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.
Lindsay Mitchell writes – One of reasons Oranga Tamariki exists is to prevent child neglect. But could the organisation itself be guilty of the same?Oranga Tamariki’s statistics show a decrease in the number and age of children in care. “There are less children ...
David Farrar writes: Graeme Edgeler wrote in 2017: In the first five years after three strikes came into effect 5248 offenders received a ‘first strike’ (that is, a “stage-1 conviction” under the three strikes sentencing regime), and 68 offenders received a ‘second strike’. In the five years prior to ...
Bryce Edwards writes – Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has surprised everyone with his ruthlessness in sacking two of his ministers from their crucial portfolios. Removing ministers for poor performance after only five months in the job just doesn’t normally happen in politics. That’s refreshing and will be extremely ...
TL;DR: These are the six things that stood out to me in news and commentary on Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy in the two days to 6:06am on Thursday, April 25:Politics: PM Christopher Luxon has set up a dual standard for ministerial competence by demoting two National Cabinet ministers while leaving also-struggling ...
Hi,Today I mainly want to share some of your thoughts about the recent piece I wrote about success and failure, and the forces that seemingly guide our lives. But first, a quick bit of housekeeping: I am doing a Webworm popup in Los Angeles on Saturday May 11 at 2pm. ...
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Buzz from the Beehive A statement from Children’s Minister Karen Chhour – yet to be posted on the Government’s official website – arrived in Point of Order’s email in-tray last night. It welcomes the High Court ruling on whether the Waitangi Tribunal can demand she appear before it. It does ...
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Rob MacCullough writes – Pundits from the left and the right are arguing that National’s Fast Track Bill that is designed to speed up infrastructure decisions could end up becoming mired in a cesspool of corruption. Political commentator ...
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Swabbing mixed breed baby chicks to test for avian influenzaUh oh. Bird flu – often deadly to humans – is not only being transmitted from infected birds to dairy cows, but is now travelling between dairy cows. As of last Friday, Bloomberg News reports, there were 32 American dairy herds ...
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Buzz from the Beehive Reactions to news of the government’s readiness to make urgent changes to “the resource management system” through a Bill to amend the Resource Management Act (RMA) suggest a balanced approach is being taken. The Taxpayers’ Union says the proposed changes don’t go far enough. Greenpeace says ...
I’m starting to wonder if Anna Burns-Francis might be the best political interviewer we’ve got. That might sound unlikely to you, it came as a bit of a surprise to me.Jack Tame can be excellent, but has some pretty average days. I like Rebecca Wright on Newshub, she asks good ...
Chris Trotter writes – Willie Jackson is said to be planning a “media summit” to discuss “the state of the media and how to protect Fourth Estate Journalism”. Not only does the Editor of The Daily Blog, Martyn Bradbury, think this is a good idea, but he has also ...
Graeme Edgeler writes – This morning [April 21], the Wellington High Court is hearing a judicial review brought by Hon. Karen Chhour, the Minister for Children, against a decision of the Waitangi Tribunal. This is unusual, judicial reviews are much more likely to brought against ministers, rather than ...
Both of Parliament’s watchdogs have now ripped into the Government’s Fast-track Approvals Bill. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāMy pick of the six newsey things to know from Aotearoa’s political economy and beyond on the morning of Tuesday, April 23 are:The Lead: The Auditor General,John Ryan, has joined the ...
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The infrastructure industry yesterday issued a “hurry up” message to the Government, telling it to get cracking on developing a pipeline of infrastructure projects.The hiatus around the change of Government has seen some major projects cancelled and others delayed, and there is uncertainty about what will happen with the new ...
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Calling all journalists, academics, planners, lawyers, political activists, environmentalists, and other members of the public who believe that the relationships between vested interests and politicians need to be scrutinised. We need to work together to make sure that the new Fast-Track Approvals Bill – currently being pushed through by the ...
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Labour welcomes the release of the report into the North Island weather events and looks forward to working with the Government to ensure that New Zealand is as prepared as it can be for the next natural disaster. ...
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A laundry list of additional costs for Tāmaki Makarau Auckland shows the Minister for the city is not delivering for the people who live there, says Labour Auckland Issues spokesperson Shanan Halbert. ...
Te Pāti Māori co-leader Rawiri Waititi, and Mema Paremata mō Tāmaki-Makaurau, Takutai Tarsh Kemp, will travel to the Gold Coast to strengthen ties with Māori in Australia next week (15-21 April). The visit, in the lead-up to the 9th Australian National Kapa haka Festival, will be an opportunity for both ...
The Green Party has today launched a step-by-step guide to help New Zealanders make their voice heard on the Government’s democracy dodging and anti-environment fast track legislation. ...
The National Government’s proposed changes to the Residential Tenancies Act will mean tenants can be turfed from their homes by landlords with little notice, Labour housing spokesperson Kieran McAnulty said. ...
Green Party co-leader Marama Davidson is calling on all parties to support a common-sense change that’s great for the planet and great for consumers after her member’s bill was drawn from the ballot today. ...
A significant milestone has been reached in the fight to strike an anti-Pasifika and unfair law from the country’s books after Teanau Tuiono’s members’ bill passed its first reading. ...
New Zealand has today missed the opportunity to uphold the right to a clean, healthy, and sustainable environment, says James Shaw after his member’s bill was voted down in its first reading. ...
Today’s advice from the Climate Change Commission paints a sobering reality of the challenge we face in combating climate change, especially in light of recent Government policy announcements. ...
Minister for Disability Issues Penny Simmonds appears to have delayed a report back to Cabinet on the progress New Zealand is making against international obligations for disabled New Zealanders. ...
The Government’s newly announced review of methane emissions reduction targets hints at its desire to delay Aotearoa New Zealand’s urgent transition to a climate safe future, the Green Party said. ...
Distinguished guests - It is an honour to return once again to this site which, as the resting place for so many of our war-dead, has become a sacred place for generations of New Zealanders. Our presence here and at the other special spaces of Gallipoli is made ...
Mai ia tawhiti pamamao, te moana nui a Kiwa, kua tae whakaiti mai matou, ki to koutou papa whenua. No koutou te tapuwae, no matou te tapuwae, kua honoa pumautia. Ko nga toa kua hinga nei, o te Waipounamu, o te Ika a Maui, he okioki tahi me o ...
Paul Goldsmith will take on responsibility for the Media and Communications portfolio, while Louise Upston will pick up the Disability Issues portfolio, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon announced today. “Our Government is relentlessly focused on getting New Zealand back on track. As issues change in prominence, I plan to adjust Ministerial ...
Recreational catch limits will be reduced in areas of Fiordland and the Chatham Islands to help keep those fisheries healthy and sustainable, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. The lower recreational daily catch limits for a range of finfish and shellfish species caught in the Fiordland Marine Area and ...
Energy Minister Simeon Brown has welcomed an important milestone in New Zealand’s hydrogen future, with the opening of the country’s first network of hydrogen refuelling stations in Wiri. “I want to congratulate the team at Hiringa Energy and its partners K one W one (K1W1), Mitsui & Co New Zealand ...
The coalition Government is delivering on its commitment to improve resource management laws and give greater certainty to consent applicants, with a Bill to amend the Resource Management Act (RMA) expected to be introduced to Parliament next month. RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop has today outlined the first RMA Amendment ...
Overseas models for regulating the oil and gas sector, including their decommissioning regimes, are being carefully scrutinised as a potential template for New Zealand’s own sector, Resources Minister Shane Jones says. The Coalition Government is focused on rebuilding investor confidence in New Zealand’s energy sector as it looks to strengthen ...
Emergency Management and Recovery Minister Mark Mitchell has today released the Report of the Government Inquiry into the response to the North Island Severe Weather Events. “The report shows that New Zealand’s emergency management system is not fit-for-purpose and there are some significant gaps we need to address,” Mr Mitchell ...
Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith is today travelling to Europe where he’ll update the United Nations Human Rights Council on the Government’s work to restore law and order. “Attending the Universal Periodic Review in Geneva provides us with an opportunity to present New Zealand’s human rights progress, priorities, and challenges, while ...
Associate Agriculture Minister, Mark Patterson, formally reopened the world’s largest wool processing facility today in Awatoto, Napier, following a $50 million rebuild and refurbishment project. “The reopening of this facility will significantly lift the economic opportunities available to New Zealand’s wool sector, which already accounts for 20 per cent of ...
Hon Andrew Bayly, Minister for Small Business and Manufacturing At the Southland Otago Regional Engineering Collective (SOREC) Summit, 18 April, Dunedin Ngā mihi nui, Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Ko Whanganui aho Good Afternoon and thank you for inviting me to open your summit today. I am delighted ...
The Government is delivering on its commitment to bring back the Three Strikes legislation, Associate Justice Minister Nicole McKee announced today. “Our Government is committed to restoring law and order and enforcing appropriate consequences on criminals. We are making it clear that repeat serious violent or sexual offending is not ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has today announced four new diplomatic appointments for New Zealand’s overseas missions. “Our diplomats have a vital role in maintaining and protecting New Zealand’s interests around the world,” Mr Peters says. “I am pleased to announce the appointment of these senior diplomats from the ...
New Zealand is contributing NZ$7 million to support communities affected by severe food insecurity and other urgent humanitarian needs in Ethiopia and Somalia, Foreign Minister Rt Hon Winston Peters announced today. “Over 21 million people are in need of humanitarian assistance across Ethiopia, with a further 6.9 million people ...
Minister for Arts, Culture and Heritage Paul Goldsmith is congratulating Mataaho Collective for winning the Golden Lion for best participant in the main exhibition at the Venice Biennale. "Congratulations to the Mataaho Collective for winning one of the world's most prestigious art prizes at the Venice Biennale. “It is good ...
The Government is reforming financial services to improve access to home loans and other lending, and strengthen customer protections, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly and Housing Minister Chris Bishop announced today. “Our coalition Government is committed to rebuilding the economy and making life simpler by cutting red tape. We are ...
“China remains a strong commercial opportunity for Kiwi exporters as Chinese businesses and consumers continue to value our high-quality safe produce,” Trade and Agriculture Minister Todd McClay says. Mr McClay has returned to New Zealand following visits to Beijing, Harbin and Shanghai where he met ministers, governors and mayors and engaged in trade and agricultural events with the New ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has completed a successful trip to Singapore, Thailand and the Philippines, deepening relationships and capitalising on opportunities. Mr Luxon was accompanied by a business delegation and says the choice of countries represents the priority the New Zealand Government places on South East Asia, and our relationships in ...
New Zealand is demonstrating its commitment to reducing global greenhouse emissions, and supporting clean energy transition in South East Asia, through a contribution of NZ$41 million (US$25 million) in climate finance to the Asian Development Bank (ADB)-led Energy Transition Mechanism (ETM). Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Climate Change Minister Simon Watts announced ...
The Government is today releasing a list of organisations who received letters about the Fast-track applications process, says RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop. “Recently Ministers and agencies have received a series of OIA requests for a list of organisations to whom I wrote with information on applying to have a ...
Attorney-General Judith Collins today announced the appointment of Wellington Barrister David Jonathan Boldt as a Judge of the High Court, and the Honourable Justice Matthew Palmer as a Judge of the Court of Appeal. Justice Boldt graduated with an LLB from Victoria University of Wellington in 1990, and also holds ...
Education Minister Erica Stanford will lead the New Zealand delegation at the 2024 International Summit on the Teaching Profession (ISTP) held in Singapore. The delegation includes representatives from the Post Primary Teachers’ Association (PPTA) Te Wehengarua and the New Zealand Educational Institute (NZEI) Te Riu Roa. The summit is co-hosted ...
A stopbank upgrade project in Tairawhiti partly funded by the Government has increased flood resilience for around 7000ha of residential and horticultural land so far, Regional Development Minister Shane Jones says. Mr Jones today attended a dawn service in Gisborne to mark the end of the first stage of the ...
Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters will represent the Government at Anzac Day commemorations on the Gallipoli Peninsula next week and engage with senior representatives of the Turkish government in Istanbul. “The Gallipoli campaign is a defining event in our history. It will be a privilege to share the occasion ...
Science, Innovation and Technology and Defence Minister Judith Collins will next week attend the OECD Science and Technology Ministerial conference in Paris and Anzac Day commemorations in Belgium. “Science, innovation and technology have a major role to play in rebuilding our economy and achieving better health, environmental and social outcomes ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon held a bilateral meeting today with the President of the Philippines, Ferdinand Marcos Jr. The Prime Minister was accompanied by MP Paulo Garcia, the first Filipino to be elected to a legislature outside the Philippines. During today’s meeting, Prime Minister Luxon and President Marcos Jr discussed opportunities to ...
The Government has announced that $20 million in funding will be made available to Westport to fund much needed flood protection around the town. This measure will significantly improve the resilience of the community, says Local Government Minister Simeon Brown. “The Westport community has already been allocated almost $3 million ...
The Government is proud to support the first ever Repco Supercars Championship event in Taupō as up to 70,000 motorsport fans attend the Taupō International Motorsport Park this weekend, says Economic Development Minister Melissa Lee. “Anticipation for the ITM Taupō Super400 is huge, with tickets and accommodation selling out weeks ...
Local Government Minister Simeon Brown has announced an increase to the Rates Rebate Scheme, putting money back into the pockets of low-income homeowners. “The coalition Government is committed to bringing down the cost of living for New Zealanders. That includes targeted support for those Kiwis who are doing things tough, such ...
The Coalition Government is investing in a project to boost survival rates of New Zealand mussels and grow the industry, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones has announced. “This project seeks to increase the resilience of our mussels and significantly boost the sector’s productivity,” Mr Jones says. “The project - ...
Benefit figures released today underscore the importance of the Government’s plan to rebuild the economy and have 50,000 fewer people on Jobseeker Support, Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston says. “Benefit numbers are still significantly higher than when National was last in government, when there was about 70,000 fewer ...
The Government’s commitment to doubling New Zealand’s renewable energy capacity is backed by new data showing that clean energy has helped the country reach its lowest annual gross emissions since 1999, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. New Zealand’s latest Greenhouse Gas Inventory (1990-2022) published today, shows gross emissions fell ...
The Government is bringing the earthquake-prone building review forward, with work to start immediately, and extending the deadline for remediations by four years, Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk says. “Our Government is focused on rebuilding the economy. A key part of our plan is to cut red tape that ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and his Thai counterpart, Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin, have today agreed that New Zealand and the Kingdom of Thailand will upgrade the bilateral relationship to a Strategic Partnership by 2026. “New Zealand and Thailand have a lot to offer each other. We have a strong mutual desire to build ...
RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop and Transport Minister Simeon Brown have today announced the Coalition Government’s intention to extend port coastal permits for a further 20 years, providing port operators with certainty to continue their operations. “The introduction of the Resource Management Act in 1991 required ports to obtain coastal ...
Today’s announcement that inflation is down to 4 per cent is encouraging news for Kiwis, but there is more work to be done - underlining the importance of the Government’s plan to get the economy back on track, acting Finance Minister Chris Bishop says. “Inflation is now at 4 per ...
Refreshed health guidance released today will help parents and schools make informed decisions about whether their child needs to be in school, addressing one of the key issues affecting school attendance, says Associate Education Minister David Seymour. In recent years, consistently across all school terms, short-term illness or medical reasons ...
Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones is streamlining high-level oceans management while maintaining a focus on supporting the sector’s role in the export-led recovery of the economy. “I am working to realise the untapped potential of our fishing and aquaculture sector. To achieve that we need to be smarter with ...
I was initially resistant to the idea often suggested to me that the Government should deliver an arts strategy. The whole point of the arts and creativity is that people should do whatever the hell they want, unbound by the dictates of politicians in Wellington. Peter Jackson, Kiri Te Kanawa, Eleanor ...
Associate Agriculture Minister Mark Patterson is speaking at the International Wool Textile Organisation Congress in Adelaide, promoting New Zealand wool, and outlining the coalition Government’s support for the revitalisation the sector. "New Zealand’s wool exports reached $400 million in the year to 30 June 2023, and the coalition Government ...
Analysis - Two ministers were stripped of portfolios in a warning to Cabinet, drama broke out at the Waitangi Tribunal, and the gang patch ban bill ran into opposition. ...
Tara Ward makes an impassioned plea for some vital pop culture merch. In April 1999, I became obsessed with a new reality television show called Popstars. Every Tuesday night, five strangers transformed into music royalty before my very eyes as Joe, Keri, Carly, Erika and Megan were chosen to form ...
PNG Post-Courier In the early hours of ANZAC Day, aerial photographs captured an impressive gathering of Australians and Papua New Guineans at Isurava in the Northern (Oro) Province. The solemn dawn service yesterday was held at a site steeped in history, where some of the fiercest battles of World War ...
The PSA is shocked that Oranga Tamariki has used the cost cutting drive to downgrade its commitment to Te Ao Māori and remove many specialist Māori roles. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ian Kemish, Adjunct Professor, School of Historical and Philosophical Inquiry, The University of Queensland There can be no more powerful symbol of the relationship between Australia and Papua New Guinea than the prime ministers of these neighbouring countries walking together on the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sharon Robinson, Distinguished Professor and Deputy Director of ARC Securing Antarctica’s Environmental Future (SAEF), University of Wollongong, University of Wollongong Andrew Netherwood Over the last 25 years, the ozone hole which forming over Antarctica each spring has started to shrink. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Viktoria Kahui, Senior Lecturer in Environmental Economics, University of Otago Getty Images/Amy Toensing Biodiversity is declining at rates unprecedented in human history. This suggests the ways we currently use to manage our natural environment are failing. One emerging concept focuses on ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Timothy Colin Bednall, Associate Professor in Management, Swinburne University of Technology marvent/Shutterstock Finding the best person to fill a position can be tough, from drafting a job ad to producing a shortlist of top interview candidates. Employers typically consider information from ...
Wondering where to host your next BYO? Whether its a small gathering or a massive party, we’ve got some recommendations. I was first introduced to the concept of BYOs at Dunedin’s India Gardens, a legendary but sadly defunct establishment, which purveyed enormous quantities of mango chicken to Aotearoa’s drunkest future ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Julien Cooper, Honorary Lecturer, Department of History and Archaeology, Macquarie University Julien Cooper The hyper-arid desert of Eastern Sudan, the Atbai Desert, seems like an unlikely place to find evidence of ancient cattle herders. But in this dry environment, my new ...
The sector says it’s hopeful her replacement Paul Goldsmith will be able to throw it a lifeline, after six months with a minister deemed missing in action, writes Catherine McGregor in this excerpt from The Bulletin, The Spinoff’s morning news round-up. To receive The Bulletin in full each weekday, sign ...
The government can't just rely on axing public sector jobs and has to do more to cut spending, says the chief economist at a free market think tank. ...
Rock The Vote NZ, known for its advocacy for minor party unity and its role within the Freedoms NZ Coalition during the 2023 General Election, celebrates this merger as a strategic enhancement of its operational strength and outreach. ...
Nearly everyone has experienced the frustration of something you use breaking and being difficult or expensive to fix. Proposed legislation could change that. It’s been raining on and off all Sunday afternoon but people are lining up outside a building in a corner of Gribblehirst Park in Sandringham, Auckland. In ...
What does a forever relationship look like when you don’t believe in marriage? And how do you celebrate it? This essay is part of our Sunday Essay series, made possible thanks to the support of Creative New Zealand.I’m going to do it, right now. I’m going to say ...
The Prime Minister has committed to resuming direct flights to Thailand. But it’s not a promise he will be able to deliver on anytime soon. The post Prime Minister jumps the gun in Thailand appeared first on Newsroom. ...
It’s not that long ago Eliza McCartney was seriously wondering if the Paris Olympics would be her pole vaulting swansong. After years of being hounded by injury after injury, the Rio Olympics bronze medallist was still confident she would compete at her second Olympics in Paris in July, unless something ...
FICTION 1 Take Two by Danielle Hawkins (Allen & Unwin, $36.99) There’s commercial fiction, like this book, and then there’s quality fiction, quality writers, quality literature; the forthcoming Auckland Writers Festival is full of quality, and ReadingRoom has two tickets to give away to the following events: Paul Lynch (Dublin ...
Loading…(function(i,s,o,g,r,a,m){var ql=document.querySelectorAll('A[quiz],DIV[quiz],A[data-quiz],DIV[data-quiz]'); if(ql){if(ql.length){for(var k=0;k<ql.length;k++){ql[k].id='quiz-embed-'+k;ql[k].href="javascript:var i=document.getElementById('quiz-embed-"+k+"');try{qz.startQuiz(i)}catch(e){i.start=1;i.style.cursor='wait';i.style.opacity='0.5'};void(0);"}}};i['QP']=r;i[r]=i[r]||function(){(i[r].q=i[r].q||[]).push(arguments)},i[r].l=1*new Date();a=s.createElement(o),m=s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];a.async=1;a.src=g;m.parentNode.insertBefore(a,m)})(window,document,'script','https://take.quiz-maker.com/3012/CDN/quiz-embed-v1.js','qp'); Got a good quiz question?Send Newsroom your questions. The post Newsroom daily quiz, Friday 26 April appeared first on Newsroom. ...
You can’t have missed the Gallipoli story as the movies, documentaries, essays and books capture what it was like for New Zealand troops in their eight-month campaign on the Peninsula. But this Anzac Day the Auckland War Memorial Museum has published a book that sheds light on a little-known aspect of the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra In the free-for-all between the Australian government and Big Tech boss Elon Musk this week, the government had to be on a winner. Most people would have little sympathy with Musk’s vociferous opposition to ...
Asia Pacific Report Chief Mandla Mandela, a member of the National Assembly of South Africa and Nelson Mandela’s grandson, has joined the Freedom Flotilla in istanbul as the ships prepare to sail for Gaza, reports Kia Ora Gaza. Mandela is also the ambassador for the Global Campaign to Return to ...
Pacific Media Watch Journalists who report on environmental issues are encountering growing difficulties in many parts of the world, reports Reporters Without Borders. According to the tally kept by RSF, 200 journalists have been subjected to threats and physical violence, including murder, in the past 10 years because they were ...
Analysis by Dr Bryce Edwards, Democracy Project (https://democracyproject.nz)Political scientist, Dr Bryce Edwards. Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has surprised everyone with his ruthlessness in sacking two of his ministers from their crucial portfolios. Removing ministers for poor performance after only five months in the job just doesn’t normally happen in ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By John Hawkins, Senior Lecturer, Canberra School of Politics, Economics and Society, University of Canberra BagzhanSadvakassov/Upsplash, CC BY-SA Australia’s inflation rate has fallen for the fifth successive quarter, and it’s now less than half of what it was back in late 2022. ...
ACT's Rural Communities and Veterans spokesman Mark Cameron responds to cancellations and protests of ANZAC Day commemorations in Wellington. He says, "These pitiful attempts to detract from ANZAC Day are not at all indicative of the feelings of mainstream ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Meighen McCrae, Associate Professor of Strategic & Defence Studies, Australian National University American and Australian stretcher bearers working together near the front line during the Battle of Hamel in 1918.Australian War Memorial While the AUKUS alliance is new, the Australian-American partnership ...
Pōneke based peace activists staged a silent protest at the ANZAC day service to highlight New Zealand’s complicity in war and genocide, and urge the government to take concrete steps to stop the genocide in Palestine. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Magdalena M.E. Bunbury, Postdoctoral Researcher, James Cook University Burial with a horse at the Rákóczifalva site, Hungary (8th century AD).Sándor Hegedűs, Hungarian National Museum, CC BY How do we understand past societies? For centuries, our main sources of information have been ...
Amanda Thompson doesn’t really do Anzac Day. But what she does do is remember the people she knew who had a lifetime to remember stuff they didn’t really want to, because of a war they didn’t ask for. And she does make Anzac biscuits.First published in 2021.All my ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kathryn Willis, Postdoctoral Researcher, CSIRO Xavier Boulenger/Shutterstock In the two decades to 2019, global plastic production doubled. By 2040, plastic manufacturing and processing could consume as much as 20% of global oil production and use up 15% of the annual carbon ...
With our collective remembrance, and steadfast belief in our common humanity, we strengthen our hope and resolve to do what we can to foster dialogue and understanding, and to heal divisions in our pursuit of peace. ...
Principal reasons for the opposition is the loss of the public’s democratic right to have “a fair say” and the vital need for a government free from corruption, said Casey Cravens of Dunedin, president of the New Zealand Federation of Freshwater ...
Never mind the scoreboard – in the 2000 Bledisloe Cup decider, the real trans-Tasman battle was won before kickoff.First published in 2016. The dawn of the new millennium was a dark time for the All Blacks. Their final game pre-Y2K was a 22-18 loss to South Africa in the ...
I’m on the wrong side of 40, I never pursued creative work and now my job is killing my soul. Help! Want Hera’s help? Email your problem to helpme@thespinoff.co.nzDear Hera,May I start with the least original conversation opener you’re likely to hear around the motu at the moment, particularly in Wellington: ...
“Never again - No AUKUS” was the message of the wreath laid at this morning’s national ANZAC Day commemorative service at Pukeahu National War Memorial Park this morning by the Stop AUKUS group. ...
Until this month, Auckland swimmer Hazel Ouwehand had never met a qualifying time in an Olympic event for a New Zealand team, even as a junior. Now she’s very likely off to the Paris Olympics after swimming well under the qualifying standard in the 100m butterfly twice – both in ...
While Anzac Day has experienced a resurgence in recent years, our other day of remembrance has slowly faded from view.The Sunday Essay is made possible thanks to the support of Creative New Zealand. Original illustrations by Hope McConnell.First published in 2022.The high school’s head girl and ...
Australian and New Zealand volunteers fought together in the Waikato War, yet still its place in the Anzac tradition is unacknowledged by our defence forces or Returned Services Association.First published in 2018.When I was a boy cub I attended Anzac Day services in the South Auckland suburb of ...
A poem by Wellington writer Tayi Tibble.Hoki Mai She kisses him goodbye with her eyes still wet and alight from their last swim in the Awatere river. At the train station celebration, she leads the Kapa Haka but her voice keeps breaking under and over itself like waves. ...
A poem from Bill Manhire’s 2017 book of verse Some Things to Place in a Coffin.My World War I Poem Inside each trench, the sound of prayer. Inside each prayer, the sound of digging. Image courtesy of Auckland War Memorial Museum. ...
There are three books I have wolfed down in one sitting over the last two years. Colleen Maria Lenihan’s gorgeous and sad debut Kōhine, Noelle McCarthy’s memoir Grand about becoming her mother and then unbecoming her, and now Hine Toa, a staunch yet gentle self-portrait by living legend Ngāhuia te ...
Loading…(function(i,s,o,g,r,a,m){var ql=document.querySelectorAll('A[quiz],DIV[quiz],A[data-quiz],DIV[data-quiz]'); if(ql){if(ql.length){for(var k=0;k<ql.length;k++){ql[k].id='quiz-embed-'+k;ql[k].href="javascript:var i=document.getElementById('quiz-embed-"+k+"');try{qz.startQuiz(i)}catch(e){i.start=1;i.style.cursor='wait';i.style.opacity='0.5'};void(0);"}}};i['QP']=r;i[r]=i[r]||function(){(i[r].q=i[r].q||[]).push(arguments)},i[r].l=1*new Date();a=s.createElement(o),m=s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];a.async=1;a.src=g;m.parentNode.insertBefore(a,m)})(window,document,'script','https://take.quiz-maker.com/3012/CDN/quiz-embed-v1.js','qp'); Got a good quiz question?Send Newsroom your questions. The post Newsroom daily quiz, Thursday 25 April appeared first on Newsroom. ...
Asia Pacific Report Students and activist staff at Australia’s University of Sydney (USyd) have set up a Gaza solidarity encampment in support of Palestinians and similar student-led protests in the United States. The camp was pitched as mass graves, crippled hospitals, thousands of civilian deaths and the near-total destruction of ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By James B. Dorey, Lecturer in Biological Sciences, University of Wollongong Australian teddy bear bees are cute and fluffy, but get a look at that massive (unbarbed) stinger! James Dorey Photography Most of us have been stung by a bee and we ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jen Roberts, Senior Lecturer, School of Humanities and Social Inquiry, University of Wollongong Aussie~mobs/FlickrVictor Farr, a private in the 1st Infantry Battalion, was among the first to land at Anzac Cove just before dawn on April 25 1915. Victor Farr ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Gregory Moore, Senior Research Associate, School of Ecosystem and Forest Sciences, The University of Melbourne Gregory Moore I had the good fortune to care for the sugar gum at The University of Melbourne’s Burnley Gardens in Victoria where I worked for ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By John Hawkins, Senior Lecturer, Canberra School of Politics, Economics and Society, University of Canberra BagzhanSadvakassov/Upsplash, CC BY-SA Australia’s inflation rate has fallen for the fifth successive quarter, and it’s now less than half of what it was back in late 2022. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Rachel Ong ViforJ, ARC Future Fellow & Professor of Economics, Curtin University Just when we think the price of rentals could not get any worse, this week’s Rental Affordability Snapshot by Anglicare has revealed low-income Australians are facing a housing crisis like ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Meighen McCrae, Associate Professor of Strategic & Defence Studies, Australian National University American and Australian stretcher bearers working together near the front line during the Battle of Hamel in 1918.Australian War Memorial While the AUKUS alliance is new, the Australian-American partnership ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Tracey Holmes, Professorial Fellow in Sport, University of Canberra When the news broke last weekend that 23 Chinese swimmers had tested positive to a banned drug in early 2021 and were allowed to compete at the Tokyo Olympic Games six months later ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Cally Jetta, Senior Lecturer and Academic Lead; College for First Nations, University of Southern Queensland Australian War MemorialAboriginal and Torres Strait Islander readers are advised this article contains names and images of deceased people, as well as sensitive historical information ...
RNZ News Melissa Lee has been ousted from New Zealand’s coalition cabinet and stripped of the Media portfolio, and Penny Simmonds has lost the Disability Issues portfolio in a reshuffle. Climate Change and Revenue Minister Simon Watts will take Lee’s spot in cabinet. Simmonds was a minister outside of cabinet. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By David Lindenmayer, Professor, Fenner School of Environment and Society, Australian National University laurello/Shutterstock Some reports and popular books, such as Bill Gammage’s Biggest Estate on Earth, have argued that extensive areas of Australia’s forests were kept open through frequent burning by ...
Analysis - Christopher Luxon framing the demotion of two ministers as the portfolios getting "too complex" is a charitable way of saying they weren't up to the job. ...
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?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mlFmw1jnsMc
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.