That’s actually scary. The corruption in NZ over the last few years has been of the in our face, don’t care variety and yet still people think we’re the least corrupt?
yes Draco knows much better than those silly fools at the international organisation who utilise their expertise and training in a transparent fashion.
Well I think the finding is highly questionable… Not only was the Serious Fraud Office predicting a huge increase in serious fraud cases, New Zealand has become one of the worlds favourite places for tax evaders to hide their ill-gotten gains.
We also have a largely ineffective system to address various types of fraud and you would be hard pressed to find anybody who hasn’t been affected. Not to mention that this is meant to be an annual report that actually gets trotted out around three or four times a year or whenever National needs some good news.
PS the report says we’re PERCEIVED to be least corrupt not that we are actually least corrupt. So a perception from various institutes with a vested interest and academics from other countries or a perception from New Zealanders… Take your pick.
“Not only was the Serious Fraud Office predicting a huge increase in serious fraud cases”
Fraud =/= corruption
Seriously, if you want to know what proper corruption looks like spend sometime in South Africa. I have spent a lot of time there and have witnessed first hand what institutional corruption looks like and NZ doesn’t have it.
Yes! Fraud is a type of corruption TheContrarian. I’m sure you’re right that South Africa has a lot of corruption, but unless corruption has become a lot worse in other countries at a time corruption in New Zealand has become worse according to the Serious Fraud Office, the perception index is wrong! To argue that NZ doesn’t have any institutional corruption is naive.
This is true, but the survey is of perceptions in relation to other countries.
So rewriting the tax codes to some of the lowest levels in the world is unethical, but as long as the majority of people paid the legally required amount, it’s not “corrupt”.
Whether NZ is more corrupt than it once was is not the metric of the survey.
Here’s some facts from actual research TheContrarian, perhaps you might like to try it yourself sometime:
4% of NZ’ers admit paying a bribe to win business (c.f. 0% Denmark; 1% UK; 2% Australia)
Only 44% of NZX top 50 companies have anti-bribery policies (c.f. 72% UK; 69% USA; 50% Europe)
73% NZ’ers believe corruption is increasing
Despite these numbers that show New Zealand shouldn’t be perceived as the least corrupt country in the world, the actual mechanism of institutional corruption is very hard to quantify, and other studies have found that corrupt, fraudulent, coercive or collusive practices in New Zealand are endemic within our institutional arrangements.
This being the case, and making note of what the actual research shows, I would have to say you’re categorically wrong TheContrarian… But what else is new?
Jackal, all your figures show is that New Zealanders do a lot of business in corrupt countries – I would assume China, Indonesia, and the koha cultures of the Pacific would feature heavily. Not the same thing as New Zealand being particularly corrupt at all. At least that’s what I’m assuming as you haven’t bothered to link to any site that will tell me the context for the data, or even whether you just pulled those numbers out of your arse or not. Cite sources please.
“I would have to say you’re categorically wrong TheContrarian”
Well Jackal I suggest you also send your figures to transparency.org and let them know how wrong they are.
“73% NZ’ers believe corruption is increasing ”
Argumentum ad populum. Logical fallacy.
And yes, sources please.
@Felix:
“100% honest compared to other countries.”
Well yes, it is a comparative scale and no where do they, or I, suggest there is zero corruption in NZ.
Not really, you wouldn’t say because 98% of climatologists agree in Global Warming it is an Argumentum ad populum.
To say “73% NZ’ers believe corruption is increasing” therefore NZ is corrupt is an Argumentum ad populum.
It is the same as saying most of the population believes in some sort of god therefore god exists.
Perhaps I’ve misunderstood what they’re describing.
I thought “perceived” referred to the perceptions of ordinary people as measured by corruption experts, as opposed to the perceptions of the corruption experts themselves.
A comparative study which publicly announces it’s methodology, results and is considered to be relatively accurately in its representation of real world corruption is much less of an argumentum ad populum than Jackal arguing the study is bunk because 76% of NZer’s said so.
I’ll throw my lot in with with well know and well respected international metrics which can be fairly well applied in the real world over Jackal and his unsourced statistics.
And whatever is or isn’t wrong with the 76% stat, you can’t really call it a popularity fallacy, when what you are seeking to find is a perception, even if you do put it in fucking latin.
if what your looking for is a perception, then ‘what people reckon’ is what you are looking for. To call that a fallacy would be a category error of some sort.
This might be news to you Populuxe1, but New Zealand companies do a lot of business within New Zealand. The research would be similar to the percentage difference between foreign business and local business. I believe local trade still makes up the biggest contributor to our GDP.
The statistical source is the Serious Fraud Office. There is other relevant research that backs up my argument btw. Instead of just being a couple of opinionated wankers TheContrarian and Populuxe1, why don’t you look into the matter yourselves?
Claiming that these figures should be sent to transparency.org is entirely stupid. Any research agency would be well versed in such information, and as McFlock succinctly points out it’s a perception index, not the reality of corruption within New Zealand.
If you don’t believe the opinion of the masses is correct, you must also be arguing against a majority voting in a government TheContrarian. Anti-democratic much?
You might note that the figures above the 73% of New Zealanders believing corruption is increasing ie 4% admitting paying bribes and 44% anti-bribery policies, is not Argumentum ad populum. Interesting that the research backs up the New Zealand public perception eh!
The index measures the perception of corruption in the public sector and not the financial sector, but Transparency’s Europe director Anne Koch…
Yeah, yeah. Possibly a deliberate and misleading point at which to cut the quoted text, but hey.
The survey, which was first conducted in 1995, draws on a variety of sources that capture perceptions of corruption, including World Bank and World Economic Forum assessments, the African Development Bank’s governance ratings, and Transparency International’s own Bribe Payers Survey.
Couldn’t bring myself to read the comments at KB, but I have to say that I’m in two minds about men’s clubs. I think it’s fine for different genders to have their own spaces (I’ve worked in feminist collectives where men are not allowed). The problem with men’s clubs historically is that they’ve been the bastions of the old boys who have been running the show and not willing to share that power and privilege with anyone else – hence the original challenges about membership. I’m guessing that women moving in those circles of power needed membership in order to make headway. The problem now is that they’re like to become bastions of the remnants of the old boy’s networks and/or repositories for the misogyny that’s no longer acceptable in open society (think men’s rights groups also).
Not sure what the solution is there, but the law firm in question, if it had any sense of anything, would hold the party somewhere else.
The difference between left and right is quite substantial. This is reflected in the nature of commenting between the standard and kiwiblog. People may appear roughly the same and live in the same types of houses and lead similar lives, but their underlying philosophies and approaches to life are often at opposite and extreme ends of the spectrum. A bit like how two seemingly similar people can live in the same street yet one believes in eternal life and one doesn’t – can’t get more extreme ends of outlook than that.
What would be interesting is to post the same subject on each site at the same time and see how different the comment streams are. And the one linked to by Felix would be a great one to try it out on.
I read a few comments. They don’t seem to get the difference between a single sex sports club or gym and that of an occupational group: the Law Society.
If Mr. Key is not clueless on intelligence and security matters, then the “spy” plane response and his other actions show that along with being contemptuous of those who may seek to hold him to account, he is arrogant, irresponsible, disloyal, mean-spirited and vindictive as well. To which can be added one more trait that has emerged in Mr. Key as of late: callous narcissism.
.
Draco is right above in that corruption is the in your face don’t care type.
Perfect example – get Wyatt Creech, an owner in the dairy industry, to write a fucking bullshit report on the state of water regs in Canterbury and use that to claim that democracy itself needs to be ripped out so the lying dirty business farming pricks who couldn’t achieve their business greed through usual business and democratic processes simply thieve what they want. All the while claiming it is something other than that.
Corrupt.
Liars and thieves – the farmers, the national government, David Carter, Nick Smith, Wyatt Creech, Amy Adams.
What is John Key, Prime Minister of the purportedly (first equal) ‘least corrupt country in the world’ going to do about this one?
WILL NZ PRIME MINISTER STAND DOWN JOHN BANKS AS MINISTER – WHEN BANKS APPEARS IN THE WELLINGTON DISTRICT COURT ON 11 DECEMBER 2012 TO FACE A PRIVATE PROSECUTION FOR ALLEGED ELECTORAL FRAUD? http://www.nbr.co.nz/article/peters-powerless-jettison-horan-parliament-academic-dw-133495#comment-598400
MY COMMENT – yet to be published:
What is NZ Prime Minister John Key going to do when his MMP coalition partner, ACT Leader and MP for Epsom, John Banks, Minister for Small Business and Regulatory Reform, and Associate Minister for Education and Commerce, appears in the Wellington District on Tuesday 11 December 2012 at 1.45pm to face a private prosecution alleging electoral fraud?
Is he going to, as a first step, stand John Banks down as a Minister?
If a Wellington District Court Judge believes there is arguably a case for John Banks to answer – or a summons would not have been issued.
Or is NZ Prime Minister John Key going to continue to defend the indefensible, and politically protect John Banks?
Penny Bright
‘Anti-corruption campaigner’ http://www.dodgyjohnhasgone.com
The potential for fracking to pollute pasture and water supplies in Taranaki isn’t just speculation… Documented evidence shows that fracking fluid blow-down pits at the Kapuni site had polluted the groundwater which was no longer fit for human or stock consumption. The BETX (benzene, ethylbenzene, toluene and xylenes) contaminated water also didn’t meet the criteria for irrigation, meaning it was highly toxic.
Of course Shell Todd Oil Services, which owns Kapuni, and the complicit regional council say there’s no link with the fracking that’s occurred in the area and the groundwater contamination, however BETX has been regularly used in fracking around Taranaki and there’s no other explanation for it to be found in the groundwater other than unsafe storage of well fluids in fracking blow-down pits.
Ha! Nothing to do with fracking, the water was contaminated in the tank it was being held in, which had been previously used for mixing liquid fertiliser.
Seems its not the fert. But it’s a safe bet it was something in the water. And something pretty potent, at that. Hopefully its not another farmer family jealousy case and just misadventure.
Within the last hour there was a sudden loud thunder clap right above, that made me jump – freaky! Now reports are coming in of storm damage out here in west Auckland, including a tornado not far away in the Hobsonville area.
It seems to be clearing now, with all OK where I am….. but it was pretty scary for a moment. I hope people in the storm damage areas are doing OK.
Ummm some kind of bug showing up in the Cloudflare feature
Mirage/ PRO / BUSINESS / ENTERPRISE/ BETA
Lazy loader: Automatically turns all images into load-on-demand. Images on your site are not loaded until the visitor scrolls to their location.
On a couple of webkit renderer browsers (ie Chrome and Rekong) I started getting jams on loading images – probably a advertising image.
Turned the feature off as it is both beta and doesn’t really seem to speed the page loads.
There’s no question that Dr Norman articulates himself well and is as dedicated as they come to a future government that will reduce GHG emissions to protect our environment. In fact his ability in the house to show National up for their environmental failures is second to none…
Meanwhile, David Cunliffe MP for New Lynn, having checked his own electorate, rather than return to Parliament, is heading out west to check the PM’s electorate for him.
I don’t think the last two comments are in good taste, people have died out there, show just a little humanity, you are meant to be Left and for the “people”
[lprent: Off topic moved to OpenMike.
Hard to see why? ]
I certainly have concern for those who have died, and been injured. I am “out there” and was a little scared in the middle of the storm.
I have yet to see any comment from John Key about his electorate. i have seen comments and/or tweets from Len Brown & David Cunliffe during the afternoon. They are out here checking on people. I was not making that up. Check my link above to one of Cunliffe’s tweets.
Bomber Bradbury is banned, but Garth McVicar is not. What gives?
Susan Couch was the victim of a brutal assault eleven years ago, and it looks like she is now going to be compensated, at long last. Sounds like good news—until you realize that a particularly loathsome jackal has glommed onto her suffering, and milked it shamelessly for his own nefarious ends. I’m sure thousands of Jim’s listeners were dismayed and disgusted to hear Jim Mora interview, sympathetically, the head of the S.S. Trust, Garth “Mac the Knife” McVicar.
I sent Jim Mora the following e-mail….
Any decent organization would make Garth McVicar persona non grata
Dear Jim,
I am concerned to hear you giving a sympathetic forum to the S.S. Trust’s gruesome leader Garth McVicar. Martyn “Bomber” Bradbury was banned from your programme for daring to comment on the morals of a controversial politician; yet Garth McVicar seemingly has open access, no matter how brutal and vicious his statements.
You have repeatedly had Garth McVicar on The Panel and called him, absurdly, a “victims’ advocate”. I know that many, probably most, of your colleagues are appalled at this, yet you persist with it.
Perhaps you could explain on air one day why Bomber Bradbury is banned, yet Garth McVicar is not.
Myth: Auckland isn’t geographically suited to public transport.
I’m not sure where this myth even came from but if I had to guess, it would have been from the 50′s or 60′s, the same time that many of our transport myths originated from those looking to justify building the motorways instead of public transport. The theory goes that cities like Wellington are more suited to public transport, and in particular rail, due to the the geography largely forcing development into a couple of long thin corridors. As such, Auckland which extends out in all sorts of directions is said to be more suited to car based transport.
Great post pointing out how well Auckland is suited to PT.
Good post, DTB. Auckland can use a mixture of water, and land-based public transport. It’s a pity they never made a canal down by the Whau, from one harbour to the other.
Is there a meme developing about Russel Norman not caring about climate change? Where did it originate from?
It seems like a crude and obvious attempt to undercut his credibility – with Green Party members and with the wider public. And the timing of it seems odd: just as he’s getting a lot of notice for being an effective politician. Or is it just me?
I don’t dispute his commitment to climate change. But I am not very happy about the way he his treated these days as the sole leader of the Greens. I feel this undermines the way Turei is very good on social policies – it marginalises that aspect of the Green Party.
Good point. It’s a bit weird: they’re both commenting on areas the National Party are weak on – I’d expect them to both be getting reasonably equal amounts of traction in the media.
Any theories about the reasons behind the disparity?
It’s more likely that Russel Norman simply gets up the noses of the Nats more and they respond, which creates a story. Whereas the Nats try their hardest to ignore Turei, so there’s not so much controversy for the media to latch onto.
I don’t think there’s any bias within the Greens and the bias you see from the media is something the Greens have little control over. Personally I’m just glad the Greens are getting a little bit of media coverage, although I would like to see more focus of social and environmental issues than who will be the next Minister of Finance.
Jenny, a commenter here on the Standard, has been running that line about Norman for the past few weeks. She’s not getting much traction though. Haven’t seen it anywhere else. Where did you pick it up?
I saw Jenny’s comments earlier this week, and then I read The Jackal’s blog-post about ‘Russel Norman – Hero of the Week’. I wondered whether I was seeing the beginnings of a reputational attack, followed by some quickly deployed defence.
Looks like it might be a more isolated thing, though.
I’ve been meaning to write that post for a while. As far as I’m concerned there’s nothing to defend re Jenny’s comments about Russel Norman… They’re entirely ludicrous! Was it a coincidence that the good Doctor was making a speech about climate change on the same day Jenny was saying he never talks about it? Most definitely.
“The reality that New Zealand is actually a corrupt, polluted, tax haven – will be revealed at 11.30am, Friday 7 December 2012 at Sky City Convention Centre by ‘Anti-corruption’ – TPPA ‘stakeholder’ Penny Bright”.
Bright will give her presentation as a TPPA ‘stakeholder’ at Sky City, on Friday 7 December 2012 at 11.30am.
OrganisationWater Pressure Group / Anti-corruption campaigner
Would you like to make a formal presentation?
Yes
Please enter the indicative title of your proposed presentation:
The need for transparency, accountability, and an independent ‘cost-benefit’ analysis of the benefits of ‘free trade’ agreements such as the TPPA, and the need for a ‘corruption-risk’ assessment (particularly the form of grand corruption known as ‘State Capture’) for ‘free trade’ agreements such as the TPPA.
What areas of TPP are you interested in?
Affordable medicines, land, environment (particularly water services) , work rights, the rest of our economy, especially the finance sector, sovereignty. “
“I am really looking forward to giving this ‘whistle-blowing’ presentation, particularly since Transparency International has AGAIN ranked corrupt, polluted, tax haven New Zealand as the first equal ‘least corrupt country in the world’, according to their 2012 Corruption Perception Index.
An entirely predictable blog from journalist and blogger, Tim Watkin, on the debate about blogging vs journalism, focussing on the divergence of opinions about Gower’s (and other msm reportage) of events at the recent the Labour Party Conference.
What caught my eye was this comment:
…..But the complaints still sound disingenuous to me. As best as I can see, Cunliffe got played, out-manouvered. He had ambitions to challenge for the leadership come February. Rather than waiting like a turkey for Christmas, those opposed to him pre-empted the challenge. When Cunliffe was unwilling to say he’d back his leader in a vote in three months’ time, it became a story….
Only, if this was indeed what happened, (that Cunliffe got played), why is Watkins defending msm coverage that it was Cunliffe who tried (unsuccessfully) to ‘play’ the conference. Or are the facts not really as important to “real” journalists as Watkins is claiming in this blog?
Yep, js, that’s what struck me earlier today when I read it. Watkin claimed the MSM journalists go to great lengths to ensure they are not biased. Then he made exactly the point about the conference that many TS posters and commenters made – ie Cunliffe was taken out. So how come most journalists peddled the line that Cunliffe staged a coup? Does that not indicate a bias?
Also Watkin rejects the suggestion by Trotter and RedLogix, that journalists shouldn’t report anonymous comments from politicians. Watkin’s argument is that, it would mean no leaks from politicians…. duh? So what would be so wrong with that? Surely it’s the anonymous leaks from pollies that skewed the main narrative about Cunliffe staging a coup.
Also, Watkin seems to be assuming that many of us bloggers want to replace MSM journalists, or, at least, do journalism better than the MSM. No – many of us just want journalists to be more critical and fulfill their fourth estate role – not just push the current line that is circulating from leaky MPs and from press releases. At the moment, many of us see our role as one of holding the MSM to account.
Frankly I’m stunned at the shallowness of Watkins ‘deconstruction’.
All interviews must be on-the-record. Almost all are. But should a journalist be banned from following a lead gained in more casual conversation?
All interviews, it’s suggested, should be online. Which would mean newsrooms having to hire transcribers rather than more journalists.
Well actually what I had in mind was a simple audio/video recorder and then attached to the online version of the story as a file. No need for transcribers.
All reportage must be fact-checked. If only. The last fact-checkers were being laid off from the Heald when I began there 12 years ago. The few US media who still employ them are the exception. But does that mean they never err? No. Is it reasonable to expect journalists to check their own facts? usually, although a lack of resources and time creates limitations. Are stories still checked? Yes, subs, editors and producers all have such a role.
Well that’s a bad slip up. Watkins selectively quotes me which went on: “and/or open to a right of reply from any participant, person or party mentioned.” … again in an online environment a highly achievable goal without too much extra in the way of staff. And then he goes on to ignore my additional suggestion that journalists could easily lift their game by linking to their references …like bloggers routinely do. None of this is commercially unrealistic or onerous.
All professional and personal relationships must be declared. In which we move from ignorance to plain silliness. Conflicts of interest should be declared. But every relationship? How far does that go? Is it just for the gallery or for bloggers and those of us outside Wellington who cover politics? Is it family relationships, whether they’ve played rugby together or does the odd drink count? Should I declare that I once helped Grant Robertson pull a drunk guy out of an NZUSA conference? That Metiria Turei and Gerry Brownlee have both yelled at me? Should Trotter declare every politician he’s ever met? And would REDLOGIX him/herself adhere to that?
No journalist should be able to spend more than six years or 33% of their career in the gallery. Apart from the obvious nonsense of not being able to know how long a young reporter’s career will be, why show such little respect for experience and wisdom? It’s silliness piled on silliness.
Oh dear … strawman piled upon strawman. Everyone in public life knows exactly what ‘declaring your interests’ means. Relationships in which you have either a family, personal relationships (ie who you are sleeping with), business relationships or other plainly beneficial interests. In practise it’s not all that hard to get it right if you want to.
Ignored also is my suggestion that an online personal/professional bio is an entirely reasonably thing to ask of a professional. And by clinging to the outdated mode of thinking that print is primary, and that online is a secondary nuisance … Watkins has made a bunch of pretty elementary errors here.
Yes, it’s a weak defence by Watkin, RL. And I can’t believe he isn’t aware of how poor the NZ MSM and journalism actually is. I’m not peddling some theory of a deliberately orchestrated conspiracy – just aware of how biases and skewed stories can get accepted into the MSM.
Actually, interesting that Watkin made that point about fact checking. I was looking into that around the last time I did a post on the media. I knew facts often aren’t checked. This is a problem of the commercial imperative, keeping down costs etc. But, good journalism really does require fact checking. I don’t know how Watkin can claim journalist go out of their way to be non-biased, if they don’t check their facts.
I was trying to find evidence online of an occurrence a few years ago in Aussie. I saw the guys involved present a conference paper on it. Basically, as a kind of joke, a couple of guys published a story – false. It got picked up by the media. Once one outlet had repeated it, others followed, with none of them checking if it was real. This mis-information got widely circulated, all without the facts being checked. Eventually they had to come clean and say it wasn’t true.
Just shows how something like the content of the whispering campaign against Cunliffe can become accepted as true.
Listening to the alcohol debate in parliament today I keep hearing the same argument.
We must find a way to restrict access to alcohol for the poor, the young, and ethnic minorities because they can’t handle it, while maintaining or increasing access for people like me because we can.
This is indio music from Peru, there is heaps more. I will not bother to inundate. Maori are justified to take their stand, ideally they will connect with indeginous peoples all over the world.
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Happy New Year! No, experts are not concerned that “…one of New Zealand’s COIVD-1( vaccines will fail to protect the country” Here is why. But first I wish to issue an expletive about this journalism (First in Australia and then in NZ). It exhibits utter failure to actually truly consult ...
All nations have shadows; some acknowledge them. For others they shape their image in uncomfortable ways.The staunch Labour supporter was in despair at what her Rogernomics Government was doing. But she finished ‘at least, we got rid of Muldoon’, a response which tells us that then, and today, one’s views ...
Grigori GuitchountsIn November, Springer Nature, one of the world’s largest publishers of scientific journals, made an attention-grabbing announcement: More than 30 of its most prestigious journals, including the flagship Nature, will now allow authors to pay a fee of US$11,390 to make their papers freely available for anyone to read ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Gary Yohe, Henry Jacoby, Richard Richels, and Benjamin Santer Imagine a major climate change law passing the U.S. Congress unanimously? Don’t bother. It turns out that you don’t need to imagine it. Get this: The Global Change Research Act of 1990 was passed ...
“They’re here already! You’re next! You’re next! You’re next!”WHO CAN FORGET the penultimate scene of the 1956 movie classic, Invasion of the Body Snatchers? The wild-eyed doctor, stumbling down the highway, trying desperately to warn his fellow citizens: “They’re here already! You’re next! You’re next! You’re next!”Ostensibly science-fiction, the movie ...
TheOneRing.Net has got its paws on the official synopsis of the upcoming Amazon Tolkien TV series. It’s a development that brings to mind the line about Sauron deliberately releasing Gollum from the dungeons of Barad-dûr. Amazon knew exactly what they were doing here, in terms of drumming up publicity: ...
Since Dwight Eisenhower’s inauguration in 1953, US presidents have joined an informal club intended to provide support - and occasionally rivalry - between those few who have been ‘leaders of the free world’. Donald Trump, elected on a promise to ‘drain the swamp’ and a constant mocker of his predecessors, ...
For over a decade commentators have noted the rise of a new brand of explicitly ideological politics throughout the world. By this they usually refer to the re-emergence of national populism and avowedly illiberal approaches to governance throughout the “advanced” democratic community, but they also extend the thought to the ...
The US House of Representatives has just impeached Donald Trump, giving him the dubious honour of being the only US President to be impeached twice. Ten Republicans voted for impeachement, making it the most bipartisan impeachment ever. The question now is whether the Senate will rise to the occasion, and ...
Kieren Mitchell; Alice Mouton, Université de Liège; Angela Perri, Durham University, and Laurent Frantz, Ludwig Maximilian University of MunichThanks to the hit television series Game of Thrones, the dire wolf has gained a near-mythical status. But it was a real animal that roamed the Americas for at least 250,000 ...
Tide of tidal data rises Having cast our own fate to include rising sea level, there's a degree of urgency in learning the history of mean sea level in any given spot, beyond idle curiosity. Sea level rise (SLR) isn't equal from one place to another and even at a particular ...
Well, some of those chickens sure came home bigly, didn’t they… and proceeded to shit all over the nice carpet in the Capitol. What we were seeing here are societal forces that have long had difficulty trying to reconcile people to the “idea” of America and the reality of ...
In the wake of Donald Trump's incitement of an assault on the US capitol, Twitter finally enforced its terms of service and suspended his account. They've since followed that up with action against prominent QAnon accounts and Trumpers, including in New Zealand. I'm not unhappy with this: Trump regularly violated ...
Peter S. Ross, University of British ColumbiaThe Arctic has long proven to be a barometer of the health of our planet. This remote part of the world faces unprecedented environmental assaults, as climate change and industrial chemicals threaten a way of life for Inuit and other Indigenous and northern ...
Susan St John makes the case for taxing a deemed rate of return on excessive real estate holdings (after a family home exemption), to redirect scarce housing resources to where they are needed most. Read the full article here ...
I’m less than convinced by arguments that platforms like Twitter should be subject to common carrier regulation preventing them from being able to decide who to keep on as clients of their free services, and who they would not like to serve. It’s much easier to create competition for the ...
The hypocritical actions of political leaders throughout the global Covid pandemic have damaged public faith in institutions and governance. Liam Hehir chronicles the way in which contemporary politicians have let down the public, and explains how real leadership means walking the talk. During the Blitz, when German bombs were ...
Over the years, we've published many rebuttals, blog posts and graphics which came about due to direct interactions with the scientists actually carrying out the underlying research or being knowledgable about a topic in general. We'll highlight some of these interactions in this blog post. We'll start with two memorable ...
Yesterday we had the unseemly sight of a landleech threatening to keep his houses empty in response to better tenancy laws. Meanwhile in Catalonia they have a solution for that: nationalisation: Barcelona is deploying a new weapon in its quest to increase the city’s available rental housing: the power ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Jeff Masters, PhD The 2020 global wildfire season brought extreme fire activity to the western U.S., Australia, the Arctic, and Brazil, making it the fifth most expensive year for wildfire losses on record. The year began with an unprecedented fire event ...
NOTE: This is an excerpt from a digital story – read the full story here.Tess TuxfordKo te Kauri Ko Au, Ko te Au ko Kauri I am the kauri, the kauri is me Te Roroa proverb In Waipoua Forest, at the top of the North Island, New ...
Story of the Week... Toon of the Week... Coming Soon on SkS... Poster of the Week... SkS Week in Review... Story of the Week... Coming attraction: IPCC's upcoming major climate assessmentLook for more emphasis on 'solutions,' efforts by cities, climate equity ... and outlook for emissions cuts in ...
Ringing A Clear Historical Bell: The extraordinary images captured in and around the US Capitol Building on 6 January 2021 mirror some of the worst images of America's past.THERE IS A SCENE in the 1982 movie Missing which has remained with me for nearly 40 years. Directed by the Greek-French ...
To impact or not to impeach? I understand why some of those who are justifiably aghast at Trump’s behaviour over recent days might still counsel against impeaching him for a second time. To impeach him, they argue, would run the risk of making him a martyr in the eyes of ...
The Capitol Building, Washington DC, Wednesday, 6 January 2021. Oh come, my little one, come.The day is almost done.Be at my side, behold the sightOf evening on the land.The life, my love, is hardAnd heavy is my heart.How should I live if you should leaveAnd we should be apart?Come, let me ...
A chronological listing of news articles linked to on the Skeptical Science Facebook Page during the past week: Sun, Jan 3, 2021 through Sat, Jan 9, 2021Editor's ChoiceAfter the Insurrection: Accountability, Reform, and the Science of Democracy The poisonous lies and enablers of sedition--including Senator Hawley, pictured ...
This article, guest authored by Prof. Angela Gallego-Sala & Dr. Julie Loisel, was originally published on the Carbon Brief website on Dec 21, 2020. It is reposted below in its entirety. Click here to access the original article and comments. Peatlands Peatlands are ecosystems unlike any other. Perpetually saturated, their ...
The assault on the US Capitol and constitutional crisis that it has caused was telegraphed, predictable and yet unexpected and confusing. There are several subplots involved: whether the occupation of the Michigan State House in May was a trial run for the attacks on Congress; whether people involved in the ...
On Christmas Eve, child number 1 spotted a crack in a window. It’s a double-glazed window, and inspection showed that the small, horizontal crack was in the outermost pane. It was perpendicular to the frame, about three-quarters of the way up one side. The origins are a mystery. It MIGHT ...
Anne-Marie Broudehoux, Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM)Will the COVID-19 pandemic prompt a shift to healthier cities that focus on wellness rather than functional and economic concerns? This is a hypothesis that seems to be supported by several researchers around the world. In many ways, containment and physical distancing ...
Does the US need to strike a grand bargain with like-minded countries to pool their efforts? What does this tell us about today’s global politics? Perhaps the most remarkable editorial of last year was the cover leader of the London Economist on 19 November 2020. Shortly after Joe Biden was ...
Alexander Gillespie, University of Waikato and Valmaine Toki, University of WaikatoAotearoa New Zealand likes to think it punches above its weight internationally, but there is one area where we are conspicuously falling behind — the number of sites recognised by the UNESCO World Heritage Convention. Globally, there are 1,121 ...
A growing public housing waiting list and continued increase of house prices must be urgently addressed by Government, Green Party Co-leader Marama Davidson said today. ...
[Opening comments, welcome and thank you to Auckland University etc] It is a great pleasure to be here this afternoon to celebrate such an historic occasion - the entry into force of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons. This is a moment many feared would never come, but ...
The Government is providing $3 million in one-off seed funding to help disabled people around New Zealand stay connected and access support in their communities, Minister for Disability Issues, Carmel Sepuloni announced today. The funding will allow disability service providers to develop digital and community-based solutions over the next two ...
Border workers in quarantine facilities will be offered voluntary daily COVID-19 saliva tests in addition to their regular weekly testing, COVID-19 Response Minister Chris Hipkins said today. This additional option will be rolled out at the Jet Park Quarantine facility in Auckland starting on Monday 25 January, and then to ...
The next steps in the Government’s ambitious firearms reform programme to include a three-month buy-back have been announced by Police Minister Poto Williams today. “The last buy-back and amnesty was unprecedented for New Zealand and was successful in collecting 60,297 firearms, modifying a further 5,630 firearms, and collecting 299,837 prohibited ...
The Government has released its Public Housing Plan 2021-2024 which outlines the intention of where 8,000 additional public and transitional housing places announced in Budget 2020, will go. “The Government is committed to continuing its public house build programme at pace and scale. The extra 8,000 homes – 6000 public ...
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has congratulated President Joe Biden on his inauguration as the 46th President of the United States of America. “I look forward to building a close relationship with President Biden and working with him on issues that matter to both our countries,” Jacinda Ardern said. “New Zealand ...
A major investment to tackle wilding pines in Mt Richmond will create jobs and help protect the area’s unique ecosystems, Biosecurity Minister Damien O’Connor says. The Mt Richmond Forest Park has unique ecosystems developed on mineral-rich geology, including taonga plant species found nowhere else in the country. “These special plant ...
To further protect New Zealand from COVID-19, the Government is extending pre-departure testing to all passengers to New Zealand except from Australia, Antarctica and most Pacific Islands, COVID-19 Response Minister Chris Hipkins said today. “The change will come into force for all flights arriving in New Zealand after 11:59pm (NZT) on Monday ...
Bay Conservation Cadets launched with first intake Supported with $3.5 million grant Part of $1.245b Jobs for Nature programme to accelerate recover from Covid Cadets will learn skills to protect and enhance environment Environment Minister David Parker today welcomed the first intake of cadets at the launch of the Bay ...
The Prime Minister of New Zealand Jacinda Ardern and the Prime Minister of the Cook Islands Mark Brown have announced passengers from the Cook Islands can resume quarantine-free travel into New Zealand from 21 January, enabling access to essential services such as health. “Following confirmation of the Cook Islands’ COVID ...
Jobs for Nature funding is being made available to conservation groups and landowners to employ staff and contractors in a move aimed at boosting local biodiversity-focused projects, Conservation Minister Kiritapu Allan has announced. It is estimated some 400-plus jobs will be created with employment opportunities in ecology, restoration, trapping, ...
The Government has approved an exception class for 1000 international tertiary students, degree level and above, who began their study in New Zealand but were caught offshore when border restrictions began. The exception will allow students to return to New Zealand in stages from April 2021. “Our top priority continues ...
Today’s deal between Meridian and Rio Tinto for the Tiwai smelter to remain open another four years provides time for a managed transition for Southland. “The deal provides welcome certainty to the Southland community by protecting jobs and incomes as the region plans for the future. The Government is committed ...
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has appointed Anna Curzon to the APEC Business Advisory Council (ABAC). The leader of each APEC economy appoints three private sector representatives to ABAC. ABAC provides advice to leaders annually on business priorities. “ABAC helps ensure that APEC’s work programme is informed by business community perspectives ...
The Government’s prudent fiscal management and strong policy programme in the face of the COVID-19 global pandemic have been acknowledged by the credit rating agency Fitch. Fitch has today affirmed New Zealand’s local currency rating at AA+ with a stable outlook and foreign currency rating at AA with a positive ...
The Government is putting in place a suite of additional actions to protect New Zealand from COVID-19, including new emerging variants, COVID-19 Response Minister Chris Hipkins said today. “Given the high rates of infection in many countries and evidence of the global spread of more transmissible variants, it’s clear that ...
$36 million of Government funding alongside councils and others for 19 projects Investment will clean up and protect waterways and create local jobs Boots on the ground expected in Q2 of 2021 Funding part of the Jobs for Nature policy package A package of 19 projects will help clean up ...
The commemoration of the 175th anniversary of the Battle of Ruapekapeka represents an opportunity for all New Zealanders to reflect on the role these conflicts have had in creating our modern nation, says Associate Minister for Arts, Culture and Heritage Kiri Allan. “The Battle at Te Ruapekapeka Pā, which took ...
Babies born with tongue-tie will be assessed and treated consistently under new guidelines released by the Ministry of Health, Associate Minister of Health Dr Ayesha Verrall announced today. Around 5% to 10% of babies are born with a tongue-tie, or ankyloglossia, in New Zealand each year. At least half can ...
The prisoner disorder event at Waikeria Prison is over, with all remaining prisoners now safely and securely detained, Corrections Minister Kelvin Davis says. The majority of those involved in the event are members of the Mongols and Comancheros. Five of the men are deportees from Australia, with three subject to ...
Travellers from the United Kingdom or the United States bound for New Zealand will be required to get a negative test result for COVID-19 before departing, and work is underway to extend the requirement to other long haul flights to New Zealand, COVID-19 Response Minister Chris Hipkins confirmed today. “The new PCR test requirement, foreshadowed last ...
Seventy-five years after the US detonated the first nuclear tests in the Pacific, New Zealand pledges its support to Joe Biden's first tentative step towards disarmament. Today, the United Nations Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons comes into effect, making it illegal for New Zealand and the 50 other ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Peter Terry, Professor of Psychology, University of Southern Queensland The challenge of bringing the world’s best tennis players and support staff, about 1,200 people in all, from COVID-ravaged parts of the world to our almost pandemic-free shores was always going to be ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Geoffrey Browne, Research Fellow in International Urban Development, University of Melbourne The Victorian government has committed to removing 75 road/rail level crossings across Melbourne by 2025. That’s the fastest rate of removal in the city’s history. The scale of the investment — ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Richard Holden, Professor of Economics, UNSW In an age of hyperpartisan politics, the Biden presidency offers a welcome centrism that might help bridge the divides. But it is also Biden’s economic centrism that offers a chance to cut through what has become ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kate Stevens, Lecturer in History, University of Waikato In a year of surprises, one of the more pleasant was the recent runaway viral popularity of 19th century sea shanties on TikTok. A collaborative global response to pandemic isolation, it saw singers and ...
The sudden departure of Graine Moss from her Chief Executive role at Oranga Tamariki is a vital first step in a sequence of changes that must take place at the Ministry according to a group of wahine Māori leaders. Dame Naida Glavish, Dame Tariana Turia, ...
A new poem from Dunedin poet Jenny Powell.Her uncle’s eyeShe introduced us to her uncle’s eye floating in a jar.Lost in an accident, he hadn’t wanted to lose it again. He left it to her in his will.We must have looked shocked. ‘Don’t worry,’ she said. ‘I turn him to ...
The chief executive of Oranga Tamariki is quitting, leaving behind an agency she’s admitted suffers from structural racism. Justin Giovannetti looks at the future of Oranga Tamariki.Grainne Moss’s tenure as head of Oranga Tamariki has been untenable since November when the government’s senior Māori minister wouldn’t express any confidence in ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Christopher Sainsbury, Senior Lecturer Composition, Australian National University Despite having different cultural backgrounds and experiences — Indigenous composers with an Indigenous mentor, and a pianist descended from Anglo-colonial history — it is nevertheless possible to create a project that can serve as ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michael Plank, Professor in Applied Mathematics, University of Canterbury With new, more infectious variants of COVID-19 detected around the world, and at New Zealand’s border, the risk of further level 3 or 4 lockdowns is increased if those viruses get into the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Rachel Hogg, Lecturer in Psychology, Charles Sturt University Horse racing is an ethical hotbed in Australia. The Melbourne Cup alone has seen seven horses die after racing since 2013, and animal cruelty protesters have become a common feature at carnivals. The latest ...
Right now, our most fiery national debate is over whether New Zealanders were nice to the singer Amanda Palmer in a café. Desperate to restore peace in our nation, Hayden Donnell went in search of the truth.Joe Biden had barely finished calling for unity when Amanda Palmer posted a tweet ...
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.AUCKLAND1 When We Cease to Understand the World by Benjamin Labatut (Pushkin Press, $37)Maths, cyanide, suicide, gardening; ye ...
Wellington artist Estère isn’t just breaking boundaries, she’s dissecting them. Maddi Rowe spoke to her about her new album, Archetypes.“That’s the story of pelicans, they’ll stab themselves in the heart to feed their young.”Despite the somewhat dark subject matter, Estère Dalton’s eyes sparkle with fascination. We’ve met to discuss Archetypes, ...
Cycling advocates are welcoming new advice from the Transport Agency on safe cycling. "Cyclists hate it when drivers pass too close. That's scary and dangerous," said Patrick Morgan from Cycling Action Network. "So it's encouraging to see ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Tilman Ruff, Honorary Principal Fellow, School of Population and Global Health, University of Melbourne Today, many around the world will celebrate the first multilateral nuclear disarmament treaty to enter into force in 50 years. The UN Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear ...
The Public Service Association welcomes the creation of a Chief Executive role to lead the public service’s pay equity work, and the appointment of Grainne Moss to this position. "Unions and public service employers are currently working ...
The Council of Trade Unions is warning that the Consumer Price Index (CPI) figures out today illustrate that the cost of living is increasing disproportionately for those on lower incomes; resulting in the poor getting poorer. CTU Economist Craig ...
Why are there so many offensive comments on the New Zealand Police Facebook page and are they breaking the law? Janaye Henry investigates. New Zealand Police Facebook pages – there are a number of them, for different regional police districts around the country – are an interesting place to spend ...
Our guide to stopping procrastinating and actually (finally) getting on top of investing. Because there’s a good chance that if you’re reading this, you don’t know a single thing about it.In part one, we covered some of the basic things you need to know about investing – why do it? ...
Children’s Commissioner Andrew Becroft acknowledges the huge effort and commitment of departing Oranga Tamariki Chief Executive Grainne Moss and says her decision to resign today was principled. “The issues facing Oranga Tamariki are beyond individual ...
Analysis by Keith Rankin. Two Large Waves versus One Tsunami. Chart by Keith Rankin. Two Large Waves versus One Tsunami. Chart by Keith Rankin. With Covid19, Italy shows the classic European pattern, with its early outbreak, substantial recovery thanks to lockdowns and other public health measures, and resurgence thanks to complacency ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Gabrielle Appleby, Professor, UNSW Law School, UNSW This year has already seen significant progress in the government’s commitment to establish a body – a “Voice” – that would allow Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people to have a say when the government ...
Northland farmer Derek Robinson was sentenced earlier today by the District Court in Whangarei for two offences of ill-treating animals at rodeo events. Mr Robinson was found guilty in November last year, following a defended hearing. The charges ...
Under fire Oranga Tamariki chief executive Grainne Moss has announced she will resign, effective February 28, Marc Daalder reports After four and a half years at the helm of child protection agency Oranga Tamariki, chief executive Grainne Moss has announced she will be leaving the position at the end of ...
The Department of Internal Affairs and New Zealand Police acknowledge the sentencing of 36-year-old Aaron Joseph Hutton on charges relating to the possession of child sexual exploitation material, and entering into a dealing involving the sexual exploitation ...
Ngā Tāngata Microfinance (NTM) is calling for tougher penalties for those caught promoting pyramid schemes. Such business models are illegal under the Fair Trading Act 1986. This call comes after the Commerce Commission issued a ‘stop now’ notice ...
British High Commissioner to New Zealand Laura Clarke is calling on young women aged 17 to 25 to apply for the annual ‘Be British High Commissioner for the Day’ competition. The winner will have the opportunity to become an ‘honorary High Commissioner’, ...
The Māori Party is welcoming the resignation of Oranga Tamariki chief executive Grainne Moss after sustained pressure from leading figures within the Māori Party. This resignation is the result of the continued strong pressure of the Māori Party ...
In a historic corner of Dunedin, startup culture is thriving. Catherine McGregor visited the city’s Warehouse Precinct to meet the people driving the movement. When Jason and Kate Lindsey bought the four storey building now known as Petridish, it was an absolute wreck. Once home to a thriving hat and textiles ...
Summer reissue: The Fold’s very first guest is back to tell Duncan Greive how she pulled off the media deal of the year.The chaotic couple of weeks which finally saw the end of the Stuff-NZME saga were riveting and strange, replete with stock exchange announcements, legal challenges and finally the ...
Chris Liddell has dropped his candidacy to become director-general of the Paris-based OECD. Without support from the Ardern government and vilified in the media as somehow being involved in the encouragement by Donald Trump of the Washington riots, he plainly saw he had little chance of crowning his stellar career ...
Tara Ward hands out her first impression roses as she dives deep into the sea of single men vying to win The Bachelorette NZ’s heart. While the world burns in a searing fireball of unpredictability, we can take comfort in the fact that some things never change. The heart still yearns, ...
People from all around New Zealand will be converging on the super-secret Waihopai satellite interception spybase, in Marlborough, on Saturday January 30th. ...
In its Thursday editorial the NZ Herald speaks an important truth: “Investment important to stay on track”. This won’t have startled its more literate readers but in its text it notes the strong result in the latest Global Dairy Trade auction, which prompted Westpac to raise its forecast for dairy ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Craig Mark, Professor, Faculty of International Studies, Kyoritsu Women’s University With the spread of COVID-19 steadily worsening in Japan since the onset of winter — daily records for infections and deaths continue to be broken — the fate of the Tokyo Summer ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Adam Taylor, Early Career Research Leader, Emerging Viruses, Inflammation and Therapeutics Group, Menzies Health Institute Queensland, Griffith University All eyes are on COVID-19 vaccines, with Australia’s first expected to be approved for use shortly. But their development in record time, without compromising ...
Yesterday’s government announcement on new state housing is a pathetic response to the biggest housing crisis in New Zealand since the 1940s. At a time when the country needs an industrial-scale state house building programme, the government ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Obadiah Mulder, PhD Candidate in Computational Biology, University of Southern California Australia is in the midst of tropical cyclone season. As we write, a cyclone is forming off Western Australia’s Pilbara coast, and earlier in the week Queenslanders were bracing for a ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Lynette Vernon, School of Education – VC Research Fellow, Edith Cowan University When the holidays end, barring a fresh outbreak of COVID-19, teenagers across Australia will head back to school. Some will bounce out of bed well before the alarm goes off, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Richard Holden, Professor of Economics, UNSW In an age of hyperpartisan politics, the Biden presidency offers a welcome centrism that might help bridge the divides. But it is also Biden’s economic centrism that offers a chance to cut through what has become ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Gary Mortimer, Professor of Marketing and Consumer Behaviour, Queensland University of Technology Twenty years ago, on January 25 2001, a virtually unknown German supermarket chain quietly opened its first stores in Australia. The two stores – one in Sydney’s inner-west suburb of ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Liz Giuffre, Senior Lecturer in Communication, University of Technology Sydney Bluey is easily the most successful Australian television show of the last decade. A record-breaking success for its local broadcaster the ABC, as well as production partners BBC Studios and Screen Australia, ...
*This article first appeared on RNZ and is republished with permissionIt will take $3 million to clean up 1 million litres of abandoned toxic waste from a property in Ruakaka - three times more than the last big chemical clean-up undertaken by government agencies A two-year mission to clean up 1 million ...
*This article first appeared on RNZ and is republished with permission. The action Biden took on just his first afternoon in office demonstrates a radical shift in priority for the US when it comes to its efforts to combat the climate crisis. It could put more pressure on New Zealand to step up. ...
Ban Bomb Day event at the New Brighton Pier, 9am, on January 22nd, 2021 January 22nd, 2021, marks the first day the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) Enters into Force and becomes international law. Aotearoa NZ is one of the ...
This week's biggest-selling New Zealand books, as recorded by the Nielsen BookScan New Zealand bestseller list and described by Steve BrauniasFICTION 1 Tell Me Lies by J.P. Pomare (Hachette, $29.99) Every January, there's a new best-selling crime thriller by the New Zealand-born author who lives in Melbourne. Pomare is ...
Our approach so far in trying to end what Dr Collin Tukuitonga describes as a 'racist' disease - rheumatic fever - has not worked. It's time we try something new, he writes. Acute rheumatic fever and the rheumatic heart disease it causes, long-known as a disease of poverty, is a blight on ...
New Zealand triple-code star, Anna Harrison, can't stop returning to the courts - whether it's netball or beach volleyball. She tells Ashley Stanley what keeps drawing her back. The day before Anna Harrison leaps back into netball, she will have one more hit-out at another of her favourite old sports ...
The lights are burning into the night at the New York Yacht Club's America's Cup base as they race to fix their damaged boat. And Suzanne McFadden discovers something surprising may emerge. Out of American Magic’s calamity may come opportunity - for even more speed. While the lights burn bright ...
New to sailing? With the Prada Cup resuming this weekend, here’s how to bluff your way into sounding like a pro. When I was 10, my mum made my brother and I join the local sailing club. It was a favourite pastime of families in Kerikeri, and my brother was actually ...
A formal complaint to the UN, signed by a NZ Muslim group, says France’s Islamophobic laws and policies are entrenching discrimination and breaching human rights laws. The Khadija Leadership Network has joined a global coalition of Muslim organisations to formally complain about the French government’s systemic entrenchment of Islamophobia and discrimination against ...
Summer reissue: Join Michèle A’Court, Alex Casey, Leonie Hayden and a lineup of incredibly successful New Zealand women as they confront their imposter syndrome once and for all. First published 20 October, 2020. Independent journalism depends on you. Help us stay curious in 2021. The Spinoff’s journalism is funded by its members ...
With criticism from National piling on over the property market, the prime minister has detailed when the government will make housing announcements. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Marco Rizzi, Senior Lecturer in Law, University of Western Australia Some Australians could be receiving a COVID-19 vaccine within weeks. Amid the continued spread of the virus and emergence of highly contagious variants, the federal government has accelerated the start of the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Euan Ritchie, Professor in Wildlife Ecology and Conservation, Centre for Integrative Ecology, School of Life & Environmental Sciences, Deakin University Australia’s Threatened Species Strategy — a five-year plan for protecting our imperilled species and ecosystems — fizzled to an end last year. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Arosha Weerakoon, Lecturer, General Dentist & PhD Candidate, The University of Queensland Baby teeth, or milk teeth, act like lighthouses to guide the adult ones to their correct destination. A baby tooth will become wobbly and fall out because the adult tooth ...
Business is Boring is a weekly podcast series presented by The Spinoff in association with Callaghan Innovation. Host Simon Pound speaks with innovators and commentators focused on the future of New Zealand. This week he’s joined by Simon Coley, co-founder of All Good and Karma Drinks.Bananas are one of the ...
Tackling topics such as rugby and body image, Stuff’s latest podcast shines a much-needed light on Aotearoa’s complex relationship with masculinity, writes Trevor McKewen, author of the book Real Men Wear Black.I wasn’t sure what to think when two episodes of the new local podcast He’ll Be Right landed in ...
The Rainforest Alliance reveals that 68%* of Kiwis say the COVID-19 pandemic has made them more conscious about environmental and social sustainability issues. Seventy two percent* state that they have been trying to make more sustainable purchasing ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Tama Leaver, Professor of Internet Studies, Curtin University The inventor of the World Wide Web, Tim Berners-Lee, has raised concerns that Australia’s proposed News Media and Digital Platforms Mandatory Bargaining Code could fundamentally break the internet as we know it. His concerns ...
ANALYSIS:By Scott Lucas, University of Birmingham Politics doesn’t have to be a raging fire destroying everything in its path Two weeks after the storming of the US Capitol by the followers of his predecessor, in the middle of an out-of-control pandemic that has killed more than 400,000 ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kate Cantrell, Lecturer, Creative Writing & English Literature, University of Southern Queensland Described as “the world’s greatest storyteller”, Roald Dahl is frequently ranked as the best children’s author of all time by teachers, authors and librarians. However, the new film adaptation of ...
Peak housing body, Community Housing Aotearoa (CHA) welcomes the updated Public Housing Plan announced today by Minister Woods, and the commitment by this Government to fix New Zealand’s housing crisis. The 8,000 additional homes are a significant ...
Having recently walked much of the South Island stretch of Te Araroa, Kirsten O’Regan reflects on the magnificent landscapes and interesting characters she encountered along the way.On our 36th day of walking, we climb through the fire-blackened hills above Ohau, stopping to examine heat-disfigured trail markers. Fresh green shoots have ...
Miss Torta in central Auckland is putting the spotlight on a snack that’s commonplace in Mexico, but until now relatively unknown in New Zealand.You’ve heard of a torta, but what is it, exactly? Well, depending on the cuisine it can mean a flatbread, cake, tart, sweet pie, savoury pie or ...
NZ Perceived least corrupt 2012
What a great word to use when trying to fill peoples heads with nonsense..
I reckon people are seeing through it these days!
That’s actually scary. The corruption in NZ over the last few years has been of the in our face, don’t care variety and yet still people think we’re the least corrupt?
/facepalm
yes Draco knows much better than those silly fools at the international organisation who utilise their expertise and training in a transparent fashion.
I mean what do these idiots know?
http://www.transparency.org/whoweare/organisation/board_of_directors/1/
Draco’s knows best.
(p.s The report say’s NZ is least corrupt – not that there is no corruption)
Well I think the finding is highly questionable… Not only was the Serious Fraud Office predicting a huge increase in serious fraud cases, New Zealand has become one of the worlds favourite places for tax evaders to hide their ill-gotten gains.
We also have a largely ineffective system to address various types of fraud and you would be hard pressed to find anybody who hasn’t been affected. Not to mention that this is meant to be an annual report that actually gets trotted out around three or four times a year or whenever National needs some good news.
PS the report says we’re PERCEIVED to be least corrupt not that we are actually least corrupt. So a perception from various institutes with a vested interest and academics from other countries or a perception from New Zealanders… Take your pick.
“Not only was the Serious Fraud Office predicting a huge increase in serious fraud cases”
Fraud =/= corruption
Seriously, if you want to know what proper corruption looks like spend sometime in South Africa. I have spent a lot of time there and have witnessed first hand what institutional corruption looks like and NZ doesn’t have it.
Yes! Fraud is a type of corruption TheContrarian. I’m sure you’re right that South Africa has a lot of corruption, but unless corruption has become a lot worse in other countries at a time corruption in New Zealand has become worse according to the Serious Fraud Office, the perception index is wrong! To argue that NZ doesn’t have any institutional corruption is naive.
This is true, but the survey is of perceptions in relation to other countries.
So rewriting the tax codes to some of the lowest levels in the world is unethical, but as long as the majority of people paid the legally required amount, it’s not “corrupt”.
Whether NZ is more corrupt than it once was is not the metric of the survey.
So the metric of the survey is whether people can be duped into thinking New Zealand is the least corrupt country 🙂 Glad we figured that one out.
Well, it might actually be less corrupt than, e.g. Aus, Greece, Russia or the US.
Whether that means we have an objectively honest population is another matter entirely. But at least we’re not as bad as the French.
In comparison to most countries NZ does not have a problem with institutional corruption.
100% honest compared to other countries.
Here’s some facts from actual research TheContrarian, perhaps you might like to try it yourself sometime:
4% of NZ’ers admit paying a bribe to win business (c.f. 0% Denmark; 1% UK; 2% Australia)
Only 44% of NZX top 50 companies have anti-bribery policies (c.f. 72% UK; 69% USA; 50% Europe)
73% NZ’ers believe corruption is increasing
Despite these numbers that show New Zealand shouldn’t be perceived as the least corrupt country in the world, the actual mechanism of institutional corruption is very hard to quantify, and other studies have found that corrupt, fraudulent, coercive or collusive practices in New Zealand are endemic within our institutional arrangements.
This being the case, and making note of what the actual research shows, I would have to say you’re categorically wrong TheContrarian… But what else is new?
Jackal, all your figures show is that New Zealanders do a lot of business in corrupt countries – I would assume China, Indonesia, and the koha cultures of the Pacific would feature heavily. Not the same thing as New Zealand being particularly corrupt at all. At least that’s what I’m assuming as you haven’t bothered to link to any site that will tell me the context for the data, or even whether you just pulled those numbers out of your arse or not. Cite sources please.
“I would have to say you’re categorically wrong TheContrarian”
Well Jackal I suggest you also send your figures to transparency.org and let them know how wrong they are.
“73% NZ’ers believe corruption is increasing ”
Argumentum ad populum. Logical fallacy.
And yes, sources please.
@Felix:
“100% honest compared to other countries.”
Well yes, it is a comparative scale and no where do they, or I, suggest there is zero corruption in NZ.
“Argumentum ad populum. Logical fallacy.”
Doesn’t that apply to the whole thing though? Seeing as it’s only measuring “perceived” corruption?
Not really, you wouldn’t say because 98% of climatologists agree in Global Warming it is an Argumentum ad populum.
To say “73% NZ’ers believe corruption is increasing” therefore NZ is corrupt is an Argumentum ad populum.
It is the same as saying most of the population believes in some sort of god therefore god exists.
(Though I see your point)
Perhaps I’ve misunderstood what they’re describing.
I thought “perceived” referred to the perceptions of ordinary people as measured by corruption experts, as opposed to the perceptions of the corruption experts themselves.
Lets put it this way
A comparative study which publicly announces it’s methodology, results and is considered to be relatively accurately in its representation of real world corruption is much less of an argumentum ad populum than Jackal arguing the study is bunk because 76% of NZer’s said so.
What does “perception” mean?
Hard.
Well, whatever.
I’ll throw my lot in with with well know and well respected international metrics which can be fairly well applied in the real world over Jackal and his unsourced statistics.
Sure, although I don’t actually see a contradiction between those two claims.
i.e. we can be perceived as being less corrupt than others while also perceiving ourselves becoming more corrupt than we were.
Measuring two completely different things, innit.
innit indeed.
And whatever is or isn’t wrong with the 76% stat, you can’t really call it a popularity fallacy, when what you are seeking to find is a perception, even if you do put it in fucking latin.
if what your looking for is a perception, then ‘what people reckon’ is what you are looking for. To call that a fallacy would be a category error of some sort.
This might be news to you Populuxe1, but New Zealand companies do a lot of business within New Zealand. The research would be similar to the percentage difference between foreign business and local business. I believe local trade still makes up the biggest contributor to our GDP.
The statistical source is the Serious Fraud Office. There is other relevant research that backs up my argument btw. Instead of just being a couple of opinionated wankers TheContrarian and Populuxe1, why don’t you look into the matter yourselves?
Claiming that these figures should be sent to transparency.org is entirely stupid. Any research agency would be well versed in such information, and as McFlock succinctly points out it’s a perception index, not the reality of corruption within New Zealand.
If you don’t believe the opinion of the masses is correct, you must also be arguing against a majority voting in a government TheContrarian. Anti-democratic much?
You might note that the figures above the 73% of New Zealanders believing corruption is increasing ie 4% admitting paying bribes and 44% anti-bribery policies, is not Argumentum ad populum. Interesting that the research backs up the New Zealand public perception eh!
Yeah, yeah. Possibly a deliberate and misleading point at which to cut the quoted text, but hey.
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/greece-most-corrupt-eu-country-survey-reveals-8386456.html
Jeebers. Any ladies thinking of voting National should probably have a squiz at this thread and see what they really think of you: http://www.kiwiblog.co.nz/2012/12/men_only_clubs.html
Troglodytes.
http://redwing.hutman.net/~mreed/warriorshtm/troglodyte.htm
Couldn’t bring myself to read the comments at KB, but I have to say that I’m in two minds about men’s clubs. I think it’s fine for different genders to have their own spaces (I’ve worked in feminist collectives where men are not allowed). The problem with men’s clubs historically is that they’ve been the bastions of the old boys who have been running the show and not willing to share that power and privilege with anyone else – hence the original challenges about membership. I’m guessing that women moving in those circles of power needed membership in order to make headway. The problem now is that they’re like to become bastions of the remnants of the old boy’s networks and/or repositories for the misogyny that’s no longer acceptable in open society (think men’s rights groups also).
Not sure what the solution is there, but the law firm in question, if it had any sense of anything, would hold the party somewhere else.
Trust me weka, most of the comments had very little to do with men’s clubs.
And yep, the issue is with the attitude of the Law Society, not with the rules of the club.
I had to give up.
There is only so much ‘sex advice for Pete George from someone dumber than Pete Geroge’ I can take.
But there were lolz.
Oh come on, you have to link to that now Pb.
It all starts about half way through the thread felix linked to.
You were warned. *shudders*
The difference between left and right is quite substantial. This is reflected in the nature of commenting between the standard and kiwiblog. People may appear roughly the same and live in the same types of houses and lead similar lives, but their underlying philosophies and approaches to life are often at opposite and extreme ends of the spectrum. A bit like how two seemingly similar people can live in the same street yet one believes in eternal life and one doesn’t – can’t get more extreme ends of outlook than that.
What would be interesting is to post the same subject on each site at the same time and see how different the comment streams are. And the one linked to by Felix would be a great one to try it out on.
Done…. Apart from the same time part.
You mean i didn’t go far enough last time ? Aaaaahhhgggggg.
I read a few comments. They don’t seem to get the difference between a single sex sports club or gym and that of an occupational group: the Law Society.
Well, it looks as though the spam filter at work has a low tolerence for troglodytes:
Access to http://www.kiwiblog.co.nz has been restricted.
Reason: Based on a content scan of this URL, it is suspected this site may contain offensive material.
URL: http://www.kiwiblog.co.nz/2012/12/men_only_clubs.html
LOL! Good job. Doubly funny because Farrar often gets on his high horse about sites that are blocked… Now he can add Kiwibog to the list.
Great to see on DF some of the RW trolls seen here FTTT. It is a good thing to have DF’s blog – gives the blowflies a place to hover and deposit.
Pablo on Dear Leader.
If Mr. Key is not clueless on intelligence and security matters, then the “spy” plane response and his other actions show that along with being contemptuous of those who may seek to hold him to account, he is arrogant, irresponsible, disloyal, mean-spirited and vindictive as well. To which can be added one more trait that has emerged in Mr. Key as of late: callous narcissism.
http://www.kiwipolitico.com/2012/12/familiarity-becomes-contempt/
.
Draco is right above in that corruption is the in your face don’t care type.
Perfect example – get Wyatt Creech, an owner in the dairy industry, to write a fucking bullshit report on the state of water regs in Canterbury and use that to claim that democracy itself needs to be ripped out so the lying dirty business farming pricks who couldn’t achieve their business greed through usual business and democratic processes simply thieve what they want. All the while claiming it is something other than that.
Corrupt.
Liars and thieves – the farmers, the national government, David Carter, Nick Smith, Wyatt Creech, Amy Adams.
They should all just fuck off to Zimbabwe
What is John Key, Prime Minister of the purportedly (first equal) ‘least corrupt country in the world’ going to do about this one?
WILL NZ PRIME MINISTER STAND DOWN JOHN BANKS AS MINISTER – WHEN BANKS APPEARS IN THE WELLINGTON DISTRICT COURT ON 11 DECEMBER 2012 TO FACE A PRIVATE PROSECUTION FOR ALLEGED ELECTORAL FRAUD?
http://www.nbr.co.nz/article/peters-powerless-jettison-horan-parliament-academic-dw-133495#comment-598400
MY COMMENT – yet to be published:
What is NZ Prime Minister John Key going to do when his MMP coalition partner, ACT Leader and MP for Epsom, John Banks, Minister for Small Business and Regulatory Reform, and Associate Minister for Education and Commerce, appears in the Wellington District on Tuesday 11 December 2012 at 1.45pm to face a private prosecution alleging electoral fraud?
Is he going to, as a first step, stand John Banks down as a Minister?
If a Wellington District Court Judge believes there is arguably a case for John Banks to answer – or a summons would not have been issued.
Or is NZ Prime Minister John Key going to continue to defend the indefensible, and politically protect John Banks?
Penny Bright
‘Anti-corruption campaigner’
http://www.dodgyjohnhasgone.com
Farmers should oppose fracking
The potential for fracking to pollute pasture and water supplies in Taranaki isn’t just speculation… Documented evidence shows that fracking fluid blow-down pits at the Kapuni site had polluted the groundwater which was no longer fit for human or stock consumption. The BETX (benzene, ethylbenzene, toluene and xylenes) contaminated water also didn’t meet the criteria for irrigation, meaning it was highly toxic.
Of course Shell Todd Oil Services, which owns Kapuni, and the complicit regional council say there’s no link with the fracking that’s occurred in the area and the groundwater contamination, however BETX has been regularly used in fracking around Taranaki and there’s no other explanation for it to be found in the groundwater other than unsafe storage of well fluids in fracking blow-down pits.
And http://tvnz.co.nz/national-news/disbelief-120-cows-drop-dead-5265162
“No Evidence Fracking harms ground water” …. yeah right M8!
Ha! Nothing to do with fracking, the water was contaminated in the tank it was being held in, which had been previously used for mixing liquid fertiliser.
Yeah heard that , didn’t strike me as being true, calling vets, good looking animals and he couldn’t be bothered cleaning his water tanker?
More likely he got the water from a local stream…
Seems its not the fert. But it’s a safe bet it was something in the water. And something pretty potent, at that. Hopefully its not another farmer family jealousy case and just misadventure.
True, it’ll be interesting to see the analysis of the water.
Jackal. Cue for some dissidents=
“The existence of fracking is all David Shearer’s fault. Why didn’t he stop fracking!!!” 👿
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e1S_vA0ougg
R.I.P Dave. Thanks for the link geoff.
Thanks geoff. Forever a classic!
Within the last hour there was a sudden loud thunder clap right above, that made me jump – freaky! Now reports are coming in of storm damage out here in west Auckland, including a tornado not far away in the Hobsonville area.
It seems to be clearing now, with all OK where I am….. but it was pretty scary for a moment. I hope people in the storm damage areas are doing OK.
Now we have reports of fatalities, with warnings to stay indoors, maybe more stormy weather about to hit.
Cunliffe tweet about his west Auckland staff:
Deeply concerned by tornado and injury reports in West Auckland. My staff can pass damage reports to Civil Defence. Phone (09) 827 3062.
Today in history: 1st Labour Government takes office, 6 December 1935.
Ummm some kind of bug showing up in the Cloudflare feature
On a couple of webkit renderer browsers (ie Chrome and Rekong) I started getting jams on loading images – probably a advertising image.
Turned the feature off as it is both beta and doesn’t really seem to speed the page loads.
Russel Norman – Hero of the Week
There’s no question that Dr Norman articulates himself well and is as dedicated as they come to a future government that will reduce GHG emissions to protect our environment. In fact his ability in the house to show National up for their environmental failures is second to none…
Our PM’s electorate!!!! Thankfully he’s never there, he could have been injured!
[lprent: Off topic moved to OpenMike. ]
“A spokeswoman for Prime Minister John Key – the MP for Helensville, which includes Hobsonville – said he is being kept informed of the situation.
“Emergency services are currently responding. People are being advised to remain indoors and to avoid the area, if possible.”
She added: “The Prime Minister will continue to assess the situation as information becomes available throughout the day.”
Later the PM called for a map and was shown where Hobsonville is.
“Oh” he said” I rememebr now, I used to go to the hot pools at paratai when I was a kid.”
[lprent: Off topic moved to OpenMike. ]
Meanwhile, David Cunliffe MP for New Lynn, having checked his own electorate, rather than return to Parliament, is heading out west to check the PM’s electorate for him.
Oh dear, you’ve upset the baby farmer.
Thanks, Lynn. I was thinking to try to do that myself, but was a bit nervous I’d do some damage.
I don’t think the last two comments are in good taste, people have died out there, show just a little humanity, you are meant to be Left and for the “people”
[lprent: Off topic moved to OpenMike.
Hard to see why? ]
Fuck off Raymond, tracey was simply passing comment on the laziness of a politician.
You, on the other hand, are trying to politicise a tragedy.
I’m not sure what the baby farmer comment meant.
I certainly have concern for those who have died, and been injured. I am “out there” and was a little scared in the middle of the storm.
I have yet to see any comment from John Key about his electorate. i have seen comments and/or tweets from Len Brown & David Cunliffe during the afternoon. They are out here checking on people. I was not making that up. Check my link above to one of Cunliffe’s tweets.
Tony doesn’t like people saying mean things about jonky
http://keepingstock.blogspot.co.nz/2012/12/setting-low-standard.html
Bomber Bradbury is banned, but Garth McVicar is not. What gives?
Susan Couch was the victim of a brutal assault eleven years ago, and it looks like she is now going to be compensated, at long last. Sounds like good news—until you realize that a particularly loathsome jackal has glommed onto her suffering, and milked it shamelessly for his own nefarious ends. I’m sure thousands of Jim’s listeners were dismayed and disgusted to hear Jim Mora interview, sympathetically, the head of the S.S. Trust, Garth “Mac the Knife” McVicar.
I sent Jim Mora the following e-mail….
Any decent organization would make Garth McVicar persona non grata
Dear Jim,
I am concerned to hear you giving a sympathetic forum to the S.S. Trust’s gruesome leader Garth McVicar. Martyn “Bomber” Bradbury was banned from your programme for daring to comment on the morals of a controversial politician; yet Garth McVicar seemingly has open access, no matter how brutal and vicious his statements.
You have repeatedly had Garth McVicar on The Panel and called him, absurdly, a “victims’ advocate”. I know that many, probably most, of your colleagues are appalled at this, yet you persist with it.
Perhaps you could explain on air one day why Bomber Bradbury is banned, yet Garth McVicar is not.
Yours sincerely,
Morrissey Breen
Northcote Point
Myth Busting: Aucklands Geography
Great post pointing out how well Auckland is suited to PT.
Good post, DTB. Auckland can use a mixture of water, and land-based public transport. It’s a pity they never made a canal down by the Whau, from one harbour to the other.
NOAA has released the 2012 Arctic report card.
ffs. in one of the pdf docs, it looks like the max volume of winter ice (2012) now more or less equals what used to be the summer min (2007).
Is there a meme developing about Russel Norman not caring about climate change? Where did it originate from?
It seems like a crude and obvious attempt to undercut his credibility – with Green Party members and with the wider public. And the timing of it seems odd: just as he’s getting a lot of notice for being an effective politician. Or is it just me?
Not seen anything credible on it.
I don’t dispute his commitment to climate change. But I am not very happy about the way he his treated these days as the sole leader of the Greens. I feel this undermines the way Turei is very good on social policies – it marginalises that aspect of the Green Party.
Hi karol,
Good point. It’s a bit weird: they’re both commenting on areas the National Party are weak on – I’d expect them to both be getting reasonably equal amounts of traction in the media.
Any theories about the reasons behind the disparity?
It’s more likely that Russel Norman simply gets up the noses of the Nats more and they respond, which creates a story. Whereas the Nats try their hardest to ignore Turei, so there’s not so much controversy for the media to latch onto.
I don’t think there’s any bias within the Greens and the bias you see from the media is something the Greens have little control over. Personally I’m just glad the Greens are getting a little bit of media coverage, although I would like to see more focus of social and environmental issues than who will be the next Minister of Finance.
Jenny, a commenter here on the Standard, has been running that line about Norman for the past few weeks. She’s not getting much traction though. Haven’t seen it anywhere else. Where did you pick it up?
Hi weka,
I saw Jenny’s comments earlier this week, and then I read The Jackal’s blog-post about ‘Russel Norman – Hero of the Week’. I wondered whether I was seeing the beginnings of a reputational attack, followed by some quickly deployed defence.
Looks like it might be a more isolated thing, though.
I’ve been meaning to write that post for a while. As far as I’m concerned there’s nothing to defend re Jenny’s comments about Russel Norman… They’re entirely ludicrous! Was it a coincidence that the good Doctor was making a speech about climate change on the same day Jenny was saying he never talks about it? Most definitely.
http://www.pundit.co.nz/content/bloggers-v-journalists-why-cant-we-all-get-along
An entirely predictable blog from journalist and blogger, Tim Watkin, on the debate about blogging vs journalism, focussing on the divergence of opinions about Gower’s (and other msm reportage) of events at the recent the Labour Party Conference.
What caught my eye was this comment:
…..But the complaints still sound disingenuous to me. As best as I can see, Cunliffe got played, out-manouvered. He had ambitions to challenge for the leadership come February. Rather than waiting like a turkey for Christmas, those opposed to him pre-empted the challenge. When Cunliffe was unwilling to say he’d back his leader in a vote in three months’ time, it became a story….
Only, if this was indeed what happened, (that Cunliffe got played), why is Watkins defending msm coverage that it was Cunliffe who tried (unsuccessfully) to ‘play’ the conference. Or are the facts not really as important to “real” journalists as Watkins is claiming in this blog?
Yep, js, that’s what struck me earlier today when I read it. Watkin claimed the MSM journalists go to great lengths to ensure they are not biased. Then he made exactly the point about the conference that many TS posters and commenters made – ie Cunliffe was taken out. So how come most journalists peddled the line that Cunliffe staged a coup? Does that not indicate a bias?
Also Watkin rejects the suggestion by Trotter and RedLogix, that journalists shouldn’t report anonymous comments from politicians. Watkin’s argument is that, it would mean no leaks from politicians…. duh? So what would be so wrong with that? Surely it’s the anonymous leaks from pollies that skewed the main narrative about Cunliffe staging a coup.
Also, Watkin seems to be assuming that many of us bloggers want to replace MSM journalists, or, at least, do journalism better than the MSM. No – many of us just want journalists to be more critical and fulfill their fourth estate role – not just push the current line that is circulating from leaky MPs and from press releases. At the moment, many of us see our role as one of holding the MSM to account.
Frankly I’m stunned at the shallowness of Watkins ‘deconstruction’.
All interviews must be on-the-record. Almost all are. But should a journalist be banned from following a lead gained in more casual conversation?
All interviews, it’s suggested, should be online. Which would mean newsrooms having to hire transcribers rather than more journalists.
Well actually what I had in mind was a simple audio/video recorder and then attached to the online version of the story as a file. No need for transcribers.
All reportage must be fact-checked. If only. The last fact-checkers were being laid off from the Heald when I began there 12 years ago. The few US media who still employ them are the exception. But does that mean they never err? No. Is it reasonable to expect journalists to check their own facts? usually, although a lack of resources and time creates limitations. Are stories still checked? Yes, subs, editors and producers all have such a role.
Well that’s a bad slip up. Watkins selectively quotes me which went on: “and/or open to a right of reply from any participant, person or party mentioned.” … again in an online environment a highly achievable goal without too much extra in the way of staff. And then he goes on to ignore my additional suggestion that journalists could easily lift their game by linking to their references …like bloggers routinely do. None of this is commercially unrealistic or onerous.
All professional and personal relationships must be declared. In which we move from ignorance to plain silliness. Conflicts of interest should be declared. But every relationship? How far does that go? Is it just for the gallery or for bloggers and those of us outside Wellington who cover politics? Is it family relationships, whether they’ve played rugby together or does the odd drink count? Should I declare that I once helped Grant Robertson pull a drunk guy out of an NZUSA conference? That Metiria Turei and Gerry Brownlee have both yelled at me? Should Trotter declare every politician he’s ever met? And would REDLOGIX him/herself adhere to that?
No journalist should be able to spend more than six years or 33% of their career in the gallery. Apart from the obvious nonsense of not being able to know how long a young reporter’s career will be, why show such little respect for experience and wisdom? It’s silliness piled on silliness.
Oh dear … strawman piled upon strawman. Everyone in public life knows exactly what ‘declaring your interests’ means. Relationships in which you have either a family, personal relationships (ie who you are sleeping with), business relationships or other plainly beneficial interests. In practise it’s not all that hard to get it right if you want to.
Ignored also is my suggestion that an online personal/professional bio is an entirely reasonably thing to ask of a professional. And by clinging to the outdated mode of thinking that print is primary, and that online is a secondary nuisance … Watkins has made a bunch of pretty elementary errors here.
Meanwhile.. back at the ranch.
Yes, it’s a weak defence by Watkin, RL. And I can’t believe he isn’t aware of how poor the NZ MSM and journalism actually is. I’m not peddling some theory of a deliberately orchestrated conspiracy – just aware of how biases and skewed stories can get accepted into the MSM.
Actually, interesting that Watkin made that point about fact checking. I was looking into that around the last time I did a post on the media. I knew facts often aren’t checked. This is a problem of the commercial imperative, keeping down costs etc. But, good journalism really does require fact checking. I don’t know how Watkin can claim journalist go out of their way to be non-biased, if they don’t check their facts.
I was trying to find evidence online of an occurrence a few years ago in Aussie. I saw the guys involved present a conference paper on it. Basically, as a kind of joke, a couple of guys published a story – false. It got picked up by the media. Once one outlet had repeated it, others followed, with none of them checking if it was real. This mis-information got widely circulated, all without the facts being checked. Eventually they had to come clean and say it wasn’t true.
Just shows how something like the content of the whispering campaign against Cunliffe can become accepted as true.
Listening to the alcohol debate in parliament today I keep hearing the same argument.
That is what happens when politics comes down to managing people rather than representing them.
Yup, that is pretty much the raison d’etre of the neo-temperance movement.
I have heaps more of this indigenous music, it never plays in NZ media, sadly.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sZYpGocxxfo&feature=fvst
This is indio music from Peru, there is heaps more. I will not bother to inundate. Maori are justified to take their stand, ideally they will connect with indeginous peoples all over the world.
Interesting developments!
Further to that:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7fRVOew2WpA