Watched a bit of the coronation last night. Here is the thing – English choral music from the late rennaissance is widely acknowedged as the top of the game, and "Zadok the Priest" is a total banger. You would go a long way to hear better arrangements and of course to see and hear it done in context for probably the last time in history was lovely. Of course, you could fund a lot of cultural stuff like early English and orchestral music for a long time with 250 million pounds…
I remember reading – it may have been in John Julius Norwich's three volume history -about the Byzantine empires final days. Reduced to the city of Constantinople and it's immediate surrounds plus a few scraps of land here and there nonetheless imperial ceremony continued as if nothing had changed. The Hagia Sophia gleamed, the diadems and sceptres shone, the voices raised in tedious and interminable religious cant rang as beautifully as ever. Except on closer inspection, the jewels were glass and precioud metals just paint and tinsel. In the corners the paint was peeling and streets beyond the imperial quarters were unkempt and run down. I got strong Byzantium vibes from Westminster abbey.
The whole exercise to me was a ghastly, self-important exercise in hypernormality for the British ruling elite. You know the whole thing was cos-playing fantasy. They know the whole thing was a cos playing fantasy. You could see on everyone faces they knew it was a cos playing fantasy. Charles clearly really, really wanted it. He's waited his enite life for the moment I guess. But no one knows what to do instead, so they pretend it was all perfectly normal.
The whole thing – the imperial regalia, the swearing to uphold the Protestant settlement, the sumptuous yet ridiculous clothing – was an expedition into never-never land, larping for a long dead empire. It was ymbolic of the UKs wider struggle with reality in an era of seemingly irreversible national decline.
We do need mass events to connect to our collective assent better than tawdry party woopdiewoop, but I'm not sure English coronation tat is any worse than the serried ranks of calisthenic inflatable pandas from any Beijing Olympics.
Yes. For me Byrd especially has a sort of supernatural quality that fades into something more formulaic by the time you get to Handel. The Roman Catholic Byrd was played straight after Charles swore to uphold the Protestant faith – obviously intended as a nod to modern notions of religious tolerance.
But it was all very strange – as though the legitimacy of the monarchy is so weak in rational terms, that it now consists only of spectacle and its extraordinary. magical difference from everyday life.
Would you say the same about the coronation of the King of Bhutan, Thailand, Japan, Sweden, Norway, Belgium, Spain, the swearing in of a new Pope, the marching down the the Mall of a new President in the US etc?
Zadoc the Priest is from George Frideric Handel who wrote the music for the Coronation of George II in 1727 and Handel was renown for his 'celestial' composition, and German. A quintessential understanding and imagining of the heavens in music. You know Christian understanding of the glory of the Father, the son and the holy ghost. (yes, mothers and daughters need not apply, but that is a world wide thing when it comes to religions be the old or new wave).
This is a tradition that is hundreds of years old, happens every now and then, and as Mr. Cave said so well,
This is British culture, you know the culture of the indigenous people of Britain. Would you be so happy to poopoo the tradition of other countries indigenous people?
And fwiw, i rather have this exhibit of tradition that comes every other few decades – and even Charles has a good chance to get very old, then the the shit Ad posted below, coming from a country that had its culture stripped via Dunce hat, beatings, death and ridicule by its young during Mao Tse Dong reign and his cultural revolution, and who replaced it with plastic shit.
And don't come with the cost of this, cause our Prime Minster Person was there and really they had no reason what so ever to be there other then a nice tax payer funded junket, and i don't hear anyone complaining about that waste of money. But i guess so as long as New Zealand is a jewel in the crown that is the commonwealth, no one would refuse such and awesome experience and tax payer funded trip.
The indigenous people of Europe have their own tradition, rites and pomp, as is their right. And if we are to accept the traditions of indigenous people, and their right to express their traditions, you might as well understand that that includes people whom you might not approve.
My point is literally pointing out that we are doing our best here in NZ/Aotearoa to pretend that everything that comes/came from the crown is colonial bullshit and needs to be burned and buried, yet here the PM Person is eating sausage rolls standing in line ready to bow their head and shake hands with the great coloniser.
If one wants to bury tradition cause 'colonialism' cause 'white', then one should have the conviction of thought and simply state that they can not attend, find an excuse and send that ex speaker of the house who lives in Ireland now and send them as a representative of NZ or Aotearoa. Which btw, would have been a cheap solution too, the ex speaker of the house could have travelled on Easy Jet to the coronation for 50 quid and stay in NZ house in London.
I am getting very tired of the poopooing of European culture, the pretense that every person born of white color is responsible for the sins of their forefathers, worse are active colonisers, thiefs of land, killers of people – all of those that were born since 1930 of the last century up until today, yet, at the same time these same people can't go over there fast enough to rub shoulders with people whom otherwise they would call colonisers, thiefs, and killers of people.
Either you are ok with this type of tradition for all and that then includes white people and their traditions, either we start accepting the idea that all people are indeginous somewhere, or we should opt out of this pomp and ceremony and stay at home and attend to important business there.
Case in point, Biden send the wife and no one is unhappy about that. And Biden is the head of the USofA a much larger and more important country in terms of geo – political interests and doings.
And last, i don’t think many here would complain about a crowning ceremony if it were by non white, non european people, cause ‘interesting culture and tradition’, yet they will not give the same grace to their own culture and ‘race’.
and yes, if we start applying that 5000 strong Kapa Haka group, in a thousand years it might be just as spectacular.
And would you invite Tamaki, cause he has form when it comes to Kapa Haka in front of parliament?
This is British culture, you know the culture of the indigenous people of Britain. Would you be so happy to poopoo the tradition of other countries indigenous people?
Charles is about as British as I am, he's a sausage sucking German from way back. His old man was from Glucksburg by way of the parlour floor of some place in Greece.
Matariki + Anzac + Commonwealth Games opening is meaningless and renders all three into a mush of nothingness.
They are three distinct things.
Matariki – raise of the Pleiades, the celebration of the Maori new year.
Anzac – Australian New Zealand forces that got left behind in the ditches of Europe and Turkey and North Africa and that are still mourned today by those left to live without them and their potential offspring, and those that came home to deal with their survival on their own.
Commonwealth Games – a sporting event – may the 'best' win. (males in female sport are totes the best)
I really hope that we have enough good sense in this country to never marry these three things up in a gray mush of plastic bullshit and rather celebrate them as the three distinct occasions for festivities that they are.
Would you say the same about the coronation of the King of Bhutan, Thailand…
I'm sure that Sanctuary would do exactly the same – provided he knew about those cultures to relate those coronation events to the political and economic structures of those societies and any systems of hierarchy or oppression they enabled. He was absolutely not being critical of the actual material details of the ceremony – he (rightly) praised English Renaissance to baroque composers (even the German import Georg Friedrich Händel).
This is British culture, you know the culture of the indigenous people of Britain. Would you be so happy to poopoo the tradition of other countries indigenous people?
As above, he was not poopooing the actual aretfacts of the culture – only what it means for the social, economic and political realm. And it is not only Mr Sanctuary who does this, British people do it themselves in growing numbers.
It seems to me that your comments amount to a strawman hit job and contain a fallacy. The fallacy being – that if anyone insists that all cultures are worthy of equal respect, that means they are not permitted to criticise any culture.
Well for many people this crowning actually means a good social act of coming together in country and re-affirm ones idendity in this case being a 'brit', it certainly will do good for the economy of London and probably spill over elsewhere considering that people will spend, eat out, party , people will travel there to be part of this event and so on, and it is a good excellent demonstration in soft political power, hence why our PM travelled there – well at least that is why i hope they travelled there.
Anyways, Britain now has a new King, may he be a good one, and hopefully it made Brits feel good about being part of a culture that is over a thousand years old, and that is still part of life today.
Agree Sanc and lovely post….I would add to this the brutal police suppression of anti-royal demonstrators (52 arrested) that took place yesterday….also a symbol of Britain's national decline that has been exacerbated by the small-minded right-wing clique (Brexit proponents, still fantasising about an empire) that seem to have taken control of the country.
If you drive around Owairaka you might see the answer to some of that question. Whole swathes of former State housing has been removed for the development of new houses suitable for 21stC living, There are vacant sites and construction sites everywhere. As Kainga Ora is building on its own land there, the previous houses (most of which were constructed of 6 kinds of tacky boarding and only held together with 50 years of bad paint jobs) have been pushed over.
I suspect that that is indeed part of the explanation….however it dosnt explain why HUD ( and the Gov) are claiming a current KO stock level that is at odds with KOs own data.
The spin doctors appear to have been given a free hand
I don't see why interest should be deductible just because a property is administered by Kianga Ora. The capital ownership remains with the landlord/investor. Non deductibility is logical because ownership of the capital lies outside the business itself.
It is because no private landlord wants to rent to 'Kainga Ora' and its unruly tenants that can not be moved on – cause no evictions ever – in the case of a anti-social, community terrorizing tenant.
So here is a financial incentive – write of your interest payments if you rent to Kainga Ora, however i can't see that as enough of a treat for a landlord who really don't want his property trashed, meth cooked, wife/children beaten and/or the property being turned into a gang patch.
It really has got nothing to do with ownership, business setup/interests or anything. KO/the Government can't and wont build the houses that the country needs, the country simply does not have the money to do so – or so at least we are to believe, nor the skills – and that is something i can believe, so the private landlord must be roped in, here have a sweetener. Having read many accounts of unruly social welfare tenants, hearing the sirens every night that go to certain KO addresses daily, why would any investor bother. They may as well keep the property empty and rent it privately to someone who is happy being responsible for their own life, rather then depend on the welfare agencies to finance theirs.
And yes, there are decent KO tenants who are the majority, but sadly as always its the minority of fuckwits that ruin it for all. And KO refusing to deal with the minority of fuckwits that ruin it for all, really does ruin it for all.
If you change the end date to December 2022 you’ll get the exact same number of Kāinga Ora Public Homes (65,654) reported by HUD as reported in the KO PDF that you linked to with the same end date.
On the HUD page I linked to (and changed the end date to December 2022 for comparison with your KO link) it states Public Home – Total 77,707; Kāinga Ora Public Homes 65,654; Community Housing Provider Public Homes 12,053 and 65,654 + 12,053 = 77,707.
Obviously, the only figure that is identical to that in the KO PDF that you linked to is State Rentals 65,654. If you read the note and footnotes you’ll understand why figures in the other categories are different from those reported by HUD. Hence, the totals are different.
“Kāinga Ora Public Homes includes public homes managed by Kāinga Ora that are occupied by tenants and those that are vacant. Homes may be vacant for a variety of reasons:
Short Term Vacant are properties that are (or are soon to be) available for new tenants.
Long Term Vacant are properties that are undergoing significant work such as retrofitting or that are unavailable while a decision is made regarding their future use.
SLED are pending removal due to Sales, Lease Expiry and Demolitions.
As said tjhe spin doctors appear to have been given free licence…counting (and promoting) 7,000 unavailable homes is 'disingenuous'…to put it politely.
I cannot help you with reading comprehension – you seem to be conflating properties managed through KO and properties existing/available as reported by HUD.
I’m puzzled why you think this may be my baby and it sounds like a failed ad hom, which is disappointing because I thought we were past this.
When you refuse to acknowledge that HUD (and the Gov) are claiming a level of public housing that dosnt exist (isnt available for whatever reason) as demonstrated by KOs own managed stock figures which clearly show those claims to be false then one has to consider why?
I read the notes and concluded that most figures reported by KO and HUD are different, as explained, i.e., apples and oranges. In addition, this is more plausible than to invoke wild conspiracy theories involving Government-aligned (and paid?) evil spin doctors spreading BS false claims and lying to us. It is ok to disagree, reach a different opinion, and then agree to disagree instead of going on a personal attack alleging conflict of interest of those who dare to see things differently.
31 December 2022 KO figure: 65,654 and HUD figure: 65,654
30 September 2022 KO figure: 65,121 and HUD figure: 65,121
30 June 2022 KO figure: 64,870 and HUD figure: 64,870
31 March 2022 KO figure: 64,312 and HUD figure: 64,312
And so on, and so forth.
KO goes back to December 2015 and HUD to June 2017, but I hope you’ll get the gist based on just one year (2022).
In other words, KO and HUD are using the same stats for the same things and different stats for different but related things.
HUD (and the Gov) are claiming public housing increases that DO NOT EXIST.
HUD 'public housing' figures include Kiwibuild houses (sold or available to owner occupiers but not renters) and public housing consented (but not yet completed, irrespective of anticipated completion date).
And yet still they state…"As at December 2022 there was a total of 77,707 properties managed by Kāinga Ora and Community Housing Providers for use as public housing."…when there are in fact fully SEVEN THOUSAND LESS properties managed by KO and available to their clients…..and you defend such dishonesty.
Any time this government wants to do what it said it would do and shut Greyhound racing down when it had to kill 27 dogs last season, would be great. Chloe is dead right on this.
sad, because it could have been shut down so many times, i mean full majority and all that, plus never ending support from the Greens…..ladida.
But it gets Chloe in the news, i guess that is a plus?
Has Chloe had any comments on males competing in female sports? I think Grant said something like, 'should not be petty and mean' and exlude them? NO? Oh well……
In a June 2022 reshuffle, McAnulty was appointed as Minister for Racing, Minister for Emergency Management and associate Minister of Local Government and of Transport by Ardern.[15] McAnulty's role as Minister for Racing gives him responsibility for the running of the Totalisator Agency Board, which he worked for before entering politics.
Yes. The moment greyhound racing is made illegal in NZ, all of the reputable owners and breeders will euthanase all of their dogs.
Of course, there will still be illicit racing (just as there is illicit dog fighting) – but the SPCA and industry bodies will have zero oversight and control.
The dogs which survive will be much worse off.
I'm using greyhound racing as an example, since it seems to have fewer rich people investing than horse racing, and therefore less political influence (anyone remember one W. Peters, the minister for racing, and his tax credit for 'pretty horses'). So is likely to be first off the cancellation chopping block.
I can't see any way that the current numbers of dogs could be maintained. Yes, there might be a few kept as pets. The vast majority would be immediately culled (or disappear into the black market). Racing is a business.
Can you give an example where this has not happened, once racing became illegal?
all of the reputable owners and breeders will euthanase all of their dogs.
There's nothing reputable about greyhound racing. It's a gambling industry masquerading as sport where a third of whelped animals never make it to the track and nearly half of euthanised dogs are under three years old.
A watch out notice about signs of a potential abuser, and with details of the long running gangs are watching claptrap, and a news report of a dog snatching?
But hey, absolute chaos if legit trainers are forced out of a regulated industry.
/
I think you're rather over-egging the pudding here. I've suggested nothing like absolute chaos.
My statement was that if dog racing was banned, the *majority* of dogs would be put down immediately, but that there would be some which would go into illegal racing (as there is already illegal dog fighting)
You asked for evidence of the latter, and I gave you some (sorry if you don't like it – but people don't exactly line up to tell journalists about their illegal activity). Given that the SPCA and the police both think it's an issue, you might just accept that it goes on.
If you believe that current trainers/breeders exhibit lack of care for their dogs – then the outcome that I've suggested is even more likely – most dogs put down, some in illegal racing (and treated even worse than they are now).
If you think this is an acceptable short-term cost – then just state your position. But don't try to sell a proposal that all the dogs currently racing will be adopted by loving families (or some other rose-coloured glasses scenario).
New Zealand culls thousands of calves and cows every day, the consequences of mechanised death industries we call meat. We calculate an entire economy on it. Doesn't make it something that's good. And of course it is reversible.
Hmm, the problem is that while we can make individual choices, others in the country are equally free to do so.
You can choose to become vegetarian (or even vegan), but if your neighbour down the road (or overseas) still wants to eat meat and cheese, then the slaughter-houses remain.
You either have to accept that one person's veto over-rides another's choices; or be prepared to accept that other people's choices impact on your peace of mind.
You can, of course, try to influence the rest of the country to agree with your opinion. And … that's exactly what the anti-racing brigade are doing.
Part of that PR exercise, is an unwillingness to admit the immediate consequences of their proposed ban on racing.
It would be more honest to admit that the vast majority of dogs (and potentially horses) would be put down. And find a way to make that an acceptable cost of making the change.
– Unemployment. Maori unemployment. The underemployed. Youth unemployed.
– Wage rises.
– Building consents
– Productivity
– International benchmarks of net debt
All of them really good. What we lack to sell the message is either a decent Minister of Economic Development (having fired Nash it's now Barbara Edmonds (who?)), or a Minister of Finance who actually wants the job (Grant Robertson with no current successor anywhere).
Labour don't even look like they have a message beyond "sausage rolls and bread and butter", let alone anyone trying to sell it.
If the stenographer from the Herald were to study the stats in detail they would have discovered a line called " Underemployment/Underutilisation " and that may help in their understanding of the employment market.
End March 2023:
9.0% average under employment/underutilisation
Male 7.3%
"Female" 10.9%
(female in brackets as chances are it includes unemployed males self identifying as 'women' and thus increase the stats for females and decrease them for males) I expect this to change a bit in the future once enough Transmen come of age and will start skewering the stats with their inclusion. As in the next generation of trans, the children that are now coming of age and start going to uni and work, and that cohort is greater female to male then male to female.
If the Herald stenographer were to dig deeper in the government provided details they would have learned that there are 2000 more unemployed people. Can't see them being able to keep up with bill payments whilst on the dole.
Rf that person were to scroll a bit lower then they would see again the divide by sex (i am assuming here that they use sex based criteria, it might be by gender cause who knows, as it is all the same to government)
For men, the unemployment rate was 3.2 percent, compared with 3.3 percent last quarter. so down.
For women, the unemployment rate was 3.7 percent, compared with 3.5 percent last quarter. up.
The seasonally adjusted number of unemployed people reached 102,000 (up 2,000).
1,000 fewer men were unemployed. again, down.
3,000 more women were unemployed. again up.
most households in NZ need that second income to pay for bills.
to end this is also from the stats
In the March 2023 quarter, 22,000 more people were employed, taking the total number of employed people up to 2,886,000.
8,000 more men were employed.
15,000 more women were employed.
so despite more 'women' then men being employed 'female' underutilistion is up, and more 'women' were unemployed.
We can thus fairly safely stipulated that the employment for 'women' is part time, casual, seasonal, and thus increasing underutiliastion. Wants to work more hours then they have.
And again, we have no idea who many males self identifying as 'women' are in the stats for 'females' or 'women'. In essence, its made up shit, and actually unemployment – if we still count employed anyone who has a job for an hour a week, and thus are no more believable then they were under John Key.
Personally i think the underutilisation rate is a better measure to look at as to why the economy is in free fall, and inflation will continue to go up and bills will not get paid. And this would then also explain the increase in emergency benefits, and other 'side benefits' that are given to people who are in gainful employment but can't make ends meet.
But don't tell the stenographer from the Herald that, it might confuse them even further.
The method of measuring unemployment has been the same for a decade or so. To go for under-employment as proof of something Sabine, surely you would have to compare with underemployment in the previous 10 years or so.
Tthat is true, hence why i put in there that we have been doing unemployement stats like this since the changes were introduced and implemented under the reign of John Key. I.e. one hour per week paid/volunteer with benefits counts as 'employed', that 0 hour contracts still count somewhere in the stats as 'employed', hence why benefits seem to go up while unemployment goes down.
So yes, we could and maybe we should compare. And we could compare say the financial crisis, with todays financial crisis – Banks are failing in the US, quite a few actually, and eventually that too will travel around the planet as it always does.
But to the question raised by the person writing for the Herald 'as to why ' no one seems to be doing 'well' in a 'good' economy, i point to the other stats that point to a malaise generally, that while unemployment is 'low', is that 'under employment is not, and that some groups of people are more affected by that then others, and that that might add to that malaise of not being able to pay mortgages and bills.
It would equally interesting to know how many households are behind their mortgages – since when- how long – how much, and how many households are behind bills such as utilities, rates, – since when – how long – how much.
All really good interesting questions that an enterprising 'journalist' working for a national fishwrap could ask and investigate.
Ha! I was told, very firmly, by my teen that I know nothing about maths, when I tried to help him with his trig homework (not do it for him, but help him work out where he'd got stuck). Am pretty sure that the interior angles of a triangle still add up to 180 degrees, just as they did when I was at school (and indeed since Thales, Pythagoras and Euclid codified the rules)
By letting kids solve their own problems means as adults they have learnt to survive with confidence. To jump in with answers to questions, or the tell them solutions to their problems is most unhelpful.
I agree. IMO, the emphasis should be on learning strategies to problem-solve rather than on finding the (only!) right/correct answer. The former teaches creativity and resilience, and sometimes teamwork, and the latter teaches binary outcomes such as correct-false (and fail-pass). Problem-solving is fun and the (correct) answer is just a bonus and icing on the cake, from a pedagogical perspective, IMHO.
Indeed, you would think that the Green Party would have figured out by now who they are and what they stand for. I recommend a short-course: Realpolitik-101.
It's a little too easy to blame EK for everything – she is an unsympathetic figure at the best of times – the perfect fall-person.
When you have Jeanette Fitzsimons expressing uncharacteristic overwhelming anger and disappointment it is fair to say Shaw had gone completely off the reservation. And he hasn't come back.
read the article. He's saying increase GST, increase benefits, decrease tax on lower income earners. Basically low income people end up with net zero increase, but wealthy people pay more.
But if nothing else changed, a rise in GST would punish the poor, beneficiaries and those on New Zealand Super. That is clearly not what we want.
For example, a GST increase from 15% to 20% would mean another $12.3 billion in taxes, which could be entirely offset by lifting the tax bands for everyone, and benefit/NZ Super payments. The effect could be net-zero for everyone except the rich, who would pay more in GST.
And the rich don't pay GST unless they have a really really shitty accountant. Hence why the rich currently actually are not that big a payer compared to others who can not write of costs of doing business, and who are not 'beneficiaries' trusts, businesses and .orgs.
I still think a 0 income tax rate for low incomes to be offset with a high income tax for incomes above a certain limit – i.e. as taxation in OZ is actually better, and then a low 'sales' tax as that is all GST is. It is a cut for the middle man called Government who actually is the biggest beneficiary of creeping price costs and inflation as their GST intake is increasing without ever having to announce a tax raise. Ka-ching.
But to believe that anyone else but the end consumer actually pays GST has not ever done a GST return.
This is stupid and wrong, and it seems the author has not actually read the IRD report.
One of the points in the original report, is that the wealthier you are, you pay proportionally less GST than poorer people (because poor people spend more of their money on goods subject to GST).
The problem is, the article doesn't even include the relevant figures. The idea suggested in the article is to increase tax on the rich by raising GST. Very strange starting point to choose a tax that is famously regressive (poor people pay more). They then consider raising GST from 15% to 20%, increasing tax revenue by $12.3b. The missing figure is how much of that 12.3b would be paid by the rich?
The article implies that the rich pay lots of GST ("Why GST? Because the one thing that unites the wealthy is that they love buying things…And GST taxes all of it. "). But the reality (confirmed by the IRD report) is that the rich pay very little GST. So the impact on the rich of increasing GST will be an increase in what is only a miniscule part of their total tax payments.
The article suggests trying to reduce the impact on ordinary people of the GST increase by applying other redistributive measures. Why not directly apply a redistributive measure to the problem instead – for example, a wealth tax?
That's pretty much were we were with our sales tax and import duty regime before the Rogernomes came along with GST and open borders.
Not entirely sure I want to go back there, but it did make for a very different society to what we have now. There's a lot of aspects of that society that weren't that flash, but would be nice to get to something that had the good bits of then and now.
Given how much GST can get written off as spurious "business" expenses now, wouldn't any increase just go unpaid as well? I asked Stubbs the same at his Simplicity road show a while back, and he agreed that the would have to be better regulation as well as.
Given that the IRD can't even manage to identify for tax purposes people who are clearly making a business out of house-flipping – it seems profoundly unlikely that they will do so for GST.
While the unregistered focus on the ability to claim back 15% of your expenses, you've also got to pay GST on your earnings. So effectively you pay 15% of your profit / drawings as GST, and that's before any Income Tax on the same profit. Even for small businesses that aren't making a huge profits, GST is brutal, your end of year tax might be quite modest and you're only paying 9%, but you've already paid 15% GST on those earnings.
And cunning plans to structure so you can claim the GST on your living expenses very quickly get IRD's interest, particularly if the amounts getting up there. Have a ex neighbour who just come a gutsa over a flash home stay / airbnb that was always booked out.
It is hardly brutal as the cost is borne not by the seller but by the buyer.
What you are suggesting is that the seller meets this cost – fuck off no they don't I do as the customer. In my view all GST should be automatically sent to IRD at the point of sale.
The same for PAYE and student loan repayments – that is my money, for my tax, not the business owners.
I'm sure with modern sophisticated systems GST being claimed by businesses could be automated at POS as well.
In the temporarily occupied Melitopol of the Zaporizhzhia region, Russian invaders are burning documents in sacks in the premises of the so-called police and taking away equipment from the occupation passport office. This was announced by the mayor of Melitopol, Ivan Fedorov.
“In Melitopol, the computers and servers of the occupation passport office took an indefinite leave,” the mayor wrote in his Telegram.
According to him, the occupiers are hastily packing the equipment and taking it in an unknown direction towards Russia. Some documents are burned to the ground.
“There is no less commotion in the building of the occupation military police – documents are burned in sacks all day,” Fedorov said.
I've just spent most of the day on my laptop and phone in contact with my business accountant, sorting year end stuff. No he's not charging extra.
Reason. He is taking his 12 staff and partners, minus children, to Fiji for 10 days on Wednesday. His staff had a confab and said to Lindsay how about we work the weekend and some late nights at no cost. So when we get back we won't have a deadline backup to work to.
What a stunning atmosphere that must be.
I've always mainly dealt with Lindsay as almost 30 years ago he hung out his shingle and I saw that, as a newly minted contractor and thought, I need one of those so I went and saw him. I was his first customer. Bloody cracking guy.
While drinking, a Pilot bet he could land outside the bar, 2 hours later he touched down in central New York in a stolen aircraft. Years later he repeated the stunt because someone wouldn't believe him.
The maddest pilot I ever heard of was the one who, in 1919, landed his plane on the roof of the 6 story Galerie Lafayette department store in Paris. The area he landed in was about 28m by 12m. Here is a film of the event.
Rural legend around these parts has an ex WW2 pilot dodging being caught yet again pissed in charge by winging it from his 40 acre town supply rehab dairy unit to the local airport in a Piper Cub, cabbing it to the pub and back, and then flying home, pissed, before dark.
The legend has it that the only time mum ever truly worried was when he'd been shifting electric fences.
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Morning all,I’ve been taking a look at some of the new features Substack have released and I’m keen to find out how you access newsletters. Some of the features are only available on certain platforms.Whether you use a mobile device like a phone or tablet, or a PC or laptop. ...
Hello! This is the Saturday edition of More Than A Feilding, catching you up on the week.Here’s what you may have missed.Last Sunday’s column had a genuinely inspiring story about political leaders getting huge things done in the face of culture wars and conservative resistance. Readers told me this should ...
Steven Levitt, famous for his Freakanomics, shows that being an economist is not just mouthing supply and demand.Anyone can call themselves an ‘economist’. Many do, despite having no qualifications in economics and hardly any formal training; they often make elementary errors. That is the result of a conscious decision of ...
Over the years, we've published several calls for help with translations but most of them were rather generalized in nature like last year's blog post published in February 2022. This time around, we are asking for help with a quite specific task, namely to update existing translations for the rebuttals included ...
1. By what name is this work of art known?a. The Drowning Dog, Francisco Goyab.The Temptation of St Anthony, Hieronymus Boschc.Saturn Devouring His Son Peter, Paul Rubensd.Auckland Mayor Wayne Brown Waves To A Stuff Journalist Through A Window, Stuff Photographer Ricky Wilson2. Who was in the news ...
An effective campaign against the RMA reforms will be a nightmare for Hipkins.Graham Adams writes – After a Budget that failed to excite voters and a lacklustre party conference where his senior colleagues faintly praised him for his proletarian taste in food, the very last thing Chris Hipkins ...
Buzz from the BeehiveEducation Minister Jan Tinetti brings news of a book of rules for school board members at the same time as her own grasp of Parliament’s rule book has been brought into question. Tinetti has announced a compulsory code of conduct to “ensure school board members are ...
Photo by Branden Tate on UnsplashIt’s that time of the week for an ‘Ask Me Anything’ session for paying subscribers about the week that was for an hour from midday (my apologies for the late start today), including:the Government’s vague promise of sharing the costs of cyclone rebuilding and buy-backs ...
Last night was a big night for our most celebrated radio presenter.Mike Hosking was named the Sir Paul Holmes Broadcaster of the Year - for the third straight year - as well as Best Talk Presenter (breakfast/drive) at the New Zealand Radio awards. Do you feel proud Aotearoa?In the presenter category ...
Speak of the devil. The Australian website Crikey has just launched an investigative series about the notorious lobbying firm Crosby Textor, or C/T as it now prefers to be called. It transpires that two clients of C/T’s American subsidiary will benefit greatly from the AUKUS defence pact between the US, ...
Aotearoa’s failure to deal with the escalating pace of human-induced climate change was starkly on display yesterday. Lynn Grieveson/Getty ImagesTL;DR: Our planet is now warming and generating extreme climate events faster than our politicians, voters and institutions can agree to reduce the costs and share the burden of those events ...
It’s Friday and we’ve got a long weekend ahead of us. Here’s our latest roundup of stories that caught our eye this week. The Week in Greater Auckland On Monday Matt reviewed National’s new housing policy. On Tuesday Matt looked at some of the highlights from Auckland Transport’s ...
The facts are bald and simple; India is now the most populous country in the world and the fifth largest economy and is on track to becoming the fourth. Despite that, New Zealand’s relationship with India could best be described as in its infancy, even though New Zealand has ...
Open access notables Multiple studies indicate changes in the properties of Antarctic bottom water (AABW) over the past half century. These changes involve density and hence will affect both local and distant circulation of the oceans, not least overturning effects that are vital for marine biology but also climate and ...
Completed reads for May: Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea, by Jules Verne Gulliver’s Travels, by Jonathan Swift Journey to the Centre of the Earth, by Jules Verne Round the World in Eighty Days, by Jules Verne The Secret of the Island, by Jules Verne From the Earth ...
Ben Roberts-Smith is apparently "Australia’s most decorated living soldier", having won a Victoria Cross for killing people in Afghanistan. But today, after a stupendous self-own defamation case, he's also been proven to be a war criminal who committed multiple murders: Ben Roberts-Smith VC, Australia’s most decorated living soldier, has ...
Hey Uncle Dave, My house got wrecked in the summer floods. Do you know if the government’s got any plans to help me, or are they too busy making bilingual road signs?Noah InsuranceYou picked a good day to ask, Noah, the Govt has just announced there’ll be an offer of ...
The government has looked at imposing a tax on nitrogen fertiliser, used heavily in NZ agriculture, but yesterday Agriculture Minister Damien O’Connor conceded he had not convinced farming leaders to go ahead with it. ACT”s Mark Cameron claimed credit in Parliament for “killing” the plan. Both Federated ...
Are women the new Māori?Since Christopher Luxon has been leader National have shown they’re prepared to throw Māori under a bus. Be it not wanting them to have a seat at the table on water management, referring to the Treaty as a “little experiment”, or the monocultural candidate selection polices ...
Are women the new Māori?Since Christopher Luxon has been leader National have shown they’re prepared to throw Māori under a bus. Be it not wanting them to have a seat at the table on water management, referring to the Treaty as a “little experiment”, or the monocultural candidate selection polices ...
Buzz from the Beehive An email from Foreign Affairs Minister Nanaia Mahuta had yet to be posted on the government’s official website, when Point of Order made its morning check on our ministers and what they are (officially) up to. She was providing us with an account – a ...
Multiple reviews are examining options to address a $25M to $40M funding hole in its operating budget and a reported $300M, 70,000 hour maintenance backlog for huts, tracks and visitor assets.Thomas Cranmer writes – Following Friday’s revelation that Budget 2023has left the Department of Conservation ...
Property values fell a further 0.7% in May from April across Aotearoa, but Core Logic sees evidence in the data “the current downturn is winding up.” Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: There are fresh signs this morning the housing market-with-bits-tacked-on economy is brightening up going into winter, and just ...
This is a cross post by Malcom McCracken at Better things are possible. It was from between when National signalled their change in housing policy but before they announced it but highlights why the Medium Density Residential Standards are important. Yesterday, the leader of the National Party, Christopher Luxon, ...
Do the global climate models (GCMs) we use for describing future climate change really capture the change and variations in the region that we want to study? There are widely used tools for evaluating global climate models, such as the ESMValTool, but they don’t provide the answers that I ...
This video includes conclusions of the creator climate scientist Dr. Adam Levy. It is presented to our readers as an informed perspective. Please see video description for references (if any). The world is getting hotter and the headlines are scary. So does climate change mean the world is about to pass ...
Politik (paywalled) reports that He waka eke noa, the farmers' scam to have the rest of us subsidise their emissions forever, so they can keep on destroying the planet, is dead: Reality appears to be about to shatter Jacinda Ardern's dream that New Zealand could lead the world in ...
Buzz from the Beehive Two ministerial press statements today draw attention to the Government’s incorporation of mātauranga Māori in its science policies and programmes. One of these announced the launch of the national space policy, which will oblige our space boffins to bring indigenous knowledge into their considerations. The ...
The Stations of the Cross, as all of us know from our devout and Godly ways, is a series of fourteen stations that depict the final hours in the story of Christ our Lord - appearing before Pilate, shouldering the wooden cross, whistling the Monty Python tune, so on and ...
The Stations of the Cross, as all of us know from our devout and Godly ways, is a series of fourteen stations that depict the final hours in the story of Christ our Lord - appearing before Pilate, shouldering the wooden cross, whistling the Monty Python tune, so on and ...
The Herald reports on a trivial but telling incident from Parliament: Labour Cabinet Minister Kiri Allan read the wrong speech at the third reading of a freedom camping bill in Parliament last night. She re-read almost word for word a speech given at the Self-contained Motor Vehicles Legislation bill’s ...
Barrie Saunders writes – Very well-intentioned politicians, judges and others have taken New Zealand down into a Treaty rabbit hole, from which few know how to exit without creating more social divisions. The modern interpretations of the Maori version of Treaty have set aside a common understanding of ...
It’s like deja-vu all over again. House prices are primed to surge 10-20% soon after any clear National-ACT win on October 14. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: There are increasing signs in economists’ forecasts, auction clearance rates, migration rates, divergent tax policies and house building rates that a clear ...
I did something yesterday that I hadn’t done in ages. Watch Oral Questions in parliament. I’m not sure what happened in all the episodes I missed, but nothing much seemed to have changed.For those unfamiliar, Question Time takes place in parliament at 2pm each Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday of the ...
Slow Learner: Effective leaders develop a political “muscle memory” of their own. The National Party should get one.SPEAKING IN PUBLIC tops most people’s list of fearful situations. There are some careers, however, for which public fluency is a non-negotiable pre-requisite. There’s little point in pursuing an acting career, for example, ...
Reality appears to be about to shatter Jacinda Ardern’s dream that New Zealand could lead the world in showing how to deal with farm emissions. The Government is facing a breakdown in negotiations over its much-vaunted He Waka Eke Noa deal with farmers to price greenhouse gas emissions and ...
Hi,Webworm won a Voyager media award over the weekend for “Best Team Investigation”! This would not have been possible without readers. Without you. Thank you.Also, there’s a new Flightless Bird out today, where I look at drug rehab clinics in Florida. I talk to three former addicts, and their stories ...
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 ...
Buzz from the Beehive The Government is coy about some aspects of its relationship with China – and with the United States. Earlier this month, the PM spent a hectic 23 hours in Port Moresby, the capital of Papua New Guinea, where he responded to the superpower security deal just ...
What do Game of Thrones, Lord of the Rings and your daily newspaper all have in common? They all tell tales of imaginary worlds.In Game of Thrones the honourable Stark family find themselves in deadly conflict with the ruthless House of Lannister.In the NZ Herald the Rt Hon Chris Hipkins finds himself ...
What do Game of Thrones, Lord of the Rings and your daily newspaper all have in common? They all tell tales of imaginary worlds.In Game of Thrones the honourable Stark family find themselves in deadly conflict with the ruthless House of Lannister.In the NZ Herald the Rt Hon Chris Hipkins finds himself ...
In 2022 the government announced a periodic review of the Intelligence and Security Act, the legislation governing New Zealand's spies. Yesterday the review presented its report, Taumaru: Protecting Aotearoa New Zealand as a Free, Open and Democratic Society. Its a chunky read, and I'm not finished yet, but from the ...
The Charities Services decision to require the Waipareira Trust to claw back $385,000 of interest-free loans from John Tamihere brings renewed attention to the links between Whānau Ora and the Trust.Thomas Cranmer writes – Revelations earlier this month in the Herald that the social services charity Waipareira ...
National has developed a novel election strategy. It involves being both for and against almost every issue that comes down the pike. The use of te reo on public signage? Recently National Party leader Christopher Luxon came out against the bi-lingual use of te reo in the naming of government ...
Anti-densification residents’ and ratepayers’ groups are cock-a-hoop over National’s partial backflip on MDRS over the weekend and have ramped up their campaigns to stop densification in their areas. Photo: Lynn Grieveson/Getty ImagesTL;DR: NIMBY groups are cock-a-hoop this morning, calling on councils and the Government to completely abandon the MDRS housing ...
It’s been two months but today the Auckland Transport board meet for again. There’s a lot on the agenda so I can’t cover it all in this post but here are some of the highlights from their regular board papers. The open session starts at 9am and can be watched on ...
This story by Aaron Cantú was originally published in Capital & Main and is part of Covering Climate Now, a global journalism collaboration strengthening coverage of the climate story. Monic Uriarte was thrilled to get approved for an affordable apartment in Los Angeles’ University Park, close to USC. But soon after she and her ...
This incomplete picture speaks of everything we love most about a summer holiday in Aotearoa: The bach, the beach, the barbecue, the sand, the christmas ham sandwiches, the serenity.We love it, don’t we, Aotearoa? Getting away to somewhere warm and quiet with a high tide and a hammock. And if ...
Buzz from the Beehive Ministers who took time out from the Labour Party congress to attend to portfolio duties were focused largely on promoting the country’s interests overseas. The statements with the widest implications dealt with: Trade – Damien O’Connor joined ministerial representatives at a meeting in Detroit, USA, ...
In the last year of a second term in government. the election outcome shouldn’t even be close. All that’s required for a competent Opposition to be streets ahead in the polls, is an ability to look like a credible government-in-waiting. Instead, we’ve got a very tight contest. There’s a reason ...
The Herald reports that WINZ debt has reached the staggering total of $2.4 billion, with the usual racism and sexism in who owes and how much they pay: Anti-poverty groups say the poorest Kiwis are caught in a debt trap as the total amount of money owed to the ...
There was a poll last week which asked if now was the right time for a tax cut. Which is quite an odd thing to ask really, don’t you think?We’ve got to pay back the money used to keep paying people and stop businesses going under during the pandemic. Our ...
The Treasury released its budget economic forecasts. What do they say about the economy over the next four months?Brian Easton writes – Let me begin me with an irritation. One post-budget headline was ‘Treasury optimistic over recession risk in Budget 2023‘. Treasury being optimistic is almost an ...
As a politician swallowing a rat under a very public spotlight, Chris Bishop gave a spirited and relatively smooth account of himself yesterday. File Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Chris Bishop has detailed National’s new housing policy for Election 2023 that confirms a National Government would not force councils ...
After signalling it a week ago, yesterday National launched their new housing policy which abandons their support for the Medium Density Residential Standards (MDRS) that they had worked with the government to deliver back in 2021 and shifts the focus to more sprawl. Overall there are three key areas National ...
The audacity of National’s “u-turn” over housing intensification is an extraordinary slap in the face for Chris Bishop and Nicola Willis. If it does nothing else, it raises questions about their political judgement, not for the first time.. Some in the Caucus have still not forgiven them for their ...
As the general election approaches, the Association of Former Members of the Parliament of New Zealand has organised an essay competition to to foster democracy. Secondary school students are being challenged to identify the important elements of a successful democracy, explain their value and consider whether they can be improved ...
Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: For paying subscribers, here's my pick of the week’s top six news developments, quotes and charts of the week with my personal reflections, plus my suggestions for Sunday reading and listening. There’s also one fun thing. In summary this week, my six takeaways were:Christopher ...
With Open Arms: Is it at all reasonable to suppose that a colonial society in which whites traditionally occupied all the upper rungs of the ethnic hierarchy, and where the colonised were relegated to the bottom of the socio-economic ladder, will respond positively to a concerted indigenous push from below, ...
Hi,Just a quick online-only update that Webworm won “Best Team Investigation” last night at the Voyagers.This means a lot, especially considering we were up against giant newsrooms like Stuff and TVNZ:WINNER: David Farrier and Hayden Donnell | Webworm – The Downward Spiral of Arise ChurchJUDGES: Alan Sunderland and Ali Ikram“This ...
May 28, 2025.Ladies and gentlemen. It’s a beautiful clear morning here in Auckland City. We’re heading for a maximum temperature of 14 degrees, and the local time is now 10:30am. Please remain seated if you’d like to, or get up and walk around the plane if you prefer. New regulations ...
Focussed immigration has always been essential to our future, but New Zealanders need to be aware of the immediate dire situation our government is putting us in with a predicted record of one hundred thousand new immigrants moving to New Zealand in this year alone. That means we will have ...
Today, President of Te Pāti Māori, John Tamihere has confirmed that Heather Te-Au Skipworth will stand for Te Pāti Māori in the Tukituki electorate this election. ...
During New Zealand First coalition negotiations our policy was to train and resource 1800 new frontline police. We secured this coalition policy win to ensure our streets had a police force that could tackle crime - after years of neglect. Remember those previous nine years of neglect saw a ‘tag ...
Katie Kenny from Stuff published an article today with a lazy attempt at so-called ‘fact checking’ my recent comments on the World Health Organisation’s concerning new regulations being developed. What is most surprising is that throughout this entire ‘fact checking’ process, Kenny never once rang me asking for my side ...
The National Party has released another confused and rushed policy that will only further worsen the inequality that is driven by unaffordable housing. ...
Welcome to sunny and calm Wellington, which I know those of you who are visiting would of course expect to be the case. It’s been a busy week since we put forward the 2023 Budget. Labour MPs have been out across the motu giving the good oil on the Budget. ...
Kia orana, Talofa lava, Mālo e lelei, Taloha ni, Fakaalofa lahi atu, Noa’ia e mauri, Ni sa bula vinaka, Kia ora, Tena Koutou Katoa. Labour Party President Jill Day, Prime Minister Hipkins, Party faithful, delegates and comrades, whānau and friends, it’s a privilege to be here today. I begin my ...
One of my kaumātua up North stood before the Waitangi Tribunal and said: ‘He aha kē ahau, te tangata kore hara i mua i te Atua, e tu nei kia whakawaatia e koe, te tangata tāhae, te tangata hara, te tangata kore tikanga?Ko koe kē te tika, kia tū ...
New Zealanders will be highly concerned that the World Health Organisation proposes to effectively take control of independent decision making away from sovereign countries and place control with the Director General. W.H.O International Health Regulations on future outbreaks of disease aim to give the Director General extraordinary and wide-sweeping powers. ...
The Green Party is calling on the Government to take responsibility for reducing inflation by taxing wealth instead of leaving RBNZ to continue hiking the Official Cash Rate. ...
The Green Party has released its list of candidates for the 2023 election. With a mix of familiar faces, fresh new talent, and strong tangata whenua voices, this exceptional group of candidates are ready to set the direction of the next Government. ...
Thank you for your invitation to be here, after yesterday's budget, and for the opportunity to talk with you. In the economic and social turmoil following the arrival of COVID 19 in New Zealand many concerns emerged. How would we keep our economy going and maintain our exports which are ...
At the heart of Budget 2023 is a cost of living package, designed to ease the pressure on New Zealanders in the face of global inflation and the challenges of rebuilding from extreme weather events. It provides practical cost of living relief across some of the core expenses facing Kiwis ...
A long standing Green Party policy has been extended yet again in this year’s Budget. This will deliver warmer homes for thousands of people, lower power bills, and cut climate pollution. ...
The Green Party is fully on board with free bus and train travel for under 12s and half price travel for under 25s - next stop, free travel for all under 18s, students, and apprentices. ...
Earlier this week, the Prime Minister announced a billion dollar flood and cyclone recovery package as part of Budget 2023. This is about doing the basics - repairing and rebuilding what has been damaged and making smart investments, including $100 million of protection funding to ensure future events don’t cause ...
New Zealand’s most recent defence assessment identified climate change and geostrategic competition as the two greatest security challenges to our place in the South Pacific. To the first issue, partners engaging and re-engaging with Pacific Island Countries are finding that climate change is a security and existential threat in our ...
The government is continuing to support rangatahi in providing more funding into Maori Trades training and new He Poutama Rangatahi programmes across Aotearoa. “We’re backing 30 new by Māori for Māori Kaupapa employment and training programmes, which will help iwi into sustainable employment or progress within their chosen careers” says ...
Murihiku Marae was officially reopened today, setting a gold standard in sustainable building practices as well as social outcomes for the people of Waihōpai Invercargill, Regional Development Minister Kiri Allan says. “The marae has been a central hub for this community since the 1980’s. With the support of $9.65 million ...
The first major public housing development in Whangārei for decades has reached completion, with 37 new homes opened in the suburb of Maunu today. The project on Tapatahi Crescent and Puriri Park Road, consists of 15 one-bedroom, 4 two-bedroom, 7 three-bedroom, 8 four-bedroom and 3 five-bedroom homes, as well as ...
Trade and Export Growth Minister Damen O’Connor will depart tomorrow for London to represent New Zealand at the Commonwealth Trade Ministers’ Meeting and then to Paris to vice-chair the OECD Ministerial Council Meeting. “My travel to the United Kingdom is well-timed, with the United Kingdom Free Trade Agreement (UK FTA) ...
The Fuel Industry (Improving Fuel Resilience) Amendment Bill would: boost New Zealand’s fuel supply resilience and economic security enable the minimum stockholding obligation regulations to be adapted as the energy and transport environment evolves. “Last November, I announced a six-point plan to improve the resiliency of our fuel supply from ...
The Government is making sure those on low incomes will no longer have to wait five weeks to get the minimum weekly rate of ACC, and improving the data collected to make the system fairer, Minister for ACC Peeni Henare said today. The Accident Compensation (Access Reporting and Other Matters) ...
A compulsory code of conduct will ensure school board members are crystal clear on their responsibilities and expected standard of behaviour, Minister of Education Jan Tinetti said. It’s the first time a compulsory code of conduct has been published for state and state-integrated school boards and comes into effect on ...
Tena koutou katoa and thank you, Mayor Nadine Taylor, for your welcome to Marlborough. Thanks also Doug Saunders-Loder and all of you for inviting me to your annual conference. As you might know, I’m quite new to this job – and I’m particularly pleased that the first organisation I’m giving a ...
The Government will enter into a funding arrangement with councils in cyclone and flood affected regions to support them to offer a voluntary buyout for owners of Category 3 designated residential properties. It will also co-fund work needed to protect Category 2 designated properties. “From the beginning of this process ...
The Government has announced changes to strengthen requirements in venues with pokie (gambling) machines will come into effect from 15 June. “Pokies are one of the most harmful forms of gambling. They can have a detrimental impact on individuals, their friends, whānau and communities,” Internal Affairs Minister Barbara Edmonds said. ...
The total Police workforce is now the largest it has ever been. Police constabulary stands at 10,700 officers – an increase of 21% since 2017 Māori officers have increased 40%, Pasifika 83%, Asian 157%, Women 61% Every district has got more Police under this Government The Government has delivered on ...
Minister of Foreign Affairs, Hon Nanaia Mahuta met with Korea President Yoon, as well as Pacific Islands Forum Secretary General Henry Puna, during her recent visit to Korea. “It was an honour to represent Aotearoa New Zealand at the first Korea – Pacific Leaders’ Summit. We discussed Pacific ambitions under the ...
The Government’s Research and Development Tax Incentive has supported more than $2 billion of New Zealand business innovation – an increase of around $1 billion in less than nine months. "Research and innovation are essential in helping us meet the biggest challenges and seize opportunities facing New Zealand. It’s fantastic ...
The next ‘giant leap’ in New Zealand’s space journey has been taken today with the launch of the National Space Policy, Economic Development Minister Barbara Edmonds announced. “Our space sector is growing rapidly. Each year New Zealand is becoming a more and more attractive place for launches, manufacturing space-related technology ...
A new Year 7-13 designated character wharekura will be built in Pāpāmoa, Associate Minister of Education Kelvin Davis has announced. The wharekura will focus on science, mathematics and creative technologies while connecting ākonga to the whakapapa of the area. The decision follows an application by the Ngā Pōtiki ā Tamapahore ...
Protecting the environment by establishing a stronger, more consistent system for freedom camping Supporting councils to better manage freedom camping in their region and reduce the financial and social impacts on communities Ensuring that self-contained vehicle owners have time to prepare for the new system The Self-Contained Motor Vehicle ...
A new law passed last night could see up to 25 percent of Family Court judges’ workload freed up in order to reduce delays, Minister of Justice Kiri Allan said. The Family Court (Family Court Associates) Legislation Bill will establish a new role known as the Family Court Associate. The ...
New Zealand businesses will begin reaping the rewards of our gold-standard free trade agreement with the United Kingdom (UK FTA) from today. “The New Zealand UK FTA enters into force from today, and is one of the seven new or upgraded Free Trade Agreements negotiated by Labour to date,” Prime ...
The Government will reform outdated surrogacy laws to improve the experiences of children, surrogates, and the growing number of families formed through surrogacy, by adopting Labour MP Tāmati Coffey’s Member’s Bill as a Government Bill, Minister Kiri Allan has announced. “Surrogacy has become an established method of forming a family ...
Defence Minister Andrew Little departs for Singapore tomorrow to attend the 20th annual Shangri-La Dialogue for Defence Ministers from the Indo-Pacific region. “Shangri-La brings together many countries to speak frankly and express views about defence issues that could affect us all,” Andrew Little said. “New Zealand is a long-standing participant ...
Research, Science and Innovation Minister Dr Ayesha Verrall and the Chinese Minister of Science and Technology Wang Zhigang met in Wellington today and affirmed the two countries’ long-standing science relationship. Minister Wang was in New Zealand for the 6th New Zealand-China Joint Commission Meeting on Science and Technology Cooperation. Following ...
5 percent uplift clearer and simpler to navigate Domestic productions can access more funding sources 20 percent rebate confirmed for post-production, digital and visual effects Qualifying expenditure for post-production, digital and visual effects rebate dropped to $250,000 to encourage more smaller productions The Government is making it easier for the ...
Deputy Prime Minister and Associate Minister of Foreign Affairs (Pacific Region) Carmel Sepuloni will represent New Zealand at Samoa’s 61st Anniversary of Independence commemorations in Apia. “Aotearoa New Zealand is pleased to share in this significant occasion, alongside other invited Pacific leaders, and congratulates Samoa on the milestone of 61 ...
The Government is continuing to support retailers with additional funding for the highly popular Fog Cannon Subsidy Scheme, Police and Small Business Minister Ginny Andersen announced today. “The Government is committed to improving retailers’ safety,” Ginny Andersen said. “I’ve seen first-hand the difference fog cannons are making. Not only do ...
The Government has received the first independent review of the Intelligence and Security Act 2017, Prime Minister Chris Hipkins says. The review, considered by the Parliamentary Intelligence and Security Committee, was presented to the House of Representatives today. “Ensuring the safety and security of New Zealanders is of the utmost ...
Prime Minister Chris Hipkins has expressed condolences on behalf of New Zealand to the Kingdom of Tonga following the death of Her Royal Highness Princess Mele Siu’ilikutapu Kalaniuvalu Fotofili. “New Zealand sends it’s heartfelt condolences to the people of Tonga, and to His Majesty King Tupou VI at this time ...
Prime Minister Chris Hipkins has expressed condolences on behalf of New Zealand to the Kingdom of Tonga following the death of Her Royal Highness Princess Mele Siu’ilikutapu Kalaniuvalu Fotofili. “New Zealand sends it’s heartfelt condolences to the people of Tonga, and to His Majesty King Tupou VI at this time ...
Defence Minister Andrew Little and Foreign Affairs Minister Nanaia Mahuta have today announced the extension of the New Zealand Defence Force (NZDF) deployment to Solomon Islands, as part of the regionally-led Solomon Islands International Assistance Force (SIAF). “Aotearoa New Zealand has a long history of working alongside the Royal Solomon ...
Foreign Affairs Minister Nanaia Mahuta will travel to the Republic of Korea today to attend the Korea–Pacific Leaders’ Summit in Seoul and Busan. “Korea is an important partner for Aotearoa New Zealand and the Pacific region. I am eager for the opportunity to meet and discuss issues that matter to our ...
Trade and Export Growth Minister Damien O’Connor joined ministerial representatives at a meeting in Detroit, USA today to announce substantial conclusion of negotiations of a new regional supply chains agreement among 14 Indo-Pacific countries. The Supply Chains agreement is one of four pillars being negotiated within the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework ...
Our most spoken Pacific language is taking centre stage this week with Vaiaso o le Gagana Samoa – Samoa Language Week kicking off around the country. “Understanding and using the Samoan language across our nation is vital to its survival,” Barbara Edmonds said. “The Samoan population in New Zealand are ...
Over 90 per cent of New Zealanders are expected to receive this year’s nationwide test of the Emergency Mobile Alert system tonight between 6-7pm. “Emergency Mobile Alert is a tool that can alert people when their life, health, or property, is in danger,” Kieran McAnulty said. “The annual nationwide test ...
ENGLISH: Whakatōhea and the Crown sign Deed of Settlement A Deed of Settlement has been signed between Whakatōhea and the Crown, 183 years to the day since Whakatōhea rangatira signed the Treaty of Waitangi, Minister for Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations Andrew Little has announced. Whakatōhea is an iwi based in ...
Elizabeth Longworth has been appointed as the Chair of the New Zealand National Commission for UNESCO, Associate Minister of Education Jo Luxton announced today. UNESCO is the United Nations agency responsible for promoting cooperative action among member states in the areas of education, science, culture, social science (including peace and ...
Tourism and hospitality employer accreditation scheme to recognise quality employers Better education and career opportunities in tourism Cultural competency to create more diverse and inclusive workplaces Innovation and technology acceleration to drive satisfying, skilled jobs Strengthening our tourism workers and supporting them into good career pathways, pay and working conditions ...
Tourism and hospitality employer accreditation scheme to recognise quality employers Better education and career opportunities in tourism Cultural competency to create more diverse and inclusive workplaces Innovation and technology acceleration to drive satisfying, skilled jobs Strengthening our tourism workers and supporting them into good career pathways, pay and working conditions ...
Greater access to primary care, including 193 more front line clinical staff More hauora services and increased mental health support Boost for maternity and early years programmes Funding for cancers, HIV and longer term conditions Greater access to primary care, improved maternity care and mental health support are ...
Greater access to primary care, including 193 more front line clinical staff More hauora services and increased mental health support Boost for maternity and early years programmes Funding for cancers, HIV and longer term conditions Greater access to primary care, improved maternity care and mental health support are ...
The Government continues progress on the survivor-led independent redress system for historic abuse in care, with the announcement of the design and advisory group members today. “The main recommendation of the Royal Commission of Inquiry’s Abuse in Care interim redress report was for a survivor-led independent redress system, and the ...
By Tess Brunton, RNZ News reporter New Zealand Prime Minister Chris Hipkins faced a grilling by University of Otago students during his trip to Ōtepoti yesterday. Students, staff and community members have been fighting against the university’s request for staff to consider redundancies in a bid to save $60 million. ...
RNZ Pacific Transparency International Papua New Guinea has welcomed the conviction of lawyer Paul Paraka as the police confirm they are widening the investigation into the fraud case. The NGO admits the depths of Paraka’s activities, revealed by the case, are very worrying. Paraka, who had operated his own eponymous ...
Government and the tech sector are considering principles for an AI strategy, but there seems little urgency from ministers and no sign of action before the election. ...
Government and the tech sector are considering principles for an AI strategy, but there seems little urgency from ministers and no sign of action before the election. ...
Susan Wardell’s first picture book is nominated in two categories at this year’s New Zealand Book Awards for Children & Young Adults. She tells Claire Mabey about the genesis of the book, and what she thinks of the state of children’s publishing in Aotearoa. Claire Mabey: What was the inspiration ...
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Like maggots in a rotten block of cheese the CIA works to interfere in elections both foreign and domestic .
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4mQVnWxIg94
Arron mate explains what Mike Morell has been up to in 2016 and 2020 for the dems
Its not a 'swamp ' its a sewer !!!
Watched a bit of the coronation last night. Here is the thing – English choral music from the late rennaissance is widely acknowedged as the top of the game, and "Zadok the Priest" is a total banger. You would go a long way to hear better arrangements and of course to see and hear it done in context for probably the last time in history was lovely. Of course, you could fund a lot of cultural stuff like early English and orchestral music for a long time with 250 million pounds…
I remember reading – it may have been in John Julius Norwich's three volume history -about the Byzantine empires final days. Reduced to the city of Constantinople and it's immediate surrounds plus a few scraps of land here and there nonetheless imperial ceremony continued as if nothing had changed. The Hagia Sophia gleamed, the diadems and sceptres shone, the voices raised in tedious and interminable religious cant rang as beautifully as ever. Except on closer inspection, the jewels were glass and precioud metals just paint and tinsel. In the corners the paint was peeling and streets beyond the imperial quarters were unkempt and run down. I got strong Byzantium vibes from Westminster abbey.
The whole exercise to me was a ghastly, self-important exercise in hypernormality for the British ruling elite. You know the whole thing was cos-playing fantasy. They know the whole thing was a cos playing fantasy. You could see on everyone faces they knew it was a cos playing fantasy. Charles clearly really, really wanted it. He's waited his enite life for the moment I guess. But no one knows what to do instead, so they pretend it was all perfectly normal.
The whole thing – the imperial regalia, the swearing to uphold the Protestant settlement, the sumptuous yet ridiculous clothing – was an expedition into never-never land, larping for a long dead empire. It was ymbolic of the UKs wider struggle with reality in an era of seemingly irreversible national decline.
Yes I loved the 3-volume John Norich as well.
We do need mass events to connect to our collective assent better than tawdry party woopdiewoop, but I'm not sure English coronation tat is any worse than the serried ranks of calisthenic inflatable pandas from any Beijing Olympics.
Cathedral of Light anyone?
Yes. For me Byrd especially has a sort of supernatural quality that fades into something more formulaic by the time you get to Handel. The Roman Catholic Byrd was played straight after Charles swore to uphold the Protestant faith – obviously intended as a nod to modern notions of religious tolerance.
But it was all very strange – as though the legitimacy of the monarchy is so weak in rational terms, that it now consists only of spectacle and its extraordinary. magical difference from everyday life.
Where else do the great Hollywood directors get their inspiration from for their megalomaniac blockbuster projects? Oh wait, AI!
Would you say the same about the coronation of the King of Bhutan, Thailand, Japan, Sweden, Norway, Belgium, Spain, the swearing in of a new Pope, the marching down the the Mall of a new President in the US etc?
Zadoc the Priest is from George Frideric Handel who wrote the music for the Coronation of George II in 1727 and Handel was renown for his 'celestial' composition, and German. A quintessential understanding and imagining of the heavens in music. You know Christian understanding of the glory of the Father, the son and the holy ghost. (yes, mothers and daughters need not apply, but that is a world wide thing when it comes to religions be the old or new wave).
This is a tradition that is hundreds of years old, happens every now and then, and as Mr. Cave said so well,
"I am not a monarchist, nor am I a royalist, nor am I an ardent republican for that matter; what I am also not is so spectacularly incurious about the world and the way it works, so ideologically captured, so damn grouchy, as to refuse an invitation to what will more than likely be the most important historical event in the UK of our age."
https://www.theargus.co.uk/news/23502890.nick-cave-defends-attendance-coronation/#:~:text=He%20said%3A%20%22I%20am%20not,likely%20be%20the%20most%20important
This is British culture, you know the culture of the indigenous people of Britain. Would you be so happy to poopoo the tradition of other countries indigenous people?
And fwiw, i rather have this exhibit of tradition that comes every other few decades – and even Charles has a good chance to get very old, then the the shit Ad posted below, coming from a country that had its culture stripped via Dunce hat, beatings, death and ridicule by its young during Mao Tse Dong reign and his cultural revolution, and who replaced it with plastic shit.
And don't come with the cost of this, cause our Prime Minster Person was there and really they had no reason what so ever to be there other then a nice tax payer funded junket, and i don't hear anyone complaining about that waste of money. But i guess so as long as New Zealand is a jewel in the crown that is the commonwealth, no one would refuse such and awesome experience and tax payer funded trip.
The indigenous people of Europe have their own tradition, rites and pomp, as is their right. And if we are to accept the traditions of indigenous people, and their right to express their traditions, you might as well understand that that includes people whom you might not approve.
First bit was a lovely response.
Our PM has to be there because this is his head of state.
All we have to do is apply a 5,000-strong Kapa Haka team to our own opening of Parliament and we would be on the way.
Matariki+ANZAC+Commonwealth Games opening as a hybrid to get the juices going.
My point is literally pointing out that we are doing our best here in NZ/Aotearoa to pretend that everything that comes/came from the crown is colonial bullshit and needs to be burned and buried, yet here the PM Person is eating sausage rolls standing in line ready to bow their head and shake hands with the great coloniser.
If one wants to bury tradition cause 'colonialism' cause 'white', then one should have the conviction of thought and simply state that they can not attend, find an excuse and send that ex speaker of the house who lives in Ireland now and send them as a representative of NZ or Aotearoa. Which btw, would have been a cheap solution too, the ex speaker of the house could have travelled on Easy Jet to the coronation for 50 quid and stay in NZ house in London.
I am getting very tired of the poopooing of European culture, the pretense that every person born of white color is responsible for the sins of their forefathers, worse are active colonisers, thiefs of land, killers of people – all of those that were born since 1930 of the last century up until today, yet, at the same time these same people can't go over there fast enough to rub shoulders with people whom otherwise they would call colonisers, thiefs, and killers of people.
Either you are ok with this type of tradition for all and that then includes white people and their traditions, either we start accepting the idea that all people are indeginous somewhere, or we should opt out of this pomp and ceremony and stay at home and attend to important business there.
Case in point, Biden send the wife and no one is unhappy about that. And Biden is the head of the USofA a much larger and more important country in terms of geo – political interests and doings.
And last, i don’t think many here would complain about a crowning ceremony if it were by non white, non european people, cause ‘interesting culture and tradition’, yet they will not give the same grace to their own culture and ‘race’.
and yes, if we start applying that 5000 strong Kapa Haka group, in a thousand years it might be just as spectacular.
And would you invite Tamaki, cause he has form when it comes to Kapa Haka in front of parliament?
This is British culture, you know the culture of the indigenous people of Britain. Would you be so happy to poopoo the tradition of other countries indigenous people?
Charles is about as British as I am, he's a sausage sucking German from way back. His old man was from Glucksburg by way of the parlour floor of some place in Greece.
Matariki + Anzac + Commonwealth Games opening is meaningless and renders all three into a mush of nothingness.
They are three distinct things.
Matariki – raise of the Pleiades, the celebration of the Maori new year.
Anzac – Australian New Zealand forces that got left behind in the ditches of Europe and Turkey and North Africa and that are still mourned today by those left to live without them and their potential offspring, and those that came home to deal with their survival on their own.
Commonwealth Games – a sporting event – may the 'best' win. (males in female sport are totes the best)
I really hope that we have enough good sense in this country to never marry these three things up in a gray mush of plastic bullshit and rather celebrate them as the three distinct occasions for festivities that they are.
I'm sure that Sanctuary would do exactly the same – provided he knew about those cultures to relate those coronation events to the political and economic structures of those societies and any systems of hierarchy or oppression they enabled. He was absolutely not being critical of the actual material details of the ceremony – he (rightly) praised English Renaissance to baroque composers (even the German import Georg Friedrich Händel).
As above, he was not poopooing the actual aretfacts of the culture – only what it means for the social, economic and political realm. And it is not only Mr Sanctuary who does this, British people do it themselves in growing numbers.
It seems to me that your comments amount to a strawman hit job and contain a fallacy. The fallacy being – that if anyone insists that all cultures are worthy of equal respect, that means they are not permitted to criticise any culture.
Well for many people this crowning actually means a good social act of coming together in country and re-affirm ones idendity in this case being a 'brit', it certainly will do good for the economy of London and probably spill over elsewhere considering that people will spend, eat out, party , people will travel there to be part of this event and so on, and it is a good excellent demonstration in soft political power, hence why our PM travelled there – well at least that is why i hope they travelled there.
Anyways, Britain now has a new King, may he be a good one, and hopefully it made Brits feel good about being part of a culture that is over a thousand years old, and that is still part of life today.
re-affirm ones idendity in this case being a ‘brit’,..”
A “brit” being suitably uncapitalised in this case.
Agree Sanc and lovely post….I would add to this the brutal police suppression of anti-royal demonstrators (52 arrested) that took place yesterday….also a symbol of Britain's national decline that has been exacerbated by the small-minded right-wing clique (Brexit proponents, still fantasising about an empire) that seem to have taken control of the country.
I'm not sure Starmer is going to be much better.
It's probably just as well they were arrested – for their own safety. Imagine what the crowd would have done to them.
Somebody had better help Kainga Ora find the 6000 rentals they appear to have misplaced
"At the end of June the number of public houses was 76,271. Of those 64,870 were Kāinga Ora properties while 11,401 were CHP properties, according to HUD’s figures."
https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/131960672/property-investors-losing-one-of-last-ways-to-keep-interest-deductibility
State Rentals 65,654
Community Group Housing¹ 1,508
CHP Lease Portfolio 4 964
Transitional Housing 2,271
Total 70,397
https://kaingaora.govt.nz/assets/Publications/Managed-stock/Managed-Stock-National-Summary-December-2022.pdf
If you drive around Owairaka you might see the answer to some of that question. Whole swathes of former State housing has been removed for the development of new houses suitable for 21stC living, There are vacant sites and construction sites everywhere. As Kainga Ora is building on its own land there, the previous houses (most of which were constructed of 6 kinds of tacky boarding and only held together with 50 years of bad paint jobs) have been pushed over.
I suspect that that is indeed part of the explanation….however it dosnt explain why HUD ( and the Gov) are claiming a current KO stock level that is at odds with KOs own data.
The spin doctors appear to have been given a free hand
Then they should be listed as 'currently' being rebuild, refurbished, not in the state of being tenanted, rather then just being omitted.
I don't see why interest should be deductible just because a property is administered by Kianga Ora. The capital ownership remains with the landlord/investor. Non deductibility is logical because ownership of the capital lies outside the business itself.
It is because no private landlord wants to rent to 'Kainga Ora' and its unruly tenants that can not be moved on – cause no evictions ever – in the case of a anti-social, community terrorizing tenant.
So here is a financial incentive – write of your interest payments if you rent to Kainga Ora, however i can't see that as enough of a treat for a landlord who really don't want his property trashed, meth cooked, wife/children beaten and/or the property being turned into a gang patch.
It really has got nothing to do with ownership, business setup/interests or anything. KO/the Government can't and wont build the houses that the country needs, the country simply does not have the money to do so – or so at least we are to believe, nor the skills – and that is something i can believe, so the private landlord must be roped in, here have a sweetener. Having read many accounts of unruly social welfare tenants, hearing the sirens every night that go to certain KO addresses daily, why would any investor bother. They may as well keep the property empty and rent it privately to someone who is happy being responsible for their own life, rather then depend on the welfare agencies to finance theirs.
And yes, there are decent KO tenants who are the majority, but sadly as always its the minority of fuckwits that ruin it for all. And KO refusing to deal with the minority of fuckwits that ruin it for all, really does ruin it for all.
If you change the end date to December 2022 you’ll get the exact same number of Kāinga Ora Public Homes (65,654) reported by HUD as reported in the KO PDF that you linked to with the same end date.
https://www.hud.govt.nz/stats-and-insights/the-government-housing-dashboard/public-homes/#tabset
What exactly is the issue here?
I think you may wish to revisit that statement…
Total public houses as at Dec 2022 according to HUD is 77,707
KO state they have a managed stock of 70,397
Both sets of figures include CHP stock.
On the HUD page I linked to (and changed the end date to December 2022 for comparison with your KO link) it states Public Home – Total 77,707; Kāinga Ora Public Homes 65,654; Community Housing Provider Public Homes 12,053 and 65,654 + 12,053 = 77,707.
Obviously, the only figure that is identical to that in the KO PDF that you linked to is State Rentals 65,654. If you read the note and footnotes you’ll understand why figures in the other categories are different from those reported by HUD. Hence, the totals are different.
Further guidance can be found here: https://www.hud.govt.nz/stats-and-insights/the-government-housing-dashboard/definitions/#tabset.
Im beginning to think this may be your baby…
“Kāinga Ora Public Homes includes public homes managed by Kāinga Ora that are occupied by tenants and those that are vacant. Homes may be vacant for a variety of reasons:
Community Housing Provider Public Homes includes public homes managed by Community Housing Providers. It does not include vacant homes.”
https://www.hud.govt.nz/stats-and-insights/the-government-housing-dashboard/definitions/#tabset
As said tjhe spin doctors appear to have been given free licence…counting (and promoting) 7,000 unavailable homes is 'disingenuous'…to put it politely.
Personally I prefer the vernacular….its bullshit
I cannot help you with reading comprehension – you seem to be conflating properties managed through KO and properties existing/available as reported by HUD.
I’m puzzled why you think this may be my baby and it sounds like a failed ad hom, which is disappointing because I thought we were past this.
When you refuse to acknowledge that HUD (and the Gov) are claiming a level of public housing that dosnt exist (isnt available for whatever reason) as demonstrated by KOs own managed stock figures which clearly show those claims to be false then one has to consider why?
Perhaps you are more credulous than you present.
I read the notes and concluded that most figures reported by KO and HUD are different, as explained, i.e., apples and oranges. In addition, this is more plausible than to invoke wild conspiracy theories involving Government-aligned (and paid?) evil spin doctors spreading BS false claims and lying to us. It is ok to disagree, reach a different opinion, and then agree to disagree instead of going on a personal attack alleging conflict of interest of those who dare to see things differently.
Apples (?)
"As at December 2022 there was a total of 77,707 properties managed by Kāinga Ora and Community Housing Providers for use as public housing."
https://www.hud.govt.nz/stats-and-insights/the-government-housing-dashboard/public-homes/#tabset
Oranges(?)
"Managed Kainga Ora Properties as at 31st December 2022…Total 70,397"
https://kaingaora.govt.nz/assets/Publications/Managed-stock/Managed-Stock-National-Summary-December-2022.pdf
Bananas!
You nailed it!
I'd say they nailed themselves….to their shame (if they possessed any)
31 December 2022 KO figure: 65,654 and HUD figure: 65,654
30 September 2022 KO figure: 65,121 and HUD figure: 65,121
30 June 2022 KO figure: 64,870 and HUD figure: 64,870
31 March 2022 KO figure: 64,312 and HUD figure: 64,312
And so on, and so forth.
KO goes back to December 2015 and HUD to June 2017, but I hope you’ll get the gist based on just one year (2022).
In other words, KO and HUD are using the same stats for the same things and different stats for different but related things.
You are being as dishonest as the Government,
HUD (and the Gov) are claiming public housing increases that DO NOT EXIST.
HUD 'public housing' figures include Kiwibuild houses (sold or available to owner occupiers but not renters) and public housing consented (but not yet completed, irrespective of anticipated completion date).
And yet still they state…"As at December 2022 there was a total of 77,707 properties managed by Kāinga Ora and Community Housing Providers for use as public housing."…when there are in fact fully SEVEN THOUSAND LESS properties managed by KO and available to their clients…..and you defend such dishonesty.
Shhhh, not so loud, the baby has finely dozed off.
The baby deserves to know why he/she is sleeping in a car
mi casa es tu auto
If 7 people died on the Rotorua Marathon, Worksafe would shut it down permanently.
In Kentucky 7 thoroughbred horses die and it's the game.
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/kentucky-derby-runs-into-more-obstacles-ahead-of-big-race_n_64569ca7e4b0461603129946
Any time this government wants to do what it said it would do and shut Greyhound racing down when it had to kill 27 dogs last season, would be great. Chloe is dead right on this.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/racing/300484854/a-sport-on-its-last-legs–can-greyhound-racing-in-new-zealand-survive
I think this would fall under Grant Robertson 's protfolio?
Indeed it is; kicked to touch like most policies.
sad, because it could have been shut down so many times, i mean full majority and all that, plus never ending support from the Greens…..ladida.
But it gets Chloe in the news, i guess that is a plus?
Has Chloe had any comments on males competing in female sports? I think Grant said something like, 'should not be petty and mean' and exlude them? NO? Oh well……
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/politics/petty-and-small-minded-sport-minister-grant-robertson-responds-to-critics-of-sport-nz-transgender-guidelines/EHLQL6YAAFHDHI2WKMIREEOMMY/
Keiran McAnulty is the Minister of Racing
ah i see, appointed last year.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kieran_McAnulty
Then again if you shut these sports down, none of these animals would ever likely lived anyway.
Yes. The moment greyhound racing is made illegal in NZ, all of the reputable owners and breeders will euthanase all of their dogs.
Of course, there will still be illicit racing (just as there is illicit dog fighting) – but the SPCA and industry bodies will have zero oversight and control.
The dogs which survive will be much worse off.
I'm using greyhound racing as an example, since it seems to have fewer rich people investing than horse racing, and therefore less political influence (anyone remember one W. Peters, the minister for racing, and his tax credit for 'pretty horses'). So is likely to be first off the cancellation chopping block.
No, culling all the non-racing dogs is not inevitable. There are of course alternatives and they are well practised.
That is a really terrible reason not to stop the dog racing industry.
I can't see any way that the current numbers of dogs could be maintained. Yes, there might be a few kept as pets. The vast majority would be immediately culled (or disappear into the black market). Racing is a business.
Can you give an example where this has not happened, once racing became illegal?
There's nothing reputable about greyhound racing. It's a gambling industry masquerading as sport where a third of whelped animals never make it to the track and nearly half of euthanised dogs are under three years old.
https://www.tabnz.org/sites/default/files/documents/Greyhound%20Racing%20Welfare%20Report%202017.pdf
Well, the majority of them maintain the SPCA mandated standards (or they get closed down). It's simple business practice.
If it goes underground (as dog fighting has). What standards will exist?
Yes it's gambling. Does that make it better or worse than the pokies or lotto which suck money out of South Auckland every week?
Cite?
https://pmgt.org.nz/animal-abuse/
https://www.1news.co.nz/2022/05/24/dog-fighting-rings-terrify-northland-canine-lovers/
A watch out notice about signs of a potential abuser, and with details of the long running gangs are watching claptrap, and a news report of a dog snatching?
But hey, absolute chaos if legit trainers are forced out of a regulated industry.
/
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/441048/greyhound-trainer-disqualified-fined-after-dog-tests-positive-for-meth
https://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/racing/300709615/greyhound-trainer-disqualified-after-dog-tests-positive-for-methamphetamine
https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/new-zealand/2022/08/two-trainers-banned-from-greyhound-racing-after-leaving-dogs-in-abhorrent-conditions.html
A regulated industry.
/
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/129906186/two-year-ban-for-tokoroa-greyhound-owner-who-used-human-drugs-to-treat-dog
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/488475/greyhound-racing-case-lengthy-ban-imposed-on-mother-and-daughter
I think you're rather over-egging the pudding here. I've suggested nothing like absolute chaos.
My statement was that if dog racing was banned, the *majority* of dogs would be put down immediately, but that there would be some which would go into illegal racing (as there is already illegal dog fighting)
You asked for evidence of the latter, and I gave you some (sorry if you don't like it – but people don't exactly line up to tell journalists about their illegal activity). Given that the SPCA and the police both think it's an issue, you might just accept that it goes on.
If you believe that current trainers/breeders exhibit lack of care for their dogs – then the outcome that I've suggested is even more likely – most dogs put down, some in illegal racing (and treated even worse than they are now).
If you think this is an acceptable short-term cost – then just state your position. But don't try to sell a proposal that all the dogs currently racing will be adopted by loving families (or some other rose-coloured glasses scenario).
That's not a good reason.
New Zealand culls thousands of calves and cows every day, the consequences of mechanised death industries we call meat. We calculate an entire economy on it. Doesn't make it something that's good. And of course it is reversible.
We just have to choose it.
Hmm, the problem is that while we can make individual choices, others in the country are equally free to do so.
You can choose to become vegetarian (or even vegan), but if your neighbour down the road (or overseas) still wants to eat meat and cheese, then the slaughter-houses remain.
You either have to accept that one person's veto over-rides another's choices; or be prepared to accept that other people's choices impact on your peace of mind.
You can, of course, try to influence the rest of the country to agree with your opinion. And … that's exactly what the anti-racing brigade are doing.
Part of that PR exercise, is an unwillingness to admit the immediate consequences of their proposed ban on racing.
It would be more honest to admit that the vast majority of dogs (and potentially horses) would be put down. And find a way to make that an acceptable cost of making the change.
"Liam Dann: With numbers this good, why does the economy feel so bad?" (Watch out Liam! The Herald will smack your hand for this column!)
A good question but the Opposition are feeding the feeling of doom.
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/liam-dann-with-numbers-this-good-why-does-the-economy-feel-so-bad/G3N6N6R4U5BZHFNUFCQF3D3IH4/
Check:
– Unemployment. Maori unemployment. The underemployed. Youth unemployed.
– Wage rises.
– Building consents
– Productivity
– International benchmarks of net debt
All of them really good. What we lack to sell the message is either a decent Minister of Economic Development (having fired Nash it's now Barbara Edmonds (who?)), or a Minister of Finance who actually wants the job (Grant Robertson with no current successor anywhere).
Labour don't even look like they have a message beyond "sausage rolls and bread and butter", let alone anyone trying to sell it.
If the stenographer from the Herald were to study the stats in detail they would have discovered a line called " Underemployment/Underutilisation " and that may help in their understanding of the employment market.
End March 2023:
9.0% average under employment/underutilisation
Male 7.3%
"Female" 10.9%
(female in brackets as chances are it includes unemployed males self identifying as 'women' and thus increase the stats for females and decrease them for males) I expect this to change a bit in the future once enough Transmen come of age and will start skewering the stats with their inclusion. As in the next generation of trans, the children that are now coming of age and start going to uni and work, and that cohort is greater female to male then male to female.
https://www.stats.govt.nz/indicators/underutilisation-rate/
If the Herald stenographer were to dig deeper in the government provided details they would have learned that there are 2000 more unemployed people. Can't see them being able to keep up with bill payments whilst on the dole.
Rf that person were to scroll a bit lower then they would see again the divide by sex (i am assuming here that they use sex based criteria, it might be by gender cause who knows, as it is all the same to government)
The seasonally adjusted number of unemployed people reached 102,000 (up 2,000).
most households in NZ need that second income to pay for bills.
to end this is also from the stats
In the March 2023 quarter, 22,000 more people were employed, taking the total number of employed people up to 2,886,000.
so despite more 'women' then men being employed 'female' underutilistion is up, and more 'women' were unemployed.
We can thus fairly safely stipulated that the employment for 'women' is part time, casual, seasonal, and thus increasing underutiliastion. Wants to work more hours then they have.
And again, we have no idea who many males self identifying as 'women' are in the stats for 'females' or 'women'. In essence, its made up shit, and actually unemployment – if we still count employed anyone who has a job for an hour a week, and thus are no more believable then they were under John Key.
Personally i think the underutilisation rate is a better measure to look at as to why the economy is in free fall, and inflation will continue to go up and bills will not get paid. And this would then also explain the increase in emergency benefits, and other 'side benefits' that are given to people who are in gainful employment but can't make ends meet.
But don't tell the stenographer from the Herald that, it might confuse them even further.
The method of measuring unemployment has been the same for a decade or so. To go for under-employment as proof of something Sabine, surely you would have to compare with underemployment in the previous 10 years or so.
Tthat is true, hence why i put in there that we have been doing unemployement stats like this since the changes were introduced and implemented under the reign of John Key. I.e. one hour per week paid/volunteer with benefits counts as 'employed', that 0 hour contracts still count somewhere in the stats as 'employed', hence why benefits seem to go up while unemployment goes down.
So yes, we could and maybe we should compare. And we could compare say the financial crisis, with todays financial crisis – Banks are failing in the US, quite a few actually, and eventually that too will travel around the planet as it always does.
But to the question raised by the person writing for the Herald 'as to why ' no one seems to be doing 'well' in a 'good' economy, i point to the other stats that point to a malaise generally, that while unemployment is 'low', is that 'under employment is not, and that some groups of people are more affected by that then others, and that that might add to that malaise of not being able to pay mortgages and bills.
It would equally interesting to know how many households are behind their mortgages – since when- how long – how much, and how many households are behind bills such as utilities, rates, – since when – how long – how much.
All really good interesting questions that an enterprising 'journalist' working for a national fishwrap could ask and investigate.
Dann's article is archived here, for those without Herald subscriptions
https://archive.ph/UApsD
The accompanying photo is an unfortunate stereotype, but I haven’t had my coffee yet, so I’m not 100% awake yet.
https://www.rnz.co.nz/national/programmes/ninetonoon/audio/2018888690/when-does-loving-care-become-overindulgence
I haven't been able to do wag jnrs maths homework since about year 7 so nailing that bit of parenting atleast!!
You're not meant to do your children's homework
Ha! I was told, very firmly, by my teen that I know nothing about maths, when I tried to help him with his trig homework (not do it for him, but help him work out where he'd got stuck). Am pretty sure that the interior angles of a triangle still add up to 180 degrees, just as they did when I was at school (and indeed since Thales, Pythagoras and Euclid codified the rules)
By letting kids solve their own problems means as adults they have learnt to survive with confidence. To jump in with answers to questions, or the tell them solutions to their problems is most unhelpful.
I agree. IMO, the emphasis should be on learning strategies to problem-solve rather than on finding the (only!) right/correct answer. The former teaches creativity and resilience, and sometimes teamwork, and the latter teaches binary outcomes such as correct-false (and fail-pass). Problem-solving is fun and the (correct) answer is just a bonus and icing on the cake, from a pedagogical perspective, IMHO.
Marc Daalder in Newsroom has penned his analysis of the Green Party and its ongoing identity crisis.
https://www.newsroom.co.nz/kerekere-gone-from-greens-but-identity-crisis-remains
Indeed, you would think that the Green Party would have figured out by now who they are and what they stand for. I recommend a short-course: Realpolitik-101.
It's a little too easy to blame EK for everything – she is an unsympathetic figure at the best of times – the perfect fall-person.
When you have Jeanette Fitzsimons expressing uncharacteristic overwhelming anger and disappointment it is fair to say Shaw had gone completely off the reservation. And he hasn't come back.
Who's blaming EK for everything? Not MD.
that's a very good read.
Useful to have an explanation of why the investigation was taking so long. And that Kerekere had agreed to the process last year.
https://i.stuff.co.nz/business/opinion-analysis/131919854/why-raising-gst-could-be-the-easiest-way-to-make-the-rich-pay-more-tax
Sounds like a plan , although I bet the average income earner that's not claiming any child support, or rent subsidie will cope most the pain
If the rich people are simply beneficiaries of their businesses then they will barely pay any GST as a good accountant will make sure that they don't.
Joe / Jane Six Pack will have no such luck, they buy their groceries and will pay what ever GST is in full with no refunds.
We should have learned that lesson when GST was increased under John Key.
read the article. He's saying increase GST, increase benefits, decrease tax on lower income earners. Basically low income people end up with net zero increase, but wealthy people pay more.
Every time a price goes up, GST goes up. This is saying that the increase in benefit – John Keys first year of reign saw a NZD 25 increase in benefits took care of the increased costs in goods via the GST increase from 12.5 % to 15%.
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/274358/welfare-increases-what-$25-buys-you#:~:text=Twenty%2Dfive%20dollars%20may%20seem,depending%20on%20who%20you%20ask.&text=The%20Government's%20Budget%20this%20week,have%20been%20increased%20since%201972.
I don't think that the math mathes well.
And the rich don't pay GST unless they have a really really shitty accountant. Hence why the rich currently actually are not that big a payer compared to others who can not write of costs of doing business, and who are not 'beneficiaries' trusts, businesses and .orgs.
I still think a 0 income tax rate for low incomes to be offset with a high income tax for incomes above a certain limit – i.e. as taxation in OZ is actually better, and then a low 'sales' tax as that is all GST is. It is a cut for the middle man called Government who actually is the biggest beneficiary of creeping price costs and inflation as their GST intake is increasing without ever having to announce a tax raise. Ka-ching.
But to believe that anyone else but the end consumer actually pays GST has not ever done a GST return.
This is stupid and wrong, and it seems the author has not actually read the IRD report.
One of the points in the original report, is that the wealthier you are, you pay proportionally less GST than poorer people (because poor people spend more of their money on goods subject to GST).
The High-Wealth Individuals Research Project report says this about the rich people in their study:
So the author proposes increasing the rate of a tax, which the wealthy pay very, very little of in any case….
do you think the figures in the article are wrong?
The problem is, the article doesn't even include the relevant figures. The idea suggested in the article is to increase tax on the rich by raising GST. Very strange starting point to choose a tax that is famously regressive (poor people pay more). They then consider raising GST from 15% to 20%, increasing tax revenue by $12.3b. The missing figure is how much of that 12.3b would be paid by the rich?
The article implies that the rich pay lots of GST ("Why GST? Because the one thing that unites the wealthy is that they love buying things…And GST taxes all of it. "). But the reality (confirmed by the IRD report) is that the rich pay very little GST. So the impact on the rich of increasing GST will be an increase in what is only a miniscule part of their total tax payments.
The article suggests trying to reduce the impact on ordinary people of the GST increase by applying other redistributive measures. Why not directly apply a redistributive measure to the problem instead – for example, a wealth tax?
thanks. And yes, a wealth tax seems a no brainer.
Maybe bling tax at 50% we could call it a carbon tax on excess behaviors!!
That's pretty much were we were with our sales tax and import duty regime before the Rogernomes came along with GST and open borders.
Not entirely sure I want to go back there, but it did make for a very different society to what we have now. There's a lot of aspects of that society that weren't that flash, but would be nice to get to something that had the good bits of then and now.
The capital controls that existed then would be too problematic for the existing paradigm…especially given our current preferred status within it.
Given how much GST can get written off as spurious "business" expenses now, wouldn't any increase just go unpaid as well? I asked Stubbs the same at his Simplicity road show a while back, and he agreed that the would have to be better regulation as well as.
Given that the IRD can't even manage to identify for tax purposes people who are clearly making a business out of house-flipping – it seems profoundly unlikely that they will do so for GST.
While the unregistered focus on the ability to claim back 15% of your expenses, you've also got to pay GST on your earnings. So effectively you pay 15% of your profit / drawings as GST, and that's before any Income Tax on the same profit. Even for small businesses that aren't making a huge profits, GST is brutal, your end of year tax might be quite modest and you're only paying 9%, but you've already paid 15% GST on those earnings.
And cunning plans to structure so you can claim the GST on your living expenses very quickly get IRD's interest, particularly if the amounts getting up there. Have a ex neighbour who just come a gutsa over a flash home stay / airbnb that was always booked out.
It is hardly brutal as the cost is borne not by the seller but by the buyer.
What you are suggesting is that the seller meets this cost – fuck off no they don't I do as the customer. In my view all GST should be automatically sent to IRD at the point of sale.
The same for PAYE and student loan repayments – that is my money, for my tax, not the business owners.
I'm sure with modern sophisticated systems GST being claimed by businesses could be automated at POS as well.
(Sorry, I couldn't enter text into the field when hitting reply)
I have read the article mentioned and linked to by Sanctuary (https://thestandard.org.nz/the-future-of-the-monarchy/#comment-1948501) and recommended also by SPC (https://thestandard.org.nz/the-future-of-the-monarchy/#comment-1948655). It is long and it is bleak. Personally, I found the last few paragraphs the most insightful.
https://www.palladiummag.com/2023/04/27/britain-is-dead/
The title speaks for itself.
Rats fleeing the sinking ship.
In the temporarily occupied Melitopol of the Zaporizhzhia region, Russian invaders are burning documents in sacks in the premises of the so-called police and taking away equipment from the occupation passport office. This was announced by the mayor of Melitopol, Ivan Fedorov.
“In Melitopol, the computers and servers of the occupation passport office took an indefinite leave,” the mayor wrote in his Telegram.
According to him, the occupiers are hastily packing the equipment and taking it in an unknown direction towards Russia. Some documents are burned to the ground.
“There is no less commotion in the building of the occupation military police – documents are burned in sacks all day,” Fedorov said.
https://glavcom-ua.translate.goog/country/incidents/u-melitopoli-okupanti-paljat-dokumenti-mishkami-mer-rozpoviv-pro-situatsiju-v-misti-925072.html?_x_tr_sl=auto&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en&_x_tr_pto=nui
(Fedorov elected mayor of Melitopol in 2020 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ivan_Fedorov_(politician) )
Here is a feel good story for a sunday evening.
I've just spent most of the day on my laptop and phone in contact with my business accountant, sorting year end stuff. No he's not charging extra.
Reason. He is taking his 12 staff and partners, minus children, to Fiji for 10 days on Wednesday. His staff had a confab and said to Lindsay how about we work the weekend and some late nights at no cost. So when we get back we won't have a deadline backup to work to.
What a stunning atmosphere that must be.
I've always mainly dealt with Lindsay as almost 30 years ago he hung out his shingle and I saw that, as a newly minted contractor and thought, I need one of those so I went and saw him. I was his first customer. Bloody cracking guy.
Meet Tommy Fitz.
While drinking, a Pilot bet he could land outside the bar, 2 hours later he touched down in central New York in a stolen aircraft. Years later he repeated the stunt because someone wouldn't believe him.
https://twitter.com/historyinmemes/status/1654244355673128960
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Fitzpatrick_(pilot)
The maddest pilot I ever heard of was the one who, in 1919, landed his plane on the roof of the 6 story Galerie Lafayette department store in Paris. The area he landed in was about 28m by 12m. Here is a film of the event.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YM3F9Xfllcw
The building is next to the Opera House. You can go up to the roof where there is a plaque celebrating the event.
Rural legend around these parts has an ex WW2 pilot dodging being caught yet again pissed in charge by winging it from his 40 acre town supply rehab dairy unit to the local airport in a Piper Cub, cabbing it to the pub and back, and then flying home, pissed, before dark.
The legend has it that the only time mum ever truly worried was when he'd been shifting electric fences.
Souvenir edition.