If you are at a loss for things to do today, or rather, things to watch, you might enjoy this short-film (15 mins) made about our forest-garden here in Riverton, by Happen Films. It's a 5-year-on follow-up to "An invitation for wildness", called, "Growing wild together" 🙂 It was released yesterday and has already attracted over 11,000 views, so we are very pleased.
Love that you and the food forest are getting older and wilder together 🙂
And was happy to recognise so many food plants (though yours are conspicuously larger and healthier than mine!).
My Mum is one of those keen gardeners – and we are sadly resigned to her garden going when she dies. The land (inner suburb of Auckland) is just too valuable – and there's no way that I could afford to buy it. She has huge oak trees – and growing natives – but I lack your optimism about developers *not* wanting to knock them down, and cram 42 townhouses on the site (exaggeration for effect!)
Do you compost? (and this wasn't covered here) – or just slash and tread down unwanted or over-exuberant plants?
The "developers" comments were tongue in cheek, but really, I believe that in just a few short years time, cutting down trees will be socially unacceptable. I'm getting mine in the soil in preparation for that time (grand parenting 🙂
I haven't composted for many years, doing just as you describe: prune and let lie. Recently though, since I got enthusiastic about the big tunnelhouse, I've been enthusiastically composting everything I can get my hands on with the intention of creating a rich faux-jungle floor in there, to support the bananas, ginger, canna etc. – it's a fancy really, but fun and funny. I scrounge materials from everywhere I can; coffee grounds by the sack from a local cafe, Shetland pony poo from the wee family down the road, seaweed when we walk on the beach, spoiled fruit from the co-op (I have so many avocado sprouting in there, it's not funny (it actually is). I've created worm-farms in there also; piles of autumn leaves and pony poo, "seeded" with tiger-worms from the environment centres worm-farm-in-a-bath-tub and they are loving it! I expect they'll turn the rougher stuff; corn husks, egg shells etc. into wonderful, nutritious soil in which my heat-loving plants will achieve enormous proportions. I've calla lilies in there now with leaves the size of taro leaves! I shouldn't be going for "huge", but I am 🙂
Damien Venuto's piece in the Herald is a tour de force of an echo chamber media circle jerk. MZME opinion piece about an NZME opinion podcast where one opinionated NZME journalist interviewed another NZME journalist for her opinion about the bile spewed at the PM largely by – you guessed it – the opinions of NZME broadcasters.
Its generic across all tech stocks,that the stock price reverts to its fundamental earnings (and its ability to both constrain debt and pay debt) The tech expansion on unsustainable credit (QE) has moved to its limit and will now contract to what they earn.
With global liquidity to shrink over the next 18 months due to QT,and additional free capital flowing to safe have ( government bonds etc) tech will need to sell more then its next "app",and will also impact meem and ESG funds.
China has attacked a Aussie plane. At least that's what I would call it. I have been thinking about China and I'm wondering if they have taken internal dissent into consideration. There's Hong Kong. There's the supressed democracy movement in mainland China. And what of all the suppressed religions? When better to start a uprising should the country be focused on war with Taiwan and the West?
I know, Audrey Young – so automatically dismissed by a die-hard loyalist group here. But, where are the left-wing journalists in covering this issue?
Having read this, it looks as though Labour squeak through the accusation of 'corrupt process' but it was clearly highly manipulative, and absolutely designed to get rid of Wall and parachute Williams into a safe seat. Louisa was shafted by her party leadership.
The 'lie' that Wall lost the support of her electorate, promulgated by Mike Williams, is clearly debunked.
The 'old' (i.e. existing) electorate committee supported Wall. There was an argument that this didn't reflect the 'new' electorate members – recruited and loyal to Dunwoodie (who'd returned from Wellington specifically to continue his campaign to unseat Wall – been trying since George Hawkins retired).
Labour could have required a new selection of representatives from the local electorate committee- given that they delayed the selection specifically to address the issues raised — but didn't. Instead they refused to allow any of the local electorate reps to vote. Leaving 2 votes from the floor, and 3 from Labour head office.
Williams had zip in the way of local support.
Clearly Labour either wanted Williams in parliament, regardless. Or realised that unseating Wall in favour of a white Christian male (Dunwoodie) would have been several bridges too far, for their political base, and especially for the Maori caucus.
Look forward to a response to the actual content – rather than deflection. Ohhh look a squirrel!
Or, perhaps you're agreeing with Gypsy – and it's just political corruption as usual, both parties do it…..
I've met, and liked Louisa Wall. I felt that she was a unique and vibrant voice in parliament – and am always predisposed to like another 'stroppy Sheila' 😉
I didn't agree with everything she said, but she had the passion of her convictions, and an unusual ability to build consensus across parties in pursuit of her goals.
She did not deserve to be treated this way – and it's a mark against the Labour party.
When I think of the outrage which was poured out here on TS yesterday over the 'bullying' of Curran, I find those voices conspicuously silent on Wall.
Gypsy, what can be done to keep "Dirt. Manipulation. Dishonesty." out of Kiwi politics, if, like me, that is indeed what you want? May seem hopeless, but easier surely than reversing global warming.
Forget Luxon's National, it's ACT which is set to make an impact
[22 May 2022]
However, and here dear reader is the point of this column, do not underestimate the desire of the MP for Epsom and his colleagues to reshape Aotearoa. They, unlike many in the National front bench, did not join politics to accumulate air points and attend state dinners in Washington DC.
They want to tear apart the sclerotic non-performing civil service, they want to bring market discipline to our failing health and education sectors, they want to end the soft corruption of corporate welfare and, most of all, they want New Zealand to be wealthy, to be free, and to be successful.
I'm not optimistic that Nat party MPs and insiders can model good behaviour. Hope springs eternal, but they have shown so very little promise.
Maybe Luxon can make a clean break from the Key / Ede / Collins / Slater legacy of Dirty Politics – it's a substantial legacy, from Todd Baclay and Jami-Lee Ross on, and a break is overdue – time will tell.
Luxon may be a different individual, but even if he is, politics is a cess pit, and the sewage eventually rubs off. It's what makes observing so fascinating, in a perverse kind of way.
As long as I have been following politics (since the late 1970's) there has been an element of this, because power corrupts. But it seems to be getting incrementally worse. I have a passing involvement with local politics in Auckland and it's a thoroughly toxic environment, in fact it got so ludicrous the left are now attacking their own.
Interesting observation – any idea what's driving that trend? Your insights might contribute to slowing a descent into the cesspit.
The Nat's Dirty Politics initiative didn't help – has anyone on the political right repudiated that deliberate and well-resourced political obscenity? Why is it some of our political representatives think it's OK to model this sort of behaviour? Are they simply rotten eggs?
Maybe that's the pronlem – some politicians have no sense of shame. I'm irrationally hopeful that Luxon will be the one to lift the lid on the Nat's cesspit and drag his rotten eggs into the light.
This is man’s highest end, to others’ service, all his powers to bend. – Sophocles
Joy can be real only if people look on their life as a service, and have a definite object in life outside themselves and their personal happiness. – Leo Tolstoy
The high destiny of the individual is to serve rather than to rule. – Albert Einstein
"The Nat's Dirty Politics initiative didn't help – has anyone on the political right repudiated that deliberate and well-resourced political obscenity? "
You mean admit they were actually wrong? I doubt it. The Nats dirty politics 'initiative' was only unusual in that it appears to have been carefully orchestrated. The best thing to happen to the right was that it was outed.
"What's driving this apparent trend? Would've thought Dirty Politics was about as low as Kiwi politicians could go, but maybe not?"
It's necessary to differentiate Dirty Politics (Cameron Slater style) from dirty politics as a broader pattern of behaviour. The broader pattern of behaviour is getting worse, at least from my observation. Why? Maybe because politics is becoming more polarised. Maybe people stay in politics for too long and power corrupts them. Maybe humanity is just getting nastier.
Why the necessity to differentiate Dirty Politics from "dirty politics as a broader pattern of behaviour" – isn't Dirty Politics an eye-wateringly obscene example of the abuse of political power and resources, and so an exemplar of this "broader pattern of behaviour" you allude to?
Polarisation, nastiness, the atrophy of decency – yes, they each play(ed) a role to a greater or lesser extent. Can Luxon fix it? He seems a bit bland and vague, but imho he’s actually doing a fare job of modelling moral and ethical behaviour so far – maybe it’ll catch on.
"Why the necessity to differentiate Dirty Politics from "dirty politics as a broader pattern of behaviour" – isn't Dirty Politics an eye-wateringly obscene example of the abuse of political power and resources, and so an exemplar of this "broader pattern of behaviour" you allude to?"
Oh yes. But wind that back and we find ourselves with the Louisa Wall selection row. It appears people within the Labour Party orchestrated a plan to lie about the relationship between Louisa Wall and her Local Electorate Committee in order to undermine her reselection chances. The deputy PM is well implicated, and the line is drawn to his apparent dislike for Wall. You'll have read Audrey Young's research. Is that dirty politics in your opinion?
There are quite a few differences between Dirty Politics and your example, although it may be difficult for you to spot them.
When it comes to examples of nobbling candidates from one's own party, I gravitate towards Merv/Roger "I'm that confused" Bridge, and yes, it does seem to be part of a broader pattern of behaviour.
Still, to my way of thinking, Dirty Politics is the towering benchmark against which all subsequent
aberrant political behaviour should be compared – unless you have a more disgusting example to offer?
Correction: the lie about Louisa losing support of the LEC was not to undermine her reselection as such, it was to smear her as an 'explanation' for why she had withdrawn. Audreay young wrote:
The upshot was that instead of a candidate selection panel which could have comprised four local votes (two LEC, one floor rep and one ballot vote from qualified party members present) and just three New Zealand Council reps, there were only two local votes which were outnumbered by three New Zealand Council reps.
It's clear that Wall was unpopular with senior party figures, and so they engineered her exit, including stacking the selection committee, and then accepting a nomination from Arena Williams that she couldn't even get in on time.
How dirty does politics have to be before its dirty politics?
Are dirty tricks and smear campaigns still National's modus operandi? I hope not.
It's Dirty Politics when staff inside a Prime Minister's office facilitate the release of confidential documents for the purpose of embarrassing political opponents. And it's particularly Dirty Politics to leak information for the purpose of attacking public servants.
As I said, a towering example of malfeasance against which all subsequent aberrant political behaviour can and should be judged.
So how do you think Wall's treatment (“stacking the selection committee“) compares to that of Simon Pleasants? Or Adam Feeley?
And telling lies to smear her, something that seems to have been coordinated from high up in the party.
"The person on the other end of the phone that day asked if I knew that the real reason Wall had withdrawn was that she had lost the support of the Labour electorate committee (LEC). That’s the local executive in each electorate that runs party business. The suggestion was news to me but it was a line to be repeated publicly in the following days by at least two Labour-aligned commentators, Neale Jones and Mike Williams. It can safely be said that the phone call was wrong. Louisa Wall did not lose the support of her LEC. She not only had the support of her LEC, she had the endorsement of E Tu union, the support of Te Kaunihera Māori (the Māori council of the party), and Labour’s Māori caucus with the exception of deputy leader Kelvin Davis."
I'm wondering is it dirty politics when the right do it to left, but not when the left do it to each other?
I'm wondering is it dirty politics when the right do it to left, but not when the left do it to each other?
I hope we both know dirty politics and Dirty Politics when we see it. Certainly not the exclusive (Brethren) property of the Nats, but imho they are past masters and remain the leading practitioners in NZ.
Time will tell.
The five most terrible, horrible, no-good very bad days in recent National Party history [26 November 2021]
A once-in-a-hundred-year weather event in which Judith Collins, true to form, decided the best form of defence was full-bore attack. On Monday night, Simon Bridges was on the news responding to polling that put him ahead of Collins. His words said “no intention” to run; his grin said, “Heeeere’s Simon”. On Wednesday night Collins issued a press release saying he’d been demoted over historic remarks. The statement was over-egged, misleading and an insult to caucus. That set the scene for Thursday, with the media camped outside parliament to grab MPs on their way into a meeting that was still going two hours after the promised press conference was meant to begin. “I can’t recall a worse case of potential brand damage under MMP than the way this has played out,” said veteran National pollster David Farrar.
Collins is still in play – perhaps Luxon can keep her in cheque.
"Collins is still in play – perhaps Luxon can keep her in cheque."
Collins has been neutered. I'm not sure how they've done it, but it's probably a promise of some overseas posting? Or perhaps they've made up some role for her, say something like the Ambassador for Gender Equality (Pacific)/Tuia Tāngata?
You made me promises, promises
You knew you’d never keep
Promises, promises
Why do I believe
All of your promises
You knew you’d never keep
Promises, promises
Why do I believe?
Promises
Promises
Promises
Promises
Promises
''So automatically dismissed by a die-hard loyalist group here. But, where are the left-wing journalists in covering this issue?''
True …and yes, good question about Lefty journalists. Well, if we extrapolate things to this blog, the die-hards here will never criticise their own. (See below) So we can't expect any better from Jessica and co.
I loved this piece: 'White Christian male (Dunwoodie) That's like taking a cross to Dracula.
From Young's bio:
''I’ve been working at the Herald for so long that my 30th anniversary was mentioned in Parliament. However, I never tire of seeing what people do to try to gain power and what they do when they get there. I was pleased to be the union representative on the Press Council for six years. In a previous life, I worked as a sub-editor at the ill-fated Auckland Sun, was a tutor for a Pacific Island journalism course at Manukau Polytechnic in Otara, and was a teacher in Wellington.''
To be expected. I caught the tail end of an interview Mikey had with someone called Mark Lockes(?) from a Queensland University. He explained how their biker laws had driven the hardcore element out of the state, and just left run of the mill bikers. The power of the patch had also been muted.
Jacinda Ardern has replied that we need laws more appropriate to New Zealand. If we read between the lines, we can have a guess as to why.
Mitchell and Megan Woods will face off tomorrow on Mikey's show.
One thing I will give this Labour government – they know how to deal with exposure to the media and potential awkward situations. Their protection of Jacinda is first class.
Yes it is. But although Mikey has had Poto on before, she hasn't fronted when he's invited her, and others, to debate some aspects of crime control. So Megan Woods is basically it regardless of being a regular or not. Given her form of late, I don't think Woods will be raising a sweat. A Rightie can but hope.
Why on earth should a minister of the crown waste her time pandering to a bitter biased toxic right shock-jock who isn't even a journalist? Nothing good can come of it. Better to leave Hosking and his cretins to stew in their own bile.
''Bitter biased toxic right shock-jock who isn't even a journalist?'
That seems to be the default opinion here. I find that funny given many CLAIM they never listen to him.
To me the difference between his well read and well argued opinions is the difference between night and day compared to most in the media.
For example, he gave his opinion on Adrian Orr's official cash rate move and the reasons why he had trouble with the explanation Orr provided when he interviewed him. Two later economists backed Mikey's view. That doesn't mean Mikey is right – but when did you last hear a MSM journalist go behind headlines and offer a detail explanations of how things work?
I'm prepared to look past personality faults if someone at least makes an effort to explain the news… and actually read articles from all over the world to be better informed.
''And seen him make a cock of running a televised debate.''
If you are talking about the leaders debate, the general consensus I read, at the time, was he did OK. I'm hoping he will be a co-host in the upcoming leaders debate.
the general consensus I read, at the time, was he did OK
No, the general consensus was that he was not as bad as expected – a D fail instead of an F fail. There are literally thousands of New Zealanders who would have done a better job – and one of them should have been there doing it. Hosking was there because he is a reliably useless bigot.
Bigotry is not a social virtue – in the free market of ideas, the Right needs to fight its corner on its merits – Hosking always gives them a free ride.
The news on crime was a killing field for the opposition and media tonight.
Poto is complety lost. It's not funny. She should go with dignity. Maybe Woods could become the spokesperson on crime for Labour? As for Jacinda…call an early election. Why people aren't asking for this is beyond me.
Been reading about a few contemporary and near contemporary French philosophers, and their relation to the discussion yesterday about the "right to repair" as a way to empower consumers and reduce waste.
After doing my philosophy browsing I thought about it and I wonder how much of it is really about saving the planet and how much of it is actually a reaction against what French philosopher Bernard Stiegler calls the "proletarianisation of consciousness"?
According to Stiegler we are proletarianised in everyday conscious when our savoir-faire (knowing the right thing to do) and savoir-vivre (knowing how to live well) is appropriated and "black boxed" by technology. in the 1970s, a broken cake mixer or valve radio or anything really could be fixed by any reasonably competent home handyman with access to some parts and a soldering iron. You just unscrewed the back and went looking for the blown transistor, resistor, or capacitor. New technologies are designed to stop this, be it a mobile phone you can't swap out the battery in or seedless vegetables you can't grow at home. In this, they are in fact controlling us, in the way that Gilles Deleuze (another froggy philosopher) anticipated in his essay on the "control society": they don't tell us what to do, they just present us with a fait accompli and we meekly comply. Of course, this is in turn reflects the wider "black boxing" of our economic management made explicit by neoliberalism, a system of technocratic exclusion designed to control the proletariat in the name of expertise.
One of the ways we seek to regain our savoir-faire and savoir-vivre is via self-help, by self-sufficiency. Perhaps in this unconsciously perceived helplessness we can observe the anger of the anti-mandaters, of the anti-vaxxers. The marginalised and excluded and the aggrieved wellness Mums at their perceived exclusion were vouchsafed a manifest target to take aim at and blame for their helplessness. But on this we are all quite wrong – it doesn't matter if I can fix an old cake mixer, or if I use a fountain pen rather than a biro to cut down on plastic waste, or if I grow my own vegetables in an organic patch fertilised by my own shit, or I refuse to vaccinate my kids and/or latch onto some vast conspiracy theory. The reality of late capitalism is we are all helpless, merely passive spectators completely reliant on massive industries (just four companies control over 90% of the world food supply, with that food passing through just three main choke points, two or three companies dominate the internet), on large bureaucracies colonised by neoliberal technocrats, and on their enabling technologies over which we exercise very little control.
In short – is the right to repair nothing more than a salve, a balm of diversion which makes us feel good when we all know the world is going to hell in a handbasket and there is nothing that we – infantilised and atomised as we are in the great culture of narcissism that dominates our social and political discourse – can do about it?
it seems to me the only solution to planetary warming, excessive consumption, is not a right to repair but simply not to own any of those things in the first place. Since no one (including me, to be honest) will voluntarily give up their standard of living to that extent, and no government will ever be elected on a promise to reduce the standard of living by a lot, it seems to be the perhaps the only answers to the global crisis of late capitalism are to be found in the grim calculations of Malthus?
Having one's eyes off the screen and turned instead toward the natural world; gardens, beaches, mountains, skies and so on, is the way to unravel the tangle we find ourselves in. Those foci stimulate valuable thoughts and understandings. Having fewer gadgets helps great deal. That we are habituated and reliant on some gadgets (eye-glasses, window panes etc.) makes reducing one's reliance a challenge requiring much thought, patience and tolerance.
I take it you don't know any people that grow most of their own food? I do, I know quite a few. If the global food supply falls over this year, they will do without but they won't starve and they won't need to riot because they will be busy teaching people in their community how to grow their own food too.
Gardening is one of the most potent political acts we can do at this time (growing, paying others to grow for us, community gardens, and upthread, food forests). It doesn't give a false sense of security, it gives people actual food security as well as the personal empowerment to take action in other areas.
Right to repair is both class activism (enabling people to manage on low incomes), and a direct challenge to neoliberalism. It's not designed to save the planet, it's intention is to be part of the right living movements that will give humans the ability to survive and be respectful of all of life.
Both gardening and repairing bring joy to the people who do them, so much joy that they will teach others, often for free. That is political activism too, and the value of joy at this point in history cannot be measured. The way out of the Malthusian hell hole that neoliberals want to keep us in, is joy and activism combined. They build upon each other and give people a pathway that makes sense, improves their lives and saves the planet at the same time.
For some of us, politics is primarily about liberation.
Thanks Sanctuary, imho your last paragraph highlights some inconvenient truths. Late capitalism is a highly resilient growth engine – it will not transition voluntarily.
https://garryrogers.com/tag/limits-to-growth/ https://mahb.stanford.edu/blog/moving-away-progrowth/
“The current economic system being utilized and internalized relies on perpetual growth. It has long operated counter to the reality that we are confined to a finite planet with finite resources. Yet, this system continues to be practiced and promoted globally. As the environmental and social repercussions of disbelief in limits become increasingly clear, so does our need for a new economic system —one that is not wedded to growth. Neither growth in the number of consumers nor growth in the amount consumed.” – Erika Gavenus
"The COVID-19 pandemic has halted mobility globally on an unprecedented scale, causing the neoliberal market mechanisms of global tourism to be severely disrupted. In turn, this situation is leading to the decline of certain mainstream business formats and, simultaneously, the emergence of others. Based on a review of recent crisis recovery processes, the tourism sector is likely to rebound from this sudden market shock, primarily because of various forms of government interventions. Nevertheless, although policymakers seek to strengthen the resilience of post-pandemic tourism, their subsidies and other initiatives serve to maintain a fundamentally flawed market logic." https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/14616688.2020.1763445
“…The current economic system being utilized and internalized relies on perpetual growth. It has long operated counter to the reality that we are confined to a finite planet with finite resources…"
Humanity deal with this conundrum with occasional spasms of massive capital destruction (i.e. a crisis that leads to a hugely destructive war) that re-sets the growth clock to zero.
Re-setting the 'growth clock' to true zero would be good for spaceship Earth – humans not so much. Controlled degrowth is the best civilisation could do, imho.
Except it won't just be a war mainly in Europe, it will be a global catastrophe that wipes out most species on the planet. Similar level of upheaval to the Ice Age or the K-T extinction event.
Crops are failing, oceans are being demolished, habitats are being bulldozed everywhere.
The only way the human race makes it past 2030 is to stop everything. And depopulate.
Industrialisation gave us incredible power but we are still bound by the laws of thermodynamics, and the bill has come due.
The biggest force is urbanization. The largest migration in human history has happened over the last century and it continues today as people move from the country to the city. In 1960, one-third of humanity lived in a city. Today, it’s almost 60%. Moving from the country to the city changes the economic rewards and penalties for having large families. Many children on the farm means lots of free hands to do the work. Many children in the city means lots of mouths to feed. That’s why we do the economically rational thing when we move to the city: we have fewer kids.
I read this morning Luxon was head of deodorants for Unilever in the US. So he would have been responsible for the repulsive Axe (you know it as Lynx) advertising campaigns. How unchristian. What a bottom feeder. Lay in to him.
Lynx… the workhorse of smellies for the young and unsophisticated. You can also smell it half a kay down the road if the wind is blowing in the right direction.
A young rellie of mine was lamenting the fact he couldn't get laid when he went out. I chucked the Lynx and gave him a pheromone spray (Chikara). He's had a sexually transmitted disease three times in the past two years. Must be working.
Irrelevant distraction from you, as usual. This was about a specific claim what Luxon had been doing and it is entirely correct. Indeed, Unilever does more than making soaps and Luxon has done more at Unilver than selling soaps (after all, he worked there 18 yrs and 4 mths), but soaps he sold, which suits his name, IMO.
Canterbury MCom grad and nz-edger Christopher Luxon is now based in Chicago via Australia and Europe, where he leads Unilever’s North American Deodorants & Grooming business. Presently he is jump-starting Degree for Men antiperspirant, advertising the brand on the Super Bowl for the first time and breaking with the tradition of men’s deodorant ads heavy on jocks or sex in favor of action figures.
Why did you not ask the same of No name used's claim?
“Kiwi joins Air NZ from Unilever
Air New Zealand has appointed well-travelled Kiwi businessman Christopher Luxon to head up its international airline.
Luxon, 40, takes over from Ed Sims as group general manager for international from May 30 and joins the NZX-listed carrier from consumer goods giant Unilever.
Luxon joined Unilever in 1993 after completing a master of commerce at the University of Canterbury and since December 2008 has been president and chief executive of Unilever Canada……”
[Take a week off for telling me how, whom, and for what I should moderate.
No name used @ 10 made no incorrect claims and didn’t try to correct another commenter with BS to make yourself look superior or something whatever – Incognito]
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This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Megan Valére SosouMarket gardening site of the Itchèléré de Itagui agricultural cooperative in Dassa-Zoumè (Image credit: Megan Valère Sossou) For the residents of Dassa-Zoumè, a city in the West African country of Benin, choosing between drinking water and having enough ...
Buzz from the Beehive Melissa Lee – as may be discerned from the screenshot above – has not been demoted for doing something seriously wrong as Minister of ...
Morning in London Mother hugs beloved daughter outside the converted shoe factory in which she is living.Afternoon in London Travelling writer takes himself and his wrist down to A&E, just to be sure. Read more ...
Mike Grimshaw writes – The recent announcement of the University Advisory Group, chaired by Sir Peter Gluckman, makes very clear where the Government’s focus and priorities lie. The remit of the Advisory Group is that Group members will consider challenges and opportunities for improvement in the university sector including: ...
Eric Crampton writes – The Reserve Bank of New Zealand desperately wants to find reasons to have workstreams in climate change. It makes little sense. They’ve run another stress test on the banks looking to see if they could find a prudential regulation case. They couldn’t. They ...
Rob MacCullough writes – Pundits from the left and the right are arguing that National’s Fast Track Bill that is designed to speed up infrastructure decisions could end up becoming mired in a cesspool of corruption. Political commentator ...
Looking at the headlines this morning it’s hard to feel anything other than pessimistic about the future of humanity.Note that I’m not speaking about the future of mankind, but the survival of our humanity. The values that we believe in seem to be ebbing away, by the day.Perhaps every generation ...
Swabbing mixed breed baby chicks to test for avian influenzaUh oh. Bird flu – often deadly to humans – is not only being transmitted from infected birds to dairy cows, but is now travelling between dairy cows. As of last Friday, Bloomberg News reports, there were 32 American dairy herds ...
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 ...
What is it with the mining industry? Its not enough for them to pillage the earth - they apparently can't even be bothered getting resource consent to do so: The proponent behind a major mine near the Clutha River had already been undertaking activity in the area without a ...
Photo # 1 I am a huge fan of Singapore’s approach to housing, as described here two years ago by copying and pasting from The ConversationWhat Singapore has that Australia does not is a public housing developer, the Housing Development Board, which puts new dwellings on public and reclaimed land, ...
Buzz from the Beehive Reactions to news of the government’s readiness to make urgent changes to “the resource management system” through a Bill to amend the Resource Management Act (RMA) suggest a balanced approach is being taken. The Taxpayers’ Union says the proposed changes don’t go far enough. Greenpeace says ...
I’m starting to wonder if Anna Burns-Francis might be the best political interviewer we’ve got. That might sound unlikely to you, it came as a bit of a surprise to me.Jack Tame can be excellent, but has some pretty average days. I like Rebecca Wright on Newshub, she asks good ...
Chris Trotter writes – Willie Jackson is said to be planning a “media summit” to discuss “the state of the media and how to protect Fourth Estate Journalism”. Not only does the Editor of The Daily Blog, Martyn Bradbury, think this is a good idea, but he has also ...
Graeme Edgeler writes – This morning [April 21], the Wellington High Court is hearing a judicial review brought by Hon. Karen Chhour, the Minister for Children, against a decision of the Waitangi Tribunal. This is unusual, judicial reviews are much more likely to brought against ministers, rather than ...
Both of Parliament’s watchdogs have now ripped into the Government’s Fast-track Approvals Bill. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāMy pick of the six newsey things to know from Aotearoa’s political economy and beyond on the morning of Tuesday, April 23 are:The Lead: The Auditor General,John Ryan, has joined the ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Sarah SpengemanPeople wait to board an electric bus in Pune, India. (Image credit: courtesy of ITDP) Public transportation riders in Pune, India, love the city’s new electric buses so much they will actually skip an older diesel bus that ...
The infrastructure industry yesterday issued a “hurry up” message to the Government, telling it to get cracking on developing a pipeline of infrastructure projects.The hiatus around the change of Government has seen some major projects cancelled and others delayed, and there is uncertainty about what will happen with the new ...
Hi,Over the weekend I revisited a podcast I really adore, Dead Eyes. It’s about a guy who got fired from Band of Brothers over two decades ago because Tom Hanks said he had “dead eyes”.If you don’t recall — 2001’s Band of Brothers was part of the emerging trend of ...
Buzz from the Beehive The 180 or so recipients of letters from the Government telling them how to submit infrastructure projects for “fast track” consideration includes some whose project applications previously have been rejected by the courts. News media were quick to feature these in their reports after RMA Reform Minister Chris ...
It would not be a desirable way to start your holiday by breaking your back, your head, or your wrist, but on our first hour in Singapore I gave it a try.We were chatting, last week, before we started a meeting of Hazel’s Enviro Trust, about the things that can ...
Calling all journalists, academics, planners, lawyers, political activists, environmentalists, and other members of the public who believe that the relationships between vested interests and politicians need to be scrutinised. We need to work together to make sure that the new Fast-Track Approvals Bill – currently being pushed through by the ...
Feel worried. Shane Jones and a couple of his Cabinet colleagues are about to be granted the power to override any and all objections to projects like dams, mines, roads etc even if: said projects will harm biodiversity, increase global warming and cause other environmental harms, and even if ...
Bryce Edwards writes- The ability of the private sector to quickly establish major new projects making use of the urban and natural environment is to be supercharged by the new National-led Government. Yesterday it introduced to Parliament one of its most significant reforms, the Fast Track Approvals Bill. ...
Michael Bassett writes – If you think there is a move afoot by the radical Maori fringe of New Zealand society to create a parallel system of government to the one that we elect at our triennial elections, you aren’t wrong. Over the last few days we have ...
Without a corresponding drop in interest rates, it’s doubtful any changes to the CCCFA will unleash a massive rush of home buyers. Photo: Lynn GrievesonTL;DR: The six things that stood out to me in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, poverty and climate on Monday, April 22 included:The Government making a ...
Sunday was a lazy day. I started watching Jack Tame on Q&A, the interviews are usually good for something to write about. Saying the things that the politicians won’t, but are quite possibly thinking. Things that are true and need to be extracted from between the lines.As you might know ...
In our Weekly Roundup last week we covered news from Auckland Transport that the WX1 Western Express is going to get an upgrade next year with double decker electric buses. As part of the announcement, AT also said “Since we introduced the WX1 Western Express last November we have seen ...
TL;DR: The six key events to watch in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy in the week to April 29 include:PM Christopher Luxon is scheduled to hold a post-Cabinet news conference at 4 pm today. Stats NZ releases its statutory report on Census 2023 tomorrow.Finance Minister Nicola Willis delivers a pre-Budget speech at ...
A listing of 29 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, April 14, 2024 thru Sat, April 20, 2024. Story of the week Our story of the week hinges on these words from the abstract of a fresh academic ...
The ability of the private sector to quickly establish major new projects making use of the urban and natural environment is to be supercharged by the new National-led Government. Yesterday it introduced to Parliament one of its most significant reforms, the Fast Track Approvals Bill. The Government says this will ...
This is a column to say thank you. So many of have been in touch since Mum died to say so many kind and thoughtful things. You’re wonderful, all of you. You’ve asked how we’re doing, how Dad’s doing. A little more realisation each day, of the irretrievable finality of ...
Identifying the engine type in your car is crucial for various reasons, including maintenance, repairs, and performance upgrades. Knowing the specific engine model allows you to access detailed technical information, locate compatible parts, and make informed decisions about modifications. This comprehensive guide will provide you with a step-by-step approach to ...
Introduction: The allure of racing is undeniable. The thrill of speed, the roar of engines, and the exhilaration of competition all contribute to the allure of this adrenaline-driven sport. For those who yearn to experience the pinnacle of racing, becoming a race car driver is the ultimate dream. However, the ...
Introduction Automobiles have become ubiquitous in modern society, serving as a primary mode of transportation and a symbol of economic growth and personal mobility. With countless vehicles traversing roads and highways worldwide, it begs the question: how many cars are there in the world? Determining the precise number is a ...
Maintaining a safe and reliable vehicle requires regular inspections. Whether it’s a routine maintenance checkup or a safety inspection, knowing how long the process will take can help you plan your day accordingly. This article delves into the factors that influence the duration of a car inspection and provides an ...
Mazda Motor Corporation, commonly known as Mazda, is a Japanese multinational automaker headquartered in Fuchu, Aki District, Hiroshima Prefecture, Japan. The company was founded in 1920 as the Toyo Cork Kogyo Co., Ltd., and began producing vehicles in 1931. Mazda is primarily known for its production of passenger cars, but ...
Your car battery is an essential component that provides power to start your engine, operate your electrical systems, and store energy. Over time, batteries can weaken and lose their ability to hold a charge, which can lead to starting problems, power failures, and other issues. Replacing your battery before it ...
In most states, you cannot register a car without a valid driver’s license. However, there are a few exceptions to this rule. Exceptions to the RuleIf you are under 18 years old: In some states, you can register a car in your name even if you do not ...
Mazda, a Japanese automotive manufacturer with a rich history of innovation and engineering excellence, has emerged as a formidable player in the global car market. Known for its reputation of producing high-quality, fuel-efficient, and driver-oriented vehicles, Mazda has consistently garnered praise from industry experts and consumers alike. In this article, ...
Struts are an essential part of a car’s suspension system. They are responsible for supporting the weight of the car and damping the oscillations of the springs. Struts are typically made of steel or aluminum and are filled with hydraulic fluid. How Do Struts Work? Struts work by transferring the ...
Car registration is a mandatory process that all vehicle owners must complete annually. This process involves registering your car with the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) and paying an associated fee. The registration process ensures that your vehicle is properly licensed and insured, and helps law enforcement and other authorities ...
Zoom is a video conferencing service that allows you to share your screen, webcam, and audio with other participants. In addition to sharing your own audio, you can also share the audio from your computer with other participants. This can be useful for playing music, sharing presentations with audio, or ...
Building your own computer can be a rewarding and cost-effective way to get a high-performance machine tailored to your specific needs. However, it also requires careful planning and execution, and one of the most important factors to consider is the time it will take. The exact time it takes to ...
Sleep mode is a power-saving state that allows your computer to quickly resume operation without having to boot up from scratch. This can be useful if you need to step away from your computer for a short period of time but don’t want to shut it down completely. There are ...
Introduction Computer-Assisted Translation (CAT) has revolutionized the field of translation by harnessing the power of technology to assist human translators in their work. This innovative approach combines specialized software with human expertise to improve the efficiency, accuracy, and consistency of translations. In this comprehensive article, we will delve into the ...
In today’s digital age, mobile devices have become an indispensable part of our daily lives. Among the vast array of portable computing options available, iPads and tablet computers stand out as two prominent contenders. While both offer similar functionalities, there are subtle yet significant differences between these two devices. This ...
A computer is an electronic device that can be programmed to carry out a set of instructions. The basic components of a computer are the processor, memory, storage, input devices, and output devices. The Processor The processor, also known as the central processing unit (CPU), is the brain of the ...
Voice Memos is a convenient app on your iPhone that allows you to quickly record and store audio snippets. These recordings can be useful for a variety of purposes, such as taking notes, capturing ideas, or recording interviews. While you can listen to your voice memos on your iPhone, you ...
Laptop screens are essential for interacting with our devices and accessing information. However, when lines appear on the screen, it can be frustrating and disrupt productivity. Understanding the underlying causes of these lines is crucial for finding effective solutions. Types of Screen Lines Horizontal lines: Also known as scan ...
Right-clicking is a common and essential computer operation that allows users to access additional options and settings. While most desktop computers have dedicated right-click buttons on their mice, laptops often do not have these buttons due to space limitations. This article will provide a comprehensive guide on how to right-click ...
Powering up and shutting down your ASUS laptop is an essential task for any laptop user. Locating the power button can sometimes be a hassle, especially if you’re new to ASUS laptops. This article will provide a comprehensive guide on where to find the power button on different ASUS laptop ...
Te Pāti Māori are demanding the New Zealand Government support an international independent investigation into mass graves that have been uncovered at two hospitals on the Gaza strip, following weeks of assault by Israeli troops. Among the 392 bodies that have been recovered, are children and elderly civilians. Many of ...
Our two-tiered system for veterans’ support is out of step with our closest partners, and all parties in Parliament should work together to fix it, Labour veterans’ affairs spokesperson Greg O’Connor said. ...
Stripping two Ministers of their portfolios just six months into the job shows Christopher Luxon’s management style is lacking, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said. ...
Tonight’s court decision to overturn the summons of the Children’s Minister has enabled the Crown to continue making decisions about Māori without evidence, says Te Pāti Māori spokesperson for Children, Mariameno Kapa-Kingi. “The judicial system has this evening told the nation that this government can do whatever they want when ...
It appears Nicola Willis is about to pull the rug out from under the feet of local communities still dealing with the aftermath of last year’s severe weather, and local councils relying on funding to build back from these disasters. ...
The Government is making short-sighted changes to the Resource Management Act (RMA) that will take away environmental protection in favour of short-term profits, Labour’s environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said today. ...
Labour welcomes the release of the report into the North Island weather events and looks forward to working with the Government to ensure that New Zealand is as prepared as it can be for the next natural disaster. ...
The Labour Party has called for the New Zealand Government to recognise Palestine, as a material step towards progressing the two-State solution needed to achieve a lasting peace in the region. ...
Some of our country’s most important work, stopping the sexual exploitation of children and violent extremism could go along with staff on the frontline at ports and airports. ...
The Government’s Fast Track Approvals Bill will give projects such as new coal mines a ‘get out of jail free’ card to wreak havoc on the environment, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said today. ...
The government's decision to reintroduce Three Strikes is a destructive and ineffective piece of law-making that will only exacerbate an inherently biased and racist criminal justice system, said Te Pāti Māori Justice Spokesperson, Tākuta Ferris, today. During the time Three Strikes was in place in Aotearoa, Māori and Pasifika received ...
Cuts to frontline hospital staff are not only a broken election promise, it shows the reckless tax cuts have well and truly hit the frontline of the health system, says Labour Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall. ...
The Green Party has joined the call for public submissions on the fast-track legislation to be extended after the Ombudsman forced the Government to release the list of organisations invited to apply just hours before submissions close. ...
New Zealand’s good work at reducing climate emissions for three years in a row will be undone by the National government’s lack of ambition and scrapping programmes that were making a difference, Labour Party climate spokesperson Megan Woods said today. ...
More essential jobs could be on the chopping block, this time Ministry of Education staff on the school lunches team are set to find out whether they're in line to lose their jobs. ...
Te Pāti Māori is disgusted at the confirmation that hundreds are set to lose their jobs at Oranga Tamariki, and the disestablishment of the Treaty Response Unit. “This act of absolute carelessness and out of touch decision making is committing tamariki to state abuse.” Said Te Pāti Māori Oranga Tamariki ...
The Government is trying to bring in a law that will allow Ministers to cut corners and kill off native species, Labour environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said. ...
Cancelling urgently needed new Cook Strait ferries and hiking the cost of public transport for many Kiwis so that National can announce the prospect of another tunnel for Wellington is not making good choices, Labour Transport Spokesperson Tangi Utikere said. ...
A laundry list of additional costs for Tāmaki Makarau Auckland shows the Minister for the city is not delivering for the people who live there, says Labour Auckland Issues spokesperson Shanan Halbert. ...
Te Pāti Māori co-leader Rawiri Waititi, and Mema Paremata mō Tāmaki-Makaurau, Takutai Tarsh Kemp, will travel to the Gold Coast to strengthen ties with Māori in Australia next week (15-21 April). The visit, in the lead-up to the 9th Australian National Kapa haka Festival, will be an opportunity for both ...
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. ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters’ engagements in Türkiye this week underlined the importance of diplomacy to meet growing global challenges. “Returning to the Gallipoli Peninsula to represent New Zealand at Anzac commemorations was a sombre reminder of the critical importance of diplomacy for de-escalating conflicts and easing tensions,” Mr Peters ...
Ambassador Millar, Burgemeester, Vandepitte, Excellencies, military representatives, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen – good morning and welcome to this sacred Anzac Day dawn service. It is an honour to be here on behalf of the Government and people of New Zealand at Buttes New British Cemetery, Polygon Wood – a deeply ...
Distinguished guests - It is an honour to return once again to this site which, as the resting place for so many of our war-dead, has become a sacred place for generations of New Zealanders. Our presence here and at the other special spaces of Gallipoli is made ...
Mai ia tawhiti pamamao, te moana nui a Kiwa, kua tae whakaiti mai matou, ki to koutou papa whenua. No koutou te tapuwae, no matou te tapuwae, kua honoa pumautia. Ko nga toa kua hinga nei, o te Waipounamu, o te Ika a Maui, he okioki tahi me o ...
Paul Goldsmith will take on responsibility for the Media and Communications portfolio, while Louise Upston will pick up the Disability Issues portfolio, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon announced today. “Our Government is relentlessly focused on getting New Zealand back on track. As issues change in prominence, I plan to adjust Ministerial ...
Recreational catch limits will be reduced in areas of Fiordland and the Chatham Islands to help keep those fisheries healthy and sustainable, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. The lower recreational daily catch limits for a range of finfish and shellfish species caught in the Fiordland Marine Area and ...
Energy Minister Simeon Brown has welcomed an important milestone in New Zealand’s hydrogen future, with the opening of the country’s first network of hydrogen refuelling stations in Wiri. “I want to congratulate the team at Hiringa Energy and its partners K one W one (K1W1), Mitsui & Co New Zealand ...
The coalition Government is delivering on its commitment to improve resource management laws and give greater certainty to consent applicants, with a Bill to amend the Resource Management Act (RMA) expected to be introduced to Parliament next month. RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop has today outlined the first RMA Amendment ...
Overseas models for regulating the oil and gas sector, including their decommissioning regimes, are being carefully scrutinised as a potential template for New Zealand’s own sector, Resources Minister Shane Jones says. The Coalition Government is focused on rebuilding investor confidence in New Zealand’s energy sector as it looks to strengthen ...
Emergency Management and Recovery Minister Mark Mitchell has today released the Report of the Government Inquiry into the response to the North Island Severe Weather Events. “The report shows that New Zealand’s emergency management system is not fit-for-purpose and there are some significant gaps we need to address,” Mr Mitchell ...
Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith is today travelling to Europe where he’ll update the United Nations Human Rights Council on the Government’s work to restore law and order. “Attending the Universal Periodic Review in Geneva provides us with an opportunity to present New Zealand’s human rights progress, priorities, and challenges, while ...
Associate Agriculture Minister, Mark Patterson, formally reopened the world’s largest wool processing facility today in Awatoto, Napier, following a $50 million rebuild and refurbishment project. “The reopening of this facility will significantly lift the economic opportunities available to New Zealand’s wool sector, which already accounts for 20 per cent of ...
Hon Andrew Bayly, Minister for Small Business and Manufacturing At the Southland Otago Regional Engineering Collective (SOREC) Summit, 18 April, Dunedin Ngā mihi nui, Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Ko Whanganui aho Good Afternoon and thank you for inviting me to open your summit today. I am delighted ...
The Government is delivering on its commitment to bring back the Three Strikes legislation, Associate Justice Minister Nicole McKee announced today. “Our Government is committed to restoring law and order and enforcing appropriate consequences on criminals. We are making it clear that repeat serious violent or sexual offending is not ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has today announced four new diplomatic appointments for New Zealand’s overseas missions. “Our diplomats have a vital role in maintaining and protecting New Zealand’s interests around the world,” Mr Peters says. “I am pleased to announce the appointment of these senior diplomats from the ...
New Zealand is contributing NZ$7 million to support communities affected by severe food insecurity and other urgent humanitarian needs in Ethiopia and Somalia, Foreign Minister Rt Hon Winston Peters announced today. “Over 21 million people are in need of humanitarian assistance across Ethiopia, with a further 6.9 million people ...
Minister for Arts, Culture and Heritage Paul Goldsmith is congratulating Mataaho Collective for winning the Golden Lion for best participant in the main exhibition at the Venice Biennale. "Congratulations to the Mataaho Collective for winning one of the world's most prestigious art prizes at the Venice Biennale. “It is good ...
The Government is reforming financial services to improve access to home loans and other lending, and strengthen customer protections, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly and Housing Minister Chris Bishop announced today. “Our coalition Government is committed to rebuilding the economy and making life simpler by cutting red tape. We are ...
“China remains a strong commercial opportunity for Kiwi exporters as Chinese businesses and consumers continue to value our high-quality safe produce,” Trade and Agriculture Minister Todd McClay says. Mr McClay has returned to New Zealand following visits to Beijing, Harbin and Shanghai where he met ministers, governors and mayors and engaged in trade and agricultural events with the New ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has completed a successful trip to Singapore, Thailand and the Philippines, deepening relationships and capitalising on opportunities. Mr Luxon was accompanied by a business delegation and says the choice of countries represents the priority the New Zealand Government places on South East Asia, and our relationships in ...
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 ...
Toomaj and his resistance to tyranny through his songs have become an icon for the youth of Iran, so his sentence has hit the nation hard. Toomaj Salehi is not the first artist to pay the price for standing with the people. ...
My cousin Dylan and I spotted these big eels under the bridge that summer. We watched them lounging under the dark weed, facing into the flow of water, their mouths frozen open. Dylan and I couldn’t stop thinking about those eels. The night we went down to the creek, we ...
Newsroom, home of satire. My long-running weekly satirical series The Secret Diary has moved to Newsroom and will appear every Saturday, with Victor Billot’s wildly popular satirical Odes continuing to appear every Sunday. Diaries, Odes – while serious political columnists toil at meaningful opinions and stroke their chins to an ...
Tara Ward unravels the many nuanced layers of a cartoon about talking dogs.This is an excerpt from our weekly pop culture newsletter Rec Room. Sign up here. It’s not often an episode of a children’s cartoon has adults sobbing into their sleeves, but that’s exactly what happened this week when ...
Working as a doctor in developing countries to help communities achieve better health outcomes is nothing short of a life goal for Jessica Tater. The University of Otago medical student has her sights firmly set on joining the international humanitarian organisation Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) when she qualifies ...
There’s an island in the far reaches of Auckland’s territory, sitting off the tip of the Coromandel Peninsula, 30 minutes by air from the city or four hours on the slow boat. Aotea Great Barrier is off-grid, it has a population of fewer than a thousand people … and most ...
Asia Pacific Report An Australian author and advocate, Jim Aubrey, today led a national symbolic one minute’s silence to mark the “blood debt” owed to Papuan allies during the Second World War indigenous resistance against the invading Japanese forces. “A promise to most people is a promise,” Aubrey said in ...
Asia Pacific Report The Freedom Flotilla is ready to sail to Gaza, reports Kia Ora Gaza. All the required paperwork has been submitted to the port authority, and the cargo has been loaded and prepared for the humanitarian trip to the besieged enclave. However, organisers received word of an “administrative ...
Pacific Media Watch Palestine solidarity protesters today demonstrated at the Auckland headquarters of Television New Zealand, accusing the country’s major TV network of broadcasting “propaganda” backing Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza. About 50 protesters targeted the main entrance to the TVNZ building near Sky Tower and also picketed a side ...
Opinion by Lynley Hood. Forty years on from my 1985 Fulbright Grant, my disquiet over the war in Gaza evoked some troubling questions. The answer to my first question – What is the primary purpose of the Fulbright Programme? – was on the Fulbright NZ website. It says: US Senator, ...
The ministers responsible for green-lighting major projects need to be open about potential conflicts of interest, says Transparency International. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Anastasia Powell, Professor, Family and Sexual Violence, RMIT University It has been a particularly distressing start to the year. There is little that can ease the current grief of individuals, families and communities who have needlessly lost a loved one to men’s ...
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Listening to Christopher Luxon. Morning Report "We believe in welfare. We would probably raise benefits"
Wow, look at the recent history of Paula Bennett!! What do the rest of you think?
Yep raise benefits, reduce taxes, how will that play out!!!
Patricia – well done. The last thing National should be about is welfare. Luxon wouldn't have a clue about what National should be about.
Patricia Bremner (1) … Um I think the 7 houses man meant corporate welfare somehow. He hasn’t a clue!
So you don't think he should have 7 houses? Does it offend your socialist sensibilities?
Why should anyone have 7 houses?
Why not? Passive income. Status. A privacy move. Investment. Buy and sell. Birthday/Xmas present for the kids. Change of view and area.
I always know when you are brought out of Cyrogenic storage, that things ain't great.
Luxton is sufficiently removed from entrenched National that he might throw a sop to the underclass if he thought it would make him more electable.
But in application it would be more likely to be a modest increase in Super – National's core demographic – than anything for the precariat.
If you are at a loss for things to do today, or rather, things to watch, you might enjoy this short-film (15 mins) made about our forest-garden here in Riverton, by Happen Films. It's a 5-year-on follow-up to "An invitation for wildness", called, "Growing wild together" 🙂 It was released yesterday and has already attracted over 11,000 views, so we are very pleased.
Growing wild together https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mdi_9o92XcU
That's the YouTube version. Here's the Facebook version: https://happenfilms.com/film/growing-wild-together
Wonderful Robert. You are a great Team.
Thanks, Patricia. Without Robyn, I'm a wraith 🙂
Robert Norm says the same.
Great film, Robert.
You're on my list to visit some day soon.
Thanks, Tony. I look forward to your visit – you and I have much to talk about.
that was a lovely thing to watch first thing in the morning.
I'm pleased, weka. We need more lovely things to watch.
On my to-watch-to-relax list. Can't believe it's been five years since the first.
Looking forward to watching, and really impressed with your teamwork on the property, and the output from Happen Films.
Thanks for the link Robert.
Watched and loved it!
I am pleased to hear that, Belladonna 🙂
Love that you and the food forest are getting older and wilder together 🙂
And was happy to recognise so many food plants (though yours are conspicuously larger and healthier than mine!).
My Mum is one of those keen gardeners – and we are sadly resigned to her garden going when she dies. The land (inner suburb of Auckland) is just too valuable – and there's no way that I could afford to buy it. She has huge oak trees – and growing natives – but I lack your optimism about developers *not* wanting to knock them down, and cram 42 townhouses on the site (exaggeration for effect!)
Do you compost? (and this wasn't covered here) – or just slash and tread down unwanted or over-exuberant plants?
The "developers" comments were tongue in cheek, but really, I believe that in just a few short years time, cutting down trees will be socially unacceptable. I'm getting mine in the soil in preparation for that time (grand parenting 🙂
I haven't composted for many years, doing just as you describe: prune and let lie. Recently though, since I got enthusiastic about the big tunnelhouse, I've been enthusiastically composting everything I can get my hands on with the intention of creating a rich faux-jungle floor in there, to support the bananas, ginger, canna etc. – it's a fancy really, but fun and funny. I scrounge materials from everywhere I can; coffee grounds by the sack from a local cafe, Shetland pony poo from the wee family down the road, seaweed when we walk on the beach, spoiled fruit from the co-op (I have so many avocado sprouting in there, it's not funny (it actually is). I've created worm-farms in there also; piles of autumn leaves and pony poo, "seeded" with tiger-worms from the environment centres worm-farm-in-a-bath-tub and they are loving it! I expect they'll turn the rougher stuff; corn husks, egg shells etc. into wonderful, nutritious soil in which my heat-loving plants will achieve enormous proportions. I've calla lilies in there now with leaves the size of taro leaves! I shouldn't be going for "huge", but I am 🙂
Magnificent. You and Robyn are an inspiration!
I look forward to visiting and learning and soaking in the beauty.
Thanks!
Wonderful Robert,may yourself and Robyn see those trees grow tall,climbing sky woods.
Ha! Love that, left for dead! 🙂
Damien Venuto's piece in the Herald is a tour de force of an echo chamber media circle jerk. MZME opinion piece about an NZME opinion podcast where one opinionated NZME journalist interviewed another NZME journalist for her opinion about the bile spewed at the PM largely by – you guessed it – the opinions of NZME broadcasters.
No wonder no one trusts them.
So true about NZME.
Is that in place of actually asking the Pm, as they might get answers they don't want?
Thankyou Robyn and Robert, an inspiration to your wider community. [and me]!!
Cheers kejo.
Hope no one's here's got shares in Twitter.
What a value-bonfire.
Its generic across all tech stocks,that the stock price reverts to its fundamental earnings (and its ability to both constrain debt and pay debt) The tech expansion on unsustainable credit (QE) has moved to its limit and will now contract to what they earn.
https://twitter.com/Schuldensuehner/status/1518534986697265156?cxt=HHwWiMC-0cvh9ZIqAAAA
With global liquidity to shrink over the next 18 months due to QT,and additional free capital flowing to safe have ( government bonds etc) tech will need to sell more then its next "app",and will also impact meem and ESG funds.
https://twitter.com/Schuldensuehner/status/1533558352386703360?cxt=HHwWgIC-xcjMpcgqAAAA
China has attacked a Aussie plane. At least that's what I would call it. I have been thinking about China and I'm wondering if they have taken internal dissent into consideration. There's Hong Kong. There's the supressed democracy movement in mainland China. And what of all the suppressed religions? When better to start a uprising should the country be focused on war with Taiwan and the West?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UczY42nZO9g
Crikey, this hasn't gone away yet. Dennis Frank gave the topic a good airing a while back. Who would want to get into any type of politics, eh?
Unfortunately the story is pay wall protected.
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/audrey-young-what-really-happened-in-labours-bitter-manurewa-selection/UT7UW3VA5GCVPQOCDBBGW43XRA/?c_id=1&objectid=12529420
Granny will probably rerun a few pre election as part of their totally objective coverage.
I know, Audrey Young – so automatically dismissed by a die-hard loyalist group here. But, where are the left-wing journalists in covering this issue?
Having read this, it looks as though Labour squeak through the accusation of 'corrupt process' but it was clearly highly manipulative, and absolutely designed to get rid of Wall and parachute Williams into a safe seat. Louisa was shafted by her party leadership.
The 'lie' that Wall lost the support of her electorate, promulgated by Mike Williams, is clearly debunked.
The 'old' (i.e. existing) electorate committee supported Wall. There was an argument that this didn't reflect the 'new' electorate members – recruited and loyal to Dunwoodie (who'd returned from Wellington specifically to continue his campaign to unseat Wall – been trying since George Hawkins retired).
Labour could have required a new selection of representatives from the local electorate committee- given that they delayed the selection specifically to address the issues raised — but didn't. Instead they refused to allow any of the local electorate reps to vote. Leaving 2 votes from the floor, and 3 from Labour head office.
Williams had zip in the way of local support.
Clearly Labour either wanted Williams in parliament, regardless. Or realised that unseating Wall in favour of a white Christian male (Dunwoodie) would have been several bridges too far, for their political base, and especially for the Maori caucus.
Nice Blade-Belladonna tag teamwork – "several Bridges too far", you say?
Look forward to a response to the actual content – rather than deflection. Ohhh look a squirrel!
Or, perhaps you're agreeing with Gypsy – and it's just political corruption as usual, both parties do it…..
I've met, and liked Louisa Wall. I felt that she was a unique and vibrant voice in parliament – and am always predisposed to like another 'stroppy Sheila' 😉
I didn't agree with everything she said, but she had the passion of her convictions, and an unusual ability to build consensus across parties in pursuit of her goals.
She did not deserve to be treated this way – and it's a mark against the Labour party.
When I think of the outrage which was poured out here on TS yesterday over the 'bullying' of Curran, I find those voices conspicuously silent on Wall.
Your findings are noted – btw, Merv's no squirrel, just “that confused.”
I regret that Wall is no longer in Parliament – maybe the church isn’t broad enough.
Dirt. Manipulation. Dishonesty. Meh, just another day in politics.
Gypsy, what can be done to keep "Dirt. Manipulation. Dishonesty." out of Kiwi politics, if, like me, that is indeed what you want? May seem hopeless, but easier surely than reversing global warming.
https://www.beehive.govt.nz/release/new-zealand-retains-top-spot-global-anti-corruption-rankings [25 January 2022]
http://www.newshub.co.nz/home/world/2022/04/former-us-president-donald-trump-calls-himself-the-most-honest-human.html
Politics brings out the worst in people, unfortunately. But I enjoy your optimism.
I'm not optimistic that Nat party MPs and insiders can model good behaviour. Hope springs eternal, but they have shown so very little promise.
Maybe Luxon can make a clean break from the Key / Ede / Collins / Slater legacy of Dirty Politics – it's a substantial legacy, from Todd Baclay and Jami-Lee Ross on, and a break is overdue – time will tell.
Luxon may be a different individual, but even if he is, politics is a cess pit, and the sewage eventually rubs off. It's what makes observing so fascinating, in a perverse kind of way.
No "may be" about – Luxon is "a different individual", presumably with some different values and some new ideas, e.g. tax cuts.
Time will tell how those values and ideas play out in the service of all Kiwis – no doubt better for some than for others.
So it would seem – a cesspit of self-serving behaviour. But why?
Why?
As long as I have been following politics (since the late 1970's) there has been an element of this, because power corrupts. But it seems to be getting incrementally worse. I have a passing involvement with local politics in Auckland and it's a thoroughly toxic environment, in fact it got so ludicrous the left are now attacking their own.
Interesting observation – any idea what's driving that trend? Your insights might contribute to slowing a descent into the cesspit.
The Nat's Dirty Politics initiative didn't help – has anyone on the political right repudiated that deliberate and well-resourced political obscenity? Why is it some of our political representatives think it's OK to model this sort of behaviour? Are they simply rotten eggs?
Maybe that's the pronlem – some politicians have no sense of shame. I'm irrationally hopeful that Luxon will be the one to lift the lid on the Nat's cesspit and drag his rotten eggs into the light.
"The Nat's Dirty Politics initiative didn't help – has anyone on the political right repudiated that deliberate and well-resourced political obscenity? "
You mean admit they were actually wrong? I doubt it. The Nats dirty politics 'initiative' was only unusual in that it appears to have been carefully orchestrated. The best thing to happen to the right was that it was outed.
Any idea what's driving this apparent trend? Dirty Politics was low, but are some NZ pollies even now reaching further into the cesspit?
"What's driving this apparent trend? Would've thought Dirty Politics was about as low as Kiwi politicians could go, but maybe not?"
It's necessary to differentiate Dirty Politics (Cameron Slater style) from dirty politics as a broader pattern of behaviour. The broader pattern of behaviour is getting worse, at least from my observation. Why? Maybe because politics is becoming more polarised. Maybe people stay in politics for too long and power corrupts them. Maybe humanity is just getting nastier.
An interesting take, but we both know that it was politicians who orchestrated Dirty Politics – Slater blogged to order.
Why the necessity to differentiate Dirty Politics from "dirty politics as a broader pattern of behaviour" – isn't Dirty Politics an eye-wateringly obscene example of the abuse of political power and resources, and so an exemplar of this "broader pattern of behaviour" you allude to?
Polarisation, nastiness, the atrophy of decency – yes, they each play(ed) a role to a greater or lesser extent. Can Luxon fix it? He seems a bit bland and vague, but imho he’s actually doing a fare job of modelling moral and ethical behaviour so far – maybe it’ll catch on.
"Why the necessity to differentiate Dirty Politics from "dirty politics as a broader pattern of behaviour" – isn't Dirty Politics an eye-wateringly obscene example of the abuse of political power and resources, and so an exemplar of this "broader pattern of behaviour" you allude to?"
Oh yes. But wind that back and we find ourselves with the Louisa Wall selection row. It appears people within the Labour Party orchestrated a plan to lie about the relationship between Louisa Wall and her Local Electorate Committee in order to undermine her reselection chances. The deputy PM is well implicated, and the line is drawn to his apparent dislike for Wall. You'll have read Audrey Young's research. Is that dirty politics in your opinion?
There are quite a few differences between Dirty Politics and your example, although it may be difficult for you to spot them.
When it comes to examples of nobbling candidates from one's own party, I gravitate towards Merv/Roger "I'm that confused" Bridge, and yes, it does seem to be part of a broader pattern of behaviour.
Still, to my way of thinking, Dirty Politics is the towering benchmark against which all subsequent
aberrant political behaviour should be compared – unless you have a more disgusting example to offer?
Correction: the lie about Louisa losing support of the LEC was not to undermine her reselection as such, it was to smear her as an 'explanation' for why she had withdrawn. Audreay young wrote:
The upshot was that instead of a candidate selection panel which could have comprised four local votes (two LEC, one floor rep and one ballot vote from qualified party members present) and just three New Zealand Council reps, there were only two local votes which were outnumbered by three New Zealand Council reps.
It's clear that Wall was unpopular with senior party figures, and so they engineered her exit, including stacking the selection committee, and then accepting a nomination from Arena Williams that she couldn't even get in on time.
How dirty does politics have to be before its dirty politics?
Are dirty tricks and smear campaigns still National's modus operandi? I hope not.
It's Dirty Politics when staff inside a Prime Minister's office facilitate the release of confidential documents for the purpose of embarrassing political opponents. And it's particularly Dirty Politics to leak information for the purpose of attacking public servants.
As I said, a towering example of malfeasance against which all subsequent aberrant political behaviour can and should be judged.
So how do you think Wall's treatment (“stacking the selection committee“) compares to that of Simon Pleasants? Or Adam Feeley?
"There are quite a few differences between Dirty Politics and your example, although it may be difficult for you to spot them."
It's a pattern of behaviour. Bad behaviour. And it certainly ties in with some of your examples above (https://thestandard.org.nz/open-mike-07-06-2022/#comment-1892866).
"(“stacking the selection committee“) "
And telling lies to smear her, something that seems to have been coordinated from high up in the party.
"The person on the other end of the phone that day asked if I knew that the real reason Wall had withdrawn was that she had lost the support of the Labour electorate committee (LEC). That’s the local executive in each electorate that runs party business. The suggestion was news to me but it was a line to be repeated publicly in the following days by at least two Labour-aligned commentators, Neale Jones and Mike Williams. It can safely be said that the phone call was wrong. Louisa Wall did not lose the support of her LEC. She not only had the support of her LEC, she had the endorsement of E Tu union, the support of Te Kaunihera Māori (the Māori council of the party), and Labour’s Māori caucus with the exception of deputy leader Kelvin Davis."
I'm wondering is it dirty politics when the right do it to left, but not when the left do it to each other?
I hope we both know dirty politics and Dirty Politics when we see it. Certainly not the exclusive (Brethren) property of the Nats, but imho they are past masters and remain the leading practitioners in NZ.
Time will tell.
Collins is still in play – perhaps Luxon can keep her in cheque.
"Collins is still in play – perhaps Luxon can keep her in cheque."
Collins has been neutered. I'm not sure how they've done it, but it's probably a promise of some overseas posting? Or perhaps they've made up some role for her, say something like the Ambassador for Gender Equality (Pacific)/Tuia Tāngata?
Promises, Promises
Artist: Naked Eye(brow)s. Album: Burning Bridges
This one may be one for Judith Collins fans.
Commenters on a political blog are not merely observers of politics, they are active participants.
Thanks, Belladonna.
''So automatically dismissed by a die-hard loyalist group here. But, where are the left-wing journalists in covering this issue?''
True …and yes, good question about Lefty journalists. Well, if we extrapolate things to this blog, the die-hards here will never criticise their own. (See below) So we can't expect any better from Jessica and co.
I loved this piece: 'White Christian male (Dunwoodie) That's like taking a cross to Dracula.
From Young's bio:
''I’ve been working at the Herald for so long that my 30th anniversary was mentioned in Parliament. However, I never tire of seeing what people do to try to gain power and what they do when they get there. I was pleased to be the union representative on the Press Council for six years. In a previous life, I worked as a sub-editor at the ill-fated Auckland Sun, was a tutor for a Pacific Island journalism course at Manukau Polytechnic in Otara, and was a teacher in Wellington.''
Someone opposing the removal of the Three Strikes Law…
https://thebfd.co.nz/2022/06/06/why-is-the-govt-repealing-the-three-strikes-law/
To be expected. I caught the tail end of an interview Mikey had with someone called Mark Lockes(?) from a Queensland University. He explained how their biker laws had driven the hardcore element out of the state, and just left run of the mill bikers. The power of the patch had also been muted.
Jacinda Ardern has replied that we need laws more appropriate to New Zealand. If we read between the lines, we can have a guess as to why.
Mitchell and Megan Woods will face off tomorrow on Mikey's show.
Mitchell also rung in later this morning.
https://www.newstalkzb.co.nz/on-air/kerre-woodham-mornings/audio/mark-mitchell-national-police-spokesperson-on-following-australias-lead-with-anti-bikie-laws/
Telling that the government sends Woods not the Ministers of Police (Poto) or Justice (Little) whose portfolios are relevant.
One thing I will give this Labour government – they know how to deal with exposure to the media and potential awkward situations. Their protection of Jacinda is first class.
We don't have any other Arderns to shield.
It needs to be – the hatred and bile spewing from all sides is papable.
Isn't that a usual spot i.e. Woods and Mitchell debating?
Yes it is. But although Mikey has had Poto on before, she hasn't fronted when he's invited her, and others, to debate some aspects of crime control. So Megan Woods is basically it regardless of being a regular or not. Given her form of late, I don't think Woods will be raising a sweat. A Rightie can but hope.
Why on earth should a minister of the crown waste her time pandering to a bitter biased toxic right shock-jock who isn't even a journalist? Nothing good can come of it. Better to leave Hosking and his cretins to stew in their own bile.
''Bitter biased toxic right shock-jock who isn't even a journalist?'
That seems to be the default opinion here. I find that funny given many CLAIM they never listen to him.
To me the difference between his well read and well argued opinions is the difference between night and day compared to most in the media.
For example, he gave his opinion on Adrian Orr's official cash rate move and the reasons why he had trouble with the explanation Orr provided when he interviewed him. Two later economists backed Mikey's view. That doesn't mean Mikey is right – but when did you last hear a MSM journalist go behind headlines and offer a detail explanations of how things work?
I'm prepared to look past personality faults if someone at least makes an effort to explain the news… and actually read articles from all over the world to be better informed.
"his well read and well argued opinions".
Your capability to be unwittingly amusing.
The defence will rest, your honour.
I had a lot of time for this man. Someone who you could have a debate with without him going off the handle like many Lefties are inclined to do.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bruce_Jesson
'Mikey'… changes his opiniin' like the.. weather.. motormouth looking for.. numbers =advertisers. A
You make your opinion with the facts available at the time. You change your opinion if the facts change over time.
''Motormouth looking for.. numbers =advertisers.''
Seems to be working. His radio ratings are through the roof. But we all know those radio ratings are just right wing bs.
I find that funny given many CLAIM they never listen to him.
Oh we've heard a couple of his minutes – and seen him make a cock of running a televised debate. I used to teach debating – Mikey is a neophyte.
I'm prepared to look past personality faults
Personality is to some extent destiny. It is a natural and inevitable consequence of being a far-right bigot, that educated persons will despise you.
''Oh we've heard a couple of his minutes – and seen him make a cock of running a televised debate. I used to teach debating – Mikey is a neophyte.''
Fair enough. Post one of his 'Mike's Minute' Clips and show me where he's going off track.
In fact, here's one for you to dissect.
https://www.newstalkzb.co.nz/on-air/mike-hosking-breakfast/opinion/mikes-minute-the-queen-is-a-brilliant-symbol-of-dedication-and-loyalty/
''And seen him make a cock of running a televised debate.''
If you are talking about the leaders debate, the general consensus I read, at the time, was he did OK. I'm hoping he will be a co-host in the upcoming leaders debate.
Post one of his 'Mike's Minute' Clips
No. This is material of no value whatsoever.
the general consensus I read, at the time, was he did OK
No, the general consensus was that he was not as bad as expected – a D fail instead of an F fail. There are literally thousands of New Zealanders who would have done a better job – and one of them should have been there doing it. Hosking was there because he is a reliably useless bigot.
Bigotry is not a social virtue – in the free market of ideas, the Right needs to fight its corner on its merits – Hosking always gives them a free ride.
Woods is presenting as a highly competent MP with a talent for 'fire-suppression'.
One of the rising stars of the current Cabinet line-up.
It appears that neither P Williams nor Little have the right kind of quick-wittedness to deal with an increasingly hostile media.
The news on crime was a killing field for the opposition and media tonight.
Poto is complety lost. It's not funny. She should go with dignity. Maybe Woods could become the spokesperson on crime for Labour? As for Jacinda…call an early election. Why people aren't asking for this is beyond me.
Example: Read this link. It's surreal, but true.
https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/politics/2022/06/police-minister-poto-williams-tells-aucklanders-hearing-gunfire-on-street-to-ring-police-crimestoppers.html
https://www.1news.co.nz/2022/06/07/police-fatally-shoot-man-at-wellington-family-harm-incident/
https://www.1news.co.nz/2022/06/07/gangs-nz-has-a-clear-escalation-at-the-moment-pm/
The government voted downs ACTS bill to confiscate criminal assets citing a variety of reasons. Now Labour wants to do something similar.
https://www.newstalkzb.co.nz/on-air/heather-du-plessis-allan-drive/audio/nicole-mckee-act-party-justice-spokesperson-says-the-government-is-playing-politics-on-gangs/
Been reading about a few contemporary and near contemporary French philosophers, and their relation to the discussion yesterday about the "right to repair" as a way to empower consumers and reduce waste.
After doing my philosophy browsing I thought about it and I wonder how much of it is really about saving the planet and how much of it is actually a reaction against what French philosopher Bernard Stiegler calls the "proletarianisation of consciousness"?
According to Stiegler we are proletarianised in everyday conscious when our savoir-faire (knowing the right thing to do) and savoir-vivre (knowing how to live well) is appropriated and "black boxed" by technology. in the 1970s, a broken cake mixer or valve radio or anything really could be fixed by any reasonably competent home handyman with access to some parts and a soldering iron. You just unscrewed the back and went looking for the blown transistor, resistor, or capacitor. New technologies are designed to stop this, be it a mobile phone you can't swap out the battery in or seedless vegetables you can't grow at home. In this, they are in fact controlling us, in the way that Gilles Deleuze (another froggy philosopher) anticipated in his essay on the "control society": they don't tell us what to do, they just present us with a fait accompli and we meekly comply. Of course, this is in turn reflects the wider "black boxing" of our economic management made explicit by neoliberalism, a system of technocratic exclusion designed to control the proletariat in the name of expertise.
One of the ways we seek to regain our savoir-faire and savoir-vivre is via self-help, by self-sufficiency. Perhaps in this unconsciously perceived helplessness we can observe the anger of the anti-mandaters, of the anti-vaxxers. The marginalised and excluded and the aggrieved wellness Mums at their perceived exclusion were vouchsafed a manifest target to take aim at and blame for their helplessness. But on this we are all quite wrong – it doesn't matter if I can fix an old cake mixer, or if I use a fountain pen rather than a biro to cut down on plastic waste, or if I grow my own vegetables in an organic patch fertilised by my own shit, or I refuse to vaccinate my kids and/or latch onto some vast conspiracy theory. The reality of late capitalism is we are all helpless, merely passive spectators completely reliant on massive industries (just four companies control over 90% of the world food supply, with that food passing through just three main choke points, two or three companies dominate the internet), on large bureaucracies colonised by neoliberal technocrats, and on their enabling technologies over which we exercise very little control.
In short – is the right to repair nothing more than a salve, a balm of diversion which makes us feel good when we all know the world is going to hell in a handbasket and there is nothing that we – infantilised and atomised as we are in the great culture of narcissism that dominates our social and political discourse – can do about it?
it seems to me the only solution to planetary warming, excessive consumption, is not a right to repair but simply not to own any of those things in the first place. Since no one (including me, to be honest) will voluntarily give up their standard of living to that extent, and no government will ever be elected on a promise to reduce the standard of living by a lot, it seems to be the perhaps the only answers to the global crisis of late capitalism are to be found in the grim calculations of Malthus?
Having one's eyes off the screen and turned instead toward the natural world; gardens, beaches, mountains, skies and so on, is the way to unravel the tangle we find ourselves in. Those foci stimulate valuable thoughts and understandings. Having fewer gadgets helps great deal. That we are habituated and reliant on some gadgets (eye-glasses, window panes etc.) makes reducing one's reliance a challenge requiring much thought, patience and tolerance.
But it is the direction to take.
Imo.
I take it you don't know any people that grow most of their own food? I do, I know quite a few. If the global food supply falls over this year, they will do without but they won't starve and they won't need to riot because they will be busy teaching people in their community how to grow their own food too.
Gardening is one of the most potent political acts we can do at this time (growing, paying others to grow for us, community gardens, and upthread, food forests). It doesn't give a false sense of security, it gives people actual food security as well as the personal empowerment to take action in other areas.
Right to repair is both class activism (enabling people to manage on low incomes), and a direct challenge to neoliberalism. It's not designed to save the planet, it's intention is to be part of the right living movements that will give humans the ability to survive and be respectful of all of life.
Both gardening and repairing bring joy to the people who do them, so much joy that they will teach others, often for free. That is political activism too, and the value of joy at this point in history cannot be measured. The way out of the Malthusian hell hole that neoliberals want to keep us in, is joy and activism combined. They build upon each other and give people a pathway that makes sense, improves their lives and saves the planet at the same time.
For some of us, politics is primarily about liberation.
Gardening and saving seed is great as well, my late Aunt saved seeds, as did my Dad. Robert, you would save seeds I think, and do you exchange them?
Thanks Sanctuary, imho your last paragraph highlights some inconvenient truths. Late capitalism is a highly resilient growth engine – it will not transition voluntarily.
https://theconversation.com/the-end-of-global-travel-as-we-know-it-an-opportunity-for-sustainable-tourism-133783
"The COVID-19 pandemic has halted mobility globally on an unprecedented scale, causing the neoliberal market mechanisms of global tourism to be severely disrupted. In turn, this situation is leading to the decline of certain mainstream business formats and, simultaneously, the emergence of others. Based on a review of recent crisis recovery processes, the tourism sector is likely to rebound from this sudden market shock, primarily because of various forms of government interventions. Nevertheless, although policymakers seek to strengthen the resilience of post-pandemic tourism, their subsidies and other initiatives serve to maintain a fundamentally flawed market logic."
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/14616688.2020.1763445
“…The current economic system being utilized and internalized relies on perpetual growth. It has long operated counter to the reality that we are confined to a finite planet with finite resources…"
Humanity deal with this conundrum with occasional spasms of massive capital destruction (i.e. a crisis that leads to a hugely destructive war) that re-sets the growth clock to zero.
Re-setting the 'growth clock' to true zero would be good for spaceship Earth – humans not so much. Controlled degrowth is the best civilisation could do, imho.
Except it won't just be a war mainly in Europe, it will be a global catastrophe that wipes out most species on the planet. Similar level of upheaval to the Ice Age or the K-T extinction event.
Crops are failing, oceans are being demolished, habitats are being bulldozed everywhere.
The only way the human race makes it past 2030 is to stop everything. And depopulate.
Industrialisation gave us incredible power but we are still bound by the laws of thermodynamics, and the bill has come due.
The only way the human race makes it past 2030 is to stop everything. And depopulate.
We are already – because industrialisation has allowed us to.
There is an amphibian school of philosophy?
Frogs, n'est-ce pas?
Who are you reading and what bits?
Stretch your legs and do a post.
Failing that send me some paras and I'll do one.
I read this morning Luxon was head of deodorants for Unilever in the US. So he would have been responsible for the repulsive Axe (you know it as Lynx) advertising campaigns. How unchristian. What a bottom feeder. Lay in to him.
"head of deodorants"!!
Roll-ons, yes?
Lay off the head shots.
Chris has been saying this to photographers for months now.
Lynx… the workhorse of smellies for the young and unsophisticated. You can also smell it half a kay down the road if the wind is blowing in the right direction.
A young rellie of mine was lamenting the fact he couldn't get laid when he went out. I chucked the Lynx and gave him a pheromone spray (Chikara). He's had a sexually transmitted disease three times in the past two years. Must be working.
If you were into prevention, rather than punishment, you would have given him condoms.
Then he wouldn't have been laid. BTW, condoms CAN usually be effective. But not all the time, and not against all sexually transmitted diseases.
Nothing like experience.. as they say on the right. I hope the cure was better than. the.. disease.
wow, the internal polls must be really bad
'head of deodorants' =too funny!
Chrome dome got his position through pure nepotism imo.
Daddy worked for Johnson and Johnson.
"I read this morning Luxon was head of deodorants for Unilever in the US."
Close. But no.
[So close, yet so far.
Since you seem to know better, why don’t you set the record straight, yes?
Put up or shut up – Incognito]
Mod note
He was Head of Unilever Canada.
And they don't just do deodorant.
Too much disrespect for the Company that gifted us the great Magnum almond ice cream.
Irrelevant distraction from you, as usual. This was about a specific claim what Luxon had been doing and it is entirely correct. Indeed, Unilever does more than making soaps and Luxon has done more at Unilver than selling soaps (after all, he worked there 18 yrs and 4 mths), but soaps he sold, which suits his name, IMO.
https://www.nzedge.com/news/christopher-luxon-by-degrees/
Next time you correct another commenter you’d better be correct and not a waste of time again.
BTW
Why did you not ask the same of No name used's claim?
“Kiwi joins Air NZ from Unilever
Air New Zealand has appointed well-travelled Kiwi businessman Christopher Luxon to head up its international airline.
Luxon, 40, takes over from Ed Sims as group general manager for international from May 30 and joins the NZX-listed carrier from consumer goods giant Unilever.
Luxon joined Unilever in 1993 after completing a master of commerce at the University of Canterbury and since December 2008 has been president and chief executive of Unilever Canada……”
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/kiwi-joins-air-nz-from-unilever/VIA6D5ELTT7D7S7RTYZ66L5CBQ/
[Take a week off for telling me how, whom, and for what I should moderate.
No name used @ 10 made no incorrect claims and didn’t try to correct another commenter with BS to make yourself look superior or something whatever – Incognito]
Mod note