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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Buzz from the Beehive A few days ago, Point of Order suggested the media must be musing “on why Melissa is mute”. Our article reported that people working in the beleaguered media industry have cause to yearn for a minister as busy as Melissa Lee’s ministerial colleagues and we drew ...
1. What was The Curse of Jim Bolger?a. Winston Peters b. Soon after shaking his hand, world leaders would mysteriously lose office or shuffle off this mortal coilc. Could never shake off the Mother of All Budgetsd. Dandruff2. True or false? The Chairman of a Kiwi export business has asked the ...
Jack Vowles writes – New Zealand is said to be suffering from ‘serious populist discontent’. An IPSOS MORI survey has reported that we have an increasing preference for strong leaders, think that the economy is rigged toward the rich and powerful, and political elites are ignoring ‘hard-working people’. ...
Chris Trotter writes – MELISSA LEE should be deprived of her ministerial warrant. Her handling – or non-handling – of the crisis engulfing the New Zealand news media has been woeful. The fate of New Zealand’s two linear television networks, a question which the Minister of Broadcasting, Communications ...
TL;DR: The podcast above features co-hosts and , along with regular guests Robert Patman on Gaza and AUKUS II, and on climate change.The six things that mattered in Aotearoa’s political economy that we wrote and spoke about via The Kākā and elsewhere for paying subscribers in the ...
Policymakers rarely wish to make plain or visible their desire to dismantle environmental policy, least of all to the young. Photo: Lynn GrievesonTL;DR: Here’s the top five news items of note in climate news for Aotearoa-NZ this week, and a discussion above between Bernard Hickey and The Kākā’s climate correspondent ...
I like to keep an eye on what’s happening in places like the UK, the US, and over the ditch with our good mates the Aussies. Let’s call them AUKUS, for want of a better collective term. More on that in a bit.It used to be, not long ago, that ...
TL;DR: The global economy will be one fifth smaller than it would have otherwise been in 2050 as a result of climate damage, according to a new study by the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK) and published in the journal Nature. (See more detail and analysis below, and ...
New Zealand is said to be suffering from ‘serious populist discontent’. An IPSOS MORI survey has reported that we have an increasing preference for strong leaders, think that the economy is rigged toward the rich and powerful, and political elites are ignoring ‘hard-working people’. The data is from February this ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters is understood to be planning a major speech within the next fortnight to clear up the confusion over whether or not New Zealand might join the AUKUS submarine project. So far, there have been conflicting signals from the Government. RNZ reported the Prime Minister yesterday in ...
Life throws curveballs, and sometimes, those curveballs necessitate wiping your iPhone clean and starting anew. Whether you’re facing persistent software glitches, preparing to sell your device, or simply wanting a fresh start, knowing how to factory reset iPhone without a computer is a valuable skill. While using a computer with ...
Gone are the days when communication was limited to landline phones and physical proximity. Today, computers have become powerful tools for connecting with people across the globe through voice and video calls. But with a plethora of applications and methods available, how to call someone on a computer might seem ...
Open access notables Glacial isostatic adjustment reduces past and future Arctic subsea permafrost, Creel et al., Nature Communications:Sea-level rise submerges terrestrial permafrost in the Arctic, turning it into subsea permafrost. Subsea permafrost underlies ~ 1.8 million km2 of Arctic continental shelf, with thicknesses in places exceeding 700 m. Sea-level variations over glacial-interglacial cycles control ...
The operating system (OS) is the heart and soul of a computer, orchestrating every action and interaction between hardware and software. But have you ever wondered where on a computer is the operating system generally stored? The answer lies in the intricate dance between hardware and software components, particularly within ...
Laptops have become essential tools for work, entertainment, and communication, offering portability and functionality. However, with rising energy costs and growing environmental concerns, understanding a laptop’s power consumption is more important than ever. So, how many watts does a laptop use? The answer, unfortunately, isn’t straightforward. It depends on several ...
Screen recording has become an essential tool for various purposes, such as creating tutorials, capturing gameplay footage, recording online meetings, or sharing information with others. Fortunately, Dell laptops offer several built-in and external options for screen recording, catering to different needs and preferences. This guide will explore various methods on ...
A cracked or damaged laptop screen can be a frustrating experience, impacting productivity and enjoyment. Fortunately, laptop screen repair is a common service offered by various repair shops and technicians. However, the cost of fixing a laptop screen can vary significantly depending on several factors. This article delves into the ...
Gaming laptops represent a significant investment for passionate gamers, offering portability and powerful performance for immersive gaming experiences. However, a common concern among potential buyers is their lifespan. Unlike desktop PCs, which allow for easier component upgrades, gaming laptops have inherent limitations due to their compact and integrated design. This ...
The annual inventory report of New Zealand's greenhouse gas emissions has been released, showing that gross emissions have dropped for the third year in a row, to 78.4 million tons: All-told gross emissions have decreased by over 6 million tons since the Zero Carbon Act was passed in 2019. ...
Experiencing a locked computer can be frustrating, especially when you need access to your files and applications urgently. The methods to unlock your computer will vary depending on the specific situation and the type of lock you encounter. This guide will explore various scenarios and provide step-by-step instructions on how ...
While the world has largely transitioned to digital communication, faxing still holds relevance in certain industries and situations. Fortunately, gone are the days of bulky fax machines and dedicated phone lines. Today, you can easily send and receive faxes directly from your computer, offering a convenient and efficient way to ...
In our increasingly digital world, home computers have become essential tools for work, communication, entertainment, and more. However, this increased reliance on technology also exposes us to various cyber threats. Understanding these threats and taking proactive steps to protect your home computer is crucial for safeguarding your personal information, finances, ...
In the ever-evolving world of technology, server-based computing has emerged as a cornerstone of modern digital infrastructure. This article delves into the concept of server-based computing, exploring its various forms, benefits, challenges, and its impact on the way we work and interact with technology. Understanding Server-Based Computing: At its core, ...
The absolute brass neck of this guy.We want more medical doctors, not more spin doctors, Luxon was saying a couple of weeks ago, and now we’re told the guy has seven salaried adults on TikTok duty. Sorry, doing social media. The absolute brass neck of it. The irony that the ...
Buzz from the Beehive Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones relishes spatting and eagerly takes issue with environmentalists who criticise his enthusiasm for resource development. He relishes helping the fishing industry too. And so today, while the media are making much of the latest culling in the public service to ...
Having written, taught and worked for the US government on issues involving unconventional warfare and terrorism for 30-odd years, two things irritate me the most when the subject is discussed in public. The first is the Johnny-come-lately academics-turned-media commentators who … Continue reading → ...
Eric Crampton writes – Kainga Ora is the government’s house building agency. It’s been building a lot of social housing. Kainga Ora has its own (but independent) consenting authority, Consentium. It’s a neat idea. Rather than have to deal with building consents across each different territorial authority, Kainga Ora ...
Muriel Newman writes – The Coalition Government says it is moving with speed to deliver campaign promises and reverse the damage done by Labour. One of their key commitments is to “defend the principle that New Zealanders are equal before the law.” To achieve this, they have pledged they “will not advance ...
Chris Trotter writes – The absence of anything resembling a fightback from the public servants currently losing their jobs is interesting. State-sector workers’ collective fatalism in the face of Coalition cutbacks indicates a surprisingly broad acceptance of impermanence in the workplace. Fifty years ago, lay-offs in the thousands ...
Mariupol, on the Azov Sea coast, was one of the first cities to suffer almost complete destruction after the start of the Ukraine War started in late February 2022. We remember the scenes of absolute destruction of the houses and city structures. The deaths of innocent civilians – many of ...
Lindsay Mitchell writes – Ten years ago, I wrote the following in a Listener column: Every year around one in five new-born babies will be reliant on their caregivers benefit by Christmas. This pattern has persisted from at least 1993. For Maori the number jumps to over one in three. ...
Climate change is expected to generate more and more extreme events, delivering a sort of structural shock to inflation that central banks will have to react to as if they were short-term cyclical issues. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāMy pick of the six newsey things to know from Aotearoa’s ...
It’s a simple deal. We pay taxes in order to finance the social services we want and need. The carnage now occurring across the public sector though, is breaking that contract. Over 3,000 jobs have been lost so far. Many are in crucial areas like Education where the impact of ...
Hi,A friend had their 40th over the weekend and decided to theme it after Curb Your Enthusiasm fashion icon Susie Greene. Captured in my tiny kitchen before I left the house, I ending up evoking a mix of old lesbian and Hillary Clinton — both unintentional.Me vs Hillary ClintonIf you’re ...
This is a re-post from Andrew Dessler at the Climate Brink blogIn 2023, the Earth reached temperature levels unprecedented in modern times. Given that, it’s reasonable to ask: What’s going on? There’s been lots of discussions by scientists about whether this is just the normal progression of global warming or if something ...
The schools are on holiday and the sun is shining in the seaside village and all day long I have been seeing bunches of bikes; Mums, Dads, teens and toddlers chattering, laughing, happy, having a bloody great time together. Cheers, AT, for the bits of lane you’ve added lately around the ...
Today in our National-led authoritarian nightmare: Shane Jones thinks Ministers should be above the law: New Zealand First MP Shane Jones is accusing the Waitangi Tribunal of over-stepping its mandate by subpoenaing a minister for its urgent hearing on the Oranga Tamariki claim. The tribunal is looking into the ...
Bryce Edwards writes – Politicians across the political spectrum are implicated in the New Zealand media’s failing health. Either through neglect or incompetent interventions, successive governments have failed to regulate, foster, and allow a healthy Fourth Estate that can adequately hold politicians and the powerful to account. ...
Citizen Science writes – Last week saw two significant developments in the debate over the treatment of trans-identifying children and young people – the release in Britain of the final report of Dr Hilary Cass’s review into gender healthcare, and here in New Zealand, the news that the ...
One night while sleeping in my bed I had a beautiful dreamThat all the people of the world got together on the same wavelengthAnd began helping one anotherNow in this dream, universal love was the theme of the dayPeace and understanding and it happened this wayAfter such an eventful day ...
This is a guest post by Oscar Simms who is a housing activist, volunteer for the Coalition for More Homes, and was the Labour Party candidate for Auckland Central at the last election. ...
Turning what Labour called the “holiday highway” into a four-lane expressway from Auckland to Whangarei could bring at least an economic benefit of nearly two billion a year for Northland each year. And it could help bring an end to poverty in one of New Zealand’s most deprived regions. The ...
Tonight’s six-stack includes: launching his substack with a bunch of his previous documentaries, including this 1992 interview with Dame Whina Cooper. and here crew give climate activists plenty to do, including this call to submit against the Fast Track Approvals bill. writes brilliantly here on his substack ...
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 ...
You're in the mall when you hear it: some kind of popping sound in the distance, kids with fireworks, maybe. But then a moment of eerie stillness is followed by more of the fireworks sound and there’s also screaming and shrieking and now here come people running for their lives.Does ...
Karl du Fresne writes – There’s a crisis in the news media and the media are blaming it on everyone except themselves. Culpability is being deflected elsewhere – mainly to the hapless Minister of Communications, Melissa Lee, and the big social media platforms that are accused of hoovering ...
I don’t normally send out two newsletters in a day but I figured I’d say something about… the news. If two newsletters is a bit much then maybe just skip one, I don’t want to overload people. Alternatively if you’d be interested in sometimes receiving multiple, smaller updates from me, ...
Buzz from the Beehive David Seymour and Winston Peters today signalled that at least two ministers of the Crown might be in Wellington today. Seymour (as Associate Minister of Education) announced the removal of more red tape, this time to make it easier for new early learning services to be ...
Politicians across the political spectrum are implicated in the New Zealand media’s failing health. Either through neglect or incompetent interventions, successive governments have failed to regulate, foster, and allow a healthy Fourth Estate that can adequately hold politicians and the powerful to account. Our political system is suffering from the ...
David Farrar writes – The Broadcasting Standards Authority ruled: Comments by radio host Kate Hawkesby suggesting Māori and Pacific patients were being prioritised for surgery due to their ethnicity were misleading and discriminatory, the Broadcasting Standards Authority has found. It is a fact such patients are prioritised. ...
PRC and its proxies in Solomons have been preparing for these elections for a long time.A lot of money, effort and intelligence have gone into ensuring an outcome that won’t compromise Beijing’s plans. Cleo Paskall writes – On April 17th the Solomon Islands, a country of ...
Is speeding up the trip to and from Wellington airport by 12 minutes worth spending up more than $10 billion? Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The six news items that stood out to me in the last day to 8:26 am today are:The Lead: Transport Minister Simeon Brownannounced ...
You're a fraud, and you know itBut it's too good to throw it all awayAnyone would do the sameYou've got 'em goingAnd you're careful not to show itSometimes you even fool yourself a bitIt's like magicBut it's always been a smoke and mirrors gameAnyone would do the sameForty six billion ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections The June general election in Mexico could mark a turning point in ensuring that the country’s climate policies better reflect the desire of its citizens to address the climate crisis, with both leading presidential candidates expressing support for renewable energy. Mexico is the ...
2024, it feels, keeps presenting us with ever more challenges, ever more dismay.Do you give up yet? It seems to ask.No? How about this? Or this?How about this?When I say 2024 I really mean the state of humanity in 2024.Saturday night, we watched Civil War because that is one terrifying cliff we've ...
Buzz from the Beehive A pet project and governmental tunnel vision jump out from the latest batch of ministerial announcements. The government is keen to assure us of its concern for the wellbeing of our pets. It will be introducing pet bonds in a change to the Residential Tenancies Act ...
A recent report generated from a Growing Up in New Zealand (GUiNZ) survey of 1,224 rangatahi Māori aged 11-12 found: Cultural connectedness was associated with fewer depression symptoms, anxiety symptoms and better quality of life. That sounds cut and dry. But further into the report the following appears: Cultural connectedness is ...
David Farrar writes – The Herald reports: From the gory details of job-cuts news, you’d think the public service was being eviscerated. While the media’s view of the cuts is incomplete, it’s also true that departments have been leaking the particulars faster than a Wellington ...
Remember the good old days, back when New Zealand had a PM who could think and speak calmly and intelligently in whole sentences without blustering? Even while Iran’s drones and missiles were still being launched, Helen Clark was live on TVNZ expertly summing up the latest crisis in the Middle ...
Costello did not pass on analysis of the benefits of the smokefree reforms to Cabinet, emphasising instead the extra tax revenues of repealing them. Photo: Hagen Hopkins, Getty Images TL;DR: The six news items that stood out to me at 7:26 am today are:The Lead: Casey Costello never passed on ...
True loveYou're the one I'm dreaming ofYour heart fits me like a gloveAnd I'm gonna be true blueBaby, I love youI’ve written about the job cuts in our news media last week. The impact on individuals, and the loss to Aotearoa of voices covering our news from different angles.That by ...
While commentators, including former Prime Minister Helen Clark, are noting a subtle shift in New Zealand’s foreign policy, which now places more emphasis on the United States, many have missed a key element of the shift. What National said before the election is not what the government is doing now. ...
A listing of 31 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, April 7, 2024 thru Sat, April 13, 2024. Story of the week Our story of the week is about adults in the room setting terms and conditions of ...
The Green Party has joined the call for public submissions on the fast-track legislation to be extended after the Ombudsman forced the Government to release the list of organisations invited to apply just hours before submissions close. ...
New Zealand’s good work at reducing climate emissions for three years in a row will be undone by the National government’s lack of ambition and scrapping programmes that were making a difference, Labour Party climate spokesperson Megan Woods said today. ...
More essential jobs could be on the chopping block, this time Ministry of Education staff on the school lunches team are set to find out whether they're in line to lose their jobs. ...
The Government is trying to bring in a law that will allow Ministers to cut corners and kill off native species, Labour environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said. ...
Cancelling urgently needed new Cook Strait ferries and hiking the cost of public transport for many Kiwis so that National can announce the prospect of another tunnel for Wellington is not making good choices, Labour Transport Spokesperson Tangi Utikere said. ...
A laundry list of additional costs for Tāmaki Makarau Auckland shows the Minister for the city is not delivering for the people who live there, says Labour Auckland Issues spokesperson Shanan Halbert. ...
The Green Party has today launched a step-by-step guide to help New Zealanders make their voice heard on the Government’s democracy dodging and anti-environment fast track legislation. ...
The National Government’s proposed changes to the Residential Tenancies Act will mean tenants can be turfed from their homes by landlords with little notice, Labour housing spokesperson Kieran McAnulty said. ...
Green Party co-leader Marama Davidson is calling on all parties to support a common-sense change that’s great for the planet and great for consumers after her member’s bill was drawn from the ballot today. ...
A significant milestone has been reached in the fight to strike an anti-Pasifika and unfair law from the country’s books after Teanau Tuiono’s members’ bill passed its first reading. ...
New Zealand has today missed the opportunity to uphold the right to a clean, healthy, and sustainable environment, says James Shaw after his member’s bill was voted down in its first reading. ...
Today’s advice from the Climate Change Commission paints a sobering reality of the challenge we face in combating climate change, especially in light of recent Government policy announcements. ...
Minister for Disability Issues Penny Simmonds appears to have delayed a report back to Cabinet on the progress New Zealand is making against international obligations for disabled New Zealanders. ...
The Government’s newly announced review of methane emissions reduction targets hints at its desire to delay Aotearoa New Zealand’s urgent transition to a climate safe future, the Green Party said. ...
The Government must commit to the Maitai School building project for students with high and complex needs, to ensure disabled students from the top of the South Island have somewhere to learn. ...
Mental Health Minister Matt Doocey and his Government colleagues have made a meal of their mental health commitments, showing how flimsy their efforts to champion the issue truly are, says Labour Mental Health spokesperson Ingrid Leary. ...
Māori are yet to see anything from this Government except cuts, reversals and taking our people backwards, Māori Development spokesperson Willie Jackson said. ...
The Coalition Government’s refusal to commit to ongoing funding for social housing is seeing the sector pull back on developments and families watch their dreams of securing a home fade away, says Labour Housing spokesperson Kieran McAnulty. ...
Changes to minimum wage and benefit indexation means many New Zealanders will get less this year, as the Government gives a big tax break to landlords instead. ...
New Zealand is demonstrating its commitment to reducing global greenhouse emissions, and supporting clean energy transition in South East Asia, through a contribution of NZ$41 million (US$25 million) in climate finance to the Asian Development Bank (ADB)-led Energy Transition Mechanism (ETM). Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Climate Change Minister Simon Watts announced ...
The Government is today releasing a list of organisations who received letters about the Fast-track applications process, says RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop. “Recently Ministers and agencies have received a series of OIA requests for a list of organisations to whom I wrote with information on applying to have a ...
Attorney-General Judith Collins today announced the appointment of Wellington Barrister David Jonathan Boldt as a Judge of the High Court, and the Honourable Justice Matthew Palmer as a Judge of the Court of Appeal. Justice Boldt graduated with an LLB from Victoria University of Wellington in 1990, and also holds ...
Education Minister Erica Stanford will lead the New Zealand delegation at the 2024 International Summit on the Teaching Profession (ISTP) held in Singapore. The delegation includes representatives from the Post Primary Teachers’ Association (PPTA) Te Wehengarua and the New Zealand Educational Institute (NZEI) Te Riu Roa. The summit is co-hosted ...
A stopbank upgrade project in Tairawhiti partly funded by the Government has increased flood resilience for around 7000ha of residential and horticultural land so far, Regional Development Minister Shane Jones says. Mr Jones today attended a dawn service in Gisborne to mark the end of the first stage of the ...
Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters will represent the Government at Anzac Day commemorations on the Gallipoli Peninsula next week and engage with senior representatives of the Turkish government in Istanbul. “The Gallipoli campaign is a defining event in our history. It will be a privilege to share the occasion ...
Science, Innovation and Technology and Defence Minister Judith Collins will next week attend the OECD Science and Technology Ministerial conference in Paris and Anzac Day commemorations in Belgium. “Science, innovation and technology have a major role to play in rebuilding our economy and achieving better health, environmental and social outcomes ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon held a bilateral meeting today with the President of the Philippines, Ferdinand Marcos Jr. The Prime Minister was accompanied by MP Paulo Garcia, the first Filipino to be elected to a legislature outside the Philippines. During today’s meeting, Prime Minister Luxon and President Marcos Jr discussed opportunities to ...
The Government has announced that $20 million in funding will be made available to Westport to fund much needed flood protection around the town. This measure will significantly improve the resilience of the community, says Local Government Minister Simeon Brown. “The Westport community has already been allocated almost $3 million ...
The Government is proud to support the first ever Repco Supercars Championship event in Taupō as up to 70,000 motorsport fans attend the Taupō International Motorsport Park this weekend, says Economic Development Minister Melissa Lee. “Anticipation for the ITM Taupō Super400 is huge, with tickets and accommodation selling out weeks ...
Local Government Minister Simeon Brown has announced an increase to the Rates Rebate Scheme, putting money back into the pockets of low-income homeowners. “The coalition Government is committed to bringing down the cost of living for New Zealanders. That includes targeted support for those Kiwis who are doing things tough, such ...
The Coalition Government is investing in a project to boost survival rates of New Zealand mussels and grow the industry, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones has announced. “This project seeks to increase the resilience of our mussels and significantly boost the sector’s productivity,” Mr Jones says. “The project - ...
Benefit figures released today underscore the importance of the Government’s plan to rebuild the economy and have 50,000 fewer people on Jobseeker Support, Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston says. “Benefit numbers are still significantly higher than when National was last in government, when there was about 70,000 fewer ...
The Government’s commitment to doubling New Zealand’s renewable energy capacity is backed by new data showing that clean energy has helped the country reach its lowest annual gross emissions since 1999, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. New Zealand’s latest Greenhouse Gas Inventory (1990-2022) published today, shows gross emissions fell ...
The Government is bringing the earthquake-prone building review forward, with work to start immediately, and extending the deadline for remediations by four years, Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk says. “Our Government is focused on rebuilding the economy. A key part of our plan is to cut red tape that ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and his Thai counterpart, Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin, have today agreed that New Zealand and the Kingdom of Thailand will upgrade the bilateral relationship to a Strategic Partnership by 2026. “New Zealand and Thailand have a lot to offer each other. We have a strong mutual desire to build ...
RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop and Transport Minister Simeon Brown have today announced the Coalition Government’s intention to extend port coastal permits for a further 20 years, providing port operators with certainty to continue their operations. “The introduction of the Resource Management Act in 1991 required ports to obtain coastal ...
Today’s announcement that inflation is down to 4 per cent is encouraging news for Kiwis, but there is more work to be done - underlining the importance of the Government’s plan to get the economy back on track, acting Finance Minister Chris Bishop says. “Inflation is now at 4 per ...
Refreshed health guidance released today will help parents and schools make informed decisions about whether their child needs to be in school, addressing one of the key issues affecting school attendance, says Associate Education Minister David Seymour. In recent years, consistently across all school terms, short-term illness or medical reasons ...
Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones is streamlining high-level oceans management while maintaining a focus on supporting the sector’s role in the export-led recovery of the economy. “I am working to realise the untapped potential of our fishing and aquaculture sector. To achieve that we need to be smarter with ...
Associate Agriculture Minister Mark Patterson is speaking at the International Wool Textile Organisation Congress in Adelaide, promoting New Zealand wool, and outlining the coalition Government’s support for the revitalisation the sector. "New Zealand’s wool exports reached $400 million in the year to 30 June 2023, and the coalition Government ...
The Government is making legislative changes to make it easier for new early learning services to be established, and for existing services to operate, Associate Education Minister David Seymour says. The changes involve repealing the network approval provisions that apply when someone wants to establish a new early learning service, ...
Changes to the Resource Management Act will align consenting for coal mining to other forms of mining to reduce barriers that are holding back economic development, Resources Minister Shane Jones says. “The inconsistent treatment of coal mining compared with other extractive activities is burdensome red tape that fails to acknowledge ...
Trade, Agriculture and Forestry Minister Todd McClay has concluded productive discussions with ministerial counterparts in Beijing today, in support of the New Zealand-China trade and economic relationship. “My meeting with Commerce Minister Wang Wentao reaffirmed the complementary nature of the bilateral trade relationship, with our Free Trade Agreement at its ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon today paid tribute to Singapore’s outgoing Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong. Meeting in Singapore today immediately before Prime Minister Lee announced he was stepping down, Prime Minister Luxon warmly acknowledged his counterpart’s almost twenty years as leader, and the enduring legacy he has left for Singapore and South East ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon held a bilateral meeting today with Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong. While in Singapore as part of his visit to South East Asia this week, Prime Minister Luxon also met with Singapore President Tharman Shanmugaratnam and will meet with Deputy Prime Minister Lawrence Wong. During today’s meeting, Prime Minister Luxon ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has made further appointments to the Board of Antarctica New Zealand as part of a continued effort to ensure the Scott Base Redevelopment project is delivered in a cost-effective and efficient manner. The Minister has appointed Neville Harris as a new member of the Board. Mr ...
Finance Minister Nicola Willis will travel to the United States on Tuesday to attend a meeting of the Five Finance Ministers group, with counterparts from Australia, the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom. “I am looking forward to meeting with our Five Finance partners on how we can work ...
The coalition Government has today announced purrfect and pawsitive changes to the Residential Tenancies Act to give tenants with pets greater choice when looking for a rental property, says Housing Minister Chris Bishop. “Pets are important members of many Kiwi families. It’s estimated that around 64 per cent of New ...
State Highway 1 (SH1) through Wellington City is heavily congested at peak times and while planning continues on the duplicate Mt Victoria Tunnel and Basin Reserve project, the Government has also asked NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) to consider and provide advice on a Long Tunnel option, Transport Minister Simeon Brown ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Foreign Minister Winston Peters have condemned Iran’s shocking and illegal strikes against Israel. “These attacks are a major challenge to peace and stability in a region already under enormous pressure," Mr Luxon says. "We are deeply concerned that miscalculation on any side could ...
Hundreds of people in little over a week have turned out in Northland to hear Regional Development Minister Shane Jones speak about plans for boosting the regional economy through infrastructure. About 200 people from the infrastructure and associated sectors attended an event headlined by Mr Jones in Whangarei today. Last ...
Health Minister Dr Shane Reti has today thanked outgoing Health New Zealand – Te Whatu Ora Chair Dame Karen Poutasi for her service on the Board. “Dame Karen tendered her resignation as Chair and as a member of the Board today,” says Dr Reti. “I have asked her to ...
The NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) has signalled their proposed delivery approach for the Government’s 15 Roads of National Significance (RoNS), with the release of the State Highway Investment Proposal (SHIP) today, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Boosting economic growth and productivity is a key part of the Government’s plan to ...
New Zealand is renewing its connections with a world facing urgent challenges by pursuing an active, energetic foreign policy, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says. “Our country faces the most unstable global environment in decades,” Mr Peters says at the conclusion of two weeks of engagements in Egypt, Europe and the United States. “We cannot afford to sit back in splendid ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has announced the Australian Governor-General, His Excellency General The Honourable David Hurley and his wife Her Excellency Mrs Linda Hurley, will make a State visit to New Zealand from Tuesday 16 April to Thursday 18 April. The visit reciprocates the State visit of former Governor-General Dame Patsy Reddy ...
Associate Health Minister David Seymour has announced that Medsafe has approved 11 cold and flu medicines containing pseudoephedrine. Pharmaceutical suppliers have indicated they may be able to supply the first products in June. “This is much earlier than the original expectation of medicines being available by 2025. The Government recognised ...
New Zealand and the United States have recommitted to their strategic partnership in Washington DC today, pledging to work ever more closely together in support of shared values and interests, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says. “The strategic environment that New Zealand and the United States face is considerably more ...
April 11, 2024 Joint Declaration by United States Secretary of State the Honorable Antony J. Blinken and New Zealand Minister of Foreign Affairs the Right Honourable Winston Peters We met today in Washington, D.C. to recommit to the historic partnership between our two countries and the principles that underpin it—rule ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has announced further New Zealand cooperation with the United States in the Pacific Islands region through $16.4 million in funding for initiatives in digital connectivity and oceans and fisheries research. “New Zealand can achieve more in the Pacific if we work together more urgently and ...
COMMENTARY:By Eugene Doyle Helen Clark, how I miss you. The former New Zealand Prime Minister — the safest pair of hands this country has had in living memory — gave a masterclass on the importance of maintaining an independent foreign policy when she spoke at an AUKUS symposium held ...
The government's released the list of organisations provided with information on how to apply - just hours before public submissions on the bill close. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Milton Speer, Visiting Fellow, School of Mathematical and Physical Sciences, University of Technology Sydney Before climate change really got going, eastern Australia’s flash floods tended to concentrate on our coastal regions, east of the Great Dividing Range. But that’s changing. Now ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Elizabeth Finkel, Vice-Chancellor’s Fellow, La Trobe University Sia Duff / South Australian Museum In February, the South Australian Museum “re-imagined” itself. In the face of rising costs and inadequate government funds, CEO David Gaimster, who took the reins last June, declared ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Alan Pearce, Professor, School of Allied Heath, Human Services & Sport, La Trobe University, La Trobe University This week, Collingwood AFL player Nathan Murphy announced his retirement, brought on by his concussion history and ongoing issues. The 24-year-old’s seemingly sudden retirement, ...
The Mental Health Foundation provides support and resources for those facing the loss of their job, so it’s wrong in the very week the Government adds another 1000 jobs to its tally of cuts, that this is happening. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Alexander Howard, Senior Lecturer, Discipline of English and Writing, University of Sydney Daniel Boud/Sydney Theatre Company Decay, terror, revulsion. These are three of the central themes of Thomas Bernhard’s rarely performed play The President. The Austrian is one of the greatest ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ye In (Jane) Hwang, Postdoctoral Research Associate at School of Population Health, UNSW Sydney Shutterstock You’d be hard pressed to find any aspect of daily life that doesn’t require some form of digital literacy. We need only to look back ten ...
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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.