It’s Labor Day in the U.S. and a book has been published about Joe Hill – The Man Who Never Died, by William Adler. I think it’s going to be a must read.
Joe Hill – the migrant labourer, an anarchist and union man in the U.S. He was executed in 1915 for a murder he didn’t commit. He appeared to accept the execution would do more for the cause of the working poor than if he’d lived – told his friends don’t mourn for me – organise!” Amazing story
Joe, a Swedish immigrant and wandering troubadour-troublemaker, was a “Wobbly”, an agitating member of the One Big Union, the red flag International Workers of the World, a harum-scarum, mad-as-hell, happy-in-fellowship bunch of hoboes and gypsy workingmen who scared the pants off business leaders, pious church-goers, police chiefs, governors and all right-thinking citizens in the early part of the last century.
I knew the song, as sung by Joan Baez but never knew his story or that of the International Workers of the World. A bit of history here
Yes Labor Day in the US. And a few people in the MSM are just starting to realise how shit it has been over there, and how the outlook is even worse for the US.
immortal words:
“Labor is prior to and independent of capital. Capital is only the fruit of labor, and could never have existed if labor had not first existed. Labor is the superior of capital, and deserves much the higher consideration.”
I suppose an attitude like that is why Abe Lincoln got shot.
“Labor is prior to and independent of capital. Capital is only the fruit of labor, and could never have existed if labor had not first existed. Labor is the superior of capital, and deserves much the higher consideration.”
I suppose an attitude like that is why Abe Lincoln got shot.
When 37% of all consumer purchases are made by the top 5% income earners it’s quite clear that (1) workers are losing and (2) inequality is killing the economy.
The same warnings on inequality are written in different ways , but surely even the money people should be able to work this one out… spread the money around a bit and everyone will do better, yeah?
I am inclined to think Lincoln was shot because his use of greenbacks during the civil war, and because of his apparent intention to continue their use after the war. Still I’m only guessing.
Yeah Rosy, I’m pretty sure the Wobblies exerted a profound influence on early New Zealand Red Fed (and, later, Labour Party) leaders like “Fighting” Bob Semple, Paddy Webb and, perhaps above all, the brilliant (but, unlike the others, never-elected-to-Parliament) Pat Hickey. Hickey had worked for a few years (around 1904-1906) in a mine in Utah, where he was a member of the Western Federation of Miners, which preached class solidarity and revolutionary industrial unionism.
Interesting whistle-blowing going on around the SCF debacle.
Heads should roll, and given the PM’s unequivocal backing of what is now shown to be a wrong-headed and malicious investigation… he too needs to take some responsibility.
But of course responsibility is an unknown concept to these tory pricks.
How about we got back a few steps and get an inquiry as to why SCF was in the scheme against tresaury advice, blinglish and Key ushered them in as soon as they could, further warnings by treasury were ignored and the payout was at 100% plus interest.
How many other finance company investors were afforded such a risk free outcome ?
Natural justice is certainly lacking when it comes to Allan Hubbard. Hubbard has one of the cleanest track records in NZ when it comes to business. I hope that someone carries the torch for him, as the last 15 months of his life was devoted to amassing the evidence to prove he was not corrupt and also to find out who was behind his departure at Aorangi and how they went about it.
RL Treasury warned John Key And Blingenglish that SCF were breaking the covenants of their contract John Key said we will keep backing them . Key has some answering to do.
The findings of an investigator who works at no cost for the supporters of Allan Hubbard are not particularly independent.
it’s like citing a post from The Standard as evidence to support a post on The Standard.
When a genuinely independent review finds fault in the Companies Office, the Securities Commission and the statutory managers, and that independent review stands up to scrutiny, then I’ll take notice.
Until then your call for heads to roll is irresponsible.
it’s like citing a post from The Standard as evidence to support a post on The Standard.
That doesn’t make any sense Joe (Not that I’m surprised by a RWNJ not making sense). Using evidence to support what you say is usually a good practice. Researchers do it all the time.
When a genuinely independent review finds fault in the Companies Office…
There’s no such thing. The only people who are going to investigate are the people are the people with an interest in the outcome. Now, it could be that this investigation is but that would be up to the reviewers to determine.
Last Sunday on Sunday TV 1 at 7.30 pm there was a good example of how devious witnesses can be. I am refering to Mahon who headed the Erebus Inquiry and how Mahon’s comment “an orchestrated litany of lies” was directed at Air New Zealand (Davis, Chippendale…). The Privy Council ruled that Mahon’s conclusion was correct when it came to the cause of the loss of 257 lives, but when it came to Air New Zealand being held accountable, the Privy Council ruled that natural justice was absent, so Air NZ did not have to face the music when it came to being held responsible for TE 901 crashing into Mt Erebus.
According to the bigots there’s no such thing as racism. So if you say anything mean about racists then you’re just attacking a marginalised oppressed minority. Which makes you a bigot. And therefore probably a racist.
Mutu didn’t seek to identify racist attitudes or beliefs – she demonstrated them.
But don’t take my word.
Here’s David Rankin’s view:
“She obviously thinks of herself as the Robert Mugabe of New Zealand politics, and has caused offence to hundreds of thousands of New Zealanders because of her extreme racist views.”
“As a Maori, I welcome white immigrants,” Rankin said. “They are the ones most likely to bring employment opportunities for our communities, and we don’t see the sort of racism Margaret refers to.”
I don’t think Margaret Mutu’s observations were a joke. Provocative? Yes. Accurate? Yes.
Taking a complaint to the ‘Race Relations? Farcical. Calling for her to lose her job? Ridiculous.
The reaction of the usual right wing suspects? Ah. Now that I do regard as a bit of a joke. But that’s the only reason most of you clowns typo error the comments you do, right? To bring a little mirth into peoples’ days, yes?
And Ant R0Bs “No Paul, to hell with racists.”
And redlogics comment
“The left frequently make the mistake of thinking tolerance must always be the highest principle that trumps all others. Well it ain’t. All too frequently it just finishes up as a proxy for being too lazy or apathetic to stand up for what is right.”
Funny how the aruguement has changed depending on the players involved !!!
I made two comments in that thread you link to Herodotus. Care to point out any inconsistences between what I said on that thread and this one and then I’ll get back to you?
No there was nothing in conflict by you from then or now – My intention was just to assist to refresh your memory back then in the discussion. And anyway there is nothing wrong in changing opinions, additional info can help all of us to see where we are wrong or confirm when we are right 🙂
What makes Mutu’s comments deplorable is not her concern about immigration policy but the conclusion she draws that white people are racist.
Far from being condemned like Clydesdale was a week ago on this self-same website, Mutu’s extrenme dogma is applauded. That’s the sort of meta-racism that only comes from hard-line idealogues.
Whatever happened to the notion that migrants should be assessed as individuals, and decisions based on their level of skills, experience, education, contribution to NZ, &c.? Why should ethnic background matter?
Taking a complaint to the ‘Race Relations? Farcical. Calling for her to lose her job? Ridiculous.
I admit I haven’t read what she said, but my son spoke to me about it yesterday, and he was utterly gob-smacked by her comments. On the basis of what he said, losing her job is the very least she should expect.
A stunning graphic indeed. However Joe will no doubt say that the Times is a lying bunch of Left wing idealogues who twist the facts. And that those very rich folk trickle their wealth down to the workers and are the biggest donors etc etc.
Open question; how much an we attribute to the Reagan/Thatcherite right ‘greed is good’ swing, and how much should we point to the huge adoption of IT technology that more or less dates from exactly the same time?
Yesterday I decided to set up a Wikipedia page for The Jackal blogsite so that people searching for it could more readily find information. I also intend to use it to document controversial and significant topics that relate to New Zealand’s blogosphere, the law and politics in general. Little did I know that it’s a veritable minefield of rules and regulations, which will probably ensure an end to The Jackal article on Wikipedia…
Then why is Kiwibog on there? The Jackal doesn’t sell anything. There is a certain amount of promotion with any content on the Internet, even this comment could be considered promoting The Jackal. I’m linking to my site right now… big deal!
Another very capable informed woman who is an excellent communicator on her subject. On radionz this a.m.
10:05 Connie Hedegaard – European Commissioner for Climate Action
Connie Hedegaard is the European Commissioner for Climate Action. She’s in New Zealand leading the EU’s delegation to the Pacific Islands Forum, where she is also meeting Pacific leaders ahead of international climate negotiations. She was Denmark’s first minister for climate and energy, and is now leading the EU’s efforts towards a low-carbon future and the many different forms that takes. What is the EU doing to move towards a low-carbon economy?
A few days ago I wrote an article entitled New Zealand’s Oil Bonanza… Yeah Right! concerning National’s over inflation of potential income from oil and gas extraction in New Zealand. The sheer level of misreporting going on to promote a destructive process that contributes to climate change, (that threatens human existence on earth) was astounding and completely unacceptable…
Im not talking about open Mike, im talking about the actual writers here, it seems racism is okay with the left as long as its a Maori woman that is being racist.
Still I got a laugh when she told the media what the word racist means.
Below is a quote from an email Mana FB admin posted, http://www.facebook.com/ManaParty, they do so occasionally to let people know what keyboard racists there are out there.
“Still cant believe the Mana party even exsists and if you are such a proud people and party, how about you raise your own party funds and not rely on the NZ people. Your entire party is just too out there and hypocritical for the avg kiwi , but I suppose the hard core niggers like yourselves all get off on this. Send all niggers home!!! Regards lee”
So all you tory toe rags like Brett and Grumpy, “lee” rather supports Margaret Mutu’s contention that racism is alive and hating in NZ.
Did you see my post on their facebook page to that letter, saying that belongs in the Trash. Disgusting someone would write something like that to them. That though has nothing to do
with what Margaret said and her position of power, and I stand by my thoughts, that normally sites like the standard would be outrage with the comments that Margaret Mutu said, but because she isa Maori woman you guys just shut up and say nothing and that is racist in itself.
bit of a difference there Grumpy,
an academic commenting on the integration of immigrants into society and the perceived affects upon her culture is hardly the same as big headed broadcasters espousing basic bigotry
Maybe I’ll do a post on racism in NZ Brett. You know, the fact its all pervasive, insidious and overt.
And maybe I’ll compare it to the very similar ‘culture of superiority’ displayed by the English (British) establishment towards their white colonies within the British Isles.
And maybe I’ll throw in a couple of open ended questions; such as why at the mention of a person being Polynesian, the immediate assumption is that they must be brown in spite of the fact that all white people born in NZ are Polynesian too?
Or why it is that NZ is routinely and casually lumped in with Australasia when it is most decidedly not a part of Australasia, but a part of Polynesia?
Or why it is that so many white people still mainatin that they are European in official forms in spite of the fact that they and their parents and even their parent’s parents were born in Polynesia?
Or how it is possible to have a culture, supposedly based on partnership and that spans generations, to continue encouraging/promoting a European identity/ethnicity among the whites within it?
Got any other revealing questions you’d like to add to the list Brett?
My thoughts are, the only reason we are different races is becaus eof Contineal drift.
I just hate hypocrisy, and judgign the same behaviour diferently. Because Mutu is a Maori woman, the left wasnt offended by her comments.
In terms of immigration I have always thought that the question what Ethnicity are you, should never be asked, because it shouldnt matter, what matters is what type of person you are.
I think you’ll find that continental drift may have given rise to different species Brett and further, that any drift during the entire span of human existence is negligable.
And I think you’ll find that questions of ethnicity are asked in almost all official forms and that answers are limited by the ‘multiple choice’ nature of possible responses.
You might also find that the whole concept of ‘race’ is a discredited one…that there is simply the human race.
But all that aside, you got any interseting or thought provoking questions up your sleeve to be incorporated into a possible post?
If nationality isn’t asked for (alongside proof), then we are talking open borders; freedom of movement for people.
I’m all for that Brett.
But in the meantime, there are immigration policies. And they’re loaded to favour some over others. (Points being awarded on skill set, wealth, age etc.) So in the present scenario, why not load the policy against racists?
I mean, political beliefs already affect the ability of some people to obtain visas etc, ( and by extension residency) so why not?
No problem, I would be more than happy if a white South African extremist was denied entry to NZ. Just as I would be for Islamic extremist for their hatred of women, gays and infidels. How about you?
(Points being awarded on skill set, wealth, age etc.) So in the present scenario, why not load the policy against racists?
And how would you determine that someone was a racist? By their national origin? Or their colour? Absurd. The most determinedly (to the point of being a tad unbalanced) person I ever met, was a social worker at Social Welfare in the 80s, a long-haired blue eyed blond man from Manchester England. (By a bit unbalanced, I mean that he frequently had dreams, he told me, of being in the centre of a group of angry Maori who chided him for not having done enough for Maori, and he always felt that he deserved it, as giving his life and that of his children would not be enough!
“And maybe I’ll throw in a couple of open ended questions; such as why at the mention of a person being Polynesian, the immediate assumption is that they must be brown in spite of the fact that all white people born in NZ are Polynesian too?”
Obviously you did not see Mutu’s interview??? with the World’s Worst Interviewer on Closeup last night.
Apparently we are all just “visitors” in New Zealand. Makes you wonder, with her mixed anscestry, how she sees herself?
As for being an “academic” obviously Auckland University has a very low threshold for that title.
Okay. Just watched it. She said she wanted a discussion on racism. What it is; how it plays out and what to do about it.
‘The ‘walrus’ in his intro said she wanted a universally applied test that would pick up on racist attitudes. What she said was that she didn’t want people coming into the country who would actively pursue to deny others that which rightfully belongs to them.
I can’t see why anyone would have a problem with that.
As an immigrant, my problem was that although I had to jump through numerous hoops with the immigration service there was no official avenue available for me to seek permission from tāngata whenua to live here.
And when I considered citizenship, there was no official avenue for me to approach tāngata whenua, but there was an obligation to swear allegience to a monarch who resides on the other side of the planet.
When I made moves to seek permission from tāngata whenua, the particular people I talked to near fell over backwards. No one had ever approached them before. I thought it was merely the decent thing to do and was genuinely surprised that nobody else had sought to do it. (Besides being common decency, it would have actually meant something whereas being granted permission by a faceless, anonymous bureaucracy means absolutely nothing and is, to my mind permission being granted by an illegitimate authority.)
Meanwhile, getting back tothe point. Racist attitudes are fairly easy to pick and strangely difficult to disguise. So a test is ‘do-able’.
And Margaret Mutu objects to active racists. Not the everyday armchair type who will move along with the broader ‘cultural times’. And wouldn’t it be a good thing to have fewer active racists impacting on the cultural environments of NZ so that the cultural environment moves that bit more speedily?
You have written some awesome comments about this, and related subjects, Bill – thank you for that and what you have written here – you are a good bloke and I hope you do put up a post because you have some very valuable insights and attitudes.
“Apparently we are all just “visitors” in New Zealand.”
That’s not what she said. She said non-Maori are ‘welcome guests’. In order to understand what she means you have to understand Maori concepts of manawhenua and manaakitanga rather than misinterpreting her words through pakeha constructs.
Or why it is that so many white people still mainatin that they are European in official forms in spite of the fact that they and their parents and even their parent’s parents were born in Polynesia?
Firstly, because official forms no longer give the “Pakeha” option, and second in my case, because although I was born here as was my mother, my father wasn’t.
I am now reading the Herald article linked to, and looking at the picture of Mutu – and laughing! She’s whiter than my mother was!
When poor law, bad judgement and kneejerk hysteria are exposed as an expensive waste of time and resources they resort to desperate measures and end up with applying what we can only imagine are the flimsiest of organised crime charges, though it will be interesting to see what the nature of the organised crime actually was . . . .
The fact that she appears to genuinely believe her own spin against all the evidence to the contrary appears to serve her well. She just chants the same mantra no matter what is put in front of her.
@freedom – Your comment was very enigmatic. Why didn’t you put one descriptive word ie Urewera or similar? I had to go to the link to see what you are on about which I find is what I want to comment on.
A recent Court case has resulted in charges in Operation Eight against the Tuhoe group being dropped but nothing can be revealed about the finding according to radionz! There are still 4 to go including Tame Iti for consorting with criminals or similar.
Makes me wonder why we are over in the USA talking about that dodgy TPPPPTTT? Surely the country that dominates this matter is also criminal. It has broken numerous laws, but hey ho why should we worry about dealing with an entity which only washes the top of its hands. Turn them over and see what is on their palms! Let’s have some practical sense not the present non-sense from this government.
prism, exactly why i wrote what i wrote,
( wouldn’t it be be interesting to know what all the other possible articles were that went through people’s heads 🙂 )
Another serious example of self-regulation and slack and lazy control over high standards for business has just been referred to today. Apparently MAF won’t prosecute bad, sloppy bee keepers after serious outbreaks of problem disease and pests. MAF says that it’s better to work with them, but then the bad practices are just continued with. Isn’t this amazing at a time when we know that the vital bee industry is under threat.
What happens is that this foulbrood disease type spreads and infects other hives. The latest outbreak has resulted in 30 hives having to be burnt in an effort to rid the area of the infection.
This hurts other beekeepers trying to run their businesses in a hygienic, responsible way. Enough of having their hives and business destroyed regularly and some beekeepers will give up all together. Not everybody wants to raise bees, not everybody is a good beekeeper either. When can we get our country back from this disease of neo liberalism, this desire for business to selfishly please themselves in their businesses with as few controls or commitment to good standards as possible.
I read that via a Naomi Klein tweet the other day, she quickly retracted once she was corrected, just thought I should point it out. I wish the article had been true…
I found this while browsing on Stuff… http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/5572717/Son-13-ready-to-support-family-and-ill-dad?comment_msg=posted#post_comment
and I am not sure where to begin! The child is an idiot… as I said in my comment which is “awaiting approval”, he’s a prime example of the benefits of home-schooling. He says that when his father dies and if he can’t support his family, ”
“If I can’t support my family, they will have to go on the dole. I don’t want that,”
If things still work as they did when I worked for Social Welfare, the boy’s mother will go on to a widow’s benefit. That’s not “the dole”. Presumably the boy isn’t concerned about the amount – in common with the average non-beneficiary out there he probably thinks benefit levels are 3 times what they really are. He’s probably worried about the “shame”… However a 13 year old boy should not be risking other peoples’ lives by driving a truck – he should be getting an education. Apologies if someone’s already mentioned this – I am havinn connection problems!
I am becoming suspicious of certain news items.I think there is a move instigated by Crosby/Textor to drive a wedge between the Greens and Labour. The Left must not fall into a trap from the Right that would have the Greens and Labour competing against each other. We must never forget that although we sometimes differ we are both on the political Left .Lets both insprire for a Labour /Green government. Which Aotearoa badly needs.
Totally agree and the first thing Labour should do, unless it has another plan, is to accept the Greens’ get children out of poverty for $180million plan. That will cement the political relationship and people will know that Labour means what it says about helping children. This is instant. I know Labour has various other policy but it can I’m sure incorporate this strategy and more importantly, acknowledge Greens’ importance in this by giving the Greens the portfolio to make it happen. That way the Greens will get on with it.
Labour needs to acknowledge both Progressives and the Greens. Jim Anderton added a huge plus to that Government with KiwiBank and if Labour had still been in Government Anderton would have had his affordable dental care bill followed up.
Greens missed out for obvious reasons – United Future and NZ First forced them out and Labour had to deal with them in order to keep National out or we would have been even worse off now.
Perhaps people will begin to finally accept that sustainable living along with 21st century lifestyles can live side by side with thoughtful compromise.
The worst thing New Zealanders can do now is keep NActU in once more term; it is this next term whereby New Zealand loses its future. Labour can reinstate the 75% requirement before Local Government assets can be sold, which it laudably legislated for in 2002.
Why on earth isn’t Labour shouting out about what it has achieved and what it has saved New Zealand from if National had manipulated it into giving out more tax cuts. We’ve already seen the damage that NActU has done in this short time. Be warned; they will speed up if they get in again. Give them time on the sidelines while we bring some worker/employer/government balance back to our community.
Helen Clark gave us time to recoup our losses from the previous Douglas/Richardson cuckoos.
Douglas got back; don’t be surprised if Richardson gets back in too. Where did she get thrown out of after destroying their economy? Iceland? Ireland?
Parliament is waxing lyrical over the Local Government Borrowing Bill – sounds good.
Word of caution; anything Rodney Hide touches turns to lead and our country-wide assets will be seen trotting off to foreign parts on JKeyll and Hide’s little piggy legs.
Auckland has $28 billion of assets which Hide stole from all the greater councils around the city. The jury is out on the worthwhile benefits to the country areas that have been completely left out except for a good library service, but even that carries risks if only one area of the Library can buy books. It was noticeable by the books that the libraries were selling off by the bucketload that anything to do with women’s rights and political books that put another point of view to that of the neo-conservative were being reduced.
The country areas don’t have electric trains expected so Stephen Joyce was lying in Parliament today.
Also, Christchurch’s earthquake was extremely convenient for this government to take public view off the fact they had shut down the democratice ECAN in Canterbury. Brownlee will certainly try to force (he is czar after all) Christchurch Council to sell off its assets.
Should Auckland have an earthquake in the future the LG Borrowing Bill debt, which I admit does save us from PPPs, etc. will be used to force the Councils in debt to sell off LG assets.
Read The Shock Doctrine by Naomi Klein and you will see why I am so cynical about this government and its bovver boy Hide. JKeyll is hiding behind these extremists. Remember.
and dont forget goldman sacks. they have stepped up to asist the PM by sticking their oar in and saying that ‘industry’ is being held back because there is not enough liquidity in the sharemarket so therfore sell the state assets so the rugged individualists can play monopol;y with other peoples money. look there goes the march hare and the mad hatter.
What was that valuable piece of information on the Stock Exchange? That it has nothing to do with the overall financial well-being of New Zealand and New Zealanders – just a place for mostly men with pots of money they’ve stolen off other people to go and play paper wars with.
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Sometime before the new Prime Minister Chris Hipkins announced that this year would be about “bread and butter issues”, National’s finance spokesperson Nicola Willis decided to move from Wellington Central and stand for Ohariu, which spreads across north Wellington from the central city to Johnsonville and Tawa. It’s an ...
They say a week is a long time in politics. For Mayor Wayne Brown, turns out 24 hours was long enough for many of us to see, quite obviously, “something isn’t right here…”. That in fact, a lot was going wrong. Very wrong indeed.Mainly because it turns ...
One of the most effective, and successful, graphics developed by Skeptical Science is the escalator. The escalator shows how global surface temperature anomalies vary with time, and illustrates how "contrarians" tend to cherry-pick short time intervals so as to argue that there has been no recent warming, while "realists" recognise ...
Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTLDR: Here’s a quick roundup of the news today for paying subscribers on a slightly frantic, very wet, and then very warm day. In Aotearoa’s political economy today Read more ...
Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTLDR: Here’s a quick roundup of the news today for paying subscribers on a slightly frantic, very wet, and then very warm day. In Aotearoa’s political economy today Read more ...
Tomorrow we have a funeral, and thank you all of you for your very kind words and thoughts — flowers, even.Our friend Michèle messaged: we never get to feel one thing at a time, us grownups, and oh boy is that ever the truth. Tomorrow we have the funeral, and ...
Lynn and I have just returned from a news conference where Hipkins, fresh from visiting a relief centre in Mangere, was repeatedly challenged to justify the extension of subsidies to create more climate emissions when the effects of climate change had just proved so disastrous. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The ...
Lynn and I have just returned from a news conference where Hipkins, fresh from visiting a relief centre in Mangere, was repeatedly challenged to justify the extension of subsidies to create more climate emissions when the effects of climate change had just proved so disastrous. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The ...
A new Prime Minister, a revitalised Cabinet, and possibly revised priorities – but is the political and, importantly, economic landscape much different? Certainly some within the news media were excited by the changes which Chris Hipkins announced yesterday or – before the announcement – by the prospect of changes in ...
Currently the government's strategy for reducing transport emissions hinges on boosting vehicle fuel-efficiency, via the clean car standard and clean car discount, and some improvements to public transport. The former has been hugely successful, and has clearly set us on the right path, but its also not enough, and will ...
Buzz from the Beehive Before he announced his Cabinet yesterday, Prime Minister Chris Hipkins announced he would be flying to Australia next week to meet that country’s Prime Minister. And before Kieran McAnulty had time to say “Three Waters” after his promotion to the Local Government portfolio, he was dishing ...
The quarterly labour market statistics were released this morning, showing that unemployment has risen slightly to 3.4%. There are now 99,000 people unemployed - 24,000 fewer than when Labour took office. So, I guess the Reserve Bank's plan to throw people out of work to stop wage rises "inflation", and ...
Another night of heavy rain, flooding, damage to homes, and people worried about where the hell all this water is going to go as we enter day twenty two of rain this year.Honestly if the government can’t sell Three Waters on the back of what has happened with storm water ...
* Dr Bryce Edwards writes – Prime Minister Chris Hipkins continues to be the new broom in Government, re-setting his Government away from its problem areas in his Cabinet reshuffle yesterday, and trying to convince voters that Labour is focused on “bread and butter” issues. The ministers responsible for unpopular ...
Prime Minister Chris Hipkins continues to be the new broom in Government, re-setting his Government away from its problem areas in his Cabinet reshuffle yesterday, and trying to convince voters that Labour is focused on “bread and butter” issues. The ministers responsible for unpopular reforms in water and DHB centralisation ...
Hi,It’s weird to me that in 2023 we still have people falling for multi-level marketing schemes (MLMs for short). There are Netflix documentaries about them, countless articles, and last year we did an Armchaired and Dangerous episode on them.Then you check a ticketing website like EventBrite and see this shit ...
Nanaia Mahuta fell the furthest in the Cabinet reshuffle. Photo: Lynn Grieveson/Getty ImagesTLDR: PM Chris Hipkins unveiled a Cabinet this afternoon he hopes will show wavering voters that a refreshed Labour Government is focused on ‘bread and butter cost of living’ issues, rather than the unpopular, unwieldy and massively centralising ...
Nanaia Mahuta fell the furthest in the Cabinet reshuffle. Photo: Lynn Grieveson/Getty ImagesTLDR: PM Chris Hipkins unveiled a Cabinet this afternoon he hopes will show wavering voters that a refreshed Labour Government is focused on ‘bread and butter cost of living’ issues, rather than the unpopular, unwieldy and massively centralising ...
Shortly, the absolute state of Wayne Brown. But before that, something I wrote four years ago for the council’s own media machine. It was a day-in-the-life profile of their many and varied and quite possibly unnoticed vital services. We went all over Auckland in 48 hours for the story, the ...
Completed reads for January Lilith, by George MacDonald The Rime of the Ancient Mariner (poem), by Samuel Taylor Coleridge Christabel (poem), by Samuel Taylor Coleridge The Saga of Ragnar Lodbrok, by Anonymous The Lay of Kraka (poem), by Anonymous 1066 and All That, by W.C. Sellar and R.J. ...
Pity the poor Brits. They just can’t catch a break. After years of reporting of lying Boris Johnson, a change to a less colourful PM in Rishi Sunak has resulted in a smooth media pivot to an end-of-empire narrative. The New York Times, no less, amplifies suggestions that Blighty ...
On that day all the springs of the great deep burst forth, and the floodgates of the heavens were opened. And rain fell on the earth.Genesis 6:11-12THE TORRENTIAL DOWNPOURS that dumped a record-breaking amount of rain on Auckland this anniversary weekend will reoccur with ever-increasing frequency. The planet’s atmosphere is ...
Buzz from the Beehive There has been plenty to keep the relevant Ministers busy in flood-stricken Auckland over the past day or two. But New Zealand, last time we looked, extends north of Auckland into Northland and south of the Bombay Hills all the way to the bottom of the ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Jeff Masters When early settlers came to the confluence of the Sacramento and American Rivers before the California Gold Rush, Indigenous people warned them that the Sacramento Valley could become an inland sea when great winter rains came. The storytellers described water filling the ...
Wayne Brown managed a smile when meeting with Remuera residents, but he was grumpy about having to deal with “media drongos”. Photo: Lynn Grieveson/Getty ImagesTLDR: In my pick of the news links found in my rounds since 4am for paying subscribers below the paywall:Wayne Brown moans about the media and ...
Wayne Brown managed a smile when meeting with Remuera residents, but he was grumpy about having to deal with “media drongos”. Photo: Lynn Grieveson/Getty ImagesTLDR: In my pick of the news links found in my rounds since 4am for paying subscribers below the paywall:Wayne Brown moans about the media and ...
Dr Bryce Edwards writes – Last night’s opinion polls answered the big question of whether a switch of prime minister would really be a gamechanger for election year. The 1News and Newshub polls released at 6pm gave the same response: the shift from Jacinda Ardern to Chris Hipkins ...
Hipkins’ aim this year will be to present a ‘low target’ for those seeking to attack Labour’s policies and spending. Photo: Lynn Grieveson/Getty ImagesTLDR: Anyone dealing with Government departments and councils who wants some sort of big or long-term decision out of officials or politicians this year should brace for ...
Hipkins’ aim this year will be to present a ‘low target’ for those seeking to attack Labour’s policies and spending. Photo: Lynn Grieveson/Getty ImagesTLDR: Anyone dealing with Government departments and councils who wants some sort of big or long-term decision out of officials or politicians this year should brace for ...
Last night’s opinion polls answered the big question of whether a switch of prime minister would really be a gamechanger for election year. The 1News and Newshub polls released at 6pm gave the same response: the shift from Jacinda Ardern to Chris Hipkins has changed everything, and Labour is back ...
Over the last few years, it’s seemed like city after city around the world has become subject to extreme flooding events that have been made worse by impacts from climate change. We’ve highlighted many of them in our Weekly Roundup series. Sadly, over the last few days it’s been Auckland’s ...
And so the first month of the year draws to a close. It rained in Auckland on 21 out of the 31 days in January. Feels like summer never really happened this year. It’s actually hard to believe there were 10 days that it didn’t rain. Was it any better where ...
A ‘small target’ strategy is not going to cut it anymore if National want to win the upcoming election. The game has changed and the game plan needs to change as well. Jacinda Ardern’s abrupt departure from the 9th floor has the potential to derail what looked to be an ...
When Grant Robertson talks about how the economy might change post-covid, one of the things he talks about is what he calls an unsung but interesting white paper on science. “It’s really important,” he says. The Minister in charge of the White Paper — Te Ara Paerangi, Future Pathways ...
The clean up has begun but more rain is on the way. Photo: Lynn Grieveson/Getty ImagesTLDR: Auckland’s floods over the last three days are turning into a macroeconomic event, with losses from Aotearoa’s biggest-ever climate event estimated at around $500 million and Auckland’s schools all closed for a week until ...
The clean up has begun but more rain is on the way. Photo: Lynn Grieveson/Getty ImagesTLDR: Auckland’s floods over the last three days are turning into a macroeconomic event, with losses from Aotearoa’s biggest-ever climate event estimated at around $500 million and Auckland’s schools all closed for a week until ...
The news media were at one ceremony by the looks of things. The Governor-General, the Prime Minister and his deputy were at another. The news media were at a swearing-in ceremony. The country’s leaders were at an appointment ceremony. The New Zealand Gazette record of what transpired says: Appointment of ...
I n some alternative universe, Auckland mayor Efeso Collins readily grasped the scale of Friday’s deluge, and quickly made the emergency declaration that enabled central government to immediately throw its resources behind the rescue and remediation effort. As Friday evening became night, Mayor Collins seemed to be everywhere: talking with ...
They called it an “atmospheric river”, the weather bombardment which hit NZ’s northern region at the weekend. It exacted a terrible toll on metropolitan Auckland and the rest of the region. Few living there may have noted a statement from electricity generator Mercury Energy labelled “WET, WET, WET!” This was ...
I know, that is a pretty corny title but given the circumstances here in the Auckland region, I just had to say it. The more oblique reference embedded in the title is to the leadership failures exhibited by Mayor Wayne Brown and his so-called leadership team when confronted by the ...
How much confidence should the public have in authorities managing natural disasters? Not much, judging by the farcical way in which the civil defence emergence in Auckland has played out. The way authorities dealt with Auckland’s extreme weather on Friday illustrated how hit-and-miss our civil defence emergency system is. In ...
TLDR: Here’s the key news links and useful longer reads I’ve spotted since 4 am this morning, including:calls for a more ‘spongey’ urban infrastructure after Auckland’s floods;demands for an inquiry into Auckland Council’s communications failure;the latest on Chris Hipkins’ plans for Three Waters; inside the PR trainwreck that is Wayne ...
TLDR: Here’s the key news links and useful longer reads I’ve spotted since 4 am this morning, including:calls for a more ‘spongey’ urban infrastructure after Auckland’s floods;demands for an inquiry into Auckland Council’s communications failure;the latest on Chris Hipkins’ plans for Three Waters; inside the PR trainwreck that is Wayne ...
Mayor Wayne Brown, under fire for his communication failures, quietly visited the scene of the fatal Remuera slip on Sunday, with his staff taking photos for social media updates. Photo: Lynn Grieveson/Getty ImagesTLDR: The cleanup and the post-mortem have begun, even though the rain just keeps falling in Auckland after ...
Mayor Wayne Brown, under fire for his communication failures, quietly visited the scene of the fatal Remuera slip on Sunday, with his staff taking photos for social media updates. Photo: Lynn Grieveson/Getty ImagesTLDR: The cleanup and the post-mortem have begun, even though the rain just keeps falling in Auckland after ...
Thanks for reading Frankly Speaking ! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.The recent leadership change in the governing Labour party resulted in a very strange response from National’s (current) leader, Christopher Luxon. Mr Luxon berated Labour for it’s change of leader, citing no actual change.As ...
A chronological listing of news articles posted on the Skeptical Science Facebook Page during the past week: Sun, Jan 22, 2023 thru Sat, Jan 28, 2023. Story of the Week New Study Reveals Arctic Ice, Tracked Both Above and Below, Is Freezing LaterClimate change is affecting the timing of both ...
We’ve just announced a massive infrastructure investment to kick-start new housing developments across New Zealand. Through our Infrastructure Acceleration Fund, we’re making sure that critical infrastructure - like pipes, roads and wastewater connections - is in place, so thousands more homes can be built. ...
The Green Party is joining more than 20 community organisations to call for an immediate rent freeze in Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland, after reports of landlords intending to hike rents after flooding. ...
When Chris Hipkins took on the job of Prime Minister, he said bread and butter issues like the cost of living would be the Government’s top priority – and this week, we’ve set out extra support for families and businesses. ...
The Green Party is calling on the Government to provide direct support to low-income households and to stop subsidising fossil fuels during a climate crisis. ...
The tools exist to help families with surging costs – and as costs continue to rise it is more urgent than ever that we use them, the Green Party says. ...
Over $10 million infrastructure funding to unlock housing in Whangārei The purchase of a 3.279 hectare site in Kerikeri to enable 56 new homes Northland becomes eligible for $100 million scheme for affordable rentals Multiple Northland communities will benefit from multiple Government housing investments, delivering thousands of new homes for ...
A memorial event at a key battle site in the New Zealand land wars is an important event to mark the progress in relations between Māori and the Crown as we head towards Waitangi Day, Minister for Te Arawhiti Kelvin Davis said. The Battle of Ohaeawai in June 1845 saw ...
More Police officers are being deployed to the frontline with the graduation of 54 new constables from the Royal New Zealand Police College today. The graduation ceremony for Recruit Wing 362 at Te Rauparaha Arena in Porirua was the first official event for Stuart Nash since his reappointment as Police ...
The Government is unlocking an additional $700,000 in support for regions that have been badly hit by the recent flooding and storm damage in the upper North Island. “We’re supporting the response and recovery of Auckland, Waikato, Coromandel, Northland, and Bay of Plenty regions, through activating Enhanced Taskforce Green to ...
Prime Minister Chris Hipkins has welcomed the announcement that Her Royal Highness The Princess Royal, Princess Anne, will visit New Zealand this month. “Princess Anne is travelling to Aotearoa at the request of the NZ Army’s Royal New Zealand Corps of Signals, of which she is Colonel in Chief, to ...
A new Government and industry strategy launched today has its sights on growing the value of New Zealand’s horticultural production to $12 billion by 2035, Agriculture Minister Damien O’Connor said. “Our food and fibre exports are vital to New Zealand’s economic security. We’re focussed on long-term strategies that build on ...
25 cents per litre petrol excise duty cut extended to 30 June 2023 – reducing an average 60 litre tank of petrol by $17.25 Road User Charge discount will be re-introduced and continue through until 30 June Half price public transport fares extended to the end of June 2023 saving ...
The strong economy has attracted more people into the workforce, with a record number of New Zealanders in paid work and wages rising to help with cost of living pressures. “The Government’s economic plan is delivering on more better-paid jobs, growing wages and creating more opportunities for more New Zealanders,” ...
The Government is providing a further $1 million to the Mayoral Relief Fund to help communities in Auckland following flooding, Minister for Emergency Management Kieran McAnulty announced today. “Cabinet today agreed that, given the severity of the event, a further $1 million contribution be made. Cabinet wishes to be proactive ...
The new Cabinet will be focused on core bread and butter issues like the cost of living, education, health, housing and keeping communities and businesses safe, Prime Minister Chris Hipkins has announced. “We need a greater focus on what’s in front of New Zealanders right now. The new Cabinet line ...
Prime Minister Chris Hipkins will travel to Canberra next week for an in person meeting with Australian Prime Minister, Anthony Albanese. “The trans-Tasman relationship is New Zealand’s closest and most important, and it was crucial to me that my first overseas trip as Prime Minister was to Australia,” Chris Hipkins ...
The Government is providing establishment funding of $100,000 to the Mayoral Relief Fund to help communities in Auckland following flooding, Minister for Emergency Management Kieran McAnulty announced. “We moved quickly to make available this funding to support Aucklanders while the full extent of the damage is being assessed,” Kieran McAnulty ...
As the Mayor of Auckland has announced a state of emergency, the Government, through NEMA, is able to step up support for those affected by flooding in Auckland. “I’d urge people to follow the advice of authorities and check Auckland Emergency Management for the latest information. As always, the Government ...
Ka papā te whatitiri, Hikohiko ana te uira, wāhi rua mai ana rā runga mai o Huruiki maunga Kua hinga te māreikura o te Nota, a Titewhai Harawira Nā reira, e te kahurangi, takoto, e moe Ka mōwai koa a Whakapara, kua uhia te Tai Tokerau e te kapua pōuri ...
Carmel Sepuloni, Minister for Social Development and Employment, has activated Enhanced Taskforce Green (ETFG) in response to flooding and damaged caused by Cyclone Hale in the Tairāwhiti region. Up to $500,000 will be made available to employ job seekers to support the clean-up. We are still investigating whether other parts ...
The 2023 General Election will be held on Saturday 14 October 2023, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced today. “Announcing the election date early in the year provides New Zealanders with certainty and has become the practice of this Government and the previous one, and I believe is best practice,” Jacinda ...
Jacinda Ardern has announced she will step down as Prime Minister and Leader of the Labour Party. Her resignation will take effect on the appointment of a new Prime Minister. A caucus vote to elect a new Party Leader will occur in 3 days’ time on Sunday the 22nd of ...
The Government is maintaining its strong trade focus in 2023 with Trade and Agriculture Minister Damien O’Connor visiting Europe this week to discuss the role of agricultural trade in climate change and food security, WTO reform and New Zealand agricultural innovation. Damien O’Connor will travel tomorrow to Switzerland to attend the ...
The Government has extended its medium-scale classification of Cyclone Hale to the Wairarapa after assessing storm damage to the eastern coastline of the region. “We’re making up to $80,000 available to the East Coast Rural Support Trust to help farmers and growers recover from the significant damage in the region,” ...
RNZ Pacific Journalist Victor Mambor, who is the chief editor of the West Papuan newspaper and websiteJubi, has received the Oktovianus Pogau Award from the Indonesian-based Pantau Foundation for courage in journalism. The foundation’s Andreas Harsono said Mambor’s decision to return to his father’s homeland and defend the rights ...
RNZ News Green Party MP Chlöe Swarbrick is brushing off concerns a temporary rent freeze in flood-hit Auckland would just see landlords hike rents even more when the controls were lifted — arguing they should stay permanently. More than 20 organisations have signed a letter urging Minister for Auckland Michael ...
Iwi leaders have accused National and ACT of "fanning the flames of racism", urging the prime minister to be brave and not walk away from partnership on three waters. ...
About this time last week it had become apparent that Auckland was in for a bit more than just a wet Friday. While the state of emergency remains in place for another seven days, it appears the worst should now be behind us. Last night, Niwa shared a fascinating thread ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By John Hawkins, Senior Lecturer, Canberra School of Politics, Economics and Society, University of Canberra ShutterstockIndigenous Australians are respectfully advised that the following includes the names and images of some people who are now deceased. The Reserve Bank of Australia ...
The government has confirmed the money will be spent in Northland, including unlocking greenfields land and transport upgrades like a new bridge in Kamo. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Gabrielle Appleby, Professor, UNSW Law School, UNSW Sydney Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has confirmed that sometime between August and November this year, the Australian people will go to a referendum for the first time since 1999. We’ll be asked whether we support ...
Viewers across the United States were today shown a slice of New Zealand, with a reporter for Good Morning America broadcasting live from Rotorua. Robin Roberts, a co-anchor for the popular morning TV show, has been touring the country this week. During her visit to Rotorua’s Te Puia centre, she ...
They can be environmentally unsound and are a symbol used to shame millennials, but everyone still loves an avo. I love avocados, always have, always will. The buttery golden-green flesh from a perfectly ripe avocado is a culinary blessing. Today I’d love to simply wax poetic about twisting open a ...
The only published and available best-selling indie book chart in New Zealand is the top 10 sales list recorded every week at Unity Books’ stores in High St, Auckland, and Willis St, Wellington.AUCKLAND1The Creative Act: A Way of Being by Rick Rubin (Penguin Press, $50) The beautiful ...
A new poem by Robin Peace. To the kahikatea I see from my bed Thinking inside the square, the ellipse, the round of what life is, I only see the trees. Not only as if that were the only thing I see, but only as if the tree matters more. ...
A week ago, Elton John’s first Auckland show was called off at the last minute. What was it like getting there, being there, and trying to return home afterwards?Elton John has long been a blessing for our ears, but in recent years his Auckland shows have been cursed. His ...
For Auckland Mayor Wayne Brown, sorry seems to be the hardest word to say The mayoral chains must have been heavy this week for Auckland’s Wayne Brown, as his response to last week’s flood garnered its own veritable torrent of scandals and media scrutiny. Almost exactly one week on from ...
For Auckland Mayor Wayne Brown, sorry seems to be the hardest word to say The mayoral chains must have been heavy this week for Auckland’s Wayne Brown, as his response to last week’s flood garnered its own veritable torrent of scandals and media scrutiny. Almost exactly one week on from ...
Ours Not Mines is cautiously excited about reporting that the Government is drafting legislation to ban new mines on conservation land. The anti-mining group's spokesperson, Morgan Donoghue says: "The Government has been promising us some action for ...
People who enjoy the outdoors for recreation, fishing and hunting will lose rights under the Natural and Built Environments Bill. Fish & Game New Zealand chief executive Corina Jordan says the proposed replacement for the Resource Management ...
Auckland mayor Wayne Brown has conceded he “dropped the ball” during last Friday’s major flooding event. The state of emergency in the super city has today been extended for a further seven days, though Brown said he expects it will be lifted early. After a week of defensiveness over his ...
As the reality TV juggernaut returns for a new season, Tara Ward steps into the minds of the show’s relationship experts to assess the compatibility of this year’s brides and grooms. Married at First Sight: Australia returns on Monday night, and by season ten, you’d think the show’s relationship experts ...
Auckland’s state of emergency is expected to be extended for another seven days, according to the Herald. It was due to expire overnight after being declared a week ago, the day of the worst flooding in the super city. While weather conditions have improved, the city is continuing to experience ...
Proposed pay equity claim settlements for school librarians and science technicians have been reached between the Ministry of Education and NZEI Te Riu Roa, Secretary for Education, Iona Holsted and NZEI Te Riu Roa president, Mark Potter, announced ...
Members of NZEI Te Riu Roa negotiating on behalf of school librarians, library assistants and science technicians are excited to announce that proposed pay equity settlements are ready to be voted on by their colleagues. They include pay increases of up to ...
The Public Transport Users Association (PTUA) is calling for Michael Wood, the Minister of Transport, and now Auckland, to cancel the light rail project immediately. Auckland Light Rail was never going to happen, as our group has repeatedly said dozens of ...
Prime Minister Chris Hipkins has been asked to intervene following confirmation today that the Government plans to implement a ban on all extractive sector activities on the conservation estate. Wayne Scott, CEO of the Aggregate and Quarry Association, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Alexander Gillespie, Professor of Law, University of Waikato Getty Images The heated (and often confused) debate about “co-governance” in Aotearoa New Zealand inevitably leads back to its source, Te Tiriti o Waitangi. But, as its long-contested meanings demonstrate, very little ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kate Hunter, Lecturer in Art and Performance, Deakin University Jodie Hutchinson/Red StitchReview: Wittenoom, directed by Susie Dee, Red Stitch Deep in the remote Pilbara region of Western Australia, the town of Wittenoom lies empty, desolate … and contaminated. Wittenoom ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Oliver Bown, Postdoctoral fellow, UNSW Sydney Shutterstock The past few years have seen an explosion in applications of artificial intelligence to creative fields. A new generation of image and text generators is delivering impressiveresults. Now AI has also found ...
New Zealand’s egg shortage is hitting cruise ships too – forcing the crew of one vessel to hatch a poaching plan. This story was first published on Stuff. On the hunt for eggs, a crew from a luxury cruise ship got cracking and hatched a cunning plan. Earlier this week, Stuff ...
Now demolished, the First Church of Christ Scientist was a masterclass of architectural imagination. Kate Linzey visits the site on which it once stood, to learn more. The object is delicate and small. Small enough to sit in the palm of my hand and weighing less than 300 grams. It ...
When your food parcel arrives before the emergency alert, you know something’s not working properly.This is an excerpt from our weekly food newsletter, The Boil Up. I’ve spent the last week desperately and at times fruitlessly attempting to drain and then sweep my whānau home of knee-deep water, pull up ...
Drongo-gate continues for another day with the Herald reporting that Auckland’s mayor has been caught out using the slang term for a second time. It comes this time from a former minor mayoral candidate, Mike Kampkes, who said he received a message from Brown in response to a media release ...
How does Aotearoa stop relying so heavily on agriculture to prop up our economy? Online tax and accounting service Hnry just raised $35m to grow its software on-demand service across the globe. Bernard Hickey talks with AirTree partner Jackie Vullinghs about how venture capitalists are funding Aotearoa’s fastest growing, least-polluting ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Adam Guastella, Professor and Clinical Psychologist, Michael Crouch Chair in Child and Youth Mental Health, University of Sydney Shutterstock With childcare and schools starting the new year, parents might be anxiously wondering how their child will adapt in a new ...
I am delighted to announce the appointment of John Price ONZM as the new Director Civil Defence Emergency Management and Deputy Chief Executive Emergency Management for the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA). John has been a member of the ...
Coromandel Watchdog of Hauraki are calling on the new Prime Minister and new Minister of Conservation Willow Jean Prime to immediately implement the 2017 promise to ban new mining activity on conservation lands. “ The mining industry group Straterra ...
How does Aotearoa stop relying so heavily on agriculture to prop up our economy? Online tax and accounting service Hnry just raised $35m to grow its software on-demand service across the globe. In the latest episode of When the Facts Change, Bernard Hickey talks with AirTree partner Jackie Vullinghs about how ...
There’s a fear that highlighting menopause will undermine women, especially at work. But what have centuries of secrecy achieved for us? Are you sick of hearing about menopause? Kim Hill is. The living legend of Aotearoa broadcasting told actor Robyn Malcolm (also a legend) on her Saturday Morning show on RNZ ...
Dunedin city council has reached an agreement to save Foulden Maar from commercial mining. The maar is the site of a crater lake from 23 million years ago with the diatomite of the lake preserving fossils and a climate record covering 100,000 years from that period. It is fantastic news for Otago University ...
Some are speculating whether the Auckland Mayor's leadership is circling the drain. James Elliott hopes they're right. There’s never been a week quite like it. It was the week when the rains came. All of them. Even the rain from Spain that was supposed to fall mainly on the plain, came. ...
The Bus and Coach Association supports the Government’s decision to continue half-price fares on public transport services. The fare reduction was set to expire on 31 March 2023, but will now continue to 30 June 2023. “Half-price fares have cost ten-times ...
Analysis by Dr Bryce Edwards. Political Roundup: Hipkins’ bread and butter reshufflePolitical scientist, Dr Bryce Edwards. Prime Minister Chris Hipkins continues to be the new broom in Government, re-setting his Government away from its problem areas in his Cabinet reshuffle yesterday, and trying to convince voters that Labour is focused ...
Analysis by Dr Bryce Edwards. Political Roundup: Chris Hipkins hires a lobbyist to run the BeehiveNew Zealand Prime Minister, Chris Hipkins, speaking when Minister of Education, at NZEI Te Riu Roa strike rally on the steps of the New Zealand Parliament, 15th August 2018. Image; Wiki Commons. New Zealand is ...
New Zealand Politics Daily is a collation of the most prominent issues being discussed in New Zealand. It is edited by Dr Bryce Edwards of The Democracy Project. Items of interest and importance todayCO-GOVERNANCE, WAITANGI, THREE WATERS Chris Trotter (Daily Blog): Blowing Off The Froth: Why Chris Hipkins Must Ditch ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Brian Tweed, Senior lecturer, Massey University Shutterstock/Renata Apanaviciene As we approach another Waitangi Day, we should be thinking again about what Te Tiriti o Waitangi means. As the late Moana Jackson commented, the meaning of Te Tiriti will be ...
Even prime ministers get caught in bad weather. It’s a week on from the devastating flooding that hit Auckland and Northland and Chris Hipkins has been forced to drive north for the start of Waitangi weekend commemorations after his plan was turned away from Kerikeri airport (twice). Today will see ...
Less than a year ago, co-governance had a future, at least as potentially accepted terminology. Now some iwi leaders want the label removed and replaced, writes Anna Rawhiti-Connell in this excerpt from The Bulletin, The Spinoff’s morning news round-up. To receive The Bulletin in full each weekday, sign up here. ...
“The decision by the Reserve Bank of Australia to not replace the late Queen with Charles on the Aussie $5 note should indicate to our Reserve Bank that it’s time to change the NZ $20 note” said Lewis Holden, campaign chair of New ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Christian Wolf, Associate Professor, Astronomy & Astrophysics, Australian National University Somchat Parkaythong/Shutterstock Black holes are bizarre things, even by the standards of astronomers. Their mass is so great, it bends space around them so tightly that nothing can escape, even ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Laura Revell, Associate Professor in Environmental Physics, University of Canterbury Getty Images The ozone layer is on track to heal within four decades, according to a recent UN report, but this progress could be undone by an upsurge in rocket ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By David Clune, Honorary Associate, Government and International Relations, University of Sydney At the New South Wales election on March 25 a 12-year-old Coalition government will be seeking re-election. Hoping to return as premier is Liberal leader Dominic Perrottet – a political conservative ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By James Trauer, Associate Professor, Monash University Anastelfy/Shutterstock The XBB.1.5 subvariant, known informally as “Kraken”, is the latest in a menagerie of Omicron subvariants to dominate the headlines, following increasing detection in the United States and United Kingdom. But there ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Madeline Combe, Doctoral student, University of Technology Sydney Shutterstock As the economist Herman Daly pithily said, the economy is a wholly owned subsidiary of the environment – not the reverse. Nature makes our lives possible through what scientists call ecosystem ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sarah Jefferson, Lecturer in Education, Edith Cowan University Shutterstock Grit. Don’t quit. That’s the mantra many parents may have in mind when they, like me, spend what feels like years ferrying children to a seemingly endless variety of sports and ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Mark Humphery-Jenner, Associate Professor of Finance, UNSW Sydney Sam Shere/Wikimedia Commons A few weeks ago, Gautam Adani was indisputably India’s richest man. Now his fortune is slipping away as the stocks of his many companies crash, thanks to the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Divna Haslam, Senior Research Fellow, Queensland University of Technology Shutterstock Have you ever found yourself scrolling through social media and noticed you felt a bit down? Maybe a little envious? Why aren’t you on a yacht? Running a startup? Looking ...
The science of ‘event attribution’ is growing, with researchers working to accelerate their assessments. A leading NZ climate scientist tells Toby Manhire how it works, how climate change impacted the ‘off the chart’ weekend downpours, and why we can’t put a number on it tomorrow. Brutal, unexpected, record-breaking, destructive, tragic. ...
Those lockdown vibes are back – and maybe they never really went away. We were supposed to be organised. For a while there, we were. A uniform, purchased across a frenzied weekend dashing between specialist stores, was spread out over our son’s bed. Tags removed, shirts folded, socks in balls, ...
Establishing a Truth, Reconciliation and Justice Commission and recognising Māori tino rangatiratanga are among several recommendations in two pivotal reports released today (Friday 3 February) by Te Kāhui Tika Tangata Human Rights Commission. The ...
Losing her mum at an early age, Ivari Christie found strength in netball. The explosive teen midcourter has now burst into the Southern Steel, with help from a couple of Silver Ferns legends, Suzanne McFadden writes. It was the biggest moment in Ivari Christie’s netball career; just 18 years old ...
The latest Nielsen BookScan New Zealand bestseller list, described by Steve BrauniasFICTION 1 Kāwai by Monty Soutar (David Bateman, $39.99) Huzzah to Monty Soutar, huzzah to his publishers, and huzzah to the three wise judges of the fiction prize at the 2023 Ockham New Zealand national book awards for ...
James Shaw says his Labour colleagues need to work with him to plug the emissions gap created by extending the fuel tax cuts Less than a week after a climate-fuelled storm laid waste to wide swathes of Auckland, the Government resurrected fossil fuel subsidies in the form of an extension ...
Jacinda Ardern was treated like royalty at Waitangi with people coming from near and far to see her every February. Newly minted Prime Minister Chris Hipkins isn’t a familiar face in the Far North and will have his work cut out this weekend, writes political editor Jo Moir.Analysis: About ...
By extending the fuel excise duty cut, the Government is encouraging people to drive more, which will only worsen the climate challenges we face in the very near futureOpinion: By most accounts, the storms that have been wreaking havoc in Auckland and Northland are fuelled by climate change. The ...
Is a sponge city the answer to Auckland's flooding woes? The Detail finds out what the concept is all about. With the cleanup in full swing all over Auckland after this week's catastrophic flooding, people are starting to talk about throwing out the old building rules and "unengineering" our city - ...
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It’s Labor Day in the U.S. and a book has been published about Joe Hill – The Man Who Never Died, by William Adler. I think it’s going to be a must read.
Joe Hill – the migrant labourer, an anarchist and union man in the U.S. He was executed in 1915 for a murder he didn’t commit. He appeared to accept the execution would do more for the cause of the working poor than if he’d lived – told his friends don’t mourn for me – organise!” Amazing story
I knew the song, as sung by Joan Baez but never knew his story or that of the International Workers of the World. A bit of history here
Yes Labor Day in the US. And a few people in the MSM are just starting to realise how shit it has been over there, and how the outlook is even worse for the US.
immortal words:
I suppose an attitude like that is why Abe Lincoln got shot.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/labor-day-blues/2011/09/04/gIQAr8fb2J_story.html?hpid=z2
http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/the-fallacy-of-post-industrial-prosperity/2011/09/04/gIQAk4Ob2J_story.html?hpid=z2
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/achenblog?hpid=z2
http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/the-last-labor-day/2011/09/04/gIQA11Ob2J_story.html?hpid=z2
immortal words:
I suppose an attitude like that is why Abe Lincoln got shot.
When 37% of all consumer purchases are made by the top 5% income earners it’s quite clear that (1) workers are losing and (2) inequality is killing the economy.
The same warnings on inequality are written in different ways , but surely even the money people should be able to work this one out… spread the money around a bit and everyone will do better, yeah?
I am inclined to think Lincoln was shot because his use of greenbacks during the civil war, and because of his apparent intention to continue their use after the war. Still I’m only guessing.
Probably both – they attack the private banking system.
If you’re a fan…
Rebel Press of Wellington have just released ‘Remains to be Seen: tracing Joe Hills Ashes in New Zealand’ – available as a book or free PDF
Yeah Rosy, I’m pretty sure the Wobblies exerted a profound influence on early New Zealand Red Fed (and, later, Labour Party) leaders like “Fighting” Bob Semple, Paddy Webb and, perhaps above all, the brilliant (but, unlike the others, never-elected-to-Parliament) Pat Hickey. Hickey had worked for a few years (around 1904-1906) in a mine in Utah, where he was a member of the Western Federation of Miners, which preached class solidarity and revolutionary industrial unionism.
Interesting whistle-blowing going on around the SCF debacle.
Heads should roll, and given the PM’s unequivocal backing of what is now shown to be a wrong-headed and malicious investigation… he too needs to take some responsibility.
But of course responsibility is an unknown concept to these tory pricks.
Well spotted Red. There have been consistent concerns about the process used by the “system”. Surely the “experts” couldn’t have been wrong?
How about we got back a few steps and get an inquiry as to why SCF was in the scheme against tresaury advice, blinglish and Key ushered them in as soon as they could, further warnings by treasury were ignored and the payout was at 100% plus interest.
How many other finance company investors were afforded such a risk free outcome ?
Natural justice is certainly lacking when it comes to Allan Hubbard. Hubbard has one of the cleanest track records in NZ when it comes to business. I hope that someone carries the torch for him, as the last 15 months of his life was devoted to amassing the evidence to prove he was not corrupt and also to find out who was behind his departure at Aorangi and how they went about it.
RL Treasury warned John Key And Blingenglish that SCF were breaking the covenants of their contract John Key said we will keep backing them . Key has some answering to do.
The findings of an investigator who works at no cost for the supporters of Allan Hubbard are not particularly independent.
it’s like citing a post from The Standard as evidence to support a post on The Standard.
When a genuinely independent review finds fault in the Companies Office, the Securities Commission and the statutory managers, and that independent review stands up to scrutiny, then I’ll take notice.
Until then your call for heads to roll is irresponsible.
That doesn’t make any sense Joe (Not that I’m surprised by a RWNJ not making sense). Using evidence to support what you say is usually a good practice. Researchers do it all the time.
There’s no such thing. The only people who are going to investigate are the people are the people with an interest in the outcome. Now, it could be that this investigation is but that would be up to the reviewers to determine.
Last Sunday on Sunday TV 1 at 7.30 pm there was a good example of how devious witnesses can be. I am refering to Mahon who headed the Erebus Inquiry and how Mahon’s comment “an orchestrated litany of lies” was directed at Air New Zealand (Davis, Chippendale…). The Privy Council ruled that Mahon’s conclusion was correct when it came to the cause of the loss of 257 lives, but when it came to Air New Zealand being held accountable, the Privy Council ruled that natural justice was absent, so Air NZ did not have to face the music when it came to being held responsible for TE 901 crashing into Mt Erebus.
No word yet from Eddie about crowning Margaret Mutu as New Zealand’s new “most racist academic”.
What’s racist about seeking to identify racist attitudes/beliefs?
According to the bigots there’s no such thing as racism. So if you say anything mean about racists then you’re just attacking a marginalised oppressed minority. Which makes you a bigot. And therefore probably a racist.
Jeez Bill, a bit of sensitivity please.
Self inflicted slap up the side of the head duly administered.
thankyou for pointing out the error of my ways Felix 😉
Mutu didn’t seek to identify racist attitudes or beliefs – she demonstrated them.
But don’t take my word.
Here’s David Rankin’s view:
“She obviously thinks of herself as the Robert Mugabe of New Zealand politics, and has caused offence to hundreds of thousands of New Zealanders because of her extreme racist views.”
“As a Maori, I welcome white immigrants,” Rankin said. “They are the ones most likely to bring employment opportunities for our communities, and we don’t see the sort of racism Margaret refers to.”
and his complaint to Joris de Bres
So why do you treat it as a joke?
‘It’ being?
I don’t think Margaret Mutu’s observations were a joke. Provocative? Yes. Accurate? Yes.
Taking a complaint to the ‘Race Relations? Farcical. Calling for her to lose her job? Ridiculous.
The reaction of the usual right wing suspects? Ah. Now that I do regard as a bit of a joke. But that’s the only reason most of you clowns typo error the comments you do, right? To bring a little mirth into peoples’ days, yes?
So then how do you reconcile this oponion with the post – That you participated in
And Ant R0Bs “No Paul, to hell with racists.”
And redlogics comment
“The left frequently make the mistake of thinking tolerance must always be the highest principle that trumps all others. Well it ain’t. All too frequently it just finishes up as a proxy for being too lazy or apathetic to stand up for what is right.”
Funny how the aruguement has changed depending on the players involved !!!
I made two comments in that thread you link to Herodotus. Care to point out any inconsistences between what I said on that thread and this one and then I’ll get back to you?
No there was nothing in conflict by you from then or now – My intention was just to assist to refresh your memory back then in the discussion. And anyway there is nothing wrong in changing opinions, additional info can help all of us to see where we are wrong or confirm when we are right 🙂
got it in one Herodotus.
What makes Mutu’s comments deplorable is not her concern about immigration policy but the conclusion she draws that white people are racist.
Far from being condemned like Clydesdale was a week ago on this self-same website, Mutu’s extrenme dogma is applauded. That’s the sort of meta-racism that only comes from hard-line idealogues.
Whatever happened to the notion that migrants should be assessed as individuals, and decisions based on their level of skills, experience, education, contribution to NZ, &c.? Why should ethnic background matter?
I admit I haven’t read what she said, but my son spoke to me about it yesterday, and he was utterly gob-smacked by her comments. On the basis of what he said, losing her job is the very least she should expect.
A picture paints a thousand words.
Stunning graphic from the New York times clearly identifying what has been happening over the past 30 years.
It would be great if we had a Kiwi version.
A stunning graphic indeed. However Joe will no doubt say that the Times is a lying bunch of Left wing idealogues who twist the facts. And that those very rich folk trickle their wealth down to the workers and are the biggest donors etc etc.
putting words in other peoples mouths again IM?
That 1980 transition fascinates me.
Open question; how much an we attribute to the Reagan/Thatcherite right ‘greed is good’ swing, and how much should we point to the huge adoption of IT technology that more or less dates from exactly the same time?
What effects do you think IT has had over the last 3 decades?
PS, Some one copy this thread over to the post please.
Oops I/S bet me to it. Hat tip to him.
Will Wikipedia Kill The Jackal?
Yesterday I decided to set up a Wikipedia page for The Jackal blogsite so that people searching for it could more readily find information. I also intend to use it to document controversial and significant topics that relate to New Zealand’s blogosphere, the law and politics in general. Little did I know that it’s a veritable minefield of rules and regulations, which will probably ensure an end to The Jackal article on Wikipedia…
In other words you wanted to use it to boost you traffic? Wiki ain’t a SEO
Then why is Kiwibog on there? The Jackal doesn’t sell anything. There is a certain amount of promotion with any content on the Internet, even this comment could be considered promoting The Jackal. I’m linking to my site right now… big deal!
Was Margaret Mutu’s out-burst coming from her Maori side or her Pakeha side?
You mean she has a “split personality”?
Who would have thought……….??
Another very capable informed woman who is an excellent communicator on her subject. On radionz this a.m.
10:05 Connie Hedegaard – European Commissioner for Climate Action
Connie Hedegaard is the European Commissioner for Climate Action. She’s in New Zealand leading the EU’s delegation to the Pacific Islands Forum, where she is also meeting Pacific leaders ahead of international climate negotiations. She was Denmark’s first minister for climate and energy, and is now leading the EU’s efforts towards a low-carbon future and the many different forms that takes. What is the EU doing to move towards a low-carbon economy?
Denmark???? DENMARK????? You must be f’ing joking!!!!
400,000 Israelis march for social justice
General strike in Italy tomorrow
NZ Press finally and irrevocably confirmed as Tory PR dept and less use than tits on a nun
Watch those sharemarkets today, brothers and sisters, this could be the big one.
….evocative of someone we know perhaps?
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/09/05/going-to-the-store-film_n_949133.html
Right Wing Can’t Count
A few days ago I wrote an article entitled New Zealand’s Oil Bonanza… Yeah Right! concerning National’s over inflation of potential income from oil and gas extraction in New Zealand. The sheer level of misreporting going on to promote a destructive process that contributes to climate change, (that threatens human existence on earth) was astounding and completely unacceptable…
Why no posts from the writers about Margaret Mutu? Theres the odd mention here at open mike, but no actual post about the whole suitation.
It’s open mike, Brett. Knock yourself out.
Felix:
Im not talking about open Mike, im talking about the actual writers here, it seems racism is okay with the left as long as its a Maori woman that is being racist.
Still I got a laugh when she told the media what the word racist means.
Below is a quote from an email Mana FB admin posted, http://www.facebook.com/ManaParty, they do so occasionally to let people know what keyboard racists there are out there.
“Still cant believe the Mana party even exsists and if you are such a proud people and party, how about you raise your own party funds and not rely on the NZ people. Your entire party is just too out there and hypocritical for the avg kiwi , but I suppose the hard core niggers like yourselves all get off on this. Send all niggers home!!! Regards lee”
So all you tory toe rags like Brett and Grumpy, “lee” rather supports Margaret Mutu’s contention that racism is alive and hating in NZ.
Tiger Mountain:
Did you see my post on their facebook page to that letter, saying that belongs in the Trash. Disgusting someone would write something like that to them. That though has nothing to do
with what Margaret said and her position of power, and I stand by my thoughts, that normally sites like the standard would be outrage with the comments that Margaret Mutu said, but because she isa Maori woman you guys just shut up and say nothing and that is racist in itself.
@Brett Dale – I hadn’t heard about Margaret Mutu’s latest controversy Brett. Here’s the latest link I found – http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10749746
Well done to Nga Puhi leader David Rankin.
Rankin’s just some news whoring kupapa chump they trotted out to slag his own people…well done on getting his name in the media again…fuckwit
funny stuff pollywog – you give the same impression
Funny Brett, I thought the same. Remember the outrage over “Cheeky Darkie” and Paul Henry???
bit of a difference there Grumpy,
an academic commenting on the integration of immigrants into society and the perceived affects upon her culture is hardly the same as big headed broadcasters espousing basic bigotry
Freedom:
Oh that is what she was doing, huh????
Grumpy:
Look at my posts in regards to Murray Deaker, I was shocked that he wasnt fired and quite disgusted.
Maybe I’ll do a post on racism in NZ Brett. You know, the fact its all pervasive, insidious and overt.
And maybe I’ll compare it to the very similar ‘culture of superiority’ displayed by the English (British) establishment towards their white colonies within the British Isles.
And maybe I’ll throw in a couple of open ended questions; such as why at the mention of a person being Polynesian, the immediate assumption is that they must be brown in spite of the fact that all white people born in NZ are Polynesian too?
Or why it is that NZ is routinely and casually lumped in with Australasia when it is most decidedly not a part of Australasia, but a part of Polynesia?
Or why it is that so many white people still mainatin that they are European in official forms in spite of the fact that they and their parents and even their parent’s parents were born in Polynesia?
Or how it is possible to have a culture, supposedly based on partnership and that spans generations, to continue encouraging/promoting a European identity/ethnicity among the whites within it?
Got any other revealing questions you’d like to add to the list Brett?
edit. Apologies felix. couldn’t help myself.
BIll:
My thoughts are, the only reason we are different races is becaus eof Contineal drift.
I just hate hypocrisy, and judgign the same behaviour diferently. Because Mutu is a Maori woman, the left wasnt offended by her comments.
In terms of immigration I have always thought that the question what Ethnicity are you, should never be asked, because it shouldnt matter, what matters is what type of person you are.
I think you’ll find that continental drift may have given rise to different species Brett and further, that any drift during the entire span of human existence is negligable.
And I think you’ll find that questions of ethnicity are asked in almost all official forms and that answers are limited by the ‘multiple choice’ nature of possible responses.
You might also find that the whole concept of ‘race’ is a discredited one…that there is simply the human race.
But all that aside, you got any interseting or thought provoking questions up your sleeve to be incorporated into a possible post?
Brett’s proposed new question for the census:
‘What kind of person are you?
a. virtuous, right wing, hard working ordinary New Zealander
b. evil, bludging, leftie traitor’
It’s all we need to know about people.
🙂
(Apologies Brett, I just couldn’t resist it.)
Puddlegum:
I am neither hard working or virtuous.
I still dont think someone should be kept out the country because of their ethnic background, thus I dont think it should be on an immigration form.
As someone who has also worked on three census’s, that was quite funny.
Where does it ask about ethnicity on immigration forms? Far as I’m aware, nationality is what is asked.
BIll:
Nationally shouldnt be asked then.
If National had their way we wouldn’t even have a fucking census
They like to keep the country ignorant about its status after all.
If nationality isn’t asked for (alongside proof), then we are talking open borders; freedom of movement for people.
I’m all for that Brett.
But in the meantime, there are immigration policies. And they’re loaded to favour some over others. (Points being awarded on skill set, wealth, age etc.) So in the present scenario, why not load the policy against racists?
I mean, political beliefs already affect the ability of some people to obtain visas etc, ( and by extension residency) so why not?
No problem, I would be more than happy if a white South African extremist was denied entry to NZ. Just as I would be for Islamic extremist for their hatred of women, gays and infidels. How about you?
reiterating
“…political beliefs already affect the ability of some people to obtain visas etc, ( and by extension residency)…”
Haters of women and gays are already here in NZ
Whats a few more.
Really CV??? Is that Labour Party policy now???
And how would you determine that someone was a racist? By their national origin? Or their colour? Absurd. The most determinedly (to the point of being a tad unbalanced) person I ever met, was a social worker at Social Welfare in the 80s, a long-haired blue eyed blond man from Manchester England. (By a bit unbalanced, I mean that he frequently had dreams, he told me, of being in the centre of a group of angry Maori who chided him for not having done enough for Maori, and he always felt that he deserved it, as giving his life and that of his children would not be enough!
funny, I wasn’t aware that human sacrifice was required – lucky it was just a dream
“And maybe I’ll throw in a couple of open ended questions; such as why at the mention of a person being Polynesian, the immediate assumption is that they must be brown in spite of the fact that all white people born in NZ are Polynesian too?”
Obviously you did not see Mutu’s interview??? with the World’s Worst Interviewer on Closeup last night.
Apparently we are all just “visitors” in New Zealand. Makes you wonder, with her mixed anscestry, how she sees herself?
As for being an “academic” obviously Auckland University has a very low threshold for that title.
Okay. Just watched it. She said she wanted a discussion on racism. What it is; how it plays out and what to do about it.
‘The ‘walrus’ in his intro said she wanted a universally applied test that would pick up on racist attitudes. What she said was that she didn’t want people coming into the country who would actively pursue to deny others that which rightfully belongs to them.
I can’t see why anyone would have a problem with that.
As an immigrant, my problem was that although I had to jump through numerous hoops with the immigration service there was no official avenue available for me to seek permission from tāngata whenua to live here.
And when I considered citizenship, there was no official avenue for me to approach tāngata whenua, but there was an obligation to swear allegience to a monarch who resides on the other side of the planet.
When I made moves to seek permission from tāngata whenua, the particular people I talked to near fell over backwards. No one had ever approached them before. I thought it was merely the decent thing to do and was genuinely surprised that nobody else had sought to do it. (Besides being common decency, it would have actually meant something whereas being granted permission by a faceless, anonymous bureaucracy means absolutely nothing and is, to my mind permission being granted by an illegitimate authority.)
Meanwhile, getting back tothe point. Racist attitudes are fairly easy to pick and strangely difficult to disguise. So a test is ‘do-able’.
And Margaret Mutu objects to active racists. Not the everyday armchair type who will move along with the broader ‘cultural times’. And wouldn’t it be a good thing to have fewer active racists impacting on the cultural environments of NZ so that the cultural environment moves that bit more speedily?
You have written some awesome comments about this, and related subjects, Bill – thank you for that and what you have written here – you are a good bloke and I hope you do put up a post because you have some very valuable insights and attitudes.
“Apparently we are all just “visitors” in New Zealand.”
That’s not what she said. She said non-Maori are ‘welcome guests’. In order to understand what she means you have to understand Maori concepts of manawhenua and manaakitanga rather than misinterpreting her words through pakeha constructs.
Firstly, because official forms no longer give the “Pakeha” option, and second in my case, because although I was born here as was my mother, my father wasn’t.
I am now reading the Herald article linked to, and looking at the picture of Mutu – and laughing! She’s whiter than my mother was!
“Why no posts from the writers about Margaret Mutu?”
How about getting off your lazy arse and submitting one for consideration as a “guest post”?
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10749743
When poor law, bad judgement and kneejerk hysteria are exposed as an expensive waste of time and resources they resort to desperate measures and end up with applying what we can only imagine are the flimsiest of organised crime charges, though it will be interesting to see what the nature of the organised crime actually was . . . .
The Minister’s claim that the Invercargill Principals, who signed an open letter expressing concerns with National Standards, are part of a Green Party stunt stretches credibility.
http://localbodies-bsprout.blogspot.com/2011/09/just-political-stunt-claims-tolley.html
Sir Anne must be on the right track. She has been elevated in the Nat List rankings. Future PM in the making?
thanks for that ianmac, i will have nightmares now ,
The fact that she appears to genuinely believe her own spin against all the evidence to the contrary appears to serve her well. She just chants the same mantra no matter what is put in front of her.
Typical RWNJ then putting ideology before reality.
She could become Acts education spokes person then
@freedom – Your comment was very enigmatic. Why didn’t you put one descriptive word ie Urewera or similar? I had to go to the link to see what you are on about which I find is what I want to comment on.
A recent Court case has resulted in charges in Operation Eight against the Tuhoe group being dropped but nothing can be revealed about the finding according to radionz! There are still 4 to go including Tame Iti for consorting with criminals or similar.
Makes me wonder why we are over in the USA talking about that dodgy TPPPPTTT? Surely the country that dominates this matter is also criminal. It has broken numerous laws, but hey ho why should we worry about dealing with an entity which only washes the top of its hands. Turn them over and see what is on their palms! Let’s have some practical sense not the present non-sense from this government.
prism, exactly why i wrote what i wrote,
( wouldn’t it be be interesting to know what all the other possible articles were that went through people’s heads 🙂 )
Another serious example of self-regulation and slack and lazy control over high standards for business has just been referred to today. Apparently MAF won’t prosecute bad, sloppy bee keepers after serious outbreaks of problem disease and pests. MAF says that it’s better to work with them, but then the bad practices are just continued with. Isn’t this amazing at a time when we know that the vital bee industry is under threat.
What happens is that this foulbrood disease type spreads and infects other hives. The latest outbreak has resulted in 30 hives having to be burnt in an effort to rid the area of the infection.
This hurts other beekeepers trying to run their businesses in a hygienic, responsible way. Enough of having their hives and business destroyed regularly and some beekeepers will give up all together. Not everybody wants to raise bees, not everybody is a good beekeeper either. When can we get our country back from this disease of neo liberalism, this desire for business to selfishly please themselves in their businesses with as few controls or commitment to good standards as possible.
Nice to see people-power is still alive and well…
http://evolutionnews.co.nz/capitalist-exploitation/a-story-missing-from-our-media-iceland’s-on-going-revolution/
I read that via a Naomi Klein tweet the other day, she quickly retracted once she was corrected, just thought I should point it out. I wish the article had been true…
http://grapevine.is/Features/ReadArticle/A-Deconstruction-of-Icelands-Ongoing-Revolution
The Reykjavik Grapevine seems to provide good factual reading.
I found this while browsing on Stuff…
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/5572717/Son-13-ready-to-support-family-and-ill-dad?comment_msg=posted#post_comment
and I am not sure where to begin! The child is an idiot… as I said in my comment which is “awaiting approval”, he’s a prime example of the benefits of home-schooling. He says that when his father dies and if he can’t support his family, ”
“If I can’t support my family, they will have to go on the dole. I don’t want that,”
If things still work as they did when I worked for Social Welfare, the boy’s mother will go on to a widow’s benefit. That’s not “the dole”. Presumably the boy isn’t concerned about the amount – in common with the average non-beneficiary out there he probably thinks benefit levels are 3 times what they really are. He’s probably worried about the “shame”… However a 13 year old boy should not be risking other peoples’ lives by driving a truck – he should be getting an education. Apologies if someone’s already mentioned this – I am havinn connection problems!
I am becoming suspicious of certain news items.I think there is a move instigated by Crosby/Textor to drive a wedge between the Greens and Labour. The Left must not fall into a trap from the Right that would have the Greens and Labour competing against each other. We must never forget that although we sometimes differ we are both on the political Left .Lets both insprire for a Labour /Green government. Which Aotearoa badly needs.
The Pink Postman
Totally agree and the first thing Labour should do, unless it has another plan, is to accept the Greens’ get children out of poverty for $180million plan. That will cement the political relationship and people will know that Labour means what it says about helping children. This is instant. I know Labour has various other policy but it can I’m sure incorporate this strategy and more importantly, acknowledge Greens’ importance in this by giving the Greens the portfolio to make it happen. That way the Greens will get on with it.
Hear hear!
Marsman,
Labour needs to acknowledge both Progressives and the Greens. Jim Anderton added a huge plus to that Government with KiwiBank and if Labour had still been in Government Anderton would have had his affordable dental care bill followed up.
Greens missed out for obvious reasons – United Future and NZ First forced them out and Labour had to deal with them in order to keep National out or we would have been even worse off now.
Perhaps people will begin to finally accept that sustainable living along with 21st century lifestyles can live side by side with thoughtful compromise.
The worst thing New Zealanders can do now is keep NActU in once more term; it is this next term whereby New Zealand loses its future. Labour can reinstate the 75% requirement before Local Government assets can be sold, which it laudably legislated for in 2002.
Why on earth isn’t Labour shouting out about what it has achieved and what it has saved New Zealand from if National had manipulated it into giving out more tax cuts. We’ve already seen the damage that NActU has done in this short time. Be warned; they will speed up if they get in again. Give them time on the sidelines while we bring some worker/employer/government balance back to our community.
Helen Clark gave us time to recoup our losses from the previous Douglas/Richardson cuckoos.
Douglas got back; don’t be surprised if Richardson gets back in too. Where did she get thrown out of after destroying their economy? Iceland? Ireland?
Parliament is waxing lyrical over the Local Government Borrowing Bill – sounds good.
Word of caution; anything Rodney Hide touches turns to lead and our country-wide assets will be seen trotting off to foreign parts on JKeyll and Hide’s little piggy legs.
Auckland has $28 billion of assets which Hide stole from all the greater councils around the city. The jury is out on the worthwhile benefits to the country areas that have been completely left out except for a good library service, but even that carries risks if only one area of the Library can buy books. It was noticeable by the books that the libraries were selling off by the bucketload that anything to do with women’s rights and political books that put another point of view to that of the neo-conservative were being reduced.
The country areas don’t have electric trains expected so Stephen Joyce was lying in Parliament today.
Also, Christchurch’s earthquake was extremely convenient for this government to take public view off the fact they had shut down the democratice ECAN in Canterbury. Brownlee will certainly try to force (he is czar after all) Christchurch Council to sell off its assets.
Should Auckland have an earthquake in the future the LG Borrowing Bill debt, which I admit does save us from PPPs, etc. will be used to force the Councils in debt to sell off LG assets.
Read The Shock Doctrine by Naomi Klein and you will see why I am so cynical about this government and its bovver boy Hide. JKeyll is hiding behind these extremists. Remember.
This tickled me.
http://gizmodo.com/5835821/1-in-10-dead-bosses-are-murdered
and dont forget goldman sacks. they have stepped up to asist the PM by sticking their oar in and saying that ‘industry’ is being held back because there is not enough liquidity in the sharemarket so therfore sell the state assets so the rugged individualists can play monopol;y with other peoples money. look there goes the march hare and the mad hatter.
Randal,
What was that valuable piece of information on the Stock Exchange? That it has nothing to do with the overall financial well-being of New Zealand and New Zealanders – just a place for mostly men with pots of money they’ve stolen off other people to go and play paper wars with.
Aaron Gilmour – for PM – the leadership coup begins
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Aaron-Gilmore-for-Prime-Minister/118195268201661
or
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/5572501/MP-spoofed-in-faux-Facebook-page,
or even better!!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aaron_Gilmore
NB none of them are my own work!