Whereas in relation to your comment BM, what a load of wank simpliciter !
Have you not the intelligence to understand the point BM ? Or is it that the mere mention of a collective responsibility for a collective ill stuns you into Babble Land ?
When it comes to Serco/Corrections the troubling knowledge and experience amassed in my daily line of work qualifies me to dismiss you as a fool. Who knows shit all about the matter.
“You fuck up” I think you mean “you get caught”. & also this “hopefully learn from it and move on”, if you are brutalised in prison or spending 23 hours in a cell you won’t move on buddy, thats where the ‘collective responsibility’ bit comes in.
Everything to do with you. As we live in a democracy what happens in our collective institutions is part of our personal responsibility.
That’s the main point of a democracy: We are responsible for what we do collectively.
You don’t get to declaim the responsibility by saying that it’s solely to do with Corrections as we have to be clear to Corrections about how they should behave. What sort of moral and ethical standards that they should uphold.
And, no, I’m not talking about telling them exactly what to do.
So our collective responsibility means that you have a personal responsibility for the actions of the democratic Government elected by the collective Draco?
Of course, part of that personal responsibility – in the collective context of a democracy – may be to seek to change the government that acts in our collective name but which (in one’s personal judgment) does harmful things.
We all have a personal responsibility to respond to the consequences of collective decisions and actions – because, by definition, we are all responsible for collective decisions and actions.
No doubt Draco will concur PG, so taking both your personal responsibilities as given, I would like to formally hold you both personally accountable for the actions of this government.
Before we start, can you remind me what our collective agreement is regarding the mechanism for imposing accountability for collective actions on individual members of the collective?
In Sheep’s example, personal responsibility has no meaning unless enforced by the collective.
Now, that’s a shit definition of personal responsibility but of course it’s hard to define something that only exists as a victim-blaming rhetorical device.
I agree OAB.
Personal responsibility has no meaning unless it can be enforced by the collective.
The collective has not agreed on any concept of, or mechanism for enforcing any such accountability.
Therefore, the theory of a personal responsibility for collective actions the individual had no direct influence or involvement in…..has no meaning.
It does not exist.
Sheep, are you pretending to be utterly stupid? Or just introducing stupid reductive rhetoric because you can’t handle the guts of the argument.
Those guts are: Puddleglum (and Paul Little) neatly exposes the shameful behaviour of the likes of you and BM, who enable this evil, and calls out your lip service to personal responsibility.
No wonder you’re twisting and turning like a grub on a pin.
…that’s a shit definition of personal responsibility but of course it’s hard to define something that only exists as a victim-blaming rhetorical device.
The only time right wingers invoke it is when pointing the finger at others. When it comes to the consequences of your own behaviour you’re all lawyered up from the get-go.
A whining rhetoric-merchant asked “What is the agreed mechanism…?”
Public contempt ridicule and shame are good. That’s why you don’t talk about Cabinet Club, and can’t abide the notion of personal responsibility for the right wing clusterfuck you voted for.
There is no collective agreement on it. No collective mechanism to administer it. No collective accountability to it. No collective sanction for ignoring it.
We can say then that the collective does not in fact hold individuals personally responsible for collective actions they are not directly involved in.
That leaves us with collective responsibility being a concept that is asserted by individuals, who take it upon themselves to make judgements on the culpability of others, and administer their personal sanctions of ‘contempt ridicule and shame’?
There is a certain whiff of sanctimonious arrogance and a vain assumption of moral superiority attached to individuals who place themselves in a position of judgement on others don’t you think?
Luckily, as belief in this concept is entirely personal, individuals can reject it with exactly the same degree of legitimacy as others can adopt it.
(That’s my last word. Now you can have that little burst of abuse at the end that lets you pretend to yourself that you have ‘won’ the argument and humiliated your opponents)
What about the criminal behaviour of the Prime Minister? Surely anyone who voted for his party, even in the light of the Dirty Politics scandal, is responsible for voting Key and his cronies back to power. (I presume you’re a National voter.)
By BM’s standards, to be logically consistent they must want to have John Key straight into prison for his criminal deeds, and they must also be totally fine with him being assaulted while in there.
And no doubt you’ll hold that opinion right up until the time you, or someone dear to you drives drunk, kills someone and gets a jail term. Then it’ll be excuse excuse excuse
An excellent article North. Thanks for putting it up. I can say why I think it is good: it presents a reminder of what prisons are supposed to be for, and discusses the ways in which they fall short. I am not sure why BM thinks it is “a load of lefty wank” since he/she offers no reasons.
I know everybody isn’t a boxing fan but the Herald this morning is showing highlights of the boxing bout with Joseph Parker and another fight with Zac Guilford the rugby player – but nothing of Irene’s fight. They are just the lousiest newspaper ever. Irene who graced our screens for years with fantastic netball and such a great person – and they haven’t got the decency to show her fight in their online content. I gave up on the paper ages ago and they still are not delivering fair coverage of everything that goes into print. A bloody waste of space.
I understand he is a recovering alcoholic, if he doesn’t watch it he will be a punch drunk instead for not wearing protective head gear – how irresponsible is that – the guy needs his head read literally. Irene is such a kiwi identity and I believe she won her bout – shame on the Herald, they ignore NZ netball as well with their coverage being sporadic.
FYI….
Intersting Insight (RNZ) on politicisation of the public service.
I find it amusing that people actually believe the Public Service is still impartial.
The neo-lib restructuring in the 80s (when we started having ‘CEOs’ and purchase agreements, and all the other crap), and when they justified it all by chants of “more accountability; less pliticisation’ efficiency and effectiveness” provided the means by which partisanship would creep in over time.
It’s high time that senior management positions in the Public Service need bipartisan support. The number of little (actually quite large) fiefdoms that comprise our public service is unbelievable. It occurs at middle and senior management.
Always refreshing to hear such a well presented discussion, and allow the listener to form their own opinion. Bang on Brent.Lets hope it makes an impact on those who are being lead by the nose, or herded onto the lorries.
Agreed. What’s slightly depressing is the lack of apparent interest (witness the lack of feedback – even here thus far).
When one considers the impact of it all, and how our daily lives are impacted by a politicised public service ….. I just think “Yea Nah” (when I see accusations of contributors being part of things like “Thorndon Bubbles” and various of shite).
Not much has been learned from history eh?
– I’ll wake up tomorrow …. Matty will be preparing to offer us his ultimate spin on NinetoNoon along with somebody ‘from the left’ (admittedly better than the last sellout)
– Various opposition elected ‘representatives will be preparing to trot off to parly armint with some hobby horse they’re desperately trying to gain traction on while watching the polls and pretending they aren’t
– complete arseholes like Lusk et al will be going about their daily bizz and doing the things they know best – while being incapable of even understanding the concept of a society, or a collective interest
– Paddy Gower will be preening hisself in the mirror wondering what tie might be best whilst he ponders the best way to put the boot in
– various IT wonder boys will be telling us how clever they are and how they have a solution (most times by reinventing the wheel)
– bankers and financial ‘experts’ will be readying themselves to deliver the usual spin on media outlets ‘on the back of’ whatever incident has just occurred (going forward)
– etc etc etc
Few seem to have considered the ACTUAL impact of a partisan administration and public service in our supposed 1st world democratic economy. I guess we get what we deserve really.
UK Tory MP doctored an email from constituent, the MP has since deleted the Facebook post, claiming that the three extra words were from another email and the post was an ‘illustration’ of the unpleasant comments she had received.
Over the ditch the Liberals retain the seat of North Sydney in the by-election called after the resignation of Joe Hockey. Normally that would be good news for the government, but the whopping 13% swing against them in the seat is a shocker, especially as the Labor Party didn’t even stand a candidate!
In other news, Tony Abbott has been caught bludging:
@Ropata – if the Natz didn’t have our country to sell, the emperors new clothes in the economy will be exposed.
There are plenty of migrants keen to buy here, not sure that housing bubble will burst – more like just make Kiwis on local wages paupers unable to afford to live in our own country.
The only way to slow property prices is to slow migration. Since most new migrants are voting the Natz and donating to them, just another way to stay in power.
100% correct, I wonder why Auction Clearance rates have dropped from 80% down to 35% in the past month, obviously all the Australian buyers have pulled out of the market?
Why the US, France and Britain are destroying Syria
by SAM GERRANS, 5 December 2015
Since Russia stepped up to the plate, suddenly western countries can’t wait to bomb ISIS. Are they now there to get the job done? Or are they there to stop Russia increasing its influence, and to make sure it doesn’t succeed where they failed?
The world is falling over itself to bomb Syria. The following statement from Reuters summarizes the situation: “
Most of the world’s powers are now flying combat missions over Iraq and Syria against Islamic State. But any consensus on how to proceed has been thwarted by opposing policies over the 4-year-old civil war in Syria, which has killed 250,000 people, driven 11 million from their homes, left swathes of territory in the hands of jihadist fighters and defied all diplomatic efforts at a solution.”
While it may seem to the outside observer that this catalogue of mayhem is the result of incompetence, to me – on the contrary – it is evidence of things going to plan.
I have never, thus far, seen a war the ruling elite clearly wanted to happen not happen.
Here, as in all other cases, there has been a bit of hand-wringing, some crying, some protests, some moving speeches. But like the morality plays of medieval times, after enjoying the sermon dressed as entertainment, life has inevitably carried on as normal with the barons raping and pillaging and everyone else having to put up with that reality.
Destruction of Syria is the plan
This time the plan – at least judging from the outcomes – is to destroy Syria.
Syria has been anathema to the self-appointed arbiters of righteousness: the ‘international community’, that coterie of hypocrites which arrogates to itself the monopoly on meting out death to those who won’t get with the program.
This group dislikes Syria which has had an uncompromising stance towards Israel and an independent financial system, and is using the chance to destroy it to flood Europe with refugees, thus further debasing the makeup of its constituent nations, and simultaneously justifying a lockdown in those countries. ….
I keep thinking of the Golan Heights and the present Syrian War and keep coming to the same conclusion – Syria now has the perfect opportunity to push the invaders, Israel, out. Wonder if they’ll take it.
This Wesley Clark explains in harsh reality what the military mindset is. We need more diplomats talking out the problems and looking for ways to meet part of others demands.
AMY GOODMAN: Do you think cluster bombs should be banned?
GEN. WESLEY CLARK: You know, we used, I think 1,400-plus cluster bombs.
And there’s a time when you have to use cluster bombs: when they’re the most appropriate and humane weapon. But I think you have to control the use very carefully. And I think we did in Yugoslavia.
AMY GOODMAN: Right now, the US has rejected an international call to ban the use of cluster bombs. On Friday, forty-six countries were in Oslo to develop a new international treaty to ban the use of cluster munitions by — I think it’s 2008. Would you support that?
GEN. WESLEY CLARK: Well, you know, people who are against war often make the case by trying to attack the weapons of war and stripping away the legitimacy of those weapons. I’ve participated in some of that. I’d like to get rid of landmines. I did participate in getting rid of laser blinding weapons. And I was part of the team that put together the agreement that got rid of laser blinding weapons. I’d like to get rid of nuclear weapons. But I can’t agree with those who say that force has no place in international affairs. It simply does for this country. And I would like to work to make it so that it doesn’t.
But the truth is, for now it does. And so, I can’t go against giving our men and women in uniform the appropriate weapons they need to fight, to fight effectively to succeed on the battlefield, and to minimize their own casualties. http://www.globalresearch.ca/we-re-going-to-take-out-7-countries-in-5-years-iraq-syria-lebanon-libya-somalia-sudan-iran/5166
Renowned scholar activist Susan George introduces her new book, Shadow Sovereigns – How Global Corporations are seizing power. She explains how corporations have taken over all branches of the government as well as international governance, in particular through trade treaties such as the proposed EU-US Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership.
They aren’t shutting it down just morphing it into the new “Inbox”. It’s a next gen intelligent email client that helps you navigate the torrents of crap and respond to the stuff that actually matters.
It’s also a superior data gathering service for the NSA to spy with
Agree that Groups are crap, once upon a time (in the nineties) the newsgroups were the liveliest part of the Web, but now they are dead, but that’s not Google’s fault
First off, I want to thank you for being the main source of my news for the past 20 plus years. Now 31, I have been an avid reader of the newspaper since I was a wee boy. Admittedly I no longer buy a copy everyday (along with the observer) as I rarely have the time to sit down and read the entire thing, but I still do on average three times a week and the Guardian website is the first website I go to on my laptop and I Phone.
Thank you for breaking the best stories, having the best commentators and generally having an angle I could trust, over this time.
However, the Guardian’s political coverage has sharply deteriorated since the election of Jeremy Corbyn and I will no longer be buying the newspaper or visiting the website. Admittedly it will be very difficult to not visit the website because it’s so ingrained in my behaviour. I’ve been trying the past few weeks to avoid it but keep on finding myself back there! But after this email, I hereby declare that I will never buy a Guardian newspaper or browse the website again.
In recent weeks I’ve read the Guardian’s coverage of Corbyn with disbelief. The drip feed of anti-Corbyn bias has got ridiculous. Remember the story of John McDonnell’s Little Red Book joke? Well that was an ironic joke about Osbourne’s public investment strategy, reliant as it is on the Chinese state, an authoritarian dictatorship. The Guardian’s interpretation? That McDonnell was referencing Mao as one of his heros, backed up with a ridiculous quote from Chuka Umuna to that effect. I’d expect such a tactic from the Daily Mail.
Or take the recent coverage of the Oldham by-election. During the build-up, the Guardian’s frame was that Labour was struggling because of Corbyn. The election was dubbed as a test of Corbyn’s Labour Party. There was recognition that Labour would probably win, but a low victory was predicted (“Labour works around Jeremy Corbyn in Greater Manchester”).
During the build-up, I expected something was amiss. I can say that as a Labour party activist in a northern city (Leicester) Corbyn has made campaigning far easier because we have a positive platform and a clear difference with the Tories. Surely this is something to tap into?
Fast forward to news of Labour’s emphatic victory, where Labour extended its lead by 7.5% to 62.3%, the Guardian’s view is that victory has very little to do with Corbyn and everything to do with Jim McMahon, the local guy who won despite the leadership.
Now, I wouldn’t want to take anything away from McMahon, who is clearly a fantastic local politician. But an extension of Labour’s lead is astounding given everything that has gone on, the turmoil in Labour following the Syria vote and relentless hostility in the national media. Something about Corbyn’s leadership is proving popular at the ballot box, despite the Guardian’s best efforts to set him up for a fall.
Indeed, over these past few months, I have come to understand the nature of the Guardian: it’s certainly not a modern incarnation of the “Poor Man’s Guardian”. That paper, originating in 1831, was part of the radical press which burgeoned following the advent of the printing press. It provided for the news and intellectual needs of working people, having as its motto “knowledge is power”.
Today’s Guardian is “guardian” in a more Orwellian sense: a paper that polices leftwing discourse, that sets limits on what is acceptable for leftwing politics, and what is acceptable is basically Blair without Iraq. Rafael Behr, Polly Toynbee, Jonathan Freedland: all are echoing this anti-Corbyn, essentially Blairite line.
It’s therefore with a sorry heart that I say goodbye. Like those who turned to the radical press in the 19th century, I shall turn to online news sources and social media where established filters do not apply. It is annoying though, as I do enjoy a good broadsheet and a cuppa.
heh – if I lived 100 odd miles north of London, I’d grab the opportunity to disassociate with both hands 😉
And even if the letter isn’t actually a piece of correspondence that was sent to the Guardian, the analysis of their (the Guardian’s) bent and the sentiments of the writer are pretty well spot on.
The most significant political development of the year was the ‘Mediapocalypse’ – the ongoing collapse of serious journalism in New Zealand driven by challenges to the fundamental business model of the media industry. Those changes have been matched in state-owned media outlets. Maori TV shut down its investigative journalism show because it was exposing corruption among Maori elites. TVNZ has an infotainment show on every week night where the host gives a speech praising the government and attacking its critics.
Yep it was a damn depressing year, more of the same BS from the Nats, they are still looking unstoppable. For me the biggest theme of the year was the all out assault on TV journalism. Campbell Live, then Maori TV, now 3D, and the redundancies from the Herald.
I am relieved that Glucina and her awful Scout vehicle hit the fan. And there’s a glimmer of hope that independent efforts like The Spinoff and WatchMe will throw a spanner in the works of the Nat media machine.
A real speech, from a real Benn
by KIT, Off-Guardian, 2 December 2015
Parliament has just made a decision that this time bombing the Middle East will fix everything, partially on the back of a speech from Hilary Benn. This, in our view, is the most apposite response:
The NZ media is now reporting on all serious assaults in western mega cities. Expect to see detailed reports about all shootings, domestic assaults from LA and New York in papers next week. Their reporting won’t spread panic or link anything to errorism….
Well of course they’ll report it if anybody’s reportedly claimed attackers yelled “allahu akbar” or “Syria” or dressed up in military-style gear and attacked anyone in a country that’s involved in fighting in Syria or Iraq. And especially one that’s recently joined the fighting like Britain, France, Germany.
Domestic assaults/drunken bashings/gang & drug-related shootings and that sort of shit happening overseas isn’t going to get reported here any more often than it usually does – i.e only when someone yells “allahu akbar” or “Syria” or gets dressed up in military style gear, or goes on a shooting spree, or kills their whole family…or does something else out of the ordinary.
Aren’t we in a murky world on what constitutes terrorism though? If the offender didn’t say anything during the incident, then it isn’t a story at the top of the news hour or a leading story on our news sites. The media is obviously hyper sensitive around this whole issue given recent events and I think we should call them out when they over egg the terrorism thing. This is the same group that duped the public into there being weapons of mass destruction in Iraq more than a decade ago and look how much destruction that’s caused since. They’re passing on misinformation without critical analysis, at least some of us can be critical of them although not enough of the NZ public is.
B52 Bombers have failed in the past and I don’t see things changing in the future?
Whatever happened to meaningful dialogue, it a lot cheaper than war and there is less human and financial damage. When will the world ever learn from past mistakes?
Whatever happened to meaningful dialogue, it a lot cheaper than war and there is less human and financial damage.
You answered yourself in your question:
it a lot cheaper than war
War makes far more profit because it’s more expensive. It’s why we’ve had social services cut and replaced by privatisation. It’s more expensive and thus makes more profit.
It s a horrible thought but she has a following in nz and as papakura didn’t kick her out last election they’d probably still vote for her if she changed parties.
Or . . . the media is claiming every nutter out there is aligned to the Corbyn movement to create the perception every one aligned Corbyn is also a nutter?
Can’t see an end to that situation macro. So many people there insist on being allowed to have guns eventually everyone could conceivably need one to protect themselves from any other angry person who loses the plot, or mugger, thug, burglar, nutter or even over-excited security guard or armed enforcement official.
How would you get people to give up guns once they’ve legally got them? Every time there’s a mass shooting the numbers buying/applying for guns go up. The idea of their government trying to take guns away from gun owners over there is preposterous: it’ll never happen. The stable door’s wide open and that horse has long bolted. How do you stop owners of multiple firearms giving guns away or selling them privately to others. The chances of getting yourself shot by accident or in cross fire must be reasonably high already.
Even US gun control proposals seem to only be about improving background checks. Sounds like the San Bernardino shooter couple got their assault rifles from a neighbour who purchased them legally.
As I understand it, the number of households with guns is actually going down, even as the average number of guns per household goes up. I was very surprised to read that, but it seemed a reputable source. So there’s actually fewer nuts with guns, but the nuts that still have guns are getting waaayyyy nuttier and stockpiling way more guns (and ammo).
I spent most of the 90s in the US, and was most recently back there for three weeks in January. I have the feeling there actually is a slow shift in the general cultural acceptability of guns, which is about the only chance of improving things. But that kind of shift takes generations to show results, and with the nuts getting nuttier things will probably get a lot worse before they get better.
And all their surveillance seems kind of pointless if even getting yourself on a terrorist no-fly list is apparently no impediment at all to buying any guns you want. Which the NRA thinks is just the way it should be.
Good points, thanks for that. Here are some interesting stats/information.
Gun ownership’s declining but support for gun ownership’s increasing.
Gun ownership in the United States is declining overall, but nearly a third of households still have a gun.
“Active shooter” events have become more common in recent years.
massive inequality, a permanent underclass that is tormented by the system, institutions that exist to entrench privilege not serve the community
the USA is sick.
I know many wonderful Americans, who I really respect and care about, but there is a dark side of that country, that is festering and not being dealt with
If you have cancer, which I believe is a fungus, and we can put a pic line into your body and we’re flushing, let’s say, salt water, sodium cardonate [sic], through that line, and flushing out the fungus… These are some procedures that are not FDA-approved in America that are very inexpensive, cost-effective.
Disappointing to see the NZ dairy industry squealing about having their practices investigated. I would rather have seen them acknowledge the problem, apologise to the people of NZ for their lack of oversight, and promise to do better next time.
looked to me from watching thr safe vid it was the industry itself” putting the boot in ” to the poor bloody calves and hitherto they didnt give a stuff .I supose we can be greatfull that dairyfarmers no longer cut off the tails of their cows an obscene practise that was not too long ago seen the length and breadth of the country .Logically the figure of 99% doing a great job would be wildly generous i.m.o.
What bemuses me is how easy this has been to sell this as an inevitable consequence of technology change, when of course that’s nonsense. But then of course this kind of stuff is easier to pull off in New Zealand.
Steve Braunias’ secret diary of Mark Weldon was gold in the Herald yesterday.
I’m sick to fucking death of everything Labour says not just because they’re a bunch of hopeless right-wing gits but because they’ve wrecked all trace of a record that shows they mean what they say and have created one that says they don’t. The Nothing Party. Hopeless lying right-wing gits.
I SO hope Judith Collins stands in the 2016 Auckland Mayoralty!
Comparing our proven track records on the ‘anti-corruption’ front will be SUCH fun!
(Not to mention the forced Auckland ‘Supercity’ amalgamation.
ie: I opposed it and National MP Judith Collins voted for it? )
_________________________________________________
Judith Collins on the Auckland mayoralty
Sunday, 06 December 2015
The New Zealand Herald
National MP Judith Collins. Photo / Doug Sherring
By Audrey Young
National MP Judith Collins gave a wide-ranging speech about the Auckland Council to an Act regional conference yesterday, which is bound to renew speculation she is considering standing for the Auckland mayoralty.
However she also appeared to make a pitch for Chamber of Commerce head Michael Barnett, whose name has also been associated with a mayoral run.
“Auckland desperately needs a leader, someone who can articulate their plan, implement it and be accountable for it,” she said.
She applauded the fact that Mr Barnett had repeatedly called for a transparent line-by-line review of council costs and planned capital expenditure.
“He is absolutely right…taxpayers deserve to know what public money is being spent cost effectively and efficiently…
“As a ratepayer, I just hope that we end up with a financially literate, decisive mayor who can work with central government and not someone who thinks that being Mayor of Auckland is all about themselves,” she said in the speech which was distributed by her press secretary. ….”
_____________________________________________________________
So – if that’s the case – do both Judith Collins and Michael Barnett support my stand against Auckland Council not telling citizens and ratepayers EXACTLY where public rates monies are being spent?
What exactly have Judith Collins and Michael Barnett done to help ensure ‘open, transparent and democratically accountable’ local government in Auckland ?
(The same question can be asked of Labour MP / ‘Independent’ 2016 Auckland Mayoral candidate – Phil Goff?)
After having had a look at that feature, I tend to feel that it is not particularly useful. It just leads to people being silenced because what they say isn’t popular. Better to leave it so people can say what they want within the limits of the site rules about behaviour, including making barbed and smart derogatory comments about other peoples comments.
When commenters walk over behavioural limits, then the moderators act. PB figured out the boundaries a long time ago, and she listens when she gets pulled up for being a wee bit enthusiastic about using our space. So she gets to use the soapbox – carefully.
I have another plugin in testing to allow an uptick that doesn’t suck performance out of the site, rations how many ticks people can have over a month AND allows me to restrict it to people who have had a minimum number of accepted comments on the site (or have that ultra-rare login).
Down votes aren’t good as there are people who will gang up behind the scenes and down vote not only because they don’t like the content but because they don’t like the person making the comment and it becomes a wasteful game of petty politics. That’s my personal experience.
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Buzz from the Beehive Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters was bound to win headlines when he set out his thinking about AUKUS in his speech to the New Zealand Institute of International Affairs. The headlines became bigger when – during an interview on RNZ’s Morning Report today – he criticised ...
The Post reports on how the government is refusing to release its advice on its corrupt Muldoonist fast-track law, instead using the "soon to be publicly available" refusal ground to hide it until after select committee submissions on the bill have closed. Fast-track Minister Chris Bishop's excuse? “It's not ...
As pressure on it grows, the livestock industry’s approach to the transition to Net Zero is increasingly being compared to that of fossil fuel interests. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / Getty ImagesTL;DR: Here’s the top five news items of note in climate news for Aotearoa-NZ this week, and a discussion above ...
The New Zealand Herald reports – Stats NZ has offered a voluntary redundancy scheme to all of its workers as a way to give staff some control over their “future” amidst widespread job losses in the public sector. In an update to staff this morning, seen by the Herald, Statistics New Zealand ...
On Werewolf/Scoop, I usually do two long form political columns a week. From now on, there will be an extra column each week about music and movies. But first, some late-breaking political events:The rise in unemployment numbers for the March quarter was bigger than expected – and especially sharp ...
David Farrar writes – The Herald reports: TVNZ says it is dealing with about 50 formal complaints over its coverage of the latest 1News-Verian political poll, with some viewers – as well as the Prime Minister and a former senior Labour MP – critical of the tone of the 6pm report. ...
Muriel Newman writes – When Meridian Energy was seeking resource consents for a West Coast hydro dam proposal in 2010, local Maori “strenuously” objected, claiming their mana was inextricably linked to ‘their’ river and could be damaged. After receiving a financial payment from the company, however, the Ngai Tahu ...
Alwyn Poole writes – “An SEP,’ he said, ‘is something that we can’t see, or don’t see, or our brain doesn’t let us see, because we think that it’s somebody else’s problem. That’s what SEP means. Somebody Else’s Problem. The brain just edits it out, it’s like a ...
Our trust in our political institutions is fast eroding, according to a Maxim Institute discussion paper, Shaky Foundations: Why our democracy needs trust. The paper – released today – raises concerns about declining trust in New Zealand’s political institutions and democratic processes, and the role that the overuse of Parliamentary urgency ...
This article was prepared for publication yesterday. More ministerial announcements have been posted on the government’s official website since it was written. We will report on these later today …. Buzz from the BeehiveThere we were, thinking the environment is in trouble, when along came Jones. Shane Jones. ...
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 ...
The Government is again adding to New Zealand’s growing unemployment, this time cutting jobs at the agencies responsible for urban development and growing much needed housing stock. ...
With Minister Karen Chhour indicating in the House today that she either doesn’t know or care about the frontline cuts she’s making to Oranga Tamariki, we risk seeing more and more of our children falling through the cracks. ...
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. ...
The Government has delivered on its election promise to provide a financially sustainable model for Auckland under its Local Water Done Well plan. The plan, which has been unanimously endorsed by Auckland Council’s Governing Body, will see Aucklanders avoid the previously projected 25.8 per cent water rates increases while retaining ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters discussed the need for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, and enhanced cooperation in the Pacific with German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock during her first official visit to New Zealand today. "New Zealand and Germany enjoy shared interests and values, including the rule of law, democracy, respect for the international system ...
The Minister Responsible for RMA Reform, Chris Bishop today released his decision on four recommendations referred to him by the Western Bay of Plenty District Council, opening the door to housing growth in the area. The Council’s Plan Change 92 allows more homes to be built in existing and new ...
Thank you, John McKinnon and the New Zealand China Council for the invitation to speak to you today. Thank you too, all members of the China Council. Your effort has played an essential role in helping to build, shape, and grow a balanced and resilient relationship between our two ...
The Government is modernising insurance law to better protect Kiwis and provide security in the event of a disaster, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly announced today. “These reforms are long overdue. New Zealand’s insurance law is complicated and dated, some of which is more than 100 years old. ...
The coalition Government is refreshing its approach to supporting pay equity claims as time-limited funding for the Pay Equity Taskforce comes to an end, Public Service Minister Nicola Willis says. “Three years ago, the then-government introduced changes to the Equal Pay Act to support pay equity bargaining. The changes were ...
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 ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra A new Commonwealth Prac Payment will provide students with $319.50 a week when they are on clinical and professional placements. The payment will be means tested and start from July 1 next year, which ...
Asia Pacific Report About 500 people honoured Palestinian journalists in the heart of the New Zealand city of Auckland today for their brave coverage of Israel’s War on Gaza, now in its seventh month with almost 35,000 people killed, mostly women and children. Marking the annual May 3 World Press ...
The Government Communications Security Bureau denies hosting a foreign spying capability flagged by the watchdog, differentiating it from the system recently criticised. ...
RNZ News A group of academic staff at New Zealand’s largest university have expressed concern at the administration’s move to block a protest encampment that was planned to take place on campus calling for support for the rights of Palestinians. This week, the University of Auckland warned that while it ...
Genterwocky After a hard days marching, Sir Doocey calls in at the Village Tavern For a pint of ale and a pork pie. The grim villagers stare at him. “Do not be travelling on the forest road,” warns a crusty old beak. “And why is that, antique peasant?” Grins Sir ...
Political conferences after a party returns to power are usually a chance for some healthy, even unhealthy backslapping. Yet National Party president Sylvia Wood’s address to its mainland representatives on Saturday hardly contained the unalloyed delight that one might have expected following National’s escape from the wilderness of opposition. Yes, ...
Comment: Almost half the world is voting in national elections this year and artificial intelligence is the elephant in the room. There are genuine fears AI-generated or AI-edited deepfakes will potentially manipulate election outcomes not just in the US and UK, but critically in countries such as India. For that ...
Ahead of the reality franchise’s return to New Zealand, allow us to introduce the eight brides and grooms. Chuck on a veil and tie back your man bun, because it’s time to say “I do” to a new season of Married at First Sight NZ. The reality TV “social experiment” ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Andrew Norton, Professor in the Practice of Higher Education Policy, Australian National University Every year on June 1, student debt in Australia is indexed to inflation. In 2023, high inflation pushed the indexation rate to 7.1%, the highest since 1990. This ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra Changes in the May 14 budget will cut the student debt of more than three million people, wiping more than $3 billion from what people owe. The government will cap the HELP indexation rate ...
Asia Pacific Report The prosecutor’s office at the International Criminal Court (ICC) has appealed for an end to what it calls intimidation of its staff, saying such threats could constitute an offence against the “administration of justice” by the world’s permanent war crimes court. The Hague-based office of ICC Prosecutor ...
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New Zealand Food Safety is monitoring overseas recalls of Indian packaged spice products manufactured by MDH and Everest due to concerns over a cancer-causing pesticide. ...
By Stephen Wright and Stefan Armbruster of BenarNews Fiji’s ranking in a global press freedom index has jumped into the top tier of countries with free or mostly free media after its government last year repealed a draconian law that threatened journalists with prison for doing their jobs. Fiji’s improvement ...
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Tip one: let yourself be nurtured by this big old man. Tip two: don’t ask him to adopt you. So, you’ve arrived at your first session with a new therapist. He tells you to make yourself comfortable and you opt for the tweed armchair, hoping it makes you look like ...
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Former Olympic swimmer James Magnussen has already started training for the Enhanced games, though says he won’t start taking performance enhancing substances until about nine months out from the competition. The Australian world champion was the first athlete to be announced by Enhanced, but he says the organisation has had ...
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This is already beginning to feel like a very long, very hot, very dry summer.
Not in the beautiful central north island they predicted cool and damp for us and so far so good.
I just wish it would STOP raining. My vege’s are coming up with water wings.
Might be the summer of the wasp I’ve squashed 10 or more paper wasp nests already!
Good article by Paul Little re Serco.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11556603
What a load of lefty wank that article is.
Whereas in relation to your comment BM, what a load of wank simpliciter !
Have you not the intelligence to understand the point BM ? Or is it that the mere mention of a collective responsibility for a collective ill stuns you into Babble Land ?
When it comes to Serco/Corrections the troubling knowledge and experience amassed in my daily line of work qualifies me to dismiss you as a fool. Who knows shit all about the matter.
You can shove “the collective responsibly” up your arse.
You fuck up, you pay the price and hopefully learn from it and move on.
I’m not in the remotest bit responsible or should feel responsible for someone else’s criminal behavior or stupidity.
“You fuck up” I think you mean “you get caught”. & also this “hopefully learn from it and move on”, if you are brutalised in prison or spending 23 hours in a cell you won’t move on buddy, thats where the ‘collective responsibility’ bit comes in.
That’s an issue with corrections, nothing to do with me.
Everything to do with you. As we live in a democracy what happens in our collective institutions is part of our personal responsibility.
That’s the main point of a democracy: We are responsible for what we do collectively.
You don’t get to declaim the responsibility by saying that it’s solely to do with Corrections as we have to be clear to Corrections about how they should behave. What sort of moral and ethical standards that they should uphold.
And, no, I’m not talking about telling them exactly what to do.
So our collective responsibility means that you have a personal responsibility for the actions of the democratic Government elected by the collective Draco?
Yes.
Of course, part of that personal responsibility – in the collective context of a democracy – may be to seek to change the government that acts in our collective name but which (in one’s personal judgment) does harmful things.
We all have a personal responsibility to respond to the consequences of collective decisions and actions – because, by definition, we are all responsible for collective decisions and actions.
I should clarify that I was not of course responding for Draco.
I take sole personal responsibility for my comment – it was not a collective comment 😊
No doubt Draco will concur PG, so taking both your personal responsibilities as given, I would like to formally hold you both personally accountable for the actions of this government.
Before we start, can you remind me what our collective agreement is regarding the mechanism for imposing accountability for collective actions on individual members of the collective?
In Sheep’s example, personal responsibility has no meaning unless enforced by the collective.
Now, that’s a shit definition of personal responsibility but of course it’s hard to define something that only exists as a victim-blaming rhetorical device.
🙄
I agree OAB.
Personal responsibility has no meaning unless it can be enforced by the collective.
The collective has not agreed on any concept of, or mechanism for enforcing any such accountability.
Therefore, the theory of a personal responsibility for collective actions the individual had no direct influence or involvement in…..has no meaning.
It does not exist.
Maybe not but you probably said it better than me.
Sheep, are you pretending to be utterly stupid? Or just introducing stupid reductive rhetoric because you can’t handle the guts of the argument.
Those guts are: Puddleglum (and Paul Little) neatly exposes the shameful behaviour of the likes of you and BM, who enable this evil, and calls out your lip service to personal responsibility.
No wonder you’re twisting and turning like a grub on a pin.
As you believe it exists OAB, you will be able to tell me
what the collectives agreed definition of personal responsibility for collective actions is?
What collective body is responsible for administering the collective responsibility policy?
What is the agreed mechanism of accountability?
What sanctions can be imposed on individuals deemed to have failed in their responsibility?
Meanwhile on Earth, what I in fact said is:
The only time right wingers invoke it is when pointing the finger at others. When it comes to the consequences of your own behaviour you’re all lawyered up from the get-go.
You didn’t answer my questions OAB?
If PG, Draco and yourself are correct, then it should be a simple matter to do so?
A whining rhetoric-merchant asked “What is the agreed mechanism…?”
Public contempt ridicule and shame are good. That’s why you don’t talk about Cabinet Club, and can’t abide the notion of personal responsibility for the right wing clusterfuck you voted for.
There is no collective agreement on it. No collective mechanism to administer it. No collective accountability to it. No collective sanction for ignoring it.
We can say then that the collective does not in fact hold individuals personally responsible for collective actions they are not directly involved in.
That leaves us with collective responsibility being a concept that is asserted by individuals, who take it upon themselves to make judgements on the culpability of others, and administer their personal sanctions of ‘contempt ridicule and shame’?
There is a certain whiff of sanctimonious arrogance and a vain assumption of moral superiority attached to individuals who place themselves in a position of judgement on others don’t you think?
Luckily, as belief in this concept is entirely personal, individuals can reject it with exactly the same degree of legitimacy as others can adopt it.
(That’s my last word. Now you can have that little burst of abuse at the end that lets you pretend to yourself that you have ‘won’ the argument and humiliated your opponents)
Meanwhile, on Earth, the notion of personal responsibility that has to be enforced by the collective is:
1. Introduced by you.
2. An oxymoron.
Which leads back to the point: you enable SERCO’s corruption and brutality, and exhibit no personal responsibility whatsoever.
What about the criminal behaviour of the Prime Minister? Surely anyone who voted for his party, even in the light of the Dirty Politics scandal, is responsible for voting Key and his cronies back to power. (I presume you’re a National voter.)
By BM’s standards, to be logically consistent they must want to have John Key straight into prison for his criminal deeds, and they must also be totally fine with him being assaulted while in there.
So Bill English calling prisons a “moral and fiscal failure” makes him a lefty wanker?
And no doubt you’ll hold that opinion right up until the time you, or someone dear to you drives drunk, kills someone and gets a jail term. Then it’ll be excuse excuse excuse
Rich drunk drivers don’t go to jail.
Nor do sober ones who attempt to murder by vehicle,
judge pissed off at media, wants to let off the sociopath banker
http://www.stuff.co.nz/business/industries/7579697/Judge-slams-road-rage-banker-conviction
An excellent article North. Thanks for putting it up. I can say why I think it is good: it presents a reminder of what prisons are supposed to be for, and discusses the ways in which they fall short. I am not sure why BM thinks it is “a load of lefty wank” since he/she offers no reasons.
Load of typical lefty middle class wank.
Your intellectual flatulence is overpowering BM……you first obviously.
Raise the level of your debating skills, please.
I know everybody isn’t a boxing fan but the Herald this morning is showing highlights of the boxing bout with Joseph Parker and another fight with Zac Guilford the rugby player – but nothing of Irene’s fight. They are just the lousiest newspaper ever. Irene who graced our screens for years with fantastic netball and such a great person – and they haven’t got the decency to show her fight in their online content. I gave up on the paper ages ago and they still are not delivering fair coverage of everything that goes into print. A bloody waste of space.
The Herald love focusing on Zac Guildford because he is perfect tabloid fodder for a certain type of NZer.
I understand he is a recovering alcoholic, if he doesn’t watch it he will be a punch drunk instead for not wearing protective head gear – how irresponsible is that – the guy needs his head read literally. Irene is such a kiwi identity and I believe she won her bout – shame on the Herald, they ignore NZ netball as well with their coverage being sporadic.
FYI….
Intersting Insight (RNZ) on politicisation of the public service.
I find it amusing that people actually believe the Public Service is still impartial.
The neo-lib restructuring in the 80s (when we started having ‘CEOs’ and purchase agreements, and all the other crap), and when they justified it all by chants of “more accountability; less pliticisation’ efficiency and effectiveness” provided the means by which partisanship would creep in over time.
It’s high time that senior management positions in the Public Service need bipartisan support. The number of little (actually quite large) fiefdoms that comprise our public service is unbelievable. It occurs at middle and senior management.
http://www.radionz.co.nz/national/programmes/insight/audio/201781443/insight-for-6-december-2015-politics-and-public-servants
Always refreshing to hear such a well presented discussion, and allow the listener to form their own opinion. Bang on Brent.Lets hope it makes an impact on those who are being lead by the nose, or herded onto the lorries.
Agreed. What’s slightly depressing is the lack of apparent interest (witness the lack of feedback – even here thus far).
When one considers the impact of it all, and how our daily lives are impacted by a politicised public service ….. I just think “Yea Nah” (when I see accusations of contributors being part of things like “Thorndon Bubbles” and various of shite).
Not much has been learned from history eh?
– I’ll wake up tomorrow …. Matty will be preparing to offer us his ultimate spin on NinetoNoon along with somebody ‘from the left’ (admittedly better than the last sellout)
– Various opposition elected ‘representatives will be preparing to trot off to parly armint with some hobby horse they’re desperately trying to gain traction on while watching the polls and pretending they aren’t
– complete arseholes like Lusk et al will be going about their daily bizz and doing the things they know best – while being incapable of even understanding the concept of a society, or a collective interest
– Paddy Gower will be preening hisself in the mirror wondering what tie might be best whilst he ponders the best way to put the boot in
– various IT wonder boys will be telling us how clever they are and how they have a solution (most times by reinventing the wheel)
– bankers and financial ‘experts’ will be readying themselves to deliver the usual spin on media outlets ‘on the back of’ whatever incident has just occurred (going forward)
– etc etc etc
Few seem to have considered the ACTUAL impact of a partisan administration and public service in our supposed 1st world democratic economy. I guess we get what we deserve really.
I always appreciate the Insight series, it is disappointing to see the lacking engagement.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3346220/Tory-MP-voted-bomb-Syria-Facebook-death-threat-row-adding-unless-die-constituent-s-email.html
UK Tory MP doctored an email from constituent, the MP has since deleted the Facebook post, claiming that the three extra words were from another email and the post was an ‘illustration’ of the unpleasant comments she had received.
I.e, Tory caught in a lie then lies more to try and cover the first lie.
Fairly typical behaviour for Tories really.
Over the ditch the Liberals retain the seat of North Sydney in the by-election called after the resignation of Joe Hockey. Normally that would be good news for the government, but the whopping 13% swing against them in the seat is a shocker, especially as the Labor Party didn’t even stand a candidate!
In other news, Tony Abbott has been caught bludging:
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-12-06/abbott-used-taxpayer-funds-on-same-day-as-donors-birthday-bash/7004648
New Zealand’s greatest export market: selling Auckland property to the Chinese
https://canofwormsopened.wordpress.com/2015/05/21/government-announces-plan-to-grow-auckland-housing-bubble/
@Ropata – if the Natz didn’t have our country to sell, the emperors new clothes in the economy will be exposed.
There are plenty of migrants keen to buy here, not sure that housing bubble will burst – more like just make Kiwis on local wages paupers unable to afford to live in our own country.
The only way to slow property prices is to slow migration. Since most new migrants are voting the Natz and donating to them, just another way to stay in power.
+100 savenz…especially “…not sure that housing bubble will burst”…
100% correct, I wonder why Auction Clearance rates have dropped from 80% down to 35% in the past month, obviously all the Australian buyers have pulled out of the market?
Possibly partly because after the Chinese stock market bubble has burst the CCP has tightened up on allowing Chinese to move money out of China.
They need all the money they can keep inside the country to stay inside the country.
And maybe… just maybe… NZ has a property market bubble and it’s found its peak.
Why the US, France and Britain are destroying Syria
by SAM GERRANS, 5 December 2015
Since Russia stepped up to the plate, suddenly western countries can’t wait to bomb ISIS. Are they now there to get the job done? Or are they there to stop Russia increasing its influence, and to make sure it doesn’t succeed where they failed?
The world is falling over itself to bomb Syria. The following statement from Reuters summarizes the situation: “
While it may seem to the outside observer that this catalogue of mayhem is the result of incompetence, to me – on the contrary – it is evidence of things going to plan.
I have never, thus far, seen a war the ruling elite clearly wanted to happen not happen.
Here, as in all other cases, there has been a bit of hand-wringing, some crying, some protests, some moving speeches. But like the morality plays of medieval times, after enjoying the sermon dressed as entertainment, life has inevitably carried on as normal with the barons raping and pillaging and everyone else having to put up with that reality.
Destruction of Syria is the plan
This time the plan – at least judging from the outcomes – is to destroy Syria.
Syria has been anathema to the self-appointed arbiters of righteousness: the ‘international community’, that coterie of hypocrites which arrogates to itself the monopoly on meting out death to those who won’t get with the program.
This group dislikes Syria which has had an uncompromising stance towards Israel and an independent financial system, and is using the chance to destroy it to flood Europe with refugees, thus further debasing the makeup of its constituent nations, and simultaneously justifying a lockdown in those countries. ….
Read more….
https://www.rt.com/op-edge/324853-us-france-britain-syria/
@Morrissey – Syria also has a natural gas pipeline coming from Saudi Arabia/Qatar through Syria and Turkey. Hence all the international interest.
http://www.troll.me/images/joseph-ducreux/you-good-sir-are-the-man-thumb.jpg
Why the US, France and Britain are destroying Syria
According to General Wesley Clark it is the execution of a plan. A conspiracy
Sykes–Picot Agreement along with the desire to remap borders, seemingly part of the same discussion
Annexation of Golan Heights by Israel and the involvement of Genie Energy (check the names who make up the company board)
Abuse and deception on a grand scale
Iran next ?
+100 Morrissey and One Two
‘As Syria Reels, Israel Looks to Expand Settlements in Golan Heights’
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/10/03/world/middleeast/syria-civil-war-israel-golan-heights.html?_r=0
http://www.nytimes.com/slideshow/2015/10/03/world/middleeast/israels-growing-stake-in-the-golan-heights/s/03-GOLAN-WEB-slide-4HDP.html
and
‘Bashar al-Assad wins re-election in Syria as uprising against him rages’
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/jun/04/bashar-al-assad-winds-reelection-in-landslide-victory
‘Syrian presidential election, 2014’
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Syrian_presidential_election,_2014
I keep thinking of the Golan Heights and the present Syrian War and keep coming to the same conclusion – Syria now has the perfect opportunity to push the invaders, Israel, out. Wonder if they’ll take it.
This Wesley Clark explains in harsh reality what the military mindset is. We need more diplomats talking out the problems and looking for ways to meet part of others demands.
AMY GOODMAN: Do you think cluster bombs should be banned?
GEN. WESLEY CLARK: You know, we used, I think 1,400-plus cluster bombs.
And there’s a time when you have to use cluster bombs: when they’re the most appropriate and humane weapon. But I think you have to control the use very carefully. And I think we did in Yugoslavia.
AMY GOODMAN: Right now, the US has rejected an international call to ban the use of cluster bombs. On Friday, forty-six countries were in Oslo to develop a new international treaty to ban the use of cluster munitions by — I think it’s 2008. Would you support that?
GEN. WESLEY CLARK: Well, you know, people who are against war often make the case by trying to attack the weapons of war and stripping away the legitimacy of those weapons. I’ve participated in some of that. I’d like to get rid of landmines. I did participate in getting rid of laser blinding weapons. And I was part of the team that put together the agreement that got rid of laser blinding weapons. I’d like to get rid of nuclear weapons. But I can’t agree with those who say that force has no place in international affairs. It simply does for this country. And I would like to work to make it so that it doesn’t.
But the truth is, for now it does. And so, I can’t go against giving our men and women in uniform the appropriate weapons they need to fight, to fight effectively to succeed on the battlefield, and to minimize their own casualties.
http://www.globalresearch.ca/we-re-going-to-take-out-7-countries-in-5-years-iraq-syria-lebanon-libya-somalia-sudan-iran/5166
Renowned scholar activist Susan George introduces her new book, Shadow Sovereigns – How Global Corporations are seizing power. She explains how corporations have taken over all branches of the government as well as international governance, in particular through trade treaties such as the proposed EU-US Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership.
+1 true
-1 depressing
Google has virtually ruined Google Groups;
Now is it planning to ruin Gmail?
http://www.forbes.com/sites/gordonkelly/2015/12/05/google-ending-gmail/
They aren’t shutting it down just morphing it into the new “Inbox”. It’s a next gen intelligent email client that helps you navigate the torrents of crap and respond to the stuff that actually matters.
It’s also a superior data gathering service for the NSA to spy with
Agree that Groups are crap, once upon a time (in the nineties) the newsgroups were the liveliest part of the Web, but now they are dead, but that’s not Google’s fault
Readers’ letters: Goodbye, Guardian
5 December 2015
Dear Guardian
First off, I want to thank you for being the main source of my news for the past 20 plus years. Now 31, I have been an avid reader of the newspaper since I was a wee boy. Admittedly I no longer buy a copy everyday (along with the observer) as I rarely have the time to sit down and read the entire thing, but I still do on average three times a week and the Guardian website is the first website I go to on my laptop and I Phone.
Thank you for breaking the best stories, having the best commentators and generally having an angle I could trust, over this time.
However, the Guardian’s political coverage has sharply deteriorated since the election of Jeremy Corbyn and I will no longer be buying the newspaper or visiting the website. Admittedly it will be very difficult to not visit the website because it’s so ingrained in my behaviour. I’ve been trying the past few weeks to avoid it but keep on finding myself back there! But after this email, I hereby declare that I will never buy a Guardian newspaper or browse the website again.
In recent weeks I’ve read the Guardian’s coverage of Corbyn with disbelief. The drip feed of anti-Corbyn bias has got ridiculous. Remember the story of John McDonnell’s Little Red Book joke? Well that was an ironic joke about Osbourne’s public investment strategy, reliant as it is on the Chinese state, an authoritarian dictatorship. The Guardian’s interpretation? That McDonnell was referencing Mao as one of his heros, backed up with a ridiculous quote from Chuka Umuna to that effect. I’d expect such a tactic from the Daily Mail.
Or take the recent coverage of the Oldham by-election. During the build-up, the Guardian’s frame was that Labour was struggling because of Corbyn. The election was dubbed as a test of Corbyn’s Labour Party. There was recognition that Labour would probably win, but a low victory was predicted (“Labour works around Jeremy Corbyn in Greater Manchester”).
During the build-up, I expected something was amiss. I can say that as a Labour party activist in a northern city (Leicester) Corbyn has made campaigning far easier because we have a positive platform and a clear difference with the Tories. Surely this is something to tap into?
Fast forward to news of Labour’s emphatic victory, where Labour extended its lead by 7.5% to 62.3%, the Guardian’s view is that victory has very little to do with Corbyn and everything to do with Jim McMahon, the local guy who won despite the leadership.
Now, I wouldn’t want to take anything away from McMahon, who is clearly a fantastic local politician. But an extension of Labour’s lead is astounding given everything that has gone on, the turmoil in Labour following the Syria vote and relentless hostility in the national media. Something about Corbyn’s leadership is proving popular at the ballot box, despite the Guardian’s best efforts to set him up for a fall.
Indeed, over these past few months, I have come to understand the nature of the Guardian: it’s certainly not a modern incarnation of the “Poor Man’s Guardian”. That paper, originating in 1831, was part of the radical press which burgeoned following the advent of the printing press. It provided for the news and intellectual needs of working people, having as its motto “knowledge is power”.
Today’s Guardian is “guardian” in a more Orwellian sense: a paper that polices leftwing discourse, that sets limits on what is acceptable for leftwing politics, and what is acceptable is basically Blair without Iraq. Rafael Behr, Polly Toynbee, Jonathan Freedland: all are echoing this anti-Corbyn, essentially Blairite line.
It’s therefore with a sorry heart that I say goodbye. Like those who turned to the radical press in the 19th century, I shall turn to online news sources and social media where established filters do not apply. It is annoying though, as I do enjoy a good broadsheet and a cuppa.
Yours,
Tom Mills
http://off-guardian.org/2015/12/05/readers-letters-goodbye-guardian/
That letter may be a fake, Moz. Leicester’s not a northern town and the Guardian is not a broadsheet.
I thought calling Leicester a northern city was a bit odd as well.
I think that “broadsheet” may simply mean “quality newspaper”.
But well done, Te Reo…..
http://giphy.com/gifs/funny-celebrity-bill-murray-vCKC987OpQAco
heh – if I lived 100 odd miles north of London, I’d grab the opportunity to disassociate with both hands 😉
And even if the letter isn’t actually a piece of correspondence that was sent to the Guardian, the analysis of their (the Guardian’s) bent and the sentiments of the writer are pretty well spot on.
Danyl thinks it “wasn’t a very inspiring year” in politics —
https://dimpost.wordpress.com/2015/12/04/notes-on-politics-in-2015/
Yep it was a damn depressing year, more of the same BS from the Nats, they are still looking unstoppable. For me the biggest theme of the year was the all out assault on TV journalism. Campbell Live, then Maori TV, now 3D, and the redundancies from the Herald.
I am relieved that Glucina and her awful Scout vehicle hit the fan. And there’s a glimmer of hope that independent efforts like The Spinoff and WatchMe will throw a spanner in the works of the Nat media machine.
A real speech, from a real Benn
by KIT, Off-Guardian, 2 December 2015
Parliament has just made a decision that this time bombing the Middle East will fix everything, partially on the back of a speech from Hilary Benn. This, in our view, is the most apposite response:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HfXmpJRZPYI
http://off-guardian.org/2015/12/02/a-real-speech-from-a-real-benn/
The NZ media is now reporting on all serious assaults in western mega cities. Expect to see detailed reports about all shootings, domestic assaults from LA and New York in papers next week. Their reporting won’t spread panic or link anything to errorism….
http://i.stuff.co.nz/world/europe/74783281/London-tube-attack-witnesses-stabber-yelled-support-for-Syria
Well of course they’ll report it if anybody’s reportedly claimed attackers yelled “allahu akbar” or “Syria” or dressed up in military-style gear and attacked anyone in a country that’s involved in fighting in Syria or Iraq. And especially one that’s recently joined the fighting like Britain, France, Germany.
Domestic assaults/drunken bashings/gang & drug-related shootings and that sort of shit happening overseas isn’t going to get reported here any more often than it usually does – i.e only when someone yells “allahu akbar” or “Syria” or gets dressed up in military style gear, or goes on a shooting spree, or kills their whole family…or does something else out of the ordinary.
Aren’t we in a murky world on what constitutes terrorism though? If the offender didn’t say anything during the incident, then it isn’t a story at the top of the news hour or a leading story on our news sites. The media is obviously hyper sensitive around this whole issue given recent events and I think we should call them out when they over egg the terrorism thing. This is the same group that duped the public into there being weapons of mass destruction in Iraq more than a decade ago and look how much destruction that’s caused since. They’re passing on misinformation without critical analysis, at least some of us can be critical of them although not enough of the NZ public is.
Latest post by “Pablo” on Kiwipolitico well worth a read on subject of terrorism -what it is and what it isn’t:
http://www.kiwipolitico.com/2015/12/mass-murder-is-not-always-terrorism/
Look at these horrible Syrian Islamists: Putin should bomb their village, what wankers, don’t they look awful?
Putin is great man bringing freedom to them, and look at them. Ungrateful sods.
https://twitter.com/RamiSafadi93/status/673206599733809152
Bombing: a simplistic answer to a complex problem.
But simplistic easy answers sell better to the
propaganda outletscorporate PR machinepublic news mediaB52 Bombers have failed in the past and I don’t see things changing in the future?
Whatever happened to meaningful dialogue, it a lot cheaper than war and there is less human and financial damage. When will the world ever learn from past mistakes?
You answered yourself in your question:
War makes far more profit because it’s more expensive. It’s why we’ve had social services cut and replaced by privatisation. It’s more expensive and thus makes more profit.
http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/political/291404/collins-wants-'monster'-maori-board-dumped
Now why would Collins be head lining an act party conference. ?
Is she there next leader perhaps?
Maybe we are seeing the rise of the new ACT Leader
It s a horrible thought but she has a following in nz and as papakura didn’t kick her out last election they’d probably still vote for her if she changed parties.
Collins tells Act conference her pick Michael Barnett agrees with Penny Bright:
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11556831
“He is absolutely right…taxpayers deserve to know what public money is being spent cost effectively and efficiently…”
That should fuel another few months of daily reminders ..
I wonder if her business and government affairs would stand up to line by line scrutiny.
but we don’t elect Penny, she appoints herself
I was thinking about Collins. As for Penny snowballs and hell spring to mind when it comes to the mayors job.
Lunatic fringe ruining the Corbyn movement
http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/dec/05/jeremy-corbyn-new-politics-self-righteous-left-wallows-in-cruelty
See right here in microcosm on TS…
‘
Or . . . the media is claiming every nutter out there is aligned to the Corbyn movement to create the perception every one aligned Corbyn is also a nutter?
An ordinary American family and its guns
OMG! They really are nutcases these “ordinary” Republicans.
Can’t see an end to that situation macro. So many people there insist on being allowed to have guns eventually everyone could conceivably need one to protect themselves from any other angry person who loses the plot, or mugger, thug, burglar, nutter or even over-excited security guard or armed enforcement official.
How would you get people to give up guns once they’ve legally got them? Every time there’s a mass shooting the numbers buying/applying for guns go up. The idea of their government trying to take guns away from gun owners over there is preposterous: it’ll never happen. The stable door’s wide open and that horse has long bolted. How do you stop owners of multiple firearms giving guns away or selling them privately to others. The chances of getting yourself shot by accident or in cross fire must be reasonably high already.
Even US gun control proposals seem to only be about improving background checks. Sounds like the San Bernardino shooter couple got their assault rifles from a neighbour who purchased them legally.
As I understand it, the number of households with guns is actually going down, even as the average number of guns per household goes up. I was very surprised to read that, but it seemed a reputable source. So there’s actually fewer nuts with guns, but the nuts that still have guns are getting waaayyyy nuttier and stockpiling way more guns (and ammo).
I spent most of the 90s in the US, and was most recently back there for three weeks in January. I have the feeling there actually is a slow shift in the general cultural acceptability of guns, which is about the only chance of improving things. But that kind of shift takes generations to show results, and with the nuts getting nuttier things will probably get a lot worse before they get better.
And all their surveillance seems kind of pointless if even getting yourself on a terrorist no-fly list is apparently no impediment at all to buying any guns you want. Which the NRA thinks is just the way it should be.
Good points, thanks for that. Here are some interesting stats/information.
Gun ownership’s declining but support for gun ownership’s increasing.
Gun ownership in the United States is declining overall, but nearly a third of households still have a gun.
“Active shooter” events have become more common in recent years.
The First Dog as usual nails it!
http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/picture/2015/dec/04/afraid-of-guns-buy-more-guns-the-circle-of-life-in-america
Guns not the problem which need solving
The mass shootings are beginning to have the distinctive whiff of manufactured events, given the recent frequency
a consequence of totally unfettered capitalism…
massive inequality, a permanent underclass that is tormented by the system, institutions that exist to entrench privilege not serve the community
the USA is sick.
I know many wonderful Americans, who I really respect and care about, but there is a dark side of that country, that is festering and not being dealt with
No! Can’t blame the guns – that would never do – the gun makers, and merchants, have to make their killing! 🙁
Michele Fiore, loon.
http://thinkprogress.org/health/2015/02/24/3626567/nevada-assemblywoman-cancer-fungus/
I long for the day when politicians shut up when they know nothing, and try to actually represent their constituents
D’OH I forgot, their constituents are Wall St, Big Oil and the Arms industry, not middle class America
Disappointing to see the NZ dairy industry squealing about having their practices investigated. I would rather have seen them acknowledge the problem, apologise to the people of NZ for their lack of oversight, and promise to do better next time.
http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/world/291413/dairy-ad-'putting-the-boot-in‘
This is the result of the Nats obsession with industry self-regulation. Key point being – they don’t.
looked to me from watching thr safe vid it was the industry itself” putting the boot in ” to the poor bloody calves and hitherto they didnt give a stuff .I supose we can be greatfull that dairyfarmers no longer cut off the tails of their cows an obscene practise that was not too long ago seen the length and breadth of the country .Logically the figure of 99% doing a great job would be wildly generous i.m.o.
16 people apperantly dead incident happened yesterday?. anything of this in the ‘news’?
Might would not suit the drill baby drill, and it can’t happen here crowd.
http://www.oilandgaspeople.com/news/6237/breaking-news-2-major-incidents-underway-as-platform-collapses-and-another-catches-fire-offshore-azerbaijan/
Mediawatch is worth a listen today, especially its segment on the ongoing travesty of the death of current affairs journalism in NZ.
What bemuses me is how easy this has been to sell this as an inevitable consequence of technology change, when of course that’s nonsense. But then of course this kind of stuff is easier to pull off in New Zealand.
Steve Braunias’ secret diary of Mark Weldon was gold in the Herald yesterday.
http://i.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/74787252/Early-access-to-Government-funded-drugs-would-happen-under-Labour
I can’t help thinking King cocked up by promising action on the keytruda drug and has backed Little into a corner,.
The greens putting the boot in as well doesn’t help.
And so Labour does what it does best: backtracks, does a u-turn, waters it down: whatever you call it Labour says stuff then changes it mind.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/74885332/labour-softens-stance-on-direct-funding-of-gamechanger-melanoma-drug
I’m sick to fucking death of everything Labour says not just because they’re a bunch of hopeless right-wing gits but because they’ve wrecked all trace of a record that shows they mean what they say and have created one that says they don’t. The Nothing Party. Hopeless lying right-wing gits.
Yes collins and King got into a pissing comp on henry over it , bit silly of king.
I SO hope Judith Collins stands in the 2016 Auckland Mayoralty!
Comparing our proven track records on the ‘anti-corruption’ front will be SUCH fun!
(Not to mention the forced Auckland ‘Supercity’ amalgamation.
ie: I opposed it and National MP Judith Collins voted for it? )
_________________________________________________
Judith Collins on the Auckland mayoralty
Sunday, 06 December 2015
The New Zealand Herald
National MP Judith Collins. Photo / Doug Sherring
By Audrey Young
National MP Judith Collins gave a wide-ranging speech about the Auckland Council to an Act regional conference yesterday, which is bound to renew speculation she is considering standing for the Auckland mayoralty.
However she also appeared to make a pitch for Chamber of Commerce head Michael Barnett, whose name has also been associated with a mayoral run.
“Auckland desperately needs a leader, someone who can articulate their plan, implement it and be accountable for it,” she said.
She applauded the fact that Mr Barnett had repeatedly called for a transparent line-by-line review of council costs and planned capital expenditure.
“He is absolutely right…taxpayers deserve to know what public money is being spent cost effectively and efficiently…
“As a ratepayer, I just hope that we end up with a financially literate, decisive mayor who can work with central government and not someone who thinks that being Mayor of Auckland is all about themselves,” she said in the speech which was distributed by her press secretary. ….”
_____________________________________________________________
So – if that’s the case – do both Judith Collins and Michael Barnett support my stand against Auckland Council not telling citizens and ratepayers EXACTLY where public rates monies are being spent?
What exactly have Judith Collins and Michael Barnett done to help ensure ‘open, transparent and democratically accountable’ local government in Auckland ?
(The same question can be asked of Labour MP / ‘Independent’ 2016 Auckland Mayoral candidate – Phil Goff?)
Penny Bright
2016 Auckland Mayoral candidate.
I wish TS had a “hide comment” feature like Kiwiblog. PB’s burblings are always downrated to oblivion over there 💩
After having had a look at that feature, I tend to feel that it is not particularly useful. It just leads to people being silenced because what they say isn’t popular. Better to leave it so people can say what they want within the limits of the site rules about behaviour, including making barbed and smart derogatory comments about other peoples comments.
When commenters walk over behavioural limits, then the moderators act. PB figured out the boundaries a long time ago, and she listens when she gets pulled up for being a wee bit enthusiastic about using our space. So she gets to use the soapbox – carefully.
meh. it is very satisfying to click a 👍 or 👎
I have another plugin in testing to allow an uptick that doesn’t suck performance out of the site, rations how many ticks people can have over a month AND allows me to restrict it to people who have had a minimum number of accepted comments on the site (or have that ultra-rare login).
Down votes aren’t good as there are people who will gang up behind the scenes and down vote not only because they don’t like the content but because they don’t like the person making the comment and it becomes a wasteful game of petty politics. That’s my personal experience.
That has been what I have observed as well. That is why I’m only going issue people with a very limited number of upticks.
Ropata, if up and down votes are what get you up in the morning you could always just stick to Kiwiblog…and Facebook.
-1 googolplex 👎
kiwiblog/facebook, no thanks, i value my sanity 🙄