‘..but i reserve my contempt around this issue for the ‘left’..
..for both labour and the greens..
..(and given harawiras’ (vote-killing/election-losing?) anti-pot tantrum during the election-campaign..even mana to a lesser degree..is tainted by this rank-hypocrisy..)
..how those left parties have often been as reactionary on this issue as is the right..’
Smart move, Messrs Key and Bridges.
This quote comes to mind.
““At the moment, New Zealand is dominated by these neo-liberal, profit-obsessed, very shallow, very money-hungry politicians. They care about short-term gains. They would destroy the planet in order to be able to have the life they want. I feel very angry with my government.”
” Given the chatter within National Party ranks…….in the months before the September election……..plus…….a police investigation began in August, IT SEEMS INCONCEIVABLE THAT KEY DID NOT KNOW of Sabin’s problems before late November – the time Key says he was informed. EVERYONE ELSE SEEMS TO HAVE KNOWN BEFORE THEN. ”
Wait for it folks – this from Armstrong the award winner –
” BUT SO WHAT ? …….no one has yet come up with even a JOT OF EVIDENCE……he knew about Sabin’s troubles much earlier…….. ”
From the Concise Oxford English Dictionary – “inconceivable – not capable of being imagined or grasped mentally; unbelievable. ” From the same source – “evidence – information indicating whether a belief or proposition is true or valid.”
Armstrong aye ? The shill of shills. A right little ToKeyo Rose. Pompous and sneering with it.
He has not allowed any comments/discussion under the article. This morning the comment button was on, I commented, but NONE have been published yet! A pathetic coward that knows his article is crap or is he just a shameless well paid pro-Key RW shill?
The Chinese were the people most discriminated against in New Zealand society in the late 1800s and early 1900s. The formal, legal discrimination was centred on immigration controls which restricted entry in general for Chinese and which also imposed a substantial poll tax on Chinese migrants.
The White New Zealand policy culminated in 1920 with legislation that passed control of Chinese immigration into the hands of a government minister. At this point Chinese migration was pretty much halted altogether.
Support for these racist immigration controls united Tory-style traditional conservatives, liberals, feminists, a layer of Maori leaders, the ‘militant’ leaders of the Labour Party and ‘moderate’ elements atop the overall labour movement.
Below are the initial articles we’ve stuck up on the White New Zealand policy and the theoretical tools for analysing it. We’ll be looking at the development of the policy in the 1890s and first two decades of the twentieth century in future feature articles.
Nicky Hager, Bradley Ambrose, Jon Stephenson have been hassled by cops, spied on, and had stuff confiscated. Judith Collins and Cam Slater try to destroy careers of principals, teachers, and scientists who don’t toe the government line. Paula Bennett has no problem releasing personal details of beneficiaries who complain about government policy.
National are a bunch of power abusing bullies, and any journalist with a brain and a conscience would recognise that.
” Alarmist, strident, paranoid and at times hysterical, our self-styled public intellectuals…….”
What a toadying article that was.
And what a confirmation of Eleanor Catton’s comment about the anti-intellectual and anti-cultural prejudices in NZ.
Hang your head in shame Thomas.
I endorse your views on Paul Thomas. A couple of years ago, after I questioned Jeremy Hansen’s casual and thoughtless praise for something that mediocrity had written, poor old “gobsmacked” felt the need to come to Thomas’ defence….
There seems to be some sort of toadying competition out there amongst the extreme right corporate media we have.
So far this year Plunket, Christie and now Thomas have all striven to see who can be the most obsequious to the Dear Leader.
My personal selection for the most slavish and subservient propagandist thus far is Christie. His interview of Key was abject.
Christie is kind of pathetic, actually. I was particularly appalled by the smirking approval that he and everyone else on camera gave to stories about one of Prince Harry’s cocaine and prostitutes binges last year.
No. I have had THREE alcohol-induced hangovers, many years apart. Never again, I promised myself each time.
..or is yr shock/horror a result of too much media shock/horror..?
You’re pretty much on the money there, phillip.
.’cos the facts of the matter are that cocaine is hardly worse than alcohol….and what they do have in common..is that too much of both will mess you up..
I agree with you, phillip. My problem is not that that murderous little creep was using cocaine, my problem was the indulgent, approving comments by Rawdon Christie, Nadine Chalmers Ross, Peter Williams and Toni Street. One can imagine their frowns and their mock outrage if, say, a young Māori man flagrantly, repeatedly, cavorted with prostitutes and snorted coke—not to mention stalking shepherds from the air and killing them.
Not that Aunty Beeb is up too much these days…..but Rawdie was a frikken embarrassment to them back then. Probably the reason he came out to the colonies Big fish, little (polluted) pond rather than little fish big pond. Not very ‘aspirational’ I know but it seems we’re into another round of putting up with the U.K.’s rejects.
“National are a bunch of power abusing bullies, and any journalist with a brain and a conscience would recognise that.”
‘Reporters Without Borders’ have a brain, you will agree?
I see they rank NZ 9th in the World for Freedom of press, while registering some concern this year that ” the interception of reporter Jon Stephenson’s metadata by the military, which thought his articles were overly critical, and the release of journalist Andrea Vance’s phone records to a leak investigation is indicative of growing government mistrust of the media and their watchdog role.”
That’s an ironic comment given that your original post was an attack on the intelligence (‘fool’), impartiality (‘pro establishment’), and competence (‘piece of crap’) of a journalist.
In fact, as the replies to your original post show, and as you can read every day here both in editorial and commenters content, there is a very strong theme of ‘distrust’ and ‘disrespect’ of the press evident on TS.
Every day here I read attacks on the integrity of individual journalists and the media as a whole, far worse than anything I have ever heard from a politician in NZ.
And many of you who do so are the first ones to get out your pens to defend Catton or Hager from the disrespect of others! Hypocrites. The truth is that you only value and support the freedom of those who say things that you agree with. Those who don’t, you attack with a bigoted zeal.
FFS. Given power, some of you here would quickly have us ranking down there with Venezuela!
Is the Key-loving paparazzi beyond criticism now? Sorry, I didn’t get that memo.
My mistake, I thought that journalists were supposed to uncover hidden agendas and question authority, not parrot government PR.
Puddleglum certainly is a scholar.
As such, I am very surprised that he has employed the same ‘faulty generalisation’ sin of logic as many less erudite commentators on the Catton case.
An extremely small sample cannot validly be used to make claims about the attributes of much larger groupings….
I’m not quite sure why you think I’ve employed the ‘faulty generalisation’ sin of logic. In fact I’m not sure what that sin is. Is it the well-known flaw in inductive logic? (If every crow I’ve seen is black, all crows must be black …)
In my defence, I’d clarify that much of today’s broadcast media (and commentators), and much of its ‘style’, has grown out of the deregulation, privatisation (e.g., of state radio networks) and commercialisation of the media.
It is not that long ago that there was no RadioLive, RadioSport, TV3, Mediaworks, etc.. There were no ‘shock jocks’, no news bulletins that competed for market share by making ‘stars’ of their political journalists (and required them to do rapid fire ‘blogs’ on the latest political ‘hot’ issue), no ‘advertorials’, no well-rewarded corporate ambassadors (e.g., Mike Hoskings’ involvement with Sky City) plugging their particular corporation’s PR, etc., etc..
It was not that long ago that political journalists never considered ‘market share’ for their employer and, so, would steer well clear of using personal abuse to attract an audience.
All of these changes in the political media we now have (and the political journalism we have) arose as a fairly direct result of the reforms of the 1980s and 1990s. I suppose you could say that there is more diversity (or, more correctly, there are more ‘outlets’ ) but I’m not sure that equates to more good political analysis or, for that matter, more or better information about politics and political issues.
My concern is less about individual political journalists who may align themselves unashamedly with one side of the political spectrum but about the structural changes in political media which makes it difficult for anyone to step outside of the parameters of political debate that were established in the 1980s/1990s.
That’s reinforced, I think, by the fact that the political journalists who dominate the commentary today have often themselves grown up – and certainly only been adults – since those reforms took place. That means that, as individuals, they’ve pretty much imbibed the neoliberal ‘thought world’ into their view of what is ‘common sense’ (as David Harvey argues in ‘A Brief History of Neoliberalism’).
In that sense, as individuals they are no different from many other (youngish) New Zealanders who absorbed those same attitudes and values (as we all absorb the attitudes and values of the social and economic arrangements into which we are born). Hardly something I would ‘blame’ them for, of course.
Basically, I think the ‘logic’ of the structural changes that occurred at that time have led towards a form of political journalism that finds it harder and harder to do serious political reporting, let alone analysis.
As I said, this is not the fault of individuals (who simply earn a living – sometimes quite a good one – in the way that seems to be required of them) but of the ‘incentives’ or ‘logic’ built into today’s media by those reforms.
And, of course, there’s also the constant restructuring and rationalising of media organisations that puts greater and greater pressure onto journalists – yet another consequence that can be traced, quite uncontroversially, back to those same reforms.
Puddleglum, I enjoyed your article immensely, and much of it I would either be inclined to either agree with, or at least agree that I might agree with, if future events unfold in line with trends you predict from current observation.
(If they don’t of course I will say you were an arse!)
But I do quibble with the arguments you make that derive from ‘faulty generalisations’. i.e. Large scale assertions and conclusions you draw from a very small number of evidential occasions of a particular phenomena.
The number of samples you reference as the base material for your argument is 4, in an overall grouping of 4.5 million.
Plunkett, Farrer, Hooten, and Key (and with that last sample you are careful to preface most comments with the qualifier ‘seem’).
And yet from that tiny sample, (via many delightful diversions admittedly), you draw conclusions about the nature of the vastly larger entities of ‘Neo-liberalism’, ‘our market system’, ‘many New Zealanders’, and ‘right wingers’.
I would happily agree that Plunkett, Farrer, Hooten are idiots, and that Key is a man without intellectual sophistication, or a love of the arts.
But in my opinion, it is as valid to say that they are representative of any large scale groupings of New Zealanders, as it would be to base a similar argument on the ‘representative’ comments of Martyn Bradbury, Hone Harawira, and Philip Ure.
..mainstream political-polling shows that poverty/inequality are an issue that concerns a majority of mainstream nz..
Polling doesn’t show how concerned people are. For example if they are concerned enough to do something about it themselves.
Polling is very superficial. I don’t think Government priorities should be dictated by whatever media organisations decide to ask in polls.
Poverty/inequality is already an issue of concern to the Government anyway, according to how much they spend on social security and welfare – $27.3 billion for 2013/14 (twice as much as spent on health+education).
“i must counter yr last assertion..
..mainstream political-polling shows that poverty/inequality are an issue that concerns a majority of mainstream nz..”
Good to see you acknowledge that Phillip. Too often on this site the narrative is that mainstream NZ’ers are purely self – interested, greedy, and don’t care.
As you point out, that’s rubbish.
..so the arguments presented to fix this problem..
..are indeed ‘representative’..
Just one step too far in your logic there?
No question a concern about poverty and inequality is representative of a majority of NZ’ers…
But where is the evidence that any specific “argument presented to fix this problem” can be said to be representative of the majority of Mainstream NZ?
I know of no such evidence, but as the majority of NZ’ers are concerned about poverty and inequality, you might think that you can draw some simple conclusions about their preferred solutions from their voting patterns at the last election?
but as the majority of NZ’ers are concerned about poverty and inequality, you might think that you can draw some simple conclusions about their preferred solutions from their voting patterns at the last election?
You speak of logic and strut out such a stupid conclusion. The last election was not fought on a single issue of poverty and inequality. An election result is based on many different political election dynamics. Take a step back and think of the different things that happened during the last election such as the muddying of waters through government propaganda and lies, the effect of KDC, the nasty tricks played against him, IMP and Hone in TTT, the dirty politics, our very mediocre and quite biased mostly pro government and anti cunliffe, anti-Labour and anti-left TV and print media machine, the exaggeration of minor errors of Cunliffe and the left and low scrutiny of Key and the RW. The election was NOT a kind of referendum on the question of ‘poverty and inequality’ as you stupidly infer.
@Puddlegum: “I’m not quite sure why you think I’ve employed the ‘faulty generalisation’ sin of logic.”
“All of these changes in the political media we now have (and the political journalism we have) arose as a fairly direct result of the reforms of the 1980s and 1990s.”
Political media has been changing for much longer than that.
Newspapers have been always privately owned. The oldest surviving daily in New Zealand is the ODT, first published 15 November 1861. The Press began as a weekly a few months earlier than that.
Private radio re-emerged in the early 70s along with talkback radio.
And there are significant changes in the last few decades that have little or nothing to do with the reforms of the 80s and 90s.
The Internet and social media has radically changed the political media.
Some of the changes are negative but some are positive. I certainly wouldn’t want to see Muldoon style bullying and attempted control of political journalists, and I suspect Tom Scott would agree.
Competition and diversification encourages more extreme, more superficial and less careful reporting. But it also uncovers things that a cosier club may have decided to keep out of the public domain.
And regardless of all this whatever the causes of the changes are it is as it is and there’s no going back.
One thing probably hasn’t changed – both sides complaining about unfair coverage that’s biased against them.
Dissimulation is a form of deception in which one conceals the truth. It consists of concealing the truth, or in the case of half-truths, concealing parts of the truth, like inconvenient or secret information.
I’m picking a couple of skid marks here and there – but nothing a cyclist could even get worked up about. In some cases, I think I’d rather have the train tracks over which small, modular ‘bus-on-bogies’ type rolling stock could run.
Turned Christchurch CBD into a giant parking lot
Turned the Auckland housing crisis into serious $$$ for his banker mates
Promised to fix everything, then went and played golf in Hawaii
Venezuela’s government has been democratically elected; whether its reforms are “socialist” or not is not relevant.
That it survived an insurrection and coup, orchestrated by the Bush regime in 2002, is a testimony to the strength and resilience of the Venezuelan electors. A few generations earlier, the United States could have violently overthrown the elected government, with its outrageous democratic pretensions, and installed a compliant dictator, as it did after it destroyed the democratically elected governments in Guatemala (1954) and Chile (1973).
The Obama administration has continued the rhetorical onslaught against democracy in Venezuela, and it has encouraged the campaigns of hoarding in order to create a sense of chaos and destabilization. But the population of Venezuela has been through it all before.
People like you, who know little or nothing about anything, will continue to rant and rage about it, but the fact is: Venezuela has a hard won commitment to democratic government—and the violent insurrections, fuelled by U.S. provocateurs, that occasionally flare up will not destroy that.
I was not ranting and raving about Venezuela?
I simply linked to what ‘Reporters without Borders’ has to say about press freedom there.
They point to significant Government abuses of the Press which you haven’t addressed at all?
Unless your post above is meant to be a defense of the Govt. abuse of press freedom?
You were saying how great NZ media freedom is compared to that of Venezuela. That beleaguered country is a touchy subject around here, as an example of underhanded US political interference.
Comparison of ‘relative’ press freedom doesn’t justify dirty politics mate.
Reporters without Borders do make a comparative judgment on Press Freedom, and I presume next year their assessment of ‘dirty politics’ will be reflected in that.
But in the meantime, you seem to be implying that alleged ‘outside interference’ in Venezuela justifies it’s Governments abuse of internal press freedom? (Boy, now that’s a new idea. Sarc.)
And Morrissey, who is normally very keen on anything Venezuelan, doesn’t have any comment at all on the freedom of press abuses of the current government?
Awesome derail of the original comment about New Zealand media. These comments about Venezuela are getting further afield. Do you really think a left wing government in NZ would crack down on media freedom or something? Remember how much insane trivia was reported about Helen Clark?
I don’t think any NZ Govt. is going to ‘crack down on media freedom’, and my expectation is that we will retain our ranking near the top of the press freedom index.
Lets not talk about Venezuela’s abuse of press freedoms for now then. It’ll keep until the next time someone brings Venezuela up as an example of the success of Socialist Government.
I’ll willing to predict that no one be be very keen to discuss it even then though.
A fine example of cherry picking the data McFlock.
You don’t mention that in 2008 we were 7th equal with 6 other countries, covering 7th to 13th.
And lets have a look at our position in the index since we first appeared in…
2003 17th, 2004 9th, 2005 13th, 2006 19th, 2007 15th, 2008 7th =, 2009 13th, 2010 8th, 2011/12 12th, 2013 8th, 2014 9th.
So a drop from 8th to 9th doesn’t look very significant in light of those figures does it?
And it’s very interesting to see the general improvement in our placing since 2008….wonder why we were ranked so low between ’03 and ’07?
You never answered why you wanted to know if I was a “worker”, by the way.
Nothing personal. Was just following the idea that some actual people who were actual workers might actually consider taking over businesses.
As opposed to all the theorising about the desirability of doing so.
Found it quite bizarre that such a line of thought should be considered offense by some – on a worker oriented blog!
Not to mention the idea that some people would consider it an invasion of privacy to identify themselves as workers?
But we know that around the globe actual workers have not just considered it, they’ve done it. And we have quite a few co-ops in NZ anyway.
Seems to be a bit of a waste of your time.
As for privacy issues, some tories like to identify commenters and contact their employers. So I choose what I tell you guys about me. Sure, you could probably aggregate data and identify me with a certain level of accuracy, but there’s no reason I should make it easy for you.
+1 Chooky.
Also we need to question the selective use of violent video images to justify war-mongering.
Bill Moyers points out that there is evidence of brutality in our own society that is equally horrifying to the fiery cage which is being used by our Government to justify NZ participation against ISIS.
Maybe I’m getting too cynical, but wasn’t the release of American Sniper just prefect to get the uniformed, gullible, uncritical and fragile western minds gun ghost for another war in the Middle East?
The campaign of demonisation against George Galloway constitutes incitement
by John Wight, socialistunity.com, 6 February, 2015
The latest edition of BBC Question Time from Finchley in north London was a low point for the flagship show. The treatment meted out to Respect MP George Galloway was a disgrace, made more so by the fact his car was attacked as he was leaving the venue, despite a police presence outside.
The ugly events witnessed by millions began in the weeks leading up, as soon as his appearance on the panel in Finchley was announced. An orchestrated campaign of intimidation and provocation was waged through the media, designed to intimidate both him and the BBC. But as George said, the idea that someone who has been an MP on a near uninterrupted basis since 1987 should be prevented from speaking or appearing in any constituency in the country is an attack on democracy. The Conservative MP for Finchley and Golders Green, Mike Freer, played a key part in instigating this media campaign, which given that the Respect MP was physically assaulted in the street just a few months ago by a fanatic wearing an IDF t-shirt, is surely grounds for Mr Freer to be held to account.
During the show, the question directed at Galloway re the rise of antisemitism in the UK should have been censored. It straddled the line of defamation, not to mention taste, and brought the BBC into disrepute. It was an organised attack, involving an audience in which an array of hate mongers were given free rein. Even the gentleman who reminded the audience of Galloway’s past record in correcting antisemitism when it arised on his Press TV show Comment, went on to assert that antisemitism was directly related to the number of Muslims living in Europe.
Jonathan Freedland of the Guardian’s statement, “the resumption of violence in Gaza”, during his attack on George was a studied and cowardly attempt to minimise one of the most barbaric military operations against a civilian population the world has witnessed. That he could not bring himself to acknowledge this, when we consider the 500 Palestinian children who were slaughtered during this massacre, was suggestive of a man who has had his humanity surgically removed.
The free speech ‘merchants’, those who were so up in arms over matters related to the massacre at the offices of Charlie Hebdo, who use free speech as a sword rather than a shield, would like nothing more than to silence one of the only voices in the country’s national life who dares challenge the demonisation of Muslims and the Muslim community, establishment support for the apartheid state of Israel, and a political status of quo of military intervention overseas and social and economic injustice at home.
That George is a polarising figure is beyond doubt. But the reason they hate him because he knows them, knows what they are and consistently and tirelessly exposes their hypocrisy and double standards. Consequently, it would be a huge reverse if he fails to get re-elected as the MP for Bradford West in May. Fortunately, though, given the disgraceful lynch-mob-audience on Question Time, and the orchestrated campaign of incitement we have seen rolled out against him, his re-election is now more likely than ever.
Someone tweeted last night after the show ‘Je Suis George Galloway’. It is hard to argue with that sentiment after the attempted political and public lynching of the Respect MP on Question Time.
Yes it was a disgrace.
Galloway simply differentiated between Zionism and Judaism, as well as commenting that there was more anti-Islamic behaviour at the moment. It would appear that free speech is only permitted for some views in the west.
The fact the BBC allowed such a mob mentality shows how much the UK is slipping from democracy.
Yep! You have to wonder though at who’s been pulling the strings – it has been a similar pattern (even a Crosby Textor/Murdoch type pattern) that’s been active in the ‘Commonwealth of Nations’ …… you know …. that “Club”
Cameron and cohorts in the UK, Abbott @ Co in Oz attacking SBS and ABC, Key and kronies attacking the last remaining vestiges of PSB in NZ, and Canada – ALL done through cronie appointments and/or cutting of funding.
Then there’s the commercial arm of Auntie …… stacking it all with colonial rejects just to make it all look good and viable.
Never mind tho’ chasps – it’ll all jump up and bite them in the bum eventually
Russell Ballantyne, co-director and teacher at Early Childhood on Stafford, in Dunedin says
If you give your children freedom, he says, these same children will not be scared to make decisions in life, they’ll know their capabilities. They are the people who will become our future leaders.
“Ninety-nine point nine per cent of people are good and yet we treat them as if they are evil and that’s where we have lost the plot.
“We have to have faith in our children. We have to have faith in our society, in our villages. If you do not have faith in your village then as a community, we do not exist.”
Sure, he says, we have to monitor our children and make sure they are OK but we should not always be the source of their entertainment.
“That’s not healthy. The way for children to know themselves is to have the freedom to try.”
great article, thanks. I was a free range kid (because that’s just how it was) and extremely grateful for that.
“In America recently a school got rid of all its swings because they read a study that said swings were the most dangerous equipment in the playground.”
I wonder that the most dangerous equipment in their playground is now, and when they’re going to get rid of it.
I love the bit about the kid that went to the moon.
“Murder and abduction/kidnapping rates have risen. In 1980 there were eight convictions for murder and 19 convictions for abduction/kidnapping. In 2013 there were 33 convictions for murder and 89 for abduction/kidnapping.”
Pretty useless paragraph there DomPost, and doesn’t fit the article at all except to demonstrate the tendancy to unproductive paranoia. How many of the abductions are by family members? Increases in reported kidnapping vs parental disputes about custody. Increase in divorce/separation rates. Changes in the culture around expections on parents when they separate. Increase in population. etc etc.
“That Key escaped punishment at the ballot box last September despite exposure of the dirty-tricks campaign masterminded by Jason Ede and Whale Oil’s Cameron Slater tells you an awful lot about New Zealand voters’ stance on the abuse of power and safeguarding political rights.”
“Quite simply, they don’t have one. If they did, Hager would have been considered a hero”
Yep, and
Claire Trevett
“Labour leader Andrew Little has proposed looking at giving Maori greater self-governance, possibly including the ability to make some of their own laws.”
“Mr Key said allowing some iwi the ability to make their own law would be “divisive” and he did not support the suggestion”
NZ is so unsettled that under the current confusion rights and laws are in danger of being corrupted to such extend that the country will end up fighting itself. On one hand utter ignorance and apathy regarding laws and civil liberty and on the other jumping on bandwagons to appease creating another bottom less pit of unrest and animosity. The later instigated by Mr Little and this will lead me to never vote for him. Ever. Given that Mr Key is just a puppet of the rich there is not much choice left other then the greens who hopefully can find their footing after the departure of Dr Norman. All in all – meet another non voter. Hallelujah, first time in my life.
Andrew Little was drawing what I thought was the perfectly logical conclusion that if Nga Puhi did not cede their sovereignty then they may still have the power to make laws. I am sure that he was not trying to be populist, in fact the opposite. He was talking frankly as a lawyer, not as a politician.
Thanks micky, a bit of context helps. I still think it’s a bad idea, but at this stage Ngapuhi self-government is just a pipe dream. There’s a fraction too much friction in the ranks.
I appreciate your statement. As I see it, Mr Little is now a politician for all, that means the last thing you want to create is a 2,3 4 tier system – it will lead to exactly what is discussed here for such long time that should be avoided like the pest – Apartheid. There is a certain degree of diplomacy and tact needed as well as a firm stance that every NZlander counts.
I agree totally as well …. the thing is though, when the complacent, and the thick shits eventually wake up (which inevitably they will), can you imagine just how angry they’re going to be? None of them will take kindly to the realisation they’ve been royally conned – especially by a Phil Stein.
Harder they rise, harder and nastier (hopefully not, but often the case) they fall.
(At which point of course, we’ll all expected to feel pity for them)
David Cameron says a second financial crash is imminent. If he’s right, it’s because the government bailed out the wrong industry, argues Renegade Economist host Ross Ashcroft. He says the last recession was brought on by too much debt. Today private debt is at the greatest level in recorded human history. By ignoring this and instead focusing on the banks, we are heading for economic armageddon.
“It does seem appropriate to equate people who rip off the welfare system with those who rip off the tax system, yes.”
But they’re not people ripping off the welfare system (did you even read the article?). They’re people with outstanding arrest warrants, for anything (not necessarily to do with their benefit), who happen to be on a benefit at the time the warrant it processed. Why target only beneficiaries and not all people with outstanding warrants who receive help from the state and who are contactable that way?
But they’re not people ripping off the welfare system…
My response was to the suggestion that the media (or maybe the authorities, it wasn’t clear) should focus on tax dodgers rather than beneficiaries. Which would make beneficiary fraud the relevant comparison. If you find it invalid to compare tax dodgers with people receiving benefits while having outstanding warrants, take it up with the commenter who did so.
Why target only beneficiaries and not all people with outstanding warrants who receive help from the state and who are contactable that way?
I expect, first, because it’s relatively straightforward, and second, because it offers immediate and hefty leverage.
Well, yeah. Do you imagine the constant demands on these threads for more to be done about “corporate and wealthy tax dodgers” amount to “taxpayer-bashing?” If so, you’ve never objected to it that I’ve noticed, and if not, your “benebashing” refrain is on a par with “You’re ugly and your mother dresses you funny.”
That’s a stupid comparison. Bene bashing is a prevalent meme promoted by the state and by a chunk of the population in ways that are highly prejudicial against a class of people which includes some of the most vulnerable people in NZ.
Criticism of wealthy tax dodgers is a device used to point out the hypocricy of the above, and to hold unethical wealthy people to account. It’s nothing to do with taxpayers as a class of people (for instance it doesn’t include winz beneficiaries who are taxpayers, or low income earners etc). The criticism is from a relatively small section of NZ society against some of the most powerful and most protected members of society.
In fact, I’m struggling to see any relevancy or accuracy to your comparison. I think this is probably the most non-sensical argument I’ve seen you make. Nice attempt at diversion from your mistake about the article above, but you’ve just repeated the mistake.
It’s not a ‘focus’ on beneficiaries, it’s just one of a number of levers used to try and ensure that people deal with outstanding arrest warrants.
Another way they do it is stopping people with outstanding warrants from leaving the country.
And it’s nothing new. In about 1980 I was prevented from getting a firearms license until an outstanding warrant was dealt with. I thought that was fair enough.
Should beneficiaries be allowed to ignore arrest warrants?
I’m prejudiced against people ignoring the legal process.
Benefits won’t be cut without giving alleged offenders a chance to sort out any outstanding arrest warrants.
The process is:
• Courts issue arrest warrants.
• Police follow up on all issued warrants.
• Warrants can be resolved at any courthouse.
• Justice Ministry advises Ministry of Social Development of warrants not cleared within 28 days.
• People with unresolved warrants have 10 working days to contact Justice Ministry to clear warrant; otherwise benefit payments can be stopped.
The simple solution is to deal with any outstanding warrants.
Do you suggest beneficiaries should be free to ignore outstanding warrants?
beneficiaries are being singled out as a class of people, by a govt that does this intentionally.
Your question doesn’t make any sense in this conversation. The question is why should beneficiaries be targeted in such a potentially devastating way, instead of targeting all people with outstanding warrants, or all classes of people?
So, again, fuck off with your muddle NZ ignorance and prejudice. Until you understand the political and personal implications of this policy, you’re just an advocate for bene bashing.
Do you think that non-beneficiaries are not targeted to try and make them deal with arrest warrants?
This policy isn’t a problem for any beneficiaries that take responsibility for any outstanding arrest warrants. If they do what anyone should then they’re not treated any differently.
Unless they’re trying to avoid arrest. Arresting people and imprisoning them can be detrimental to their families. Should criminals with children never be imprisoned?
Show me which other classes of people are being specifically targeted with such extreme consequences.
“This policy isn’t a problem for any beneficiaries that take responsibility for any outstanding arrest warrants.”
Again, that’s just incredibly ignorant on your part. Your muddle NZ view that all people are equal is reprehensible when people in this country are struggling in ways you willfully refuse to understand. Worse, it’s exactly your politics that have abandoned those people to the fate you’re endorsing, and now you want to put the boot in with more bashing.
Oh wow, a comment from our local national-party supporting fact-checker. There’s a surprise.
The new policy does focus on beneficiaries, because it doesn’t deal with any other group of people. The policy change in questions does not, for example, deal with nutty attention-sinks who want to own guns.
Here’s a question for you, pete: should an arrest warrant for a trivial offence prevent someone being able to feed themselves or their kids?
And if you think people “ignore” arrest warrants, you don’t know what the word “arrest” means.
Messier 66 (also known as NGC 3627) is an intermediate spiral galaxy about 36 million light-years away in the constellation Leo. It was discovered by Charles Messier in 1780. M66 is about 95 thousand light-years across[3] with striking dust lanes and bright star clusters along sweeping spiral arms.[4] M66 is part of the famous Leo Triplet, a small group of galaxies that also includes M65 and NGC 3628.
“It’s not a ‘focus’ on beneficiaries”
*cough* bullshit Pete bullshit *cough*
If the campaign that has been running wild through the MSM the last few days is not putting a “focus” on beneficiaries I shudder to think what a focussed campaign would look like. Maybe, in your book, if there are no photo ID’s and published street addresses then it’s not quite specific enough to qualify as a “focus”.
These targeted warrants are reported as being for non payment of fines, child support and such. These are not warrants for violent offenders and definitely not reported to relate to any type of benefit fraud, or we can guarantee that you would have mentioned that detail time and time and time again.
Which all goes towards the implication it is about recouping of monies owed. Here is where it is good to mention “blood from a stone.”
The reports clearly mention the 8,000 warrants being targeted are belonging to beneficiaries and that these beneficiaries total over half of the 15,000 warrants outstanding for similar offences. My math is shaky but that leaves around 7,000 warrants for people NOT on a benefit. I see no mention of any attempts to focus on them. Sorry, to target them.
So why not target those people? They likely have jobs, assets and possibly even disposable income, so the fines can probably be paid or arrangements made for the fines to be paid,with relative ease. Many of those people are probably receiving Working for Families payments also.
So are you brave enough to ask why these 7,000 fine upstanding people are not also being thrown into the village stocks as the tomatoes get passed around?
This is turning WINZ workers into law enforcement agents and is the sort of thing that happened in East Germany. I am starting to think that Kiwis are turning into a contemptible little people. We didn’t used to be like this.
Neoliberalism has moved business practice away from the “Peter Principle”, past the “Dilbert Principle”, and on to the “Gervais Principle”. This comprises 3 strata of workers in an organisation…
The Sociopath (capitalized) layer comprises the Darwinian/Protestant Ethic will-to-power types who drive an organization to function despite itself. The Clueless layer is what Whyte called the “Organization Man,” but the archetype inhabiting the middle has evolved a good deal since Whyte wrote his book (in the fifties). The Losers are not social losers (as in the opposite of “cool”), but people who have struck bad bargains economically – giving up capitalist striving for steady paychecks. I am not making this connection up.
Boy the conspiracy theories are flying to thick and fast today, likewise armstrongs article and Venezuela a bit to close to home for many here shattering there half baked beliefs and world Veiw , attack attack
redelusion,
Ask your Mum to check your spelling and grammar next time. That comment was atrocious; at least seven errors by my count. What a mess, clearly the product of a disordered mind.
I have been concerned for some time that attacking Key is not having the desired outcome but, in fact, may have the opposite effect of entrenching his popularity and public support for him and National. All perceived ‘hits’ that have been landed on Key or National have so far had null result; cut off a head and, like a hydra, it grows back. Take Judith Collins, for example, or Nick Smith, or Maurice Williamson. Nothing seems to have had an effect on the election results and some have indeed argued that DP and the Moment of Truth have actually helped National; they backfired.
Why might that be so? Is it, as depicted in DP, because of an orchestrated campaign from the right? I think this may be part of the explanation but another part is perhaps less sinister and also not too hard to understand. According to some scientific studies* we all process information in a biased manner (“biased assimilation”), which causes us to adopt more extreme opinions and views after been exposed to inconclusive evidence, particular on complex matters. My lay-man’s interpretation is that with complex issues we revert to and rely on our biased initial views even when presented with objective, neutral, unbiased information to the contrary and, and become more radical as a consequence.
Cass Sunstein** has written good articles about assimilation bias and has listed convincing examples of complex issues suffering from this, such as climate change, the situation in the Middle East, international terrorism, death penalty, etc. Sunstein also discussed deliberate polarization through so-called “polarization entrepreneurs”, who “attempt to create communities of like-minded people, and they are aware that these communities will not only harden positions but also move them to a more extreme point”. Rings a bell? Unfortunately, Sunstein does not offer any ways or solutions to counter these phenomena but it is quite clear that they exist and operate here in NZ as well. And they are getting stronger!
*For example, Biased assimilation, homophily, and the dynamics of polarizationhttp://www.pnas.org/cgi/doi/10.1073/pnas.1217220110 [free article; I skipped most of it as it was Gobbledygook to me. Please note that homophily is not the same as homophile]
**Cass Sunstein is a controversial figure by all accounts. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cass_Sunstein His name has so far featured twice on TS and not necessarily in a good light.
The early leaders of the Labour Party were anti-Chinese racists and staunch supporters of the White New Zealand policy; a later article – not up on the blog yet – deals with developments after WW1, when the RSA, Reform Party, Liberal party, big farmers’ groups, Labour Party and Andrew Russell (head of Massey’s Cossacks in 1913) united in support of further White New Zealand legislation.
Slavoj Zizek says that all the last century systems of the left have failed. Local autonomy and decisions are good, but if talking about direct democracy where all decisions are debated and agreed together, he points out how time consuming that is.
(Anyone been on committees with eager, keen people who don’t understand the pitfalls of not knowing, not thinking too much, acting in anticipation of success, and having no fall-back policy for failure.)
He points out the secrecy around. What is going on that we don’t know. We have in theory freedom of choice, but what choice are we being presented with. And he was shocked at the extent of vision of the chinese over human biology, they are not only wanting to improve physical conditions , but also the workings of the mind. All the continents have plans for the citizens, and from which citizens are excluded from discussion.
Pundit’s Andrew Geddis’ comment on the right to death? new measure in Canada. It is strange how strongly the legislation speaks of citizens’ rights when it comes to life, but has nothing to offer for those wishing to die at any time, or when in terminal illness, or in pain. http://www.pundit.co.nz/content/all-those-moments-will-be-lost-in-time-like-tears-in-rain
Because here’s what Canada’s Charter of Rights and Freedoms says that every Canadian enjoys:
Everyone has the right to life, liberty and security of the person and the right not to be deprived thereof except in accordance with the principles of fundamental justice.
And here’s why the Supreme Court says that imposing criminal penalties on medical professionals who help another person who is suffering with no hope of remission from ending their own life breaches that right:
The right to life is engaged where the law or state action imposes death or an increased risk of death on a person, either directly or indirectly. Here, the prohibition deprives some individuals of life, as it has the effect of forcing some individuals to take their own lives prematurely, for fear that they would be incapable of doing so when they reached the point where suffering was intolerable.
Then consider the right that the New Zealand Bill of Rights Act guarantees to us all:
No one shall be deprived of life except on such grounds as are established by law and are consistent with the principles of fundamental justice.
This section was deliberately lifted from the Canadian model. And so I’m going to go out on a (not very long) limb and say that if and when a New Zealand court were ever to look at this right in the context of New Zealand’s criminal prohibition on “aid[ing] or abet[ing] any person in the commission of suicide”, it also would conclude that this blanket prohibition unjustifiably limits an individual’s right to life. The fact that Canada’s highest court unanimously ruled that the model for our law has this meaning and effect is going to be so persuasive that a New Zealand court is near certain to do likewise.
But, and here’s the big but, what does that prediction mean? Well, at one level it means that New Zealand’s existing law imposes an unjustifiable limit on the individual rights of some members of our society (those with some nasty incurable disease that may or may not kill them, but certainly will give them a future of pain, indignity and despair). Obviously that’s not a good look for our law.
On another level, however, this fact means nothing at all. For unlike Canada, our Bill of Rights Act does not allow a court to invalidate or “strike down” the law. So irrespective of what a judge (or panel of judges) may think of the criminal law’s effect on rights, it stays on the books. Which makes taking the matter to court a bit of a waste of time, and instead throws it back into the legislative arena….
Wow! Aren’t you brilliant! You are just an odd National party RWNJ I presume. Product of a tax payer supported wealthy private school? or a tax payer supported private Charter school?
The Chinese are becoming the landlords of NZ, with the endorsement of National and their wealthy backers. Local values and history do not factor into the financial decisions of this class of one percenters. The generations of Kiwis that built the infrastructure and houses have been sold out by a government who serves Money above all else. Now we know how displaced Maori feel.
Well the Christchurch Press was very pro John Key Nactional…and possibly one reason why John Key Nactional won the election…so they should take responsibility for this take over of New Zealand land and property by foreigners and in particular Chinese ……which was entirely predictable if John Key and Nactional won
The Christchurch Press one day before the Election plastered all over the front page a Tony Abbott inspired terrorist beat up in Australia…( some teenager with a plastic sword it turned out)…. voters in marginal seats in Christchurch were swung by these scare tactics and won by Nactional on the basis of this scaremongering by The Press, many believe.
….we can also thank other Nactional biased journalists and media…they know who they are and so do we…..it was an Election result bought by the right wing media
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Thanks to our strong health response, New Zealand’s economy is more open than many other countries. But as COVID continues to surge around the world, the economic consequences of the virus will continue to be a challenge, which is why we have a detailed plan to help New Zealand bounce ...
Thanks to our strong health response, New Zealand’s economy is more open than many other countries. But as COVID continues to surge around the world, the economic consequences of the virus will continue to be a challenge, which is why we have a detailed plan to help New Zealand bounce ...
The Government is stepping up action to deal with environmentally harmful products – including plastic packaging, tyres and e-waste – before they become waste. ...
The Green Party are ensuring that New Zealanders who were overseas when COVID-19 hit will not be charged for the cost of isolation or quarantine if they return home to live. ...
It's been another week of creating jobs, supporting local businesses, and investing in infrastructure up and down the country - all of which are helping to keep our economy moving post-COVID-19. ...
Law changes to end tenure review and provide for better management of Crown pastoral lands in the South Island high country were considered by Parliament today with the first reading of the Crown Pastoral Land Reform Bill says Minister for Land Information, Eugenie Sage. ...
The Green Party have secured legislative amendments in a bill expected to pass third reading this week, to ensure better rules for school teachers and staff, so they can de-escalate children with diverse needs and cognitive differences, such as autism, rather than using unnecessary and often traumatising force. ...
A report undertaken by Ministerial Services into Iain Lees-Galloway’s ministerial expenditure has found no evidence of any inappropriate transactions or spending. Ministerial Services undertook a line by line review of all his expenditure, including staff and spouse expenses for the period 1 January 2019 to 30 June 2020. “I commissioned ...
Managed isolation charges for returnees will come into force from 12.01am Tuesday 11th August, after they passed their last cabinet milestone today, Housing Minister Megan Woods said. “The new charging system balances the rights of New Zealanders to return home and helps reduce pressure on the managed isolation and quarantine ...
The Prime Minister of New Zealand Jacinda Ardern and the Prime Minister of the Cook Islands Henry Puna have welcomed the completion of phase one in the establishment of a travel bubble between New Zealand and the Cook Island. Negotiations on the text of an ‘Arrangement to Facilitate Quarantine-Free Travel ...
The Government has launched a new online, phone and onsite service to help New Zealanders connect to a range of employment support and products for workers and businesses affected by COVID-19, announced Minister of Education Chris Hipkins and Minister for Social Development Carmel Sepuloni. Connected.govt.nz is a one-stop-shop for jobseekers, ...
Security guards contracted to the Ministry of Social Development will be paid at least the Living Wage from next month supporting the Government’s commitment towards fair pay and employment conditions, announced Minister for Social Development Carmel Sepuloni. “MSD was among the first government agencies to pay its employees the living ...
The Minister of Conservation Eugenie Sage today launched Te Mana o te Taiao, the Aotearoa New Zealand Biodiversity Strategy - a way forward that envisions Aotearoa New Zealand as a place where ecosystems are healthy and resilient, and people embrace the natural world. “Many of New Zealand’s plants and wildlife species ...
“Pacific languages, cultures and identity are essential to the health, wellbeing and lifetime success of our Pacific peoples and their communities in Aotearoa. The strength and resilience of Pacific Aotearoa is not only vital to their own prosperity but integral to the prosperity of all New Zealanders, and is particularly ...
· $38 million to help schools cover unexpected costs related to COVID-19 · $69 million upgrade for online learning · $107 million contingency funding to support school construction suppliers facing additional costs due to the lockdown. The Government is releasing $214 million from the COVID-19 response and recovery fund to ...
Despite the Government installing safety upgrades around the country, people should still take care around rail crossings, said Transport Minister Phil Twyford launching Rail Safety Week. Phil Twyford said installing safety infrastructure is crucial, but we are encouraging people to be more careful around trains too. “We’re making good progress ...
The Government is providing a cash injection to help Palmerston North City Council complete a programme to provide 78 social housing units for vulnerable tenants. The $4.7 million to build 28 units in the Papaioea Place redevelopment comes from the $3 billion set aside for infrastructure in the Government’s COVID-19 ...
A pest free Banks Peninsula/Te Pātaka o Rākaihautū is one step closer with a $5.11 million boost to accelerate this project and create jobs, announced Conservation Minister Eugenie Sage in Canterbury today. “This is a game changer for this ambitious project to restore the native wildlife and plants on Ōtautahi/Christchurch’s doorstep ...
A Government grant of $6.4 million will expand the Pettigrew Arena in Taradale with new indoor courts of national standard. “The project is likely to take 18 months with approximately 300 people employed through the process,” Grant Robertson said. “The expansion will increase the indoor court space up to 11 ...
The Far North tourist destination of Mangonui is to receive Government funding to improve waterfront infrastructure, open up access to the harbour and improve water quality, Infrastructure Minister Shane Jones has announced. A total of $6.5 million from the $3 billion set aside in the COVID-19 Response and Recovery Fund ...
The Government has re-affirmed its commitment to supporting the hosting of the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup, which the ICC has delayed from 2021 to 2022. “This is obviously a disappointing decision for cricket players and fans around the world and for the White Ferns and their supporters here at ...
Cyclists and walkers will now have a safer way to get around Taupō, Tūrangi, and between Hamilton and Cambridge, with funding for shared paths and Te Awa River Ride, Associate Minister of Transport Julie Anne Genter announced today. “The Te Awa River Ride is the latest part of massive growth ...
Six major cycle routes will be completed in Christchurch thanks to funding from the Government’s investment in shovel-ready infrastructure as part of the COVID-19 recovery Associate Minister of Transport Julie Anne Genter announced today. $125 million will be invested to kick-start construction and fund the completion of the following cycleway ...
Plans are underway for a brand new state-of-the-art hub for Whanganui’s justice and social agencies, following confirmation the ageing Whanganui Central Police Station is to be replaced. Police Minister Stuart Nash has announced $25 million in new infrastructure spending to improve facilities for the wider community, and for staff who ...
An adjustment payment has been made to Waikato-Tainui and Ngāi Tahu under the relativity mechanisms in their 1995 and 1997 Treaty of Waitangi settlements, Minister for Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations Andrew Little announced today. The latest payments to Waikato-Tainui and Ngāi Tahu are $2,700,000 and $2,600,000 respectively to ensure the ...
Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters and Transport Minister Phil Twyford today kicked off the start of the Auckland NZ Upgrade Programme rail projects which will support over 400 jobs and help unlock our biggest city. Both ministers marked the start of enabling works on the third main rail line project ...
The Provincial Growth Fund (PGF) investment of $3.78 million in Wairoa will create much needed economic stimulus and jobs, Under-Secretary for Regional Economic Development Fletcher Tabuteau announced today. PGF projects announced today include: $200,000 loan to Nuhaka Kiwifruit Holdings Ltd (operated by Pine Valley Orchard Ltd) to increase the productivity ...
Tenants in public and Māori housing may be benefiting from their own affordable renewable energy in future – a fund to trial renewable energy technology for public and Māori housing has today been announced by Energy and Resources Minister Megan Woods and Associate Minister for Housing (Māori Housing) Nanaia Mahuta. ...
Hokianga will receive $2.7 million to redevelop four of its wharves and upgrade its water supply, Regional Economic Development Minister Shane Jones has announced. Far North District Council will receive $1.8 million from the Provincial Growth Fund for the work on the wharves. “The work will include the construction of ...
A $350 million Residential Development Response Fund is being established to support the residential construction sector and to minimise the economic impact from COVID-19, the Housing Minister Dr Megan Woods has announced. “The Residential Development Response Fund will help to progress stalled or at-risk developments that support our broader housing ...
As part of a broader plan to divert waste from landfill, the Government today announced $10.67 million for new infrastructure as part of the Resource Recovery Network across the Auckland region. “This key investment in Auckland’s community recycling network is part of the Government’s Infrastructure Reference Group ‘shovel ready’ projects ...
The Government is investing $45 million in the first stage of an ambitious urban development project for Tauranga that will employ up to 250 people and help the region grow, Urban Development Minister Phil Twyford announced today. Phil Twyford says the funding has been allocated out of the $3 billion ...
Getting low-emission trucks on the road is a step closer with investment in infrastructure to support hydrogen vehicles, the Energy and Resources Minister Megan Woods has announced. The Infrastructure Reference Group has provisionally approved $20 million for New Plymouth company Hiringa Energy to establish a nationwide network of hydrogen-fuelling stations. ...
A new trades training centre to upskill the local workforce will be built in the South Waikato town of Tokoroa through funding from the Government’s COVID-19 Response and Recovery Fund, Education Minister Chris Hipkins and Regional Economic Development Minister Shane Jones have announced. The Government will contribute $10.84 million from ...
The Government has agreed to repeal part of the Oranga Tamariki Act subsequent children provisions, Minister for Children Tracey Martin announced today. “There are times when children need to go into care for their safety – the safety and care of children must always be paramount,” Minister Martin said. “But ...
A $1.5 million boost to grow primary mental health and addiction services for Pacific peoples in Auckland, Hamilton and Canterbury will lead to better outcomes for Pacific communities, Associate Health Minister Jenny Salesa says. Pasifika Futures has received funding to expand services through The Fono, Aotearoa New Zealand’s largest by ...
Twenty-two projects to boost the sustainability and climate resilience of New Zealand’s food and fibres sector have been announced today by Agriculture Minister Damien O’Connor. The $18m funding will deliver practical knowledge to help farmers and growers use their land more sustainably, meet environmental targets, remain prosperous, and better understand ...
Employment Minister Willie Jackson welcomes an initiative that assists employers to get mature workers into New Zealand small businesses. The disadvantages that older people face in the workplace was highlighted in the whole of Government Employment Strategy. In order to address this, a Mature Workers Toolkit has been developed and ...
New Zealand and Australia reaffirmed today the need for the closest possible collaboration as they tackle a global environment shaped by COVID-19, Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters said. “In these challenging times, our close collaboration with Australia is more vital than ever,” said Mr Peters. Mr Peters and his Australian ...
The recovery and forensic examination of the loader driven by survivor Russell Smith means the underground team are now moving into an area of the Pike River Mine that has not been seen since the explosion, Minister Responsible for Pike River Re-entry Andrew Little said. “The fifth and last robot ...
The Government has confirmed a community-wide trial of CovidCard technology as it explores options for COVID-19 contact tracing. “Effective contact tracing is a vital part of the COVID-19 response,” Minister of Health Chris Hipkins said. “While manual processes remain the critical component for contact tracing, we know digital solutions can ...
The government is proposing changes to aquaculture legislation to improve the process for allocating and transferring aquaculture assets to iwi. Fisheries Minister Stuart Nash has introduced the Maori Commercial Aquaculture Claims Settlement Amendment Bill to Parliament. It proposes a limited new discretionary power for Te Ohu Kaimoana Trustee Limited (ToKM). ...
The Minister of Justice has today introduced the Family Court (Supporting Children in Court) Legislation Bill – the next step in the ongoing programme of work to fix the failed 2014 Family Court reforms led by then Justice Minister Judith Collins. The Bill arises from the report of the Independent ...
A new Department of Conservation (DOC) action plan tackles the impacts of climate change on New Zealand’s biodiversity and DOC managed infrastructure including tracks, huts and cultural heritage. Minister of Conservation Eugenie Sage says extreme weather events around the country have really brought home our vulnerability to changing weather patterns. ...
A heavily scaled back international Antarctic season will commence this week, Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters and Research, Science and Innovation Minister Megan Woods have confirmed. “Antarctica is the only continent that is COVID-19 free,” Mr Peters said. “Throughout the global pandemic, essential operations and long-term science have continued at ...
The Government is providing up to $30 million to help fund the NZ Campus of Innovation and Sport in Upper Hutt - an investment that will create 244 jobs. “The sports hub is designed to be a world-leading shared service for a range of sports, offering the level of facilities ...
Transport Minister Phil Twyford announced today transport projects currently in construction will continue at pace due to extra Government support for transport projects to mitigate the impact of COVID-19. To keep the $16.9 billion 2018-21 National Land Transport Programme going the Government has allocated funding from the COVID Response and ...
Tonight the National Party has selected Emma Mellow to stand in the Auckland Central electorate for the 2020 General Election. Emma Mellow replaces retiring MP Nikki Kaye who first won the seat from Labour in 2008. Emma leads a team of communications ...
Pacific Media Watch Newsdesk Radio 95bFM The Wire’s Zoë Larsen Cumming and Justin Wong talked to Pacific Media Centre director Professor David Robie today about a resurgence of coronavirus cases in Papua New Guinea and the impact of other Pacific cases on two very important upcoming votes in Bougainville and ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Chris Maylea, Senior Lecturer, Law and Social Work, RMIT University The second wave of the coronavirus and the resulting restrictions have impacted all Victorians. Many are struggling, but some are struggling more than others. In response to the increasing number of people ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Louise Stone, General practitioner; Clinical Associate Professor, ANU Medical School, Australian National University Last week, the Australian government announced it will provide ten extra Medicare-subsidised psychological therapy sessions for Australians in lockdown areas due to COVID-19. In such a stressful time, many ...
It looks like science has come off second best in government considerations during the development of Te Mana o te Taiao, the Aotearoa New Zealand Biodiversity Strategy, which envisions New Zealand as a place where ecosystems are healthy and resilient, and people embrace the natural world. The press statement announcing ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Wanning Sun, Professor of Media and Cultural Studies, University of Technology Sydney US President Donald Trump’s recent moves against Tiktok, the popular video-sharing platform, have been widely seen as part of a new “tech Cold War” between the US and China. Trump ...
National leader Judith Collins has endorsed David Seymour in the Epsom seat and recent polls have put support for ACT anywhere between 3 and 5 percent - giving it up to six MPs. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Lily O’Neill, Research Fellow, Australian National University Huge clean energy projects, such as the Asian Renewable Energy Hub in the Pilbara, Western Australia, are set to produce gigawatts of electricity over vast expanses of land in the near future. The Asian Renewable ...
Remarks by new coach Nathan Brown and the closed-door discussions by the club around recruiting a man facing sexual assault charges undermines the rugby league club’s values, writes Tiffany Salmond.It’s been a hot topic in rugby league circles for well over a year – but not for the right reasons.Former ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Uri Gal, Associate Professor in Business Information Systems, University of Sydney The recent questioning of the heads of Amazon, Facebook, Google and Apple in the US Congress has highlighted the threat their practices pose to our privacy and democracy. However these big ...
Good habits start young, and with Money Week this week, now is a great time to look at how we can support and nourish our kids’ financial journeys writes Banqer’s Simon Brown. For some reason, a lot of people see money as a boring topic. But the fact is, it’s a ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Adrian Beaumont, Honorary Associate, School of Mathematics and Statistics, University of Melbourne This week’s federal Newspoll, conducted August 5-8 from a sample of 1,509, gave the Coalition a 52-48 lead, a one-point gain for Labor since the last Newspoll, three weeks ago. ...
A tender for underwater inspection services at the abandoned oil field off the coast of Taranaki has shed light on the dubious state of its subsea infrastructure. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michael Plank, Professor in Mathematics, University of Canterbury Our latest modelling shows New Zealanders need to redouble their efforts to keep track of people they meet, if we are to have a chance of controlling any re-emergence of COVID-19. The director general ...
Local Government New Zealand’s (LGNZ) Regional Sector has today welcomed the launch of Te Mana o te Taiao, the Aotearoa New Zealand Biodiversity Strategy, citing robust collaboration with iwi, regional councils and private landowners and leadership from ...
The High Court has ruled today that Greenpeace is entitled to register as a charity and that the Charities Registration Board was in error for declining the environmental campaigning organisation’s application. In a summary of the judgement posted online ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Stephen Dobson, Professor and Dean of Education, Te Herenga Waka — Victoria University of Wellington The English language in education today is all-pervasive. “Hear more English, speak more English and become more successful” has become a self-fulfilling prophecy. Some say it’s already ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Stuart Richards, Lecturer in Screen Studies, University of South Australia Review: Welcome to Chechnya, screening at the Melbourne International Film Festival Welcome to Chechnya, screening online as part of MIFF 68½, is a bracing documentary. This film is part of a queer ...
It’s become fashionable among some political circles to advocate for a laissez-faire approach to debt, on the basis that the government can issue as much debt as it likes – for as long as it likes. But there’s one big drawback to ‘just print more money’ argument, writes Pattrick Smellie ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra Australia’s aged care sector was “underprepared” to deal with the COVID-19 outbreak and federal authorities had no specific plan for it, according to a stinging indictment from Peter Rozen QC, senior counsel assisting the royal ...
A Productivity Commission report finding was based on a fundamental misunderstanding of the nature of disease transmission dynamics, and now that error has itself been transmitted in the media and into the election campaign, write Nic Steyn, Mike Plank, Alex James, Rachelle Binny, Audrey Lustig and Shaun Hendy of Te ...
Latest from the Beehive Here’s hoping the hundreds of millions of dollars pumped into Northland from the Provincial Growth Fund and other government programmes do much more to promote the region’s economic and social wellbeing than they are doing to enhance Shane Jones’ election prospects. He is bound to be ...
The first Auckland Central debate took place last night, despite the lack of a National candidate. Josie Adams went along to watch Helen White, Chlöe Swarbrick and the rest.The Auckland Central electorate stretches from the depths of Grafton across the Hauraki Gulf to Aotea (Great Barrier). Its residents are Waiheke’s ...
Kiwibank was right to refuse the business of sex-trade operators exploiting women and children, says Wahine Toa Rising, a newly-formed organisation led by survivors of the trade in New Zealand. Spokeswoman Ally Marie Diamond said "we were gutted ...
During the worst days of the Covid-19 outbreak in New Zealand, Matamata was right at the heart of it all. Alex Braae went to the Waikato town to ask people how they’re getting on now.On the signs heading out to the Hobbiton Movie Set about 10 minutes away from the ...
The government has announced a pay increase for security guards at the Ministry of Social Development as the Labour Party makes a commitment to government agency workers for fair pay and working conditions. ...
“As sure as God made little apples, she would have reinvented herself and she will be ripping someone off in England as we speak,” predicted a former colleague of Joanne Harrison. A new investigation reveals the charming fraudster, who stole ...
Lihir is the second mine in Papua New Guinea to report a confirmed covid-19 case as the national total of infections reached 214 at the weekend. Newcrest Mining Limited confirmed that a 30-year-old male, a mine employee who had flown in from the capital Port Moresby on July 30, had ...
E te rangatira, e te tohunga, e te Tiati, haere, haere, haere atu ra. Haere ki o tupuna, no ratou nga taonga i tuku iho ki a koe, hei whangai mai ki a matou. ...
Commitment from all political parties to implementing the new Te Mana o te Taiao - Aotearoa New Zealand Biodiversity Strategy is vital to protecting our future, says Forest & Bird. “The Strategy clearly says that New Zealand’s environment ...
The 75th anniversary of the end of the Second World War will be acknowledged on 15 August, with a commemorative service at Pukeahu National War Memorial Park in Wellington, Manatū Taonga Ministry for Culture and Heritage Chief Executive Bernadette ...
New Zealand's total fertility rate has reached an all-time low, with an average of 1.71 children per woman in New Zealand, well below population replacement level. “ Families: Ever Fewer or No Children , How Worried Should We Be? “ - a report ...
Joint Press Release: NextElection, Scoop.co.nz, ScoopCitizen NextElection , a technology platform empowering democracy and Government accountability, and Scoop Independent News have partnered to strengthen citizen participation in the 2020 New Zealand General ...
Since March 15 2019, a string of lone actor, far-right copycat atrocities provide important clues to the kind of transnational, online movement we now confront, writes Emanuel Stoakes.Before storming the Al Noor Mosque, the would-be killer dressed in military fatigues, attempted a livestream and signalled his intent on an image ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Cordelia Fine, Professor, History & Philosophy of Science program, School of Historical & Philosophical Studies, University of Melbourne How useful are the well-known and hotly contested categories of “male brain” and “female brain”? Among experts, nobody really questions that anatomical sex differences ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Frank Bongiorno, Professor of History, ANU College of Arts and Social Sciences, Australian National University Earlier this month, there were media reports that Liberal backbencher Craig Kelly had posted to Facebook advocating the anti-malarial drug, hydroxychloroquine, as a treatment for COVID-19. Kelly ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Carissa Bonner, Research Fellow, University of Sydney If the media is anything to go by, you’d think people who believe coronavirus myths are white, middle-aged women called Karen. But our new study shows a different picture. We found men and people aged ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Graeme Pearman, Professorial Fellow, Australian-German Climate and Energy College, University of Melbourne There is global interest in the potential for a hydrogen economy, in part driven by a concern over climate change and the need to move away from fossil fuels. This ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Mehmet Aslan, Honorary Fellow, School of Humanities and Social Inquiry, University of Wollongong Australian universities are expected to lose billions of dollars in revenue due to the impacts of COVID-19. The estimated lost revenue from international students alone is A$18 billion by ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Owain Emslie, Senior Associate, Grattan Institute Grattan Institute research published today shows the average 25-year-old woman who goes on to have a child can expect to earn A$2 million less by the time she is 70 than the average 25-year-old man who ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Beck Wise, Lecturer in Professional Writing, The University of Queensland You might have scrolled right by Annastacia Palaszczuk’s recent quote posts if you saw them on Instagram – just another lifestyle influencer posting a “deep” quote – but when she (or her ...
Welcome to Election Live for August 10, bringing you the latest on election 2020 and other breaking news. For key dates in the election seasonclick here. For all you need to know about the cannabis referendum click here. For the assisted dying referendum click here. Policy launches tomorrow. Get ...
New Zealand First and leader Winston Peters are up against it this year in the general elections if the polls are to be believed, but the political veteran shows no sign of giving up yet. ...
Good morning and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Labour launches campaign while National releases list, frantic final days at parliament wrapped, and new poll shows Shane Jones in trouble in Northland.Some would say the campaign has been underway for months in a proxy form, but officially, it’s now ...
Let's not delude ourselves, temporary migrant workers are being exploited in this country - and it's nothing new, writes Christina Stringer The reality of slavery, human trafficking and the exploitation of temporary migrant workers in New Zealand was exposed last month with the successful conviction of a 66-year-old man in the Napier ...
Belinda Cordwell remains New Zealand's highest-ranked singles tennis player, having climbed to No.17 in the world. But today you'll find her chasing sheep rather than a fuzzy green ball. You may remember Belinda Cordwell came within two victories of being New Zealand’s only woman Grand Slam tennis champion. But you might ...
How far away are vaccines which could end the pandemic and how many doses can be made quickly? Finding a vaccine which protects against the coronavirus which causes Covid-19 is seen as the best way to stop the continued spread of the disease. It's estimated around 70 percent of the ...
Kiwibank's initial plans to blacklist the adult entertainment industry ran into opposition from the New Zealand Prostitutes' Collective, but the bank is being urged to stick to its guns by Wahine Toa Rising - a new trans-Tasman group set up by ex-sex workers. Yvonne van Dongen reports Last month Kiwibank rolled ...
The wife of a Chinese dissident killed in a recent car crash says she’s struggling to raise her children without the support of her husband - the family’s sole income earner Xi Weiguo (48) died in a car crash in Tokoroa on July 21, along with fellow pro-democracy campaigner Wang ...
Paula Morris on her former writing student, now the author of a worldwide smash, Auckland novelist Rose Carlyle On a mild Wednesday evening last week, I attended the launch for a debut novel. There were more than 100 guests crowding the ground floor of the National Library in Auckland. There ...
The Ministry of Health; "The term unborn child is not a scientific term and does not have a commonly accepted definition." The Prime Minister said in September 2018, "If you ask me why I'm in politics, my answer will be simple: children." ...
We do not have to roll along with the status quo. We are asking New Zealanders to choose help over handcuffs, prevention over prisons, and healing over punishment, writes Laura O’Connell Rapira.It is said that the first Pacific voyagers to sail to these lands visualised this place before they reached ...
In the blur of the last week of this parliament, a law that discriminated against family disability carers was torn from the books. It’s one of those moments when we can see why political activism of all kinds actually matters, writes Andrew Geddis.Last week, on Wednesday evening (which in parliament’s ...
Binge-drinking in teenagers has dropped dramatically in the past 20 years - but the reasons for that are complex Teenage binge-drinking has "dropped off the cliff" in the last 20 years but until now, no one really knew why. A new paper, What explains the decline in adolescent binge-drinking in New ...
A senior journalism lecturer is urging the foreign media to respect New Zealand’s strict reporting restrictions for the sentencing of the gunman who carried out the Christchurch mosque attacks last year. Brenton Tarrant will be sentenced in the High Court in Christchurch beginning on Monday, August 24. Eighteen overseas and ...
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Campaigns. Culture. Character. And perhaps most of all, Covid. Now the House has risen and politicians are hitting the road to pitch their woo to voters, those will be front of mind for the candidates.They were also where the new season of politics podcast Caucus began on Thursday. This year ...2 hours ago
There are only a few days left to make a submission on Statistics New Zealand's consultation on sex and gender identity statistical standards. This represents a really important step for recognising the very real diversity of gender, including people with no gender, and ensuring everyone has the option to see ...2 hours ago
NewsHub Nation has launched a new podcast, "Supplementary Question". Their inaugural episode is about the OIA, and asks "is our most important transparency law fit for purpose?" While they interviewed Justice Minister Andrew Little and Ombudsman Peter Boshier for this, there's not actually a lot of them in there, and ...7 hours ago
Story of the Week... Toon of the Week... Coming Soon on SkS... Poster of the Week... SkS Week in Review... Story of the Week... Drawdown Review 2020: How To Address Global Warming In A Responsible Manner Source: Project Drawdown Project Drawdown is a non-profit organization that relies ...14 hours ago
Dr Tim Chambers, Prof Nick Wilson, Jayne Richards, A/Prof Simon Hales, Dr Mike Joy, Prof Michael Baker (author affiliations*) Increasing water-related health threats, notably the waterborne campylobacter outbreak in Havelock North, have highlighted failings in NZ’s regulatory system for drinking water. In this blog we consider how the new Water ...15 hours ago
Yes, an election is in the offing – and we all know that elections can be polarising, as parties of the left and right square off against each other. But we should not allow our party and political allegiances to obscure the fact that, in a properly functioning democracy like ...15 hours ago
Today’s content Labour Party Henry Cooke (Stuff): Labour launch an extremely centrist campaign Audrey Young (Herald) Labour launch is a deliberately understated affair from Jacinda Ardern (paywalled) Audrey Young (Herald): Jacinda Ardern’s decision to ditch Labour manifesto carries risk (paywalled) Anna Bracewell-Worrall (Newshub): Labour planning to revisit coalition Government policy casualties Simon Wilson (Herald): Election diary: Happy ...16 hours ago
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From some quarters, incessant scaremongering. From others, it’s a full-on tilt into touching the alarmist buttons a little too readily (uncertain times make for very captive audiences with this angle of attack). The (so-called) Opposition (and merely regarding them as that seems to be a far looser term now ...2 days ago
National Party leader - Judith CollinsElections often bring out the best and worst in politicians. Some rise to the occasion and provide us with a clear vision for the future. While others wallow in resentment and controversy, over-relying on attack politics to try to attain the interest of voters.That’s been ...3 days ago
The attempts to sabotage Corbyn's leadership seems likely to do more damage than Corbyn supposedly ever could have done, even if all the stories about him were true: I was reluctant to say anything but this is too important, the full story needs to be told.Don’t let anyone ever tell ...3 days ago
Good day to everyone. I’ve been asked by Mr Thinks to come here and talk to you all about my concerns regarding the government response to Covid-19. We’ve been living through this pandemic for, what seems like, years. Years and years and years. Why else would the National Party have ...3 days ago
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by Don Franks This talk was given to the Wellington Anti Capitalist Alliance, fifteen years ago. The ultimate weapons of mass destruction so far seen on this planet have been used just twice, 60 years ago this month. August 6 and August 9 1945 witnessed the US atomic bombing ...5 days ago
Our health professionals do an amazing job. Image credit: Wikipedia – Cardiac surgery. Finally, I have got back to these rankings. A long period in hospital and computer problems meant the June 2020 rankings were abandoned. Now, with a new personal defibrillator implanted in my chest and a new hard ...1 week ago
Below is the list of gender-critical material which appeared on Redline from October 1, 2019 to October 31, 2019. Rainbow Tick threatens to pull Massey’s tick if lesbians are allowed to speak Freer Lives – a gender-critical Marxist site Freer Lives on Violence, debate and Britain’s Gender Recognition Act British ...2 weeks ago
It's campaign time! The official countdown to Election Day is underway, with Labour supporters crowding into Auckland's Town Hall for our 2020 Campaign Launch. We recap some of the highlights below ...3 hours ago
The Green Party has revealed its Homes for All Plan, which lays the foundation for an Aotearoa where everyone has a warm, dry and affordable home. ...1 day ago
A report undertaken by Ministerial Services into Iain Lees-Galloway’s ministerial expenditure has found no evidence of any inappropriate transactions or spending. Ministerial Services undertook a line by line review of all his expenditure, including staff and spouse expenses for the period 1 January 2019 to 30 June 2020. “I commissioned ...2 hours ago
Tonight the National Party has selected Emma Mellow to stand in the Auckland Central electorate for the 2020 General Election. Emma Mellow replaces retiring MP Nikki Kaye who first won the seat from Labour in 2008. Emma leads a team of communications ...1 hour ago
National's Emma Mellow will be up against Labour's Helen White, the Green's Chloe Swarbrick, and TOP's Tuariki Delamere. ...2 hours ago
Pacific Media Watch Newsdesk Radio 95bFM The Wire’s Zoë Larsen Cumming and Justin Wong talked to Pacific Media Centre director Professor David Robie today about a resurgence of coronavirus cases in Papua New Guinea and the impact of other Pacific cases on two very important upcoming votes in Bougainville and ...3 hours ago
It looks like science has come off second best in government considerations during the development of Te Mana o te Taiao, the Aotearoa New Zealand Biodiversity Strategy, which envisions New Zealand as a place where ecosystems are healthy and resilient, and people embrace the natural world. The press statement announcing ...4 hours ago
Remarks by new coach Nathan Brown and the closed-door discussions by the club around recruiting a man facing sexual assault charges undermines the rugby league club’s values, writes Tiffany Salmond.It’s been a hot topic in rugby league circles for well over a year – but not for the right reasons.Former ...6 hours ago
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(i bang on about pot-hypocrites..)
(excerpt..)
‘..but i reserve my contempt around this issue for the ‘left’..
..for both labour and the greens..
..(and given harawiras’ (vote-killing/election-losing?) anti-pot tantrum during the election-campaign..even mana to a lesser degree..is tainted by this rank-hypocrisy..)
..how those left parties have often been as reactionary on this issue as is the right..’
http://whoar.co.nz/2015/four-2016-gop-presidential-candidates-who-smoked-pot-comment-ed-and-we-too-in-new-zealand-we-have-our-pot-hypocrites-on-both-the-right-and-the-left/
Wow, you actually think Hone’s stance on weed made him lose the election?
Wow
i can’t be bothered going thru it all again..
..but..yes..it is/was a factor..in that defeat..
..not the sole factor..
..but one not to be ignored..
(..full explanation here..)
http://whoar.co.nz/2014/commentwhoar-did-wrong-footing-it-on-cannabis-cost-harawira-the-election-and-will-hemana-make-the-same-mistakes-again-in-2017/
(an important question:…why are conservatives so whiny..?..)
“..Why Are Conservatives Such Whiny Crybabies?..
..Over the years Salon columnist Heather ‘Digby’ has written repeatedly about GOP/conservative hissy fits –
– most notably in her 2007 classic ‘The Art of the Hissy Fit’ –
– where she noted that ‘the right’s successful use of phony sanctimony and faux outrage –
– often succeeded in changing the dialogue –
– and titillating the media into a frenzy of breathless tabloid coverage’..”
(cont..)
http://www.alternet.org/news-amp-politics/why-are-conservatives-such-whiny-crybabies
(and that faux-outrage/sanctimony is what john key is using..
..to drive us to a war..we have no business being involved in..
..and following/given keys’ quivering-lips outrage..whither boko haram..?..eh..?..)
and of course..the media-hacks are barking along..
..on-cue/breathless – in their unquestioning war-excitement..
..and/but what-about-that-flag..?..eh..?
..key really is flying a false-flag with this one..
Texan oil giant Anadarko is back in Otago waters with seismic vessel Polarcus Naila testing new prospects.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/dominion-post/business/65892254/Anadarkos-new-tests-off-Otago
And CO2 has gone over 400.
Smart move, Messrs Key and Bridges.
This quote comes to mind.
““At the moment, New Zealand is dominated by these neo-liberal, profit-obsessed, very shallow, very money-hungry politicians. They care about short-term gains. They would destroy the planet in order to be able to have the life they want. I feel very angry with my government.”
aye..!..good on catton..!..and those like her..!
..keep on speaking up/out..!
Je suis Eleanor
pure gold, Paul .. thank you !
John Armstrong in the Herald reaches new heights in Key fan-boy-ism and new lows in political journalism:
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/john-armstrong/news/article.cfm?a_id=3&objectid=11397970
” Given the chatter within National Party ranks…….in the months before the September election……..plus…….a police investigation began in August, IT SEEMS INCONCEIVABLE THAT KEY DID NOT KNOW of Sabin’s problems before late November – the time Key says he was informed. EVERYONE ELSE SEEMS TO HAVE KNOWN BEFORE THEN. ”
Wait for it folks – this from Armstrong the award winner –
” BUT SO WHAT ? …….no one has yet come up with even a JOT OF EVIDENCE……he knew about Sabin’s troubles much earlier…….. ”
From the Concise Oxford English Dictionary – “inconceivable – not capable of being imagined or grasped mentally; unbelievable. ” From the same source – “evidence – information indicating whether a belief or proposition is true or valid.”
Armstrong aye ? The shill of shills. A right little ToKeyo Rose. Pompous and sneering with it.
See my comment under Micky Savage’s post ‘Police told the Government about Sabin’s problems.’
He has not allowed any comments/discussion under the article. This morning the comment button was on, I commented, but NONE have been published yet! A pathetic coward that knows his article is crap or is he just a shameless well paid pro-Key RW shill?
Very interesting book by Jonathan Eig on the birth of the pill, reviewed here: https://rdln.wordpress.com/2015/02/07/in-review-the-birth-of-the-pill/
Phil
The Chinese were the people most discriminated against in New Zealand society in the late 1800s and early 1900s. The formal, legal discrimination was centred on immigration controls which restricted entry in general for Chinese and which also imposed a substantial poll tax on Chinese migrants.
The White New Zealand policy culminated in 1920 with legislation that passed control of Chinese immigration into the hands of a government minister. At this point Chinese migration was pretty much halted altogether.
Support for these racist immigration controls united Tory-style traditional conservatives, liberals, feminists, a layer of Maori leaders, the ‘militant’ leaders of the Labour Party and ‘moderate’ elements atop the overall labour movement.
Below are the initial articles we’ve stuck up on the White New Zealand policy and the theoretical tools for analysing it. We’ll be looking at the development of the policy in the 1890s and first two decades of the twentieth century in future feature articles.
The articles below can be reached via: https://rdln.wordpress.com/2015/02/07/pieces-on-the-white-new-zealand-policy/
Written in 1996: Arrested Development: the historiography of White New Zealand
Written in 1996: Analysing the White New Zealand policy: developing a theoretical framework
Written in 1996-97: Colonial social relations, the Chinese and the beginnings of New Zealand nationalist discourse
Paul Thomas’ latest Pulitzer-worthy masterpiece of journalism covers Eleanor Catton and the Left reaction. Every thing this fool writes is pro establishment inanity. I wrote a couple of replies to his latest piece of crap, to remind him that yes journalists and activists are mistreated pretty overtly in GodKeyZone.
Nicky Hager, Bradley Ambrose, Jon Stephenson have been hassled by cops, spied on, and had stuff confiscated. Judith Collins and Cam Slater try to destroy careers of principals, teachers, and scientists who don’t toe the government line. Paula Bennett has no problem releasing personal details of beneficiaries who complain about government policy.
National are a bunch of power abusing bullies, and any journalist with a brain and a conscience would recognise that.
” Alarmist, strident, paranoid and at times hysterical, our self-styled public intellectuals…….”
What a toadying article that was.
And what a confirmation of Eleanor Catton’s comment about the anti-intellectual and anti-cultural prejudices in NZ.
Hang your head in shame Thomas.
Je suis Eleanor.
I endorse your views on Paul Thomas. A couple of years ago, after I questioned Jeremy Hansen’s casual and thoughtless praise for something that mediocrity had written, poor old “gobsmacked” felt the need to come to Thomas’ defence….
There seems to be some sort of toadying competition out there amongst the extreme right corporate media we have.
So far this year Plunket, Christie and now Thomas have all striven to see who can be the most obsequious to the Dear Leader.
My personal selection for the most slavish and subservient propagandist thus far is Christie. His interview of Key was abject.
Christie is kind of pathetic, actually. I was particularly appalled by the smirking approval that he and everyone else on camera gave to stories about one of Prince Harry’s cocaine and prostitutes binges last year.
they were probably just all remembering their own ‘cocaine-binges’…
..(and ..historically-speaking) something i have difficulty being too judgmental about..having greeted the odd dawn..in an over-agitated state..)
..have you had one moz..?..
..or is yr shock/horror a result of too much media shock/horror..?
.’cos the facts of the matter are that cocaine is hardly worse than alcohol..
..and what they do have in common..is that too much of both will mess you up..
..but..y’know..!,,you can stop clutching at yr pantaloons..eh..?
..have you had one moz..?..
No. I have had THREE alcohol-induced hangovers, many years apart. Never again, I promised myself each time.
..or is yr shock/horror a result of too much media shock/horror..?
You’re pretty much on the money there, phillip.
.’cos the facts of the matter are that cocaine is hardly worse than alcohol….and what they do have in common..is that too much of both will mess you up..
I agree with you, phillip. My problem is not that that murderous little creep was using cocaine, my problem was the indulgent, approving comments by Rawdon Christie, Nadine Chalmers Ross, Peter Williams and Toni Street. One can imagine their frowns and their mock outrage if, say, a young Māori man flagrantly, repeatedly, cavorted with prostitutes and snorted coke—not to mention stalking shepherds from the air and killing them.
Maybe young Harry is suffering post traumatic stress and trying to block out some horrific memories?
they call that either peasant-hunting or wog-hunting..
..and consider it their rite of passage..
..to go and kill some peasants/wogs…
Not that Aunty Beeb is up too much these days…..but Rawdie was a frikken embarrassment to them back then. Probably the reason he came out to the colonies Big fish, little (polluted) pond rather than little fish big pond. Not very ‘aspirational’ I know but it seems we’re into another round of putting up with the U.K.’s rejects.
Claire Trevett and John Armstrong were disappointed to miss out on the toadying competition, and started a rival “league of lackeys”
i have been told that when armstrong gets in his cups..
..that he is prone to professional-melancholy..
..and belts out a play on helen reddys’ ‘i am woman’ anthem..
..re-worded as:..’i am hack..!..hear me whimper..!..’
Haha, the poor old chap, he seems to have brief moments of clarity when he realises the Wizard has no magic, then lapses back to Planet Key lala land.
this latest piece of shite from armstrong..has..for me..
..really brought into focus that previous exercise in self-indulgant self-rightousness..
..when armstrong called for cunnliffe to resign..over some letter from 8 yrs previously..or something..
..to compare/contrast with serial-lying from key/the cost of a million + to taxpayers for bye-election..
..his possible stealing of the election..(by hiding this..)
..the mind boggles that armstrong has a nothing-to-see-here!-attitude..
..how can you not gain the impression he is owned by the right..?
..is their trained-parrot..
Agents and Actors playing their duplicitous role and doing it well enough to ensure the status quo has the planet in a deep sleeper hold
“National are a bunch of power abusing bullies, and any journalist with a brain and a conscience would recognise that.”
‘Reporters Without Borders’ have a brain, you will agree?
I see they rank NZ 9th in the World for Freedom of press, while registering some concern this year that ” the interception of reporter Jon Stephenson’s metadata by the military, which thought his articles were overly critical, and the release of journalist Andrea Vance’s phone records to a leak investigation is indicative of growing government mistrust of the media and their watchdog role.”
Some interesting reading in the report for those of you interested in Venezula’s Socialist Government (rank 116 out of 180).
http://en.rsf.org/venezuela-venezuela-urged-to-improve-media-04-08-2014,46751.html
Yes, Key is great compared to Mussolini as well.
That’s an ironic comment given that your original post was an attack on the intelligence (‘fool’), impartiality (‘pro establishment’), and competence (‘piece of crap’) of a journalist.
Please read Dirty Politics and then get back to me with your thoughts.
How you view Dirty Politics depends on how your world view leads you to fill in the unverified ‘linkages’ between facts.
My experience of trying to discuss it roughly equates to attempts at objective discussion with anti 1080 campaigners or Creationists.
Everyone has already got their opinion set in stone, so discussion is invalid and pointless.
In fact, as the replies to your original post show, and as you can read every day here both in editorial and commenters content, there is a very strong theme of ‘distrust’ and ‘disrespect’ of the press evident on TS.
Every day here I read attacks on the integrity of individual journalists and the media as a whole, far worse than anything I have ever heard from a politician in NZ.
And many of you who do so are the first ones to get out your pens to defend Catton or Hager from the disrespect of others! Hypocrites. The truth is that you only value and support the freedom of those who say things that you agree with. Those who don’t, you attack with a bigoted zeal.
FFS. Given power, some of you here would quickly have us ranking down there with Venezuela!
Is the Key-loving paparazzi beyond criticism now? Sorry, I didn’t get that memo.
My mistake, I thought that journalists were supposed to uncover hidden agendas and question authority, not parrot government PR.
Puddleglum has written a scholarly analysis of this brouhaha, in summary: the media has joined the neoliberal elite, and anti-intellectualism is rearguard defense of their bankrupt ideology.
Puddleglum certainly is a scholar.
As such, I am very surprised that he has employed the same ‘faulty generalisation’ sin of logic as many less erudite commentators on the Catton case.
An extremely small sample cannot validly be used to make claims about the attributes of much larger groupings….
Oh so this is just an isolated case of media uselessness? Add it to the list…
Hi The lost sheep,
Thank you for the compliment.
I’m not quite sure why you think I’ve employed the ‘faulty generalisation’ sin of logic. In fact I’m not sure what that sin is. Is it the well-known flaw in inductive logic? (If every crow I’ve seen is black, all crows must be black …)
In my defence, I’d clarify that much of today’s broadcast media (and commentators), and much of its ‘style’, has grown out of the deregulation, privatisation (e.g., of state radio networks) and commercialisation of the media.
It is not that long ago that there was no RadioLive, RadioSport, TV3, Mediaworks, etc.. There were no ‘shock jocks’, no news bulletins that competed for market share by making ‘stars’ of their political journalists (and required them to do rapid fire ‘blogs’ on the latest political ‘hot’ issue), no ‘advertorials’, no well-rewarded corporate ambassadors (e.g., Mike Hoskings’ involvement with Sky City) plugging their particular corporation’s PR, etc., etc..
It was not that long ago that political journalists never considered ‘market share’ for their employer and, so, would steer well clear of using personal abuse to attract an audience.
All of these changes in the political media we now have (and the political journalism we have) arose as a fairly direct result of the reforms of the 1980s and 1990s. I suppose you could say that there is more diversity (or, more correctly, there are more ‘outlets’ ) but I’m not sure that equates to more good political analysis or, for that matter, more or better information about politics and political issues.
My concern is less about individual political journalists who may align themselves unashamedly with one side of the political spectrum but about the structural changes in political media which makes it difficult for anyone to step outside of the parameters of political debate that were established in the 1980s/1990s.
That’s reinforced, I think, by the fact that the political journalists who dominate the commentary today have often themselves grown up – and certainly only been adults – since those reforms took place. That means that, as individuals, they’ve pretty much imbibed the neoliberal ‘thought world’ into their view of what is ‘common sense’ (as David Harvey argues in ‘A Brief History of Neoliberalism’).
In that sense, as individuals they are no different from many other (youngish) New Zealanders who absorbed those same attitudes and values (as we all absorb the attitudes and values of the social and economic arrangements into which we are born). Hardly something I would ‘blame’ them for, of course.
Basically, I think the ‘logic’ of the structural changes that occurred at that time have led towards a form of political journalism that finds it harder and harder to do serious political reporting, let alone analysis.
As I said, this is not the fault of individuals (who simply earn a living – sometimes quite a good one – in the way that seems to be required of them) but of the ‘incentives’ or ‘logic’ built into today’s media by those reforms.
And, of course, there’s also the constant restructuring and rationalising of media organisations that puts greater and greater pressure onto journalists – yet another consequence that can be traced, quite uncontroversially, back to those same reforms.
Puddleglum, I enjoyed your article immensely, and much of it I would either be inclined to either agree with, or at least agree that I might agree with, if future events unfold in line with trends you predict from current observation.
(If they don’t of course I will say you were an arse!)
But I do quibble with the arguments you make that derive from ‘faulty generalisations’. i.e. Large scale assertions and conclusions you draw from a very small number of evidential occasions of a particular phenomena.
The number of samples you reference as the base material for your argument is 4, in an overall grouping of 4.5 million.
Plunkett, Farrer, Hooten, and Key (and with that last sample you are careful to preface most comments with the qualifier ‘seem’).
And yet from that tiny sample, (via many delightful diversions admittedly), you draw conclusions about the nature of the vastly larger entities of ‘Neo-liberalism’, ‘our market system’, ‘many New Zealanders’, and ‘right wingers’.
I would happily agree that Plunkett, Farrer, Hooten are idiots, and that Key is a man without intellectual sophistication, or a love of the arts.
But in my opinion, it is as valid to say that they are representative of any large scale groupings of New Zealanders, as it would be to base a similar argument on the ‘representative’ comments of Martyn Bradbury, Hone Harawira, and Philip Ure.
i must counter yr last assertion..
..mainstream political-polling shows that poverty/inequality are an issue that concerns a majority of mainstream nz..
..(which is the only reasons key mumbles faux-promises to ‘do something’..which of course will all add up to s.f.a..)
..so the arguments presented to fix this problem..
..are indeed ‘representative’..
..it is just that the politicians..(of all stripes..)..are trailing behind..
..our ‘representatives’ are the ones who are un-‘representative’..
..those arguing for something to actually be done..
..are the ‘representative’-ones…
..mainstream political-polling shows that poverty/inequality are an issue that concerns a majority of mainstream nz..
Polling doesn’t show how concerned people are. For example if they are concerned enough to do something about it themselves.
Polling is very superficial. I don’t think Government priorities should be dictated by whatever media organisations decide to ask in polls.
Poverty/inequality is already an issue of concern to the Government anyway, according to how much they spend on social security and welfare – $27.3 billion for 2013/14 (twice as much as spent on health+education).
how did aston villa do last nite..?
..does anyone know..?
@Phillip Ure
“i must counter yr last assertion..
..mainstream political-polling shows that poverty/inequality are an issue that concerns a majority of mainstream nz..”
Good to see you acknowledge that Phillip. Too often on this site the narrative is that mainstream NZ’ers are purely self – interested, greedy, and don’t care.
As you point out, that’s rubbish.
..so the arguments presented to fix this problem..
..are indeed ‘representative’..
Just one step too far in your logic there?
No question a concern about poverty and inequality is representative of a majority of NZ’ers…
But where is the evidence that any specific “argument presented to fix this problem” can be said to be representative of the majority of Mainstream NZ?
I know of no such evidence, but as the majority of NZ’ers are concerned about poverty and inequality, you might think that you can draw some simple conclusions about their preferred solutions from their voting patterns at the last election?
but as the majority of NZ’ers are concerned about poverty and inequality, you might think that you can draw some simple conclusions about their preferred solutions from their voting patterns at the last election?
You speak of logic and strut out such a stupid conclusion. The last election was not fought on a single issue of poverty and inequality. An election result is based on many different political election dynamics. Take a step back and think of the different things that happened during the last election such as the muddying of waters through government propaganda and lies, the effect of KDC, the nasty tricks played against him, IMP and Hone in TTT, the dirty politics, our very mediocre and quite biased mostly pro government and anti cunliffe, anti-Labour and anti-left TV and print media machine, the exaggeration of minor errors of Cunliffe and the left and low scrutiny of Key and the RW. The election was NOT a kind of referendum on the question of ‘poverty and inequality’ as you stupidly infer.
@Puddlegum: “I’m not quite sure why you think I’ve employed the ‘faulty generalisation’ sin of logic.”
“All of these changes in the political media we now have (and the political journalism we have) arose as a fairly direct result of the reforms of the 1980s and 1990s.”
Political media has been changing for much longer than that.
Newspapers have been always privately owned. The oldest surviving daily in New Zealand is the ODT, first published 15 November 1861. The Press began as a weekly a few months earlier than that.
Private radio re-emerged in the early 70s along with talkback radio.
And there are significant changes in the last few decades that have little or nothing to do with the reforms of the 80s and 90s.
The Internet and social media has radically changed the political media.
Some of the changes are negative but some are positive. I certainly wouldn’t want to see Muldoon style bullying and attempted control of political journalists, and I suspect Tom Scott would agree.
Competition and diversification encourages more extreme, more superficial and less careful reporting. But it also uncovers things that a cosier club may have decided to keep out of the public domain.
And regardless of all this whatever the causes of the changes are it is as it is and there’s no going back.
One thing probably hasn’t changed – both sides complaining about unfair coverage that’s biased against them.
🙄
Just 🙄
lost sheep,
Keep on pretending that all is OK in the NZ media landscape. Lie to yourself. Everybody knows that the Key government are past masters of political spin.
“..Key is great compared to Mussolini..”
dunno about that..
..mussolini fixed up public transport..
..whereas key..?..that cycle-track..?
..he hasn’t even managed to get that together..
..in how many years..?
..um..!..what has key actually done..?
..to leave his mark..?
..um..!..that unfinished cycletrack..?..a bigger casino in auckland..?
..anyone got anything else..?
……. what has Key done …… ??
I’m picking a couple of skid marks here and there – but nothing a cyclist could even get worked up about. In some cases, I think I’d rather have the train tracks over which small, modular ‘bus-on-bogies’ type rolling stock could run.
Turned Christchurch CBD into a giant parking lot
Turned the Auckland housing crisis into serious $$$ for his banker mates
Promised to fix everything, then went and played golf in Hawaii
Venezuela’s government has been democratically elected; whether its reforms are “socialist” or not is not relevant.
That it survived an insurrection and coup, orchestrated by the Bush regime in 2002, is a testimony to the strength and resilience of the Venezuelan electors. A few generations earlier, the United States could have violently overthrown the elected government, with its outrageous democratic pretensions, and installed a compliant dictator, as it did after it destroyed the democratically elected governments in Guatemala (1954) and Chile (1973).
The Obama administration has continued the rhetorical onslaught against democracy in Venezuela, and it has encouraged the campaigns of hoarding in order to create a sense of chaos and destabilization. But the population of Venezuela has been through it all before.
People like you, who know little or nothing about anything, will continue to rant and rage about it, but the fact is: Venezuela has a hard won commitment to democratic government—and the violent insurrections, fuelled by U.S. provocateurs, that occasionally flare up will not destroy that.
I was not ranting and raving about Venezuela?
I simply linked to what ‘Reporters without Borders’ has to say about press freedom there.
They point to significant Government abuses of the Press which you haven’t addressed at all?
Unless your post above is meant to be a defense of the Govt. abuse of press freedom?
Are you saying that the CIA would never screw around with the news media of a sovereign nation? Baa baa little sheep.
No, I did not say anything even remotely to do with the CIA, and I completely fail understand what your point is?
You were saying how great NZ media freedom is compared to that of Venezuela. That beleaguered country is a touchy subject around here, as an example of underhanded US political interference.
Comparison of ‘relative’ press freedom doesn’t justify dirty politics mate.
Reporters without Borders do make a comparative judgment on Press Freedom, and I presume next year their assessment of ‘dirty politics’ will be reflected in that.
But in the meantime, you seem to be implying that alleged ‘outside interference’ in Venezuela justifies it’s Governments abuse of internal press freedom? (Boy, now that’s a new idea. Sarc.)
And Morrissey, who is normally very keen on anything Venezuelan, doesn’t have any comment at all on the freedom of press abuses of the current government?
Awesome derail of the original comment about New Zealand media. These comments about Venezuela are getting further afield. Do you really think a left wing government in NZ would crack down on media freedom or something? Remember how much insane trivia was reported about Helen Clark?
I don’t think any NZ Govt. is going to ‘crack down on media freedom’, and my expectation is that we will retain our ranking near the top of the press freedom index.
Lets not talk about Venezuela’s abuse of press freedoms for now then. It’ll keep until the next time someone brings Venezuela up as an example of the success of Socialist Government.
I’ll willing to predict that no one be be very keen to discuss it even then though.
Maybe we should talk about Ukraine instead? Its economy has shrunk since communism ended. Now its currency has fallen 50% in 2 days.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2015/02/06/ukraines-currency-has-fallen-50-percent-in-two-days/
By the Reporters without borders standard, in 2014 NZ was 9th. In 2013 NZ was 8th.
In 2008 we were 7th equal
And it’s not like the world is getting safer for press freedom – but we’re failing faster than our peers.
” we’re failing faster than our peers.”
A fine example of cherry picking the data McFlock.
You don’t mention that in 2008 we were 7th equal with 6 other countries, covering 7th to 13th.
And lets have a look at our position in the index since we first appeared in…
2003 17th, 2004 9th, 2005 13th, 2006 19th, 2007 15th, 2008 7th =, 2009 13th, 2010 8th, 2011/12 12th, 2013 8th, 2014 9th.
So a drop from 8th to 9th doesn’t look very significant in light of those figures does it?
And it’s very interesting to see the general improvement in our placing since 2008….wonder why we were ranked so low between ’03 and ’07?
lol
because other countries were more free relative to nz.
It’s just a shame that they rescaled their index. otherwise we’d have something more to go on than the drop from 8.38 to 8.55 between 2013 and 2014.
You never answered why you wanted to know if I was a “worker”, by the way.
You never answered why you wanted to know if I was a “worker”, by the way.
Nothing personal. Was just following the idea that some actual people who were actual workers might actually consider taking over businesses.
As opposed to all the theorising about the desirability of doing so.
Found it quite bizarre that such a line of thought should be considered offense by some – on a worker oriented blog!
Not to mention the idea that some people would consider it an invasion of privacy to identify themselves as workers?
But we know that around the globe actual workers have not just considered it, they’ve done it. And we have quite a few co-ops in NZ anyway.
Seems to be a bit of a waste of your time.
As for privacy issues, some tories like to identify commenters and contact their employers. So I choose what I tell you guys about me. Sure, you could probably aggregate data and identify me with a certain level of accuracy, but there’s no reason I should make it easy for you.
Robert Fisk of ‘The Independent’ asks who is funding ISIS?
…we need to be getting answers to this question before we send young New Zealanders off to fight this war and risk the sacrifice of their lives
‘War with Isis: If Saudis aren’t fuelling the militant inferno, who is?’
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/war-with-isis-if-the-saudis-arent-fuelling-the-militant-inferno-who-is-10024324.html
u need 2 read whoar..chooky..
..i had that one back on the 5th…
..it bears repeating..but just saying..!
+1 Chooky.
Also we need to question the selective use of violent video images to justify war-mongering.
Bill Moyers points out that there is evidence of brutality in our own society that is equally horrifying to the fiery cage which is being used by our Government to justify NZ participation against ISIS.
http://www.commondreams.org/views/2015/02/06/fiery-cage-and-lynching-tree-brutalitys-never-far-away
Maybe I’m getting too cynical, but wasn’t the release of American Sniper just prefect to get the uniformed, gullible, uncritical and fragile western minds gun ghost for another war in the Middle East?
These two clips add more than I can say.
http://www.filmsforaction.org/watch/marine-corps-veteran-opens-eyes-hearts-and-minds-of-american-sniper-moviegoers/
http://www.filmsforaction.org/watch/american-snipers-patriot-porn-and-celebration-of-psychopathy-interview-with-rania-khalek/
i have been collecting the anti-sniper voices..
http://whoar.co.nz/?s=american+sniper
my favourite headline from them is ‘killing ragheads for jesus’..
This was my favourite philip ure on sniper
http://libcom.org/forums/general/top-15-messages-clint-eastwoods-anti-war-masterpiece-american-sniper-01022015
Some of us remember Viet Nam and “Kill a Commo for Christ”.
Nothing changes but the location and the date.
Imperator Fish has identified the true enemy and is off to war.
Our honour demands that we fight!
The campaign of demonisation against George Galloway constitutes incitement
by John Wight, socialistunity.com, 6 February, 2015
The latest edition of BBC Question Time from Finchley in north London was a low point for the flagship show. The treatment meted out to Respect MP George Galloway was a disgrace, made more so by the fact his car was attacked as he was leaving the venue, despite a police presence outside.
The ugly events witnessed by millions began in the weeks leading up, as soon as his appearance on the panel in Finchley was announced. An orchestrated campaign of intimidation and provocation was waged through the media, designed to intimidate both him and the BBC. But as George said, the idea that someone who has been an MP on a near uninterrupted basis since 1987 should be prevented from speaking or appearing in any constituency in the country is an attack on democracy. The Conservative MP for Finchley and Golders Green, Mike Freer, played a key part in instigating this media campaign, which given that the Respect MP was physically assaulted in the street just a few months ago by a fanatic wearing an IDF t-shirt, is surely grounds for Mr Freer to be held to account.
During the show, the question directed at Galloway re the rise of antisemitism in the UK should have been censored. It straddled the line of defamation, not to mention taste, and brought the BBC into disrepute. It was an organised attack, involving an audience in which an array of hate mongers were given free rein. Even the gentleman who reminded the audience of Galloway’s past record in correcting antisemitism when it arised on his Press TV show Comment, went on to assert that antisemitism was directly related to the number of Muslims living in Europe.
Jonathan Freedland of the Guardian’s statement, “the resumption of violence in Gaza”, during his attack on George was a studied and cowardly attempt to minimise one of the most barbaric military operations against a civilian population the world has witnessed. That he could not bring himself to acknowledge this, when we consider the 500 Palestinian children who were slaughtered during this massacre, was suggestive of a man who has had his humanity surgically removed.
The free speech ‘merchants’, those who were so up in arms over matters related to the massacre at the offices of Charlie Hebdo, who use free speech as a sword rather than a shield, would like nothing more than to silence one of the only voices in the country’s national life who dares challenge the demonisation of Muslims and the Muslim community, establishment support for the apartheid state of Israel, and a political status of quo of military intervention overseas and social and economic injustice at home.
That George is a polarising figure is beyond doubt. But the reason they hate him because he knows them, knows what they are and consistently and tirelessly exposes their hypocrisy and double standards. Consequently, it would be a huge reverse if he fails to get re-elected as the MP for Bradford West in May. Fortunately, though, given the disgraceful lynch-mob-audience on Question Time, and the orchestrated campaign of incitement we have seen rolled out against him, his re-election is now more likely than ever.
Someone tweeted last night after the show ‘Je Suis George Galloway’. It is hard to argue with that sentiment after the attempted political and public lynching of the Respect MP on Question Time.
http://socialistunity.com/campaign-demonisation-george-galloway-constitutes-incitement/
George Galloway on BBC Question Time – 5th February 2015
I note Mr. Ladbrokes is still offering a very generous 7/4 on GG retaining his Bradford West seat.
Yes it was a disgrace.
Galloway simply differentiated between Zionism and Judaism, as well as commenting that there was more anti-Islamic behaviour at the moment. It would appear that free speech is only permitted for some views in the west.
The fact the BBC allowed such a mob mentality shows how much the UK is slipping from democracy.
The BBC has been compromised openly since the exposure of their involvement leading to Dr David Kelly committing ‘suicide’
“To learn who rules over you, simply find out who you are not allowed to criticize”
Yep! You have to wonder though at who’s been pulling the strings – it has been a similar pattern (even a Crosby Textor/Murdoch type pattern) that’s been active in the ‘Commonwealth of Nations’ …… you know …. that “Club”
Cameron and cohorts in the UK, Abbott @ Co in Oz attacking SBS and ABC, Key and kronies attacking the last remaining vestiges of PSB in NZ, and Canada – ALL done through cronie appointments and/or cutting of funding.
Then there’s the commercial arm of Auntie …… stacking it all with colonial rejects just to make it all look good and viable.
Never mind tho’ chasps – it’ll all jump up and bite them in the bum eventually
Je suis Charlie Idiot (French “Enlightenment”)
http://normanfinkelstein.com/2015/02/04/je-suis-charlie-idiot-french-enlightenment/
Free range parenting is quite a cool name
Russell Ballantyne, co-director and teacher at Early Childhood on Stafford, in Dunedin says
http://www.stuff.co.nz/life-style/life/65898625/free-range-parenting-neglect-or-common-sense
I agree with Russell and that is the philosophy that we are raising our children with.
great article, thanks. I was a free range kid (because that’s just how it was) and extremely grateful for that.
“In America recently a school got rid of all its swings because they read a study that said swings were the most dangerous equipment in the playground.”
I wonder that the most dangerous equipment in their playground is now, and when they’re going to get rid of it.
I love the bit about the kid that went to the moon.
“Murder and abduction/kidnapping rates have risen. In 1980 there were eight convictions for murder and 19 convictions for abduction/kidnapping. In 2013 there were 33 convictions for murder and 89 for abduction/kidnapping.”
Pretty useless paragraph there DomPost, and doesn’t fit the article at all except to demonstrate the tendancy to unproductive paranoia. How many of the abductions are by family members? Increases in reported kidnapping vs parental disputes about custody. Increase in divorce/separation rates. Changes in the culture around expections on parents when they separate. Increase in population. etc etc.
Today’s article in the Herald from John Armstrong
“That Key escaped punishment at the ballot box last September despite exposure of the dirty-tricks campaign masterminded by Jason Ede and Whale Oil’s Cameron Slater tells you an awful lot about New Zealand voters’ stance on the abuse of power and safeguarding political rights.”
“Quite simply, they don’t have one. If they did, Hager would have been considered a hero”
Yep, and
Claire Trevett
“Labour leader Andrew Little has proposed looking at giving Maori greater self-governance, possibly including the ability to make some of their own laws.”
“Mr Key said allowing some iwi the ability to make their own law would be “divisive” and he did not support the suggestion”
NZ is so unsettled that under the current confusion rights and laws are in danger of being corrupted to such extend that the country will end up fighting itself. On one hand utter ignorance and apathy regarding laws and civil liberty and on the other jumping on bandwagons to appease creating another bottom less pit of unrest and animosity. The later instigated by Mr Little and this will lead me to never vote for him. Ever. Given that Mr Key is just a puppet of the rich there is not much choice left other then the greens who hopefully can find their footing after the departure of Dr Norman. All in all – meet another non voter. Hallelujah, first time in my life.
Agree with the sentiment waka, Little is uncharacteristically shooting off his mouth. Probably caught up in the moment at Waitangi.
What a vote loser for the Northland byelection!
Andrew Little was drawing what I thought was the perfectly logical conclusion that if Nga Puhi did not cede their sovereignty then they may still have the power to make laws. I am sure that he was not trying to be populist, in fact the opposite. He was talking frankly as a lawyer, not as a politician.
Thanks micky, a bit of context helps. I still think it’s a bad idea, but at this stage Ngapuhi self-government is just a pipe dream. There’s a fraction too much friction in the ranks.
I appreciate your statement. As I see it, Mr Little is now a politician for all, that means the last thing you want to create is a 2,3 4 tier system – it will lead to exactly what is discussed here for such long time that should be avoided like the pest – Apartheid. There is a certain degree of diplomacy and tact needed as well as a firm stance that every NZlander counts.
I agree totally as well …. the thing is though, when the complacent, and the thick shits eventually wake up (which inevitably they will), can you imagine just how angry they’re going to be? None of them will take kindly to the realisation they’ve been royally conned – especially by a Phil Stein.
Harder they rise, harder and nastier (hopefully not, but often the case) they fall.
(At which point of course, we’ll all expected to feel pity for them)
Another economic crash is coming. How did this happen? – video http://gu.com/p/45f4y/stw
Must be time for another socialist tax payer gift to the banking brotherhood.
Democracy is dead. The current kleptocracy is paving the way to Oligarchy.
Just when Key needed a distraction. The Herald obliges.
Bash the bennies.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11398185
Pity they don’t spend their time investigating corporate and wealthy tax dogers.
But then those people own the Herald, don’t they?
It does seem appropriate to equate people who rip off the welfare system with those who rip off the tax system, yes.
“It does seem appropriate to equate people who rip off the welfare system with those who rip off the tax system, yes.”
But they’re not people ripping off the welfare system (did you even read the article?). They’re people with outstanding arrest warrants, for anything (not necessarily to do with their benefit), who happen to be on a benefit at the time the warrant it processed. Why target only beneficiaries and not all people with outstanding warrants who receive help from the state and who are contactable that way?
But they’re not people ripping off the welfare system…
My response was to the suggestion that the media (or maybe the authorities, it wasn’t clear) should focus on tax dodgers rather than beneficiaries. Which would make beneficiary fraud the relevant comparison. If you find it invalid to compare tax dodgers with people receiving benefits while having outstanding warrants, take it up with the commenter who did so.
Why target only beneficiaries and not all people with outstanding warrants who receive help from the state and who are contactable that way?
I expect, first, because it’s relatively straightforward, and second, because it offers immediate and hefty leverage.
The new policy focuses on beneficiaries, not benefit fraudsters.
The govt/media should focus on tax dodgers rather than beneficiaries.
+1 The only one talking about benefit fraud is you PM.
“Why target only beneficiaries and not all people with outstanding warrants who receive help from the state and who are contactable that way?”
“I expect, first, because it’s relatively straightforward, and second, because it offers immediate and hefty leverage.”
Nothing to do with benebashing. Yeah right.
Nothing to do with benebashing.
Well, yeah. Do you imagine the constant demands on these threads for more to be done about “corporate and wealthy tax dodgers” amount to “taxpayer-bashing?” If so, you’ve never objected to it that I’ve noticed, and if not, your “benebashing” refrain is on a par with “You’re ugly and your mother dresses you funny.”
That’s a stupid comparison. Bene bashing is a prevalent meme promoted by the state and by a chunk of the population in ways that are highly prejudicial against a class of people which includes some of the most vulnerable people in NZ.
Criticism of wealthy tax dodgers is a device used to point out the hypocricy of the above, and to hold unethical wealthy people to account. It’s nothing to do with taxpayers as a class of people (for instance it doesn’t include winz beneficiaries who are taxpayers, or low income earners etc). The criticism is from a relatively small section of NZ society against some of the most powerful and most protected members of society.
In fact, I’m struggling to see any relevancy or accuracy to your comparison. I think this is probably the most non-sensical argument I’ve seen you make. Nice attempt at diversion from your mistake about the article above, but you’ve just repeated the mistake.
It’s not a ‘focus’ on beneficiaries, it’s just one of a number of levers used to try and ensure that people deal with outstanding arrest warrants.
Another way they do it is stopping people with outstanding warrants from leaving the country.
And it’s nothing new. In about 1980 I was prevented from getting a firearms license until an outstanding warrant was dealt with. I thought that was fair enough.
Should beneficiaries be allowed to ignore arrest warrants?
yes, Pete, wanting a firearms licence is the same as needing money this week so you can feed you kids.
You can fuck right off with your ignorant, muddle NZ prejudices.
I’m prejudiced against people ignoring the legal process.
Benefits won’t be cut without giving alleged offenders a chance to sort out any outstanding arrest warrants.
The process is:
• Courts issue arrest warrants.
• Police follow up on all issued warrants.
• Warrants can be resolved at any courthouse.
• Justice Ministry advises Ministry of Social Development of warrants not cleared within 28 days.
• People with unresolved warrants have 10 working days to contact Justice Ministry to clear warrant; otherwise benefit payments can be stopped.
The simple solution is to deal with any outstanding warrants.
Do you suggest beneficiaries should be free to ignore outstanding warrants?
beneficiaries are being singled out as a class of people, by a govt that does this intentionally.
Your question doesn’t make any sense in this conversation. The question is why should beneficiaries be targeted in such a potentially devastating way, instead of targeting all people with outstanding warrants, or all classes of people?
So, again, fuck off with your muddle NZ ignorance and prejudice. Until you understand the political and personal implications of this policy, you’re just an advocate for bene bashing.
Do you think that non-beneficiaries are not targeted to try and make them deal with arrest warrants?
This policy isn’t a problem for any beneficiaries that take responsibility for any outstanding arrest warrants. If they do what anyone should then they’re not treated any differently.
Unless they’re trying to avoid arrest. Arresting people and imprisoning them can be detrimental to their families. Should criminals with children never be imprisoned?
Show me which other classes of people are being specifically targeted with such extreme consequences.
“This policy isn’t a problem for any beneficiaries that take responsibility for any outstanding arrest warrants.”
Again, that’s just incredibly ignorant on your part. Your muddle NZ view that all people are equal is reprehensible when people in this country are struggling in ways you willfully refuse to understand. Worse, it’s exactly your politics that have abandoned those people to the fate you’re endorsing, and now you want to put the boot in with more bashing.
Oh wow, a comment from our local national-party supporting fact-checker. There’s a surprise.
The new policy does focus on beneficiaries, because it doesn’t deal with any other group of people. The policy change in questions does not, for example, deal with nutty attention-sinks who want to own guns.
Here’s a question for you, pete: should an arrest warrant for a trivial offence prevent someone being able to feed themselves or their kids?
And if you think people “ignore” arrest warrants, you don’t know what the word “arrest” means.
“It’s not a ‘focus’ on beneficiaries”
*cough* bullshit Pete bullshit *cough*
If the campaign that has been running wild through the MSM the last few days is not putting a “focus” on beneficiaries I shudder to think what a focussed campaign would look like. Maybe, in your book, if there are no photo ID’s and published street addresses then it’s not quite specific enough to qualify as a “focus”.
These targeted warrants are reported as being for non payment of fines, child support and such. These are not warrants for violent offenders and definitely not reported to relate to any type of benefit fraud, or we can guarantee that you would have mentioned that detail time and time and time again.
Which all goes towards the implication it is about recouping of monies owed. Here is where it is good to mention “blood from a stone.”
The reports clearly mention the 8,000 warrants being targeted are belonging to beneficiaries and that these beneficiaries total over half of the 15,000 warrants outstanding for similar offences. My math is shaky but that leaves around 7,000 warrants for people NOT on a benefit. I see no mention of any attempts to
focuson them. Sorry, to target them.So why not target those people? They likely have jobs, assets and possibly even disposable income, so the fines can probably be paid or arrangements made for the fines to be paid,with relative ease. Many of those people are probably receiving Working for Families payments also.
So are you brave enough to ask why these 7,000 fine upstanding people are not also being thrown into the village stocks as the tomatoes get passed around?
factually-incorrect..
..and never let a chance to poor-bash go by..
..it must be p.m..
..it must be a day ending in a ‘y’…
This is turning WINZ workers into law enforcement agents and is the sort of thing that happened in East Germany. I am starting to think that Kiwis are turning into a contemptible little people. We didn’t used to be like this.
‘Neoliberalism has brought out the worst in us’
Paul Verhaeghe
‘An economic system that rewards psychopathic personality traits has changed our ethics and our personalities’
Read below. Well worth it.
http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/sep/29/neoliberalism-economic-system-ethics-personality-psychopathicsthic
Neoliberalism has moved business practice away from the “Peter Principle”, past the “Dilbert Principle”, and on to the “Gervais Principle”. This comprises 3 strata of workers in an organisation…
http://www.ribbonfarm.com/2009/10/07/the-gervais-principle-or-the-office-according-to-the-office/
Dam I just put this song on weekend social – but just thought it could be the song de jure for the PM
Oh look – someone switched the summer back on 🙂
Boy the conspiracy theories are flying to thick and fast today, likewise armstrongs article and Venezuela a bit to close to home for many here shattering there half baked beliefs and world Veiw , attack attack
Spelling and grammar so poor I’m struggling to comprehend 🙁
Spelling and grammar so poor I’m struggling to comprehend 🙁
Spelling and grammar so poor I’m struggling to comprehend 🙁
redelusion,
Ask your Mum to check your spelling and grammar next time. That comment was atrocious; at least seven errors by my count. What a mess, clearly the product of a disordered mind.
I have been concerned for some time that attacking Key is not having the desired outcome but, in fact, may have the opposite effect of entrenching his popularity and public support for him and National. All perceived ‘hits’ that have been landed on Key or National have so far had null result; cut off a head and, like a hydra, it grows back. Take Judith Collins, for example, or Nick Smith, or Maurice Williamson. Nothing seems to have had an effect on the election results and some have indeed argued that DP and the Moment of Truth have actually helped National; they backfired.
Why might that be so? Is it, as depicted in DP, because of an orchestrated campaign from the right? I think this may be part of the explanation but another part is perhaps less sinister and also not too hard to understand. According to some scientific studies* we all process information in a biased manner (“biased assimilation”), which causes us to adopt more extreme opinions and views after been exposed to inconclusive evidence, particular on complex matters. My lay-man’s interpretation is that with complex issues we revert to and rely on our biased initial views even when presented with objective, neutral, unbiased information to the contrary and, and become more radical as a consequence.
Cass Sunstein** has written good articles about assimilation bias and has listed convincing examples of complex issues suffering from this, such as climate change, the situation in the Middle East, international terrorism, death penalty, etc. Sunstein also discussed deliberate polarization through so-called “polarization entrepreneurs”, who “attempt to create communities of like-minded people, and they are aware that these communities will not only harden positions but also move them to a more extreme point”. Rings a bell? Unfortunately, Sunstein does not offer any ways or solutions to counter these phenomena but it is quite clear that they exist and operate here in NZ as well. And they are getting stronger!
*For example, Biased assimilation, homophily, and the dynamics of polarization http://www.pnas.org/cgi/doi/10.1073/pnas.1217220110 [free article; I skipped most of it as it was Gobbledygook to me. Please note that homophily is not the same as homophile]
**Cass Sunstein is a controversial figure by all accounts. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cass_Sunstein His name has so far featured twice on TS and not necessarily in a good light.
Oops, should have been a fourth piece with the list on the White New Zealand policy:
Written in 1997: The White New Zealand policy: racialisation, subordination and the first exclusionary legislation: https://rdln.wordpress.com/2014/03/14/the-white-new-zealand-policy-subordination-racialisation-and-the-first-exclusionary-legislation/
The early leaders of the Labour Party were anti-Chinese racists and staunch supporters of the White New Zealand policy; a later article – not up on the blog yet – deals with developments after WW1, when the RSA, Reform Party, Liberal party, big farmers’ groups, Labour Party and Andrew Russell (head of Massey’s Cossacks in 1913) united in support of further White New Zealand legislation.
Phil
These three videos reminded me of the dirty right wing worms that have deeply infected the body politic of New Zealand politics in the last six years.
[1 minurte + article in today’s New Zealand Herald]
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/world/news/article.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=11398186
[2 minutes]
Parasites [7 minutes] [Educative, but don’t watch if very squeamish]
Slavoj Zizek says that all the last century systems of the left have failed. Local autonomy and decisions are good, but if talking about direct democracy where all decisions are debated and agreed together, he points out how time consuming that is.
(Anyone been on committees with eager, keen people who don’t understand the pitfalls of not knowing, not thinking too much, acting in anticipation of success, and having no fall-back policy for failure.)
He points out the secrecy around. What is going on that we don’t know. We have in theory freedom of choice, but what choice are we being presented with. And he was shocked at the extent of vision of the chinese over human biology, they are not only wanting to improve physical conditions , but also the workings of the mind. All the continents have plans for the citizens, and from which citizens are excluded from discussion.
Nicky Hager fund on 2 January :,
The fund for his legal costs is now at $65,610 from 1274 donors.
Now at 7 February on Give a Little page is $65,790 from 1279 donors. Up by 5 donors.
https://givealittle.co.nz/cause/nickyhager/updates
Keep thinking of him, the media community and net community, police and pollies are.
Pundit’s Andrew Geddis’ comment on the right to death? new measure in Canada. It is strange how strongly the legislation speaks of citizens’ rights when it comes to life, but has nothing to offer for those wishing to die at any time, or when in terminal illness, or in pain.
http://www.pundit.co.nz/content/all-those-moments-will-be-lost-in-time-like-tears-in-rain
Because here’s what Canada’s Charter of Rights and Freedoms says that every Canadian enjoys:
Everyone has the right to life, liberty and security of the person and the right not to be deprived thereof except in accordance with the principles of fundamental justice.
And here’s why the Supreme Court says that imposing criminal penalties on medical professionals who help another person who is suffering with no hope of remission from ending their own life breaches that right:
The right to life is engaged where the law or state action imposes death or an increased risk of death on a person, either directly or indirectly. Here, the prohibition deprives some individuals of life, as it has the effect of forcing some individuals to take their own lives prematurely, for fear that they would be incapable of doing so when they reached the point where suffering was intolerable.
Then consider the right that the New Zealand Bill of Rights Act guarantees to us all:
No one shall be deprived of life except on such grounds as are established by law and are consistent with the principles of fundamental justice.
This section was deliberately lifted from the Canadian model. And so I’m going to go out on a (not very long) limb and say that if and when a New Zealand court were ever to look at this right in the context of New Zealand’s criminal prohibition on “aid[ing] or abet[ing] any person in the commission of suicide”, it also would conclude that this blanket prohibition unjustifiably limits an individual’s right to life. The fact that Canada’s highest court unanimously ruled that the model for our law has this meaning and effect is going to be so persuasive that a New Zealand court is near certain to do likewise.
But, and here’s the big but, what does that prediction mean? Well, at one level it means that New Zealand’s existing law imposes an unjustifiable limit on the individual rights of some members of our society (those with some nasty incurable disease that may or may not kill them, but certainly will give them a future of pain, indignity and despair). Obviously that’s not a good look for our law.
On another level, however, this fact means nothing at all. For unlike Canada, our Bill of Rights Act does not allow a court to invalidate or “strike down” the law. So irrespective of what a judge (or panel of judges) may think of the criminal law’s effect on rights, it stays on the books. Which makes taking the matter to court a bit of a waste of time, and instead throws it back into the legislative arena….
Spot the odd one out
1. Lydia Ko
2. John Key
3. Celtic
4. The All Blacks
5. David Cunliffe.
Some would say 3 as not from NZ but the answer is of course 5 cos all the others are winners.
Wow! Aren’t you brilliant! You are just an odd National party RWNJ I presume. Product of a tax payer supported wealthy private school? or a tax payer supported private Charter school?
Wrong on all counts apart from member of National party.
well, under the backstory for this handle, anyway.
It shows!
You’re a bit of an odd bird yourself, young fisi.
Are you working in shifts with redelusion and lost sheep?
Did it take you all day to come up with that joke
Don’t give up the day job
we need better troles round here. is gosman away for the weekend or something?
Actually, the answer is 2.
None of the others had full confidence in Sabin after they knew he was being investigated by the police.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/the-press/business/65894003/wealthy-chinese-buyers-snap-up-property
au revoir NZ …. and in bloody great chunks in just a few days. how will this end ?
The Chinese are becoming the landlords of NZ, with the endorsement of National and their wealthy backers. Local values and history do not factor into the financial decisions of this class of one percenters. The generations of Kiwis that built the infrastructure and houses have been sold out by a government who serves Money above all else. Now we know how displaced Maori feel.
Well the Christchurch Press was very pro John Key Nactional…and possibly one reason why John Key Nactional won the election…so they should take responsibility for this take over of New Zealand land and property by foreigners and in particular Chinese ……which was entirely predictable if John Key and Nactional won
The Christchurch Press one day before the Election plastered all over the front page a Tony Abbott inspired terrorist beat up in Australia…( some teenager with a plastic sword it turned out)…. voters in marginal seats in Christchurch were swung by these scare tactics and won by Nactional on the basis of this scaremongering by The Press, many believe.
….we can also thank other Nactional biased journalists and media…they know who they are and so do we…..it was an Election result bought by the right wing media
God Save New Zealand
Tony “budgie-smuggler” Abbott could be gone by Tuesday lunchtime:
Knives out for Tony Abbott in backbench revolt
Fran O’Sullivan also puts the boot in: