Does this really sound like an education to you or does it sound more like a Ponzi scheme, like you’ve been scammed?
Do I understand how all this works? No. I’m no expert on the subject. What anyone should be able to see, however, is that the promise of higher education has, in this century, sunk low indeed and that what your generation has been learning how to endure while still in school is a form of peonage. I’d binge drink, too, under the circumstances!
As that system, awash in plutocratic contributions to politics and taxpayer contributions to the military-industrial-homeland-security complex, morphs into something else, so will you, whether you realize it or not. Though never thought of as such, your debt is part of the same system. A society that programmatically trains its young into debt and calls that “higher education” is as corrupt as a wealthy country that won’t rebuild its own infrastructure.
Yep, in the US the salaries and numbers of administrators and managers has been shooting up for years, while the salaries and numbers of faculty have been cut and squeezed – unless you work in an area favoured by corporate money.
Student fees have been climbing and climbing as has student debt. Then they changed the rules in the US where students have to pay increasing interest on their debt – far more than bankers have to pay – and you cannot get out of student debt by declaring bankruptcy. The debt follows you to the grave.
And this in an environment where graduates are lucky to get a full time minimum wage job.
Marinaleda: Yeah, that’s the kind of place/way I’d like to live, if the only alternative was NZ’s existing reality/dominant culture and perspective.
Two stand-out points to me were the flat rate of wage, “because every position is important to the whole”; and making decisions based on considering what is good for those who have the least, before thinking about what is good for those that have the most. If NZ governments adopted that last point in isolation, it would solve many of NZ’s problems overnight. Once they did try that approach, now they reject it completely.
“A Socialist Utopia” is a good description of it – a both negative (ultimately limited) and positive (major advancement on status quo) euphemism – because there are plenty of flaws in the plan; and the guy talking glosses over some historical points that if they were explained to NZders, they might not be so enthusistic to superimpose the struggle here; but this is Sunday morning, so why not just revel in the possibility instead?
In Germany, one of the most successful economy in the world, house prices are flat. It is considered a failure if house prices rise because housing is a speculative investment that adds nothing to the economy.
Predictions for 2014 for Germany were price increases for property were 6%, with prices the the two years prior increasing by 9.8% per annum for existing stock and 7.7% per annum for new builds.
Reasons being? Demand in larger cities outstripping supply. Low interest rates and increased economic activity. Strong labour markets and rising immigration.
Germany, historically, has a completely different approach to rentals, where some families live 20+ years in rented accommodation (flats or houses). The money is in the rent return, not the property resale. The way mortgages are set-up and structured are different too.
To top it all off, German Super has always been sufficient to live off in retirement, there was little need or desire to invest/speculate in property for that old-age nest egg.
All up, you can’t compare the German approach and New Zealand one.
Max Keiser & Stacey Herbert talk UK property bubble
They mention in comparison that Berlin has just introduced maximum rent caps. That German ministers see “investment” flowing into ever increasing house prices as a waste of productive financial capital which should instead go into industry. This is of course a road to a ponzi economy and eventual economic collapse.
How UK policies of house ownership and rental subsidies have helped push up the property price bubble further, as well as encouraging home owners and rentier capitalists to vote Conservative.
Max Keiser also mentions how banks create money in the economy by extending loans which instantly become deposits in bank accounts.
The housing problem has only just started really. You can’t create all this extra money and have it stay in Auckland. Newly rich Jafas are already buying up large outside of Auckland and driving up prices elsewhere. Those cashed up sellers will themselves start pushing up prices even further.
I’ve been watching house prices in areas close to Auck – south an arc from Hamilton to Tauranga and north SH1 areas up to Whangarei & surrounds. The speed at which low priced properties have been selling is just incredible. The only houses not selling are those in rough streets.
It must be hugely distressing for those lower income earners saving to buy a home. They’re seeing their future disappearing right in front of their eyes.
No you cant and it is true that their social security system is (or was) – I am sorry to say – superior to that in NZ.
But what you omit is that, Germany has had more then 1 Million (!) immigrants/refugees per year entering the country and housing certainly has a different meaning when looking at these figures.
Vandalism of properties that was unheard of has increased and there are areas where you rather don’t want to go, let alone live because of the ghetto building from different ethnicity. Naturally, the situation is a lot more volatile then in NZ. And with that the social security system that has worked on the basis that people have to contribute in order to get a benefit, thus being a collective approach and really a cultural way of thinking about your neighbor, is being destroyed. Perhaps a geopolitical game to make it equal to the Anglo saxen approach that is in my point of view barbaric.
Wait until Germany suffers an economic downturn, then with mass immigration you will see the rise of white supremacist neonazi sentiment on the upswing.
Just saw something on Zero Hedge which said 2 out of 3 low paid jobs created by the US economic “upturn” has gone to illegal migrants. Local populations are going to become more restive.
White supremacists are already there. All immigrants are being supported by the state, hence the unrest. The moneys are not there anymore. The downturn has already started.
Mind you, I wonder what NZ would do if such influx of immigrants would happen here. Infrastructure and benefits would dry up in a flash. It would lead to aggression, latent or obvious.
The US is a completely different culture – they have no real sense of social coherency. 230 odd years in the making vs thousands of years in Germany.
The jobs they have created are low wage, no guarantied hours jobs. Sounds familiar?
Germans are underestimated with their sheer will to see things through if the going is tough.
@ Colonial R
Someone wrote that a large number of the employed in USA are guarding wealthy people’s property. It could be a good job for a migrant to get. The low starting wage could be an indication of that.
USA Security guards employed, 1,077,520 at May 2014 mean hourly wage $13.48 (from $8.52, 25% percentile $9.64, 90% percentile $21.25-annual $44,200) http://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes339032.htm
USA Cleaning and janitor jobs 2,324,000 for year 2012 @ $10.73 an hour
USA manufacturing stats – they were declining before 2008 and from then to 2010 they took a nosedive.
Manufacturing employment stats at Jan 2008 13,725,000, at Jan 2010 11,460,000.
Jan 2015 12,318,000. http://data.bls.gov/timeseries/CES3000000001
the rich people in the gated compounds think that their armed security guards are going to protect them when the real decline comes. I think those armed security guards just as likely to take over the gated compounds for their own extended families and eject the useless 1%, when the time comes.
Please excuse my ignorance, but considering the continuing threat of climate change, it’s causes & likely outcomes, are there social media sites that younger New Zealanders participate in on this issue?
I ask only to be able to listen to their voice, not to participate.
There’s also 350 Aotearoa, and you can find the latest things theyre doing on their facebook pages.
I’d like to see a senior citizens activist group on climate change as well. After all they have had a lifetime of fossil fuel at their convenience and it will be their grandkids who will have to do the heavy lifting to adapt and change society to work in a different climate.
How much of the Auckland property ‘boom’ is being used for money-laundering?
How many of the empty 22,000 ‘ghost city’ private sector houses in Auckland (according to the 2013 Census), have been used for money-laundering?
Whose job is it to check on how real estate – especially Auckland real estate – is used for money-laundering?
The Organised and Financial Crime Agency of NZ (OFCANZ)?
Who failed to carry out any ‘due diligence’ on the increased risk of money-laundering arising from the NZ International Convention Act?
————————————————————————
Bernard Hickey: Dodgy deals to come out
The New Zealand Herald
A task force wants lawyers and agents to verify sources of overseas funds used to buy property.
By Bernard Hickey
The Government’s pre-Budget announcement of its two-year “bright line” tax on capital gains surprised a few people and captured headlines.
But the accompanying news that non-residents buying property would first have to open a bank account here, get an IRD number and declare their own passport and home tax details may have a bigger impact.
The Government is pointing to this measure as having the most potential to reduce foreign demand for Auckland properties and Prime Minister John Key has indicated information on non-resident buying would be gathered and published.
He said New Zealand tax authorities would also share these details with foreign tax authorities.
The elephant in the room of Auckland’s property debate is whether some of the money pouring into Auckland, from China in particular, is money laundering of ill-gotten funds.
Without any data, the debate is fuelled by anecdote and rumour, but the issue is capturing global attention.
In November, China’s President Xi Jinping asked for Key’s help to track down a number of Chinese nationals who had fled to New Zealand with allegedly corruptly obtained funds. This was part of Xi’s campaign to crack down on the “tigers and flies” officials and their cronies. Chinese authorities say New Zealand is the third most popular destination for such fugitives.
The issue of money laundering from China is heating up in Australia, too, where data on how much property is bought by non-residents is collected.
More than 25 per cent of all new and existing homes sold last year in Sydney and Melbourne were sold to non-residents, leaving many across the Tasman asking where the money came from.
It is a clever ploy by the Government to turn the Auckland housing problem into a Law & Order issue. Any place where large sums of money easily ‘change hands’ such as casinos and real estate is attractive to money launderers. However, this doesn’t mean that money laundering is a driving force behind Auckland’s housing woes. Is the Government now also proposing for Sky Casino to demand seeing and recording IRD numbers, bank account details, and home tax details?
Liar No. 46 Julia Gillard: “I have got a lot of respect for people who whistle-blow, ummm….” http://thestandard.org.nz/ope-mike-08022015/#comment-965394
Liar No. 45 Zara Potts: “Sir Bob Geldof has assembled the best of modern musicians for this year’s record, including Ed Sheeran and One Direction.” http://thestandard.org.nz/open-mike-11112014/#comment-924196
More liars HERE….
http://thestandard.org.nz/open-mike-09102014/#comment-907232
Time Magazine: Belgium removes all age limits on euthansasia
Says children should have same rights to choose death as adults. In the Netherlands, children aged 12-16 can choose death with parental consent. Activists in the Netherlands say that age limit should be reduced or removed.
Gardasil Survivors in Ireland Launch Support Group
Activist Post
The R.E.G.R.E.T. Support Group was launched recently in Ireland by parents of chronically ill teenage girls. These parents blame an injection the girls received at school as the cause of their daughters’ illness. The drug in question is called Gardasil and is being marketed as an anti-cancer vaccine. R.E.G.R.E.T. is an acronym for “Reactions and Effects of Gardasil Resulting in Extreme Trauma”.
Members of ten families from all over the country came together to share experiences and express their exasperation at the inability of health authorities to recognise the pattern of serious adverse reactions being suffered by children who, up until receiving the Gardasil injection, enjoyed an active healthy lifestyle.
One of the main complaints raised at the meeting was that the information provided by the HSE (as part of the ‘informed consent’ process) is extremely misleading, particularly with regard to how safe the vaccine is.
A high incidence of serious reactions have been reported in the U.S ever since Gardasil was released there in 2006. Even the drug manufacturer’s own clinical trials reveal a 1 in 40 (2.5%) incidence of a serious adverse reaction*, yet Irish parents are still told by the HSE that Gardasil is ‘very safe’.
Although its cancer-preventing properties have never been proven, the HSE insists that the benefits of Gardasil outweigh the risks and even claim that it has been ‘fully tested’.
This is despite the limited safety testing that took place as a result of this “life-Gardasil Survivors in Ireland Launch Support Group
Activist Post
The R.E.G.R.E.T. Support Group was launched recently in Ireland by parents of chronically ill teenage girls. These parents blame an injection the girls received at school as the cause of their daughters’ illness. The drug in question is called Gardasil and is being marketed as an anti-cancer vaccine. R.E.G.R.E.T. is an acronym for “Reactions and Effects of Gardasil Resulting in Extreme Trauma”.
Members of ten families from all over the country came together to share experiences and express their exasperation at the inability of health authorities to recognise the pattern of serious adverse reactions being suffered by children who, up until receiving the Gardasil injection, enjoyed an active healthy lifestyle. One of the main complaints raised at the meeting was that the information provided by the HSE (as part of the ‘informed consent’ process) is extremely misleading, particularly with regard to how safe the vaccine is.
A high incidence of serious reactions have been reported in the U.S ever since Gardasil was released there in 2006. Even the drug manufacturer’s own clinical trials reveal a 1 in 40 (2.5%) incidence of a serious adverse reaction*, yet Irish parents are still told by the HSE that Gardasil is ‘very safe’.
Although its cancer-preventing properties have never been proven, the HSE insists that the benefits of Gardasil outweigh the risks and even claim that it has been ‘fully tested’.
This is despite the limited safety testing that took place as a result of this “life-saving vaccine” being fast-tracked through the regulatory approval process. HSE did not inform parents that Gardasil contains genetically engineered non-human recombinant DNA, the effects of which are unknown and unpredictable when injected into a human host saving vaccine” being fast-tracked through the regulatory approval process.
HSE did not inform parents that Gardasil contains genetically engineered non-human recombinant DNA, the effects of which are unknown and unpredictable when injected into a human host.
This is a healthcare disaster and another example of how corporatised establishment medical thinking has led families down the wrong track, a track which transfers billions in tax payers money to big pharma while the vast majority of young women receiving the treatment will obtain zero life saving benefits.
I have just watched that disgusting display by Boag on The Nation, dressed like a bill board for a large carton of Fries. A theme I see that is beginning to develop from the right is:- “You don’t have a right,” In this discussion, if you can call it that with this hysterical female dressed like a packet of chips, Boag said “You don’t have a right” to owning a house.
Is this going to be a common theme to get us all conditioned so when they spy on us it will be a case of “You don’t have a right to privacy.” Also what gives winebox Boag the right to say “you don’t have a right”
Shit we will be told next We don’t have the right to breath
Yes, and what I saw is a lady with an American accent attacking NZ systems, a raged young man who just has bought a property in Wellington and one articulate young man trying to convince us that the rental laws need changing.
Here is what I took away from this:
Once more the future rich are making a dash for funds and asking for a RIGHT to own a house with the golden age of 22 in the dress circle of Auckland.
For them the old are guilty of everything because they have not facilitated them to get what they want (hissy fit follows), when they want it and how they want it.
Of cause they should give up their poultry weekly income of $ 320 smackers. Surely they can do without.
They have not figured out that the situation is a lot more volatile then they belief and there are many more deserving then they are. I am talking about families with small children – one that just died due to substandard accommodation.
If they really want to address any problems, maybe the should investigate and find out what drives the pricing and equally what the average age of an an average wage earner is when they buy. Perhaps they could start working within the community and not outside it with this sense of entitlement that only is ever seen by people of privilege.
Yes, the housing market is out of kilter, not because a pensioner owns his/her home, but because speculators driving this. (mostly from overseas with question marks of money laundering) OH, yes no question of those university educated people there.
The law is not designed to protect the wider public from shanty houses developing – again no question form the side of the younger generation who are suppose to be sooo educated, all they do is their “fair” share.
Most NZ people buy their house at the age of around 30 or later.
On the question of voting: they don’t because they don’t get what they want.. (stumping feet behind the podium?)
Educated? Really? Or just spoiled and dragged through Uni because there was money to be made…
There giving kohanga and its tyrant leader a very nice puff piece on marae
In the same week that a very good reporter resigns over her TV channel not letting her do a story on kohanga.
It’s possible to conclude that the Labour Party review document was leaked because otherwise it was never going to be shared in its entirety with the membership; rather it was going to be edited, censored, summarised and released selectively piecemeal. Contrary to popular opinion, maybe on balance we’ve been done a favour by the leaker.
CR.
definitely better to have it out in public 100% or there was always going to keep media busy wondering out loud about what wasnt being said/released
That would be a credible theory CV, except for the fact that it was leaked to Gower. If the leaker wanted to serve the membership or Labour’s best interests, there were far better places/people to leak it to.
I have no doubt that regional conferences were verbally told of the contents of, or at least the outline of, the majority of the report. Your comment and my comment are not mutually exclusive.
”The Government won’t support “extreme measures” like warrant of fitness checks for all houses because it will drive up rent and push housing stock out of the market, says Finance Minister Bill English.”
and
”But Housing Minister Nick Smith is reluctant to extend the warrants to all public and private rentals because if the Government prohibited the rental of home unless they were fully insulated, it would mean taking 100,000 homes off the market.”
Please correct me if wrong but the bill would give landlords five years to get rental houses up to a liveable standard and it was never the intention that housing stock would be taken off the rental market during that period.
But they are downplaying the scale and severity of the problem and only because they can’t use plausible denial any longer. I look forward to hearing more from Bill English about “something practical and affordable that will start lifting the standard”.
“We’re not going to adopt extreme measures, we want to get something practical and affordable that will start lifting the standard,” he said.
To be able to lift standards you a) need to know where you’re at at the moment an b) set some standards that need to be reached. National not doing either of these things is setting up to fail.
I also note the propagandising use of extreme measures. It’s being used in such a way as to make people think that having liveable homes is an extreme idea and thus not doable.
Mrs Lagarde must stop playing the role of a diplomat. She must take off her European hat and speak instead for the organisation she leads and for the world.
She must confront the EMU creditors head on and in public. She must tell them, in blunt language, that they share much of the blame for the current impasse.
She must make it clear to them that Greece needs sweeping debt relief – as a matter of economic science, whatever the morality – and that the refusal of the creditors to face up to this elemental fact is now the chief impediment to a solution. And she should tell them that the IMF will no longer play any part in their deceitful charade.
If she does not do so, and if the lack of leadership by Europe’s political class leads to a catastrophic denouement on every level, then let it be on her head too.
Both The Great Depression and the Great Recession produced winners and losers. Interestingly, the winners should have been the losers in both cases.
Corporations would get to comment on any new regulatory attempts, and enforce this regulatory straitjacket through a dispute mechanism similar to the investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS) process in other trade agreements, where they could win money equal to “expected future profits” lost through violations of the regulatory cap.
For an example of how this would work, let’s look at financial services. It too has a “standstill” clause, which given the unpredictability of future crises could leave governments helpless to stop a new and dangerous financial innovation. In fact, Switzerland has proposed that all TiSA countries must allow “any new financial service” to enter their market. So-called “prudential regulations” to protect investors or depositors are theoretically allowed, but they must not act contrary to TiSA rules, rendering them somewhat irrelevant.
Most controversially, all financial services suppliers could transfer individual client data out of a TiSA country for processing, regardless of national privacy laws. This free flow of data across borders is true for the e-commerce annex as well; it breaks with thousands of years of precedent on locally kept business records, and has privacy advocates alarmed.
Just in case you weren’t aware that the corporations have several methods in play to take away our ability to govern ourselves and thus make us corporate serfs.
Guess which was the ONLY NZ political party to support ‘facilitation payments’ being included as BRIBES in the Organised Crime and Anti-Corruption Legislation Bill?
—————————————————————————-
The (——) Party supports the majority of the Organised Crime and Anti-Corruption Legislation Bill in its current form.
The (——) Party intends to continue with its support of this bill; it will bring us in line with our obligations under various international treaties and conventions dealing with national and international organised crime and corruption, and it will strengthen our ability to effectively respond to people trafficking and private sector corruption.
However, the (——) Party holds the view that this bill is a missed opportunity to address the issue of facilitation payments, which will still be excepted from the foreign bribery offence under section 105C(3) of the Crimes Act 1961–
(3)This section does not apply if—
(a)the act that is alleged to constitute the offence was committed for the sole or primary purpose of ensuring or expediting the performance by a foreign public official of a routine government action; and
(b)the value of the benefit is small.
The Ministry of Justice departmental report refers to these payments as being for things such as “small payments relating to the grant of a permit or licence, the provision of utility services, or loading or unloading cargo.” The Ministry commented that these payments do not yield an “undue advantage”, and that measures in the bill to ensure the recording of these payments mitigate any concerns that the exception may be abused.
However, the select committee heard persuasive submissions on the issue from the Human Rights Commission, Transparency International New Zealand and Michael Macaulay, Director of the Institute for Governance and Policy Studies at Victoria University of Wellington’s School of Government.
These ‘grease’ payments are bribes, no matter their size, and help breed a culture where low-level corruption is permitted and accepted, contrary to international guidance from groups like the Serious Fraud Office, the UNCAC Implementation Review Group, the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation, and the OECD.
New Zealand is seen as a leader in public sector ethics and transparency, and we are proud of that legacy. It is disappointing that when provided an opportunity to take a strong stance on a controversial and unethical practice like facilitation payments – a stance already taken by the United Kingdom and Australia, and allegedly being pursued in China and India – we choose to split hairs about semantics and ‘balance’, leaving the door open for facilitation payments and subtly undermining our international reputation for honesty and transparency.
————————————————————
Could National’s Minister of Trade – in my opinion – ‘sheepish’ Murray McCully’s sordid Saudi ‘bribe’ have had anything to do with this Government’s apparent opposition to ‘facilitation payments’ being regarded as BRIBE$?
New Zealand – ‘perceived’ to be the SECOND ‘least corrupt country in the world’, according to the 2014 (arguably meaningless) Transparency International ‘Corruption Perception Index’?
Ha! Bomber’s gone into a Whale Oil style meltdown over at TDB, deleting comments that don’t blow smoke up his perfectly coiffured arse. He really is a sensitive wee sausage.
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On Monday, Todd Muller gave an important speech to the Wellington Chamber of Commerce, He spoke firmly about his belief in the need for foreign investment, for the public sector to partner with the private sector rather than boss it around and, crucially, demanded the government deliver a clear strategy ...
Todd Muller's first act on become party leader was to appoint an all-white front bench. This understandably raised eyebrows, so he is now apparently reconsidering caucus and list rankings. Which is obviously necessary, but there's still the underlying problem: National doesn't have a lot of Māori MP's. And the reason ...
Meridian energy has been caught manipulating the electricity market for fun and profit: Meridian Energy pushed up power prices by unnecessary spilling water from its south dams in December that could have been used for generation, the Electricity Authority has ruled in a preliminary decision. The authority said the ...
When the Christchurch murderer pleaded guilty to 51 counts of murder and a number of other violent assault charges a few months ago, he effectively closed the door on what the public will know about the lead up to and commission of the event. His plea means that no evidence ...
Daphna Whitmore The Philippines is enduring one of the longest lockdowns in the world. For President Duterte the lockdown provides an opportunity to garner more powers and to push through a brazen assault on human rights. A new law called the Anti-Terror Bill has been passed under urgency and it ...
Hearing the Prime Minister castigate the Warehouse for laying off 1,000 workers after receiving $52 million in wage subsidies reminds me of the fabled frog who agreed to carry a scorpion across a river. The scorpion stings the frog halfway across, dooming both to drown. The frog cries “Why on ...
Prof Nick Wilson, Dr Amanda Kvalsvig, Prof Michael BakerCompared with other OECD countries NZ is a stand-out success story by ending community transmission of COVID-19. While there have been some well-publicised recent deficiencies (eg, quarantine organisation), there has still been no evidence of community transmission for many weeks. Nevertheless, ...
It’s June 30th, marked as Asteroid Day by many people of an astronomical bent around the globe. On this date in 1908, early in the morning in a remote part of central Siberia, the sky fell in. Well, not literally. What happened is a substantially-sized lump of cosmic detritus ...
There really is not much about Paula Bennett concerning her career trajectory, the policies she promoted, and most importantly, the socio-economic effect this had upon New Zealand (and particularly the most vulnerable in this, our oft-cited “egalitarian” society of this country) that can be said now that hasn’t already been ...
Don Franks Poverty, inequality – really – aren’t politicians paid to sort that stuff ? Why can’t they just get it together and come up with something fair and sensible? A cold rainy 2020 morning, a headline showed promise. “Green Party’s $8b plan would guarantee an income of $325 a ...
A guest repost by Climate Science Legal Defense Fund (CSLDF) staff attorney Augusta Wilson. Fundraising is not the objective of this article but readers may wish to know that CSLDF is currently conducting a summer fundraiser to support defense of research scientists and research integrity from anti-science interference by politicians and industrial interests. The COVID-19 pandemic ...
Helloy… My name is Todd Muller and I am the leader of the National Party of New Zealand. Many people come up to me on the street and ask me who I am. I’m often walking through Tauranga, or in a mall in suburban Auckland, or maybe even a farmers’ ...
The US state of Mississippi has finally voted to remove the Confederate emblem from its state flag. Good. Its appalling that it was put there in the first place, but even more appalling that it took so long to remove it. Its basicly as if a German Länder still had ...
No one could have predicted when David Seymour’s End of Life Choice Bill was passed by Parliament last November that the referendum required to bring the legislation into force would be held against the backdrop of a deadly global pandemic. Since then, the mounting tally of casualties around the world ...
Paul GoldsmithYou can often tell just how effective a progressive policy proposal will be by how much the right wing criticise it. The more socially beneficial, the more vitriolic and unhinged they seem to become.That was the case when the Green Party announced their Poverty Action Plan yesterday. The response ...
Back at the beginning of April, when we had much else on our minds, I wrote this post urging some caution in interpreting the results of the latest Horizon poll, conducted in February, on voting intentions in this year's cannabis referendum, which was paid for by Helius Therapeutics.I wrote that ...
Over the weekend the Greens made their first election policy announcement, and promised transformational change: a more progressive tax system, with new rates applying to incomes of $100,000 and $150,000; a new wealth tax on net wealth over $1 million; and a guaranteed minimum income to eliminate poverty. Its bold, ...
Story of the Week... El Niño/La Niña Update... Toon of the Week... Coming Soon on SkS... Poster of the Week... SkS Week in Review... Story of the Week... Global Warming Is Melting Our Sense of Time Satellite image of smoke from active fires burning near the ...
. . Plague town? There are two things right now in Aotearoa New Zealand that are guaranteed to piss people off. Firstly, it’s National playing silly-bugger politics with the covid-19 pandemic. This cost Simon Bridges his job as National’s Leader. Lately, Michael Woodhouse has been playing fast and loose with ...
Tertiary fees in New Zealand versus Australia: Fees Are Important, but not as Important as Financing In Australia, the Education Minister Dan Tehan has proposed an overhaul of the existing higher education funding system to offer 39,000 additional study places by 2023 and 100,000 by 2030. The proposal has been ...
The latest opinion poll forecasts a landslide win by Jacinda Ardern’s Labour Party, but when taken alongside other polling, it illustrates New Zealand politics remains volatile and the contest is still very open. According to the Colmar Brunton poll published by TVNZ last night, Labour would easily romp back ...
A chronological listing of news articles linked to on the Skeptical Science Facebook Page during the past week: Sun, June 21 through Sat, June 27, 2020Editor's ChoiceFacebook creates fact-checking exemption for climate deniers Facebook is "aiding and abetting the spread of climate misinformation,” said Robert Brulle, an ...
The images and reports delivered to us by the world’s media leave us in no doubt that the rest of the world is still in the grip of a coronavirus pandemic that shows no signs of slackening, but is actually uncontrolled and picking up pace in many countries; and even ...
Minister of Health - David ClarkIf you follow politics at all in New Zealand, David Clark is likely a name you’re a bit familiar with. The current Minister of Health is perhaps the most disliked Member of Parliament at the moment, which amongst very stiff competition is really saying something. ...
SUNDAY JUNE 28Beat the Chasers (TVNZ 1, 8.30pm). Judging by the tweets, which is probably a bad idea, over lockdown, all of New Zealand found itself in front of The Chase every night at 5pm. It is a brilliant fomat: hardly anyone wins any money ...
SATURDAY JUNE 27Banksy and the Rise of Outlaw Art (Sky Arts, Sky 017, 8.00pm). There was graffiti before Banksy, but perhaps his pungent political messages hit home a bit harder. Anyways, a doco about his influence on street art featuring a bunch of cool people.SUNDAY JUNE 28Beat the Chasers (TVNZ 1, ...
We have been assailed by Fox News-style headlines, lurid stories of “a breach!”. An almost nuclear level disaster on the horizon scream, “Fiasco!” here, “Hero to Zero!” there… Oh quick, panic everyone!This has fueled an unbelievably stupid environment of panic among some, and spurred useless, counterproductive political ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Jeff Masters A massive dust storm formed over the Sahara Desert last week and invaded the Caribbean over the June 20-21 weekend, bringing dangerous levels of air pollution and low visibility to the islands. The dust is accompanied by a large amount ...
Will the Covid Crisis lead to a dramatic redirection for New Zealand and the World? A hinge in history occurs where the past and present are connected but they point in different directions. Big hinges are rare but crucial in the development of humankind. Not in Narrow Seas identifies six. ...
RNZ reports that Refining NZ is considering shutting down Marsden Point and effectively turning itself into a fuel distribution service. The problem they're immediately trying to address is that running a refinery is expensive, and it is cheaper just to import processed fuel. But there's a longer-term problem too: climate ...
We all know that the COVID-19 virus is a terrible infectious disease that has already caused untold misery and numerous deaths around the world. Nearly half a million people have already died, and those are just the cases we know about.But how bad could things actually get exactly?Today, the NZ ...
This essay by Alex Hochuli examines the global phenomena of BLM protests . He is a freelance writer and research consultant based in São Paulo, Brazil. He is the co-host of the global politics podcast, Aufhebunga Bunga, and co-author of the forthcoming Politics at the End of the End of History (Zero ...
Are You Still Here? Just like his colleague, Phil Twyford – of KiwiBuild fame – David Clark juts out his chin and shamelessly apportions blame to everybody but himself. Even worse, he has turned viciously on Ashley Bloomfield, the nearest approximation to a competent, decent, humble and accountable public servant ...
. . 20 June The bad news: Aotearoa New Zealand has two new cases of covid-19. The good news: the two cases were picked up at an Auckland quarantine facility. The terrifying news: had the story of the two women leaving quarantine without testing not broken four days ...
New Zealand First is pleased to announce Jenny Marcroft as the party’s election 2020 candidate for the Auckland Central electorate. Jenny spent years working in Auckland Central, having spent a vast proportion of her broadcasting career there. She says she, "knows the place and knows the people." Ms Marcroft says ...
New Zealanders deserve healthy rivers and lakes that are safe to swim in - but they have been getting worse for decades. That's why, with our latest announcement, we're investing in projects that will help clean up our rivers and lakes and restore them to health, within a generation. ...
This week we moved into the second half of 2020 - and our Government delivered another week of big changes and major progress for New Zealanders. Read below for a wrap of the key things moments from the week - from extending paid parental leave, to making major investments in ...
The Green Party has opposed the COVID-19 Recovery Fast-track Consenting Bill which shortcuts normal consenting processes under the Resource Management Act (RMA), reduces public participation and narrows environmental considerations. ...
Hon Shane Jones, Minister of Regional Economic Development A regional freight hub for the lower North Island will be built just northeast of Palmerston North, Regional Development Minister Shane Jones has announced. The Government is investing $40 million through the Provincial Growth Fund to designate and buy land and design ...
Green Party Co-leader Marama Davidson is calling for the introduction of a Guaranteed Minimum Income to lift hundreds of thousands of people out of poverty and prevent more families entering into further debt with the Ministry of Social Development. ...
There has been renewed focus on New Zealand First acting as a handbrake on the Government after our decision to not support Auckland light rail. We are a handbrake for bad ideas, that istrue, but our track record since 2017 has seen New Zealand First constructively also serve as an ...
Mark Patterson MP, New Zealand First List MP New Zealand First’s Fair Residency for Superannuation Bill passed its First Reading in Parliament today. The Bill makes a significant change to NZ Super by raising the minimum residency requirement from 10 to 20 years, after age 20. “Currently, a migrant of ...
Darroch Ball MP, Spokesperson for Law and Order A New Zealand First member’s bill in the name of Darroch Ball introducing a six-month minimum prison sentence for assaults on first responders has passed its second reading in Parliament. The new offence of "injuring a first responder or corrections officer with ...
Fletcher Tabuteau MP, Deputy Leader of New Zealand First New Zealand First welcomes the launch of the new Criminal Cases Review Commission, gifted with the name from Waikato-Tainui - Te Kāhui Tātari Ture, announced in Hamilton today by Justice Minister Andrew Little. “New Zealand First has long believed in and ...
The Green Party is celebrating over $800m in new funding for green projects, which will get people into jobs while solving New Zealand’s long-term challenges. ...
Mark Patterson MP, Spokesperson for Primary Industries New Zealand First is appalled that Meridian seems to have been unnecessarily spilling water from its dams to drive up its profits."While New Zealanders have been coming together in some of our darkest hours, we don’t expect power gentailers to waste water and ...
We wrapped up the first half of 2020 with a busy month, taking additional steps to support New Zealanders as we continue with our economic recovery. We rolled out targeted packages to support key industries like tourism and construction, helped create jobs in the environmental and agriculture sectors, and set ...
Hon Shane Jones, Minister for Infrastructure Infrastructure Minister Shane Jones has welcomed the appointment of Maurice Davis and his deep infrastructure and construction experience to the board of the Infrastructure Commission. Mr Davis (Ngāti Maniapoto), is the seventh and final appointment to the board led by former Reserve Bank Governor ...
Rt Hon Winston Peters, Leader of New Zealand First New Zealand’s click bait journalism is taking a turn for the worse, with yet another example of sensationalist, wilful-misrepresentation of the facts. “New Zealand First has worked constructively with its Coalition partner on hundreds of pieces of legislation and policy, and ...
The Green Party is today unveiling its Poverty Action Plan, which includes a Guaranteed Minimum Income to ensure people have enough to live with dignity. ...
Rt Hon Winston Peters, Deputy Prime Minister Fletcher Tabuteau MP, Under-Secretary for Regional Economic Development The Rotorua Museum redevelopment and Whakarewarewa and Tokorangi Forest projects will be accelerated thanks to a $2.09 million Provincial Growth Fund (PGF) boost, Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters and Under-Secretary for Regional Economic Development Fletcher ...
This week, we rolled out the next steps of our recovery plan, with new infrastructure investment, extra support for tourism operators, and a new programme to get Kiwis into agriculture careers. The global economic consequences of COVID-19 will continue to be a challenge, but we have a detailed plan to ...
Jenny Marcroft MP, Spokesperson for Health New Zealand First welcomes the passage of the Mental Health and Wellbeing Commission Bill through its final reading in Parliament today fulfilling a coalition agreement commitment. “This is an important step in saving the lives of New Zealanders and delivers a key coalition commitment ...
Whakatāne has been given a $2.5 million boost to speed up previously funded projects and create more than 450 jobs in the next decade. Of those, the equivalent of 160 full-time jobs could be delivered in the next six weeks. Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters is in town to make ...
Rt Hon Winston Peters, Deputy Prime Minister Fletcher Tabuteau MP, Under-Secretary for Regional Economic Development The Provincial Growth Fund (PGF) is investing $2.5 million to accelerate three infrastructure projects in Whakatāne, Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters and Under-Secretary for Regional Economic Development Fletcher Tabuteau announced today. “This package is about ...
Infrastructure Minister Shane Jones is throwing his weight behind a bid by the Auckland Council to fast-track the more than doubling of the city's water allowance from the Waikato River. And he's coming out strongly against anyone who plans on getting in the way of this campaign. "It is my ...
The Green Party is thrilled to see changes to the Resource Management Act (RMA) that mean consents for large projects can be declined if they will have significant climate change implications that are inconsistent with the Zero Carbon Act and Aotearoa New Zealand’s Paris Agreement obligations. ...
Hon Ron Mark, Minister of Defence The Royal New Zealand Navy’s new ship, Aotearoa, set sail for New Zealand on 10 June from the Republic of Korea, and is due to arrive in Auckland tomorrow, announced Minister of Defence Ron Mark. “Aotearoa is the Royal New Zealand Navy’s new fleet ...
Rt Hon Winston Peters, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister for Racing Racing Minister Winston Peters has today welcomed the Racing Industry Bill passing its third reading, creating the legislative framework for revitalising the racing industry while limiting the need for future government intervention. “For too long our domestic racing industry has ...
The Green Party has today put forward an amendment to the Electoral (Registration of Sentenced Prisoners) Amendment Bill to ensure all people in prisons can vote in general elections. ...
The Green Party welcomes the decision to not proceed with Public Public Investment (PPI) delivery of Auckland’s light rail project and to instead run the process through the public service. ...
Hon Ron Mark, New Zealand First List MP based in the Wairarapa New Zealand First List MP Hon Ron Mark welcomes the announcement of Provincial Growth Funding investment of $1.4 million to help secure the Wairarapa’s water supply. The funding boost will allow the Greater Wellington Regional Council (GWRC), and ...
New Zealand First list MP Mark Patterson has been selected to represent the party in the newly formed Taieri electorate at the upcoming election. Mr Patterson, his wife Jude and two daughters farm sheep and beef at Lawrence and Waitahuna. He previously stood in the Clutha-Southland electorate however boundary changes ...
Hon Shane Jones, Associate Minister for State Owned Enterprises A new ‘super depot’ to be built for NZ Post in Wellington will create around 350 jobs during construction, Associate Minister for State Owned Enterprises Shane Jones says. Shane Jones today attended a ground-breaking and blessing ceremony for the parcel-processing depot ...
Our strong economic management prior to COVID-19 - with surpluses, low debt and near-record-low unemployment - put us in a good position to weather the impact of the virus and start to rebuild our economy much earlier than many other countries.Now we're putting our plan to recover and rebuild ...
Darroch Ball MP, New Zealand First Spokesperson for Law and Order Recently released Police fleeing driver statistics have shown yet another increase in incidents with another record-high in the latest quarter. “This new quarterly record-high is the latest in a string of record-high numbers since 2014. The data shows incidents ...
New Zealand First MP Fletcher Tabuteau is pleased to be confirmed today as the party’s candidate for the Rotorua electorate. Speaking at the Rotorua AGM for New Zealand First, Mr Tabuteau said this is an election that is incredibly important for the people of Rotorua. “The founding principles of New ...
The Human Rights Commission’s PRISM report on the issues impacting people based on their sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, and sex characteristics (SOGIESC) provides an excellent programme of work for future governments to follow, say the Greens. ...
Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters said the trans-Tasman bubble had not been jeopardised after aborder botch-upresulted in New Zealand having two active cases of COVID-19. On Friday, Mr Peters told RNZ's Morning Report he had heard from Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison that borders for trans-Tasman travel would open by ...
Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters said today he was pleased the army was now running the quarantine and isolation process - up until now it has been the Ministry of Health. Peters told Newstalk ZB's Mike Hosking that the army knew how to introduce and follow protocols and instil discipline. ...
Hon Ron Mark, New Zealand First List MP based in the Wairarapa New Zealand First MP and Minister for Defence and Veteran’s Affairs Ron Mark has confirmed his bid for the Wairarapa seat.“The Coalition Government has done a lot of good work throughout the Wairarapa, but many constituents have told ...
New Zealand First is pleased to release the names of its next tranche of candidates for the 2020 election. We’re proud to announce these hardworking New Zealanders that have put their hand up to fight for a commonsense and resilient future.Jamie Arbuckle – Kaikoura Mark Arneil – Christchurch Central Jackie ...
The Government is maintaining current levy rates for the next 2 years, as part of a set of changes to help ease the financial pressures of COVID-19 providing certainty for businesses and New Zealanders, ACC Minister Iain Lees-Galloway says. “New Zealanders and businesses are facing unprecedented financial pressures as a ...
Small businesses are getting greater certainty about access to finance with an extension to the interest-free cashflow loan scheme to the end of the year. The Small Business Cashflow Loan Scheme has already been extended once, to 24 July. Revenue and Small Business Minister Stuart Nash says it will be ...
A package of 23 projects across the country will clean up waterways and deliver over 2000 jobs Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and Environment Minister David Parker announced today. The $162 million dollar package will see 22 water clean-up projects put forward by local councils receiving $62 million and the Kaipara ...
Tena koutou katoa Nga tangata whenua o tenei rohe o Pōneke, tena koutou Nau mai, haere mai ki te hui a tau mo te roopu reipa Ko tatou! Ko to tatou mana! Ko to tatou kaupapa kei te kokiri whakamua Tena koutou, tena koutou, tena tatou katoa Welcome. I ...
The Provincial Growth Fund (PGF) is investing $1.5 million to ensure QE Health in Rotorua can proceed with its world class health service and save 75 existing jobs, Under Secretary for Regional Economic Development, Fletcher Tabuteau announced today. The PGF funding announced today is in addition to the $8 million ...
A new programme, which sets a firm course for the Building and Construction sector to help reduce greenhouse gas emissions, has been announced by the Minister for Building and Construction Jenny Salesa. “A significant amount of New Zealand’s carbon emissions come from the building and construction sector. If we’re serious ...
The Provincial Growth Fund is investing more than $7.5 million in Northland ventures to combat the economic impact of the COVID-19 virus, Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters and Regional Economic Development Minister Shane Jones have announced. The Provincial Growth Fund (PGF) investment is going to the Northern Adventure Experience and ...
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and Education Minister Chris Hipkins today announced significant funding for Auckland’s Northcote College as part of the first wave of a new nationwide school redevelopment programme to upgrade schools over the next 10 years. The $48.5 million project brings the total investment in Northcote College to ...
The Government has opened an urgent response fund to support schools and early learning services to get children and young people back on track after the Covid-19 lockdown. “While we are seeing improvements in attendance under Alert Level 1 Ministry of Education data shows that attendance rates in our schools ...
The law to boost the economic recovery from the impact of COVID-19 by speeding up resource consenting on selected projects has passed its second and third readings in the House today. “Accelerating nationwide projects and activities by government, iwi and the private sector will help deliver faster economic recovery and ...
Five port-related projects in Whanganui will receive a $26.75 million Provincial Growth Fund investment to support local economic recovery and create new opportunities for growth, Regional Economic Development Minister Shane Jones announced today. “This is a significant investment that will support the redevelopment of the Whanganui Port, a project governed ...
Whanganui’s Sarjeant Gallery will receive an investment of up to $12 million administered by the Provincial Growth Fund to support its redevelopment, Regional Economic Development Minister Shane Jones announced today. The project is included in a $3 billion infrastructure pipeline announced by Finance Minister Grant Robertson and Shane Jones yesterday. ...
The Provincial Growth Fund is investing nearly $2.5 million into three Te Ara Mahi programmes to support Manawatū-Whanganui jobseekers and employees to quickly train and upskill, Regional Economic Development Minister Shane Jones announced today. “Up to 154 local people will be supported into employment within the first year by these ...
This morning I have formally tendered my resignation as Minister of Health, which was accepted by the Prime Minister. Serving as Minister of Health has been an absolute privilege – particularly through these extraordinary last few months. It’s no secret that Health is a challenging portfolio. I have given ...
Scholarships for 57 early-career agricultural emissions scientists from 20 developing countries is another example of New Zealand’s international leadership in primary sector sustainability, says Agriculture Minister Damien O’Connor. Mr O’Connor, announcing the scholarships today, says hundreds of applications were received for this fourth round of the CLIFF-GRADS programme (Climate, Food ...
A project to help rejuvenate the Horowhenua town of Foxton will receive a Provincial Growth Fund investment of $3.86 million, Regional Economic Development Minister Shane Jones announced today. “This funding for the Foxton Regeneration project will be used to make the well-known holiday town even more attractive for visitors and ...
Moa bones and other sub-fossil remains of extinct species are set to have improved protection with proposals to prevent the trade in extinct species announced the Minister of Conservation Eugenie Sage today. “We have lost too many of our native species, but these lost species, such as moa, remain an ...
The Government’s free and healthy school lunches programme moves south for the first time creating jobs for around 30 people in Otago and Southland. “Eighteen schools with 3000 students are joining the programme – 11 have already begun serving lunches, and seven are preparing to start during Term 3. This is ...
Thousands of Kiwi jobs and investment in New Zealand productions will be protected through a screen sector support package announced today by Associate Minister for Arts Culture and Heritage Carmel Sepuloni, Minister for Economic Development Phil Twyford and Minister for Broadcasting Kris Faafoi. The package also includes investment in broadcasting ...
The Government has established a new $10 million fund for the domestic events sector to help save jobs and protect incomes as it recovers from the impacts of COVID-19, Minister of Economic Development Phil Twyford announced today. This funding from Budget 2020 follows talks with the event sector designed to ...
The Government has taken another step in its commitment to making sure New Zealanders get a fairer deal at the petrol pump with the introduction of legislation to improve competition in the retail fuel market, says Energy and Resources Minister Megan Woods. “The fuel market study that this Government ordered ...
New Zealand has joined a global initiative that aims to enable all countries to access a safe and effective Covid-19 vaccine, Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters announced today. The COVAX Facility was recently launched by Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance. The Alliance includes the World Health Organization, UNICEF, the World Bank ...
From today new legislation takes effect to both restore the right to legal representation at the start of a Care of Children (CoCA) dispute in the Family Court, and allow parties to those proceedings to access legal aid where eligible. During a visit to the Family Court in Auckland today, ...
Home-based early childhood education (ECE) subsidised by the government will transition to a fully qualified workforce by 2025 to ensure better and more consistent quality, Education Minister Chris Hipkins announced today. “Quality early learning helps provide children with a strong foundation for their future,” Chris Hipkins said. From 1 January ...
The new Criminal Cases Review Commission | Te Kāhui Tātari Ture (CCRC) has started work and can now independently investigate claimed miscarriages of justice. “Even though we have appeal rights and safeguards against unsafe convictions, from time to time our justice system does get things wrong. The design of the ...
E ngā mana, e ngā reo, e ngā karangatanga maha, tēnā koutou Ki a koutou Te Āti Awa, Taranaki Whānui, Ngāti Toa Rangatira, ngā mana whenua o te rohe nei, tēnā koutou Ko Te Whare Wānanga o Aotearoa ki ngā take o te Ao (NZIIA), Ko te Rōpū Tohu Tono ...
The Government’s increase to paid parental leave kicks in today with another 4 weeks taking New Zealand up to a full 6 months (26 weeks, up from 22 weeks) leave for new parents, and the maximum weekly payment will increase by $20pw, Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Iain Lees-Galloway says. ...
A new package of infrastructure investments will help kick-start the post-COVID rebuild by creating more than 20,000 jobs and unlocking more than $5 billion of projects up and down New Zealand. Finance Minister Grant Robertson and Infrastructure Minister Shane Jones today outlined how the $3 billion infrastructure fund in the ...
Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters today expressed the New Zealand Government’s deep disappointment at the passage by China’s National People’s Congress Standing Committee of a national security law for Hong Kong. “New Zealand has consistently emphasised its serious concern about the imposition of this legislation on Hong Kong without inclusive ...
More jobs and more family time with newborns are the centrepiece of a suite of Government initiatives coming into effect today. July 1 is a milestone day for the Government as a host of key policies take effect, demonstrating the critical areas where progress has been made. “The Coalition Government ...
Environment Minister David Parker has today “called in” Auckland’s application to the Waikato Regional Council to take an extra 200 million litres of water a day from the lower reaches of the Waikato River for Auckland drinking water and other municipal uses. The call-in means the application has been referred ...
Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters and Trade and Export Growth Minister David Parker announced today that New Zealand’s hosting of APEC in 2021 will go ahead using virtual digital platforms. Mr Peters said the global disruption caused by COVID-19, including resultant border restrictions, had been the major factor in the ...
The start of construction on a new link road between Matakana Road and State Highway 1 will create jobs and support the significant population growth expected in the Warkworth area, Transport Minister Phil Twyford and Mayor Phil Goff announced today. Transport Minister Phil Twyford said construction of the Matakana Link ...
The Government is prioritising its latest investment in PPE for frontline health workers, including staff at managed isolation and quarantine facilities, Health Minister David Clark says. “With no community transmission of COVID-19 our response now has a firm focus on keeping our border safe and secure. “We must ensure that ...
The Parihaka Papakāinga Trust in Taranaki will receive up to $14 million for a new visitor centre and other improvements at the historic settlement that will boost the local economy and provide much-needed jobs, Regional Economic Development Minister Shane Jones and Minister for Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations Andrew Little have ...
Protections for workers who are employees of one employer but working under the direction of another business or organisation have come into force, closing a gap in legislation that made the personal grievance process inaccessible for some workers, says Workplace Relations Minister Iain Lees-Galloway. “This Government is working hard to ...
A range of improvements are already underway to address issues identified in the rapid review of the Managed Isolation and Quarantine system released today, Housing Minister Megan Woods said. The review was commissioned just over a week ago to identify and understand current and emerging risks to ensure the end-to-end ...
The important brown kiwi habitat around Whakatāne will receive added protection through an Iwi-led predator free project announced by Minister of Conservation Eugenie Sage and Under Secretary for Regional Economic Development Fletcher Tabuteau. “The Government is investing nearly $5 million into Te Rūnanga o Ngāti Awa’s environmental projects with $2.5 ...
An extra 4,000 tonnes of offcuts and scraps of untreated wood per year will soon be able to be recycled into useful products such as horticultural and garden mulch, playground safety surfacing and animal bedding as a result of a $660,000 investment from the Waste Minimisation Fund, Associate Environment Minister ...
The Governor-General has referred Scott Watson’s convictions for murder back to the Court of Appeal, Justice Minister Andrew Little announced today. Mr Watson was convicted in 1999 of the murders of Ben Smart and Olivia Hope. His appeal to the Court of Appeal in 2000 was unsuccessful, as was his ...
I’m one of many applauding the Government’s decision to prescribe the teaching of New Zealand history in our schools. But wait – prescription – isn’t that anathema to the Ministry of Education? We now have a localised curriculum, with the national document giving guidelines only. It’s up to schools to ...
An author finds historical parallels with the dog-whistling comments made by Clutha-Southland MP Hamish Walker. The recent race-based comments by the Clutha-Southland MP Hamish Walker have been described as “disgraceful, scaremongering and racist”. But I found them fascinatingly familiar. My wife Jenny and I, both Otago-born teachers, lived in Central ...
A new port report before Cabinet is a U-turn on the last one, which recommended Auckland's port be moved to Northland Moves to shift Auckland's port from the CBD to Northland have ground to a halt on the back of a new report before Cabinet that suggests Manukau Harbour is a better option. ...
Sarah Cowley Ross sits down with Mary Thompson, one of New Zealand's great sports volunteers, who's given much of her life to netball. Mary Thompson clearly remembers the conversation with Dame Lois Muir. It was during Thompson’s stint as president of Bay of Plenty Netball, and two candidates had applied to ...
Matt Bartlett explains why Facebook should come to see political advertising and its challenges in the same way as Twitter Even before Covid-19 prevented most of us from leaving our homes, social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter had become society’s main public square. We gather online in Facebook and ...
Cat MacLennan argues there's scanty evidence for a decision to rule footage of a sharemilker beating cows with a metal pole inadmissible on the grounds it would encourage more undercover filming The judge in the cow cruelty case of Ministry for Primary Industries v Luke ruled that hidden camera film footage ...
In quitting the social media giant, Stuff has taken a risk. But the gamble is not as big as it may seem, writes Hal Crawford.Ceasing all activity on Facebook is a bold move for a news publisher, and I’m not surprised that it has come from the company now owned ...
Bullying behaviour is embedded in institutions across our country, and parliament is no exception. But it can be different, writes Jess Berentson-Shaw.Every now and then I find myself imagining what it would look like if our political system was built around the sorts of ideals most of us deeply aspire ...
Clare Curran’s interview has resurfaced concerns about the toxic nature of parliamentary politics. But while politics shouldn’t be toxic, or misogynistic, or cruel, for the system to be work, nor should it be nice, writes Danyl Mclauchlan.Two high-profile MPs are leaving parliament at the end of this term: National’s Paula ...
Our economy's taking a hit, our wallets are thinner - and this pandemic has also changed our direction of travel when it comes to spending. Covid-19 may have felt like a death sentence for some businesses but it hasn’t all been bad news. Today The Detail looks at how ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra Scott Morrison has repeatedly and vociferously championed keeping state borders open. But on Monday, Morrison was forced to change course, agreeing, in a hook up with premiers Daniel Andrews and Gladys Berejiklian that the Victorian-NSW ...
Pacific Media Centre Newsdesk Papua New Guinea’s police and courts must work closely with media for transparency to inform the public on the daily investigation and court processes taken over the death of young mother Jenelyn Kennedy late last month, a men’s gender justice advocate says. Man Up group representative ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Adrian Esterman, Professor of Biostatistics, University of South Australia Victoria recorded its largest daily increase of 127 new COVID-19 cases on Monday, 16 more than the previous peak of 111 cases on March 28. As I recently wrote, there’s no formal definition ...
After months of delays, the man responsible for murdering 51 people in a Christchurch mosque will finally be sentenced next month. Law professor Kris Gledhill explains how the sentencing will likely unfold. On the very day New Zealand entered Covid-19 lockdown, the man arrested for the Christchurch mosque terror attacks admitted ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Nathan Kettlewell, Chancellor’s Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Economics Discipline Group, University of Technology Sydney We live in a culture that values “experiences”. These are often promoted in the media, and by those selling them, as vital to enhancing our well-being. We all know ...
Hidden camera footage showing cows being beaten with a steel pipe was deemed unlawful in court partially on the grounds it would encourage undercover filming in the future A Northland contract milker caught on hidden camera beating cows with a steel pipe has had five charges against him dropped after a ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jon Iredell, Professor, Medicine and Microbiology (conjoint), University of Sydney The NSW-Victorian border will be closed as of midnight Tuesday this week, the NSW and Victorian premiers have announced, in an effort to limit the spread of COVID-19. The announcement comes amid ...
Keagan Carr Fransch reviews I May Destroy You, the acclaimed new show from British writer-director-actress Michaela Coel. The following includes discussion of rape, sexual assault, sexual violence, drug-facilitated sexual assault, and PTSD.Since the release of her comedy Chewing Gum in 2015, Michaela Coel has been a recurrent name on the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Andrew Burridge, Lecturer in Human Geography, Macquarie University Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews has announced the border between his state and NSW will close after 11:59pm on Tuesday to prevent the coronavirus outbreak in Melbourne from spreading further. It will be the first ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jim Salinger, Honorary Associate, Tasmanian Institute for Agriculture, University of Tasmania A major global update based on data from more than 36,000 weather stations around the world confirms that, as the planet continues to warm, extreme weather events such as heatwaves and ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Trevor Thornton, Lecturer, School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Deakin University The federal government today announced A$190 million in funding for new recycling infrastructure, as it seeks to divert more than ten million tonnes of waste from landfill and create 10,000 jobs. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Graeme Dunk, PhD Candidate, Australian National University Amid fanfare last week at the start of the new financial year the government promised to invest A$270 billion over a decade to upgrade the defence force. It said a side benefit would be a ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sonya Teich, Lecturer in Design, Visual Effects Projects, Te Herenga Waka — Victoria University of Wellington When Star Wars was awarded the Academy Award for Best Visual Effects in 1978 it marked the first time the visual component of effects was differentiated ...
The Forest Owners Association says the MBIE announcement of ‘Building for Climate Change’ will mean more timber is used in New Zealand construction. FOA President Phil Taylor says he’s been waiting three years for the government to announce a ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By David Kelly, Research Fellow, Centre for Urban Research, RMIT University This week, the Victorian government unilaterally placed the residents of nine public housing towers in inner Melbourne under “hard lockdown” due to the “explosive potential” of increasing COVID-19 cases. The lockdown requires ...
Pacific Media Watch Newsdesk Thirty five years ago this week in another life Pacific Media Centre director Professor David Robie was an environmental journalist on board the original Rainbow Warrior, the Greenpeace flagship that was bombed by French secret agents on 10 July 1985. He was on board for almost ...
Head of the inquiry Michael Heron QC will have the power to require the production of documents, summon witnesses and question parties under oath if necessary. ...
State Services Commissioner Peter Hughes has today announced the details of an investigation into the breach of sensitive personal information last week. The Commissioner said the Minister of State Services, the Hon Chris Hipkins, had asked him to undertake ...
More than 3400 primary health care nurses and medical receptionists/administrators across more than 500 practices and accident and medical centres will stop work for two hours nationwide on Thursday 23 July after mediation to settle their multi-employer ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kris Gledhill, Professor of Law, Auckland University of Technology On the very day New Zealand entered COVID-19 lockdown (March 26), the man arrested for the Christchurch mosque terror attacks admitted he was a murderer and a terrorist. Despite the lockdown, Justice Mander ...
The New Zealand Taxpayers’ Union says Economic Development Minister Phil Twyford needs to front up about how much public money is being used to bail out struggling bus company InterCity. Union spokesperson Louis Houlbrooke says: “InterCity has ...
The New Zealand Taxpayers’ Union is sceptical that 61% of taxpayer funding for waterway clean-up just happens to be focused on the Northland electorate. Union spokesperson Louis Houlbrooke says: “The Government has announced that $162 million of taxpayers' ...
Tai Tonga Candidate, Takuta Ferris, has signed up to the visionary thinking that has been produced by Tokona Te Raki (Māori futures collective). “The opening statement by Dr Eruera Tarena says it all” said Takuta Ferris. “The future is not just ...
The huge success of a pilot programme featuring rural mayors connecting youth in their regions with local small businesses has led to it being scaled up around the country, across 23 more councils. A collaboration between the Mayors Taskforce for ...
The associate editor of The Indian Times joins host Duncan Greive to discuss his belief that New Zealand’s media ignores the quarter of our population not born here – and why both parties lose as a result. I first met Gaurav Sharma in the aftermath of March 15. New ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Cassandra Cross, Senior Research Fellow, Faculty of Law, Cybersecurity Cooperative Research Centre, Queensland University of Technology Last year, Australians reported more than A$634 million lost to fraud, a significant jump from $489.7 million the year before. The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission ...
Having already faced a devastating earthquake, Christchurch knows the value of community in times of crisis. Now in the wake of Covid-19, a popular creative hub is expanding its mission to bring more people together.Whether it’s a beautifully restored building or a brand new office block, the reminders of the ...
Parole hearings will return to New Zealand prison’s this week after face-face meetings were suspended as a result of the COVID-19 emergency. The New Zealand Parole Board completed all its scheduled hearings during the COVID-19 lockdown period, with ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Gabrielle Appleby, Professor, UNSW Law School, UNSW In an open letter to Attorney-General Christian Porter, about 500 women working in the law from across Australia have sought changes to the way judges are disciplined and appointed. The letter comes after former High ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Genevieve Wilkinson, Lecturer in Intellectual Property and Human Rights, University of Technology Sydney After a decade of legal challenges by the tobacco lobby, Australia’s pioneering push to eliminate all tobacco advertising finally has clear air. Its longest stoush, over plain packaging laws ...
With the world in lockdown, and a new album set for release, The Beths decided to keep playing live – from their living rooms. As the band prepare for their first show in front of a crowd in months, they tell Josie Adams the stories behind Live From ‘House’. When ...
Latest from the Beehive – According to the blare from the Beehive, the Small Business Cashflow Loan Scheme will be further extended to 31 December, a new $162 million package of 23 projects across the country will clean up waterways and deliver over 2000 jobs, and the PM has delivered ...
Vision New Zealand is delighted to be launching George Ngatai as its candidate for Takanini tonight, 6th July, at the Songbird Cafe, 9 Gosper Road, Waiata Shores, Conifer Grove Takanini. Party Leader Hannah Tamaki said “I am confident that George will ...
Honour the Maunga and Iramoko Marae have announced a unique partnership that gives life to Treaty principles in their joint efforts to save 345 trees from being felled on Ōwairaka / Mt Albert. Honour the Maunga has maintained an ongoing tree-saving ...
Festival for the Future Live will kick off its 10th annual event on Monday 13 July, in what is touted to be the most international digital summit ever hosted from New Zealand. With speakers from The United Nations Development Programme and The Obama ...
Pacific Media Centre Newsdesk The Lokataru Legal and Human Rights Foundation says there are two problems with the Indonesian police which have developed during the era of President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo’s administration. These two problems are “politicisation” and “police professionalism”. “Perhaps it’s still the same as the problem before, particularly ...
By RNZ Pacific A sit-in has been held outside the French High Commission in French Polynesia to commemorate the 54th anniversary of the first nuclear weapons test at Moruroa. The demonstration was organised by the anti-nuclear group Association 193 which again decried the recent law change tightening compensation criteria for ...
David Goldsmith, a 52-year-old dad from Christchurch, is starting his month-long hunger strike outside Parliament on Monday as a drastic call for climate change action AR: Hunger strikes are mostly known from prisons – that’s drastic. DG: Yes, it’s ...
The biggest news site in New Zealand, and the country’s fifth biggest site overall, Stuff has embarked on an experiment in dropping the use of Facebook and Instagram. It has been launched ‘in the context of the international Boycott Facebook movement’, according to a memo leaked to The Spinoff. A leaked ...
After the Labour's annual conference, pundits were quick to criticise Jacinda Ardern for taking a 'self-congratulatory tone' in her remarks, but the PM says that was not her intent at all. ...
A global study is under way to compare how information about Covid-19 is delivered by authorities and the media, and how it is understood and used by people in different countries. University of Canterbury (UC) population health expert Professor Philip ...
It’s time to get ready to vote in the 2020 General Election and referendums. “It’s less than three months now until the election on 19 September when you choose the people and parties that represent you in Parliament. There will also be two referendums ...
If you’re like most New Zealanders, you probably don’t know the name of the country’s most powerful judge. And that’s nothing to be ashamed of, writes University of Otago law lecturer Marcelo Rodriguez Ferrere. Here’s a test for you: name New Zealand’s chief justice. Click on the link to find ...
If enough New Zealanders continued to work from home on a regular basis, the country could easily save the same amount of carbon emissions as taking 35,000 cars off the road, according to the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority. The analysis ...
There are many groups within NZ including the Green Party that are calling for the legalisation of marijuana for personal/medicinal use and my question for them is: - How can they reconcile that stand with the negative environmental effects from ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Anna Moore, Director of The Australian National University Institute for Space and the Advanced Instrumentation Technology Centre, Australian National University With all of the immense challenges we face on Earth this year, space can feel like an afterthought. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Tanya Notley, Senior Lecturer in Digital Media, Western Sydney University Today we release the findings from our new research into how young Australians consume and think about news media. Following a summer of bushfires and during the COVID-19 pandemic, young people have ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By John Thwaites, Chair, Monash Sustainable Development Institute & ClimateWorks Australia, Monash University The global Sustainable Development Report 2020, released this week in New York, ranks Australia third among OECD countries for the effectiveness of its response to the COVID-19 pandemic, beaten by ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Marina Yue Zhang, Associate Professor of Innovation and Entrepreneurship, Swinburne University of Technology Only 40% of students in China who previously intended to study overseas still plan to, while just under 50% of those who had studied overseas plan to return to ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Neil Warren, Emeritus Professor of Taxation, UNSW A major report commissioned by the NSW government has proposed lifting and expanding the goods and services tax and replacing stamp duty with a broad-based land tax. Launched at the National Press Club on July ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jonathan Baker, Lecturer in Business Strategy, Auckland University of Technology Like the coronavirus itself, joblessness can act as a pestilence on a society. People who would have otherwise gone to their local restaurant, hairdresser, café or bar, taken a holiday in Queenstown ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Robert Mailhammer, Associate Dean, Research, Western Sydney University Remember when Australians paid in shillings and pence? New research suggests the words for these coins and other culturally important items and concepts are the result of close contact between the early Germanic people ...
For all The Spinoff’s latest coverage of Covid-19 see here. Read Siouxsie Wiles’s work here. New Zealand is currently in alert level one – read about what that means here. For official government advice, see here.The Spinoff’s coverage of the Covid-19 outbreak is made possible thanks to donations from Spinoff Members. To support this ...
Ian Cummings - Independent Candidate Ian Cummings is pleased to announce he will be campaigning as an independent candidate in the upcoming general election to provide voters with a credible alternative and more effective voice on issues that matter ...
Good morning and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Stories raise themes of political accountability, investigation launched after active case details leaked, and frustrating infrastructure failures hurt Auckland water system.There have been several stories involving the theme of political accountability for mistakes in recent days. So for a lead today, ...
Labour's scaled-down party conference was still an opportunity for Jacinda Ardern to show how loved she is by her fans - and make the case for why her Government should keep on moving to a second term Looking around the packed room at Te Papa in Wellington, it was hard ...
Stacy Gregg and Nicky Pellegrino conclude their podcast series, and interview Tayi Tibble. Wellington poet Tayi Tibble was 23 years old when she won the Ockham for best first book of poetry for Poukahangatus. Of Te Whanau ā Apanui and Ngāti Porou descent, Tayi’s poems speak to beauty, activism, power ...
Open mike 07/06/2015 
Open mike is your post.
This is a re-post from Carbon Brief by Josh Gabbatiss This year will see the largest ever drop globally in both investment and consumer spending on energy as the coronavirus pandemic hits every major sector, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA). The crisis is accelerating the shutdown of older fossil-fuelled ...4 hours ago
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After a long break, the government is back inserting secrecy clauses in legislation. This time its the Overseas Investment Amendment Bill (No 3), which in its clause allowing Ministers to exempt purchasers of farm land from the usual rules also allows them to exempt an exemption from the publication requirement: ...17 hours ago
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There really is not much about Paula Bennett concerning her career trajectory, the policies she promoted, and most importantly, the socio-economic effect this had upon New Zealand (and particularly the most vulnerable in this, our oft-cited “egalitarian” society of this country) that can be said now that hasn’t already been ...1 week ago
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Tertiary fees in New Zealand versus Australia: Fees Are Important, but not as Important as Financing In Australia, the Education Minister Dan Tehan has proposed an overhaul of the existing higher education funding system to offer 39,000 additional study places by 2023 and 100,000 by 2030. The proposal has been ...1 week ago
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http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2015-06-06/america-ponzi-scheme-commencement-speech-scammed
Does this really sound like an education to you or does it sound more like a Ponzi scheme, like you’ve been scammed?
Do I understand how all this works? No. I’m no expert on the subject. What anyone should be able to see, however, is that the promise of higher education has, in this century, sunk low indeed and that what your generation has been learning how to endure while still in school is a form of peonage. I’d binge drink, too, under the circumstances!
Yes, NZ is well on it’s way down the same path.
Yep, in the US the salaries and numbers of administrators and managers has been shooting up for years, while the salaries and numbers of faculty have been cut and squeezed – unless you work in an area favoured by corporate money.
Student fees have been climbing and climbing as has student debt. Then they changed the rules in the US where students have to pay increasing interest on their debt – far more than bankers have to pay – and you cannot get out of student debt by declaring bankruptcy. The debt follows you to the grave.
And this in an environment where graduates are lucky to get a full time minimum wage job.
In Texas for example,the highest paid in public office are sports coaches,and orthopedics specialists.
http://salaries.texastribune.org/
For those with some time on their hands on Sunday morning to ponder on alternatives to current economic models IRL: Marinaleda and Mondragon.
Marinaleda: Yeah, that’s the kind of place/way I’d like to live, if the only alternative was NZ’s existing reality/dominant culture and perspective.
Two stand-out points to me were the flat rate of wage, “because every position is important to the whole”; and making decisions based on considering what is good for those who have the least, before thinking about what is good for those that have the most. If NZ governments adopted that last point in isolation, it would solve many of NZ’s problems overnight. Once they did try that approach, now they reject it completely.
“A Socialist Utopia” is a good description of it – a both negative (ultimately limited) and positive (major advancement on status quo) euphemism – because there are plenty of flaws in the plan; and the guy talking glosses over some historical points that if they were explained to NZders, they might not be so enthusistic to superimpose the struggle here; but this is Sunday morning, so why not just revel in the possibility instead?
In Germany, one of the most successful economy in the world, house prices are flat. It is considered a failure if house prices rise because housing is a speculative investment that adds nothing to the economy.
– Keiser Report E767
+1 link to this below
Predictions for 2014 for Germany were price increases for property were 6%, with prices the the two years prior increasing by 9.8% per annum for existing stock and 7.7% per annum for new builds.
Reasons being? Demand in larger cities outstripping supply. Low interest rates and increased economic activity. Strong labour markets and rising immigration.
http://m.welt.de/finanzen/immobilien/article123300858/Auch-2014-steigen-die-Mieten-und-Wohnungspreise.html
Germany, historically, has a completely different approach to rentals, where some families live 20+ years in rented accommodation (flats or houses). The money is in the rent return, not the property resale. The way mortgages are set-up and structured are different too.
To top it all off, German Super has always been sufficient to live off in retirement, there was little need or desire to invest/speculate in property for that old-age nest egg.
All up, you can’t compare the German approach and New Zealand one.
Max Keiser & Stacey Herbert talk UK property bubble
They mention in comparison that Berlin has just introduced maximum rent caps. That German ministers see “investment” flowing into ever increasing house prices as a waste of productive financial capital which should instead go into industry. This is of course a road to a ponzi economy and eventual economic collapse.
How UK policies of house ownership and rental subsidies have helped push up the property price bubble further, as well as encouraging home owners and rentier capitalists to vote Conservative.
Max Keiser also mentions how banks create money in the economy by extending loans which instantly become deposits in bank accounts.
The housing problem has only just started really. You can’t create all this extra money and have it stay in Auckland. Newly rich Jafas are already buying up large outside of Auckland and driving up prices elsewhere. Those cashed up sellers will themselves start pushing up prices even further.
I’ve been watching house prices in areas close to Auck – south an arc from Hamilton to Tauranga and north SH1 areas up to Whangarei & surrounds. The speed at which low priced properties have been selling is just incredible. The only houses not selling are those in rough streets.
It must be hugely distressing for those lower income earners saving to buy a home. They’re seeing their future disappearing right in front of their eyes.
No you cant and it is true that their social security system is (or was) – I am sorry to say – superior to that in NZ.
But what you omit is that, Germany has had more then 1 Million (!) immigrants/refugees per year entering the country and housing certainly has a different meaning when looking at these figures.
Vandalism of properties that was unheard of has increased and there are areas where you rather don’t want to go, let alone live because of the ghetto building from different ethnicity. Naturally, the situation is a lot more volatile then in NZ. And with that the social security system that has worked on the basis that people have to contribute in order to get a benefit, thus being a collective approach and really a cultural way of thinking about your neighbor, is being destroyed. Perhaps a geopolitical game to make it equal to the Anglo saxen approach that is in my point of view barbaric.
Wait until Germany suffers an economic downturn, then with mass immigration you will see the rise of white supremacist neonazi sentiment on the upswing.
Just saw something on Zero Hedge which said 2 out of 3 low paid jobs created by the US economic “upturn” has gone to illegal migrants. Local populations are going to become more restive.
White supremacists are already there. All immigrants are being supported by the state, hence the unrest. The moneys are not there anymore. The downturn has already started.
Mind you, I wonder what NZ would do if such influx of immigrants would happen here. Infrastructure and benefits would dry up in a flash. It would lead to aggression, latent or obvious.
The US is a completely different culture – they have no real sense of social coherency. 230 odd years in the making vs thousands of years in Germany.
The jobs they have created are low wage, no guarantied hours jobs. Sounds familiar?
Germans are underestimated with their sheer will to see things through if the going is tough.
@ Colonial R
Someone wrote that a large number of the employed in USA are guarding wealthy people’s property. It could be a good job for a migrant to get. The low starting wage could be an indication of that.
USA Security guards employed, 1,077,520 at May 2014 mean hourly wage $13.48 (from $8.52, 25% percentile $9.64, 90% percentile $21.25-annual $44,200)
http://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes339032.htm
USA Cleaning and janitor jobs 2,324,000 for year 2012 @ $10.73 an hour
USA manufacturing stats – they were declining before 2008 and from then to 2010 they took a nosedive.
Manufacturing employment stats at Jan 2008 13,725,000, at Jan 2010 11,460,000.
Jan 2015 12,318,000.
http://data.bls.gov/timeseries/CES3000000001
USA population at 29/4/2015 – 318,857,056
http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/00000.html
the rich people in the gated compounds think that their armed security guards are going to protect them when the real decline comes. I think those armed security guards just as likely to take over the gated compounds for their own extended families and eject the useless 1%, when the time comes.
Please excuse my ignorance, but considering the continuing threat of climate change, it’s causes & likely outcomes, are there social media sites that younger New Zealanders participate in on this issue?
I ask only to be able to listen to their voice, not to participate.
http://www.generationzero.org/blog
Thanks.
welcome. one place to start. they do good campaigning.
There’s also 350 Aotearoa, and you can find the latest things theyre doing on their facebook pages.
I’d like to see a senior citizens activist group on climate change as well. After all they have had a lifetime of fossil fuel at their convenience and it will be their grandkids who will have to do the heavy lifting to adapt and change society to work in a different climate.
While not specifically senior citizens, this group seems to represent the ones who’ve done well out of fossil fuels.
http://wiseresponse.org.nz/
Seen this ?
How much of the Auckland property ‘boom’ is being used for money-laundering?
How many of the empty 22,000 ‘ghost city’ private sector houses in Auckland (according to the 2013 Census), have been used for money-laundering?
Whose job is it to check on how real estate – especially Auckland real estate – is used for money-laundering?
The Organised and Financial Crime Agency of NZ (OFCANZ)?
Who failed to carry out any ‘due diligence’ on the increased risk of money-laundering arising from the NZ International Convention Act?
————————————————————————
Bernard Hickey: Dodgy deals to come out
The New Zealand Herald
A task force wants lawyers and agents to verify sources of overseas funds used to buy property.
By Bernard Hickey
The Government’s pre-Budget announcement of its two-year “bright line” tax on capital gains surprised a few people and captured headlines.
But the accompanying news that non-residents buying property would first have to open a bank account here, get an IRD number and declare their own passport and home tax details may have a bigger impact.
The Government is pointing to this measure as having the most potential to reduce foreign demand for Auckland properties and Prime Minister John Key has indicated information on non-resident buying would be gathered and published.
He said New Zealand tax authorities would also share these details with foreign tax authorities.
The elephant in the room of Auckland’s property debate is whether some of the money pouring into Auckland, from China in particular, is money laundering of ill-gotten funds.
Without any data, the debate is fuelled by anecdote and rumour, but the issue is capturing global attention.
In November, China’s President Xi Jinping asked for Key’s help to track down a number of Chinese nationals who had fled to New Zealand with allegedly corruptly obtained funds. This was part of Xi’s campaign to crack down on the “tigers and flies” officials and their cronies. Chinese authorities say New Zealand is the third most popular destination for such fugitives.
The issue of money laundering from China is heating up in Australia, too, where data on how much property is bought by non-residents is collected.
More than 25 per cent of all new and existing homes sold last year in Sydney and Melbourne were sold to non-residents, leaving many across the Tasman asking where the money came from.
…………
Penny Bright
http://www.pennybright4mayor.org.nz
Very interesting thanks Penny
It is a clever ploy by the Government to turn the Auckland housing problem into a Law & Order issue. Any place where large sums of money easily ‘change hands’ such as casinos and real estate is attractive to money launderers. However, this doesn’t mean that money laundering is a driving force behind Auckland’s housing woes. Is the Government now also proposing for Sky Casino to demand seeing and recording IRD numbers, bank account details, and home tax details?
+100 Penny
Liars of Our Time
No. 50: CAMERON “BLUBBERGUTS” SLATER
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
“I’m sick to death of people trying to set me up. I don’t break the law, and that’s the end of the story.”
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
—Cameron “Blubberguts” Slater snarls defiance at a reporter, RadioLIVE 12 o’clock news, Saturday 6 June 2015
Liar No. 49 Jay Carney: ““He [Edward Snowden] is not a human rights activist. He is not a dissident.”
Liar No. 48 Jim Mora: “Fantastic! I’ll have a listen to the full version [of Tony Doe’s new song] after The Panel.”
Liar No.47 Simon Mercep: “Coming up in a few minutes, The Panel. …. Whoever they are, quality broadcasting will ensue.”
Liar No. 46 Julia Gillard: “I have got a lot of respect for people who whistle-blow, ummm….” http://thestandard.org.nz/ope-mike-08022015/#comment-965394
Liar No. 45 Zara Potts: “Sir Bob Geldof has assembled the best of modern musicians for this year’s record, including Ed Sheeran and One Direction.” http://thestandard.org.nz/open-mike-11112014/#comment-924196
More liars HERE….
http://thestandard.org.nz/open-mike-09102014/#comment-907232
Time Magazine: Belgium removes all age limits on euthansasia
Says children should have same rights to choose death as adults. In the Netherlands, children aged 12-16 can choose death with parental consent. Activists in the Netherlands say that age limit should be reduced or removed.
http://time.com/7565/belgium-euthanasia-law-children-assisted-suicide/
Sweet, caring, compassionate, misunderstood Judith Collins – read all about her in Woman’s Weekly. Next chapter of PR campaign.
Seen this?
Gardasil Survivors in Ireland Launch Support Group
Activist Post
The R.E.G.R.E.T. Support Group was launched recently in Ireland by parents of chronically ill teenage girls. These parents blame an injection the girls received at school as the cause of their daughters’ illness. The drug in question is called Gardasil and is being marketed as an anti-cancer vaccine. R.E.G.R.E.T. is an acronym for “Reactions and Effects of Gardasil Resulting in Extreme Trauma”.
Members of ten families from all over the country came together to share experiences and express their exasperation at the inability of health authorities to recognise the pattern of serious adverse reactions being suffered by children who, up until receiving the Gardasil injection, enjoyed an active healthy lifestyle.
One of the main complaints raised at the meeting was that the information provided by the HSE (as part of the ‘informed consent’ process) is extremely misleading, particularly with regard to how safe the vaccine is.
A high incidence of serious reactions have been reported in the U.S ever since Gardasil was released there in 2006. Even the drug manufacturer’s own clinical trials reveal a 1 in 40 (2.5%) incidence of a serious adverse reaction*, yet Irish parents are still told by the HSE that Gardasil is ‘very safe’.
Although its cancer-preventing properties have never been proven, the HSE insists that the benefits of Gardasil outweigh the risks and even claim that it has been ‘fully tested’.
This is despite the limited safety testing that took place as a result of this “life-Gardasil Survivors in Ireland Launch Support Group
Activist Post
The R.E.G.R.E.T. Support Group was launched recently in Ireland by parents of chronically ill teenage girls. These parents blame an injection the girls received at school as the cause of their daughters’ illness. The drug in question is called Gardasil and is being marketed as an anti-cancer vaccine. R.E.G.R.E.T. is an acronym for “Reactions and Effects of Gardasil Resulting in Extreme Trauma”.
Members of ten families from all over the country came together to share experiences and express their exasperation at the inability of health authorities to recognise the pattern of serious adverse reactions being suffered by children who, up until receiving the Gardasil injection, enjoyed an active healthy lifestyle. One of the main complaints raised at the meeting was that the information provided by the HSE (as part of the ‘informed consent’ process) is extremely misleading, particularly with regard to how safe the vaccine is.
A high incidence of serious reactions have been reported in the U.S ever since Gardasil was released there in 2006. Even the drug manufacturer’s own clinical trials reveal a 1 in 40 (2.5%) incidence of a serious adverse reaction*, yet Irish parents are still told by the HSE that Gardasil is ‘very safe’.
Although its cancer-preventing properties have never been proven, the HSE insists that the benefits of Gardasil outweigh the risks and even claim that it has been ‘fully tested’.
This is despite the limited safety testing that took place as a result of this “life-saving vaccine” being fast-tracked through the regulatory approval process. HSE did not inform parents that Gardasil contains genetically engineered non-human recombinant DNA, the effects of which are unknown and unpredictable when injected into a human host saving vaccine” being fast-tracked through the regulatory approval process.
HSE did not inform parents that Gardasil contains genetically engineered non-human recombinant DNA, the effects of which are unknown and unpredictable when injected into a human host.
———————————————————————————————–
Penny Bright
http://www.pennybright4mayor.org.nz
This is a healthcare disaster and another example of how corporatised establishment medical thinking has led families down the wrong track, a track which transfers billions in tax payers money to big pharma while the vast majority of young women receiving the treatment will obtain zero life saving benefits.
+100 Penny and CR
I have just watched that disgusting display by Boag on The Nation, dressed like a bill board for a large carton of Fries. A theme I see that is beginning to develop from the right is:- “You don’t have a right,” In this discussion, if you can call it that with this hysterical female dressed like a packet of chips, Boag said “You don’t have a right” to owning a house.
Is this going to be a common theme to get us all conditioned so when they spy on us it will be a case of “You don’t have a right to privacy.” Also what gives winebox Boag the right to say “you don’t have a right”
Shit we will be told next We don’t have the right to breath
“don’t talk to me about evidence”
#pffft
Yes, and what I saw is a lady with an American accent attacking NZ systems, a raged young man who just has bought a property in Wellington and one articulate young man trying to convince us that the rental laws need changing.
Here is what I took away from this:
Once more the future rich are making a dash for funds and asking for a RIGHT to own a house with the golden age of 22 in the dress circle of Auckland.
For them the old are guilty of everything because they have not facilitated them to get what they want (hissy fit follows), when they want it and how they want it.
Of cause they should give up their poultry weekly income of $ 320 smackers. Surely they can do without.
They have not figured out that the situation is a lot more volatile then they belief and there are many more deserving then they are. I am talking about families with small children – one that just died due to substandard accommodation.
If they really want to address any problems, maybe the should investigate and find out what drives the pricing and equally what the average age of an an average wage earner is when they buy. Perhaps they could start working within the community and not outside it with this sense of entitlement that only is ever seen by people of privilege.
Yes, the housing market is out of kilter, not because a pensioner owns his/her home, but because speculators driving this. (mostly from overseas with question marks of money laundering) OH, yes no question of those university educated people there.
The law is not designed to protect the wider public from shanty houses developing – again no question form the side of the younger generation who are suppose to be sooo educated, all they do is their “fair” share.
Most NZ people buy their house at the age of around 30 or later.
On the question of voting: they don’t because they don’t get what they want.. (stumping feet behind the podium?)
Educated? Really? Or just spoiled and dragged through Uni because there was money to be made…
this might help explain things 🙂
If you’re unemployed it’s not because there isn’t any work
There giving kohanga and its tyrant leader a very nice puff piece on marae
In the same week that a very good reporter resigns over her TV channel not letting her do a story on kohanga.
It’s possible to conclude that the Labour Party review document was leaked because otherwise it was never going to be shared in its entirety with the membership; rather it was going to be edited, censored, summarised and released selectively piecemeal. Contrary to popular opinion, maybe on balance we’ve been done a favour by the leaker.
CR.
definitely better to have it out in public 100% or there was always going to keep media busy wondering out loud about what wasnt being said/released
That would be a credible theory CV, except for the fact that it was leaked to Gower. If the leaker wanted to serve the membership or Labour’s best interests, there were far better places/people to leak it to.
That;s funny because we were told the majority of what was in report at Regional Conference. Did you not get the update from President in your region?
I have no doubt that regional conferences were verbally told of the contents of, or at least the outline of, the majority of the report. Your comment and my comment are not mutually exclusive.
Is National scaremongering again?
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/69168659/english-wont-adopt-labours-extreme-warrant-of-fitness-for-housing
”The Government won’t support “extreme measures” like warrant of fitness checks for all houses because it will drive up rent and push housing stock out of the market, says Finance Minister Bill English.”
and
”But Housing Minister Nick Smith is reluctant to extend the warrants to all public and private rentals because if the Government prohibited the rental of home unless they were fully insulated, it would mean taking 100,000 homes off the market.”
Please correct me if wrong but the bill would give landlords five years to get rental houses up to a liveable standard and it was never the intention that housing stock would be taken off the rental market during that period.
Oh dear. Sounds like the Government accepts Labour’s position that there is a huge quality and livability problem with NZ’s housing stock.
But they are downplaying the scale and severity of the problem and only because they can’t use plausible denial any longer. I look forward to hearing more from Bill English about “something practical and affordable that will start lifting the standard”.
BTW, the story was last updated at 16.18 o’clock.
To be able to lift standards you a) need to know where you’re at at the moment an b) set some standards that need to be reached. National not doing either of these things is setting up to fail.
I also note the propagandising use of extreme measures. It’s being used in such a way as to make people think that having liveable homes is an extreme idea and thus not doable.
IMF has betrayed its mission in Greece, captive to EMU creditors
Both The Great Depression and the Great Recession produced winners and losers. Interestingly, the winners should have been the losers in both cases.
The Scariest Trade Deal Nobody’s Talking About Just Suffered a Big Leak
Just in case you weren’t aware that the corporations have several methods in play to take away our ability to govern ourselves and thus make us corporate serfs.
FYI
Guess which was the ONLY NZ political party to support ‘facilitation payments’ being included as BRIBES in the Organised Crime and Anti-Corruption Legislation Bill?
—————————————————————————-
The (——) Party supports the majority of the Organised Crime and Anti-Corruption Legislation Bill in its current form.
The (——) Party intends to continue with its support of this bill; it will bring us in line with our obligations under various international treaties and conventions dealing with national and international organised crime and corruption, and it will strengthen our ability to effectively respond to people trafficking and private sector corruption.
However, the (——) Party holds the view that this bill is a missed opportunity to address the issue of facilitation payments, which will still be excepted from the foreign bribery offence under section 105C(3) of the Crimes Act 1961–
(3)This section does not apply if—
(a)the act that is alleged to constitute the offence was committed for the sole or primary purpose of ensuring or expediting the performance by a foreign public official of a routine government action; and
(b)the value of the benefit is small.
The Ministry of Justice departmental report refers to these payments as being for things such as “small payments relating to the grant of a permit or licence, the provision of utility services, or loading or unloading cargo.” The Ministry commented that these payments do not yield an “undue advantage”, and that measures in the bill to ensure the recording of these payments mitigate any concerns that the exception may be abused.
However, the select committee heard persuasive submissions on the issue from the Human Rights Commission, Transparency International New Zealand and Michael Macaulay, Director of the Institute for Governance and Policy Studies at Victoria University of Wellington’s School of Government.
These ‘grease’ payments are bribes, no matter their size, and help breed a culture where low-level corruption is permitted and accepted, contrary to international guidance from groups like the Serious Fraud Office, the UNCAC Implementation Review Group, the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation, and the OECD.
New Zealand is seen as a leader in public sector ethics and transparency, and we are proud of that legacy. It is disappointing that when provided an opportunity to take a strong stance on a controversial and unethical practice like facilitation payments – a stance already taken by the United Kingdom and Australia, and allegedly being pursued in China and India – we choose to split hairs about semantics and ‘balance’, leaving the door open for facilitation payments and subtly undermining our international reputation for honesty and transparency.
————————————————————
Could National’s Minister of Trade – in my opinion – ‘sheepish’ Murray McCully’s sordid Saudi ‘bribe’ have had anything to do with this Government’s apparent opposition to ‘facilitation payments’ being regarded as BRIBE$?
New Zealand – ‘perceived’ to be the SECOND ‘least corrupt country in the world’, according to the 2014 (arguably meaningless) Transparency International ‘Corruption Perception Index’?
Penny Bright
http://www.pennybright4mayor.org.nz
Ha! Bomber’s gone into a Whale Oil style meltdown over at TDB, deleting comments that don’t blow smoke up his perfectly coiffured arse. He really is a sensitive wee sausage.
I’d link, but what’s the point?