BNZ Bank economist Tony Alexander, shoring himself up with a bank-selected sample of 500 people, decides that most people really like the housing crisis because high prices make people rich. In case you forget about where he stands on the spectrum, here’s what he has to say about the current housing stories:
“No bemoaning the winners and losers. No whinging about how the world should be fairies and fluffy pink unicorns.”
I’ve always wondered why you found fairies coming out from under bridges and fluffy pink unicorns coming out of forests: it’s where they have to sleep.
Mr Alexander outlined 18 things that were happening in the country’s housing market including:
– Strong population growth was exceeding housing supply;
– interest rates were at a record low; people were living longer;
– older people were splitting up and needing two houses;
– the population was ageing, requiring more houses as bedrooms sat empty;
– council rules made building a new house expensive;
– Kiwis like expensive bespoke houses rather than little boxes on a hillsides;
– Kiwis seemed to suck at building houses which passed inspections and did not leak;
– there was a shortage of skilled trades people needed to build extra houses;
– few people seriously believed the Government and the Reserve Bank had the tools to flatten house prices, let alone cause them to correct to more “affordable” levels;
– and Auckland was changing from looking like many Invercargills in one place to being a globally connected world city.
And we wonder why four Australian banks are running New Zealand’s housing policy.
So he blames ‘kiwis’ for leaky homes rather than the national party and its headless deregulation.
I counted 4 blocks of apartments in 3 streets close to where I stayed in just one akl inner suburb a few months back. All being repaired, probably ineffectively, keeping tradies from new builds.
We dont have the tradies to build, the land, geez, Auckland is an isthmus its boaties and pier builders we need. Along with public transit from hunty to s.auckland, hill suburbs to feed employers workers. It aint about Auckland they’ve taken themselves off the table.
Was talking to a national voter recently and they were convinced that it was the green influence on the building trade that had I assume stopped the proper treatment of timber. There wasn’t much point arguing, but I was definitely thinking what the hell.
That’s what it’s all about for the leaders and elites. So the dickheads can strut around with their chests out being all urbane and soofisticated, showing off how modern and upmarket NZ is. Trying to have the lifestyle of an advanced developed society that joined the industrial age, and then moved into the electronic age, while we down here are moving back to the emerald jewel of grass and agriculture that my business tutor said has never in the world given a first world standard of living.
But flashy ostentatious expenditure is all the NZ nobs care about. They move towards an Irish solution where the greedy, callous English speaking overlords, denied the right of the native Irish citizens to own their land and to grow their own food. The British only thought hard when having to find a believable excuse for the country people starving, like paupers.
And we’ve got some NZs cut from the same cloth here. We are globally connected by electronics that serve some people well, but also that are used to degrade other people’s lives and humanity.
…“This ban does not apply to us and so we’ve been operating straight through it,” they told RT.
Sister Darcey and Sister Kate have been growing marijuana and creating cannabidiol (CBD)-infused products for three years…
They claim their marijuana has low levels of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) which gives the ‘high’ effect associated with marijuana.
“Our medicine is medicine, and it is non-psychoactive,” they explained. “We’re dealing with what is actually hemp but really we advocate for whole plant legalization.”
However, the ‘nuns’ are not the traditionally religious kind but rather ‘spiritual’.
They follow their own ‘holy trinity’ which includes honoring mother earth, honoring the people through making medicine and healing, and their progressive activism.
The nuns dedicate a portion of their week to “the good fight” for the poor people around them…
In states where medical marijuana is legal, there has been a 25 percent drop in painkiller related deaths, according to a 2015 study by University of Pennsylvania and John Hopkins researchers in JAMA Internal Medicine journal.”
Not sure they can be called part of the Catholic establishment, but this guy is and he wrote a very balanced letter in support of the law change in Iowa.
“Ministry of Justice refusing to release _any_ docs relating to long-delay, or lobbying over, anti money-laundering policy. To the Ombudsman!” – Matt Nippert via Twitter
“quick, Collins went to that anti-corruption conference, get her to pop down and explain why this is a bad look.” – Dovil ibid
Very good interview this a.m. on whistleblowers in USA referring to Snowden, but mainly all the others who have been damaged in trying to follow the principles of integrity to the law and fairness of the legal and constitutional system there. On Radionz with Kathryn Ryan.
Photo- The front cover of Mark Hertsgaard’s book Bravehearts: Whistle Blowing In The Age Of Snowden. It features a large photo of Edward Snowden
10:05 The NSA whistleblower protector who blew the whistle himself
John Crane was a senior Defence Department official responsible for protecting whistleblowers at the NSA but he ended up blowing the whistle himself after seeing his colleagues betray the whistleblowers they were supposed to protect. His claims are outlined in a new book – Bravehearts: Whistle Blowing In The Age Of Snowden by Mark Hertsgaard. http://www.radionz.co.nz/audio/player/201803529
Also your privacy – http://www.radionz.co.nz/audio/player/201803526 13.15m. Radio NZ today, 7 June 9:25 Sorting your digital footprint before you die
One of the growing existential questions of our time is “what happens to my digital footprint when I die?” With many people doing their banking, insurance and other financial business online as well as engagement on social media platforms, what are the legal protocols for ensuring they are shut down or – if you want – accessible to your loved ones?
A forum set up by Internet New Zealand in Wellington this Thursday will feature experts to answer such questions. The event is being hosted by the Deputy CEO of the Australian Communications Consumer Action Network, Narelle Clark.
Next week –
Listen out on 10:05 am Tuesday 14 June: Luke Williams interview.
Background on the meth drug habit, book Ice Age by Australian author. Luke Williams was a freelance journalist researching addiction to crystallised methamphetamine (commonly known as crystal meth or ice) when the worst possible thing happened – he became addicted himself. Over the next three months, he was seduced by the drug and descended into psychosis.
He talks to Kathryn Ryan about his recovery from the drug, and his investigation into its history, manufacture and his first hand experience of the effects on users, families and the healthcare system. He’s written a book called Ice Age. http://scribepublications.com.au/books-authors/books/the-ice-age/.
edited
With the sun streaming through the windows this morning, I’m making cider from the apple juice we pressed from our apples last weekend; Bramley’s Seedling, Kentish Fillbasket, Merton Russett and Belle de Boskoop. Having bottled the previous batch, including a fine perry, I’ve refilled those demijohns and set them a’bubbling on the kitchen table. Now, I’m off to collect fallen hazelnuts from which I’m planning to grow several hundred hazels for planting out in the commons around my village. Have a productive day, all!
“Little England” – cute.
My forest garden is a combination of indigenous and exotic trees, shrubs, vines, annuals, biennials and perennials, all growing as a constructed-but-naturalistic whole. I’ve kotukutuku, kowhai, tataramoa, kohuhu, tarata, hoheria, horoeka etc. etc. most of which feed the birds at various times of the year, as do the plum, apples, pear and apricot trees, invaders all. Around the town, I’ve guerilla-planted ti kouka, harakeke, toetoe, korokia etc. in significant numbers, especially on the wetland reserve, Te Wai Korari, that I negotiated the purchase of 15 years ago; the ‘flax wetland’ being the most significant on the estuary, with it’s waterways for galaxids, etc. Against the backdrop of all these natives, I’m planting trees that produce fruit and nuts for humans to eat, believing as I do, that it’s important to prepare communities for climate change and food shortages, even though they might not be aware of that probable eventuality. Hazelnuts are good food, the trees make great nesting sites for grey warbler, fantail, tui and bellbird alike. Their branches make good fences also, and are provided free to whomever might want to fashion them into something stock-proof. As is done in Little England.
That deals with Kevin. I feel that you can fend off all comers Robert G.. Arent they puerile.
It shows what an advantage full employment would be as everyone would be too busy doing something that somebody needed or wanted to buy.
And the oldies would be choosing some useful volunteer work from what the community thought needed doing and having less time to make trouble and acidic remarks as I am just doing! I have met some very patronising and acidic remarks from the retired over the years and feel it isn’t paying back or forward to society for the stable safety net we are provided still.
Thanks all. We operate a seed saving network, presently being refreshed but if you want to know more, try: office@sces.org.nz Now though, is cuttings time, as well as getting nuts into the soil (sorry, Kev).
A good performance from James Shaw this morning, talking about cleaning the rivers. Usually someone from the left will be all doom and gloom and worst case scenario in an attempt to “shock” the people into action
Instead Mr Shaw said that the rivers could be saved and then instead of umming and ahhing and trying to minimise the cost he instead agreed it would cost billions
NZers will appreciate that, a good interview for Mr Shaw
Wouldn’t have cost anything, if the NZers had listened to people like Mr Shaw long ago. Mike Joy, whose messages you might describe as “doom and gloom” has been telling the truth for many years now. Do you think NZers have appreciated his efforts?
I think PR is using his ‘positive’ comment to focus on the ‘billions needed’ aspect of the issue. I think he’s being duplicitous. I think PR is white anting.
🙂
The Greens and the left in general (mostly Labour to be fair) are all about how bad this country is in an attempt to change the government, you may well be right but its the first time hes said something, in a way I agree with
Mike Joy, Puckish – heard of him? What are your thoughts about his message and what do you think about the treatment he receives from the likes of Mr Key?
Funny in a sad way. PR hasn’t heard of Mike Joy. No joy there.
And Metiria Turei – he switches off when she’s talking.
And this man I feel sure, has the gall to come on here and offer us his views as if they have any relevance or value. Fatheads we have by the thousand in NZ. Or hundreds of thousands. It must have been all that milk and meat. It has built calcium, and…of course that’s the result, boneheads not fatheads. I was wrong before. But I think I’ve nailed it now.
You’ve not heard what she has to say then?
Not planning to comment on her views then, I hope.
So, you’ve not heard Mike Joy’s views, nor Metiria’s.. who do you get your information from? Have you a view on environmental issues? From whom did you gather that, I wonder? (Tempted to say, “Rodney Hide?” but that would be nothing more than provocation and you have become much more interesting to talk to these days).
“.. The Proposed Auckland Unitary Plan, currently going through the last stages of the Independent Hearing Panel process is a testament to this new approach.
However, as history shows the vocal minority NIMBYs who often employ a build absolutely nothing anywhere near anything approach to their land use planning thinking can compromise the planning process.
Auckland saw this as Auckland councillors in 2013 folded to pressure from these groups in relation to the Notified Proposed Auckland Unitary Plan.
The density targets of the Auckland Plan were compromised by watered down density zoning and a number of overlays in the Notified Proposed Auckland Unitary Plan ..”
What is ‘local’ about local government in this (forced( Auckland ‘Superciry’ – with it’s ‘democracy for developers’ and DICTATORSHIP for citizens?
Want to stand up and be counted and let PM John Key know that you will not be run by developers and corporates – from Wellington?
SAVE AUCKLAND – MARCH FOR DEMOCRACY !
WHEN: Saturday 11 June 2016.
WHERE: Britomart to the Auckland Town Hall.
TIME: Assemble 12 noon at Britomart.
March supported by It’s Our Future (Auckland), The Westmere Heritage Protection Association, The Housing Lobby.
Yes, PR, positiveness is attractive to voters. I like it when it’s genuine, rather than manipulative and relies on misleading, seen with such claims as, “We’re on the cusp of something special”, or “brighter future” – that sort of saccharine puff is unhealthy. We hear it a lot these days. Mr Shaw will balance his positive statements with as much truth as can be comfortably absorbed by his audiences, I hope, while at the same time retaining his integrity. Other leaders have failed spectacularly to do this.
It maybe the blueprint for the Greens they desperately need, pick a subject or two that resonate with the general public (dirty rivers), be positive (they can be saved), don’t shy away from the realities(it will cost plenty) and propose a solution
It might seem that way to you, PR, but you’ve not been paying attention. As just one example, the Greens have had their “Good Farm Stories” up and running for a long time now. In any case, if your epiphany is genuine, I congratulate you on it.
aaaaand the plot thickens: now, a simple interview about cleaning up our waterways, perfectly in accordance with Green policy, has become an offensive move in ructions within the green party as well as lab/grn conflict.
PR’s “positivity” is simply the crocodile’s smile, and his concern is a reptilian tear.
Has the Herald woken up (at last) to our precarious economy??
‘Nation of Debt: New Zealand sitting on half-trillion-dollar debt bomb
New Zealand is sitting on a half-a-trillion-dollar debt bomb and Kiwis are increasingly treating their houses like cash machines, piling on the debt as they watch the value of their properties soar.
Reserve Bank figures show household debt, excluding investment property, has risen 23 per cent in the past five years to $163.4 billion. Incomes have risen only 11.5 per cent.
Households are now carrying a debt level that is equivalent to 162 per cent of their annual disposable income – higher than the level reached before the global financial crisis.’
Yes, but I noticed Granny did not bother to mention the government racking up billions of Debt for tax cuts and infrastructure for their migration experiments.
The economists and MSM rant on about private debt but when the government does it – not a murmur. Some economists!!!
For my sins, I was watching some Fox News snippets on YouTube and heard a sort of throw away line that Bernie’s wife had hinted that the Democratic Convention would be contested because something would happen to upset the balance before then!
Anti TPPA meeting We need to stop the TPPA, but now there’s a new threat, and the negotiations are coming to Auckland next week!
While the TPPA is in deep trouble in the US, negotiations are continuing on its parallel agreement – the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), being pushed by China. Come to hear all about the RCEP, the latest on TPPA and how we can say no!
Friday, June 17 at 6:30 PM – 8:30 PM
St Matthew-in-the-City (187 Federal St) (Corner of Wellesley and Hobson Sts)
What is baffling is that this could happen in a country which even goes to war (Iraq), in order to bring a sterling USA form democracy to ignorant people. How did Bush get a second term as President when the Election was rigged? Who has the power to correct the wrongs?
It should wake up New Zealanders to the preciousness of our honest credible voting system – before it gets stolen from us.
After the Bush re-election there was an enquiry of sorts and 100s of thousands of uncounted votes were discovered chucked in a store room.
There were hundreds of cases of votes cast by phantom voters, for Bush, and oddities where in a poling booth there were hundreds of votes all voting for Bush where usually there are a mixture of votes.
The enquiry was abandoned because by then Bush had been sworn in.
Democratic USA? Huh!
Lets hope Bernie still squeaks in…otherwise there is going to be blood on the mat between Clinton and Trump…and the winner will be scarey . Bernie could also save us from the TPP
“Tonight’s Progressive Roundtable discusses Bernie’s final push in California, whether Hillary would consider having Elizabeth Warren as her running mate, and how the media has prevented any real discussion on the TPP.
Thom talks Trump’s latest racist rant and Bernie’s next move with the Nation’s Katrina vanden Heuvel and in tonight’s Daily Take Thom discusses how Bernie Sanders’ role in writing the official party platform at this year’s Democratic Convention could save us from the TPP.”
Closing in on EU Financial Tax Victory
Posted on June 1, 2016 by David Hillman
The international campaign for taxes on financial speculation is on the brink of a major European milestone that could further boost momentum in the United States.
ON TV1 Lab +Greens = just 41% . To get to form a government they need 50%. Thus they need a ( 9/41 x 100) a whopping 21.95% vote rise on current polling. Formidable challenge when already they cannot agree on deep sea drilling and immigration.
Following the announcement of the Labour and Green Party Memorandum of Understanding, support for the Labour Party increased significantly, from 26% to 31%, and support for New Zealand First decreased, from 11% to 7%.
Kinda explains Winston’s instinctive realisation that he was in some kind of trouble.
Leaving aside the obvious possibility that your wife is cro-magnon right wing trash, just like you, stupidity afflicts the Swiss no more or less than anyone else.
[derailment and subsequent bickering moved to Open Mike] – weka
Sure. Not here to mess up your post, which is good work weka. But I wasn’t going to let OAB just throw out a random attack on a commentator’s wife let alone his lacing it with racist overtones.
In fact, sweet object of my derision and contempt, a wingnut used a “loved” one as political currency, so I entertained the possibility that she (like you) shares his afflictions.
Sorry about the reply button, when i watched the link i didnt notice that i lost the reply.
National and their support partners= 61 seats.
Labour/ Greens/ NZF= 61 seats
There is nothing wrong with my counting.
Fair enough, Naki Man, except you assume the support parties will be returned. ACT almost certainly will, but that doesn’t really assist National much. The Maori Party and Peter Dunne are not looking quite so rosy at the moment. If neither make it, it’s 61-59. I wouldn’t entirely rule out National simply not standing in Ohariu, but that would look a bit desperate and may cost them much needed party votes. The MP just look stuffed at the moment, completely subsumed into the National government, without a voice of their own.
There is no possibility of a Labour/Greens/NZF government. Winston will never play 3rd fiddle. A 22% rise in support for Greens/Labour is possible but unlikely, Far more likely is another slight rise in support for National. 49% is achievable. An MMP record score again but given the growing economy, wage, benefit and pension rises and the amazing Budget 2017 why would anyone take a risk on change. The growth in membership of National of people with Chinese sounding names is phenomenal.
This morning there was a comment posted which included a series of reasons for the housing crisis according to Tony Alexander including this pearl of wisdom (not)
“the population was ageing, requiring more houses as bedrooms sat empty” he said.
What planet is he on? older or aging people with any smarts are selling their houses and moving into retirement villages as my wife and I did nearly 3 years ago. Happy as “sand boys” no worries about rates, maintenance, lawns or when the bubble will burst and money in the bank even if the miserable bankers are paying peanut interest rates at present, plus the right to occupy for the rest of your life at a fixed rate per day.
Nobody comments on this industry yet there are thousands of single and double units across New Zealand and more being built and planned it is a growth industry.
We should be getting a bonus from Bill for helping him with the housing crisis by releasing houses without increasing the boundaries but his advisors are blind to the truth.
BTW there is a house next door to our village that has been empty for about 7 months, go figure.
ps Actually we are not sand boys ‘cos there are no cannons and no gunpowder here.
p.s.s. What a boorish twit Puckish Rogue is , please just ignore his comments, he is a complete waste of space. IMLTHO
Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: My top six things to note around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the week to July 27 were:1. The Minister for Ford Rangers strikes againTransport Minister Simeon Brown was again the busiest of the Cabinet ministers this week, announcing an ...
You got a fast carAnd I want a ticket to anywhereMaybe we make a dealMaybe together we can get somewhereAny place is betterYesterday’s newsletter, Trust In Me, on the report of abuse in state care, and by religious organisations, between 1950 and 2019, coupled with the hypocrisy of Christopher Luxon ...
New Zealand is again having to reconcile conflicting pressures from its military and its trade interests. Should we join Pillar Two of AUKUS and risk compromising our markets in China? For a century after New Zealand was founded in 1840, its external security arrangements and external economics arrangements were aligned. ...
The ‘50 Shades of Green’ farmers’ protest in 2019 was heavy on climate change denial, but five years on, scepticism and criticism about the idea that pine forests can save us is growing across the board. File photo: Lynn GrievesonTL;DR: Here’s the top six news items of note in climate ...
This morning the sky was bright.The birds, in their usual joyous bliss. Nature doesn’t seem to feel the heat of what might angst humans.Their calls are clear and beautiful.Just some random thoughts:MāoriPaul Goldsmith has announced his government will roll back the judiciary’s rulings on Māori Customary Marine Title, which recognises ...
In 2003, the Court of Appeal delivered its decision in Ngati Apa v Attorney-General, ruling that Māori customary title over the foreshore and seabed had not been universally extinguished, and that the Māori Land Court could determine claims and confirm title if the facts supported it. This kicked off the ...
Earlier this week at Parliament, Labour leader Chris Hipkins was applauded for saying that the response to the final report of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care had to be “bigger than politics.” True, but the fine words, apologies and “we hear you” messages will soon ring ...
TL;DR: In news breaking this morning:The Ministry of Education is cutting $2 billion from its school building programme so the National-ACT-NZ First Coalition Government has enough money to deliver tax cuts; The Government has quietly lowered its child poverty reduction targets to make them easier to achieve;Te Whatu Ora-Health NZ’s ...
Kia ora. These are some stories that caught our eye this week – as always, feel free to share yours in the comments. Our header image this week (via Eke Panuku) shows the planned upgrade for the Karanga Plaza Tidal Swimming Steps. The week in Greater Auckland On ...
1. What's not to love about the way the Harris campaign is turning things around?a. Nothingb. Love all of itc. God what a reliefd. Not that it will be by any means easye. All of the above 2. Documents released by the Ministry of Health show Associate Health Minister Casey ...
Trust in me in all you doHave the faith I have in youLove will see us through, if only you trust in meWhy don't you, you trust me?In a week that saw the release of the 3,000 page Abuse in Care report Christopher Luxon was being asked about Boot Camps. ...
TL;DR: The podcast above of the weekly ‘hoon’ webinar for paying subscribers last night features co-hosts and talking about the Royal Commission Inquiry into Abuse in Carereport released this week, and with:The Kākā’s climate correspondent on a UN push to not recognise carbon offset markets and ...
TL;DR: As of 6:00 am on Friday, July 26, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:Transport: Simeon Brown announced$802.9 million in funding for 18 new trains on the Wairarapa and Manawatū rail lines, which ...
The northern expressway extension from Warkworth to Whangarei is likely to require radical changes to legislation if it is going to be built within the foreseeable future. The Government’s powers to purchase land, the planning process and current restrictions on road tolling are all going to need to be changed ...
Text within this block will maintain its original spacing when publishedFirst they came for the doctors But I was confused by the numbers and costs So I didn't speak up Then they came for our police and nurses And I didn't think we could afford those costs anyway So I ...
Photo by Joshua J. Cotten on UnsplashWe’re back again after our mid-winter break. We’re still with the ‘new’ day of the week (Thursday rather than Friday) when we have our ‘hoon’ webinar with paying subscribers to The Kākā for an hour at 5 pm.Jump on this link on YouTube Livestream ...
Notes: This is a free article. Abuse in Care themes are mentioned. Video is at the bottom.BackgroundYesterday’s report into Abuse in Care revealed that at least 1 in 3 of all who went through state and faith based care were abused - often horrifically. At least, because not all survivors ...
Luxon speaks in Parliament yesterday about the Abuse in Care report. Photo: Hagen Hopkins/Getty ImagesTL;DR: The top six things I’ve noted around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy today are:PM Christopher Luxon said yesterday in tabling the Abuse in Carereport in Parliament he wanted to ‘do the ...
About a decade ago I worked with a bloke called Steve. He was the grizzled veteran coder, a few years older than me, who knew where the bodies were buried - code wise. Despite his best efforts to be approachable and friendly he could be kind of gruff, through to ...
Some of the recent announcements from the government have reminded us of posts we’ve written in the past. Here’s one from early 2020. There were plenty of reactions to the government’s infrastructure announcement a few weeks ago which saw them fund a bunch of big roading projects. One of ...
TL;DR: My pick of the top six links elsewhere around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day or so to 7:00 am on Thursday, July 25 are:News: Why Electric Kiwi is closing to new customers - and why it matters RNZ’s Susan EdmundsScoop: Government drops ...
Hi,I felt a small wet tongue snaking through one of the holes in my Crocs. It explored my big toe, darting down one side, then the other. “He’s looking for some toe cheese,” said the woman next to me, words that still haunt me to this day.Growing up in New ...
Yesterday I happily quoted the Prime Minister without fact-checking him and sure enough, it turns out his numbers were all to hell. It’s not four kg of Royal Commission report, it’s fourteen.My friend and one-time colleague-in-comms Hazel Phillips gently alerted me to my error almost as soon as I’d hit ...
TL;DR: As of 6:00 am on Thursday, July 25, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day were:The Abuse in Care Royal Commission of Inquirypublished its final report yesterday.PM Christopher Luxon and The Minister responsible for ...
The Official Information Act has always been a battle between requesters seeking information, and governments seeking to control it. Information is power, so Ministers and government agencies want to manage what is released and when, for their own convenience, and legality and democracy be damned. Their most recent tactic for ...
TL;DR: The top six things I’ve noted around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy today are:Transport and Energy Minister Simeon Brown is accelerating plans to spend at least $10 billion through Public Private Partnerships (PPPs) to extend State Highway One as a four-lane ‘Expressway’ from Warkworth to Whangarei ...
I live my life (woo-ooh-ooh)With no control in my destinyYea-yeah, yea-yeah (woo-ooh-ooh)I can bleed when I want to bleedSo come on, come on (woo-ooh-ooh)You can bleed when you want to bleedYea-yeah, come on (woo-ooh-ooh)Everybody bleed when they want to bleedCome on and bleedGovernments face tough challenges. Selling unpopular decisions to ...
Please note:To skip directly to the- parliamentary footage in the video, scroll to 1:21 To skip to audio please click on the headphone iconon the left hand side of the screenThis video / audio section is under development. ...
Given the crackdown on wasteful government spending, it behooves me to point to a high profile example of spending by the Luxon government that looks like a big, fat waste of time and money. I’m talking about the deployment of NZDF personnel to support the US-led coalition in the Red ...
TL;DR: My pick of the top six links elsewhere around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day or so to 7:40 am on Wednesday, July 24 are:Deep Dive: Chipping away at the housing crisis, including my comments RNZ/Newsroom’s The DetailNews: Government softens on asset sales, ...
As I reported about the city centre, Auckland’s rail network is also going through a difficult and disruptive period which is rapidly approaching a culmination, this will result in a significant upgrade to the whole network. Hallelujah. Also like the city centre this is an upgrade predicated on the City ...
Today, a 4 kilogram report will be delivered to Parliament. We know this is what the report of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in State and Faith-based Care weighs, because our Prime Minister told us so.Some reporter had blindsided him by asking a question about something done by ...
TL;DR: As of 7:00 am on Wednesday, July 24, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:Beehive:Transport Minister Simeon Brownannounced plans to use PPPs to fund, build and run a four-lane expressway between Auckland ...
NewstalkZB host Mike Hosking, who can usually be relied on to give Prime Minister Christopher Luxon an easy run, did not do so yesterday when he interviewed him about the HealthNZ deficit. Luxon is trying to use a deficit reported last year by HealthNZ as yet another example of the ...
Back in January a StatsNZ employee gave a speech at Rātana on behalf of tangata whenua in which he insulted and criticised the government. The speech clearly violated the principle of a neutral public service, and StatsNZ started an investigation. Part of that was getting an external consultant to examine ...
Renting for life: Shared ownership initiatives are unlikely to slow the slide in home ownership by much. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The top six things I’ve noted around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy today are:A Deloittereport for Westpac has projected Aotearoa’s home-ownership rate will ...
You're broken down and tiredOf living life on a merry go roundAnd you can't find the fighterBut I see it in you so we gonna walk it outAnd move mountainsWe gonna walk it outAnd move mountainsAnd I'll rise upI'll rise like the dayI'll rise upI'll rise unafraidI'll rise upAnd I'll ...
There’s been a change in Myers Park. Down the steps from St. Kevin’s Arcade, past the grassy slopes, the children’s playground, the benches and that goat statue, there has been a transformation. The underpass for Mayoral Drive has gone from a barren, grey, concrete tunnel, to a place that thrums ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections Global society may have finally slammed on the brakes for climate-warming pollution released by human fossil fuel combustion. According to the Carbon Monitor Project, the total global climate pollution released between February and May 2024 declined slightly from the amount released during the same ...
TL;DR: My pick of the top six links elsewhere around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day or so to 7:00 am on Tuesday, July 23 are:Deep Dive: Penlink: where tolling rhetoric meets reality BusinessDesk-$$$’sOliver LewisScoop:Te Pūkenga plans for regional polytechs leak out ...
TL;DR: As of 6:00 am on Tuesday, July 23, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:Health: Shane Reti announcedthe Board of Te Whatu Ora-Health New Zealand was being replaced with Commissioner Lester Levy ...
Health NZ warned the Government at the end of March that it was running over Budget. But the reasons it gave were very different to those offered by the Prime Minister yesterday. Prime Minister Christopher Luxon blamed the “botched merger” of the 20 District Health Boards (DHBs) to create Health ...
Long ReadKey Summary: Although National increased the health budget by $1.4 billion in May, they used an old funding model to project health system costs, and never bothered to update their pre-election numbers. They were told during the Health Select Committees earlier in the year their budget amount was deficient, ...
As a momentous, historic weekend in US politics unfolded, analysts and commentators grasped for precedents and comparisons to help explain the significance and power of the choice Joe Biden had made. The 46th president had swept the Democratic party’s primaries but just over 100 days from the election had chosen ...
TL;DR: I’m casting around for new ideas and ways of thinking about Aotearoa’s political economy to find a few solutions to our cascading and self-reinforcing housing, poverty and climate crises.Associate Professor runs an online masters degree in the economics of sustainability at Torrens University in Australia and is organising ...
The Finance and Expenditure Committee has reported back on National's Local Government (Water Services Preliminary Arrangements) Bill. The bill sets up water for privatisation, and was introduced under urgency, then rammed through select committee with no time even for local councils to make a proper submission. Naturally, national's select committee ...
Some years ago, I bought a book at Dunedin’s Regent Booksale for $1.50. As one does. Vandrad the Viking (1898), by J. Storer Clouston, is an obscure book these days – I cannot find a proper online review – but soon it was sitting on my shelf, gathering dust alongside ...
History is not on the side of the centre-left, when Democratic presidents fall behind in the polls and choose not to run for re-election. On both previous occasions in the past 75 years (Harry Truman in 1952, Lyndon Johnson in 1968) the Democrats proceeded to then lose the White House ...
This is a free articleCoverageThis morning, US President Joe Biden announced his withdrawal from the Presidential race. And that is genuinely newsworthy. Thanks for your service, President Biden, and all the best to you and yours.However, the media in New Zealand, particularly the 1News nightly bulletin, has been breathlessly covering ...
A homeless person’s camp beside a blocked-off slipped damage walkway in Freeman’s Bay: we are chasing our tail on our worsening and inter-related housing, poverty and climate crises. Photo: Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The top six things I’ve noted around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy ...
What has happened to it all?Crazy, some'd sayWhere is the life that I recognise?(Gone away)But I won't cry for yesterdayThere's an ordinary worldSomehow I have to findAnd as I try to make my wayTo the ordinary worldYesterday morning began as many others - what to write about today? I began ...
TL;DR: My pick of the top six links elsewhere around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day or so to 7:00 am on Monday, July 22 are:Today’s Must Read: Father and son live in a tent, and have done for four years, in a million ...
TL;DR: As of 7:00 am on Monday, July 22, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:US President Joe Biden announced via X this morning he would not stand for a second term.Multinational professional services firm ...
A listing of 32 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, July 14, 2024 thru Sat, July 20, 2024. Story of the week As reflected by preponderance of coverage, our Story of the Week is Project 2025. Until now traveling ...
This weekend, a friend pointed out someone who said they’d like to read my posts, but didn’t want to pay. And my first reaction was sympathy.I’ve already told folks that if they can’t comfortably subscribe, and would like to read, I’d be happy to offer free subscriptions. I don’t want ...
National: The Party of ‘Law and Order’ IntroductionThis weekend, the Government formally kicked off one of their flagship policy programs: a military style boot camp that New Zealand has experimented with over the past 50 years. Cartoon credit: Guy BodyIt’s very popular with the National Party’s Law and Orderimage, ...
Day one of the solo leg of my long journey home begins with my favourite sound: footfalls in an empty street. 5.00 am and it’s already light and already too warm, almost.If I can make the train that leaves Budapest later this hour I could be in Belgrade by nightfall; ...
Do you remember Y2K, the threat that hung over humanity in the closing days of the twentieth century? Horror scenarios of planes falling from the sky, electronic payments failing and ATMs refusing to dispense cash. As for your VCR following instructions and recording your favourite show - forget about it.All ...
Climate Change Minister Simon Watts being questioned by The Kākā’s Bernard Hickey.TL;DR: My top six things to note around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the week to July 20 were:1. A strategy that fails Zero Carbon Act & Paris targetsThe National-ACT-NZ First Coalition Government finally unveiled ...
Summary:As New Zealand loses at least 12 leaders in the public service space of health, climate, and pharmaceuticals, this month alone, directly in response to the Government’s policies and budget choices, what lies ahead may be darker than it appears. Tui examines some of those departures and draws a long ...
The Minister of Housing’s ambition is to reduce markedly the ratio of house prices to household incomes. If his strategy works it would transform the housing market, dramatically changing the prospects of housing as an investment.Leaving aside the Minister’s metaphor of ‘flooding the market’ I do not see how the ...
As previously noted, my historical fantasy piece, set in the fifth-century Mediterranean, was accepted for a Pirate Horror anthology, only for the anthology to later fall through. But in a good bit of news, it turned out that the story could indeed be re-marketed as sword and sorcery. As of ...
An employee of tobacco company Philip Morris International demonstrates a heated tobacco device. Photo: Getty ImagesTL;DR: The top six things I’ve noted around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy on Friday, July 19 are:At a time when the Coalition Government is cutting spending on health, infrastructure, education, housing ...
TL;DR: My pick of the top six links elsewhere around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day or so to 8:30 am on Friday, July 19 are:Scoop: NZ First Minister Casey Costello orders 50% cut to excise tax on heated tobacco products. The minister has ...
Kia ora, it’s time for another Friday roundup, in which we pull together some of the links and stories that caught our eye this week. Feel free to add more in the comments! Our header image this week shows a foggy day in Auckland town, captured by Patrick Reynolds. ...
TL;DR : Here’s the top six items climate news for Aotearoa this week, as selected by Bernard Hickey and The Kākā’s climate correspondent Cathrine Dyer. A discussion recorded yesterday is in the video above and the audio of that sent onto the podcast feed.The Government released its draft Emissions Reduction ...
Save some money, get rich and old, bring it back to Tobacco Road.Bring that dynamite and a crane, blow it up, start all over again.Roll up. Roll up. Or tailor made, if you prefer...Whether you’re selling ciggies, digging for gold, catching dolphins in your nets, or encouraging folks to flutter ...
Waiting In The Wings:For truly, if Trump is America’s un-assassinated Caesar, then J.D. Vance is America’s Octavian, the Republic’s youthful undertaker – and its first Emperor.DONALD TRUMP’S SELECTION of James D. Vance as his running-mate bodes ill for the American republic. A fervent supporter of Viktor Orban, the “illiberal” prime ...
TL;DR: As of 6:00 am on Friday, July 19, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:The PSAannounced the Employment Relations Authority (ERA) had ruled in the PSA’s favour in its case against the Ministry ...
Te Rangi e tu nei (The sky above us) Te Papa e takoto nei (The land beneath us) Tatou katoa te hunga ora (To us all the living) Tena koutou katoa (Greetings) ...
A late change to charter school legislation will cheat educators out of fair pay and negotiating power proving charter schools are just a vehicle to make profit out of our education system. ...
In 2004 te iwi Māori rallied against the Crown’s attempt to confiscate our coastlines and moana with the Foreshore and Seabed Act. This led to the largest hīkoi of a generation and the birth of Te Pāti Māori. 20 years later, history is repeating itself. Today the government has announced ...
It has been five and a half years since the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care was established to investigate the abuse of children, young people, and vulnerable adults within state and faith-based institutions. Yesterday, the final report - Whanaketia through pain and trauma, from darkness to light ...
The Green Party is calling on the Government to take action off the back of the International Court of Justice ruling on Israel’s illegal occupation of Palestine. ...
On Friday the International Court of Justice reaffirmed what Palestinian’s have been telling us for decades: that the occupation and colonisation of Palestinian lands by Israel is illegal and must end immediately. They also called for reparations for Palestinian’s who have lived under Israeli occupation since it began in 1967. ...
Labour calls on the Government to act after the International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruled that Israel’s occupation of Palestinian Territories is illegal. ...
The 53.7 percent rise in benefit sanctions over the last year is more proof of this Government’s disdain for our communities most in need of support. ...
Aotearoa could be a country where every child grows up feeling safe, loved and with a sense of belonging in their whānau and community. But for some of our children, this is far from reality. Instead, they are trapped in a maze of intergenerational harm that they can’t escape on ...
Te Pāti Māori are calling for David Seymour to resign as Associate Health Minister in response to his call for Pharmac to ignore the Treaty of Waitangi. “This announcement is just another example of the government’s anti-Tiriti, anti-Māori agenda.” Said Co-leader and spokesperson for health, Debbie Ngarewa-Packer. “Seymour thinks it ...
The soaring price of renting is driving the rise of inflation in this country - with latest figures from Stats NZ showing rents are up 4.8 per cent on average while annual inflation is at 3.3 per cent. ...
National’s Emissions Reduction Plan will take New Zealand further from the economy we need to ensure the next generation has a stable climate and secure livelihoods. ...
Following consultation with named parties and thorough consideration of privacy interests, the Green Party is in a position to release the Executive Summary of the final report from the independent investigation into Darleen Tana. ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon should be asking serious questions of his Minister for Resources Shane Jones now it’s been revealed he misled the public about a dinner with mining companies that he didn’t declare and said wasn’t pre-arranged. ...
Te Pāti Māori have submitted to the Justice Select Committee against the Sentencing (Reinstating Three Strikes) Amendment Bill. The bill will further entrench racism in our justice system and fails to focus on rehabilitation. “Reinstating Three Strikes will empower a systematically racist system and exacerbate the overrepresentation of Māori in ...
The Transport and Infrastructure Committee is set to make a determination on the Residential Tenancies Amendment (RTA) Bill in the coming weeks. “This legislation will give landlords the power to kick our whānau out onto the street for no reason” said Housing spokesperson, Mariameno Kapa-Kingi. “Their solution to the housing ...
“National’s campaign was about tackling crime and the best they can do is a two-year long Ministerial Advisory Group,” Labour justice spokesperson Duncan Webb said. ...
“There are more examples of charter schools failing their students than there are success stories. The coalition Government is driving to dismantle our public school system and instead promote a privatised, competitive structure that puts profits before kids,” Jan Tinetti said. ...
“This government is choosing to deliberately mislead and withhold information, keeping our people in the dark about this government’s agenda and the future of our mokopuna,” said co-leader and spokesperson for Health, Debbie Ngarewa-Packer. The call comes after the demand from the Chief Ombudsman that Associate Minister of Health, Casey ...
“Today’s climate announcement by Simon Watts makes clear the National Government is simply paying lip service to meeting its climate change targets,” Megan Woods said. ...
National is choosing to make life harder for workers by taking away the rights our communities have fought hard for. Here's how they’re taking workers backwards. ...
Australia, Canada and New Zealand today issued the following statement on the need for an urgent ceasefire in Gaza and the risk of expanded conflict between Hizballah and Israel. The situation in Gaza is catastrophic. The human suffering is unacceptable. It cannot continue. We remain unequivocal in our condemnation of ...
Attorney-General Judith Collins today reminded all State and faith-based institutions of their legal obligation to preserve records relevant to the safety and wellbeing of those in its care. “The Abuse in Care Inquiry’s report has found cases where records of the most vulnerable people in State and faith‑based institutions were ...
Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden says the Government’s online safety website for children and young people has reached one million page views. “It is great to see so many young people and their families accessing the site Keep It Real Online to learn how to stay safe online, and manage ...
Tēnā tātou katoa, Ngā mihi te rangi, ngā mihi te whenua, ngā mihi ki a koutou, kia ora mai koutou. Thank you for the opportunity to be here and the invitation to speak at this 50th anniversary conference. I acknowledge all those who have gone before us and paved the ...
New Zealand’s payroll providers have successfully prepared to ensure 3.5 million individuals will, from Wednesday next week, be able to keep more of what they earn each pay, says Finance Minister Nicola Willis and Revenue Minister Simon Watts. “The Government's tax policy changes are legally effective from Wednesday. Delivering this tax ...
An experimental vineyard which will help futureproof the wine sector has been opened in Blenheim by Associate Regional Development Minister Mark Patterson. The covered vineyard, based at the New Zealand Wine Centre – Te Pokapū Wāina o Aotearoa, enables controlled environmental conditions. “The research that will be produced at the Experimental ...
The Coalition Government has confirmed the indicative regional breakdown of North Island Weather Event (NIWE) funding for state highway recovery projects funded through Budget 2024, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Regions in the North Island suffered extensive and devastating damage from Cyclone Gabrielle and the 2023 Auckland Anniversary Floods, and ...
Indonesia’s Foreign Minister, Retno Marsudi, will visit New Zealand next week, Foreign Minister Winston Peters has announced. “Indonesia is important to New Zealand’s security and economic interests and is our closest South East Asian neighbour,” says Mr Peters, who is currently in Laos to engage with South East Asian partners. ...
He aha te kai a te rangatira? He kōrero, he kōrero, he kōrero. The government has reaffirmed its commitment to supporting the aspirations of Ngāti Maniapoto, Minister for Māori Development Tama Potaka says. “My thanks to Te Nehenehenui Trust – Ngāti Maniapoto for bringing their important kōrero to a ministerial ...
Transport Minister Simeon Brown has thanked outgoing Chair of the Civil Aviation Authority, Janice Fredric, for her service to the board.“I have received Ms Fredric’s resignation from the role of Chair of the Civil Aviation Authority,” Mr Brown says.“On behalf of the Government, I want to thank Ms Fredric for ...
The Government is proposing legislation to overturn a Court of Appeal decision and amend the Marine and Coastal Area Act in order to restore Parliament’s test for Customary Marine Title, Treaty Negotiations Minister Paul Goldsmith says. “Section 58 required an applicant group to prove they have exclusively used and occupied ...
Regulation Minister David Seymour says that opposition parties have united in bad faith, opposing what they claim are ‘dangerous changes’ to the Early Childhood Education sector, despite no changes even being proposed yet. “Issues with affordability and availability of early childhood education, and the complexity of its regulation, has led ...
After receiving more than 740 submissions in the first 20 days, Regulation Minister David Seymour is asking the Ministry for Regulation to extend engagement on the early childhood education regulation review by an extra two weeks. “The level of interest has been very high, and from the conversations I’ve been ...
The Coalition Government is investing $802.9 million into the Wairarapa and Manawatū rail lines as part of a funding agreement with the NZ Transport Agency (NZTA), KiwiRail, and the Greater Wellington and Horizons Regional Councils to deliver more reliable services for commuters in the lower North Island, Transport Minister Simeon ...
Local Government Minister Simeon Brown has announced his intention to appoint a Crown Manager to both Hawke’s Bay Regional and Wairoa District Councils to speed up the delivery of flood protection work in Wairoa."Recent severe weather events in Wairoa this year, combined with damage from Cyclone Gabrielle in 2023 have ...
Mr Speaker, this is a day that many New Zealanders who were abused in State care never thought would come. It’s the day that this Parliament accepts, with deep sorrow and regret, the Report of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care. At the heart of this report are the ...
For the first time, the Government is formally acknowledging some children and young people at Lake Alice Psychiatric Hospital experienced torture. The final report of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in State and Faith-based Care “Whanaketia – through pain and trauma, from darkness to light,” was tabled in Parliament ...
The Government has acknowledged the nearly 2,400 courageous survivors who shared their experiences during the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Historical Abuse in State and Faith-Based Care. The final report from the largest and most complex public inquiry ever held in New Zealand, the Royal Commission Inquiry “Whanaketia – through ...
With a week to go before hard-working New Zealanders see personal income tax relief for the first time in fourteen years, 513,000 people have used the Budget tax calculator to see how much they will benefit, says Finance Minister Nicola Willis. “Tax relief is long overdue. From next Wednesday, personal income ...
Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Brooke van Velden says a bill that has passed its first reading will improve parental leave settings and give non-biological parents more flexibility as primary carer for their child. The Regulatory Systems Amendment Bill (No3), passed its first reading this morning. “It includes a change ...
Two Bills designed to improve regulation and make it easier to do business have passed their first reading in Parliament, says Economic Development Minister Melissa Lee. The Regulatory Systems (Economic Development) Amendment Bill and Regulatory Systems (Immigration and Workforce) Amendment Bill make key changes to legislation administered by the Ministry ...
New legislation paves the way for greater competition in sectors such as banking and electricity, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly says. “Competitive markets boost productivity, create employment opportunities and lift living standards. To support competition, we need good quality regulation but, unfortunately, a recent OECD report ranked New ...
Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden says lotteries for charitable purposes, such as those run by the Heart Foundation, Coastguard NZ, and local hospices, will soon be allowed to operate online permanently. “Under current laws, these fundraising lotteries are only allowed to operate online until October 2024, after which ...
The Coalition Government is accelerating work on the new four-lane expressway between Auckland and Whangārei as part of its Roads of National Significance programme, with an accelerated delivery model to deliver this project faster and more efficiently, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “For too long, the lack of resilient transport connections ...
Sir Don McKinnon will travel to Viet Nam this week as a Special Envoy of the Government, Foreign Minister Winston Peters has announced. “It is important that the Government give due recognition to the significant contributions that General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong made to New Zealand-Viet Nam relations,” Mr ...
Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden says newly appointed Commissioner, Grant Illingworth KC, will help deliver the report for the first phase of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into COVID-19 Lessons, due on 28 November 2024. “I am pleased to announce that Mr Illingworth will commence his appointment as ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters travels to Laos this week to participate in a series of Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)-led Ministerial meetings in Vientiane. “ASEAN plays an important role in supporting a peaceful, stable and prosperous Indo-Pacific,” Mr Peters says. “This will be our third visit to ...
Construction of a new mental health facility at Te Nikau Grey Hospital in Greymouth is today one step closer, Mental Health Minister Matt Doocey says. “This $27 million facility shows this Government is delivering on its promise to boost mental health care and improve front line services,” Mr Doocey says. ...
New Zealand is committing nearly $50 million to a package supporting sustainable Pacific fisheries development over the next four years, Foreign Minister Winston Peters and Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones announced today. “This support consisting of a range of initiatives demonstrates New Zealand’s commitment to assisting our Pacific partners ...
Associate Education Minister David Seymour says proposed changes to the Education and Training Amendment Bill will ensure charter schools have more flexibility to negotiate employment agreements and are equipped with the right teaching resources. “Cabinet has agreed to progress an amendment which means unions will not be able to initiate ...
In response to serious concerns around oversight, overspend and a significant deterioration in financial outlook, the Board of Health New Zealand will be replaced with a Commissioner, Health Minister Dr Shane Reti announced today. “The previous government’s botched health reforms have created significant financial challenges at Health NZ that, without ...
Minister for Space and Science, Innovation and Technology Judith Collins will travel to Adelaide tomorrow for space and science engagements, including speaking at the Australian Space Forum. While there she will also have meetings and visits with a focus on space, biotechnology and innovation. “New Zealand has a thriving space ...
Climate Change Minister Simon Watts will travel to China on Saturday to attend the Ministerial on Climate Action meeting held in Wuhan. “Attending the Ministerial on Climate Action is an opportunity to advocate for New Zealand climate priorities and engage with our key partners on climate action,” Mr Watts says. ...
Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones is travelling to the Solomon Islands tomorrow for meetings with his counterparts from around the Pacific supporting collective management of the region’s fisheries. The 23rd Pacific Islands Forum Fisheries Committee and the 5th Regional Fisheries Ministers’ Meeting in Honiara from 23 to 26 July ...
The Government today launched the Military Style Academy Pilot at Te Au rere a te Tonga Youth Justice residence in Palmerston North, an important part of the Government’s plan to crackdown on youth crime and getting youth offenders back on track, Minister for Children, Karen Chhour said today. “On the ...
The Government has welcomed news the NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) has begun work to replace nine priority bridges across the country to ensure our state highway network remains resilient, reliable, and efficient for road users, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says.“Increasing productivity and economic growth is a key priority for the ...
Acting Prime Minister David Seymour has been in contact throughout the evening with senior officials who have coordinated a whole of government response to the global IT outage and can provide an update. The Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet has designated the National Emergency Management Agency as the ...
New Zealand and Japan will continue to step up their shared engagement with the Pacific, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says. “New Zealand and Japan have a strong, shared interest in a free, open and stable Pacific Islands region,” Mr Peters says. “We are pleased to be finding more ways ...
New developments in the heart of North Island forestry country will reinvigorate their communities and boost economic development, Regional Development Minister Shane Jones says. Mr Jones visited Kaingaroa and Kawerau in Bay of Plenty today to open a landmark community centre in the former and a new connecting road in ...
President Adeang, fellow Ministers, honourable Diet Member Horii, Ambassadors, distinguished guests. Minasama, konnichiwa, and good afternoon, everyone. Distinguished guests, it’s a pleasure to be here with you today to talk about New Zealand’s foreign policy reset, the reasons for it, the values that underpin it, and how it ...
Last summer when Matairangi burned, Ginny and Tom stood at the window of their lounge, watching kākā shoot skyward from the burning trees. From the distance, they looked to Ginny like pages torn from books and thrown into a bonfire. It was Tom, voice tight, who told her it was ...
Opinion: The Canadian short story writer Alice Munro – winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2013 – died in May at the age of 92. Her work was about “the damage people inflict on one another in the name of love”, Deborah Treisman wrote in the New Yorker. ...
This month marks two years since the most powerful telescope ever built sent its first pictures back to earth. From its lofty vantage point, beyond the moon in orbit around the sun, the James Webb Space Telescope was tuned to observe the first stars and galaxies being born soon after ...
Comment: After Climate Change Minister Simon Watts’ preview several weeks ago, I had some optimism about the Government’s emissions reduction plan. Now I’ve read the discussion document, that hope has been dashed. How can the Government propose a plan that wants to take New Zealand taxpayers’ hard-earned money, and spend ...
Christopher Luxon: hurdles The little man from National jumps hurdles in his sleep. He’s quite good at it in his dreams and even though the reality doesn’t quite match up you have to give him credit for getting up every morning and crashing into the very first hurdle of the ...
Comment: It was a good two hours into the conversation when Tyrone Marks raised the most basic of questions when I first spoke to him in 2017. “They didn’t explain the things they did to me. They never told me why. And they still haven’t. There’s no explanation for it. ...
Madeleine Chapman rounds out Death Week on The Spinoff with a final recommendation. You can read all of our Death Week coverage here. Nothing forces you to reflect on your life and relationships quite like proximity to death. For those whose nearest and dearest have died, there are reasonably obvious ...
Whitney Greene takes us through her life in television, including the TV character she’d like to plan a funeral for and her cow lung catastrophe on The Traitors NZ. “If the phone rings, I have to answer it,” Whitney Greene from The Traitors NZ warns as we begin our My ...
Maddie Ballard reviews the debut essay collection of Pōneke writer Flora Feltham.In ‘The Raw Material’, the longest essay in Flora Feltham’s dazzling debut collection, the author heads out for a run after hours of weaving and sees the world turn to textile. “Pounding along the Parade, I saw the ...
Andy Christiansen, one half of the experimental rock-pop duo TRiPS, shares the tunes inspiring the band’s perfect weekend and new release. “Good speakers, good food, good music, no distractions”: that’s all you need to enjoy the psychedelic stylings of TRiPS, a new band formed by Fly My Pretties’ Barnaby Weir ...
Celebrating our quadrennial opportunity to become experts in a bunch of sports we never normally watch.The games of the XXXIII Olympiad are upon us. Paris will host this year’s showcase of sporting and athletic prowess, which means some late-night and early-morning viewing for us in Aotearoa.But what sports ...
The photograph is striking and beautiful, but also disturbing – a reminder that my love for John was often entangled in shame.The Sunday Essay is made possible thanks to the support of Creative New Zealand.In the spring of 1980, in Dunedin, shortly before his death, someone took a photograph ...
Get to know Babushka, our latest Dog of the Month. This feature was offered as a reward during our What’s Eating Aotearoa PledgeMe campaign. Thank you to Babu’s humans, Jo and Isabel, for their support. Dog name: Babushka (Babu for short) Age: 2Breed: Border Collie X poodleIf rescued, ...
Pacific Media Watch A Lebanese photojournalist who was severely wounded during an Israeli air strike in south Lebanon carried the Olympic torch in Paris this week in honour of her peers who have been wounded and killed in the field — especially in Gaza and Lebanon. Christina Assi of Agence ...
The first report in a five-part web series focused on the 15th Triennial Conference of Pacific Women taking place in the Marshall Islands this week.SPECIAL REPORT:By Netani Rika in Majuro Women continue to fight for justice 70 years after the first nuclear tests by the United States caused ...
Christopher Luxon has joined with Australia and Canada's leaders in voicing support for US President Joe Biden's ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra The 2022 election brought the “teal wave” into parliament. The next election will test whether teals, who occupy what were Liberal seats, and other independents can maintain their momentum. Joining us on the Podcast ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ian Musgrave, Senior lecturer in Pharmacology, University of Adelaide Pixavri/Shutterstock A major Federal Court class action has been dismissed this week after Justice Michael Lee ruled there was not enough evidence to prove the weedkiller Roundup causes cancer. Plaintiff Kelvin ...
In The Week in Politics: politicians have to decide what to do about child abuse, Health NZ is booked in for major surgery and Darleen Tana returns. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Clare Corbould, Associate Professor, Contemporary Histories Research Group, Deakin University Mainstream media are surprisingly muted at the prospect of the world’s most powerful nation being led for the first time by a woman – specifically a woman of colour, Vice President Kamala ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Rebecca Bennett, PhD Student, Associate Research Fellow, Deakin University Last week, a drone delivery company called Wing (owned by Google’s parent company, Alphabet) started operating in Melbourne. Some 250,000 residents in parts of the city’s eastern suburbs can now order food from ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jonathan Foo, Lecturer, Physiotherapy, Monash University pikselstock/Shutterstock In the next 40 years in Australia, it’s predicted the number of Australians aged 65 and over will more than double, while the number of people aged 85 and over will more than triple. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Katrina Grant, Research Associate, Power Institute for Arts and Visual Culture, University of Sydney Jonas Åkerström’s 1790 work, Session of the Accademia dell’Arcadia on August 17 1788.Nationalmuseum/Cecilia Heisser Ever wondered whether you’d have a better chance at winning an Olympic gold ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Alexandra Jones, Program Lead, Food Governance, George Institute for Global Health wavebreakmedia/Shutterstock On Thursday, Australian and New Zealand food ministers at state, federal and national levels met to thrash out what’s next for health star ratings on packaged foods. Now, after ...
The Abuse in Care report found many Pacific survivors lost their connections to their culture and language, resulting in trauma that has been carried from generation to generation. ...
In the regulatory review, ECC intends to suggest that ERO focus on curriculum delivery reviews rather than the Ministry, because it’s not efficient or effective to have two agencies with radically different approaches climbing over each other. ...
Te Rūnanga Nui o Ngā Kura Kaupapa Māori invites the current government to work in partnership with them to develop a pathway forward, including the development of a parallel pathway and meaningful policy and strategy for Kura Kaupapa Māori ...
If you haven’t started watching yet, Tara Ward begs you to reconsider. This is an excerpt from our weekly pop culture newsletter Rec Room. Sign up here. In the world of New Zealand reality television, we have many gems in our crown. There’s the delicious second season of the Celebrity Treasure ...
A new poem by Fiona Kidman. The clothes of the dead I did not keep my mother’s furry red beret for long nor the stringy scarves that adorned the necks of my aunts, although I have kept tag ends of gold, the rings and trinkets they wore, the brooches no ...
The government’s announcement that it will re-open the foreshore and seabed controversy by changing the rules on recognising centuries-old Māori customary title for a third time goes against the rule of law and New Zealand values,” Mr Tipa says. ...
The only published and available best-selling indie book chart in New Zealand is the top 10 sales list recorded every week at Unity Books’ stores in High St, Auckland, and Willis St, Wellington.AUCKLAND1 Lioness by Emily Perkins (Bloomsbury, $25) Roarrrr! Perkins’ brilliant, award-winning, Marian-Keyes anointed, darkly funny, long ...
The 2004 Act vested ownership of the foreshore and seabed in the Crown, extinguishing any Māori claims to ownership and causing widespread outrage and protests among Māori communities. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Antje Deckert, Associate Professor (Criminology), Auckland University of Technology Getty Images Despite the connection between institutional harm and gang membership made clear in this week’s mammoth royal commission abuse-in care report, the government seems unlikely to soften its “get tough on ...
From Lewis Clareburt in the swimming to the start of the rowing – the first seven days of Paris 2024 promise to be big for New Zealand. There are few events that bring the country together quite like an Olympic Games. Nothing quite matches the excitement of getting up in ...
Groundbreaking local science just showed up in the most surprising of places: the season finale of The Kardashians. In the season five finale of The Kardashians last night, several members of the family gathered together in one of their signature empty, cream-coloured rooms to hear test results that had been ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Amin Saikal, Emeritus professor of Middle Eastern and Central Asian Studies, Australian National University The Middle East is on the brink of a possibly devastating regional war, with hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah reaching an extremely dangerous level. Washington has engaged in ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Laura Elizabeth Eades, Rheumatologist, Monash University Lupus is an inflammatory autoimmune illness, where the body’s immune system mistakenly attacks itself. Lupus can affect virtually any part of the body, although it most commonly affects the skin, joints and kidneys. The symptoms ...
A law firm that specialises in working with survivors of abuse in State care is disappointed that the Government fails to recognise that its boot camps can be directly compared to previous boot camps from the 1990s and 2000s. ...
Dying is a natural part of life, like updating your Wof or seeing your hairdresser, but without the word-of-mouth recs that help guarantee a good service. What if we changed that? Dying Reviews received by The Spinoff have had the names of organisations redacted while Hospice NZ collects further data. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jonti Horner, Professor (Astrophysics), University of Southern Queensland Mike Lewinski/Flickr, CC BY On any clear night, if you gaze skywards long enough, chances are you’ll see a meteor streaking through the sky. Some nights, however, are better than others. At ...
Despite having no bars or other designated spaces for lesbians, Auckland boasts a small but mighty lesbian museum. So how did it get here? The past 18 months has brought increasing hostility towards the queer community across Aotearoa. Kellie-Jay Keen-Minshull’s anti-trans rally in Tamaki Makaurau last March led to a ...
Poneke Antifascist Coalition has invited Wellingtonians to stand in solidarity with the Kanak people at 12pm today outside the French Embassy in Wellington. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Peter Layton, Visiting Fellow, Strategic Studies, Griffith University Drones are the signature technology of the Ukraine war. A few miniature aircraft designs were used in the war’s early days, but an incredible array of drones have now evolved. There are different types, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Mark Slee, Associate Professor, Clinical Academic Neurologist, Flinders University Francisco Gonzelez/Unsplash Migraine is many things, but one thing it’s not is “just a headache”. “Migraine” comes from the Greek word “hemicrania”, referring to the common experience of migraine being predominantly ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Lee White, Senior Lecturer and Horizon Fellow, School of Social and Political Sciences, University of Sydney Australia was slow to introduce minimum building standards for energy efficiency. The Nationwide House Energy Rating Scheme (NatHERS) only came into force in 2003. Older homes ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Steven Sherwood, Professor of Atmospheric Sciences, Climate Change Research Centre, UNSW Sydney The past century of human-induced warming has increased rainfall variability over 75% of the Earth’s land area – particularly over Australia, Europe and eastern North America, new research shows. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Tony Heynen, Program Coordinator, Sustainable Energy, The University of Queensland A temporary stadium in the Champ-de-Mars, ParisEkaterina Pokrovsky/Shutterstock As Paris prepares to host the Olympic and Paralympic Games, the sustainability of the event is coming under scrutiny. The organisers have promoted ...
A night of karaoke and community in a pub that feels like a memory. You’d barely even notice it, unless you knew to look. Tucked away behind a liquor store on busy Constable Street is the capital’s last great pub. Newtown Sports Bar is an emblem of the pub culture ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ian Wright, Professor in Marine Geology, University of Canterbury Louise Corcoran/Getty Images The decline in the number of doctoral candidates at New Zealand universities is a worrying sign for the country’s effort to build a knowledge-based economy. Aotearoa New Zealand’s ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Laurie Berg, Associate Professor, University of Technology Sydney defotoberg/Shutterstock Migrant worker exploitation is entrenched in workplaces across Australia. Tragically, a deep fear of immigration consequences means most unlawful employer conduct goes unreported. On Wednesday, however, the government officially launched a ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Vaughan Cruickshank, Senior Lecturer in Health and Physical Education, University of Tasmania Paris is about to host its third summer Olympics. While we don’t yet know what the legacy of this year’s games will be, let’s take the opportunity to reflect on ...
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Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Keith Rathbone, Senior Lecturer, Modern European History and Sports History, Macquarie University Two high-profile assaults on Australians in Paris have raised concerns about security ahead of the Olympic Games. On Saturday evening, a young woman was allegedly sexually assaulted by a ...
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It’s the deadliest fictional town in the country, but which death has been the most bonkers? Alex Casey looks back at 10 seasons of The Brokenwood Mysteries to find out. Warning: The following ranking story contains famous New Zealand actors appearing to be dead (not alive). The Spinoff has been ...
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BNZ Bank economist Tony Alexander, shoring himself up with a bank-selected sample of 500 people, decides that most people really like the housing crisis because high prices make people rich. In case you forget about where he stands on the spectrum, here’s what he has to say about the current housing stories:
“No bemoaning the winners and losers. No whinging about how the world should be fairies and fluffy pink unicorns.”
I’ve always wondered why you found fairies coming out from under bridges and fluffy pink unicorns coming out of forests: it’s where they have to sleep.
http://www.odt.co.nz/news/business/385876/house-price-rise-pleases-many
Mr Alexander outlined 18 things that were happening in the country’s housing market including:
– Strong population growth was exceeding housing supply;
– interest rates were at a record low; people were living longer;
– older people were splitting up and needing two houses;
– the population was ageing, requiring more houses as bedrooms sat empty;
– council rules made building a new house expensive;
– Kiwis like expensive bespoke houses rather than little boxes on a hillsides;
– Kiwis seemed to suck at building houses which passed inspections and did not leak;
– there was a shortage of skilled trades people needed to build extra houses;
– few people seriously believed the Government and the Reserve Bank had the tools to flatten house prices, let alone cause them to correct to more “affordable” levels;
– and Auckland was changing from looking like many Invercargills in one place to being a globally connected world city.
And we wonder why four Australian banks are running New Zealand’s housing policy.
So he blames ‘kiwis’ for leaky homes rather than the national party and its headless deregulation.
I counted 4 blocks of apartments in 3 streets close to where I stayed in just one akl inner suburb a few months back. All being repaired, probably ineffectively, keeping tradies from new builds.
The blighted future.
We dont have the tradies to build, the land, geez, Auckland is an isthmus its boaties and pier builders we need. Along with public transit from hunty to s.auckland, hill suburbs to feed employers workers. It aint about Auckland they’ve taken themselves off the table.
Was talking to a national voter recently and they were convinced that it was the green influence on the building trade that had I assume stopped the proper treatment of timber. There wasn’t much point arguing, but I was definitely thinking what the hell.
ive seen the same comment online – the claim that leaky homes was due to the greens forcing builders to use untreated pine for framing
who knew what power the greens wielded, to force such compliance when not even in govt
no need to argue – just ask how that happened – get them to explain it
Not very sustainable, and not in keeping with what Green Party stands for, I would be surprised if this were true?
Alexander speaks for all the simple-minded or callous bastards out there.
+1 they can all go to hell
And from Alexander’s Flagtime Band above –
That’s what it’s all about for the leaders and elites. So the dickheads can strut around with their chests out being all urbane and soofisticated, showing off how modern and upmarket NZ is. Trying to have the lifestyle of an advanced developed society that joined the industrial age, and then moved into the electronic age, while we down here are moving back to the emerald jewel of grass and agriculture that my business tutor said has never in the world given a first world standard of living.
But flashy ostentatious expenditure is all the NZ nobs care about. They move towards an Irish solution where the greedy, callous English speaking overlords, denied the right of the native Irish citizens to own their land and to grow their own food. The British only thought hard when having to find a believable excuse for the country people starving, like paupers.
And we’ve got some NZs cut from the same cloth here. We are globally connected by electronics that serve some people well, but also that are used to degrade other people’s lives and humanity.
A report on the ongoing battle between progressive reform and theocratic reaction in the Kingdom of Tonga: http://eyecontactsite.com/2016/06/art-in-a-weimar-kingdom
Revolution in the Catholic Church?…Time for a Woman Pope!
‘Holy toke: Weed-growing ‘nuns’ defy California town’s cannabis cultivation ban’
https://www.rt.com/viral/345618-california-nuns-cannabis-cultivation/
…“This ban does not apply to us and so we’ve been operating straight through it,” they told RT.
Sister Darcey and Sister Kate have been growing marijuana and creating cannabidiol (CBD)-infused products for three years…
They claim their marijuana has low levels of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) which gives the ‘high’ effect associated with marijuana.
“Our medicine is medicine, and it is non-psychoactive,” they explained. “We’re dealing with what is actually hemp but really we advocate for whole plant legalization.”
However, the ‘nuns’ are not the traditionally religious kind but rather ‘spiritual’.
They follow their own ‘holy trinity’ which includes honoring mother earth, honoring the people through making medicine and healing, and their progressive activism.
The nuns dedicate a portion of their week to “the good fight” for the poor people around them…
In states where medical marijuana is legal, there has been a 25 percent drop in painkiller related deaths, according to a 2015 study by University of Pennsylvania and John Hopkins researchers in JAMA Internal Medicine journal.”
Not sure they can be called part of the Catholic establishment, but this guy is and he wrote a very balanced letter in support of the law change in Iowa.
http://www.catholicsun.org/2016/04/28/iowa-bishop-supports-medical-marijuana-bill-in-letter-to-lawmakers/
As for a women Pope the lst time we had one of those, it did not end well. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pope_Joan
wow I didnt know about Pope Joan
“Ministry of Justice refusing to release _any_ docs relating to long-delay, or lobbying over, anti money-laundering policy. To the Ombudsman!” – Matt Nippert via Twitter
“quick, Collins went to that anti-corruption conference, get her to pop down and explain why this is a bad look.” – Dovil ibid
Shocking, but unsurprising. Collins would have been lobbying for increased money laundering and decreased anti corruption measures!
Very good interview this a.m. on whistleblowers in USA referring to Snowden, but mainly all the others who have been damaged in trying to follow the principles of integrity to the law and fairness of the legal and constitutional system there. On Radionz with Kathryn Ryan.
Photo- The front cover of Mark Hertsgaard’s book Bravehearts: Whistle Blowing In The Age Of Snowden. It features a large photo of Edward Snowden
10:05 The NSA whistleblower protector who blew the whistle himself
John Crane was a senior Defence Department official responsible for protecting whistleblowers at the NSA but he ended up blowing the whistle himself after seeing his colleagues betray the whistleblowers they were supposed to protect. His claims are outlined in a new book – Bravehearts: Whistle Blowing In The Age Of Snowden by Mark Hertsgaard.
http://www.radionz.co.nz/audio/player/201803529
Also your privacy – http://www.radionz.co.nz/audio/player/201803526 13.15m.
Radio NZ today, 7 June 9:25 Sorting your digital footprint before you die
One of the growing existential questions of our time is “what happens to my digital footprint when I die?” With many people doing their banking, insurance and other financial business online as well as engagement on social media platforms, what are the legal protocols for ensuring they are shut down or – if you want – accessible to your loved ones?
A forum set up by Internet New Zealand in Wellington this Thursday will feature experts to answer such questions. The event is being hosted by the Deputy CEO of the Australian Communications Consumer Action Network, Narelle Clark.
Next week –
Listen out on 10:05 am Tuesday 14 June: Luke Williams interview.
Background on the meth drug habit, book Ice Age by Australian author.
Luke Williams was a freelance journalist researching addiction to crystallised methamphetamine (commonly known as crystal meth or ice) when the worst possible thing happened – he became addicted himself. Over the next three months, he was seduced by the drug and descended into psychosis.
He talks to Kathryn Ryan about his recovery from the drug, and his investigation into its history, manufacture and his first hand experience of the effects on users, families and the healthcare system. He’s written a book called Ice Age.
http://scribepublications.com.au/books-authors/books/the-ice-age/.
edited
With the sun streaming through the windows this morning, I’m making cider from the apple juice we pressed from our apples last weekend; Bramley’s Seedling, Kentish Fillbasket, Merton Russett and Belle de Boskoop. Having bottled the previous batch, including a fine perry, I’ve refilled those demijohns and set them a’bubbling on the kitchen table. Now, I’m off to collect fallen hazelnuts from which I’m planning to grow several hundred hazels for planting out in the commons around my village. Have a productive day, all!
Or instead of turning your area into little England, you could plant natives to attract more native birds.
“Little England” – cute.
My forest garden is a combination of indigenous and exotic trees, shrubs, vines, annuals, biennials and perennials, all growing as a constructed-but-naturalistic whole. I’ve kotukutuku, kowhai, tataramoa, kohuhu, tarata, hoheria, horoeka etc. etc. most of which feed the birds at various times of the year, as do the plum, apples, pear and apricot trees, invaders all. Around the town, I’ve guerilla-planted ti kouka, harakeke, toetoe, korokia etc. in significant numbers, especially on the wetland reserve, Te Wai Korari, that I negotiated the purchase of 15 years ago; the ‘flax wetland’ being the most significant on the estuary, with it’s waterways for galaxids, etc. Against the backdrop of all these natives, I’m planting trees that produce fruit and nuts for humans to eat, believing as I do, that it’s important to prepare communities for climate change and food shortages, even though they might not be aware of that probable eventuality. Hazelnuts are good food, the trees make great nesting sites for grey warbler, fantail, tui and bellbird alike. Their branches make good fences also, and are provided free to whomever might want to fashion them into something stock-proof. As is done in Little England.
That deals with Kevin. I feel that you can fend off all comers Robert G.. Arent they puerile.
It shows what an advantage full employment would be as everyone would be too busy doing something that somebody needed or wanted to buy.
And the oldies would be choosing some useful volunteer work from what the community thought needed doing and having less time to make trouble and acidic remarks as I am just doing! I have met some very patronising and acidic remarks from the retired over the years and feel it isn’t paying back or forward to society for the stable safety net we are provided still.
good on you RG .Well done sounds like you are a bonus to your community
you share seeds?
Thanks all. We operate a seed saving network, presently being refreshed but if you want to know more, try: office@sces.org.nz Now though, is cuttings time, as well as getting nuts into the soil (sorry, Kev).
A good performance from James Shaw this morning, talking about cleaning the rivers. Usually someone from the left will be all doom and gloom and worst case scenario in an attempt to “shock” the people into action
Instead Mr Shaw said that the rivers could be saved and then instead of umming and ahhing and trying to minimise the cost he instead agreed it would cost billions
NZers will appreciate that, a good interview for Mr Shaw
Wouldn’t have cost anything, if the NZers had listened to people like Mr Shaw long ago. Mike Joy, whose messages you might describe as “doom and gloom” has been telling the truth for many years now. Do you think NZers have appreciated his efforts?
Its more that Kiwis respond better to positivity then negativity, especially when whats being said doesn’t marry up with their own experiences
As I say I think Mr Shaw did well especially in not prevaricating when it came to the potential costs involved.
I think this type of performance (positive, matter of fact) will be a vote gainer for the Greens
The Greens have been doing positive messages for a long time. Perhaps it’s that Shaw looks like someone you trust that you listen to him differently.
I think PR is using his ‘positive’ comment to focus on the ‘billions needed’ aspect of the issue. I think he’s being duplicitous. I think PR is white anting.
🙂
Nope not at all. If he’d said something like it won’t cost much then whatever he’d said would be ignored because the people of NZ know it’d cost a lot
James Shaw is basically telling NZ what we already know and, if the Greens keep this type of communication up, they’ll be rewarded in the polls
Its good politics from the Greens
The Greens and the left in general (mostly Labour to be fair) are all about how bad this country is in an attempt to change the government, you may well be right but its the first time hes said something, in a way I agree with
Mike Joy, Puckish – heard of him? What are your thoughts about his message and what do you think about the treatment he receives from the likes of Mr Key?
No sorry, I had to google the guy to see who he is
Had to Google the guy, Puckish?
Does your rock have a mail-slot? I’d like to send you some material from the real world.
So how did it come across from Turei?
I switch off when shes talking
Funny in a sad way. PR hasn’t heard of Mike Joy. No joy there.
And Metiria Turei – he switches off when she’s talking.
And this man I feel sure, has the gall to come on here and offer us his views as if they have any relevance or value. Fatheads we have by the thousand in NZ. Or hundreds of thousands. It must have been all that milk and meat. It has built calcium, and…of course that’s the result, boneheads not fatheads. I was wrong before. But I think I’ve nailed it now.
“I switch off when shes talking”
You’ve not heard what she has to say then?
Not planning to comment on her views then, I hope.
So, you’ve not heard Mike Joy’s views, nor Metiria’s.. who do you get your information from? Have you a view on environmental issues? From whom did you gather that, I wonder? (Tempted to say, “Rodney Hide?” but that would be nothing more than provocation and you have become much more interesting to talk to these days).
Right. So it’s not about what is being said, it’s who’s saying it. Shaw looks like someone you would listen to.
More likely he’s taken his morning’s instructions from Paul Henry.
Probably even drinks from the mug
2 billion over 20 years is 100 million a year. Entirely affordable, especially if the top rate of tax goes to 39%.
The work cleaning up the capitalist’s mess will generate employment and income and probably scientific knowledge all of this retained within NZ.
lol
How did I know PR was staying vague for a reason… “cost billions”. 🙄
Who is pushing this National Policy Statement for Urban Development?
(Which will mean, according to PM John Key, that Aucklanders will not have the ‘last say regarding Auckland development?)
Surprise surprise!
The NZ Property Council …
http://www.propertynz.co.nz/media/wysiwyg/pdf/NPS_on_Urban_Development_Submission.pdf
(Pg 7)
“.. The Proposed Auckland Unitary Plan, currently going through the last stages of the Independent Hearing Panel process is a testament to this new approach.
However, as history shows the vocal minority NIMBYs who often employ a build absolutely nothing anywhere near anything approach to their land use planning thinking can compromise the planning process.
Auckland saw this as Auckland councillors in 2013 folded to pressure from these groups in relation to the Notified Proposed Auckland Unitary Plan.
The density targets of the Auckland Plan were compromised by watered down density zoning and a number of overlays in the Notified Proposed Auckland Unitary Plan ..”
What is ‘local’ about local government in this (forced( Auckland ‘Superciry’ – with it’s ‘democracy for developers’ and DICTATORSHIP for citizens?
Want to stand up and be counted and let PM John Key know that you will not be run by developers and corporates – from Wellington?
SAVE AUCKLAND – MARCH FOR DEMOCRACY !
WHEN: Saturday 11 June 2016.
WHERE: Britomart to the Auckland Town Hall.
TIME: Assemble 12 noon at Britomart.
March supported by It’s Our Future (Auckland), The Westmere Heritage Protection Association, The Housing Lobby.
2016 Auckland Mayoral candidate Penny Bright.
Yes, PR, positiveness is attractive to voters. I like it when it’s genuine, rather than manipulative and relies on misleading, seen with such claims as, “We’re on the cusp of something special”, or “brighter future” – that sort of saccharine puff is unhealthy. We hear it a lot these days. Mr Shaw will balance his positive statements with as much truth as can be comfortably absorbed by his audiences, I hope, while at the same time retaining his integrity. Other leaders have failed spectacularly to do this.
It maybe the blueprint for the Greens they desperately need, pick a subject or two that resonate with the general public (dirty rivers), be positive (they can be saved), don’t shy away from the realities(it will cost plenty) and propose a solution
Be positive and tell the truth…its revolutionary!
lolz, that’s pretty much been GP strategy for ages. Glad you are getting on board PR, there is hope yet.
Yes maybe but what I’m saying is you have an issue most NZers can get behind and understand, spoken truthfully and positively about
That hasn’t always been the case
The Greens have been campaigning on clean water for ages. How did you miss that?
It might seem that way to you, PR, but you’ve not been paying attention. As just one example, the Greens have had their “Good Farm Stories” up and running for a long time now. In any case, if your epiphany is genuine, I congratulate you on it.
Yeah but to see it you have to go to their web site so I and most people won’t know its there
I don’t know if this is an attempt by James Shaw to:
Increase his spotlight since hes being shunted to the side by his co-leader
Shoring up his support post 2017 election
Trying to take votes off National
Trying to take votes off Labour
but I do believe that the message and the way hes saying it is a good way of putting it (good meaning getting votes of course)
aaaaand the plot thickens: now, a simple interview about cleaning up our waterways, perfectly in accordance with Green policy, has become an offensive move in ructions within the green party as well as lab/grn conflict.
PR’s “positivity” is simply the crocodile’s smile, and his concern is a reptilian tear.
lol, I saw that too. Poor PR, far too predictable, they can’t be paying him enough.
So, you don’t think James’ statement on rivers is his genuine view? It’s just some form of “attempt” to gain political ground?
Jaded, PR, you are.
It very probably is and I very probably am
Has the Herald woken up (at last) to our precarious economy??
‘Nation of Debt: New Zealand sitting on half-trillion-dollar debt bomb
New Zealand is sitting on a half-a-trillion-dollar debt bomb and Kiwis are increasingly treating their houses like cash machines, piling on the debt as they watch the value of their properties soar.
Reserve Bank figures show household debt, excluding investment property, has risen 23 per cent in the past five years to $163.4 billion. Incomes have risen only 11.5 per cent.
Households are now carrying a debt level that is equivalent to 162 per cent of their annual disposable income – higher than the level reached before the global financial crisis.’
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/personal-finance/news/article.cfm?c_id=12&objectid=11651648
Am I right that that is about $90,000 for each person in NZ?
Yes, but I noticed Granny did not bother to mention the government racking up billions of Debt for tax cuts and infrastructure for their migration experiments.
The economists and MSM rant on about private debt but when the government does it – not a murmur. Some economists!!!
How we treat vulnerable people in NZ.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11650165
And finally, Hillary Clinton gets the numbers to clinch the Democratic Presidential nomination, even before New Jersey and California primaries:
http://bigstory.ap.org/779b7012af24446289623a968926ec04
Whew!
Hopefully Sanders leaves Stage Right as gracefully as Cruz did on the other side.
Nope.
Lisa Lerer Verified account
@llerer
Sanders responds to @AP call: Clinton doesn’t have the pledged delegates. Supers don’t count until the convention so it’s still on.
https://twitter.com/llerer/status/739979345708634112
None of the delegates, super or less than super, count until the convention.
27th of July, me thinks is the date for super delegates
Weird and wonderful.
Parker Molloy Verified account
@ParkerMolloy
“But superdelegates don’t vote until July.”
Well, the electoral college won’t vote until December 19, but we call it in November.
https://twitter.com/ParkerMolloy/status/739979362166935556
Are you calling what looks like a major mess in Puerto Rico the victory Hillary Rodam Clinton needed to win? And are you including super delegates?
I’d also say your link is Bullshit. Insiders, and hearsay.
It ain’t over yet!
For my sins, I was watching some Fox News snippets on YouTube and heard a sort of throw away line that Bernie’s wife had hinted that the Democratic Convention would be contested because something would happen to upset the balance before then!
A reference to a possible indictment of HRC???
Worth watching.
http://www.newshub.co.nz/entertainment/john-oliver-buys-22-million-in-debt-forgives-it-all-2016060708?ref=newshubFB
Anti TPPA meeting We need to stop the TPPA, but now there’s a new threat, and the negotiations are coming to Auckland next week!
While the TPPA is in deep trouble in the US, negotiations are continuing on its parallel agreement – the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), being pushed by China. Come to hear all about the RCEP, the latest on TPPA and how we can say no!
Friday, June 17 at 6:30 PM – 8:30 PM
St Matthew-in-the-City (187 Federal St) (Corner of Wellesley and Hobson Sts)
Think corruption, only 3.5% of voters voted in democratic primary in Puerto Rico. Down from 700,000. The DNC, has a fix in.
What is baffling is that this could happen in a country which even goes to war (Iraq), in order to bring a sterling USA form democracy to ignorant people. How did Bush get a second term as President when the Election was rigged? Who has the power to correct the wrongs?
It should wake up New Zealanders to the preciousness of our honest credible voting system – before it gets stolen from us.
Remember Gore? Hanging chads?
Hanging Chads ain’t nothing on how LBJ got to power.
Full spectacularly ugly story in Anthony Caro’s magisterial Means of Ascent.
This an’t tiddlywinks.
After the Bush re-election there was an enquiry of sorts and 100s of thousands of uncounted votes were discovered chucked in a store room.
There were hundreds of cases of votes cast by phantom voters, for Bush, and oddities where in a poling booth there were hundreds of votes all voting for Bush where usually there are a mixture of votes.
The enquiry was abandoned because by then Bush had been sworn in.
Democratic USA? Huh!
When the two candidates go head to head, then we will really see the full ugliness begin – as we haven’t seen for many decades.
Shades of O Brother Where Art Thou.
Lets hope Bernie still squeaks in…otherwise there is going to be blood on the mat between Clinton and Trump…and the winner will be scarey . Bernie could also save us from the TPP
‘Bernie: It will be a contested convention’
https://www.rt.com/shows/big-picture/345646-tpp-racist-rant-bernie/
“Tonight’s Progressive Roundtable discusses Bernie’s final push in California, whether Hillary would consider having Elizabeth Warren as her running mate, and how the media has prevented any real discussion on the TPP.
Thom talks Trump’s latest racist rant and Bernie’s next move with the Nation’s Katrina vanden Heuvel and in tonight’s Daily Take Thom discusses how Bernie Sanders’ role in writing the official party platform at this year’s Democratic Convention could save us from the TPP.”
Hate to link to Granny but this is sad.
Autistic man locked in isolation for five years: ‘He’s had everything stripped from him’
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11648771
Closing in on EU Financial Tax Victory
Posted on June 1, 2016 by David Hillman
The international campaign for taxes on financial speculation is on the brink of a major European milestone that could further boost momentum in the United States.
http://inequality.org/closing-eu-financial-tax-victory/
ON TV1 Lab +Greens = just 41% . To get to form a government they need 50%. Thus they need a ( 9/41 x 100) a whopping 21.95% vote rise on current polling. Formidable challenge when already they cannot agree on deep sea drilling and immigration.
They can agree on a lot more than National and NZF can.
48% is not 50% when you have no mates.
https://www.tvnz.co.nz/one-news/new-zealand/poll-boost-labour-and-greens-pairing-but-andrew-little-shouldnt-celebrating?autoPlay=4929742655001
Key 39%-still below 40. He has lost that sheen, that teflon, and that was what was carrying the Nats.
29+12+9=goodbye John. And this poll was mostly after the earlier negative reporting of the Lab/Gr MOU. Later reporting has been much more positive.
An interesting analysis in the Colmar Brunton report on the poll between their pre- and post-MOU signing sampling.
See here: https://twitter.com/Puddleglum11/status/740101936939044868
That’s gold, Puddleglum!
From the commentary:
Following the announcement of the Labour and Green Party Memorandum of Understanding, support for the Labour Party increased significantly, from 26% to 31%, and support for New Zealand First decreased, from 11% to 7%.
Kinda explains Winston’s instinctive realisation that he was in some kind of trouble.
Yes, I thought it was interesting given the obituaries for Labour being written by some well-known commentators as a result of the MOU signing.
Still, early days.
Leaving aside the obvious possibility that your wife is cro-magnon right wing trash, just like you, stupidity afflicts the Swiss no more or less than anyone else.
[derailment and subsequent bickering moved to Open Mike] – weka
Dude, wtf.
Dude, are you still a member of the party you affect to despise?
Can you two please take the personal stuff somewhere else?
Sure. Not here to mess up your post, which is good work weka. But I wasn’t going to let OAB just throw out a random attack on a commentator’s wife let alone his lacing it with racist overtones.
“…racist overtones…”? No, there aren’t.
You accused the guys wife of being a primitive sub human kind of primate.
In fact, sweet object of my derision and contempt, a wingnut used a “loved” one as political currency, so I entertained the possibility that she (like you) shares his afflictions.
Do you really have nothing to add to the conversation apart from mindless abuse ?
No wonder there are few new people commenting on this blog and fewer new females.
Yet your never banned for this shit.
take it to open mike. Last warning folks.
You don’t understand why. That’s not a question.
So you didnt look at your link then Paul.
Pretty dismal for Labour/Greens when Winston cant drag them over the line.
[Learn to use the reply button, NM. And learn to count. 50 beats 48. TRP]
Sorry about the reply button, when i watched the link i didnt notice that i lost the reply.
National and their support partners= 61 seats.
Labour/ Greens/ NZF= 61 seats
There is nothing wrong with my counting.
Fair enough, Naki Man, except you assume the support parties will be returned. ACT almost certainly will, but that doesn’t really assist National much. The Maori Party and Peter Dunne are not looking quite so rosy at the moment. If neither make it, it’s 61-59. I wouldn’t entirely rule out National simply not standing in Ohariu, but that would look a bit desperate and may cost them much needed party votes. The MP just look stuffed at the moment, completely subsumed into the National government, without a voice of their own.
There is no possibility of a Labour/Greens/NZF government. Winston will never play 3rd fiddle. A 22% rise in support for Greens/Labour is possible but unlikely, Far more likely is another slight rise in support for National. 49% is achievable. An MMP record score again but given the growing economy, wage, benefit and pension rises and the amazing Budget 2017 why would anyone take a risk on change. The growth in membership of National of people with Chinese sounding names is phenomenal.
This morning there was a comment posted which included a series of reasons for the housing crisis according to Tony Alexander including this pearl of wisdom (not)
“the population was ageing, requiring more houses as bedrooms sat empty” he said.
What planet is he on? older or aging people with any smarts are selling their houses and moving into retirement villages as my wife and I did nearly 3 years ago. Happy as “sand boys” no worries about rates, maintenance, lawns or when the bubble will burst and money in the bank even if the miserable bankers are paying peanut interest rates at present, plus the right to occupy for the rest of your life at a fixed rate per day.
Nobody comments on this industry yet there are thousands of single and double units across New Zealand and more being built and planned it is a growth industry.
We should be getting a bonus from Bill for helping him with the housing crisis by releasing houses without increasing the boundaries but his advisors are blind to the truth.
BTW there is a house next door to our village that has been empty for about 7 months, go figure.
ps Actually we are not sand boys ‘cos there are no cannons and no gunpowder here.
p.s.s. What a boorish twit Puckish Rogue is , please just ignore his comments, he is a complete waste of space. IMLTHO