Charles Chauvel has responded to questions about minimum pricing on alcohol:
Minimum pricing, “That would still double the price of the cheapest existing wine which can be bought at the moment for $6”
The purchase age “I am not convinced that voting in isolation to raise the purchase age from 18 would make as much as a difference as a combination of the three measures”.
The SOPs: “The evidence was that a careful combination of rules about price, availability and advertising could do that while still allowing everyone else to continue to drink responsibly. All this SOP would do is allow price to go into the mix.”
You mean Key can’t just raze whole government departments to the ground like he was invincible and had no need to consider the consequences, deal with the obvious additional costs, etc, etc?
We need an upper chamber so we can slow irreversible rush legislation, and maybe then our teens would not similarly be so gun-hoe.
Pathetic grovelar why did Dunny vote to put up the price of cigarettes.
We have $ 6 billion dollars damage to our economy every year.
So pete we are borrowing billions to subsidize alcoholics.
Great.
After the finance companies rorts by directors and stakeholders with related party loans and Rod Petricevich and Bridgecorp and Hanover and Eric Watson and Mark Hotchin, it seems that one of the members of this esteemed bunch of bankers has carried on as if nothing has changed.
George Kerr and Pyne and Gould and Corp and Wrightsons and Heartland Bank and Marac and Perpetual Trust … watch out for them! They been tricky for a long while and seems to be still cant keep hands off what not theirs. Their auditors KPMG quit a couple months ago, clearly highly disgusted in practices. Now the Court of Appeal has descrobed the bad smells too.
George Kerr the one. One of them so-called blue nosed Cantabs who arrived on one of the first 4 ships (first 4 ships ha – they were late! I would call them the last 4 ships)
“Its fundamental causes are to be found in the ingrained conventions of Japanese culture: our reflexive obedience; our reluctance to question authority; our devotion to ‘sticking with the programme’; our groupism and our insularity.”
Our elites are full of clever dicks reflexively rationalizing the indefensible. Just lucky we don’t have nuke power.
The kiwifruit disaster shows up a lack of efficiency from MAF and that someone changed the wording of the regulations to weaken the border controls shutting out possibilities of entry of infected material. The fact that the kiwifruit industry leaders weren’t in touch with MAF advising of PSA outbreaks in Italy and Chile was also a lack of alertness and effectiveness on their part. And some kiwifruit growers didn’t know that unprocessed pollen was being imported at all. The path of this infected material has been traced.
Behind everything there seems to have been complacency about how safe NZ is because of being sea-locked. Yet continuing this safe zone is a duty that our irresponsible, cheese-paring, stupid government with well-paid functionaries can not carry out. Even to fulfil their supposed interest in ensuring that industry is productive and profitable. I think that public servant leaders like politicians and those with executive positions should have to pay some of their salaries into a fiduciary account that will help to pay for their failures.
Mouth and foot remains a possible disaster as one commenter said would “Bring NZ to its knees”. So border and internal controls are necessary. Also screening imports and banning if necessary, not slackening controls through open-arm agreements with other countries. Also we should be leading discussion on making vaccination against foot and mouth world-wide not just wait for outbreaks and then wring our hands, and squeeze our bank balances.
This morning there was an announcement that three NIWA scientists monitoring the ozone hole were being chucked. There will be eight doing this now, but they say it isn’t enough to carry on their internationally-integrated work considering that there used to be 16 which was pared down to 11, now 8.
Our right wing NeoLiberal Government has a major blind spot in their accounting for deficits!
Expenditure on the debit side is cut and income on the credit side is cut with tax cuts. They are willfully blind to the fact that deficits can be cured with an increase in income on the credit side.Enough bookkeeping! Will we ever do the sensible thing as the French are now doing?
“S’il Vous PlaĂźt: France to Tax Corporations and Wealthiest to Address Budget Gap”
“As he promised throughout his presidential campaign, Francois Hollande on Wednesday introduced a new 2012 corrective budget that calls for, among other measures, a one-off tax levy on the nation’s wealthiest individuals and large corporations to help address the nation’s current financial woes.”
“What wonderful common sense. Hats off to France. Remember when we used to do this under the socialistic regimes of Dwight Eisenhower and Richard Nixon. Imagine that — taxes to help keep a society intact. Public libraries, public parks, public education. The Commons. I remember those things — and how we paid for them in the good old US of A..
Viva la France on this 4th of July.”
Under NeoLiberalism the good old US of A is a economy and society collapsing under the weight of inequality and its working funds being hoarded off by the scrooge 1% percenters and where if you don’t have money you can die from treatable illnesses. This is the order our RWNJs look up to!
Reducing income inequality is critical for a functional democracy.
The only mistake France is making in its tax rate adjustment is limiting the top marginal rate below 90%. France’s proposed rate changes are modest in my view and are LESS progressive than the US income tax rate at the time of my birth, 1964: top marginal tax in that year was 77% on income over 400,000/yr. In today’s dollars that equates to a 77% tax on each dollar you earn AFTER the first 2,850,000/yr. France’s proposed action will take a small step toward reducing income inequality in that nation–to say nothing of the support it will provide to infrastructure (notably renewable/sustainable energy projects) health-care, education, local food production, the arts and sciences. Reducing income inequality is critical for a functional democracy. Funding those others is critical for a livable society.
At least France is moving in the right direction. Bear in mind that you cannot set taxes to what they should be overnight. A huge difference between France and the US is that French government actually uses its resources for social benefit compared with the US which just blatantly gives money to rich people while asking so little of them in taxes. The FDR implemented tax rate that ending the Great Depression was 92% for the mega-rich for those of us who know our US history.
I expect a strong reaction from the rich worldwide that do not want to see this expression of people power spread out of France. Expect to see the EU spring into action soon to force France to submit to EU rule over national sovereignty.
We are winning battles against the mega-rich. These victories are just not happening in the United States yet. If only those of us in the know could just break through the ignorance barrier that seems to be so prevalent amongst the average American.
The UK$$$$ now a privatised NeoLiberal A-Hole of a place which has copied the garbage ideology of NeoLiberalism slavishly from the failed state of the U$$$$ and exists through financial scams in the city of London (Refer Libor rate fixing criminal scam) is like us reaping the benefits of a grossly unequel society:
“Two children in every classroom go hungry as neglect takes its toll ”
For Pete’s sake The UK$$$ is Supposed to be one of the richest Countries in the World!
“People don’t understand how brutal the welfare system has become. Cuts to housing benefit will leave many unable to afford food, particularly if they have been sanctioned by the DWP. And it is set to get worse. Universal Credit, the new benefit regime which begins being trialled next year, will feature far more punitive sanctions than even now. The minimum sanction for most âoffencesâ will be increased from one week to 13 weeks, whilst the maximum length of sanction is to be extended to three years. Those in receipt of sickness and disability benefit, Employment Support Allowance, will face an unprecedented regime of enforced job seeking, similar to that currently faced by Job Seekers Allowance Claimants. And perhaps most brutally of all, those with children over the age of 5 will be subject to the same sanctions and conditionality as those with no children at all.”
The US has earned his condemnation for denying the RNZN a berth at Pearl Harbour.
The pain of it is all over his column in the Herald this morning.
Could his reaction be more to do with the one Armstrong claims has “gravitas”, viz. his cuzzy Prime (US Arse Licking) Minister John Key, looking a bit of a dick given the spin that’s put about how internationally esteemed and listened to he is ?
Never mind Armstrong. I hear Key’s doing Paratai Drive Ladies Luncheon Club this afternoon where he will be welcomed rapturously.
Perhaps in your next column you can tell us about his common touch as displayed at said luncheon, as confirmed by warmth of welcome at said luncheon.
I missed the news last night but got bailed up by a property developer this morning incensed about a story that developers who bought cheap properties because they needed strengthening, strengthening that they have not bothered to do, will be bailed out by the tax payer to do this work.
He sees absolutely no reason why this should happen with the taxpayer paying for the increased value of the property and the developer getting the proceeds.
They knew what was needed when they bought it.
He talked about something called due diligence and caveat emptor.
He said that’s not how honest businessman do business – I’ve known him for a number of years and have never seen him this angry.
If all you have to do now is buy an old building and have the tax payer meet the development costs to improve it he said ut’s a sad state of affairs and will only cause bad businessmen to be worse.
Kentucky senator Rand and his father Ron Paul, who has not yet formally conceded the Republican presidential nomination, will throw their weight behind a new online manifesto set to be released today by the Paul-founded Campaign for Liberty. The new push, Paul aides say, will in some ways displace what has been their movementâs long-running top priority, shutting down the Federal Reserve Bank. The move is an attempt to stake a libertarian claim to a central public issue of the next decade, and to move from the esoteric terrain of high finance to the everyday world of cable modems and Facebook.
The manifesto, obtained yesterday by BuzzFeed, is titled âThe Technology Revolutionâ and lays out an argument â in doomsday tones âfor keeping the government entirely out of regulating anything online, and for leaving the private sector to shape the new online space.
So you need to contact one of many large New Zealand Corporations …
Do you get through to an operator immediately?
Probably not, but are greeted by an automaton.
You are now probably in a slightly raised state of anxiety/agitation …
So what do they do?
They play crass/crap music – invariably a pseudo musician wailing into your ear, the result of which is to raise the rate of agitation a couple more degrees.
What’s to do?
You daren’t hang up because you will lose your place in the queueing system.
Put your phone on “speaker”? – hell no that makes the situation worse.
Just in case someone out there who is in a position of influence might read this, what about some baroque music? Eh?
I guess that the majority of people managing the phone systems are probably “pop” radio listeners and Kiwiblog readers.
AlL our customer service representatives are busy with other calls at the moment. We value your call. Please select the music that you would like to listen to while you wait. Press one for baroque, 2 for rap, 3 for head-banging metal,…
I guess that the majority of people managing the phone systems are probably âpopâ radio listeners and Kiwiblog readers.
WINZ used to just play Jordan Luck (which always makes me laugh – when I worked for the Benefits and Pensions section in 1985, my boss hated Jordan Luck, and tried amny times (failing each time) to deny him unemployment benefit because she ‘knew’ he was using it to live while making albums)…and Housing NZ used to play only Tim Finn singing ‘Fraction too much Friction’ – so deliciously appropriate!
Now they just play Lift Muzak…Â
Study Link used to play cool stuff! (But I was only ever under their control for a few weeks back in 2009.) I suppose they’d never heard of beneficiaries over 40 becoming students, or they’d have played Tim Finn… đ
Images of US students (and others) protesting and setting up tent cities on US university campuses have been broadcast world wide and clearly demonstrate the growing rifts in US society caused by US policy toward Israel and Israel’s prosecution of … Continue reading → ...
Barrie Saunders writes – Dear Paul As the new Minister of Media and Communications, you will be inundated with heaps of free advice and special pleading, all in the national interest of course. For what it’s worth here is my assessment: Traditional broadcasting free to air content through ...
Many criticisms are being made of the Governmentâs Fast Track Approvals Bill, including by this writer. But as with everything in politics, every story has two sides, and both deserve attention. Itâs important to understand what the Government is trying to achieve and its arguments for such a bold reform. ...
Peter Dunne writes –Â The great nineteenth British Prime Minister, William Gladstone, once observed that âthe first essential for a Prime Minister is to be a good butcher.â When a later British Prime Minister, Harold Macmillan, sacked a third of his Cabinet in July 1962, in what became ...
Ele Ludemann writes – New Zealanders had the OECDâs second highest tax increase last year: New Zealanders faced the second-biggest tax raises in the developed world last year, the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) says. The intergovernmental agency said the average change in personal income tax ...
We all know something’s not right with our elections. The spread of misinformation, people being targeted with soundbites and emotional triggers that ignore the facts, even the truth, and influence their votes.The use of technology to produce deep fakes. How can you tell if something is real or not? Can ...
This video includes conclusions of the creator climate scientist Dr. Simon Clark. It is presented to our readers as an informed perspective. Please see video description for references (if any). This year you will be lied to! Simon Clark helps prebunk some misleading statements you'll hear about climate. The video includes ...
It is all very well cutting the backrooms of public agencies but it may compromise the frontlines. One of the frustrations of the Productivity Commissionâs 2017 review of universities is that while it observed that their non-academic staff were increasing faster than their academic staff, it did not bother to ...
Buzz from the Beehive Two speeches delivered by Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters at Anzac Day ceremonies in Turkey are the only new posts on the governmentâs official website since the PM announced his Cabinet shake-up. In one of the speeches, Peters stated the obvious:Â we live in a troubled ...
1. Which of these would you not expect to read in The Waikato Invader?a. Luxon is here to do business, don’t you worry about thatb. Mr KPI expects results, and you better believe itc. This decisive man of action is getting me all hot and excitedd. Melissa Lee is how ...
…it has a restricted jurisdiction which must not be abused: it is not an inquisition  NOTE – this article was published before the High Court ruled that Karen Chhour does not have to appear before the Waitangi Tribunal Gary Judd writes – The High Court ...
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 Tamarikiâs statistics show a decrease in the number and age of children in care. âThere 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 âfirst strikeâ (that is, a âstage-1 convictionâ under the three strikes sentencing regime), and 68 offenders received a âsecond strikeâ. 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 doesnât normally happen in politics. Thatâs 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. ...
It is hard to see what Melissa Lee might have done to âsaveâ the media. National went into the election with no public media policy and appears not to have developed one subsequently. Lee claimed that she had prepared a policy paper before the election but it had been decided ...
Open access notablesIce acceleration and rotation in the Greenland Ice Sheet interior in recent decades, Løkkegaard et al., Communications Earth & Environment:In the past two decades, mass loss from the Greenland ice sheet has accelerated, partly due to the speedup of glaciers. However, uncertainty in speed derived from satellite products ...
Buzz from the Beehive A statement from Children’s Minister Karen Chhour – yet to be posted on the Governmentâs official website – arrived in Point of Orderâs email in-tray last night. It welcomes the High Court ruling on whether the Waitangi Tribunal can demand she appear before it. It does ...
Mr Bombastic:Ironically, the media the academic experts wanted is, in many ways, the media they got. In place of the tyrannical editors of yesteryear, advancing without fear or favour the interests of the ruling class; the New Zealand news media of today boasts a troop of enlightened journalists dedicated to ...
It's hard times try to make a livingYou wake up every morning in the unforgivingOut there somewhere in the cityThere's people living lives without mercy or pityI feel good, yeah I'm feeling fineI feel better then I have for the longest timeI think these pills have been good for meI ...
In 1974, the US Supreme Court issued its decision in United States v. Nixon, finding that the President was not a King, but was subject to the law and was required to turn over the evidence of his wrongdoing to the courts. It was a landmark decision for the rule ...
Every day now just seems to bring in more fresh meat for the grinder.In their relentlessly ideological drive to cut back on the “excessive bloat” (as they see it) of the previous Labour-led government, on the mountains of evidence accumulated in such a short period of time do not ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Megan Valére SosouMarket gardening site of the Itchèléré de Itagui agricultural cooperative in Dassa-Zoumè (Image credit: Megan Valère Sossou) For the residents of Dassa-Zoumè, a city in the West African country of Benin, choosing between drinking water and having enough ...
Buzz from the Beehive  Melissa Lee â as may be discerned from the screenshot above â has not been demoted for doing something seriously wrong as Minister of ...
Morning in London Mother hugs beloved daughter outside the converted shoe factory in which she is living.Afternoon in London Travelling writer takes himself and his wrist down to A&E, just to be sure. Read more ...
Mike Grimshaw writes – The recent announcement of the University Advisory Group, chaired by Sir Peter Gluckman, makes very clear where the Governmentâs focus and priorities lie. The remit of the Advisory Group is that Group members will consider challenges and opportunities for improvement in the university sector including: ...
Eric Crampton writes – The Reserve Bank of New Zealand desperately wants to find reasons to have workstreams in climate change. It makes little sense. They’ve run another stress test on the banks looking to see if they could find a prudential regulation case. They couldn’t. They ...
Rob MacCullough writes –Â 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 ...
Looking at the headlines this morning it’s hard to feel anything other than pessimistic about the future of humanity.Note that I’m not speaking about the future of mankind, but the survival of our humanity. The values that we believe in seem to be ebbing away, by the day.Perhaps every generation ...
Swabbing mixed breed baby chicks to test for avian influenzaUh oh. Bird flu â 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 ...
On February 14, 2023 we announced our Rebuttal Update Project. This included an ask for feedback about the added "At a glance" section in the updated basic rebuttal versions. This weekly blog post series highlights this new section of one of the updated basic rebuttal versions and serves as a ...
What is it with the mining industry? Its not enough for them to pillage the earth - they apparently can't even be bothered getting resource consent to do so: The proponent behind a major mine near the Clutha River had already been undertaking activity in the area without a ...
Photo # 1 I am a huge fan of Singapore’s approach to housing, as described here two years ago by copying and pasting from The ConversationWhat Singapore has that Australia does not is a public housing developer, the Housing Development Board, which puts new dwellings on public and reclaimed land, ...
Buzz from the Beehive Reactions to news of the governmentâs readiness to make urgent changes to âthe resource management systemâ through a Bill to amend the Resource Management Act (RMA) suggest a balanced approach is being taken. The Taxpayers’ Union says the proposed changes donât 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 âmedia summitâ to discuss âthe state of the media and how to protect Fourth Estate Journalismâ. Not only does the Editor of The Daily Blog, Martyn Bradbury, think this is a good idea, but he has also ...
Graeme Edgeler writes –Â 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 ...
Hi,Over the weekend I revisited a podcast I really adore, Dead Eyes. It’s about a guy who got fired from Band of Brothers over two decades ago because Tom Hanks said he had “dead eyes”.If you don’t recall — 2001’s Band of Brothers was part of the emerging trend of ...
 Buzz from the Beehive The 180 or so recipients of letters from the Government telling them how to submit infrastructure projects for âfast trackâ consideration includes some whose project applications previously have been rejected by the courts. News media were quick to feature these in their reports after RMA Reform Minister Chris ...
It would not be a desirable way to start your holiday by breaking your back, your head, or your wrist, but on our first hour in Singapore I gave it a try.We were chatting, last week, before we started a meeting of Hazel’s Enviro Trust, about the things that can ...
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 â currently being pushed through by the ...
Feel worried. Shane Jones and a couple of his Cabinet colleagues are about to be granted the power to override any and all objections to projects like dams, mines, roads etc even if: said projects will harm biodiversity, increase global warming and cause other environmental harms, and even if ...
Bryce Edwards writes-Â The ability of the private sector to quickly establish major new projects making use of the urban and natural environment is to be supercharged by the new National-led Government. Yesterday it introduced to Parliament one of its most significant reforms, the Fast Track Approvals Bill. ...
Michael Bassett writes – If you think there is a move afoot by the radical Maori fringe of New Zealand society to create a parallel system of government to the one that we elect at our triennial elections, you arenât wrong. Over the last few days we have ...
Without a corresponding drop in interest rates, it’s doubtful any changes to the CCCFA will unleash a massive rush of home buyers. Photo: Lynn GrievesonTL;DR: The six things that stood out to me in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, poverty and climate on Monday, April 22 included:The Government making a ...
Sunday was a lazy day. I started watching Jack Tame on Q&A, the interviews are usually good for something to write about. Saying the things that the politicians won’t, but are quite possibly thinking. Things that are true and need to be extracted from between the lines.As you might know ...
In our Weekly Roundup last week we covered news from Auckland Transport that the WX1 Western Express is going to get an upgrade next year with double decker electric buses. As part of the announcement, AT also said âSince we introduced the WX1 Western Express last November we have seen ...
TL;DR: The six key events to watch in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy in the week to April 29 include:PM Christopher Luxon is scheduled to hold a post-Cabinet news conference at 4 pm today. Stats NZ releases its statutory report on Census 2023 tomorrow.Finance Minister Nicola Willis delivers a pre-Budget speech at ...
A listing of 29 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, April 14, 2024 thru Sat, April 20, 2024. Story of the week Our story of the week hinges on these words from the abstract of a fresh academic ...
The ability of the private sector to quickly establish major new projects making use of the urban and natural environment is to be supercharged by the new National-led Government. Yesterday it introduced to Parliament one of its most significant reforms, the Fast Track Approvals Bill. The Government says this will ...
This is a column to say thank you. So many of have been in touch since Mum died to say so many kind and thoughtful things. You’re wonderful, all of you. You’ve asked how we’re doing, how Dad’s doing. A little more realisation each day, of the irretrievable finality of ...
Identifying the engine type in your car is crucial for various reasons, including maintenance, repairs, and performance upgrades. Knowing the specific engine model allows you to access detailed technical information, locate compatible parts, and make informed decisions about modifications. This comprehensive guide will provide you with a step-by-step approach to ...
Introduction: The allure of racing is undeniable. The thrill of speed, the roar of engines, and the exhilaration of competition all contribute to the allure of this adrenaline-driven sport. For those who yearn to experience the pinnacle of racing, becoming a race car driver is the ultimate dream. However, the ...
Introduction Automobiles have become ubiquitous in modern society, serving as a primary mode of transportation and a symbol of economic growth and personal mobility. With countless vehicles traversing roads and highways worldwide, it begs the question: how many cars are there in the world? Determining the precise number is a ...
Maintaining a safe and reliable vehicle requires regular inspections. Whether it’s a routine maintenance checkup or a safety inspection, knowing how long the process will take can help you plan your day accordingly. This article delves into the factors that influence the duration of a car inspection and provides an ...
Mazda Motor Corporation, commonly known as Mazda, is a Japanese multinational automaker headquartered in Fuchu, Aki District, Hiroshima Prefecture, Japan. The company was founded in 1920 as the Toyo Cork Kogyo Co., Ltd., and began producing vehicles in 1931. Mazda is primarily known for its production of passenger cars, but ...
Your car battery is an essential component that provides power to start your engine, operate your electrical systems, and store energy. Over time, batteries can weaken and lose their ability to hold a charge, which can lead to starting problems, power failures, and other issues. Replacing your battery before it ...
In most states, you cannot register a car without a valid driver’s license. However, there are a few exceptions to this rule. Exceptions to the RuleIf you are under 18 years old: In some states, you can register a car in your name even if you do not ...
Mazda, a Japanese automotive manufacturer with a rich history of innovation and engineering excellence, has emerged as a formidable player in the global car market. Known for its reputation of producing high-quality, fuel-efficient, and driver-oriented vehicles, Mazda has consistently garnered praise from industry experts and consumers alike. In this article, ...
Struts are an essential part of a car’s suspension system. They are responsible for supporting the weight of the car and damping the oscillations of the springs. Struts are typically made of steel or aluminum and are filled with hydraulic fluid. How Do Struts Work? Struts work by transferring the ...
Car registration is a mandatory process that all vehicle owners must complete annually. This process involves registering your car with the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) and paying an associated fee. The registration process ensures that your vehicle is properly licensed and insured, and helps law enforcement and other authorities ...
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Te PÄti MÄori are demanding the New Zealand Government support an international independent investigation into mass graves that have been uncovered at two hospitals on the Gaza strip, following weeks of assault by Israeli troops. Among the 392 bodies that have been recovered, are children and elderly civilians. Many of ...
Our two-tiered system for veteransâ support is out of step with our closest partners, and all parties in Parliament should work together to fix it, Labour veteransâ affairs spokesperson Greg OâConnor said. ...
Stripping two Ministers of their portfolios just six months into the job shows Christopher Luxonâs management style is lacking, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said. ...
Tonightâs court decision to overturn the summons of the Childrenâs Minister has enabled the Crown to continue making decisions about MÄori without evidence, says Te PÄti MÄori spokesperson for Children, Mariameno Kapa-Kingi. âThe judicial system has this evening told the nation that this government can do whatever they want when ...
It appears Nicola Willis is about to pull the rug out from under the feet of local communities still dealing with the aftermath of last yearâs severe weather, and local councils relying on funding to build back from these disasters. ...
The Government is making short-sighted changes to the Resource Management Act (RMA) that will take away environmental protection in favour of short-term profits, Labourâs environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said today. ...
Labour welcomes the release of the report into the North Island weather events and looks forward to working with the Government to ensure that New Zealand is as prepared as it can be for the next natural disaster. ...
The Labour Party has called for the New Zealand Government to recognise Palestine, as a material step towards progressing the two-State solution needed to achieve a lasting peace in the region. ...
Some of our countryâs most important work, stopping the sexual exploitation of children and violent extremism could go along with staff on the frontline at ports and airports. ...
The Governmentâs Fast Track Approvals Bill will give projects such as new coal mines a âget out of jail freeâ card to wreak havoc on the environment, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said today. ...
The government's decision to reintroduce Three Strikes is a destructive and ineffective piece of law-making that will only exacerbate an inherently biased and racist criminal justice system, said Te PÄti MÄori Justice Spokesperson, TÄkuta Ferris, today. During the time Three Strikes was in place in Aotearoa, MÄori and Pasifika received ...
Cuts to frontline hospital staff are not only a broken election promise, it shows the reckless tax cuts have well and truly hit the frontline of the health system, says Labour Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall. ...
The Green Party has joined the call for public submissions on the fast-track legislation to be extended after the Ombudsman forced the Government to release the list of organisations invited to apply just hours before submissions close. ...
New Zealandâs good work at reducing climate emissions for three years in a row will be undone by the National governmentâs lack of ambition and scrapping programmes that were making a difference, Labour Party climate spokesperson Megan Woods said today. ...
More essential jobs could be on the chopping block, this time Ministry of Education staff on the school lunches team are set to find out whether they're in line to lose their jobs. ...
Te PÄti MÄori is disgusted at the confirmation that hundreds are set to lose their jobs at Oranga Tamariki, and the disestablishment of the Treaty Response Unit. âThis act of absolute carelessness and out of touch decision making is committing tamariki to state abuse.â Said Te PÄti MÄori Oranga Tamariki ...
The Government is trying to bring in a law that will allow Ministers to cut corners and kill off native species, Labour environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said. ...
Cancelling urgently needed new Cook Strait ferries and hiking the cost of public transport for many Kiwis so that National can announce the prospect of another tunnel for Wellington is not making good choices, Labour Transport Spokesperson Tangi Utikere said. ...
A laundry list of additional costs for TÄmaki 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 PÄti MÄori co-leader Rawiri Waititi, and Mema Paremata mĆ TÄmaki-Makaurau, Takutai Tarsh Kemp, will travel to the Gold Coast to strengthen ties with MÄori 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 Governmentâs democracy dodging and anti-environment fast track legislation. ...
The National Governmentâs 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 thatâs great for the planet and great for consumers after her memberâs 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 countryâs books after Teanau Tuionoâs membersâ 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 memberâs bill was voted down in its first reading. ...
Todayâs 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. ...
Hundreds of New Zealand families affected by Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) will benefit from a new Government focus on prevention and treatment, says Health Minister Dr Shane Reti. âWe know FASD is a leading cause of preventable intellectual and neurodevelopmental disability in New Zealand,â Dr Reti says. âEvery day, ...
Regional Development Minister Shane Jones today attended the official opening of Kaikoheâs new $14.7 million sports complex. âThe completion of the Kaikohe Multi Sports Complex is a fantastic achievement for the Far North,â Mr Jones says. âThis facility not only fulfils a long-held dream for local athletes, but also creates ...
Foreign Minister Winston Petersâ engagements in TĂŒrkiye this week underlined the importance of diplomacy to meet growing global challenges.  âReturning to the Gallipoli Peninsula to represent New Zealand at Anzac commemorations was a sombre reminder of the critical importance of diplomacy for de-escalating conflicts and easing tensions,â Mr Peters ...
Ambassador Millar, Burgemeester, Vandepitte, Excellencies, military representatives, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen â good morning and welcome to this sacred Anzac Day dawn service. It is an honour to be here on behalf of the Government and people of New Zealand at Buttes New British Cemetery, Polygon Wood â a deeply ...
Distinguished guests - Â 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. Â 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. Â 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. âOur 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 Zealandâs hydrogen future, with the opening of the countryâs first network of hydrogen refuelling stations in Wiri. âI 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 Zealandâs own sector, Resources Minister Shane Jones says. The Coalition Government is focused on rebuilding investor confidence in New Zealandâs 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. âThe report shows that New Zealandâs emergency management system is not fit-for-purpose and there are some significant gaps we need to address,â Mr Mitchell ...
Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith is today travelling to Europe where heâll update the United Nations Human Rights Council on the Governmentâs work to restore law and order. âAttending the Universal Periodic Review in Geneva provides us with an opportunity to present New Zealandâs human rights progress, priorities, and challenges, while ...
Associate Agriculture Minister, Mark Patterson, formally reopened the worldâs largest wool processing facility today in Awatoto, Napier, following a $50 million rebuild and refurbishment project. âThe reopening of this facility will significantly lift the economic opportunities available to New Zealandâs 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  NgÄ 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. âOur 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 Zealandâs overseas missions.  âOur diplomats have a vital role in maintaining and protecting New Zealandâs interests around the world,â Mr Peters says.  âI 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. Â âOver 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. âIt 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. âOur coalition Government is committed to rebuilding the economy and making life simpler by cutting red tape. We are ...
âChina remains a strong commercial opportunity for Kiwi exporters as Chinese businesses and consumers continue to value our high-quality safe produce,â 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. âRecently 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 Teachersâ 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.  âThe 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. âScience, 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 todayâs 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. âThe Westport community has already been allocated almost $3 million ...
The Government is proud to support the first ever Repco Supercars Championship event in TaupĆ as up to 70,000 motorsport fans attend the TaupĆ International Motorsport Park this weekend, says Economic Development Minister Melissa Lee. âAnticipation for the ITM TaupĆ 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. âThe 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. âThis project seeks to increase the resilience of our mussels and significantly boost the sectorâs productivity,â Mr Jones says. âThe project - ...
Benefit figures released today underscore the importance of the Governmentâs plan to rebuild the economy and have 50,000 fewer people on Jobseeker Support, Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston says. âBenefit numbers are still significantly higher than when National was last in government, when there was about 70,000 fewer ...
The Governmentâs commitment to doubling New Zealandâs 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 Zealandâs 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. âOur 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. âNew 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 Governmentâs intention to extend port coastal permits for a further 20 years, providing port operators with certainty to continue their operations. âThe introduction of the Resource Management Act in 1991 required ports to obtain coastal ...
Todayâs 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 Governmentâs plan to get the economy back on track, acting Finance Minister Chris Bishop says. âInflation is now at 4 per ...
Asia Pacific Report From France to Australia, university pro-Palestine protests in the United States have now spread to several countries with students pitching on-campus camps. And students at Columbia and other US universities remain defiant as campuses have witnessed the biggest protests since the anti-Vietnam war and anti-apartheid eras in ...
Analysis by Dr Bryce Edwards, Democracy Project (https://democracyproject.nz)New Zealand Government’s Fast Track legislation. Many criticisms are being made of the Governmentâs Fast Track Approvals Bill, including by this writer. But as with everything in politics, every story has two sides, and both deserve attention. Itâs important to understand what the Government ...
Tara Ward talks to presenter Naomi Toilalo about the new TV show that turns food waste into a three course feast. Naomi Toilalo is standing in the warehouse at Good Neighbour Tauranga, helping unpack the two-and-a-half tonnes of rejected food that will arrive at the community support hub that day. ...
Scout is our latest Dog of the Month. This feature was offered as a reward during our Whatâs Eating Aotearoa PledgeMe campaign. Thank you to Scoutâs human, Avril, for her support. Dog name: Scout (named after the little girl in To Kill a Mockingbird â she inherited the independent spirit ...
Megan Alatini takes us through her life in TV, including âterribleâ daytime TV, the class of Carol Hirschfeld and her most embarrassing TrueBliss moment. When she responded to a vague newspaper ad asking âdo you have what it takes to be a popstar?â 25 years ago, Megan Alatini never guessed ...
A new exhibition in Wellington showcases the faces behind your local goods and services. Back in 1977, when I was a fine arts student at the University of Canterbury, I took a series of photographs of Christchurch shopkeepers. The photos were for a calendar â a project for my end ...
Toomaj and his resistance to tyranny through his songs have become an icon for the youth of Iran, so his sentence has hit the nation hard. Toomaj Salehi is not the first artist to pay the price for standing with the people. ...
My cousin Dylan and I spotted these big eels under the bridge that summer. We watched them lounging under the dark weed, facing into the flow of water, their mouths frozen open. Dylan and I couldnât stop thinking about those eels. The night we went down to the creek, we ...
Newsroom, home of satire. My long-running weekly satirical series The Secret Diary has moved to Newsroom and will appear every Saturday, with Victor Billot’s wildly popular satirical Odes continuing to appear every Sunday. Diaries, Odes â while serious political columnists toil at meaningful opinions and stroke their chins to an ...
Tara Ward unravels the many nuanced layers of a cartoon about talking dogs.This is an excerpt from our weekly pop culture newsletter Rec Room. Sign up here. Itâs not often an episode of a childrenâs cartoon has adults sobbing into their sleeves, but thatâs exactly what happened this week when ...
There’s an island in the far reaches of Auckland’s territory, sitting off the tip of the Coromandel Peninsula, 30 minutes by air from the city or four hours on the slow boat. Aotea Great Barrier is off-grid, it has a population of fewer than a thousand people ⊠and most ...
Asia Pacific Report An Australian author and advocate, Jim Aubrey, today led a national symbolic one minuteâs silence to mark the âblood debtâ owed to Papuan allies during the Second World War indigenous resistance against the invading Japanese forces. âA promise to most people is a promise,â Aubrey said in ...
Asia Pacific Report The Freedom Flotilla is ready to sail to Gaza, reports Kia Ora Gaza. All the required paperwork has been submitted to the port authority, and the cargo has been loaded and prepared for the humanitarian trip to the besieged enclave. However, organisers received word of an âadministrative ...
Pacific Media Watch Palestine solidarity protesters today demonstrated at the Auckland headquarters of Television New Zealand, accusing the countryâs major TV network of broadcasting âpropagandaâ backing Israelâs genocidal war on Gaza. About 50 protesters targeted the main entrance to the TVNZ building near Sky Tower and also picketed a side ...
Opinion by Lynley Hood. Forty years on from my 1985 Fulbright Grant, my disquiet over the war in Gaza evoked some troubling questions. The answer to my first question – What is the primary purpose of the Fulbright Programme? – was on the Fulbright NZ website. It says: US Senator, ...
The ministers responsible for green-lighting major projects need to be open about potential conflicts of interest, says Transparency International. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Anastasia Powell, Professor, Family and Sexual Violence, RMIT University It has been a particularly distressing start to the year. There is little that can ease the current grief of individuals, families and communities who have needlessly lost a loved one to menâs ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Gregory Moore, Senior Research Associate, School of Ecosystem and Forest Sciences, The University of Melbourne Lichen, the first described example of symbiosis.AdeJ Artventure/Shutterstock Once known only to those studying biology, the word symbiosis is now widely used. Symbiosis is the intimate ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kim Hemsley, Head, Childhood Dementia Research Group, Flinders Health and Medical Research Institute, College of Medicine and Public Health, Flinders University Olena Ivanova/Shutterstock âChildhoodâ and âdementiaâ are two words we wish we didnât have to use together. But sadly, around 1,400 ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Peter Whiteford, Professor, Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University The governmentâs Economic Inclusion Advisory Committee has just published its second report. It was set up by Treasurer Jim Chalmers and Minister for Social Services Amanda Rishworth in 2022 to provide: ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Adrian Beaumont, Election Analyst (Psephologist) at The Conversation; and Honorary Associate, School of Mathematics and Statistics, The University of Melbourne The Queensland state election will be held in October. A YouGov poll for The Courier Mail, conducted April 9â17 from a sample ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Amin Naeni, PhD candidate at Alfred Deakin Institute for Citizenship and Globalisation, Deakin University Thereâs been much talk in recent months about what a possible second Donald Trump presidency in the United States could mean for Europe, Russiaâs war in Ukraine, the ...
A brief round-up of submissions on the controversial proposed law. This is an excerpt from our weekly environmental newsletter Future Proof. Sign up here. Last week, submissions on the controversial Fast-track Approvals Bill closed just hours after the government released a list of stakeholder organisations who were sent letters advising how they could ...
A poem from Robin Peaceâs new collection Detritus of Empire: feather / grass / rock. Cereal giving I see a womanâs hands, see her curious hands break a stalk as she walks through the tall prairie, the savannah, the steppe, wherever it was. See her idly bite the grass that ...
The only published and available best-selling indie book chart in New Zealand is the top 10 sales list recorded every week at Unity Booksâ stores in High St, Auckland, and Willis St, Wellington.AUCKLAND1 Hemingwayâs Goblet by Dermot Ross (Mary Egan Publishing, $38)A handsomely produced (debossed cover, lovely ...
The Commissioner's decision validates the longstanding efforts of the local community and ensures that Awataha Marae will be managed to serve the needs of the local community, particularly for hosting tangihanga. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Tristan Salles, Associate professor, University of Sydney Examples of Australian landscapes.Unsplash Seventy thousand years ago, the sea level was much lower than today. Australia, along with New Guinea and Tasmania, formed a connected landmass known as Sahul. Around this time â ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Felicity Castagna, Lecturer, Creative Writing, Western Sydney University Day Day Market, ParramattaPhoto: Garry Trinh I live on the edge of Parramatta, Australiaâs fastest-growing city, on the kind of old-fashioned suburban street that has 1950s fibros constructed in the post-war housing boom, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michael Ryan, Teaching Fellow in Economics, University of Waikato GettyImagesfatido/Getty Images There is an ongoing global debate over whether the high inflation seen in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic can be lowered without a recession. New Zealand is not ...
The âWicked Gameâ heartthrob is in his late 60s now. That didnât stop him putting on a lively, goofy and very sparkly show. Apart from âWicked Gameâ, which graces a sultry playlist of mine simply called đ, my last sustained Chris Isaak listening session took place when I was about ...
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 MÄori and remove many specialist MÄori 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, weâve got some recommendations. I was first introduced to the concept of BYOs at Dunedinâs India Gardens, a legendary but sadly defunct establishment, which purveyed enormous quantities of mango chicken to Aotearoaâs 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 itâs 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 Spinoffâs 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. Itâs 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 donât 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.Iâm going to do it, right now. Iâm 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. ...
Itâs 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 Muskâs vociferous opposition to ...
Asia Pacific Report Chief Mandla Mandela, a member of the National Assembly of South Africa and Nelson Mandelaâs 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 ...
Charles Chauvel has responded to questions about minimum pricing on alcohol:
Minimum pricing, “That would still double the price of the cheapest existing wine which can be bought at the moment for $6”
The purchase age “I am not convinced that voting in isolation to raise the purchase age from 18 would make as much as a difference as a combination of the three measures”.
The SOPs: “The evidence was that a careful combination of rules about price, availability and advertising could do that while still allowing everyone else to continue to drink responsibly. All this SOP would do is allow price to go into the mix.”
Plus the Labour approach to the bill – details: http://yournz.org/2012/07/05/charles-chauvel-alcohol-reform-bil/
Another worthwhile opinion on our drinking culture:
http://www.odt.co.nz/opinion/opinion/215705/it-all-begins-drinking-home
You mean Key can’t just raze whole government departments to the ground like he was invincible and had no need to consider the consequences, deal with the obvious additional costs, etc, etc?
We need an upper chamber so we can slow irreversible rush legislation, and maybe then our teens would not similarly be so gun-hoe.
Pathetic grovelar why did Dunny vote to put up the price of cigarettes.
We have $ 6 billion dollars damage to our economy every year.
So pete we are borrowing billions to subsidize alcoholics.
Great.
After the finance companies rorts by directors and stakeholders with related party loans and Rod Petricevich and Bridgecorp and Hanover and Eric Watson and Mark Hotchin, it seems that one of the members of this esteemed bunch of bankers has carried on as if nothing has changed.
George Kerr and Pyne and Gould and Corp and Wrightsons and Heartland Bank and Marac and Perpetual Trust … watch out for them! They been tricky for a long while and seems to be still cant keep hands off what not theirs. Their auditors KPMG quit a couple months ago, clearly highly disgusted in practices. Now the Court of Appeal has descrobed the bad smells too.
George Kerr the one. One of them so-called blue nosed Cantabs who arrived on one of the first 4 ships (first 4 ships ha – they were late! I would call them the last 4 ships)
http://www.stuff.co.nz/business/industries/7226418/PGC-loses-loan-secrecy-bid
you have been warned previously and now there is no excuse if you get caught.
Kerr also had 100m in SCF, which he got out first from the Govt.
Or wunch of bankers, as they’re usually known… đ
Couldn’t help but think of NZ reading this on Fukushima:
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/world/news/article.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=10817744
“Its fundamental causes are to be found in the ingrained conventions of Japanese culture: our reflexive obedience; our reluctance to question authority; our devotion to ‘sticking with the programme’; our groupism and our insularity.”
Our elites are full of clever dicks reflexively rationalizing the indefensible. Just lucky we don’t have nuke power.
Discussion on Radio NZ this morning on the kiwifruit PSA debacle and what a new report has revealed. http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/national/110048/biochemist-believes-psa-entered-from-china
The kiwifruit disaster shows up a lack of efficiency from MAF and that someone changed the wording of the regulations to weaken the border controls shutting out possibilities of entry of infected material. The fact that the kiwifruit industry leaders weren’t in touch with MAF advising of PSA outbreaks in Italy and Chile was also a lack of alertness and effectiveness on their part. And some kiwifruit growers didn’t know that unprocessed pollen was being imported at all. The path of this infected material has been traced.
Behind everything there seems to have been complacency about how safe NZ is because of being sea-locked. Yet continuing this safe zone is a duty that our irresponsible, cheese-paring, stupid government with well-paid functionaries can not carry out. Even to fulfil their supposed interest in ensuring that industry is productive and profitable. I think that public servant leaders like politicians and those with executive positions should have to pay some of their salaries into a fiduciary account that will help to pay for their failures.
Mouth and foot remains a possible disaster as one commenter said would “Bring NZ to its knees”. So border and internal controls are necessary. Also screening imports and banning if necessary, not slackening controls through open-arm agreements with other countries. Also we should be leading discussion on making vaccination against foot and mouth world-wide not just wait for outbreaks and then wring our hands, and squeeze our bank balances.
This morning there was an announcement that three NIWA scientists monitoring the ozone hole were being chucked. There will be eight doing this now, but they say it isn’t enough to carry on their internationally-integrated work considering that there used to be 16 which was pared down to 11, now 8.
+1.
Amazing to see the Greens and farmers on the same agenda item.
Also good to hear Damien O’COnnor having something positive to say.
But it was the Greens who joined the strongest circle on this one. Hope they do more.
Our right wing NeoLiberal Government has a major blind spot in their accounting for deficits!
Expenditure on the debit side is cut and income on the credit side is cut with tax cuts. They are willfully blind to the fact that deficits can be cured with an increase in income on the credit side.Enough bookkeeping! Will we ever do the sensible thing as the French are now doing?
“S’il Vous PlaĂźt: France to Tax Corporations and Wealthiest to Address Budget Gap”
“As he promised throughout his presidential campaign, Francois Hollande on Wednesday introduced a new 2012 corrective budget that calls for, among other measures, a one-off tax levy on the nation’s wealthiest individuals and large corporations to help address the nation’s current financial woes.”
Link:http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2012/07/04
“What wonderful common sense. Hats off to France. Remember when we used to do this under the socialistic regimes of Dwight Eisenhower and Richard Nixon. Imagine that — taxes to help keep a society intact. Public libraries, public parks, public education. The Commons. I remember those things — and how we paid for them in the good old US of A..
Viva la France on this 4th of July.”
Under NeoLiberalism the good old US of A is a economy and society collapsing under the weight of inequality and its working funds being hoarded off by the scrooge 1% percenters and where if you don’t have money you can die from treatable illnesses. This is the order our RWNJs look up to!
Reducing income inequality is critical for a functional democracy.
The only mistake France is making in its tax rate adjustment is limiting the top marginal rate below 90%. France’s proposed rate changes are modest in my view and are LESS progressive than the US income tax rate at the time of my birth, 1964: top marginal tax in that year was 77% on income over 400,000/yr. In today’s dollars that equates to a 77% tax on each dollar you earn AFTER the first 2,850,000/yr. France’s proposed action will take a small step toward reducing income inequality in that nation–to say nothing of the support it will provide to infrastructure (notably renewable/sustainable energy projects) health-care, education, local food production, the arts and sciences. Reducing income inequality is critical for a functional democracy. Funding those others is critical for a livable society.
At least France is moving in the right direction. Bear in mind that you cannot set taxes to what they should be overnight. A huge difference between France and the US is that French government actually uses its resources for social benefit compared with the US which just blatantly gives money to rich people while asking so little of them in taxes. The FDR implemented tax rate that ending the Great Depression was 92% for the mega-rich for those of us who know our US history.
I expect a strong reaction from the rich worldwide that do not want to see this expression of people power spread out of France. Expect to see the EU spring into action soon to force France to submit to EU rule over national sovereignty.
In the mean time, “Vive la France!”, “Vive la RĂ©publique!”, âVive la RĂ©sistance!â
We are winning battles against the mega-rich. These victories are just not happening in the United States yet. If only those of us in the know could just break through the ignorance barrier that seems to be so prevalent amongst the average American.
The UK$$$$ now a privatised NeoLiberal A-Hole of a place which has copied the garbage ideology of NeoLiberalism slavishly from the failed state of the U$$$$ and exists through financial scams in the city of London (Refer Libor rate fixing criminal scam) is like us reaping the benefits of a grossly unequel society:
“Two children in every classroom go hungry as neglect takes its toll ”
For Pete’s sake The UK$$$ is Supposed to be one of the richest Countries in the World!
Link: http://www.independent.co.uk/news/education/education-news/two-children-in-every-classroom-go-hungry-as-neglect-takes-its-toll-7912679.html
“People don’t understand how brutal the welfare system has become. Cuts to housing benefit will leave many unable to afford food, particularly if they have been sanctioned by the DWP. And it is set to get worse. Universal Credit, the new benefit regime which begins being trialled next year, will feature far more punitive sanctions than even now. The minimum sanction for most âoffencesâ will be increased from one week to 13 weeks, whilst the maximum length of sanction is to be extended to three years. Those in receipt of sickness and disability benefit, Employment Support Allowance, will face an unprecedented regime of enforced job seeking, similar to that currently faced by Job Seekers Allowance Claimants. And perhaps most brutally of all, those with children over the age of 5 will be subject to the same sanctions and conditionality as those with no children at all.”
Poor old John Armstrong is outraged !
The US has earned his condemnation for denying the RNZN a berth at Pearl Harbour.
The pain of it is all over his column in the Herald this morning.
Could his reaction be more to do with the one Armstrong claims has “gravitas”, viz. his cuzzy Prime (US Arse Licking) Minister John Key, looking a bit of a dick given the spin that’s put about how internationally esteemed and listened to he is ?
Never mind Armstrong. I hear Key’s doing Paratai Drive Ladies Luncheon Club this afternoon where he will be welcomed rapturously.
Perhaps in your next column you can tell us about his common touch as displayed at said luncheon, as confirmed by warmth of welcome at said luncheon.
I missed the news last night but got bailed up by a property developer this morning incensed about a story that developers who bought cheap properties because they needed strengthening, strengthening that they have not bothered to do, will be bailed out by the tax payer to do this work.
He sees absolutely no reason why this should happen with the taxpayer paying for the increased value of the property and the developer getting the proceeds.
They knew what was needed when they bought it.
He talked about something called due diligence and caveat emptor.
He said that’s not how honest businessman do business – I’ve known him for a number of years and have never seen him this angry.
If all you have to do now is buy an old building and have the tax payer meet the development costs to improve it he said ut’s a sad state of affairs and will only cause bad businessmen to be worse.
More libertarian nonsense from the Pauls.
http://www.buzzfeed.com/rosiegray/the-pauls-new-crusade-internet-freedom
Kentucky senator Rand and his father Ron Paul, who has not yet formally conceded the Republican presidential nomination, will throw their weight behind a new online manifesto set to be released today by the Paul-founded Campaign for Liberty. The new push, Paul aides say, will in some ways displace what has been their movementâs long-running top priority, shutting down the Federal Reserve Bank. The move is an attempt to stake a libertarian claim to a central public issue of the next decade, and to move from the esoteric terrain of high finance to the everyday world of cable modems and Facebook.
The manifesto, obtained yesterday by BuzzFeed, is titled âThe Technology Revolutionâ and lays out an argument â in doomsday tones âfor keeping the government entirely out of regulating anything online, and for leaving the private sector to shape the new online space.
So you need to contact one of many large New Zealand Corporations …
Do you get through to an operator immediately?
Probably not, but are greeted by an automaton.
You are now probably in a slightly raised state of anxiety/agitation …
So what do they do?
They play crass/crap music – invariably a pseudo musician wailing into your ear, the result of which is to raise the rate of agitation a couple more degrees.
What’s to do?
You daren’t hang up because you will lose your place in the queueing system.
Put your phone on “speaker”? – hell no that makes the situation worse.
Just in case someone out there who is in a position of influence might read this, what about some baroque music? Eh?
I guess that the majority of people managing the phone systems are probably “pop” radio listeners and Kiwiblog readers.
AlL our customer service representatives are busy with other calls at the moment. We value your call. Please select the music that you would like to listen to while you wait. Press one for baroque, 2 for rap, 3 for head-banging metal,…
Or better still, just don’t make customers wait.
If you call the IRD, they give you the option to leave your phone number and then they call you back. And then they actually do.
Massey University does that too.
So does Orcon if you call on a mobile.
Here’s a trick I love to play … send a letter.
Total flummox, leading to above average outcomes and fun.
Try it next time
WINZ used to just play Jordan Luck (which always makes me laugh – when I worked for the Benefits and Pensions section in 1985, my boss hated Jordan Luck, and tried amny times (failing each time) to deny him unemployment benefit because she ‘knew’ he was using it to live while making albums)…and Housing NZ used to play only Tim Finn singing ‘Fraction too much Friction’ – so deliciously appropriate!
Now they just play Lift Muzak…Â
Study Link used to play cool stuff! (But I was only ever under their control for a few weeks back in 2009.) I suppose they’d never heard of beneficiaries over 40 becoming students, or they’d have played Tim Finn… đ
Heaps of evidence still appearing to prove that our justice system discriminates against Maori and is effectively racist!
http://localbodies-bsprout.blogspot.co.nz/2012/07/racism-apparent-in-our-legal-system.html