Open mike 07/04/2015

69 comments on “Open mike 07/04/2015 ”

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1. b waghorn 1

   7 April 2015 at 6:46 am

   I inflicted a little piece of the paul henry show on my self this morning to see what it’s about.
   Hillary Barry lead a story about police station closures paul jumped in said we’re not going to blow that up they’ve opened some in the same period and quickly moved on to a anniversary story of of a celeb getting caught playing with him self .
   Quality reporting ??
   • Tracey 1.1

     7 April 2015 at 7:08 am

     I did not tune in. Won’t tune in. I no longer use tv to catch up with the morning news in NZ.
     • Paul 1.1.1

       7 April 2015 at 7:13 am

       Same
       • halfcrown 1.1.1.1

         7 April 2015 at 12:37 pm

         Same here
     • b waghorn 1.1.2

       7 April 2015 at 7:24 am

       With a bit of luck a lot of people will tune out of tv3 and henry will get the boot because like it or not the morning new s is were a lot of people find out what’s going on.
       • Paul 1.1.2.1

         7 April 2015 at 7:26 am

         Hoskings and Henry both on in morning.
         Says so much about who runs our country.
         • b waghorn 1.1.2.1.1

           7 April 2015 at 7:32 am

           Definitely a way to control the message having those two all over the place.
           • Draco T Bastard 1.1.2.1.1.1

             7 April 2015 at 8:30 am

             Controlling the message does seem to be the purpose of the MSM now.
             • Rodel …

               7 April 2015 at 9:06 am

               Just a way of perpetuating the Henry and Hoskings delusions. (Theirs not ours).
       • tc 1.1.2.2

         7 April 2015 at 7:55 am

         And why henry’s been parked there so you’ve got 2 shills book ending the day with lickspittle rawdon earning his keep sucking up to key and his cronies over at TVNZ.
         • Paul 1.1.2.2.1

           7 April 2015 at 8:00 am

           Add in the shift rightwards on RNZ with Espiner’s bias showing through and the media shows as much diversity as it did in Germany in the 1930s or Russia in the 1950s
         • Paul 1.1.2.2.2

           7 April 2015 at 8:06 am

           Puff pieces like this in the Herald lauding a very average minister are part of the propaganda war being waged on us.
           Isaac Davison proves he is another owned member of the media by writing this nonsense about Lotu-Iiga.

           http://m.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11428596
           • Skinny 1.1.2.2.2.1

             7 April 2015 at 9:38 am

             A particularly nasty shifty character is Lotu Iiga. I was not in the least bit surprised he was exposed in the book Dirty Politics.

             I once took exception to hearing him spinning crap campaigning for the South Auckland vote on Jackson & JT’s radio live show. He was talking about his Polynesian upbringing in South Auckland and how he still visits factories where his people ( his words) have worked 20 years plus, then he goes into some diatribe about a vote for him and National will improve their quality of living.

             At the time National had introduced nasty employment laws like the 90 day fire at will legislation etc. I called the show under my than handle of George and asked slippery Sam ” How do you look these 20 year + factory workers in the eye without feeling ashamed that you have sold them out, and you have the nerve to try suck Tory votes out of good working class people, your own people, your a disgrace to your race… ya sellout.”

             Slippery Sammy was lost for words trying to justify that question and Jacko & JT started giving him a strum up in agreement ‘how would a Nat vote improve their lot in life.’

             Interesting to note Lotu Iiga lives in Onehunga, I was staying with family in Epsom over the long weekend and on Sunday got my nephew to take me for a drive to the Royal Oak Pac n Slave. It was closed so he thought something in Onehunga maybe open, we drove there, I haven’t been there for years. What use to be a Polynesian hub, the main street shops have transformed to
             trendy caftes and shops, and the residents have changed too. Not too many of Totu Liga’s living in these streets, probably just how Sam likes it.
             • tc …

               7 April 2015 at 10:26 am

               the snakey one also voted down the proposed loan sharking legislation then claimed it as his own idea at a mangakiekie meeting opposite the labour candidate who initially bought the voted down bill in.

               Beaumont just let the BS stand unchallenged, yes is very snakey and dodgy that smiley sam.
     • David H 1.1.3

       7 April 2015 at 11:50 am

       Same. Why they put him on in the AM is beyond me unless they want to see their ratings plummet. And the Airheads on TVNZ are almost as bad in their utter and complete servility to the TricKey one.
       • McFlock 1.1.3.1

         7 April 2015 at 6:41 pm

         I don’t get why they keep giving him work. He sure can’t keep a show going. I suspect that they’ve got so much invested in him that his boss will also be gone when he finally loses his mediaworks contract for poor ratings.
     • mary_a 1.1.4

       7 April 2015 at 12:51 pm

       Ditto here as well Tracey (1.1). I can live without inflicting that environmental pollutant on myself first thing in the morning!
2. wyndham 2

   7 April 2015 at 7:02 am

   Comment from Colin James this am. in relation to Key sending Kiwis to Iraq. Sums up the total shambles well don’t TS readers think ? !

   “The war we are about to join is sectarian: Muslim v Muslim v Muslim. Shiite Iran is helping run the war against the Sunni Islamic State. That embarrasses Iran-phobic United States though last week it initialled a deal with Iran to contain Iran’s nuclear ambition. Sunni Saudi Arabia deplores the Sunni Islamic State, backs Egypt’s crackdown on the Sunni Muslim Brotherhood and leads a coalition backing Sunnis fighting Iran-backed Shiites in Yemen.
   Confused? So are policymakers in Washington and elsewhere. The complexity is mind-boggling. And intervention in the war(s) is predicated on bolstering a so-called state or a potential state. “In many years working in the region, I have never seen such a distance between statements and fact,” the International Crisis Group’s Peter Harling told the New York Times.”
3. CnrJoe 3

   7 April 2015 at 7:21 am

   Everyone watch Last Week Tonight with John Oliver – youtube. Edward Snowden and Dick pics. It’s a game changer.
   • One Anonymous Bloke 3.1

     7 April 2015 at 8:17 am

     Thanks Joe.
   • Sanctuary 3.2

     7 April 2015 at 8:21 am

     New Zealand DESPERATELY needs political satire. Does anyone really think pompous right wing blowhards Paul Henry or Mike Hoskings or the near parody news that TVNZ dishes up every night would survive the sort of merciless mocking they would get from the Daily Show?

     And that is why we’ll never get it.
     • Paul 3.2.1

       7 April 2015 at 8:35 am

       Jeremy Wells’s Hoskings rant is pretty good.
     • tracey 3.2.2

       7 April 2015 at 8:47 am

       They are parody, they just don’t realise they are the subject of it.
   • Bearded Git 3.3

     7 April 2015 at 10:48 am

     @CnrJoe
     Brilliant thanks for that. The “dick” example was a clever metaphor to explain how so much info is being grabbed by the NSA through so many methods. Superb.
4. Atiawa 4

   7 April 2015 at 7:39 am

   NZ$ almost hits parity with Aussie $. Things just got worse for NZ manufacturers exporting to Australia.
   Great interview this morning with Andrew Little on NACT radio with Espiner.
   A weak Aussie economy is not good news for NZ, and lowering NZ bank interest rates simply fuels the Auckland housing market.
   Little was all over the subject matter, telling Espiner to listen.
   • The Chairman 4.1

     7 April 2015 at 10:27 am

     It wasn’t that great an interview.

     Little failed to put forward a well explained solution to convince listeners Labour is a viable alternative.

     http://www.radionz.co.nz/audio/player/20173722
   • Ovid 4.2

     7 April 2015 at 4:51 pm

     Reserve Bank of Australia opted to keep rates at 2.25% today. The NZ$ immediately fell by a cent.
     • Tracey 4.2.1

       7 April 2015 at 4:56 pm

       Can’t be true, the dollar is high cos the National Government is running the country so well, ergo, if it fell…
     • Ovid 4.2.2

       7 April 2015 at 6:37 pm

       And it’s a two cent drop now.
   • Rodel 4.3

     7 April 2015 at 7:12 pm

     It was a good interview with good, down to earth responses from Little. Liked his grasp of the issue and telling Esp to ‘listen’ and ‘try to understand’ without resorting to Key’s arrogance.
     • The Chairman 4.3.1

       7 April 2015 at 7:57 pm

       Except Little missed an opportunity to explain his broader mandate solution, thus present Labour as a viable alternative.

       I’m highlighting this not to mock him, but in the hope he will up his game.

       Little left listeners with more questions than answers.

       For example, how will broadening the Reserve Bank Act mandate correct a strengthening NZ dollar resulting from a weakening Australian economy?

       Will this broader mandate result in lower interest rates or higher interest rates?

       And how will lowering interest rates (if this is what he was implying) avert the negative impact of lower interest rates on the property sector?
5. Paul 5

   7 April 2015 at 8:22 am

   In the business section of the Herald.
   Two important news stories that will have a major impact on the world.
   1. China’s economy is slowing
   http://m.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=11428198
   2. Middle East wars are driving up oil prices.
   http://m.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=11428552

   2015 crash is not far away.
6. tracey 6

   7 April 2015 at 8:54 am

   One of the arguments some people make to attack beneficiaries is that if they can’t afford children they shouldn’t have them,

   I have been recently reading some tales about the new child maintenance provisions. One thing that pops up is the complaint that the new partner’s child is NOT taken into account when assessing the payment for the biological child.

   Now, if the new partner had the child when you met him/her; or you both have an additional child, knowing you have another child from a previous relationship to care for, isn’t the bene bashing meme applicable here? Or even more so? More so because many beneficiaries had their children before the job loss, or the accident, or the illness.

   I acted in a maintenance case many years ago involving the owner of a very large construction firm and devout 7th day Adventist.

   He prepared spreadsheets of his expenses pre separation (he, wife two teenage girls in private school) and post separation. His calculations in the spreadsheets indicated he was arguing his living expenses as a single man had gone up 2/3 compared to the 4 person household. On this point alone he looked foolish and duplicitous and ended up with a Court Award for maintenance against him far higher than we had been prepared to pay during negotiated settlement discussions the day before.

   He also now wanted his daughters out of their school and into public school and no after school activities.

   I noted with interest a few years ago when he sold his share how many millions it went for.

   Of course there are people genuinely struggling under the new system. It is a forumla so it will have flaws. How many stories are the papers/media discussing of where payments have reduced?
   • Molly 6.1

     7 April 2015 at 9:07 am

     Hi Tracey,

     I live in a fairly affluent area, and know of a couple of cases where the ownership of a business has allowed non-custodial fathers to reduce their child support payments.

     In one case, the business is owned jointly with the new wife, but she owns the majority of the shares. He is paid a low wage, and it is this wage that is used to determine his child support payments. The business is partly run from home so quite a few utility bills, maintenance and capital works have been run through the business accounts. The children from the second marriage all attend private schools and extended overseas trips for the family are the norm.

     However, those who work for wages don’t have this method of minimising their taxed income, and so the system works disproportionately.

     I have only met one business owner, who when his relationship dissolved, worked with his ex-partner to determine a reasonable rate of child support. He paid this directly to his ex-partner, and this went on until the child was grown. (The amount paid was more than she would have got using income support.)
     • Tracey 6.1.1

       7 April 2015 at 3:29 pm

       Thanks for sharing. I never understand why a parent begrudges their own child a decent upbringing…
   • RedBaronCV 6.2

     7 April 2015 at 8:21 pm

     The one in the herald this morning was deeply flawed. Where income drops suddenly there is a clear provision to tell the IRD and have the support payments dropped, information which a simple call to the IRD by the journalist would have elicted – but hey why let the facts get in the way of the prejudices.

     As to the self employed / wealthy hiding money in Trusts and companies to avoid Child support. This is endemic and the child support amendments were originally going to include this type of income which would also mean that income is the same as that taken to account for WFF benefits etc. However, guess what, the last set of IRD amendments drops this provision because of course wealthy males are the NAct support base and us peasants (taxpayers) need to support their kids.

     And just as an aside – while negotiated payments at a higher rate can give the illusion of a better outcome they are not actually enforceable meaning the payer can use the threat of witholding to make the caregivers life a misery. It can be a powerful weapon of control.
     • Molly 6.2.1

       7 April 2015 at 8:48 pm

       I understand your comment about negotiated payments, but the two people involved handled their breakup well and were considering the child more than each other. A good starting point.

       It also avoided the requirement for the mother to go to income support and deal with the system, which would be a positive outcome for many.
7. Hami Shearlie 7

   7 April 2015 at 8:59 am

   Hosking AND Henry every morning now? Now I know how Victor Meldrew felt – “Oh, GODDDDD”!!!!
8. Pasupial 8

   7 April 2015 at 9:00 am

   5 days remaining until the scheduled return of the Rawshark 2.
   • Chooky 8.1

     7 April 2015 at 9:31 am

     +100 Parsupial…am with you
9. travellerev 9

   7 April 2015 at 9:49 am

   John Key says GCSB does not spy on New Zealanders and here is why that is a great big lie!
10. Sanctuary 10

    7 April 2015 at 10:25 am

    The media reporting of the NZ dollar near parity with the Australian dollar is an interesting insight into the values of the people who decide what is news. It is being presented as some sort of triumph for the mangerialist and technocratic ruling elite, because it makes their cheap holidays and cheap imports even cheaper.

    The wider debate about our export performance and loss of competitiveness in our largest export market and it’s impact on thousands of blue collar and menial jobs doesn’t even enter into the discussion. In fact as I speak Kathryn Ryan is having an adoring interview with yet another aging white male of the Douglas era, lauding his impact and generally being very chummy with someone from her own class.

    There is a reason unemployment and poverty are not an issue in NZ. And that is because two thirds of the population no longer care about another third, and the media reflects the values and informs the prejudices of that two thirds.
    • Draco T Bastard 10.1

      7 April 2015 at 11:09 am

      And that is because two thirds of the population no longer care about another third, and the media reflects the values and informs the prejudices of that two thirds.

      You got the numbers around the wrong way. It’s the top 1/3rd don’t care about the bottom 2/3rds and the MSM reflect the values of that 1/3rd.

      EDIT: This applies.
    • James Thrace 10.2

      7 April 2015 at 11:22 am

      Oh look, the little sheep out there in punterland don’t give a flying figs leaf about the structural deficiencies that New Zealand has ignored for the past thirty years.

      New Zealand does have the ability to be self sufficient. It is the globalisation of our industry that has caused us to become serfs in our own land.

      I spent the Easter reading Ayn Rand’s Atlas Shrugged, given that it is a bible of sorts for ACT-olytes and some in the National Party.
      I struggled. I made it about 1/3rd of the way in before giving up in disgust and wondering why people simply don’t see what is so bad about government owning key infrastructure and ensuring the viability of long term assets – rail, hydro, thermal, and housing, not to mention our own land.

      This government truly has pulled the wool over peoples eyes, largely helped by a complicit media. It’s a shame our own Commerce Commission don’t take a stick to the cosy duopoly of newspapers (NZME/APN and Fairfax) and break it up. There are a myriad of ways in which smaller independent newspapers would be able to survive, as long as there were controls in place to ensure that the private printing press owners (largely APN/Fairfax) don’t jack up the prices to make it uneconomic for independent regional newspapers to print their own dailies. Afterall, printing is no longer the laborious time consuming process it once was.

      Bill Sutch’s own excellent book – Takeover New Zealand – outlined several ways within which NZ could become self sufficient and sustaining. It should be required reading as many of the principles he espoused are just as relevant today. The list of brands he outlines in his book would have been consolidated further into one of the 6 major multinationals that pervade every corner of the globe.

      But no. the sheeple of New Zealand don’t want to think about this. All they see is “dollar parity” and wonder why Just Jeans are selling things at $120 NZD but the price tag shows that its also $90AUD. Why isn’t it $90 NZD too if the dollar is the same?

      The great lord Consumerism, has everyone by the short’n’curlies.
    • Ergo Robertina 10.3

      7 April 2015 at 1:17 pm

      Agreed. The most surreal moment for me was NZ Herald quoting a self help/relationships psychologist:
      ”Psychologist Chris Skellet said it was promising to see “one more index of disparity dissolve between the two countries”.
      “It’s important that we assume equivalence between us rather than adopt a one up/one down perspective,” he said.
      “No matter how Australians regard us, we need to adopt an unrelenting attitude of equality and respect towards our neighbours.” ENDS
      http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=11428614

      Like Skellett, I’m no expert on currencies, but this is such patent rubbish.
      It’s not an index of disparity in the sense that achieving ‘equivalence’ will make parts of our economy weaker and thus increase inequalities.
      More broadly this approach to framing economics with pop psychology reminds me of Barbara Ehrenreich’s book Smile or Die: How Positive Thinking Fooled America and the World which identified how happiness psychology and the self help phenomenon mirrored the mass redundancies and off-shoring in the 1970s to 1990s. The idea that the answer lies within you, rather than in questioning the system.
      • The Murphey 10.3.1

        7 April 2015 at 1:54 pm

        Standouts from the article

        1. Tellingly the ‘soothing gentle opinions’ of Chris Skellett were the first quotes in the article

        Rather transparent having that commentary atop other quotes which when read through them are hollow distraction deflection which should ring alarm bells to any thinking individual

        2. There is literally nothing of substance in the article which was written by an author who has no history writing on financial matters for NZH

        Morgan Tait – Morgan Tait is the NZ Herald’s police reporter
        • Tracey 10.3.1.1

          7 April 2015 at 3:31 pm

          YIKES!
11. Philip Ferguson 11

    7 April 2015 at 10:39 am

    The Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) and its allies play the key role in saving the lives of tens of thousands of Yazidis who faced being butchered at the hands of IS. The PKK’s forces have also played a major role in halting IS advances and, in some notable instances, hurling the reactionaries back.

    Yet the secular-progressive PKK is designated a ‘terrorist’ organisation in many western countries, including NZ. So much for John Key’s claim to be supporting progressive, secular values in the region. (And in stark contrast for his friendly attitude to the ‘royal’ religious dictatorship in Saudi Arabia.)

    It’s important that progressives in NZ not only oppose further NZ military involvement but that we demand the PKK be taken off the ‘terrorist’ list and that people here be allowed to support the PKK, including raising funds for it.

    If the western powers were interested in any progressive outcome in the region, they’d just hand over their weaponry to the PKK and their allies and leave.

    We’ve stuck up an important article on the PKK and the Kurdish cause. See: http://www.internationalviewpoint.org/spip.php?article3695

    This article, which also looks at how progressives in Germany are defying the ban on the PKK by fund-raising for it, needs as wide circulation as possible.

    Phil
12. KJS0ne 12

    7 April 2015 at 10:54 am

    http://i.stuff.co.nz/taranaki-daily-news/news/67623849/south-taranaki-father-alan-lyall-left-to-live-on-47-a-week?cid=facebook.post.67623849

    Really breaks ones heart to see this shit happening in a country with so much wealth. National’s calculated dismantling of our safety nets is so callous, and this is the result. I bet he isn’t the only one in this situation in light of changes that have come in to child support after April 1st.
    • weka 12.1

      7 April 2015 at 11:12 am

      So much wrong with that situation (payments based on previous years earnings ffs).

      Beyond that, the whole child support system is deeply flawed. For the child whose parents separate, if one parent goes on a benefit, the other parent pays child support to the state, not to the family that is raising the child. How stupid is that?
    • RedBaronCV 12.2

      7 April 2015 at 8:24 pm

      The one in the herald this morning was deeply flawed. Where income drops suddenly there is a clear provision to tell the IRD and have the support payments dropped, information which a simple call to the IRD by the journalist would have elicted – but hey why let the facts get in the way of the a good beat up

      Sorry for repeating myself. he should be paying about $12 a week
13. Draco T Bastard 13

    7 April 2015 at 11:13 am

    Ultra-fast charging aluminum battery offers safe alternative to conventional batteries

    “We have developed a rechargeable aluminum battery that may replace existing storage devices, such as alkaline batteries, which are bad for the environment, and lithium-ion batteries, which occasionally burst into flames,” said Hongjie Dai, a professor of chemistry at Stanford. “Our new battery won’t catch fire, even if you drill through it.”

    Aluminium is also one of the most abundant metals in the Earth’s Crust. Even NZ has a fairly significant deposit of it.
    • TheContrarian 13.1

      7 April 2015 at 12:16 pm

      It is also extremely easy to recycle
14. freedom 14

    7 April 2015 at 1:06 pm

    A well-buried opinion piece in the Herald seems to be discussing something very important but this is the first item I have seen referencing the topic, so not sure if it is just some legal jargon that amounts to very little, or it is in fact representing a massive shift in the foundations of our justice system?

    “Parliament seems about to drop New Zealand’s commitment to the rule of law and parliamentary sovereignty from the act underpinning the judicial branch in New Zealand. That really is quite odd.”
    http://www.nzherald.co.nz/politics/news/article.cfm?c_id=280&objectid=11428565

    it goes on –
    ” The seven-page majority report back from the current Justice Committee contained no explanation for dropping New Zealand’s commitment to these constitutional fundamentals. ”

    “The minister speaking for the Minister of Justice in the second reading debate said that the provisions, being constitutional in nature, were out of place in the new bill; their place would be in the Constitution Act. Now, if Parliament were simultaneously amending the Constitution Act to include the provisions, New Zealanders might rest. It is not though.”

    Would the legal minds out there please educate the rest of us as to what the proposed changes represent and what, if any, are the real world implications of this change?
    • aspasia 14.1

      7 April 2015 at 1:20 pm

      From an Otago Uni constitutional law guru:
      http://pundit.co.nz/content/is-parliament-about-to-drop-our-commitment-to-the-rule-of-law
      • aspasia 14.1.1

        7 April 2015 at 1:38 pm

        This link in the response above is a much longer version of the opinion piece in the Herald by Richard Cornes. It makes more sense when you can read the comments by Justice McGrath in detail as given in the article at the link above and below.
        http://pundit.co.nz/content/is-parliament-about-to-drop-our-commitment-to-the-rule-of-law
15. Penny Bright 15

    7 April 2015 at 1:21 pm

    FYI

    Tim Groser, Minister of Trade is having a meeting (with whom exactly?), TODAY Monday 7 April 2015, at 2.45pm, at 135 Albert Street, at the Mayor’s Office.

    (The Mayor’s Office has shifted from the Auckland Town Hall)
    ____________________________________________________________________________

    7 April 2015

    Len Brown
    Auckland Council Mayor

    Dear Len,

    As someone who has attended TPPA meetings in Auckland, as a registered ‘Stakeholder’ both in 2010 and 2012, I request to attend the meeting to be held today, at 2.45pm in the Auckland Mayoral Office (Auckland Town Hall), with the NZ Minister of Trade, Tim Groser.

    Please be reminded that as an ‘anti-corruption / anti-privatisation Public Watchdog’, and 2016 Auckland Mayoral candidate, I am totally opposed to any steps that would increase corporate control over New Zealand.

    Signing the TPPA, in my considered opinion, would do just that.

    I am concerned that attempts may be made to undermine the following resolution of Auckland Council, made on 6 December 2012:

    http://www.aucklandcouncil.govt.nz/SiteCollectionDocuments/aboutcouncil/committees/regionaldevelopmentoperationscommittee/meetings/regionaldevelopmentandoperationscommin20121206.pdf

    _______________________________________________________________________________

    Penny Bright
    • Clemgeopin 15.1

      7 April 2015 at 6:41 pm

      +1
      Well done, Penny Bright.
16. infused 16

    7 April 2015 at 1:27 pm

    Carrying on from the Bit Coin discussion… anyone who suggests it needs their head looked at. The scam continues.

    http://arstechnica.com/business/2015/04/bitcoin-foundation-is-effectively-bankrupt-board-member-says/
    • millsy 16.1

      7 April 2015 at 5:10 pm

      No money in mining either.
17. NZSage 17

    7 April 2015 at 1:48 pm

    Henry bombed in Australia in a very short time. It will be the same here once the audiences tire of him…and they will.

    Of course he’s more likely to be the maker of his own demise as sooner or later he’s sure to spout an outrageous Clarksonesque comment.

    How many of those can Mediaworks take or afford?
    • infused 17.1

      7 April 2015 at 3:20 pm

      I doubt it. The show was hardly pushed in Aussie.

      He’s quite liked here. I missed today’s show, but might watch it tonight.
      • Tracey 17.1.1

        7 April 2015 at 3:33 pm

        Watch it with your wife and daughters so they can witness the sexist ridiculing, internalise it and feel just a little bit “less than” they did before they watched him..
18. Penny Bright 18

    7 April 2015 at 5:49 pm

    Some interesting developments following the tipoff about the meeting today held at the Auckland Mayoral Office (135 Albert St), with Minister of Trade Tim Groser, apparently about the TPPA and Local Government?

    From what I managed to find out, this meeting was organised by the Auckland Mayoral Office, and it appears that Auckland Council elected representatives were not notified, not invited and apparently had no knowledge of WHAT was being discussed.

    Why the secrecy?

    WHY was this meeting with Minister of Trade Tim Groser organised by the Auckland Mayoral Office

    WHO was invited ?

    WHAT was discussed ?

    Penny Bright
19. Draco T Bastard 19

    7 April 2015 at 6:24 pm

    March Madness

    How much will the TPP cost NZ? Millions? Billions?
20. the pigman 20

    7 April 2015 at 7:09 pm

    Slater is pimping for Crusher again. Afraid I can’t provide a donotlink but you can observe the train wreck here:

    Here is a donotlink version

    He uses Vance’s bizarre piece yesterday as a launching pad to twist the knife further into Joyce/Bennett. I wonder who the lucky Labour staffers were who got to have Paula sit on their knees 😀

    He promises an entire series of posts debunking Vance’s analysis.

    He claims inside knowledge of the “democratic” national party leadership selection process by disregarding the Brash/Key sleazy motel leadership deal.

    Make no mistake, this is Crusher in full utu mode. And she’s going to bring the whole house of cards down with her.
    • Anne 20.1

      7 April 2015 at 7:28 pm

      She personally treats staff and backbenchers like scum, rather than leaving her staff to treat them like scum as Joyce does. She is fond of a drink and is known to get very familiar with much younger men or do the rounds with donors sitting on all their knees, or worse all of that with Labour staffers. The tally of Paula supporters on the backbench is even lower than the tally for supporters for Joyce.

      Oooh… I do like a bit of gossy – especially when its about someone I can’t stand. 😈
      • the pigman 20.1.1

        7 April 2015 at 11:22 pm

        It’s a pretty vivid picture he paints of Our Paula. Can’t you just imagine it though?

        I’m gonna dedicate myself to #crusherwatch for the next wee while as blubbermeister continues on his campaign against Key’s cohorts. Unfortunately, it gives failoil its much-needed Japan-based web traffic. I do enjoy how his articles are all interspersed with large banners for HOT JAPANESE SINGLES IN YOUR AREA, though. It fits.
21. joe90 21

    7 April 2015 at 7:32 pm

    Diane Ravitch

    (pasted the lot)

    A mom in Tennesse asks the fundamental questions:

    “Why can’t all private industry contracted by the public education system be supportive to make public education better? We should be pursuing ways to create partnerships and increasing teacher quality, not creating hourly teacher tracks, devaluing university study, pushing hostile takeover strategies through charters, vouchers and for-profit charter schemes.

    “By law we must educate children.

    “Public education is not the post office with Fed_Ex and UPS and Amazon as its competition. I’m not forced by law to use the post office. And post office outcomes are not slanted by poverty of the customers they serve. Education is influenced by a child’s mindset to learn (ELL, disabled, just having a bad day). We are bettering lives with education. It should be our NASA.

    “Business models discount the human and the need for childhood stability. When a parent is sick, when a child moves, things can disrupt a child’s learning. The public education system should be the safe haven. Something to count on. Your community should be there to back you up when everything else falls apart. We cannot reduce education to numbers and a free-for-all with choice. Education is the prime example of a government service that must work. Just like the military, roads, or police and fire.

    “We are being held hostage by test scores. Our society is being scammed into thinking we don’t need this vital government service. And there are a lot of really smart people with their heads in the sand afraid of being politically active.”

    http://dianeravitch.net/2015/04/04/tennessee-mom-why-the-scam-that-devalues-public-schools/

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