguably Russia invaded Georgia and Crimea by invitation. Unfortunately in the real world these situations are never black and white and inevitably bite the arse of anyone stupid enough to get involved in the sovereign affairs of another state. I’d be very much suprised if you weren’t calling France and the US very bad names over Libya and Syria. About the only occasion such an intervention can be described as legitimate and ethical was Kosovo, and even then you’ll see cretinous Chomskyites using it as an example of US warmongering.
The question isn’t about ‘suggesting western intervention’. It’s noting that there’s a clear disparity in attention and concern when 234 black girls are abducted by religious extremists. If it were 234 white girls in France, you wouldn’t be able to move for headlines about it. The lives of women of colour are treated as less valuable that those of white women. That’s the racism.
I am unable to move for headlines about it:
http://www.latimes.com/world/africa/la-fg-nigeria-boko-haram-girls-20140505,0,1087730.story#axzz30sULsmep
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/05/06/world/africa/nigeria-kidnapped-girls.html?_r=0
http://edition.cnn.com/2014/05/05/world/africa/nigeria-abducted-girls/
http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2014/05/05/nigerian-president-faults-abducted-girls-parents-admits-he-has-no-idea-where-girls-are/
http://news.sky.com/story/1255454/boko-haram-to-sell-abducted-nigerian-girls
http://www.aljazeera.com/news/africa/2014/05/nigeria-appeal-find-abducted-girls-20145423528504411.html
http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/05/05/us-nigeria-bokoharam-idUSBREA440BJ20140505
http://abcnews.go.com/International/nigerian-kidnapped-girls/story?id=23590323
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/may/04/nigerian-president-directive-kidnapped-girls
it’s a bit bigger than a “domestic matter”… or ought to be. Girls kidnapped for sale because of a belief no females should be educated. Imagine if some skinheads kipnapped some jews for sale as slaves because judaism is evil… and the state didnt ask anyone to intervene, just a domestic matter populuxe?
Well, either the west is morally obliged to unilaterally intervene in other countries or it’s not. Which is it? Basically you are just handing a big fat excuse to Russia, the US and any big power eyeing up their more marginal neighbours. You’ve just justified Libya, Afganistan, Crimea, and god knows what else. Hell, Indonesia could probably use that as an excuse to invade PNG.
you miss the arab spring too?
you cant move for headlines over it TODAY
The Arab Spring has nothing to do with this (I suspect you were probably one of the people wringing your hands and demanding that the west stay out of Libya and Syria). And yes, today, and most of last week, what’s your fucking point? Shit is happening all over the world all the time. Potential war between nuclear powers in Eastern Europe may be slightly more presing.
And you would advise what Phillip, that the Western World invade 3 countries in search of those kidnapped in what is said to be an act of political revenge upon the Nigerian State for their soldiers involvement in another countries conflict???…
I am experiencing the unacustomed sensation of being in agreement with bad over something
Yes, i too am experiencing a level of consternation over such agreement, this behavior will have to stop…
Let us never speak of this again
that should be very disturbing for bad..
It should be even more disturbing for you, if only to underline how wrong you are
do you also share his belief that cannabis is as bad for you as heroin is..?
..how are you on that loon-thread..?
..he is probably one of those who tried pot once..got all paranoid..
..and has been an anti-disciple ever since..
..he does seem to be a somewhat uptight/highly-strung individual..
..he fits that pattern/model..
No, but what’s that got to do with the price of fish?
just trying to place you both within the loon-paradigm..
Yo Pot. It’s Kettle. Whazzzup my Nizz?
Quite a way below you on the loon scale I would suggest.
However I too am curious what you are suggesting here. Do you think the West should intervene to rescue these girls – Yes or No?
So says the self admitted poly-addict Phillip, your continuous drug rants explaining to us all the danger of the addictive psyche engaging in any drug use,
Trapped forever, scarred by the needle,(and the damage done),a Junky forever…
i am afraid that i am unable to engage with you..
..as you seem to have carte-blanche to say whatever you like to whoever you like .. however many times you like..
..whereas i accrued a ban for correcting a factual/perception-error you had made..
..i choose not to engage with you on such a tilted playing-field..
..so you just carry on..!
..the best you will get from me will be oblique..(but i hope potent) third-party references..
..( a pattern you may or may not have already noticed..)
..mm-kay..?
I haven’t read your article phillip but I would say there appears to be a double standard at work. Consider the almost blind eye treatment towards a large group of abducted Nigerian girls to 7 years of investigations into Madelaine McCann’s disappearance, the trashy mag stories about the heartbreak of the McCann’s and the media attention – it still goes on.
In those 7 years I wonder how many boys and girls have been abducted in human trafficking rings around the world. The pain of those parents will be no different to that of the McCann’s.
i have always had a disquieting question about the McCann’s, ”what sort of parents holidaying in a strange place leave their 3 year old alone in a hotel room while they go out for hours slurping wines and partaking of the local culinary delights”…
I can only assume they’ve asked themselves the same question, in hindsight…………….
Parents do other things beside looking after their children. The McCanns had a right to believe that the children would be safe and were checking on them It is not clear from the reports I have read as to how anyone could get into the apartment, perhaps their windows were open.
Wikipedia –
Madeleine and her younger siblings had been left asleep at 20:30 in the ground-floor apartment while her parents, Kate and Gerry McCann, dined with their travelling companions in a restaurant 50 metres (160 ft) away.[5] The parents checked on the children throughout the evening until Madeleine’s mother discovered she was missing at 22:00.
50 metres is 50 paces at one or two paces per second. So they were not that distant in time or location from the children. The depravity of people who would kidnap a child would be unknown to the McCanns as to most people. Some areas of Europe have a long tradition of kidnap I think.
Rosie @ 6.4 +1
On a slightly related theme: It seems we still have work to do in NZ in regard to our perceptions of non white kids educational aspirations and access to opportunities.
http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/ED1405/S00019/students-thesis-shows-teachers-bias-against-maori-pupils.htm
What a shocker.
Yeah Rosie i read that the other day and thought exactly the same thing, how can Maori rise above such stereotyping,(call it what it is, racism), that a professional body seems to regularly take into the classroom with them,
It seems from the outside ”attitudes” have changed, but, deep within the psyche of many within the ”profession” lurks some very ugly beliefs which must color their attitudes to certain students, and, effect the outcomes for those students,
i must admit that my view of those who are tasked with providing education was discolored by being dragged from a social studies class in the early 1970’s and caned for daring to ask the question, ”where were all this lot when this discovery was occurring” as the teacher explained to us all that ”Captain Cook discovered New Zealand”, 3/4 of the class being local Pa kids it seemed at the time a logical question to ask,
Small wonder that Maori are favoring charter schools…
Yeah, it’s interesting, what attitudes are publicly displayed and in contrast, what attitudes remain in the safety and privacy of the living room. Hypocritical really.
Not being a parent and knowing nothing about primary education I had assumed that we must have evolved, culturally and socially since I started out at school in 1975, where incidentally I witnessed many violent episodes such as you experienced. (We also had other teachers who were wonderful, and looking back on it now must have been liberally minded as we were taught peace songs and how to be nice to one another!)
Neither am I qualified to speak of charter schools except to say they sound like an unwise path to go down given the failure of charter schools in the US, that there is something wrong with publicly funded schools being run privately and that they are not subject to the same standards as state schools. However, given the mixed results for Maori achievement, it is understandable, whether it be right or wrong, that Maori would feel inclined to move away from a Pakeha based educational system that they may see is failing them, to a system they can claim as their own, and be of genuine benefit to their children. Maybe this is what they are hoping for.
In the past we’ve tried to squeeze Maori into Pakeha ways of thinking within our institutions, education, health, justice and so on. Maybe they are just trying to reclaim their own autonomy and influence by showing in interest in charter schools.
While I am for the most part against charter schools, I can see possible utility in allowing individual iwi to operate their own schools.
Who says the world is “relaxed”? I’m horrified, I would be equally horrified if it was 230 purple pygmies from Alaska or 230 blond boys from Wainuiomata. Then again I am not the “world”. The implication is racism is it not? Well I know about it, I heard it on Russian TV, on CNN, on TVNZ so the story has jumped “racism” filters.
So the response? Yeah, lets call in the Good “Ol US Marines…bugger, although they are largely black and latino…well they are needed around some oil war somewhere…and there is no oil up there, or a big enough Monsanto contract so, flag that.
UN Peacekeepers, fully deployed. Legitimate local authorities and forces? Who knows? Send the NZ Army perhaps? The “world”…well who are they? Not saying I don’t want help for these poor girls but how?
What do you suggest?
Watch them hypocrites dance, the whole Parliament is about to fall all over the place in a gross knee-jerk reaction against legal highs,(John Campbell must be laughing up His sleeve,
No animals will suffer the use of such drugs upon them to ascertain the ‘safe’ level of consumption for us humans, the mantra from the hypocrites being that ”there’s a big difference in testing for recreational drugs and testing for drugs that might save human lives”,
Here is the real story of the testing of ”products” on animals, from the gunk that the humans spread on their bodies to make them feel ”prettier”, smell ”better”, or look ”nicer”, the products of human vanity are regularly tested on animals to the point of those animals deaths,
No one knows the exact numbers of animals that are killed on behalf of human vanity yearly in this country the link below says at least 50% of the 200,000 animals, from rats to dogs, suffer to the point of death on behalf of our vanities each year,
http://www.safe.org.nz/campaigns/animal-testing/
Send a message to Slippery the Prime Minister and this Government that ALL animal testing should be banned in this country, below,
http://www.safeshopper.org.nz/…/be-cruelty-free-ban-animal-tested-cosmetics
for me..despite the delights on offer from collins..that dairy-based banquet..
..the television moment of the week..(so far..)..was john banks getting sneered at by the compere of that q&a..for his stand against testing legal highs on animals..
..the subject of the overdose test was raised..and the compere sneered:..’we don’t even know what that test is’..
..banks snapped back:..’yes we do..!’
..he then went on to describe how the overdose regime works:..
..ten bred-to-be-used-for-testing beagle dogs are strapped down..(banks said their ears are nailed down..to keep them fixed in one place..to aid testing..)
..the ten dogs are then given ever-increasing doses of these drugs..until five of them die..
..that level of drugs causing the death of the five dogs..
..is then deemed to be the official overdose-level of that drug..
.are we all relaxed/comfortable with that..?
..i can also provide blow-by-blow details of how these scum torture/kill animals to test cosmetics/laundry-products..etc..
..and as for the number of animals tortured/killed in nz by the vivisectors each/every year..?
..my understanding is that it is over 300,000..
..nearly a thousand animals..each and every day..
..and of course..we must not forget that most of that testing could be done using computer-models etc..
..the reason these over 300,000 animals are tortured/killed each/every year by these scum…
..is a matter of cost..
..torturing animals costs much less than using computer-modelling etc..
..are we all comfortable/relaxed with that..?
it’s good to see he cares about animals phi… if he gave a toss about more than 1% of humans in this country, maybe their lives would improve along with their attitudes toward meat eating and animals?
did lots of rats and dogs and monkey’s get cancer during the testing by tobacco companies to satisfy the FDA?
what happened to all the rats, dogs and monkey’s who were made drunk on alcohol?
”What happened to all the rats, dogs, and, monkey’s who were made drunk on alcohol”???,
Lolz better ask Phillip that one…
they are then killed..tracey..
I know thst phil. I meant were those substances found to be safe
they were never tested..
..they have always been with us..
like cannabis and opium
of course cannabis should be legalised..
..and with the gold card should come ability to access medical-opium..
..should said pensioner so desire..
..where is the harm in that..?
bad12
Looks like Anthony Hubbard from Stuff has some pretty solid numbers in this article
Personally I cannot see why so many animals need to be tortured? The testing for most products we use was concluded many years ago and the amount of new products is limited. In fact we already have ample products to choose from and so no further animal testing is actually required.
When so many animals are dying, John Key proclaiming that no animals will have synthetic cannabis chemicals tested on them is misleading! His statement to gain media attention is also not based in reality, because it was his government that legislated for synthetic cannabis chemicals to be tested on animals.
Now that there’s a public outcry and Labour have gained the upper hand, John Key pretending he cares about fluffy bunnies and saying “think of the cute little animals” is all a bit dishonest!
Really? The amount of new products is limited?
How many new products do you see coming to market Lanthanide? Most of the products we buy have been around for ages.
Reformulations using existing components/ingredients usually require no additional testing.
So “new” products can certainly appear, but if they are essentially only derivative in nature, and its the same old parabens, colours, stabilisers and flavour enhancers just in a different combo then its very unlikely it will be tested.
Exactly! Makes you wonder why so many animals are dying because of experiments then?
+1
With the compound simulators that stampede across vast plains of terabytes these days, the resulting data is probably more controlled and more accurate than any animal testing torture chamber could deliver.
(as a bit of ‘relief’ from matters judith…)
“..Masturbation: the secret to a long life?..”
“..Dodson has a mouth like a sailor –
and the easy manner of a wisecracking Scorsese character.
She looks incredible –
with a zest for life that belies her age (85).
She credits ‘masturbation – pot – and raw garlic’..”
(cont..)
(..heh..!..there ya go..!..there’s the formula..
..the mp&g-plan..
..and on that subject..of elder use of cannabis..
..one of the findings coming out of colorado’ new legal-weed regime..
..is that it is not the younger ones using increasing in number..(those that do already do..)
..the jumps in numbers using/buying legal-pot..
..are those in their 40’s-50’s and 60’s..
..(with the aphrodisiac/sex-enhancement qualities of pot appreciated by long-time-together couples..)
..we will see the same thing here..
..when sanity prevails..
..and of course the health-benefits to/for those elders swapping from booze to pot are another (as yet unquantified) positive outcome from ending cannabis prohibition..
http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2014/may/05/masturbation-secret-to-a-long-life-betty-dodson-self-love
(see what i did with the ‘relief’ there..?..)
There are no health benefits from swapping addictions Phillip, whether that swap is from Alcohol to Marijuana, or, Heroin to Marijuana,
Swapping addictions is simply the addicts device of denial of the addiction…
heh..!..seriously gone out on a limb there..
..i’ll just leave those logic/fact-fails to fester…
..they need no comment/rebuttal..
lol…bad12 …what is the difference between a habit and an addiction?…i have to agree with phillip ure….swapping addictions could be a winner
Philip you are very naughty!…other recipes for longevity and health
The place to go for longevity ( active over 90) or at least emulate their life style is Ikaria Island in Greece…lots of red wine, lots of coffee, lots of naps, lots of fun, lots of domino playing….a very very simple life style ( opposite of Shanghai or New York …over population and stress….Nact and vulgar money hangers- on can go take a running jump)
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/28/magazine/the-island-where-people-forget-to-die.html?hp&_r=0
http://www.yourzenlife.com/post/why-you-should-move-to-ikaria-greece
phillip ure…just looked at that link….that woman Betty Dodson is amazing!…what a HOOT!
From The Landlord Says prior to last election:
Why are Labour dragging the chain over the nominations for the candidate in the Tamaki-Makaurau seat,
Selecting Shane Taurima at this point would seem to be offering up National a ‘free hit’ in the future, Julian Wilcox i would suggest would make a winning candidate for Labour in the seat,
Mind you the longer the delay the more the contest might be one between the Maori Party and Mana Party…
Julian Wilcox would be awesome
I agree, seats up for the taking.
Has Labour started listening to Treasury, Reserve Bank.. Savings Working Group, (Australian Productivity Commission)?
Migrant benefit ‘overstated’ By DAN EATON – The Press | Saturday, 7 April 2007
The more fundamental question need still be asked of the Reserve Bank Governor of why He sees the need to hike the Official Cash Rate twice when inflation is only at an annual rate of 1.6%,
A move which hands the Trading Banks the perfect excuse to dramatically increase their profit taking from the New Zealand economy…
Libertarian Urban Plan
Houston – the well-planned City without a Plan
Owen McShane
http://www.houstonchronicle.com/business/real-estate/article/Ashby-ruling-allows-high-rise-to-go-forward-5447064.php?cmpid=twitter-premium&t=edb67c600d3b9e5e12
More evidence that Key’s philosophy on life is purely self interest and
making money. The man doesn’t know what a “conscience” is.
It is some comfort to know that we have Joky Hen PM and not Joky Hen MD.
Imagine going to Key as your doctor with symptoms of severe stress. He gives you a
sick note for a few days off but not before you have to face a couple more days of
what has put you into this state… (is he trying to tip you over the top).
The attempt to link NZ First MP Tracey Martin with Williamson is a bit desperate:
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11250250
Sounds like Martin is doing the job an MP is supposed to do, ie. advocate for a community in their best interests, not try and pervert the course of justice in regard to a rich donor.
Is Jared Savage using the OIA to get these communications or are Collins flunkies releasing them?
snap 🙂
Tweet from Dave Armstrong:
World record for OIA must have been broken on that request, overnight service 😀
not a ps staffer suggested yesterday that as the oias are out of mfat the fingers point toward mccully… fellow strategist of joyce and suffering majorly from small man syndrome. also a major control freak.
That’s total desperation. Tracey Martin is representing her community in a way that MPs used to do, before the ACT wing of Labour imported the idea that community doesn’t exist and they should only help wealthy individuals. I can see how a Herald journalist might get confused after sucking on the neolib Koolaid for 30 years or more. This just makes Winston First look like a party that actually does something.
What’s your take on this?
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11250250
IMHO The Herald is openly attempting to besmirch the community minded actions of the NZ First MP. Here is an MP simply doing her job. In the letter, (see PDF below) it is clear that Tracey Martin was responsibly advocating for the strength and continuity of her community.
By including the Williamson reference, the NZH is not just ‘presenting context to the story’, it is taking the legitimate actions of a MP who is openly concerned with what she perceived to be uncertainty over significant changes in their community and deliberately associating these actions to Williamson’s active support of a person involved in a domestic violence investigation. This perverse act suggests The Herald is facing a hell of a lot of pressure to muddy the waters as fast and as widely as possible.
National is obviously hurting
Is it 2pm yet 🙂
Question re PDF:
Is the reason Cameron Slater’s name is listed in the index of the PDF something to do with the application process of the OIA?
I recall talking to an English policeman about issues in the force. He must have been a manager. I recall him talking about the need to rotate officers or they can become too comfortable and (perhaps) lead to corruption. It made sense at the time.
I think the difference here is that it is just a community issue rather than a (excuse me) greasy businessman from China.
greasy businessman from China.
…..
a successfull Chinese property developer would come out a bit greasy?
This story is nothing to do with corruption in the community, or the Police. It even has nothing to do with your suspiciously xenophobic imagination! Staff get rotated, but sometimes these staff movements need to be properly reviewed in case details might have been overlooked. Central office might not have been fully aware of just how heavily involved the officer was in these projects. The obvious concerns of the community were responsibly and sensibly raised by the MP representing that community.
One MP is doing their job, one MP is abusing their position,
do you know which is which jh?
Slater must be OIAing something too, maybe the cops used the same master document to produce a number of OIA PDF responses then deleted Slater’s email.
Probably shows that the directions for Slater’s dirt digging and Savage’s are coming from the same source: Collins.
If you want to know the reason:
http://www.whaleoil.co.nz/2014/05/exclusive-will-winston-peters-say-tracey-martin-meddling-police-operational-matters/
Theres likely going to be more as hes put in more OIA requests
PR, I do not know any details other than what is in the Herald. Maybe they were all secretly involved in illegal activities, but if Slater had any actual [or imagined] details, that showed wrongdoing, then we would all be hearing about it!
Instead we have heinous acts like helping thy neighbour and building a brighter future for their community. What unseen horrors have these people been creating in these community groups? What dark shadows lurk? Based on what is presented I am perplexed that a rational person would think there is anything untoward to see here.
From the wording of the email on WOBH, it is not unreasonable to think that Slater has sent OIA requests to every Police District in the country on a major a fishing expedition. An expedition that will use hundreds of hours of Police time? Is this a justifiable use of resources? If any other person, including journalists, submitted (what we can imagine is) a large number of OIA requests so openly vague in their intention and so obvious in their motivation, they would very likely not get processed without repeated communications requesting more precise definition of the OIA objectives.
Maybe it exposes how much pressure is being applied. The last few days have seen some extraordinary events. From outside the government camp it looks as if stones are being thrown, and thrown blindly in rapid fire succession in every direction. Has Slater considered, even for a moment, the collateral damage his innuendo might inject into these communities? Just suggesting wrongdoing can be enough to permanently destabilise the complex relationships in community groups.
What I see in that NZH article is a MP wanting a good cop to stay on in their community .
Whaleoil drip feeds the information, there’ll be more to come
what do you expect to see PR?
I really really want to know what seems so out of place with a MP directly and openly advocating for her community, by writing a letter to the Police in an official capacity using official correspondence?
What MW did is of no comparison apart from both used the english language. Slater’s non-specific fishing trip is a distinctly suspicious waste of public resources. OIA requests are generally not processed in five days. As I said above, when the OIA objective is so poorly defined they are usually not answered at all, except for requests demanding greater detail.
I would wager that the sinkhole has nothing and will deliver nothing on this story.
The story has now plummeted down the NZH page,
that should tell you a lot about how much water the fisherman has in his waders.
looks like the slater followers, incarnations have done their reading today so they know what to think about collins.
If you really really want to know then keep visiting this site:
http://www.whaleoil.co.nz/
He likes to drip feed information so its best to keep visiting the multiple times per day
😆 😆 😆 😆 😆 😆 😆
you are being an idiot.
its about money, to make mugs like you click and click and click…
Sounds like Slater has some really juicy stuff… LOL no it doesn’t, Slater yet again reveals how much of an entry level political operator he actually is, couldn’t even get Brown with the dirt of the century.
Oh no a MP is telling police how good a cop is for the community! Watchout career ender right there.
has slater posted his requests for oia releases? it would be useful to see what he requested. i dont expect him to post that until he has the info, but for completeness when he posts the docs, it would be useful to see the nature of his request/s
are all his referenced docs stamped with the oia red?
Slater… your hero …says a lot
More to come? More evidence of opposition MPs doing their jobs? The fat slug is even more stupid than I’d suspected.
The reason is the oily one is trying to produce distractions to protect Collins.
on what youve read so far do you equate this mps actions with williamsons.
the robertson and nz first examples only make williamsons actions look worse imo.
http://media.nzherald.co.nz/webcontent/document/pdf/201419/NZ%20Herald%20OIA%20Jared%20Savage%20Response%20060514.pdf
try this as the PDF link in my post at 15 above seems to have fallen over
Feed the Kids Members Bill – update
When will the bill be up for its first reading?
The bill has moved down the agenda (‘order paper’) as a large number of Members bills have been reported back from select committee for second reading – and second readings take precedence over first readings on Members days. At this stage we’re anticipating it will come up in late May/mid-June.
Is it likely to have the votes to pass at first reading?
We need 61 votes and we currently have 60! Hone is continuing to meet with National Party MPs to try to get it passed but National is holding to the line that the KickStart breakfast programme they partially fund is enough. Our analysis shows it feeds about 12,000 of the 100,000 children estimated to go hungry each school day – so it’s not enough at all. We’re still hoping someone in National is able to do the maths and agree to support the bill.
What else has been done to build support?
Hone has continued to promote the bill and recently hosted two events at Parliament (see the MANA website, http://www.mana.org.nz, for speeches and media statements and http://www.feedthekids.org.nz for news stories and photos):
The first was a morning tea to thank the 30+ organisations who’ve supported the bill as part of the Community Coalition for Food in Schools, and helped make it the major policy news story of 2013. Many thanks to the guest speakers, Deborah Morris-Travers (Unicef), Kiri Smith (NZEI), Angela Roberts (PPTA), Lisa Beech (Caritas NZ), Major Pam Waugh (Salvation Army), Rawiri Wright (Ngā Rūnanganui o Ngā Kura Kaupapa Māori o Aotearoa), and Katherine Rich (Food and Grocery Council).
The second was a lunch event with 50+ senior students of Naenae College who help run the school’s breakfast club. The students fielded questions with the media, went on a tour of Parliament, and attended question time to watch Hone challenge the government to do more to support the 100,000 students who go to school hungry each day.
What can I do to help?
Continue to lobby your local MP, and especially if they’re John Banks, Peter Dunne, or a National MP! See http://www.feedthekids.org.nz for info and further suggestions.
let them eat cake. the govt has rich guys to assist. have contacted my mp, mr banks. have asked him to show similar compassion to children as he does to animals.
‘
Wouldn’t it be better to agitate for higher wages so families can feed their kids? Just askin’.
Nope. With work estimated to decrease by about 50% over the next decade or so and more after that we really need to think of something better than wages.
There’s going to be more than enough work to do Draco, that result will be natural in an era where the population is massively aging and fossil fuels are disappearing; it’s just that the economic system as it stands cannot or will not structure that work as paid employment.
Good work CV, you are on the button: when my personal “energy slaves” of fossil fuel no longer is available to “transport me in my metal overcoat”, nor plough the fields, nor truck stuff around…well its back to the humble Clydesdale, the water mill and the gleaners after the fallen corn. We will live in a Constable picture. It will be hard work, and there will be lots of it.
A mate and I moved a bit of firewood in the weekend, not much, maybe 300-400kg’s worth and it didn’t take long. Up and down hills was a piece of cake – with a Falcon V8 and a trailer, that is. With horses and a cart, it would have taken an entire day and been far more troublesome.
Life post fossil-fuels is going to be a lot slower and a lot harder than people are used to right now.
But somehow, all our politicians can keep chanting about is “growth” of one kind or another (green, sustainable, export, global, etc.). It’s like some kind of religious litany.
” With horses and a cart, it would have taken an entire day and been far more troublesome.”
but it would have had its good moments too CV 🙂
See, that’s a good example of what’s not going to happen any more as fossil fuels dry up as it will be a lot easier to build and maintain renewable generation and heat pumps. Renewable generation that can also maintain the present farming, mining and pretty much all other industries. About the only thing that it won’t be able to support is private motor vehicles.
palua bennetts community meeting on april 28 was in hobsonville.
is hobsonville in her current electorate? its in john keys.
so, she has already abandoned her constituents that she loves so much as being her precious westies.
Have they changed the boundaries? Has she increased in size and crossed the boundaries without having to move? Do the boundaries neatly bisect her current position? In the absence of Judith challenging Keys leadership is she the next cab off the rank? So many questions!
i know. shes holding her meetings in keys electorate but close to her new seate. so, the convenience of her constituents is irrelevant, shes looking after herself, as she so ineloquently said in parliament today
” national likes people to help themselves.”
I thought Paula Bennett may have had a wee snort of something or other today prior to coming into the House. She got a bit carried away there for a while and was generally on a bit of a trip (maybe to Christchurch).
“The rebuild following the Christchurch earthquakes was creating thousands of jobs and there were people ready to take them up but who did not have the means to get to Christchurch.”
“To qualify the job must be for over 30 hours a week and be longer for 91 days. The
payment would be non-taxable and exempt from any income and asset test.”
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11250450
If you only qualify after 91 days then the $3000 isn’t going to be available to relocate is it?
Also too bad if you’re let go under the 90 day probation period – you’d have to pay to relocate and then miss out on the $3000.
“If you only qualify after 91 days then the $3000 isn’t going to be available to relocate is it?”
I understand the incentive programme is set up so the job you are being offered must be for longer than 90 days, which means it being a job that the employer is not attaching the 90 trial contract to. Which is immediately removing a large number of employers from the pool of jobs that the Government is counting on.
The focus is stated to be on 18-24 year olds, this makes this is a quizzical incentive as they are the group most likely to be faced with a 90 day trial contract.
Maybe it is the cynic in me but on one hand I feel the actual number of these incentives that will be paid out, according to what they have ascribed to the policy, is likely to be very small. On the other, I suspect the programme will be manipulated somehow and ‘special circumstances’ will see the incentivet applied to jobs that turn out not to be so permanent after all.
It could be simply that the job is intended to be permanent, so even with a 90-day trial you can still get the incentive. Probably worth holding on to it though, for when you find yourself in a city far from your family and friends, newly unemployed, again.
According to what the Government has said, the job must be for over 90 days, I take that to mean the 90 day trial can not be applied to any job that is taken as ‘collateral’ for the incentive payment.
What I understand that to say is any persons taking up this offer will not have to sign a 90 day trial contract. If any of these jobs are unfairly terminated or fail to be permanent, the lucky employees will be able to utilize all aspects of our employment laws, not just a select few.
Certainly is an added bonus for those who find a job 🙂
I want to know where they’re going to house all these enthusiastic young people.
And NRT has it sussed:
young people dont need a house. especially unemployed young people. young people today need to toughen up. cue the four yorkshiremen monty pyhton.
It’s not going to do them much good if they have nowhere to live
Trevor Mallard ordered out of Parliament!
something has to be done about this nostrum abroad that MP’s are employees. They are there to represent the electorate in the parliament. as long as people have the idea that MP’s are employees then people like collins can bamboozle ordinary folks that she can do the sort of shit she has been putting down in china.
Spot on Captain, I also despise the whole language of government that crept in with Roger and Geoff Palmer. making it a corporate professional place where a man had to wear a suit. Fekk it if I ever get elected I will wear a “boiler suit”. A bright orange one. And I will refuse to have “clients”, or even “constituents” (a much older word)…just “people” I “represent” and “advocate for”..
amen.
nz inc is an insult to us all.
its precisely cos our leads treat the nation as a business that the environment, society and most of the people are fucked.
money is a by product not an end in itself.
Urgent debate on Maurice Williamson now under way in the House.
GREAT SPEECH RUSSELL NORMAN.
john key nowhere to be seen.
he left very soon after his q.t. answers were delivered
Guess he didn’t want the cameras to see him wincing during Collins’ performance
( wow, compare the content of Norman’s speech to this crap by English )
justifying the unjustifiable. his voice is cracking as he tries to equate refunded secret donations with telling the cops to do a thorough job cos your mate has lots of money… even he doesnt believe the shite he is spouting.
key making others front speaks volumes about his lack of leadership.
Cunliffe: focused & controlled. Without the OTT shouty stuff he does a lot. “These are the lowest ministerial standards in a generation”.
closing by norman was great… linking the low standards to the lack of leadership. not that the leader would have heard. as if to prove normans point, he was long gone.
The discipline of the opposition during qt was good to see, it started slipping by about Q7 but tomorrow is a new day and I hope we see a lot more of such discipline.
Good spine shown by Mallard too.
I get the distinct feeling there is some clear agreement amongst the opposition in how to manage National’s behaviour in the House. Silence is often the loudest argument.
It shows up National for the school yard principles that are their modus operandi and would certainly limit how selective The Speaker can be in what he perceives as having occurred.
US tax payers fleeced by oligarchs through costly, opaque public pension fund investments
For all you peeps who think that making KiwiSaver compulsory and giving even more workers’ money to Wall St is a good idea.
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2014-05-05/leaked-documents-show-how-blackstone-fleeces-taxpayers-public-pension-funds
…Labour should make it compulsorily reinvested in New Zealand
Your comment has questionable logic CV,
Surely it is better that we push for tight rules on how that money is invested rather than have it handed over to banks who will conduct the same corrupt practices with it – and considerably more on top of those ones anyway?
A very good performance by John Key “paraphrasing Helen Clark” was a good ending but wheres the passion from Cunliffe? Sounded like he was reading out his shopping list, at least Norman gets excited every now and then…
Speaker David Carter bought shares in Mighty River Power & Meridian Energy. I/S calls it corruption.
Paul Foster Bell also bought shares in Mighty River Power.
The register showed Labour leader David Cunliffe’s new trust, which he used to take donations for his leadership bid last year.
The TR Trust collected around $9500 in donations from supporters Selwyn Pellett, Perry Keenan and Tony Gibbs and two anonymous donors.
Don’t be scared Dave tell us who the donators are and what they want for their money
yawn Try hard. That one’s already been answered. Then there’s the Cabinet Clud….
So who were the secret donors then if its been answered?
Weak attempt at distraction – National’s Cabinet Club is mind boggling.
Whatever Cunliffe manage to garner in his election trust is pretty small beer don’t you think, compared to the nationwide scam called Cabinet Club that National is running. Where if you pay enough cash you get facetime with a Cabinet Minister. Once again the Cabinet Manual is just a guideline eh?
Oh well since its only small beer thats ok, perhaps you could let us know what the cut off point is?
At the moment sir, the cut off point seems to be a taxpayer funded trip to China where you use your ministerial kudos to try an influence a border official to go easy on a dairy company that your husband happens to be a director of and which is run by close friends. Mind you, given what we’ve learned tonight about National’s shoddy scam to raise funds it’s no wonder Collins and Williamson don’t think they’ve done anything wrong.
Nothing to say about National under pressure over it’s widespread encouragement of big money into government? And Paula Bennett lying about it?
Tough times for NAct astroturfers!
campbell live has an interview with the inventor of legal-highs..
..he sez they are dangerous..
..should not be consumed..
..and should all be banned..
and my favourite pot-story from today..
“..Marijuana May Heal Health Problems That Come With Old Age: How Can People Living in Senior Homes Get It?..”
“..From pain and trouble sleeping –
pot can be a godsend for seniors..”
(cont..)
http://www.alternet.org/drugs/marijuana-may-heal-health-problems-come-old-age-how-can-people-living-senior-homes-get-it
godsend for seniors but not necessarily for juniors under 20 ( brains still developing until 25)
yes chooky..but a legal/age-restricted regime will help in some way to prevent that..
..but as it stands now..
..you go to any town in nz..and if u want to score pot..
..you ask the nearest teenager where the local tinny house is..
..and they always know…
..and tinny-houses don’t ask for i.d..
and the inventor of the legal-highs said that pot should be legalised..
..that that is ‘the only way’ to stop people taking these dangerous chemicals..
..i hope john key is listening..
..it’s ‘the only way’..that will work..
The ironing was strong today when the PM described Twitter users (who dared front up to Judith, using her own language and medium of choice) as bottom feeders and trolls. This, when his own office “employs” a certain bottom feeding, trolling blog-which-wants-to-be-known-as-media to do its dirty work.
It’s funny how the will is found to report things like cabinet club once journos get pissed off. Must not have been much of secret around the press gallery.
Also it’s correspondingly scary that the only political discourse some people are exposed to is shaped by these chumps.
As much as I’m glad the Nats are taking a pounding the idea that the major improprieties of a government only get reported if the journos get all ornery is pretty unsettling.
http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2014/may/05/jobseekers-zero-hours-contracts
The unemployed in the UK are to lose the benefit for three months or more as sanction if they refuse to take a zero guaranteed hours job.
Does anyone know Work and Income’s rules around refusing to accept jobs with no guaranteed hours?
It’s not clear from the ‘obligations’ section of Work and Income’s website what constitutes suitable work.
Unbelievable! And then the UK government will crow about improved employment stats. How inhumane are such MPs?
The article says that benefits will be paid for the weeks not worked – fluctuating payments. But i can’t see WINZ organising that efficiently. And in the UK critics are saying it’ll be hard to do training to improve work prospects, or to get another job, if a person has a zero hour job.
It normalises these arrangements, which should be shunned by governments for the social and health harms they cause.
As I understand it, if you don’t accept a suitable job you will get your benefit cut. I have no idea as to what they mean by the word suitable. I’d say that a job that could leave you worse off would be unsuitable but National’s in power so they may consider a job with no hours suitable.
The return of El Nino
And, yeah, it’s looking like it’s going to be a big one.
It’s been a barmy autumn in Auckland so far. Today still seems like summer.
It’s so common, news sources framing the impact of environmental, political and social disruption in terms of how it affects capitalism and investors. Meh.
Yeah, I was disturbed by that as well but, unfortunately, some people seemingly just can’t understand the changes in any other terms.
I’m surprised I haven’t seen more recent debate on further state funding of political parties.
The Greens made a statement back in January that partial public funding would help to avoid parties being captured by wealthy interests.
Mike Williams is on record as calling for state funding when he was president, and Key is on record as opposing it as of late 2013.
I believe that a similar discussion is being had in the UK.
Of course Labours for it because they can’t raise any decent money on their own, I’m against it because I support National so why would I want any of my tax payers money go towards the Greens
Your tax-payers money can go to National and bribes and Oravida. The Greens can have mine.
xox
Where are all the libertarians shouting about nanny state taking away individuals rights on legal highs. The same ones who shouted out about lightbulbs, shower roses, and compulsory insulation and superannuation. And Helping out needy Warners, Rio Tinto, Americas Cup, Sky, etc. The hypocrisy and our msm complicity is incredible. We have been had.