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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New Zealand now has the fourth most depressed construction sector in the world behind China, Qatar and Hong Kong. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: These are the six things that stood out to me in news and commentary on Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy at 8:46am on Thursday, May 2:The Lead: ...
Hi,I am just going to state something very obvious: American police are fucking crazy.That was a photo gracing the New York Times this morning, showing New York City police “entering Columbia University last night after receiving a request from the school.”Apparently in America, protesting the deaths of tens of thousands ...
Winston Peters’ much anticipated foreign policy speech last night was a work of two halves. Much of it was a standard “boilerplate” Foreign Ministry overview of the state of the world. There was some hardening up of rhetoric with talk of “benign” becoming “malign” and old truths giving way to ...
Graham Adams assesses the fallout of the Cass Review — The press release last Thursday from the UN Special Rapporteur on violence against women and girls didn’t make the mainstream news in New Zealand but it really should have. The startling title of Reem Alsalem’s statement — “Implementation of ‘Cass ...
This open-for-business, under-new-management cliché-pockmarked government of Christopher Luxon is not the thing of beauty he imagines it to be. It is not the powerful expression of the will of the people that he asserts it to be. It is not a soaring eagle, it is a malodorous vulture. This newest poll should make ...
The latest labour market statistics, showing a rise in unemployment. There are now 134,000 unemployed - 14,000 more than when the National government took office. Which is I guess what happens when the Reserve Bank causes a recession in an effort to Keep Wages Low. The previous government saw a ...
Three opinion polls have been released in the last two days, all showing that the new government is failing to hold their popular support. The usual honeymoon experienced during the first year of a first term government is entirely absent. The political mood is still gloomy and discontented, mainly due ...
National's Finance Minister once met a poor person.A scornful interview with National's finance guru who knows next to nothing about economics or people.There might have been something a bit familiar if that was the headline I’d gone with today. It would of course have been in tribute to the article ...
Rob MacCulloch writes – Throughout the pandemic, the new Vice-Chancellor-of-Otago-University-on-$629,000 per annum-Can-you-believe-it-and-Former-Finance-Minister Grant Robertson repeated the mantra over and over that he saved “lives and livelihoods”.As we update how this claim is faring over the course of time, the facts are increasingly speaking differently. NZ ...
Chris Trotter writes – IT’S A COMMONPLACE of political speeches, especially those delivered in acknowledgement of electoral victory: “We’ll govern for all New Zealanders.” On the face of it, the pledge is a strange one. Why would any political leader govern in ways that advantaged the huge ...
Bryce Edwards writes – The list of former National Party Ministers being given plum and important roles got longer this week with the appointment of former Deputy Prime Minister Paula Bennett as the chair of Pharmac. The Christopher Luxon-led Government has now made key appointments to Bill ...
TL;DR: These are the six things that stood out to me in news and commentary on Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy at 10:06am on Wednesday, May 1:The Lead: Business confidence fell across the board in April, falling in some areas to levels last seen during the lockdowns because of a collapse in ...
Over the past 36 hours, Christopher Luxon has been dong his best to portray the centre-right’s plummeting poll numbers as a mark of virtue. Allegedly, the negative verdicts are the result of hard economic times, and of a government bravely set out on a perilous rescue mission from which not ...
Auckland Transport have started rolling out new HOP card readers around the network and over the next three months, all of them on buses, at train stations and ferry wharves will be replaced. The change itself is not that remarkable, with the new readers looking similar to what is already ...
Completed reads for April: The Difference Engine, by William Gibson and Bruce Sterling Carnival of Saints, by George Herman The Snow Spider, by Jenny Nimmo Emlyn’s Moon, by Jenny Nimmo The Chestnut Soldier, by Jenny Nimmo Death Comes As the End, by Agatha Christie Lord of the Flies, by ...
On February 14, 2023 we announced our Rebuttal Update Project. This included an ask for feedback about the added "At a glance" section in the updated basic rebuttal versions. This weekly blog post series highlights this new section of one of the updated basic rebuttal versions and serves as a ...
Have a story to share about St Paul’s, but today just picturesPopular novels written at this desk by a young man who managed to bootstrap himself out of father’s imprisonment and his own young life in a workhouse Read more ...
The list of former National Party Ministers being given plum and important roles got longer this week with the appointment of former Deputy Prime Minister Paula Bennett as the chair of Pharmac. The Christopher Luxon-led Government has now made key appointments to Bill English, Simon Bridges, Steven Joyce, Roger Sowry, ...
Newsroom has a story today about National's (fortunately failed) effort to disestablish the newly-created Inspector-General of Defence. The creation of this agency was the key recommendation of the Inquiry into Operation Burnham, and a vital means of restoring credibility and social licence to an agency which had been caught lying ...
Holding On To The Present:The moment a political movement arises that attacks the whole idea of social progress, and announces its intention to wind back the hands of History’s clock, then democracy, along with its unwritten rules, is in mortal danger.IT’S A COMMONPLACE of political speeches, especially those delivered in ...
Stuck In The Middle With You:As Christopher Luxon feels the hot breath of Act’s and NZ First’s extremists on the back of his neck and, as he reckons with the damage their policies are already inflicting upon a country he’s described as “fragile”, is there not some merit in reaching out ...
The unpopular coalition government is currently rushing to repeal section 7AA of the Oranga Tamariki Act. The clause is Oranga Tamariki's Treaty clause, and was inserted after its systematic stealing of Māori children became a public scandal and resulted in physical resistance to further abductions. The clause created clear obligations ...
Buzz from the Beehive The government’s official website – which Point of Order monitors daily – not for the first time has nothing much to say today about political happenings that are grabbing media headlines. It makes no mention of the latest 1News-Verian poll, for example. This shows National down ...
It Takes A Train To Cry:Surely, there is nothing lonelier in all this world than the long wail of a distant steam locomotive on a cold Winter’s night.AS A CHILD, I would lie awake in my grandfather’s house and listen to the traffic. The big wooden house was only a ...
Packing A Punch: The election of the present government, including in its ranks politicians dedicated to reasserting the rights of the legislature in shaping and determining the future of Māori and Pakeha in New Zealand, should have alerted the judiciary – including its anomalous appendage, the Waitangi Tribunal – that its ...
Dead Woman Walking: New Zealand’s media industry had been moving steadily towards disaster for all the years Melissa Lee had been National’s media and communications policy spokesperson, and yet, when the crisis finally broke, on her watch, she had nothing intelligent to offer. Christopher Luxon is a patient man - but he’s not ...
Chris Trotter writes – New Zealand politics is remarkably easy-going: dangerously so, one might even say. With the notable exception of John Key’s flat ruling-out of the NZ First Party in 2008, all parties capable of clearing MMP’s five-percent threshold, or winning one or more electorate seats, tend ...
Bryce Edwards writes – Polling shows that Wellington Mayor Tory Whanau has the lowest approval rating of any mayor in the country. Siting at -12 per cent, the proportion of constituents who disapprove of her performance outweighs those who give her the thumbs up. This negative rating is ...
Luxon will no doubt put a brave face on it, but there is no escaping the pressure this latest poll will put on him and the government. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: These are the six things that stood out to me in news and commentary on Aotearoa-NZ’s political ...
This is a re-post from The Climate Brink by Andrew Dessler In the wake of any unusual weather event, someone inevitably asks, “Did climate change cause this?” In the most literal sense, that answer is almost always no. Climate change is never the sole cause of hurricanes, heat waves, droughts, or ...
Something odd happened yesterday, and I’d love to know if there’s more to it. If there was something which preempted what happened, or if it was simply a throwaway line in response to a journalist.Yesterday David Seymour was asked at a press conference what the process would be if the ...
Hi,From time to time, I want to bring Webworm into the real world. We did it last year with the Jurassic Park event in New Zealand — which was a lot of fun!And so on Saturday May 11th, in Los Angeles, I am hosting a lil’ Webworm pop-up! I’ve been ...
Education Minister Erica Standford yesterday unveiled a fundamental reform of the way our school pupils are taught. She would not exactly say so, but she is all but dismantling the so-called “inquiry” “feel good” method of teaching, which has ruled in our classrooms since a major review of the New ...
Exactly where are we seriously going with this government and its policies? That is, apart from following what may as well be a Truss-Lite approach on the purported economic “plan“, and Victorian-era regression when it comes to social policy.Oh it’ll work this time of course, we’re basically assured, “the ...
Hey Uncle Dave, When the Poms joined the EEC, I wasn't one of those defeatists who said, Well, that’s it for the dairy job. And I was right, eh? The Chinese can’t get enough of our milk powder and eventually, the Poms came to their senses and backed up the ute ...
Polling shows that Wellington Mayor Tory Whanau has the lowest approval rating of any mayor in the country. Siting at -12 per cent, the proportion of constituents who disapprove of her performance outweighs those who give her the thumbs up. This negative rating is higher than for any other mayor ...
Buzz from the Beehive Pharmac has been given a financial transfusion and a new chair to oversee its spending in the pharmaceutical business. Associate Health Minister David Seymour described the funding for Pharmac as “its largest ever budget of $6.294 billion over four years, fixing a $1.774 billion fiscal cliff”. ...
Bryce Edwards writes – Many criticisms are being made of the Government’s Fast Track Approvals Bill, including by this writer. But as with everything in politics, every story has two sides, and both deserve attention. It’s important to understand what the Government is trying to achieve and its ...
TL;DR: Here’s my top 10 ‘pick ‘n’ mix of links to news, analysis and opinion articles as of 10:10am on Monday, April 29:Scoop: The children's ward at Rotorua Hospital will be missing a third of its beds as winter hits because Te Whatu Ora halted an upgrade partway through to ...
span class=”dropcap”>As hideous as David Seymour can be, it is worth keeping in mind occasionally that there are even worse political figures (and regimes) out there. Iran for instance, is about to execute the country’s leading hip hop musician Toomaj Salehi, for writing and performing raps that “corrupt” the nation’s ...
Yesterday marked 10 years since the first electric train carried passengers in Auckland so it’s a good time to look back at it and the impact it has had. A brief history The first proposals for rail electrification in Auckland came in the 1920’s alongside the plans for earlier ...
Right now, in Aotearoa-NZ, our ‘animal spirits’ are darkening towards a winter of discontent, thanks at least partly to a chorus of negative comments and actions from the Government Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: These are the six things that stood out to me in news and commentary on ...
You make people evil to punish the paststuck inside a sequel with a rotating castThe following photos haven’t been generated with AI, or modified in any way. They are flesh and blood, human beings. On the left is Galatea Young, a young mum, and her daughter Fiadh who has Angelman ...
April has been a quiet month at A Phuulish Fellow. I have had an exceptionally good reading month, and a decently productive writing month – for original fiction, anyway – but not much has caught my eye that suggested a blog article. It has been vaguely frustrating, to be honest. ...
A listing of 31 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, April 21, 2024 thru Sat, April 27, 2024. Story of the week Anthropogenic climate change may be the ultimate shaggy dog story— but with a twist, because here ...
Hi,I spent about a year on Webworm reporting on an abusive megachurch called Arise, and it made me want to stab my eyes out with a fork.I don’t regret that reporting in 2022 and 2023 — I am proud of it — but it made me angry.Over three main stories ...
The new Victoria University Vice-Chancellor decided to have a forum at the university about free speech and academic freedom as it is obviously a topical issue, and the Government is looking at legislating some carrots or sticks for universities to uphold their obligations under the Education and Training Act. They ...
Do you remember when Melania Trump got caught out using a speech that sounded awfully like one Michelle Obama had given? Uncannily so.Well it turns out that Abraham Lincoln is to Winston Peters as Michelle was to Melania. With the ANZAC speech Uncle Winston gave at Gallipoli having much in ...
She was born 25 years ago today in North Shore hospital. Her eyes were closed tightly shut, her mouth was silently moving. The whole theatre was all quiet intensity as they marked her a 2 on the APGAR test. A one-minute eternity later, she was an 8. The universe was ...
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 in collaboration with members from our Skeptical Science team. You can submit claims you think need checking via the tipline. Is Antarctica gaining land ice? ...
Images of US students (and others) protesting and setting up tent cities on US university campuses have been broadcast world wide and clearly demonstrate the growing rifts in US society caused by US policy toward Israel and Israel’s prosecution of … Continue reading → ...
Barrie Saunders writes – Dear Paul As the new Minister of Media and Communications, you will be inundated with heaps of free advice and special pleading, all in the national interest of course. For what it’s worth here is my assessment: Traditional broadcasting free to air content through ...
Many criticisms are being made of the Government’s Fast Track Approvals Bill, including by this writer. But as with everything in politics, every story has two sides, and both deserve attention. It’s important to understand what the Government is trying to achieve and its arguments for such a bold reform. ...
Peter Dunne writes – The great nineteenth British Prime Minister, William Gladstone, once observed that “the first essential for a Prime Minister is to be a good butcher.” When a later British Prime Minister, Harold Macmillan, sacked a third of his Cabinet in July 1962, in what became ...
Ele Ludemann writes – New Zealanders had the OECD’s second highest tax increase last year: New Zealanders faced the second-biggest tax raises in the developed world last year, the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) says. The intergovernmental agency said the average change in personal income tax ...
We all know something’s not right with our elections. The spread of misinformation, people being targeted with soundbites and emotional triggers that ignore the facts, even the truth, and influence their votes.The use of technology to produce deep fakes. How can you tell if something is real or not? Can ...
This video includes conclusions of the creator climate scientist Dr. Simon Clark. It is presented to our readers as an informed perspective. Please see video description for references (if any). This year you will be lied to! Simon Clark helps prebunk some misleading statements you'll hear about climate. The video includes ...
It is all very well cutting the backrooms of public agencies but it may compromise the frontlines. One of the frustrations of the Productivity Commission’s 2017 review of universities is that while it observed that their non-academic staff were increasing faster than their academic staff, it did not bother to ...
Buzz from the Beehive Two speeches delivered by Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters at Anzac Day ceremonies in Turkey are the only new posts on the government’s official website since the PM announced his Cabinet shake-up. In one of the speeches, Peters stated the obvious: we live in a troubled ...
1. Which of these would you not expect to read in The Waikato Invader?a. Luxon is here to do business, don’t you worry about thatb. Mr KPI expects results, and you better believe itc. This decisive man of action is getting me all hot and excitedd. Melissa Lee is how ...
…it has a restricted jurisdiction which must not be abused: it is not an inquisitionNOTE – this article was published before the High Court ruled that Karen Chhour does not have to appear before the Waitangi Tribunal Gary Judd writes – The High Court ...
Lindsay Mitchell writes – One of reasons Oranga Tamariki exists is to prevent child neglect. But could the organisation itself be guilty of the same?Oranga Tamariki’s statistics show a decrease in the number and age of children in care. “There are less children ...
David Farrar writes: Graeme Edgeler wrote in 2017: In the first five years after three strikes came into effect 5248 offenders received a ‘first strike’ (that is, a “stage-1 conviction” under the three strikes sentencing regime), and 68 offenders received a ‘second strike’. In the five years prior to ...
Bryce Edwards writes – Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has surprised everyone with his ruthlessness in sacking two of his ministers from their crucial portfolios. Removing ministers for poor performance after only five months in the job just doesn’t normally happen in politics. That’s refreshing and will be extremely ...
The Labour Party is saddened to learn of the death of Sir Robert Martin, a globally renowned disability advocate who led the way for disability rights both in New Zealand and internationally. ...
Labour is calling for the Government to urgently rethink its coalition commitment to restart live animal exports, Labour animal welfare spokesperson Rachel Boyack said. ...
Today’s Financial Stability Report has once again highlighted that poverty and deep inequality are political choices - and this Government is choosing to make them worse. ...
The Green Party is calling on the Government to do more for our households in most need as unemployment rises and the cost of living crisis endures. ...
Unemployment is on the rise and it’s only going to get worse under this Government, Labour finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds said. Stats NZ figures show the unemployment rate grew to 4.3 percent in the March quarter from 4 percent in the December quarter. “This is the second rise in unemployment ...
The New Zealand Labour Party welcomes the entering into force of the European Union and New Zealand free trade agreement. This agreement opens the door for a huge increase in trade opportunities with a market of 450 million people who are high value discerning consumers of New Zealand goods and ...
The National-led Government continues its fiscal jiggery pokery with its Pharmac announcement today, Labour Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall says. “The government has increased Pharmac funding but conceded it will only make minimal increases in access to medicine”, said Ayesha Verrall “This is far from the bold promises made to fund ...
This afternoon’s interim Waitangi Tribunal report must be taken seriously as it affects our most vulnerable children, Labour children’s spokesperson Willow-Jean Prime. ...
Te Pāti Māori are demanding the New Zealand Government support an international independent investigation into mass graves that have been uncovered at two hospitals on the Gaza strip, following weeks of assault by Israeli troops. Among the 392 bodies that have been recovered, are children and elderly civilians. Many of ...
Our two-tiered system for veterans’ support is out of step with our closest partners, and all parties in Parliament should work together to fix it, Labour veterans’ affairs spokesperson Greg O’Connor said. ...
Stripping two Ministers of their portfolios just six months into the job shows Christopher Luxon’s management style is lacking, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said. ...
Tonight’s court decision to overturn the summons of the Children’s Minister has enabled the Crown to continue making decisions about Māori without evidence, says Te Pāti Māori spokesperson for Children, Mariameno Kapa-Kingi. “The judicial system has this evening told the nation that this government can do whatever they want when ...
It appears Nicola Willis is about to pull the rug out from under the feet of local communities still dealing with the aftermath of last year’s severe weather, and local councils relying on funding to build back from these disasters. ...
The Government is making short-sighted changes to the Resource Management Act (RMA) that will take away environmental protection in favour of short-term profits, Labour’s environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said today. ...
Labour welcomes the release of the report into the North Island weather events and looks forward to working with the Government to ensure that New Zealand is as prepared as it can be for the next natural disaster. ...
The Labour Party has called for the New Zealand Government to recognise Palestine, as a material step towards progressing the two-State solution needed to achieve a lasting peace in the region. ...
Some of our country’s most important work, stopping the sexual exploitation of children and violent extremism could go along with staff on the frontline at ports and airports. ...
The Government’s Fast Track Approvals Bill will give projects such as new coal mines a ‘get out of jail free’ card to wreak havoc on the environment, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said today. ...
The government's decision to reintroduce Three Strikes is a destructive and ineffective piece of law-making that will only exacerbate an inherently biased and racist criminal justice system, said Te Pāti Māori Justice Spokesperson, Tākuta Ferris, today. During the time Three Strikes was in place in Aotearoa, Māori and Pasifika received ...
Cuts to frontline hospital staff are not only a broken election promise, it shows the reckless tax cuts have well and truly hit the frontline of the health system, says Labour Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall. ...
The Green Party has joined the call for public submissions on the fast-track legislation to be extended after the Ombudsman forced the Government to release the list of organisations invited to apply just hours before submissions close. ...
New Zealand’s good work at reducing climate emissions for three years in a row will be undone by the National government’s lack of ambition and scrapping programmes that were making a difference, Labour Party climate spokesperson Megan Woods said today. ...
More essential jobs could be on the chopping block, this time Ministry of Education staff on the school lunches team are set to find out whether they're in line to lose their jobs. ...
Te Pāti Māori is disgusted at the confirmation that hundreds are set to lose their jobs at Oranga Tamariki, and the disestablishment of the Treaty Response Unit. “This act of absolute carelessness and out of touch decision making is committing tamariki to state abuse.” Said Te Pāti Māori Oranga Tamariki ...
The Government is trying to bring in a law that will allow Ministers to cut corners and kill off native species, Labour environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said. ...
Cancelling urgently needed new Cook Strait ferries and hiking the cost of public transport for many Kiwis so that National can announce the prospect of another tunnel for Wellington is not making good choices, Labour Transport Spokesperson Tangi Utikere said. ...
A laundry list of additional costs for Tāmaki Makarau Auckland shows the Minister for the city is not delivering for the people who live there, says Labour Auckland Issues spokesperson Shanan Halbert. ...
Te Pāti Māori co-leader Rawiri Waititi, and Mema Paremata mō Tāmaki-Makaurau, Takutai Tarsh Kemp, will travel to the Gold Coast to strengthen ties with Māori in Australia next week (15-21 April). The visit, in the lead-up to the 9th Australian National Kapa haka Festival, will be an opportunity for both ...
Structured literacy will change the way New Zealand children learn to read - improving achievement and setting students up for success, Education Minister Erica Stanford says. “Being able to read and write is a fundamental life skill that too many young people are missing out on. Recent data shows that ...
Trade Minister Todd McClay says Canada’s refusal to comply in full with a CPTPP trade dispute ruling in our favour over dairy trade is cynical and New Zealand has no intention of backing down. Mr McClay said he has asked for urgent legal advice in respect of our ‘next move’ ...
The rights of our children and young people will be enhanced by changes the coalition Government will make to strengthen oversight of the Oranga Tamariki system, including restoring a single Children’s Commissioner. “The Government is committed to delivering better public services that care for our most at-risk young people and ...
The Government is making it easier for minor changes to be made to a building consent so building a home is easier and more affordable, Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk says. “The coalition Government is focused on making it easier and cheaper to build homes so we can ...
New Zealand lost a true legend when internationally renowned disability advocate Sir Robert Martin (KNZM) passed away at his home in Whanganui last night, Disabilities Issues Minister Louise Upston says. “Our Government’s thoughts are with his wife Lynda, family and community, those he has worked with, the disability community in ...
Good evening – Before discussing the challenges and opportunities facing New Zealand’s foreign policy, we’d like to first acknowledge the New Zealand Institute of International Affairs. You have contributed to debates about New Zealand foreign policy over a long period of time, and we thank you for hosting us. ...
From today, passengers travelling internationally from Auckland Airport will be able to keep laptops and liquids in their carry-on bags for security screening thanks to new technology, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Creating a more efficient and seamless travel experience is important for holidaymakers and businesses, enabling faster movement through ...
People with an interest in the health of Northland’s marine ecosystems are invited to a public meeting to discuss how to deal with kina barrens, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. Mr Jones will lead the discussion, which will take place on Friday, 10 May, at Awanui Hotel in ...
Kiwi exporters are $100 million better off today with the NZ EU FTA entering into force says Trade Minister Todd McClay. “This is all part of our plan to grow the economy. New Zealand's prosperity depends on international trade, making up 60 per cent of the country’s total economic activity. ...
There are heartening signs that the extractive sector is once again becoming an attractive prospect for investors and a source of economic prosperity for New Zealand, Resources Minister Shane Jones says. “The beginnings of a resurgence in extractive industries are apparent in media reports of the sector in the past ...
The return of the historic Ō-Rākau battle site to the descendants of those who fought there moved one step closer today with the first reading of Te Pire mō Ō-Rākau, Te Pae o Maumahara / The Ō-Rākau Remembrance Bill. The Bill will entrust the 9.7-hectare battle site, five kilometres west ...
Energy Minister Simeon Brown has announced 25 new high-speed EV charging hubs along key routes between major urban centres and outlined the Government’s plan to supercharge New Zealand’s EV infrastructure. The hubs will each have several chargers and be capable of charging at least four – and up to 10 ...
The coalition Government will not proceed with the previous Government’s plans to regulate residential property managers, Housing Minister Chris Bishop says. “I have written to the Chairperson of the Social Services and Community Committee to inform him that the Government does not intend to support the Residential Property Managers Bill ...
The Government has announced an independent review into the disability support system funded by the Ministry of Disabled People – Whaikaha. Disability Issues Minister Louise Upston says the review will look at what can be done to strengthen the long-term sustainability of Disability Support Services to provide disabled people and ...
Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith has attended the Universal Periodic Review in Geneva and outlined the Government’s plan to restore law and order. “Speaking to the United Nations Human Rights Council provided us with an opportunity to present New Zealand’s human rights progress, priorities, and challenges, while responding to issues and ...
The Government and Rotorua Lakes Council are committed to working closely together to end the use of contracted emergency housing motels in Rotorua. Associate Minister of Housing (Social Housing) Tama Potaka says the Government remains committed to ending the long-term use of contracted emergency housing motels in Rotorua by the ...
Trade Minister Todd McClay heads overseas today for high-level trade talks in the Gulf region, and a key OECD meeting in Paris. Mr McClay will travel to Riyadh to meet with counterparts from Saudi Arabia and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). “New Zealand’s goods and services exports to the Gulf region ...
Education Minister Erica Stanford has outlined six education priorities to deliver a world-leading education system that sets Kiwi kids up for future success. “I’m putting ambition, achievement and outcomes at the heart of our education system. I want every child to be inspired and engaged in their learning so they ...
The new NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) App is a secure ‘one stop shop’ to provide the services drivers need, Transport Minister Simeon Brown and Digitising Government Minister Judith Collins say. “The NZTA App will enable an easier way for Kiwis to pay for Vehicle Registration and Road User Charges (RUC). ...
Whānau with tamariki growing up in emergency housing motels will be prioritised for social housing starting this week, says Associate Housing Minister Tama Potaka. “Giving these whānau a better opportunity to build healthy stable lives for themselves and future generations is an essential part of the Government’s goal of reducing ...
Racing Minister Winston Peters has paid tribute to an icon of the industry with the recent passing of Dave O’Sullivan (OBE). “Our sympathies are with the O’Sullivan family with the sad news of Dave O’Sullivan’s recent passing,” Mr Peters says. “His contribution to racing, initially as a jockey and then ...
Assalaamu alaikum, greetings to you all. Eid Mubarak, everyone! I want to extend my warmest wishes to you and everyone celebrating this joyous occasion. It is a pleasure to be here. I have enjoyed Eid celebrations at Parliament before, but this is my first time joining you as the Minister ...
Associate Health Minister David Seymour has announced Pharmac’s largest ever budget of $6.294 billion over four years, fixing a $1.774 billion fiscal cliff. “Access to medicines is a crucial part of many Kiwis’ lives. We’ve committed to a budget allocation of $1.774 billion over four years so Kiwis are ...
Hon Paula Bennett has been appointed as member and chair of the Pharmac board, Associate Health Minister David Seymour announced today. "Pharmac is a critical part of New Zealand's health system and plays a significant role in ensuring that Kiwis have the best possible access to medicines,” says Mr Seymour. ...
Hundreds of New Zealand families affected by Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) will benefit from a new Government focus on prevention and treatment, says Health Minister Dr Shane Reti. “We know FASD is a leading cause of preventable intellectual and neurodevelopmental disability in New Zealand,” Dr Reti says. “Every day, ...
Regional Development Minister Shane Jones today attended the official opening of Kaikohe’s new $14.7 million sports complex. “The completion of the Kaikohe Multi Sports Complex is a fantastic achievement for the Far North,” Mr Jones says. “This facility not only fulfils a long-held dream for local athletes, but also creates ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters’ engagements in Türkiye this week underlined the importance of diplomacy to meet growing global challenges. “Returning to the Gallipoli Peninsula to represent New Zealand at Anzac commemorations was a sombre reminder of the critical importance of diplomacy for de-escalating conflicts and easing tensions,” Mr Peters ...
Ambassador Millar, Burgemeester, Vandepitte, Excellencies, military representatives, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen – good morning and welcome to this sacred Anzac Day dawn service. It is an honour to be here on behalf of the Government and people of New Zealand at Buttes New British Cemetery, Polygon Wood – a deeply ...
Distinguished guests - It is an honour to return once again to this site which, as the resting place for so many of our war-dead, has become a sacred place for generations of New Zealanders. Our presence here and at the other special spaces of Gallipoli is made ...
Mai ia tawhiti pamamao, te moana nui a Kiwa, kua tae whakaiti mai matou, ki to koutou papa whenua. No koutou te tapuwae, no matou te tapuwae, kua honoa pumautia. Ko nga toa kua hinga nei, o te Waipounamu, o te Ika a Maui, he okioki tahi me o ...
Paul Goldsmith will take on responsibility for the Media and Communications portfolio, while Louise Upston will pick up the Disability Issues portfolio, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon announced today. “Our Government is relentlessly focused on getting New Zealand back on track. As issues change in prominence, I plan to adjust Ministerial ...
Recreational catch limits will be reduced in areas of Fiordland and the Chatham Islands to help keep those fisheries healthy and sustainable, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. The lower recreational daily catch limits for a range of finfish and shellfish species caught in the Fiordland Marine Area and ...
Energy Minister Simeon Brown has welcomed an important milestone in New Zealand’s hydrogen future, with the opening of the country’s first network of hydrogen refuelling stations in Wiri. “I want to congratulate the team at Hiringa Energy and its partners K one W one (K1W1), Mitsui & Co New Zealand ...
The coalition Government is delivering on its commitment to improve resource management laws and give greater certainty to consent applicants, with a Bill to amend the Resource Management Act (RMA) expected to be introduced to Parliament next month. RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop has today outlined the first RMA Amendment ...
Overseas models for regulating the oil and gas sector, including their decommissioning regimes, are being carefully scrutinised as a potential template for New Zealand’s own sector, Resources Minister Shane Jones says. The Coalition Government is focused on rebuilding investor confidence in New Zealand’s energy sector as it looks to strengthen ...
Emergency Management and Recovery Minister Mark Mitchell has today released the Report of the Government Inquiry into the response to the North Island Severe Weather Events. “The report shows that New Zealand’s emergency management system is not fit-for-purpose and there are some significant gaps we need to address,” Mr Mitchell ...
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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?