The 90 day right to prove yourself has been proven to be a wonderful success story. Thousands of people who would never have been given the chance to work have found employment. Employers agree that the 90 day right to prove yourself encourages employers to take a risk without risking being sued for thousands. New Zealand has thus joined every other country in the OECD which gives prospective workers the chance to work. It has been a great success story as the article clearly shows.
A wonderful success for whom? One of the things you were touting years ago (from memory) was that youth unemployment rates would go down. Last time I looked they kept going up.
“It is not known how many workers were dismissed during the 90-day-trial period, but the figures revealed 27 per cent of employers said they had fired at least one new employee during or at the end of their trial. ”
– So the papers are making stuff up again and not mentioning how many new employees had been hired at the same time
Dishonest Puckish Rogue. You ignore the basis on which it is tentatively calculated (actually written in the article) that 18,000 people are involved here. Dishonest Puckish Rogue. Not surprised. Textor-Tosser. As always.
Yeah alright then Bowel Motion……..and then 18,000 more for 89 days, and then 18,000 more the 89 days after that, and so on. I daresay the plantation owners too were in the position to resolve that their last slave purchase was a bad deal.
The problem you fucked up old moron is that you don’t see a problem. Hope karma gets you. We’re talking at minimum 18,000 beating human hearts here. That doesn’t matter ??? Um um um what’s the problem ???
Because of the lack of distinction between people who should never have been hired in the first place and people who would have been excellent employees if their manager didn’t take a “sink or swim” approach.
All 90-day fire at will provides is a ripcord for managers who can’t hire appropriate staff for the job, and can’t manage the staff they do hire.
Frankly, it’s not the employee who should be fired after three months, it’s the incompetent manager.
management style like that (abuse, not context, no explanation of basis for that response, no advise on how to improve) is a perfect illustration of the sort of stupid fuck who needs a 90F@W law in order to run their business.
You can’t actually say any of that because we don’t know what’s really happening out there. All indications are, though, that the 90 day fire at will bill is working as intended – making work even more precarious and thus helping drive down wages.
The 90 day right to prove yourself has been proven to be a wonderful success story. Thousands of people who would never have been given the sack have found unemployment
National think it’s great WINZ save money when someone on a benefit gets a job for 90 days then has a stand down period before receiving a benefit again. Sick f**ks.
And some dick from the EPMU is also bleating about people being released within 90 days. They get released because they don’t cut the the mustard. Cuntlipps can change the law but nothing will change. Employers will get rid of dead wood bludgers and yes, they will curse they ever employed them, but at least the employer will learn from his/her mistake.
I’ve never seen much evidence that most employers can learn from anything. Given the number of mistakes they do make, if they could actually learn from them, they’d all be bloody Nobel Laureates. Instead, they have the emotional maturity of someone who thinks it’s witty to name someone after labia.
Hi, Paul, just noting that the number of posted referendum ballots has now passed the number of votes National claim gave them a ‘mandate’ to sell our assets. Not that all the ballots will be opposed, of course. I imagine we’ll need a return of around 1.5 million to have a ‘mandate’ that actually reflects what kiwis actually want.
Dropping firefox and reopening it seems to have worked. I have lost the “Gateway problem” message. Chrome worked through the server drop without a hitch. Could be something to do with the server stickiness and chrome wasn’t on that server. Could also be that firefox isn’t as good at tcp link failures.
Hummm replacement server also failed. That area seems to have a problem. Activating a server on the other side. Removing servers from the affected side.
lprent
I wonder do the other big blogs have problems similar? Do we need more money to purchase better, more robust systems. More should be forthcoming if this is so.
Also I can’t see that the site would be immune from the noxious attitudes being shown by ACC to a poor protester in the street outside their mansion. Harrassment diminishing strength, and a desire to remove and clear the irritating dissent. Now we have wide ranging privacy interference laws and people with few scruples, it is possible that the disturbing of the systems will recur often as covert harrassment. I would consider it if I was on The Dark Side.
lprent
And each comment this morning once submitted has led to page ‘Connection closed by remote server’. I’ve gone back, gone Home, and found it but there is no edit option with it hence separate comments.
I think The Standards reliability isn’t great compared to other big blogs either.
I put it down to Lynn doing this very much on a part-time / hobby basis, as well as with something that is a bit customised rather than a bog standard installation.
In that sense I think the reliability we receive is pretty good.
I see young master Robert Salmond is predicting a 950 K “No”-vote on a turnout of roughly 1.35 million. Not quite National’s vote, but not far off it. Opinion Polls, of course, have been suggesting two-thirds opposition for a long time now.
The ACC protest goes on, with Mike Dixon-McIvor looking increasingly sick and ACC is still harrassing him (see quote below). Why is this not even a brief story anymore?
“Now having lost his home and income thanks to ACC Mike is conducting a hunger strike on the doorsteps of ACC’s plush Wellington offices in Aitken Street.
But now it seems that ACC’s bullying of Mike continues even while he protests. At night as he maintains his presence outside their building an ACC security guard wakes him up every two hours. Last night the guard admitted he did this on the instructions of ACC. The denial of sleep in this way is getting pretty close to a form of sleep deprivation. Also Wellington City Council received an “anonymous” complaint about Mike’s dog, who was his companion on the protest. Following an approach by the council, Mike’s dog has had to be sent away.
The streets of our capital are cold at night, and to deprive an old man of both sleep and a source of warmth as he undertakes a hunger strike is particularly cruel.”
The ACC protest goes on, with Mike Dixon-McIvor looking increasingly sick and ACC is still harrassing him (see quote below). Why is this not even a brief story anymore?
“Now having lost his home and income thanks to ACC Mike is conducting a hunger strike on the doorsteps of ACC’s plush Wellington offices in Aitken Street.
But now it seems that ACC’s bullying of Mike continues even while he protests. At night as he maintains his presence outside their building an ACC security guard wakes him up every two hours. Last night the guard admitted he did this on the instructions of ACC. The denial of sleep in this way is getting pretty close to a form of sleep deprivation. Also Wellington City Council received an “anonymous” complaint about Mike’s dog, who was his companion on the protest. Following an approach by the council, Mike’s dog has had to be sent away.
The streets of our capital are cold at night, and to deprive an old man of both sleep and a source of warmth as he undertakes a hunger strike is particularly cruel.”
I do hope that the government will act to protect kids from the harm alcohol can do them. They seem to consistently ignore advice and solutions to the problems alcohol create.
I’m left with the distinct impression that the alcohol industry has way too much influence on the government.
Not at all,
3 months ago it was known that the icc were preparing investigating match and spot fixing and that nz players were to be part of the investigation, so if within some circles it was known back then think something is being missed in the reporting.
Police officer punches down protesting student at University of London
The power elite are destroying the university system of education in the UK, making it unaffordable for most, and privatising/corporatising the institution for the rest.
Went to Bryan Gould’s book launch (“Myths, Politicians & Money”) last night (Thanks to the mighty Fabians for arranging)
It was a good talk and he roved over some of the contents of the book and answered questions. Penny B was there and as usual was right on the button with her comments.
Purchased a copy read the intro. late last night and hopefully can start book proper today.
Extract from the post, with Thatcherism, Reaganism et al:
The ability to move capital at will across national boundaries not only meant that international investors could bypass national governments but also enabled them to threaten such governments that they would lose essential investment if they did not comply with the investors’ demands. This shifted the balance of power dramatically back in the direction of capital, and set the seal on the triumph of those “free-market” principles of economic policy that became known as the “Washington consensus”.
It became accepted that the “free market” was infallible and that its outcomes should not be challenged. Any attempt to second-guess the market would inevitably produce worse results. Everyone – it was thought – would be better off if the rich and powerful were subject to no restraint in manipulating the market to suit their own interests.
But the whole point of democracy – that the legitimacy enjoyed by elected governments allowed them to defend the interests of ordinary people against the otherwise overwhelming economic power of those who dominated the market – was thereby lost.
We see the outcomes of this shift all too clearly. Virtually the whole of the increased wealth of the last three decades has gone to the richest people in our society; poverty, even in the “rich” countries, has risen while inequality, with its attendant social ills, has widened; the rights of working people at work have been weakened; joblessness is endemic; and the “free market” free-for-all achieved its culmination in the global financial crisis.
. Virtually the whole of the increased wealth of the last three decades has gone to the richest people in our society; poverty, even in the “rich” countries, has risen
And this has come to be accepted as ‘the’ norm, the correct way,. Discussing with a wealthy relative this nation’s bad outcomes from past present and likely future policies, he said that Key will lead us out of our problems this is what he knows.
When you have money there is no spur to change anything, to do anything but ameliorate some ills. The mind goes to sleep, and all interest is centred on organising one’s own little world to maximise benefits from one’s own resources.
And the others who don’t have those resources get offered disingenuous slogans – ‘get more education, work harder, smarten yourself up to get opportunities and seize them – it’s all individual striving nothing structural and the advice ignores the current realities.
in order for this kind of thinking to work politically, there must be a huge number of people NOT in the top group but who slavishly believe it’s either their fault for not working hard enough, or it’s only a matter of time? In the face of oh so much evidence to the contrary.
1 minute into this video and two things strike me.
Firstly, I like Hedges. His book ‘American Fascists: The Christian Right and the War on America’ was a good read and intellectually sound take on the US religious right.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Fascists)
Secondly was the quote “The inability to to articulate a viable socialism has been our gravest mistake”.
1 minute into this video and two things strike me.
Firstly, I like Hedges. His book ‘American Fascists: The Christian Right and the War on America’ was a good read and intellectually sound take on the US religious right.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Fascists)
Secondly was the quote “The inability to to articulate a viable socialism has been our gravest mistake”.
Hedges is very good. Writing from Sarajevo as it was being shelled week after week after week, as well as from many other war zones, has given the man a perspective of the potential results of moral, economic and political decline that few others have.
BBC Hard Talk: SOFT on Power, HARD on Real Journalism, Truth Telling and Glenn Greenwald
by JOSHUA FUNNELL, Huffington Post, 5 December 2013
Listening to the political gurglings of right-wing commentators a vision is painted of a monolithic BBC acting as an anti-establishment, subversive enemy within. A BBC where leftist executives plot how best to infect society with commie ideals and pollute the minds of youth with an antibusiness, pro EU, anti military, politically correct neurosis. “The BBC is left wing” has become one of those “common sense” truisms read straight from the book of Tory cliches. Alas the idea bears no relation to reality.
According to research by Cardiff University, the “left wing BBC” idea, academically speaking, is crap. For example, we are told Auntie Beeb is “anti business” and “pro unions”. Strange then that Cardiff have discovered that “On (the) BBC News at Six, business representatives outnumbered trade union spokespersons by more than five to one (11 vs 2) in 2007 and by 19 to one in 2012.” Additionally, whilst discussing the impacts of immigration and EU trade policy, out of 806 sources not ONE was from organised labour.
Organised labour, lest we forget, amounts only to that minor accolade of being the single greatest democratic block of working people in British civil society and those primarily effected by the aforementioned policies. However, the BBC’s actions suggest that these union members do not register as economic players, they aren’t the movers and shakers, the guys in the big club wielding political and economic capital, the owner and controller class that the BBC routinely embraces for opinion and source material. The BBC has historic form on this front; the fledgling organisation was used by the Baldwin government to peddle government propaganda demonising the 1922 General Strike. Again in this instance the BBC denied appearances to organised labour representatives. Workers renamed the BBC in response as the “British Falsehood Corporation”.
This hidden in plain sight bias has long been documented by the fine work of Media Lens. They have presided over a decades worth of ceaseless mainstream/corporate media vigilance, documenting clear trends in bias by scouring vast databases of media output. The bias is firmly to the establishment, of whom a principle culprit is the BBC. In short the BBC of today demonstrates a systematic penchant for parroting, or providing platforms for, the views of pro military interventionists, economic Neoliberals and the unholy trinity of UK party politics. Despite these entities and ideologies being responsible for economic and military extremism that has lead to disastrous foreign escapades and global financial meltdowns, they still provide the bulk of the BBC’s primary source material. This was notable during the financial crisis, where the BBC in a perverse and sick twist depended heavily on the city culprits themselves as sources. Cardiff’s research shows how they were gifted near saturation exposure by the BBC to exonerate themselves of responsibility.
Additionally, let’s take the Iraq war, where former Director General Greg Dyke had the audacity to criticise the pro war bias of the American media. Yet under his own watch – according to both the University of Cardiff and research by Media Tennor – the BBC’s war coverage consisted of just 2% anti war voices. This was the single worst performance of any news organisation in the Western Media, where pro war voices outnumbered the antis by a ratio of roughly 10 to 1. The fact that the majority of the British public rejected the war did not reflect in coverage. The BBC’s abysmal performance amounted to a psychological crime perpetrated against the very public who fund the institution. Yet this should not surprise anyone. During the Falkland’s war the BBC stated in leaked minutes….
If you are serious about the quality of public discourse, you will want to check out David Edwards’ and David Cromwell’s superb British site Media Lens, the scourge of the BBC, the Grauniad, the Murdoch media and other government mouthpieces…. http://www.medialens.org/
Yep, Morrissey, same preposterous accusations of Left-wing-bias against the mainstream US, Aussie and even Kiwi media. In reality, most journos are (in tune with their socio-economic interests) ‘Liberal-Centrists’ at best. Relatively liberal on moral issues like abortion, homosexual law reform and capital punishment, but generally centre-right on economic issues (Former leading journo-turned-Govt-Dept-Head, Al Morrisson, being a perfect example. Constantly abused by Righties (eg local Neo-Con bore, David Cohen) as a “leftie”, Morrison made clear on his retirement from the profession that his economic views were very much centre-right).
More importantly, of course, the MSM they work for is inherently pro-establishment, including – as you argue – on foreign policy. Any critical journalism occurs within very narrow parameters.
More on the British Bullshit Corporation in Part 2 (The Empire Strikes Back), below.
“A throwaway remark by Prime Minister John Key has unleashed nervous speculation and head scratching among members of Parliament that a minor party is about to rescue National’s stalled new environmental law.”
Still looking for work and getting very discouraged. Sick of agents and sick of being ignored or there being someone better, always some excuse. You are just a resource to be used up and boxed into a category. If you do not fit exactly forget it. Never mind that you have a brain and are adaptable. A cog in the machinery of business.When you are left out or do not fit what does that make you? A defective part?
The feeling you get from employing managers and agents is do not bother me because I’m busy and my time is valuable and I’m more important than you. There must be something wrong with you if you cannot get a job.
Life sucks when you cannot get a job. The financial, mental and physical effects take you down.
Sorry for the self pity rant. Trying to stay positive but some days are hard. 😐
my sympathies Flip, nearly went back overseas after months of that in a pre GFC market, I now know what the issue was….I have ability and a proven track record of achievement.
Trick is to not stand out, threaten or look anything remotely like a free thinker who may rock the boat or you may show the incumbents up.
Show up, fit in, keep your counsel, go the AB’s, gosh that John key’s a great bloke etc etc
Yep. Express an opinion or view that the boss has made a mistake. Managers are employed to do the capitalists bidding. Much like security guards protecting a tyrant.
Hard for employees to get a say. It is only our lives that are expended in the service of the business not something important like money. (Sarcasm)
Reminds me of something someone said to me after a round of public service downsizings 20 odd years ago, although he was quoting someone who was talking of the private sector which was also going through a time of belt-tightening to enrich the executives and investors. “Give up on your boss – they gave up on you a long time ago”.
The young uns probably have the right attitude these days. All the mission statements and values and bollocks about the organisation valuing its staff & customers is PR garbage.Show up, work for the hours you signed up to and no more. Leave that job for something different or something better every two years or so before you get too comfortable. Don’t expect the boss to do anything more for you than employ you to do what they hired you for and pay you what they agreed to pay you. You owe the boss nothing more than to work the hours they pay you for.
Don’t apologise Flip. You are not the one to be sorry.
I am in the same situation as you. I sometimes begin to doubt my ability after all the let downs and some days its hard not to feel discouraged, isolated and “other”. I try to remember that this is the first time in my life that I have not been able to get work, and that we are living in shit times with an anti worker govt that treats us like disposable units. The 90 day Act is a prime example.
You are right though. It does suck, and I hope good things are just around the corner for you. Take care.
Thanks for the encouragement. Agree about the 90 day Act. Read on kiwiblog propaganda on how successful it has been from the POV of employers. Pointed out the article did not survey workers views and so it is a bit of a one-sided story.
It is a very difficult circumstance. Your health and fitness is most important. Also keep a sharp, tight, regular daily routine. Read. Actual physical books preferred. And join some volunteer or sporting activities during the week so you continue to extend your social networks. We place a lot of importance in defining ourselves and our place in society via work. That’s worth reflecting on by itself.
Good advice CV – I’ve tried to do the above. The library has provided an ongoing education and volunteering has been helpful, for social interaction and self esteem – I did gain a short term paid contract out of it too.
Flip, something I’ve chosen to do is not engage with small minded opinionated types, the likes of which you find on kiwiblog. as mentioned at 20.4.1) Personally I find it a downer when daily life can sometimes be a struggle with the eternal budgeting and that sense the world seems against you, (even though you know its not) and then dealing with people like that, who want to bring you down and make you feel small. For others though, they might like to engage with such folks, maybe for sport, if it helps.
In my considered opinion, Transparency International’s ‘Corruption Perception Index’ is not worth the paper upon which it is written.
How ‘transparent’ is the data upon which this ‘Corruption Perception Index’ is based?
Is this ‘Corruption Perception Index’ not based upon the subjective opinions of anonymous business people?
The ‘perception’ of New Zealand, as ‘the least corrupt country in the world’, is about as real as the ‘clean, green’ image.
Pity that the reality doesn’t match the perception, and the FACTS don’t match the mantra?
My opinion is considered, having now attended three international anti-corruption conferences, questioned and talked to anti-corruption experts, read the material, and carried out research no one else has here in New Zealand.
Attendee: 2009 Australian Public Sector Anti-Corruption Conference
Attendee: 2010 Transparency International Anti-Corruption Conference
Attendee: 2013 Australian Public Sector Anti-Corruption Conference
Good work Penny!….I agree with you…Corruption in NZ is something to be concerned and not complacent about …….and NZ seems to be becoming more corrupt, especially in Auckland
The nitwits from the use everything crowd and the thickos from federated farmers dont seem to understand that it is better to have 60% of something than 100% of nothing.
trying to leverage the arable to the max and extract every last cent is short term and shows a distinct lack of understanding of what farming is all about.
John Key (TV3) just now. The dead face tells us that his relationship with Nelson Mandela was “quite an intimate one…..”. Oh yeah ?
Perhaps the twenty hours of laxing back first-class to South Africa for Nelson Mandela’s funeral will afford him time to recall which side he was on during the Springbok Tour ’81.
I saw he received some coverage on TV3.
I’m hopeful that one day that New Zealands legislation around recreational drugs will focus on treating drug use as a health issue and focus on harm minimisation rather than the current prohibition and retribution model.
Mark Crysell’s commentary on TV One today
Friday 6 December 2013
As you’d expect, the airwaves are full of Nelson Mandela retrospectives. Television One midday news covered the rugby connection, and of course, other than the 1995 RWC final, one event above all else had to be mentioned….
MARK CRYSELL: The 1981 tour divided the nation….
[VIDEO montage of protests, and clashes with police]
MARK CRYSELL: And the protests against the tour were not confined to New Zealand. But the South African police had an entirely DIFFERENT way of dealing with protestors….
[VIDEO of police flailing protestors with sjamboks]
We expect, as a matter of course, for our “news” services to mislead and deceive us, or more commonly to deliberately omit crucial aspects of an issue; all of that is largely for ideological reasons. But it’s still unusual to see anything as unprofessional, as plain incompetent, as Crysell’s commentary.
Colin Craig, John Banks, Simon Bridges, Jamie Whyte—this has been a remarkable week for moronic statements fouling this country’s public discourse. But Crysell’s commentary rivals all of those others for sheer breathtaking inanity. If Crysell thinks that the South African police brutality was worse or more extreme (“an entirely DIFFERENT way of dealing with protestors”) than the ferociousness and brutality of the New Zealand Police Red Squad in 1981, then he has the memory—or more accurately, the integrity—of John Key.
Whether it’s a bad memory or simply a lack of honesty, Crysell’s incredibly stupid commentary surely renders him unfit for his job.
Surely Television One viewers deserve better than Mark Crysell.
You really are an ar5e, moz. The obvious point Crysell was making* was that the SA police force regularly killed protesters. Was that too subtle for you?
*assuming you are quoting him correctly, which, on form, is unlikely
You really are a fool. Anybody that experienced or read about—you should try that some time—what the police did to protestors on that tour would have been as shocked as I was when Crysell tried to imply that the South African police whipping—not killing, and not, as the NZ police did, smashing them in the face with steel batons—were more violent.
The violence of the New Zealand police shamed our country in 1981—but one “journalist” never noticed. And neither, it seems, did you.
But carry on with your rancid abuse; it’s all you’ve got, obviously.
When the NZ police deliberately massacre a minimum of 69 people in one event, you might have a point.
I did not suggest the New Zealand police were as bad all the time—just in 1981. Crysell was speaking over a clip of the S.A. police using SJAMBOKS. He seemed to be unaware of the fact that the New Zealand police had perpetrated far worse violence than that.
look up the SA death in custody rate for about that time, you tool
I have a huge amount of respect for the tour protestors in 1981, and I’m disgusted that a PM who can’t remember how he felt about the tour is uttering platitudes to mourn Mandela, but you’re a fucking moron if you think that the Red Squad were as bad as routine police work in SA at the time.
As a younger child being driven around in South Africa in 1995, I remember pulling up in a town where the day before us arriving, a crowd of high school aged students had been shot with buckshot for daring to march peacefully to occupy an abandoned white school.
Moz, I was a protester in 81 and I still have the helmet I was wearing at athletic park, complete with baton shaped dent. You know nothing about the tour and, obviously, less than zero about day to day life in RSA at the time.
But, on the up side, if you work real hard and aim high, one day you could be average.
Nice scar in my upper lip where a baton pushed my teeth through it. Had to have one of those ghastly 80’s moustaches to conceal the puckered scarred result for most of the 80’s until it disappeared into a fine white line.
Bloody irritating thing was that it wasn’t from when I did anything remotely illegal. It was from when the police went nuts at the 3rd test “clearing” the street. Bloody police riot as they completely lost discipline was my view.
Reminds me of the final test match at Eden Park. As my ‘squad’ walked towards the park we passed a senior police officer (or somebody very important) dressed in a black uniform with whopping great epaulettes, and sitting in a smart highly polished red sportscar. I gave him a friendly smile. What I was given in return was the facial equivalent of a bullet through my skull. That was the mindset of the NZ Police hierarchy during that tour – ugly and sinister. Yet any reasonably sane person could see that the vast bulk of those protestors (many thousands of them) were ordinary, decent and kindly New Zealanders ranging in age from very young to very old…
Anne you were brave!…there is no way I would have gone there !…it looked like war, felt like war, with the police now facing the Maori gangs who really meant business!…and we were cheering for the gangs
….after Molesworth Street (my sister and I , one row from getting a batoning…where we screamed “Resign!”…and apparently some of the police did resign after Molesworth St…some of them looked as shocked as we felt);……and Palmerston North ( where we put on helmets and chest protectors, shin protectors and teeth guards)….where I was absolutely terrified with the army, and helicopters and the barbed wire):….and then Wellington’s Rintoul / Riddiford Street intersection… where the police shoved protesters into a glass shop front …leaving us the yellowest in the middle of Yellow Squad in the front row (squawk !)…..( however luckily for us we were facing Blue Squad, not Red( who were real mean bastards!), and the Blue Officer in charge was determined we werent going to get hurt and kept urging us to leave…we said we couldnt leave because the people behind would cop it…..and my Mother, a school teacher who had come to protect her daughters, offered Blue Squad lollies and told them off…(smirk!)I think the Blue Officer took a lolly or two rather bemused and put them in his pocket ….Blue Squad then set about softly pummeling us with their batons….. when this didn’t dislodge us they pulled my helmet off and cracked my friends ribs and threw my sister in the gutter, shoved around my mother…but thanks to the Blue officer who was watching out for us …we weren’t hurt..and eventually got out when we had had enough …only to watch police run kicking over sitting protesters):…. and then Christchurch where I saw innocent new novice protesters ….middle class, middle aged, well dressed good citizens getting a batoning…..there was no way in hell I was going to Auckland!!!!!!!!!!!
For us it was both scary and serious, foolhardy and fun, part- time action on a matter of principle… The bravest NZers were the cold- headed public face organizers/strategists/ spokespeople like Trevor Richards and his partner Patty and Tom Newnam….who had to face the ire of rugby hooligans month after month…But of course the courage, year after year … of the activists in South Africa and Nelson Mandala …is almost unimaginable!…… and on a different plane altogether!
Moz, I was a protester in 81 and I still have the helmet I was wearing at athletic park, complete with baton shaped dent.
And yet you have the hide to back up Crysell’s foolish suggestiion that police using sjamboks is as bad or worse than the brutal thuggery of the Red Squad.
Having trouble getting into the Standard, refreshing, posting. Pity as it is a must read site. This try is in Safari instead of Firefox. Getting repeats or stopping altogether.
So, they’ve found a new way to come up with real-estate-backed securities that can be turned into derivatives, worth billions in profits.
How? They’ve become landlords.
It’s simple.
By renting these homes back to Americans, and securitizing America’s home-rental market, they can bundle up rental payments the same way they used to bundle mortgage payments, and sell them to investors.
Sounds awfully familiar, doesn’t it?
Changing the topic, I have a friend who is currently unemployed. She is being told that she has to prove that she is actively looking for jobs. Last week she was at the WINZ office and sent to look at the jobs board – the only positions available that would suit a woman were as prostitutes.
My friend is a confident, competent, middle aged woman. What about the younger, less articulate, more malleable women who are needing WINZ support? How many do WINZ send off into the brothels?
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Not since 1988 when Richard Prebble openly criticised David Lange have we seen such a challenge to a Prime Minister as that of David Seymour to Christopher Luxon last night. Prebble suggested Lange had mental health issues during a TV interview and was almost immediately fired. Seymour hasn’t gone quite ...
Three weeks in, and the 24/7 news cycle is not helping anyone feel calm and informed about the second Trump presidency. One day, the US is threatening 25% trade tariffs on its friends and neighbours. The reasons offered by the White House are absurd, such as stopping fentanyl coming in ...
This video includes personal musings and conclusions of the creator climate scientist Dr. Adam Levy. It is presented to our readers as an informed perspective. Please see video description for references (if any). Wherever you look, you'll hear headlines claiming we've passed 1.5 degrees of global warming. And while 2024 saw ...
Photo by Heather M. Edwards on UnsplashHere’s the key news, commentary, reports and debate around Aotearoa’s politics and economy in the week to Feb 10 below. That’s ahead of live chats on the Substack App and The Kākā’s front page on Substack at 5pm with: on his column in The ...
Is there anyone in the world the National Party loves more than a campaign donor? Why yes, there is! They will always have the warmest hello and would you like to slip into something more comfortable for that great god of our age, the High Net Worth Individual.The words the ...
Waste and fraud certainly exist in foreign aid programs, but rightwing celebration of USAID’s dismantling shows profound ignorance of the value of soft power (as opposed to hard power) in projecting US influence and interests abroad by non-military/coercive means (think of “hearts and minds,” “hugs, not bullets,” “honey versus vinegar,” ...
Health New Zealand is proposing to cut almost half of its data and digital positions – more than 1000 of them. The PSA has called on the Privacy Commissioner to urgently investigate the cuts due to the potential for serious consequences for patients. NZNO is calling for an urgent increase ...
We may see a few more luxury cars on Queen Street, but a loosening of rules to entice rich foreigners to invest more here is unlikely to “turbocharge our economic growth”. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāLong stories short, the top six things in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, climate ...
Let us not dance daintily around the elephant in the room. Our politicians who serve us in the present are not honest, certainly not as honest as they should be, and while the right are taking out most of the trophies for warping narratives and literally redefining “facts”, the kiwi ...
A few weeks ago I took a look at public transport ridership in 2024. In today’s post I’m going to be looking a bit deeper at bus ridership. Buses make up the vast majority of ridership in Auckland with 70 million boardings last year out of a total of 89.4 ...
Oh, you know I did itIt's over and I feel fineNothing you could say is gonna change my mindWaited and I waited the longest nightNothing like the taste of sweet declineSongwriters: Chris Shiflett / David Eric Grohl / Nate Mendel / Taylor Hawkins.Hindsight is good, eh?The clarity when the pieces ...
Photo by Towfiqu barbhuiya on UnsplashHere’s what we’re watching in the week to February 16 and beyond in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, climate and poverty:Monday, February 10The Kākā’s weekly wrap-up of news about politics and the economy is due at midday, followed by webinar for paying subscribers in Substack’s ...
A listing of 23 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, February 2, 2025 thru Sat, February 8, 2025. This week's roundup is again published soleley by category. We are still interested in feedback to hone the categorization, so if ...
Today, I stumbled across a Twitter Meme: the ending of The Lord of the Rings as a Chess scenario: https://x.com/mellon_heads/status/1887983845917564991 It gets across the basic gist. Aragorn and Gandalf offering up ‘material’ at the Morannon allows Frodo and Samwise to catch Sauron unawares – fair enough. But there are a ...
Last week, Kieran McAnulty called out Chris Bishop and Nicola Willis for their claims that Kāinga Ora’s costs were too high.They had claimed Kāinga Ora’s cost were 12% higher than market i.e. private devlopersBut Kāinga Ora’s Chair had already explained why last year:"We're not building to sell, so we'll be ...
Stuff’s Political Editor Luke Malpass - A Fellow at New Zealand IniativeLast week I half-joked that Stuff / The Post’s Luke Malpass1 always sounded like he was auditioning for a job at the New Zealand Initiative.Mountain Tui is a reader-supported publication. For a limited time, subscriptions are 20% off. Thanks ...
At a funeral on Friday, there were A4-sized photos covering every wall of the Dil’s reception lounge. There must have been 200 of them, telling the story in the usual way of the video reel but also, by enlargement, making it more possible to linger and step in.Our friend Nicky ...
Skeptical Science is partnering with Gigafact to produce fact briefs — bite-sized fact checks of trending claims. This fact brief was written by Sue Bin Park from the Gigafact team in collaboration with members from our team. You can submit claims you think need checking via the tipline. Is methane the ...
The Government’s idea is that the private sector and Community Housing Providers will fund, build and operate new affordable housing to address our housing crisis. Meanwhile, the Government does not know where almost half of the 1,700 children who left emergency housing actually went. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāLong ...
Oh, home, let me come homeHome is wherever I'm with youOh, home, let me come homeHome is wherever I'm with youSongwriters: Alexander Ebert / Jade Allyson CastrinosMorena,I’m on a tight time frame this morning. In about an hour and a half, I’ll need to pack up and hit the road ...
This is a post about the Mountain Tui substack, and small tweaks - further to the poll and request post the other day. Please don’t read if you aren’t interested in my personal matters. Thank you all.After oohing-and-aahing about how to structure the Substack model since November, including obtaining ...
This transcript of a recent conversation between the Prime Minister and his chief economic adviser has not been verified.We’ve announced we are the ‘Yes Government’. Do you like it?Yes, Prime Minister.Dreamed up by the PR team. It’s about being committed to growth. Not that the PR team know anything about ...
The other day, Australian Senator Nick McKim issued a warning in the Australian Parliement about the US’s descent into fascim.And of course it’s true, but I lament - that was true as soon as Trump won.What we see is now simply the reification of the intention, planning, and forces behind ...
Among the many other problems associated with Musk/DOGE sending a fleet of teenage and twenty-something cultists to remove, copy and appropriate federal records like social security, medicaid and other supposedly protected data is the fact that the youngsters doing the data-removal, copying and security protocol and filter code over-writing have ...
Jokerman dance to the nightingale tuneBird fly high by the light of the moonOh, oh, oh, JokermanSong by Bob Dylan.Morena folks, I hope this fine morning of the 7th of February finds you well. We're still close to Paihia, just a short drive out of town. Below is the view ...
It’s been an eventful week as always, so here’s a few things that we have found interesting. We also hope everyone had a happy and relaxing Waitangi Day! This week in Greater Auckland We’re still running on summer time, but provided two chewy posts: On Tuesday, a guest ...
Queuing on Queen St: the Government is set to announce another apparently splashy growth policy on Sunday of offering residence visas to wealthy migrants. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāLong stories short, the top six things in our political economy around housing, climate and poverty on Friday, February 7:PM Christopher ...
The fact that Waitangi ended up being such a low-key affair may mark it out as one of the most significant Waitangi Days in recent years. A group of women draped in “Toitu Te Tiriti” banners who turned their backs on the politicians’ powhiri was about as rough as it ...
Hi,This week’s Flightless Bird episode was about “fake seizure guy” — a Melbourne man who fakes seizures in order to get members of the public to sit on him.The audio documentary (which I have included in this newsletter in case you don’t listen to Flightless Bird) built on reporting first ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Karin Kirk The 119th Congress comes with a price tag. The oil and gas industry gave about $24 million in campaign contributions to the members of the U.S. House and Senate expected to be sworn in January 3, 2025, according to a ...
Early morning, the shadows still long, but you can already feel the warmth building. Our motel was across the road from the historic homestead where Henry Williams' family lived. The evening before, we wandered around the gardens, reading the plaques and enjoying the close proximity to the history of the ...
Thanks folks for your feedback, votes and comments this week. I’ll be making the changes soon. Appreciate all your emails, comments and subscriptions too. I know your time is valuable - muchas gracias.A lot is happening both here and around the world - so I want to provide a snippets ...
Data released today by Statistics NZ shows that unemployment rose to 5.1%, with 33,000 more people out of work than last year said NZCTU Te Kauae Kaimahi Economist Craig Renney. “The latest data shows that employment fell in Aotearoa at its fastest rate since the GFC. Unemployment rose in 8 ...
The December labour market statistics have been released, showing yet another increase in unemployment. There are now 156,000 unemployed - 34,000 more than when National took office. And having thrown all these people out of work, National is doubling down on cruelty. Because being vicious will somehow magically create the ...
Boarded up homes in Kilbirnie, where work on a planned development was halted. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāLong stories short, the top six things in our political economy around housing, climate and poverty on Wednesday, February 5 are;Housing Minister Chris Bishop yesterday announcedKāinga Ora would be stripped of ...
This week Kiwirail and Auckland Transport were celebrating the completion of the summer rail works that had the network shut or for over a month and the start of electric trains to Pukekohe. First up, here’s parts of the press release about the shutdown works. Passengers boarding trains in Auckland ...
Through its austerity measures, the coalition government has engineered a rise in unemployment in order to reduce inflation while – simultaneously – cracking down harder and harder on the people thrown out of work by its own policies. To that end, Social Development Minister Louise Upston this week added two ...
This year, we've seen a radical, white supremacist government ignoring its Tiriti obligations, refusing to consult with Māori, and even trying to legislatively abrogate te Tiriti o Waitangi. When it was criticised by the Waitangi Tribunal, the government sabotaged that body, replacing its legal and historical experts with corporate shills, ...
Poor old democracy, it really is in a sorry state. It would be easy to put all the blame on the vandals and tyrants presently trashing the White House, but this has been years in the making. It begins with Margaret Thatcher and Ronald Reagan and the spirit of Gordon ...
The new school lunches came in this week, and they were absolutely scrumptious.I had some, and even though Connor said his tasted like “stodge” and gave him a sore tummy, I myself loved it!Look at the photos - I knew Mr Seymour wouldn’t lie when he told us last year:"It ...
The tighter sanctions are modelled on ones used in Britain, which did push people off ‘the dole’, but didn’t increase the number of workers, and which evidence has repeatedly shown don’t work. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāLong stories short, the top six things in our political economy around housing, ...
Catching you up on the morning’s global news and a quick look at the parallels -GLOBALTariffs are backSharemarkets in the US, UK and Europe have “plunged” in response to Trump’s tariffs. And while Mexico has won a one month reprieve, Canada and China will see their respective 25% and 10% ...
This post by Nicolas Reid was originally published on Linked in. It is republished here with permission. Gondolas are often in the news, with manufacturers of ropeway systems proposing them as a modern option for mass transit systems in New Zealand. However, like every next big thing in transport, it’s hard ...
This is a re-post from The Climate BrinkBoth 2023 and 2024 were exceptionally warm years, at just below and above 1.5C relative to preindustrial in the WMO composite of surface temperature records, respectively. While we are still working to assess the full set of drivers of this warmth, it is clear that ...
Hi,I woke up feeling nervous this morning, realising that this weekend Flightless Bird is going to do it’s first ever live show. We’re heading to a sold out (!) show in Seattle to test the format out in front of an audience. If it works, we’ll do more. I want ...
From the United-For-Now States of America comes the thrilling news that a New Zealander may be at the very heart of the current coup. Punching above our weight on the world stage once more! Wait, you may be asking, what New Zealander? I speak of Peter Thiel, made street legal ...
Even Stevens: Over the 33 years between 1990 and 2023 (and allowing for the aberrant 2020 result) the average level of support enjoyed by the Left and Right blocs, at roughly 44.5 percent each, turns out to be, as near as dammit, identical.WORLDWIDE, THE PARTIES of the Left are presented ...
Back in 2023, a "prominent political figure" went on trial for historic sex offences. But we weren't allowed to know who they were or what political party they were "prominent" in, because it might affect the way we voted. At the time, I said that this was untenable; it was ...
I'm going, I'm goingWhere the water tastes like wineI'm going where the water tastes like wineWe can jump in the waterStay drunk all the timeI'm gonna leave this city, got to get awayI'm gonna leave this city, got to get awayAll this fussing and fighting, man, you know I sure ...
Waitangi Day is a time to honour Te Tiriti o Waitangi and stand together for a just and fair Aotearoa. Across the motu, communities are gathering to reflect, kōrero, and take action for a future built on equity and tino rangatiratanga. From dawn ceremonies to whānau-friendly events, there are ...
Subscribe to Mountain Tūī ! Where you too can learn about exciting things from a flying bird! Tweet.Yes - I absolutely suck at marketing. It’s a fact.But first -My question to all readers is:How should I set up the Substack model?It’s been something I’ve been meaning to ask since November ...
Here’s the key news, commentary, reports and debate around Aotearoa’s political economy on politics and in the week to Feb 3:PM Christopher Luxon began 2025’s first day of Parliament last Tuesday by carrying on where left off in 2024, letting National’s junior coalition partner set the political agenda and dragging ...
The PSA have released a survey of 4000 public service workers showing that budget cuts are taking a toll on the wellbeing of public servants and risking the delivery of essential services to New Zealanders. Economists predict that figures released this week will show continued increases in unemployment, potentially reaching ...
The Prime Minister’s speech 10 days or so ago kicked off a flurry of commentary. No one much anywhere near the mainstream (ie excluding Greens supporters) questioned the rhetoric. New Zealand has done woefully poorly on productivity for a long time and we really need better outcomes, and the sorts ...
President Trump on the day he announced tariffs against Mexico, Canada and China, unleashing a shock to supply chains globally that is expected to slow economic growth and increase inflation for most large economies. Photo: Getty ImagesLong stories short, the top six things in our political economy around housing, climate ...
Photo by Towfiqu barbhuiya on UnsplashHere’s what we’re watching in the week to February 9 and beyond in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, climate and poverty:Monday, February 3Politics: New Zealand Government cabinet meeting usually held early afternoon with post-cabinet news conference possible at 4 pm, although they have not been ...
Trump being Trump, it won’t come as a shock to find that he regards a strong US currency (bolstered by high tariffs on everything made by foreigners) as a sign of America’s virility, and its ability to kick sand in the face of the world. Reality is a tad more ...
A listing of 24 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, January 26, 2025 thru Sat, February 1, 2025. This week's roundup is again published soleley by category. We are still interested in feedback to hone the categorization, so if ...
What seems to be the common theme in the US, NZ, Argentina and places like Italy under their respective rightwing governments is what I think of as “the politics of cruelty.” Hate-mongering, callous indifference in social policy-making, corporate toadying, political bullying, intimidation and punching down on the most vulnerable with ...
If you are confused, check with the sunCarry a compass to help you alongYour feet are going to be on the groundYour head is there to move you aroundSo, stand in the place where you liveSongwriters: Bill Berry / Michael Mills / Michael Stipe / Peter Buck.Hot in the CityYesterday, ...
Shane Jones announced today he would be contracting out his thinking to a smarter younger person.Reclining on his chaise longue with a mouth full of oysters and Kina he told reporters:Clearly I have become a has-been, a palimpsest, an epigone, a bloviating fossil. I find myself saying such things as: ...
Warning: This post contains references to sexual assaultOn Saturday, I spent far too long editing a video on Tim Jago, the ACT Party President and criminal, who has given up his fight for name suppression after 2 years. He voluntarily gave up just in time for what will be a ...
New Zealand First has today introduced a Member’s Bill which would restore decision-making power to local communities regarding the fluoridation of drinking water. The ‘Fluoridation (Referendum) Legislation Bill’ seeks to repeal the Health (Fluoridation of Drinking Water) Amendment Act 2021 that granted centralised authority to the Direct General of Health ...
New Zealand First has introduced a Member’s Bill aimed at preventing banks from refusing their services to businesses because of the current “Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) Framework”. “This Bill ensures fairness and prevents ESG standards from perpetuating woke ideology in the banking sector being driven by unelected, globalist, climate ...
Erica Stanford has reached peak shortsightedness if today’s announcement is anything to go by, picking apart immigration settings piece by piece to the detriment of the New Zealand economy. ...
Our originating document, theTreaty of Waitangi, was signed on February 6, 1840. An agreement between Māori and the British Crown. Initially inked by Ngā Puhi in Waitangi, further signatures were added as it travelled south. The intention was to establish a colony with the cession of sovereignty to the Crown, ...
Te Whatu Ora Chief Executive Margie Apa leaving her job four months early is another symptom of this government’s failure to deliver healthcare for New Zealanders. ...
The Green Party is calling for the Prime Minister to show leadership and be unequivocal about Aotearoa New Zealand’s opposition to a proposal by the US President to remove Palestinians from Gaza. ...
The latest unemployment figures reveal that job losses are hitting Māori and Pacific people especially hard, with Māori unemployment reaching a staggering 9.7% for the December 2024 quarter and Pasifika unemployment reaching 10.5%. ...
Waitangi 2025: Waitangi Day must be community and not politically driven - Shane Jones Our originating document, theTreaty of Waitangi, was signed on February 6, 1840. An agreement between Māori and the British Crown. Initially inked by Ngā Puhi in Waitangi, further signatures were added as it travelled south. ...
Despite being confronted every day with people in genuine need being stopped from accessing emergency housing – National still won’t commit to building more public houses. ...
The Green Party says the Government is giving up on growing the country’s public housing stock, despite overwhelming evidence that we need more affordable houses to solve the housing crisis. ...
Before any thoughts of the New Year and what lies ahead could even be contemplated, New Zealand reeled with the tragedy of Senior Sergeant Lyn Fleming losing her life. For over 38 years she had faithfully served as a front-line Police officer. Working alongside her was Senior Sergeant Adam Ramsay ...
Green Party co-leader Marama Davidson will return to politics at Waitangi on Monday the 3rd of February where she will hold a stand up with fellow co-leader Chlöe Swarbrick. ...
Te Pāti Māori is appalled by the government's blatant mishandling of the school lunch programme. David Seymour’s ‘cost-saving’ measures have left tamariki across Aotearoa with unidentifiable meals, causing distress and outrage among parents and communities alike. “What’s the difference between providing inedible food, and providing no food at all?” Said ...
The Government is doubling down on outdated and volatile fossil fuels, showing how shortsighted and destructive their policies are for working New Zealanders. ...
Green Party MP Steve Abel this morning joined Coromandel locals in Waihi to condemn new mining plans announced by Shane Jones in the pit of the town’s Australian-owned Gold mine. ...
The Green Party is calling on the Government to strengthen its just-announced 2030-2035 Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) under the Paris Agreement and address its woeful lack of commitment to climate security. ...
Today marks a historic moment for Taranaki iwi with the passing of the Te Pire Whakatupua mō Te Kāhui Tupua/Taranaki Maunga Collective Redress Bill in Parliament. "Today, we stand together as descendants of Taranaki, and our tūpuna, Taranaki Maunga, is now formally acknowledged by the law as a living tūpuna. ...
Labour is relieved to see Children’s Minister Karen Chhour has woken up to reality and reversed her government’s terrible decisions to cut funding from frontline service providers – temporarily. ...
It is the first week of David Seymour’s school lunch programme and already social media reports are circulating of revolting meals, late deliveries, and mislabelled packaging. ...
The Green Party says that with no-cause evictions returning from today, the move to allow landlords to end tenancies without reason plunges renters, and particularly families who rent, into insecurity and stress. ...
The Government’s move to increase speed limits substantially on dozens of stretches of rural and often undivided highways will result in more serious harm. ...
In her first announcement as Economic Growth Minister, Nicola Willis chose to loosen restrictions for digital nomads from other countries, rather than focus on everyday Kiwis. ...
The Government’s commitment to get New Zealand’s roads back on track is delivering strong results, with around 98 per cent of potholes on state highways repaired within 24 hours of identification every month since targets were introduced, Transport Minister Chris Bishop says. “Increasing productivity to help rebuild our economy is ...
The former Cadbury factory will be the site of the Inpatient Building for the new Dunedin Hospital and Health Minister Simeon Brown says actions have been taken to get the cost overruns under control. “Today I am giving the people of Dunedin certainty that we will build the new Dunedin ...
From today, Plunket in Whāngarei will be offering childhood immunisations – the first of up to 27 sites nationwide, Health Minister Simeon Brown says. The investment of $1 million into the pilot, announced in October 2024, was made possible due to the Government’s record $16.68 billion investment in health. It ...
New Zealand’s strong commitment to the rights of disabled people has continued with the response to an important United Nations report, Disability Issues Minister Louise Upston has announced. Of the 63 concluding observations of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD), 47 will be progressed ...
Resources Minister Shane Jones has launched New Zealand’s national Minerals Strategy and Critical Minerals List, documents that lay a strategic and enduring path for the mineral sector, with the aim of doubling exports to $3 billion by 2035. Mr Jones released the documents, which present the Coalition Government’s transformative vision ...
Firstly I want to thank OceanaGold for hosting our event today. Your operation at Waihi is impressive. I want to acknowledge local MP Scott Simpson, local government dignitaries, community stakeholders and all of you who have gathered here today. It’s a privilege to welcome you to the launch of the ...
Racing Minister, Winston Peters has announced the Government is preparing public consultation on GST policy proposals which would make the New Zealand racing industry more competitive. “The racing industry makes an important economic contribution. New Zealand thoroughbreds are in demand overseas as racehorses and for breeding. The domestic thoroughbred industry ...
Business confidence remains very high and shows the economy is on track to improve, Economic Growth Minister Nicola Willis says. “The latest ANZ Business Outlook survey, released yesterday, shows business confidence and expected own activity are ‘still both very high’.” The survey reports business confidence fell eight points to +54 ...
Enabling works have begun this week on an expanded radiology unit at Hawke’s Bay Fallen Soldiers’ Memorial Hospital which will double CT scanning capacity in Hawke’s Bay to ensure more locals can benefit from access to timely, quality healthcare, Health Minister Simeon Brown says. This investment of $29.3m in the ...
The Government has today announced New Zealand’s second international climate target under the Paris Agreement, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. New Zealand will reduce emissions by 51 to 55 per cent compared to 2005 levels, by 2035. “We have worked hard to set a target that is both ambitious ...
Nine years of negotiations between the Crown and iwi of Taranaki have concluded following Te Pire Whakatupua mō Te Kāhui Tupua/the Taranaki Maunga Collective Redress Bill passing its third reading in Parliament today, Treaty Negotiations Minister Paul Goldsmith says. “This Bill addresses the historical grievances endured by the eight iwi ...
As schools start back for 2025, there will be a relentless focus on teaching the basics brilliantly so all Kiwi kids grow up with the knowledge, skills and competencies needed to grow the New Zealand of the future, Education Minister Erica Stanford says. “A world-leading education system is a key ...
Housing Minister Chris Bishop and Associate Agriculture Minister Mark Patterson have welcomed Kāinga Ora’s decision to re-open its tender for carpets to allow wool carpet suppliers to bid. “In 2024 Kāinga Ora issued requests for tender (RFTs) seeking bids from suppliers to carpet their properties,” Mr Bishop says. “As part ...
Associate Education Minister David Seymour has today visited Otahuhu College where the new school lunch programme has served up healthy lunches to students in the first days of the school year. “As schools open in 2025, the programme will deliver nutritious meals to around 242,000 students, every school day. On ...
Minister for Children Karen Chhour has intervened in Oranga Tamariki’s review of social service provider contracts to ensure Barnardos can continue to deliver its 0800 What’s Up hotline. “When I found out about the potential impact to this service, I asked Oranga Tamariki for an explanation. Based on the information ...
A bill to make revenue collection on imported and exported goods fairer and more effective had its first reading in Parliament, Customs Minister Casey Costello said today. “The Customs (Levies and Other Matters) Amendment Bill modernises the way in which Customs can recover the costs of services that are needed ...
Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden says the Department of Internal Affairs [the Department] has achieved significant progress in completing applications for New Zealand citizenship. “December 2024 saw the Department complete 5,661 citizenship applications, the most for any month in 2024. This is a 54 per cent increase compared ...
Reversals to Labour’s blanket speed limit reductions begin tonight and will be in place by 1 July, says Minister of Transport Chris Bishop. “The previous government was obsessed with slowing New Zealanders down by imposing illogical and untargeted speed limit reductions on state highways and local roads. “National campaigned on ...
Finance Minister Nicola Willis has announced Budget 2025 – the Growth Budget - will be delivered on Thursday 22 May. “This year’s Budget will drive forward the Government’s plan to grow our economy to improve the incomes of New Zealanders now and in the years ahead. “Budget 2025 will build ...
For the Government, 2025 will bring a relentless focus on unleashing the growth we need to lift incomes, strengthen local businesses and create opportunity. Prime Minister Christopher Luxon today laid out the Government’s growth agenda in his Statement to Parliament. “Just over a year ago this Government was elected by ...
Associate Education Minister David Seymour welcomes students back to school with a call to raise attendance from last year. “The Government encourages all students to attend school every day because there is a clear connection between being present at school and setting yourself up for a bright future,” says Mr ...
The Government is relaxing visitor visa requirements to allow tourists to work remotely while visiting New Zealand, Economic Growth Minister Nicola Willis, Immigration Minister Erica Stanford and Tourism Minister Louise Upston say. “The change is part of the Government’s plan to unlock New Zealand’s potential by shifting the country onto ...
The opening of Kāinga Ora’s development of 134 homes in Epuni, Lower Hutt will provide much-needed social housing for Hutt families, Housing Minister Chris Bishop says. “I’ve been a strong advocate for social housing on Kāinga Ora’s Epuni site ever since the old earthquake-prone housing was demolished in 2015. I ...
Trade and Investment Minister Todd McClay will travel to Australia today for meetings with Australian Trade Minister, Senator Don Farrell, and the Australia New Zealand Leadership Forum (ANZLF). Mr McClay recently hosted Minister Farrell in Rotorua for the annual Closer Economic Relations (CER) Trade Ministers’ meeting, where ANZLF presented on ...
A new monthly podiatry clinic has been launched today in Wairoa and will bring a much-needed service closer to home for the Wairoa community, Health Minister Simeon Brown says.“Health New Zealand has been successful in securing a podiatrist until the end of June this year to meet the needs of ...
The Judicial Conduct Commissioner has recommended a Judicial Conduct Panel be established to inquire into and report on the alleged conduct of acting District Court Judge Ema Aitken in an incident last November, Attorney-General Judith Collins said today. “I referred the matter of Judge Aitken’s alleged conduct during an incident ...
Students who need extra help with maths are set to benefit from a targeted acceleration programme that will give them more confidence in the classroom, Education Minister Erica Stanford says. “Last year, significant numbers of students did not meet the foundational literacy and numeracy level required to gain NCEA. To ...
Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters has announced three new diplomatic appointments. “Our diplomats play an important role in ensuring New Zealand’s interests are maintained and enhanced across the world,” Mr Peters says. “It is a pleasure to announce the appointment of these senior diplomats from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and ...
Ki te kahore he whakakitenga, ka ngaro te Iwi – without a vision, the people will perish. The Government has achieved its target to reduce the number of households in emergency housing motels by 75 per cent five years early, Associate Housing Minister Tama Potaka says. The number of households ...
The opening of Palmerston North’s biggest social housing development will have a significant impact for whānau in need of safe, warm, dry housing, Associate Housing Minister Tama Potaka says. The minister visited the development today at North Street where a total of 50 two, three, and four-bedroom homes plus a ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has announced the new membership of the Public Advisory Committee on Disarmament and Arms Control (PACDAC), who will serve for a three-year term. “The Committee brings together wide-ranging expertise relevant to disarmament. We have made six new appointments to the Committee and reappointed two existing members ...
Ka nui te mihi kia koutou. Kia ora, good morning, talofa, malo e lelei, bula vinaka, da jia hao, namaste, sat sri akal, assalamu alaikum. It’s so great to be here and I’m ready and pumped for 2025. Can I start by acknowledging: Simon Bridges – CEO of the Auckland ...
The Government has unveiled a bold new initiative to position New Zealand as a premier destination for foreign direct investment (FDI) that will create higher paying jobs and grow the economy. “Invest New Zealand will streamline the investment process and provide tailored support to foreign investors, to increase capital investment ...
Science, Innovation and Technology Minister Judith Collins today announced the largest reset of the New Zealand science system in more than 30 years with reforms which will boost the economy and benefit the sector. “The reforms will maximise the value of the $1.2 billion in government funding that goes into ...
Turbocharging New Zealand’s economic growth is the key to brighter days ahead for all Kiwis, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon says. In the Prime Minister’s State of the Nation Speech in Auckland today, Christopher Luxon laid out the path to the prosperity that will affect all aspects of New Zealanders’ lives. ...
The latest set of accounts show the Government has successfully checked the runaway growth of public spending, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. “In the previous government’s final five months in office, public spending was almost 10 per cent higher than for the same period the previous year. “That is completely ...
The Government’s welfare reforms are delivering results with the number of people moving off benefits into work increasing year-on-year for six straight months. “There are positive signs that our welfare reset and the return consequences for job seekers who don't fulfil their obligations to prepare for or find a job ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra The Albanese government will on Wednesday announce it is willing, as a last resort, to purchase the collapsed Rex Airlines, in its latest bid to prop up aviation services to regional and remote areas. As ...
Jotham Napat has been elected as the new prime minister of Vanuatu. Napat was elected unopposed in Port Vila today, receiving 50 votes with two void votes. He is the country’s fifth prime minister in four years and will lead a coalition government made up of five political parties — ...
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Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Paul Strangio, Emeritus Professor of Politics, Monash University Is history repeating itself in Labor’s fortress state of Victoria? At the 1990 federal election, Bob Hawke’s Labor government had a near-death experience when it lost nine seats in Victoria. A furious Hawke laid ...
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And of course this was never gonna happen was it ? Call it Simon Bridges’ 89 day slavery law. *
http://www.stuff.co.nz/business/money/9483649/Thousands-lose-jobs-in-90-day-trial
* For Simon Bridges read ShonKey Python.
The only surprise is that this made the corporate news at all
there are always ‘McJobs’ to queue for. ‘McJobs’, very enticing…
why wouldn’t you? queue for the benefits. Not 40 hrs though, oh no…
The 90 day right to prove yourself has been proven to be a wonderful success story. Thousands of people who would never have been given the chance to work have found employment. Employers agree that the 90 day right to prove yourself encourages employers to take a risk without risking being sued for thousands. New Zealand has thus joined every other country in the OECD which gives prospective workers the chance to work. It has been a great success story as the article clearly shows.
A wonderful success for whom? One of the things you were touting years ago (from memory) was that youth unemployment rates would go down. Last time I looked they kept going up.
So I guess that is a failure?
“It is not known how many workers were dismissed during the 90-day-trial period, but the figures revealed 27 per cent of employers said they had fired at least one new employee during or at the end of their trial. ”
– So the papers are making stuff up again and not mentioning how many new employees had been hired at the same time
Dishonest Puckish Rogue. You ignore the basis on which it is tentatively calculated (actually written in the article) that 18,000 people are involved here. Dishonest Puckish Rogue. Not surprised. Textor-Tosser. As always.
18,000 people who didn’t make the grade gave another 18,000 the opportunity to show what they’ve got and secure themselves a job.
What’s the problem?
Yeah alright then Bowel Motion……..and then 18,000 more for 89 days, and then 18,000 more the 89 days after that, and so on. I daresay the plantation owners too were in the position to resolve that their last slave purchase was a bad deal.
The problem you fucked up old moron is that you don’t see a problem. Hope karma gets you. We’re talking at minimum 18,000 beating human hearts here. That doesn’t matter ??? Um um um what’s the problem ???
Because of the lack of distinction between people who should never have been hired in the first place and people who would have been excellent employees if their manager didn’t take a “sink or swim” approach.
All 90-day fire at will provides is a ripcord for managers who can’t hire appropriate staff for the job, and can’t manage the staff they do hire.
Frankly, it’s not the employee who should be fired after three months, it’s the incompetent manager.
What a load of horse shit.
There is an odour surrounding your argument BM
management style like that (abuse, not context, no explanation of basis for that response, no advise on how to improve) is a perfect illustration of the sort of stupid fuck who needs a 90F@W law in order to run their business.
You can’t actually say any of that because we don’t know what’s really happening out there. All indications are, though, that the 90 day fire at will bill is working as intended – making work even more precarious and thus helping drive down wages.
How could I not let that quip through.
National think it’s great WINZ save money when someone on a benefit gets a job for 90 days then has a stand down period before receiving a benefit again. Sick f**ks.
cuts those “long term unemployed” stats though, don’t it…
Exactly, was the main motivation for it’s implementation imo
And some dick from the EPMU is also bleating about people being released within 90 days. They get released because they don’t cut the the mustard. Cuntlipps can change the law but nothing will change. Employers will get rid of dead wood bludgers and yes, they will curse they ever employed them, but at least the employer will learn from his/her mistake.
I’ve never seen much evidence that most employers can learn from anything. Given the number of mistakes they do make, if they could actually learn from them, they’d all be bloody Nobel Laureates. Instead, they have the emotional maturity of someone who thinks it’s witty to name someone after labia.
Why do people worship these privileged, parasitic inbreds?
http://hubpages.com/hub/The-Habsburg-Jaw-And-Other-Royal-Inbreeding-Deformities-and-Disorders
Some number crunching:
1,058,636: number of votes received by National in 2011
1,083,309: number of votes cast in the referendum, so far.
Hmmm, not sure why my comments are doubling up.
I’m not sure I understand the point behind your numbers..
Or is just a reflection?
Hi, Paul, just noting that the number of posted referendum ballots has now passed the number of votes National claim gave them a ‘mandate’ to sell our assets. Not that all the ballots will be opposed, of course. I imagine we’ll need a return of around 1.5 million to have a ‘mandate’ that actually reflects what kiwis actually want.
Nor do I. 90% of the time it is the browser. Try shutting it down and reopening it (if it isn’t IE of course – that never really shuts down).
Could also be the server that just shut down, you’d have gotten diverted to another server so the dup checking wouldn’t have worked
Dropping firefox and reopening it seems to have worked. I have lost the “Gateway problem” message. Chrome worked through the server drop without a hitch. Could be something to do with the server stickiness and chrome wasn’t on that server. Could also be that firefox isn’t as good at tcp link failures.
Tis odd..
Hummm replacement server also failed. That area seems to have a problem. Activating a server on the other side. Removing servers from the affected side.
Fixed after figuring out the server that was causing the issue.
Cheers, LP. As always, in awe of your technical prowess.
Not this morning. It was freaking irritating because it got in the way of what I got up at 0530 to work on.
Not this morning. It was freaking irritating because it got in the way of what I got up at 0530 to work on. And I forgot to resticky the balancer.
lprent
I wonder do the other big blogs have problems similar? Do we need more money to purchase better, more robust systems. More should be forthcoming if this is so.
Also I can’t see that the site would be immune from the noxious attitudes being shown by ACC to a poor protester in the street outside their mansion. Harrassment diminishing strength, and a desire to remove and clear the irritating dissent. Now we have wide ranging privacy interference laws and people with few scruples, it is possible that the disturbing of the systems will recur often as covert harrassment. I would consider it if I was on The Dark Side.
lprent
I notice that in my personal archive all the comments between Nov 30th and today have vanished.
lprent
And each comment this morning once submitted has led to page ‘Connection closed by remote server’. I’ve gone back, gone Home, and found it but there is no edit option with it hence separate comments.
such a Problem Child , oopsa’ daisy. 😀
I think The Standards reliability isn’t great compared to other big blogs either.
I put it down to Lynn doing this very much on a part-time / hobby basis, as well as with something that is a bit customised rather than a bog standard installation.
In that sense I think the reliability we receive is pretty good.
I see young master Robert Salmond is predicting a 950 K “No”-vote on a turnout of roughly 1.35 million. Not quite National’s vote, but not far off it. Opinion Polls, of course, have been suggesting two-thirds opposition for a long time now.
Ironic
Yeah. I have to find out why a server instance dumping like that causes a problem with dup comments. I guess it isn’t using the common memcache.
Another job for the weekend.
The ACC protest goes on, with Mike Dixon-McIvor looking increasingly sick and ACC is still harrassing him (see quote below). Why is this not even a brief story anymore?
http://michaelbott.blogspot.co.nz/2013/11/accs-continuing-persecution-of-mike.html
“Now having lost his home and income thanks to ACC Mike is conducting a hunger strike on the doorsteps of ACC’s plush Wellington offices in Aitken Street.
But now it seems that ACC’s bullying of Mike continues even while he protests. At night as he maintains his presence outside their building an ACC security guard wakes him up every two hours. Last night the guard admitted he did this on the instructions of ACC. The denial of sleep in this way is getting pretty close to a form of sleep deprivation. Also Wellington City Council received an “anonymous” complaint about Mike’s dog, who was his companion on the protest. Following an approach by the council, Mike’s dog has had to be sent away.
The streets of our capital are cold at night, and to deprive an old man of both sleep and a source of warmth as he undertakes a hunger strike is particularly cruel.”
The ACC protest goes on, with Mike Dixon-McIvor looking increasingly sick and ACC is still harrassing him (see quote below). Why is this not even a brief story anymore?
http://michaelbott.blogspot.co.nz/2013/11/accs-continuing-persecution-of-mike.html
“Now having lost his home and income thanks to ACC Mike is conducting a hunger strike on the doorsteps of ACC’s plush Wellington offices in Aitken Street.
But now it seems that ACC’s bullying of Mike continues even while he protests. At night as he maintains his presence outside their building an ACC security guard wakes him up every two hours. Last night the guard admitted he did this on the instructions of ACC. The denial of sleep in this way is getting pretty close to a form of sleep deprivation. Also Wellington City Council received an “anonymous” complaint about Mike’s dog, who was his companion on the protest. Following an approach by the council, Mike’s dog has had to be sent away.
The streets of our capital are cold at night, and to deprive an old man of both sleep and a source of warmth as he undertakes a hunger strike is particularly cruel.”
@ asleep..thnx 4 the heads-up on that..
..i’ve featured it..fwiw..
..my headline is ‘the bastards who surround us’..
..phillip ure..
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/9483812/Quick-solution-to-online-underage-liquor-sales
I do hope that the government will act to protect kids from the harm alcohol can do them. They seem to consistently ignore advice and solutions to the problems alcohol create.
I’m left with the distinct impression that the alcohol industry has way too much influence on the government.
re cricket-corruption allegations:
when you have three accused..
..and ‘a’ is ‘cooperating fully with the authorities’…
..and ‘b’ ‘has heard nothing’ from those same authorities..
..it is easy to surmise that ‘a’ has ‘rolled-over’..
..and is being lined up to give evidence against ‘b’..
..eh..?
..phillip ure..
It looks a little like that, doesn’t it.
Not at all,
3 months ago it was known that the icc were preparing investigating match and spot fixing and that nz players were to be part of the investigation, so if within some circles it was known back then think something is being missed in the reporting.
Police officer punches down protesting student at University of London
The power elite are destroying the university system of education in the UK, making it unaffordable for most, and privatising/corporatising the institution for the rest.
http://www.theguardian.com/world/video/2013/dec/05/police-officer-punches-student-university-london-protest-video
Went to Bryan Gould’s book launch (“Myths, Politicians & Money”) last night (Thanks to the mighty Fabians for arranging)
It was a good talk and he roved over some of the contents of the book and answered questions. Penny B was there and as usual was right on the button with her comments.
Purchased a copy read the intro. late last night and hopefully can start book proper today.
http://www.radionz.co.nz/audio/player/2575827
I hope the above link works, it is the Bryan Gould interview with Chris Laidlaw a few weeks back discussing this book…very interesting.
Thanks. Interesting audio.
Gould’s post based on his book.
Extract from the post, with Thatcherism, Reaganism et al:
. Virtually the whole of the increased wealth of the last three decades has gone to the richest people in our society; poverty, even in the “rich” countries, has risen
And this has come to be accepted as ‘the’ norm, the correct way,. Discussing with a wealthy relative this nation’s bad outcomes from past present and likely future policies, he said that Key will lead us out of our problems this is what he knows.
When you have money there is no spur to change anything, to do anything but ameliorate some ills. The mind goes to sleep, and all interest is centred on organising one’s own little world to maximise benefits from one’s own resources.
And the others who don’t have those resources get offered disingenuous slogans – ‘get more education, work harder, smarten yourself up to get opportunities and seize them – it’s all individual striving nothing structural and the advice ignores the current realities.
in order for this kind of thinking to work politically, there must be a huge number of people NOT in the top group but who slavishly believe it’s either their fault for not working hard enough, or it’s only a matter of time? In the face of oh so much evidence to the contrary.
It does.
The pathology of the rich
Essential watching.
1 minute into this video and two things strike me.
Firstly, I like Hedges. His book ‘American Fascists: The Christian Right and the War on America’ was a good read and intellectually sound take on the US religious right.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Fascists)
Secondly was the quote “The inability to to articulate a viable socialism has been our gravest mistake”.
That’s where you come in Draco…
1 minute into this video and two things strike me.
Firstly, I like Hedges. His book ‘American Fascists: The Christian Right and the War on America’ was a good read and intellectually sound take on the US religious right.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Fascists)
Secondly was the quote “The inability to to articulate a viable socialism has been our gravest mistake”.
That’s where you come in Draco…
Hedges is very good. Writing from Sarajevo as it was being shelled week after week after week, as well as from many other war zones, has given the man a perspective of the potential results of moral, economic and political decline that few others have.
I’m working on it and most of what I say is already sounder than the capitalist system that we have.
Keep at it, champ.
Keep at it, champ.
wow…Simon Bridges (wanker) Website hacked…
http://www.simon-bridges.co.nz/
Good work who ever did this!
Simon Bridges site is http://www.simonbridges.co.nz
http://www.simon-bridges.co.nz is a nice image of the original with a few extras. Not a hack..
Nice though.
LOL
UK Marine who shot heavily wounded Afghan insurgent in chest named
Charged with murder. How to take a talented young man and twist him over the years into a cold blooded murderer on the orders of the power elite.
http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2013/dec/05/royal-marine-alexander-blackman-taliban-murder
two words we really need to focus more on:
..’tax-gap’..
..this is the amount the tax dept of any country (from their number-crunching) estimates it should receive in revenue on any given year..
..and the actual amount that comes in..
..in britain..the chancellor there has estimated the amount is $35 billion..
..and the recent doco on poverty here had an ‘industry-expert’ estimate the amount here is $2.5 billion..
..each and every year..
..this is the amount the corporates/elites are ‘dodging/avoiding’…
..(and as an aside..get that monies due each year..and there is yr funding to end poverty..eh..?
..and to do so so much more..)
..and instead of parker pushing raising retirement age..(on economic grounds)..shouldn’t he be promising to get this money..?
..and that $2.5 billion per yr..puts into clear perspective those who this govt focuses on/targets..
..total benefit fraud in nz is $23 million per yr..
..not a small amount of money..
..but next to $2.5 billion..?..
..really..?..
http://whoar.co.nz/2013/ed-just-what-is-the-tax-gap-here-in-new-zealand-just-how-much-are-those-1erscorporates-with-sharp-accountantslawyers-ripping-off-from-the-rest-of-the-country/
phillip ure..
great piece by Tipene O’regan on 9-noon this a.m.
He understands what the nitwits dont.
Cap hook
Yes +1
BBC Hard Talk: SOFT on Power, HARD on Real Journalism, Truth Telling and Glenn Greenwald
by JOSHUA FUNNELL, Huffington Post, 5 December 2013
Listening to the political gurglings of right-wing commentators a vision is painted of a monolithic BBC acting as an anti-establishment, subversive enemy within. A BBC where leftist executives plot how best to infect society with commie ideals and pollute the minds of youth with an antibusiness, pro EU, anti military, politically correct neurosis. “The BBC is left wing” has become one of those “common sense” truisms read straight from the book of Tory cliches. Alas the idea bears no relation to reality.
According to research by Cardiff University, the “left wing BBC” idea, academically speaking, is crap. For example, we are told Auntie Beeb is “anti business” and “pro unions”. Strange then that Cardiff have discovered that “On (the) BBC News at Six, business representatives outnumbered trade union spokespersons by more than five to one (11 vs 2) in 2007 and by 19 to one in 2012.” Additionally, whilst discussing the impacts of immigration and EU trade policy, out of 806 sources not ONE was from organised labour.
Organised labour, lest we forget, amounts only to that minor accolade of being the single greatest democratic block of working people in British civil society and those primarily effected by the aforementioned policies. However, the BBC’s actions suggest that these union members do not register as economic players, they aren’t the movers and shakers, the guys in the big club wielding political and economic capital, the owner and controller class that the BBC routinely embraces for opinion and source material. The BBC has historic form on this front; the fledgling organisation was used by the Baldwin government to peddle government propaganda demonising the 1922 General Strike. Again in this instance the BBC denied appearances to organised labour representatives. Workers renamed the BBC in response as the “British Falsehood Corporation”.
This hidden in plain sight bias has long been documented by the fine work of Media Lens. They have presided over a decades worth of ceaseless mainstream/corporate media vigilance, documenting clear trends in bias by scouring vast databases of media output. The bias is firmly to the establishment, of whom a principle culprit is the BBC. In short the BBC of today demonstrates a systematic penchant for parroting, or providing platforms for, the views of pro military interventionists, economic Neoliberals and the unholy trinity of UK party politics. Despite these entities and ideologies being responsible for economic and military extremism that has lead to disastrous foreign escapades and global financial meltdowns, they still provide the bulk of the BBC’s primary source material. This was notable during the financial crisis, where the BBC in a perverse and sick twist depended heavily on the city culprits themselves as sources. Cardiff’s research shows how they were gifted near saturation exposure by the BBC to exonerate themselves of responsibility.
Additionally, let’s take the Iraq war, where former Director General Greg Dyke had the audacity to criticise the pro war bias of the American media. Yet under his own watch – according to both the University of Cardiff and research by Media Tennor – the BBC’s war coverage consisted of just 2% anti war voices. This was the single worst performance of any news organisation in the Western Media, where pro war voices outnumbered the antis by a ratio of roughly 10 to 1. The fact that the majority of the British public rejected the war did not reflect in coverage. The BBC’s abysmal performance amounted to a psychological crime perpetrated against the very public who fund the institution. Yet this should not surprise anyone. During the Falkland’s war the BBC stated in leaked minutes….
Read more….
http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/joshua-funnell/glenn-greenwald-bbc_b_4376980.html
If you are serious about the quality of public discourse, you will want to check out David Edwards’ and David Cromwell’s superb British site Media Lens, the scourge of the BBC, the Grauniad, the Murdoch media and other government mouthpieces….
http://www.medialens.org/
…and its superb forum….
http://members5.boardhost.com/medialens/
thanks for this. good read.
Yep, Morrissey, same preposterous accusations of Left-wing-bias against the mainstream US, Aussie and even Kiwi media. In reality, most journos are (in tune with their socio-economic interests) ‘Liberal-Centrists’ at best. Relatively liberal on moral issues like abortion, homosexual law reform and capital punishment, but generally centre-right on economic issues (Former leading journo-turned-Govt-Dept-Head, Al Morrisson, being a perfect example. Constantly abused by Righties (eg local Neo-Con bore, David Cohen) as a “leftie”, Morrison made clear on his retirement from the profession that his economic views were very much centre-right).
More importantly, of course, the MSM they work for is inherently pro-establishment, including – as you argue – on foreign policy. Any critical journalism occurs within very narrow parameters.
More on the British Bullshit Corporation in Part 2 (The Empire Strikes Back), below.
Good morning, peeps.
Have just seen this.
Throwaway remark or throw out the guy ? 🙂
“A throwaway remark by Prime Minister John Key has unleashed nervous speculation and head scratching among members of Parliament that a minor party is about to rescue National’s stalled new environmental law.”
http://agrihq.co.nz/article/speculation-grows-on-rma-rescue?p=6
Winston First? Do they have a stated view on this one?
Nelson Mandela has died
http://www.stuff.co.nz/world/africa/9485450/Nelson-Mandela-dead-Zuma
R.I.P
Very sad news. With the deaths of Hugo Chávez and Nelson Mandela, that’s two great democratic leaders who have passed away this year.
Please that his struggle is over. I sometimes wondered if he kept hanging on cos others werent ready for him to go.
This man epitomised “leadership”, SO MANY HOLD LEADERSHIP POSITIONS BUT ARENT ACTUALLY LEADERS.
Very sad to hear about Nelson Mandela, because he was the “Epitome” of struggle and fight against an unjust & corrupt system.
But life goes on, I will be watching to see what this govt will be slipping in under the radar while the public’s focus is elsewhere.
Still looking for work and getting very discouraged. Sick of agents and sick of being ignored or there being someone better, always some excuse. You are just a resource to be used up and boxed into a category. If you do not fit exactly forget it. Never mind that you have a brain and are adaptable. A cog in the machinery of business.When you are left out or do not fit what does that make you? A defective part?
The feeling you get from employing managers and agents is do not bother me because I’m busy and my time is valuable and I’m more important than you. There must be something wrong with you if you cannot get a job.
Life sucks when you cannot get a job. The financial, mental and physical effects take you down.
Sorry for the self pity rant. Trying to stay positive but some days are hard. 😐
Glad you could get it off your chest. I wont type anything trite just wish you all the luck in the world landing some work.
Cheers.
my sympathies Flip, nearly went back overseas after months of that in a pre GFC market, I now know what the issue was….I have ability and a proven track record of achievement.
Trick is to not stand out, threaten or look anything remotely like a free thinker who may rock the boat or you may show the incumbents up.
Show up, fit in, keep your counsel, go the AB’s, gosh that John key’s a great bloke etc etc
Yep. Express an opinion or view that the boss has made a mistake. Managers are employed to do the capitalists bidding. Much like security guards protecting a tyrant.
Hard for employees to get a say. It is only our lives that are expended in the service of the business not something important like money. (Sarcasm)
Reminds me of something someone said to me after a round of public service downsizings 20 odd years ago, although he was quoting someone who was talking of the private sector which was also going through a time of belt-tightening to enrich the executives and investors. “Give up on your boss – they gave up on you a long time ago”.
The young uns probably have the right attitude these days. All the mission statements and values and bollocks about the organisation valuing its staff & customers is PR garbage.Show up, work for the hours you signed up to and no more. Leave that job for something different or something better every two years or so before you get too comfortable. Don’t expect the boss to do anything more for you than employ you to do what they hired you for and pay you what they agreed to pay you. You owe the boss nothing more than to work the hours they pay you for.
I did make the mistake of staying somewhere too long. Too committed.
Don’t apologise Flip. You are not the one to be sorry.
I am in the same situation as you. I sometimes begin to doubt my ability after all the let downs and some days its hard not to feel discouraged, isolated and “other”. I try to remember that this is the first time in my life that I have not been able to get work, and that we are living in shit times with an anti worker govt that treats us like disposable units. The 90 day Act is a prime example.
You are right though. It does suck, and I hope good things are just around the corner for you. Take care.
Thanks for the encouragement. Agree about the 90 day Act. Read on kiwiblog propaganda on how successful it has been from the POV of employers. Pointed out the article did not survey workers views and so it is a bit of a one-sided story.
It is a very difficult circumstance. Your health and fitness is most important. Also keep a sharp, tight, regular daily routine. Read. Actual physical books preferred. And join some volunteer or sporting activities during the week so you continue to extend your social networks. We place a lot of importance in defining ourselves and our place in society via work. That’s worth reflecting on by itself.
‘We place a lot of importance in defining ourselves and our place in society via work. That’s worth reflecting on by itself.’
Agree. That was me. Had to do a bit of redefining over the last few years.
Good advice CV – I’ve tried to do the above. The library has provided an ongoing education and volunteering has been helpful, for social interaction and self esteem – I did gain a short term paid contract out of it too.
Flip, something I’ve chosen to do is not engage with small minded opinionated types, the likes of which you find on kiwiblog. as mentioned at 20.4.1) Personally I find it a downer when daily life can sometimes be a struggle with the eternal budgeting and that sense the world seems against you, (even though you know its not) and then dealing with people like that, who want to bring you down and make you feel small. For others though, they might like to engage with such folks, maybe for sport, if it helps.
Well, some of us do.
Eating their own:
https://twitter.com/DFisherJourno/status/408717779211001856/photo/1
FYI
NZ POLITICS DAILY: Is NZ really the least corrupt country on earth?
Bryce Edwards | Thursday December 05, 2013
http://www.nbr.co.nz/article/nz-politics-daily-5th-december-2013-149675#comment-640526
(My comment – yet to be published….)
In the recent Auckland Mayoral election, I polled 4th with 11,723 votes on a campaign to stop corrupt corporate control of the Auckland region.
This is the ‘Action Plan’ upon which I campaigned, to stop ‘white collar’ crime, corruption and ‘corporate welfare’:
http://www.pennybright4mayor.org.nz/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/ANTI-CORRUPTION-WHITE-COLLAR-CRIME-CORPORATE-WELFARE-ACTION-PLAN-Ak-Mayoral-campaign-19-July-2013-2.pdf
In my considered opinion, Transparency International’s ‘Corruption Perception Index’ is not worth the paper upon which it is written.
How ‘transparent’ is the data upon which this ‘Corruption Perception Index’ is based?
Is this ‘Corruption Perception Index’ not based upon the subjective opinions of anonymous business people?
The ‘perception’ of New Zealand, as ‘the least corrupt country in the world’, is about as real as the ‘clean, green’ image.
Pity that the reality doesn’t match the perception, and the FACTS don’t match the mantra?
My opinion is considered, having now attended three international anti-corruption conferences, questioned and talked to anti-corruption experts, read the material, and carried out research no one else has here in New Zealand.
Read it for yourself on http://www.pennybright4mayor.org.nz
http://www.dodgyjohnhasgone.com
http://www.occupyaucklandvsaucklandcouncilappeal.org.nz
http://www.pennybright4epsom.org.nz
http://www.stopthesupercity.org.nz
Penny Bright
Attendee: 2009 Australian Public Sector Anti-Corruption Conference
Attendee: 2010 Transparency International Anti-Corruption Conference
Attendee: 2013 Australian Public Sector Anti-Corruption Conference
Good work Penny!….I agree with you…Corruption in NZ is something to be concerned and not complacent about …….and NZ seems to be becoming more corrupt, especially in Auckland
The nitwits from the use everything crowd and the thickos from federated farmers dont seem to understand that it is better to have 60% of something than 100% of nothing.
trying to leverage the arable to the max and extract every last cent is short term and shows a distinct lack of understanding of what farming is all about.
What it shows is the total and utter greed and selfishness of the farmers. We need to stop these fools before they destroy us.
Mr Ambrose is going to sue Mr Key for defamation. Good on yer mate!
National Radio midday.
this is the story that will slip under the radar due to mandela’s death BUT hopefully will have a long tale.
Saw it on 3 News but not on herald or stuff online yet
TV3 article
Yes!… good luck Mr Ambrose
edit: snap Naturesong
Snap!
😀
Awesome, hopefully Ambrose wins. Key really did a number on him at the time and should be held to account for it.
article from 2011 about possibility of defamation
http://www.3news.co.nz/Cameraman-may-sue-Key-for-defamation/tabid/419/articleID/233313/Default.aspx
And here is an item of interest on Mr Key’s lawyer, Peter Kiely, who has apparently received the defamation papers.
http://www.3news.co.nz/McCully-caught-up-in-conflict-of-interest-claims/tabid/1607/articleID/279326/Default.aspx
Good luck Mr Ambrose.
John Key (TV3) just now. The dead face tells us that his relationship with Nelson Mandela was “quite an intimate one…..”. Oh yeah ?
Perhaps the twenty hours of laxing back first-class to South Africa for Nelson Mandela’s funeral will afford him time to recall which side he was on during the Springbok Tour ’81.
Disgusting little creep of a man !
Professor David Nutt speaking at Auckland Uni this evening: Drugs without the hot air: A proper assessment of drug harms and their relative dangers .
I saw he received some coverage on TV3.
I’m hopeful that one day that New Zealands legislation around recreational drugs will focus on treating drug use as a health issue and focus on harm minimisation rather than the current prohibition and retribution model.
chrs 4 the heads-up on that..
..i saw it @ 5.30..and scooted right over..
..a most excellent lecture..
..it was filmed..and i will be notified when it is edited etc..
..so will link you to it then..
phillip ure..
Mark Crysell’s commentary on TV One today
Friday 6 December 2013
As you’d expect, the airwaves are full of Nelson Mandela retrospectives. Television One midday news covered the rugby connection, and of course, other than the 1995 RWC final, one event above all else had to be mentioned….
MARK CRYSELL: The 1981 tour divided the nation….
[VIDEO montage of protests, and clashes with police]
MARK CRYSELL: And the protests against the tour were not confined to New Zealand. But the South African police had an entirely DIFFERENT way of dealing with protestors….
[VIDEO of police flailing protestors with sjamboks]
We expect, as a matter of course, for our “news” services to mislead and deceive us, or more commonly to deliberately omit crucial aspects of an issue; all of that is largely for ideological reasons. But it’s still unusual to see anything as unprofessional, as plain incompetent, as Crysell’s commentary.
Colin Craig, John Banks, Simon Bridges, Jamie Whyte—this has been a remarkable week for moronic statements fouling this country’s public discourse. But Crysell’s commentary rivals all of those others for sheer breathtaking inanity. If Crysell thinks that the South African police brutality was worse or more extreme (“an entirely DIFFERENT way of dealing with protestors”) than the ferociousness and brutality of the New Zealand Police Red Squad in 1981, then he has the memory—or more accurately, the integrity—of John Key.
Whether it’s a bad memory or simply a lack of honesty, Crysell’s incredibly stupid commentary surely renders him unfit for his job.
Surely Television One viewers deserve better than Mark Crysell.
You really are an ar5e, moz. The obvious point Crysell was making* was that the SA police force regularly killed protesters. Was that too subtle for you?
*assuming you are quoting him correctly, which, on form, is unlikely
You really are a fool. Anybody that experienced or read about—you should try that some time—what the police did to protestors on that tour would have been as shocked as I was when Crysell tried to imply that the South African police whipping—not killing, and not, as the NZ police did, smashing them in the face with steel batons—were more violent.
The violence of the New Zealand police shamed our country in 1981—but one “journalist” never noticed. And neither, it seems, did you.
But carry on with your rancid abuse; it’s all you’ve got, obviously.
When the NZ police deliberately massacre a minimum of 69 people in one event, you might have a point.
Until then, you still make Don Quixote look like he has a handle on reality.
When the NZ police deliberately massacre a minimum of 69 people in one event, you might have a point.
I did not suggest the New Zealand police were as bad all the time—just in 1981. Crysell was speaking over a clip of the S.A. police using SJAMBOKS. He seemed to be unaware of the fact that the New Zealand police had perpetrated far worse violence than that.
look up the SA death in custody rate for about that time, you tool
I have a huge amount of respect for the tour protestors in 1981, and I’m disgusted that a PM who can’t remember how he felt about the tour is uttering platitudes to mourn Mandela, but you’re a fucking moron if you think that the Red Squad were as bad as routine police work in SA at the time.
As a younger child being driven around in South Africa in 1995, I remember pulling up in a town where the day before us arriving, a crowd of high school aged students had been shot with buckshot for daring to march peacefully to occupy an abandoned white school.
NZ police ain’t got shit on that.
Moz, I was a protester in 81 and I still have the helmet I was wearing at athletic park, complete with baton shaped dent. You know nothing about the tour and, obviously, less than zero about day to day life in RSA at the time.
But, on the up side, if you work real hard and aim high, one day you could be average.
Nice scar in my upper lip where a baton pushed my teeth through it. Had to have one of those ghastly 80’s moustaches to conceal the puckered scarred result for most of the 80’s until it disappeared into a fine white line.
Bloody irritating thing was that it wasn’t from when I did anything remotely illegal. It was from when the police went nuts at the 3rd test “clearing” the street. Bloody police riot as they completely lost discipline was my view.
Reminds me of the final test match at Eden Park. As my ‘squad’ walked towards the park we passed a senior police officer (or somebody very important) dressed in a black uniform with whopping great epaulettes, and sitting in a smart highly polished red sportscar. I gave him a friendly smile. What I was given in return was the facial equivalent of a bullet through my skull. That was the mindset of the NZ Police hierarchy during that tour – ugly and sinister. Yet any reasonably sane person could see that the vast bulk of those protestors (many thousands of them) were ordinary, decent and kindly New Zealanders ranging in age from very young to very old…
Anne you were brave!…there is no way I would have gone there !…it looked like war, felt like war, with the police now facing the Maori gangs who really meant business!…and we were cheering for the gangs
….after Molesworth Street (my sister and I , one row from getting a batoning…where we screamed “Resign!”…and apparently some of the police did resign after Molesworth St…some of them looked as shocked as we felt);……and Palmerston North ( where we put on helmets and chest protectors, shin protectors and teeth guards)….where I was absolutely terrified with the army, and helicopters and the barbed wire):….and then Wellington’s Rintoul / Riddiford Street intersection… where the police shoved protesters into a glass shop front …leaving us the yellowest in the middle of Yellow Squad in the front row (squawk !)…..( however luckily for us we were facing Blue Squad, not Red( who were real mean bastards!), and the Blue Officer in charge was determined we werent going to get hurt and kept urging us to leave…we said we couldnt leave because the people behind would cop it…..and my Mother, a school teacher who had come to protect her daughters, offered Blue Squad lollies and told them off…(smirk!)I think the Blue Officer took a lolly or two rather bemused and put them in his pocket ….Blue Squad then set about softly pummeling us with their batons….. when this didn’t dislodge us they pulled my helmet off and cracked my friends ribs and threw my sister in the gutter, shoved around my mother…but thanks to the Blue officer who was watching out for us …we weren’t hurt..and eventually got out when we had had enough …only to watch police run kicking over sitting protesters):…. and then Christchurch where I saw innocent new novice protesters ….middle class, middle aged, well dressed good citizens getting a batoning…..there was no way in hell I was going to Auckland!!!!!!!!!!!
For us it was both scary and serious, foolhardy and fun, part- time action on a matter of principle… The bravest NZers were the cold- headed public face organizers/strategists/ spokespeople like Trevor Richards and his partner Patty and Tom Newnam….who had to face the ire of rugby hooligans month after month…But of course the courage, year after year … of the activists in South Africa and Nelson Mandala …is almost unimaginable!…… and on a different plane altogether!
watched it all from a bar in new york..
..it was hell..
..phillip ure..
Moz, I was a protester in 81 and I still have the helmet I was wearing at athletic park, complete with baton shaped dent.
And yet you have the hide to back up Crysell’s foolish suggestiion that police using sjamboks is as bad or worse than the brutal thuggery of the Red Squad.
‘Surely Television One viewers deserve better than Mark Crysell’ ahh no Mark Crysell is exactly what you deserve expecting quality from TVNZ.
It could be alot worse like Jack Tame who would wax lyrically about a time before he was probably born.
It could be alot worse like Jack Tame…
Yes, that’s a very good point, tc.
Sharp little 4.9 earthquake felt sharply in Blenheim 1:45pm
Sharp little 4.9 earthquake felt sharply in Blenheim 1:45pm
I blame Brownlee for these quakes. If we want them to stop we need to vote Green.
Or maybe the rumble of democracy trying to surface?
Or maybe the rumble of democracy trying to surface?
@ ‘blame brownlee..’
was brownlee twerking..?
..did that bring on a 4.9..?
..whoar..!
phillip ure..
Having trouble getting into the Standard, refreshing, posting. Pity as it is a must read site. This try is in Safari instead of Firefox. Getting repeats or stopping altogether.
it’s been doing that all day..
phillip ure..
http://www.stuff.co.nz/business/industries/9483615/Workers-eating-at-sacred-site-offend-Maori-MP
– Can always rely on a Labour MP to shift focus
And it looks like the banksters are setting the world up for global financial another crash:
Who needs housing when you can stay for free in empty office blocks abandoned by closed down businesses?
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11168490
Now re Sky City and the Proceeds of Drugs ACT etc etc etc , WHEN WILL THE CROWN BE CONFISCATING SKY CITY? or is only the poor who this LAW APPLIES TO?
Changing the topic, I have a friend who is currently unemployed. She is being told that she has to prove that she is actively looking for jobs. Last week she was at the WINZ office and sent to look at the jobs board – the only positions available that would suit a woman were as prostitutes.
My friend is a confident, competent, middle aged woman. What about the younger, less articulate, more malleable women who are needing WINZ support? How many do WINZ send off into the brothels?