Open mike 07/11/2012

Written By: - Date published: 6:00 am, November 7th, 2012 - 143 comments
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Step right up to the mike…

143 comments on “Open mike 07/11/2012 ”

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  1. Jenny 1
    7 November 2012 at 6:12 am

    ‘
    Election Polls open across America. Voting starts

    What will the new president do about Climate Change?

    For good or ill, America has a tradition of global leadership. When it comes to climate change America needs to lead more actively in the world – not from behind, but from the front.

    It’s all about leadership

    Ultimately, at some time, whoever becomes US president he or she will have to take on the historic task to build the necessary public support for the fight to save our world. As the commander in chief of the most developed and richest and powerful nation on earth, the President of the United States has a historical obligation to lead public opinion against Climate Change– and that starts with explaining to the American people that the US and the world needs to take drastic action to avert further catastrophe, and that America needs to be in the lead in taking that action.

    Will Obama be that president?

    Will Romney?

    Or will we have to wait another four more terrible years of rudderless inaction and silence from the President of the United States in the face of this impending global holocaust?

  2. millsy 2
    7 November 2012 at 6:26 am

    Suprised that Obama has lasted this long.

    I would have thought that some Alabama redneck was going to assassinate him, or the GOP would find some excuse to push him out of office, via impeachment, etc.

    Obama has proved to be dissapointing, in that he caved into the Tea Party on issues such as healthcare, but Mitt Romney is probably the most right wing GOP candidate ever, with Ryan even more right wing than he is.

    Anyway, by the end of the day, we will know if the US people are going to stick with him….

    Ive taken a day of A/L just to watch the election coverage 😉

    • karol 2.1
      7 November 2012 at 7:28 am

      I’m not disappointed in Obama – I never had high hopes for him.  I won’t be watching the coverage.  The amount of coverage given to the US presidential race outside the US is just another part of the Americanisation of the world – a mix of cultural and political colonisation.
       
      Al Jazeera has been giving it too much coverage this morning too. Of course the outcome will have some impact on the world.  But the election campaigns of tweedledum or tweedledee are just a political circus; a diversion from the important political issues, IMO.

      • AwakeWhileSleeping 2.1.1
        7 November 2012 at 8:37 am

        Yep, I think we should be much more concerned with Asia. We need less America influences in our media, not better coverage of muppet vs muppet.

    • muzza 2.2
      7 November 2012 at 7:47 am

      Millsy, how do you suppose that some redneck would manage that?

      Hopefully you were joking about the day off to watch it, as it actually make no difference at all, if not suggestion would be that you stop watching reading MSM so much, and understand that what you see in the USA, like NZ, is really just theatre, which is covering for horrific crimes, domestically and internationally.

      Poor Jenny above is waiting, hoping that the POTUS will stop the climate “holocaust” (I really wish people would stop using that as a comparison), and that is simply not going to happen, the reasons have become obvious, but many still believe in the fantasy of democracy and freedom, despite the world we have in front of us!

      GITMO, WARS, NDAA, Dones, polygamy, theocracy, prophecies, oaths etc….America fcuk yeah!

      • millsy 2.2.1
        7 November 2012 at 7:53 am

        Yeah, actually I was joking about taking the day off. I actually took the week off for unrelated reasons. That the election fell on during that week was a co-incidence.

        Still going to watch the coverage — nothing better to do…

        • AwakeWhileSleeping 2.2.1.1
          7 November 2012 at 8:40 am

          That’s awful. Poor you. Try tv-links.eu

          I enjoy Person of Interest, Burn Notice, Perception, Elementary….or for something British and comedy search the site for A Touch of Cloth : )

        • muzza 2.2.2.1
          7 November 2012 at 10:57 am

          Polygyny…

          • Draco T Bastard 2.2.2.1.1
            7 November 2012 at 11:31 am

            I don’t see a problem with it. If multiple people choose to be in a relationship that’s their choice.

            Now, if it was a forced relationship then I would have issues with it but that doesn’t have anything to do with polygamy.

            • muzza 2.2.2.1.1.1
              7 November 2012 at 11:45 am

              Reading too much into stuff B.

              Point was, you get a warmonger, who likes to pass exec orders which allow people to be killed, detained or disposed of without charges etc, and who lies about it, and who is a puppet

              or

              You get a warmonger, who lies and covers up what his religious beliefs represents, who lies about tax returns and so on, and is a puppet.

              Both represent the same gang!

    • TheContrarian 2.3
      7 November 2012 at 7:52 am

      I am disappointed with Obama for not striking out further to left however he did have a obstinate Republican opposition with Mitch McConnell even saying that the number one goal was was denying Obama reelection. Not helping the country, not moving forward, but making sure nothing is done. Which is pretty fucking backward.

      I have also taken the day off to play election day drinking games with my friends at The Egonomist.

      • Colonial Viper 2.3.1
        7 November 2012 at 7:58 am

        There were a few good things done.

        Massive broadening of warrantless wiretaps and communications interception, increase in the foreign drone assassination programme, passing laws to detain indefinitely/execute US citizens without charge or due process, bailing the banks out to the tune of a trillion dollars or more while letting millions of US homes get foreclosed on, increasing the number of people on food stamps to 46M etc.

  3. mickysavage 3
    7 November 2012 at 8:16 am

    Under the cover provided by the release of the Pike River report and the US elections the Government is advancing the gutting of the Emissions Trading Scheme.

    The Sustainability Council is claiming that the Government is trying to play down a big deficit in the carbon accounts by removing the cost of credits given to polluters from the Government Accounts.  There will still be a cost.  The Government wants to hide this cost.

    “Climate Change Minister Tim Groser declined to comment because he has not been fully briefed on the documents.”

    So a Minister can decline to answer questions by keeping his eyes firmly closed? 

    • Jim Nald 3.1
      7 November 2012 at 8:50 am

      Well, John Key did encourage a trend for his cabinet colleagues with his higher standards of “can’t recall”, “didn’t read”, “dunno” and such like.

      So we are now hearing Tim Groser overtaking John Key’s standards with “not been fully briefed”.

      • mike e 3.1.1
        7 November 2012 at 10:10 am

        Now I get the picture Grosser has been sharing some of his wacky backy with the PM short term memory loss!

    • KhandallaMan 3.2
      7 November 2012 at 9:41 am

      Tim Groser is above accountability to ordinary people and parliament.  He is an extraordinary giant of the world scene, who we should be honoured to have on our payroll.  He has never and will never be elected to anything: why should he answer piffling questions? 

    • Draco T Bastard 3.3
      7 November 2012 at 9:41 am

      Following John Key’s example of not reading reports that tell him stuff he doesn’t want to know.

      • Jim Nald 3.3.1
        7 November 2012 at 10:07 am

        There are also more ‘good’ lines coming out of this lot in government.

        A chocolate fish for guessing who said this just yesterday (and mangled up the year anyway):

        “I got my warrant in December 2008. I cannot recall anything of December 2008”

        • Jim Nald 3.3.1.1
          7 November 2012 at 11:52 pm

          And this one today:

          “I do not have all of that detail to hand”

          (but that was not a real response to what the question was asking)

  4. LynW 4
    7 November 2012 at 8:48 am

    A refreshing opinion on Stuff.

    http://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/opinion/7914631/John-Key-scores-two-own-goals-for-stupidity

    ‘The word “thick” is a vile term used to belittle children, many of who find their only outlet in sport.

    All Black Victor Vito is supportive of children with learning difficulties and he wants to write a book to improve their grasp of language.

    Some of these kids will make something of their lives, just as Beckham did coming out of the east end of London, and perhaps some will become All Blacks. Will it still be all right to snigger at them then for being thick? ‘

    Perhaps someone will open an apology to Beckham Facebook page so those of us embarrassed by Key’s gaffe can apologise for him!

    • Jim Nald 4.1
      7 November 2012 at 8:53 am

      Yup. I will sign up.
      There should be an option as well on that Facebook page that announces NZ disowning John Key.

    • vto 4.2
      7 November 2012 at 9:03 am

      Yes Lynw, that is a well written piece that succinctly places John Key in his correct position – that of an ignorant pig (apologies to pigs).

      Two other things. First, whenever you deal with someone, especially in money stuff like business or politics etc, and that someone has one eye more open than the other then watch out. Key has this.

      Second, how is Key saying “Beckham is smart, he has made more money than me”…. ffs, talk about being in a hole and continuing to dig.

    • weka 4.3
      7 November 2012 at 9:51 am

      That is such an excellent opinion piece.
       
      One of the things that concerned me was how Key’s comments reinforce the entrenched cultural belief that only one kind of intelligence* is valuable (or it’s the most valuable). Putting some worth on emotional and social intelligence wouldn’t go too far astray at this point. Not to mention the intelligences that go into making one a world class sportsperson.
       
      *Of course Key is trying to overturn that and make out that financial trading intelligence is the pinnacle of human worth.

  5. vto 5
    7 November 2012 at 9:44 am

    Here is a sobering current happening…….

    Neoliberal failures at Pike River, leaky homes and finance companies. All are results of the small government, less regulation, more asset sales, free market for everything, private is best approach to the world. This approach has now been evidenced to have failed with the loss of 29 lives, countless life savings, and dank damp housing. Especially recall Brownlee’s approach to mine safety review i.e. dismissing it as unnecessary, with an arrogant snigger.

    Now, take Brownlee and his approach and the entire neoliberal approach to everything and dump that on the city of Christchurch…… my god, the mind boggles at what the resultant mess will be. We can already see one of the effects of Brownlee and the neoliberal approach in the wanton destruction of heritage buildings. Smsahed down without due process. Demolished prior to consent and consultation……….

    Sound familiar? Pike River / finance companies / leaky homes on a city-wide scale? You betcha.

    • Jim Nald 5.1
      7 November 2012 at 9:53 am

      Yes it is time to own up to neoliberal regulatory failures – of small government, of free (fall) market, government’s hands-off regulation, privatising profits and socialising losses, ……

      Don’t forget Rena and CTV.
      Someone should maintain a web/facebook page to keep a roll call of disgrace and shame.

    • Colonial Viper 5.2
      7 November 2012 at 9:54 am

      And still, Christchurch voted Brownlee back in with a majority of 13,000. So the elite of that city don’t give a fuck.

      • vto 5.2.1
        7 November 2012 at 10:18 am

        Brownlee rode the wave of disaster politics – nothing more. In the same way Chch re-elected Bob Parker when he was about to be completely flushed down the dunny, so too did the people vote for the incumbent in government.

        • weka 5.2.1.1
          7 November 2012 at 2:13 pm

          That makes me completely despair about democracy in this country.

          • Jim Nald 5.2.1.1.1
            7 November 2012 at 2:19 pm

            Keep your hope up.
            There is an alternative.
            Greens have been working on it and Labour … um aahh err … soon, soon.

            • weka 5.2.1.1.1.1
              7 November 2012 at 6:10 pm

              Hi Jim, my despair is about the stupidity of voters. Vto’s comment made it obvious in a way I haven’t seen for a while. Not sure that the Greens can do much about that, but yes I do have some hope of attempts to head in the right direction.

      • David H 5.2.2
        7 November 2012 at 10:33 am

        I reckon he will get a real nasty shock next time.

    • BM 5.3
      7 November 2012 at 9:59 am

      You may want big government, I certainly don’t.
      Less government the better.

      • mike e 5.3.1
        7 November 2012 at 10:03 am

        Well your getting it Blind Monetarist look at the number of Con-sultants the government is hiring
        Hundreds of millions the govt is spending on high price public troughing consultants!

      • Colonial Viper 5.3.2
        7 November 2012 at 10:08 am

        Less government the better for private corporate and capitalist interests.

        FIFY

      • Draco T Bastard 5.3.3
        7 November 2012 at 11:42 am

        The Rena, CTV, and now Pike river all show the effects of less government. Basically, it’s less government comes with an increase in death and destruction.

        You, and every other RWNJ, may want that but the rest of us don’t.

      • Uturn 5.3.4
        7 November 2012 at 12:13 pm

        I’d like less government too, but somehow I think you mean a smaller centralised government doing as they please, clumsily effecting everyone; whereas I mean many smaller independant governments relating directly to their States, Communities or whatever useful arrangement occurs.

        • Bill 5.3.4.1
          7 November 2012 at 12:26 pm

          Is that like zero central or remote governmence and much more in the way of immediate and empowerng governance?

          • Uturn 5.3.4.1.1
            7 November 2012 at 12:49 pm

            If you like to call it that. Not the silver bullet, but at least not as damaging as urban dwellers defining a rural reality or one culture dictating another. Separate, but together. Does it not seem strange that a man from the North could come down South and say, “We’re taking your forestry and giving you an unsafe mine to work” or “You can’t fish here, we want something nice to visit later” or “No you can’t teach your kids as you like, your school must start at 9am with English first language – and by the way, we’re closing your school” or “Send us your young men to die for our interests overseas”.

            Transfer the consequences for unsafe and unsustainable practices directly to the people doing those things, instead of bailing them out from a distance, with money and rules. No more passing of the NIMBY buck. Encourage people to talk to one another, across States, to get things done diplomatically, instead of assuming power to do as one small group interests are concerned. A Confederation of States. In reality, people will still seek to make money and, with some notable exceptions, share similar values. However, power will be redistributed so people must be more diplomatic and communities can choose with whom they do business.

            • Bill 5.3.4.1.1.1
              7 November 2012 at 1:25 pm

              No disageement with the first paragraph. Not convinced by the second, although I agree with the sentiments.

              • Uturn …
                7 November 2012 at 1:35 pm

                Yep, it’s just my impossible dream that will not please anyone entirely and upset people I haven’t set out to upset. So, in the abscence of The Great Revolution, what I intend to do is support anything on offer that goes in that general direction. The main point being that although I generally support left-leaners, my comprehension of what NZders would go for doesn’t match big parental style government or small centralised.

                • weka …
                  7 November 2012 at 2:16 pm

                  Interesting ideas Uturn. Would you also devolve things like welfare or human rights? How about conservation where there are issues of national significance?

                  • Bill …
                    7 November 2012 at 2:51 pm

                    Not being entirely flippant. But abolish the market and the need for welfare to ameliorate the effects of a rapacious ‘dog eat dog’ market diminish….maybe even vanish. Abolish the market in conjunction with developing meaningful democratic institutions and human rights take a massive stride forwards.

                    And conservation alongside other ‘big’ issues are accommodated, not just by market abolition meanig that decsions aren’t determined by the single measure of potential profit, but by democratic systems that work on the principle whereby measures of input to decisions are roughly in balance with the effects decisions would likely have.

                  • Uturn …
                    7 November 2012 at 3:02 pm

                    Weka and vto:

                    Yeah it is complex, that’s why I call it the impossible dream and use it as a guide to what I would support, or do not.

                    Auckland once organised themselves into Boroughs, or perhaps, evolved into Boroughs from smaller units. Where I live I can walk across three of the old lines in an hour or so. Pretty small areas, smaller than I propose above. More recently, everything became a Supercity, smaller and more centralised, with less local distribution of power. This is clearly too big for the amount of people involved.

                    Is the idea a direct reversal of a natural evolutionary process or a realisation that people want to be, at some level, seperate to their neighbours across the harbor or in another Island? How separate can they responsibly be?

                    I would not like to tell Coasters what was good for them or Southerners how to organise themselves. Even less so in areas that have strong maori influence. Do they not know what’s good for them and their environment? If an area pollutes their water supply, they can deal with it, drink it themselves, clean up the mess or find new ways to get what they want. The kind of people who would front these States and community organisation wouldn’t be too sympathetic with reckless exploitation. That’s the whole point.

                    It is communism? Possibly, because communities have direct decision making independence and the concept of property would change, but also not, because there is no larger state coming to bail you out of your self interested greedy messes. Is it Socialism? Not really, because there is no end game other than cause and effect, acts and consequence, but also yes it is because it is constant transition toward community and relationship. Is it Anarchy? Possibly, because Auckland has little interest, or say, in the squablings of Canterbury or Kaitaia, but also not, because we’ll do business with you or support your interests if they happen to be mutual undertakings – within the laws of our new Confederation.

                    Unless there was a way to retain Commonwealth status, Treaty of Waitangi and a Confederation Document, the first two would have to go in favour of the last. Confederation Document would not seek to rob Maori of what is theirs, and would reaffirm their special status, but also it would acknowledge that pakeha cannot disappear and are now inextricably linked. Overall, the idea acknowledges Maori have less power than pakeha now and will have more as a result of a new agreement. It’s going to piss off those who don’t want anything to do with Europeans at all, I don’t know how to get round that. To make this document work, it would have to be developed in good faith by people intent on principles, not specific culture. It would deal with how States may interact, not individuals.

                    Is it Capitalism? Since we live in a modern global world, money and profit will be around for a while, but there is no encouragement to go Neo-Liberal. Is it Fascism? Well that’s up to each community to decide how far they enforce their own values. Is it chaos? No, because we all have to get along and certain infrastructure may well be in all our best interests. Some areas will have resources other people want to buy, bringing a certain kind of order. The taste for war and disruption will soon lose it’s attraction. Not many people want to voluntarily starve or die.

                    Is it destructive or constructive? Neither, intentionally. People can look out for each other in any way they please through mutual good faith agreement. It encourages people to consider how they relate to and use the resources they have, instead of stockpiling property and saying no one may work because I want to be top of the heap. Will the weak be trampled by the powerful? That’s the way it’s always been, but imagine trying to sell the idea to a community at a local hall, openly, not by sneaky cowardly cuts to benefits and hiding in ivory towers saying you can’t be held responsible. If your leaders want to kill you, go hang them behind the town hall and elect new ones, for all I care. It’s up to the laws and culture of your State. Nothing can make nice for humans that which the universe has ordered will always be nasty.

                    Does it defuse the celebrity trend in Politics? To some degree. Politics gets up close and personal, not just candidates on TV all highly polished, but people you’re likely to meet at the supermarket any day. You’ll know why things are the way things are, instead of having a newspaper tell you and if you get a bad feeling about someone you meet in person, listen to it. The effect of hero worship will dealt with at the correct distance, instead of with the help of Theatre.

                    These are some of the things I’ve heard people complaining about or opposing and the above is my interpretation of the structure I think would begin to form if we all got more say. It’s anathema to the power hungry, which is the biggest complaint we all seem to have.

                • Bill …
                  7 November 2012 at 2:57 pm

                  Yep, it’s just my impossible dream…

                  meh. So was walking on the moon until it became a demand.

            • vto 5.3.4.1.1.2
              7 November 2012 at 1:42 pm

              uturn, your base premise is stated approximately thus …. ” Does it not seem strange that a man from the North could come down South and say, “We’re taking your forestry and giving you an unsafe mine to work” ”

              How would you go about drawing that, in this instance, geographical line? Using this west coast example – should Aucklanders have less say, and what about people from Canterbury, and what about people from Haast having a say in Greymouth?

              That is a very difficult line to draw, however it is noted that this line has been arbitrarily drawn in two completely different ways by the last two governments. Helen Clark’s lot came down from the North and did actually take that forestry of course. But then this current lot separate the people of east Canterbury (Christchurch) from those of west Canterbury (farmers) and are actually taking the water and environment.

              So one lot drew that line around NZ’s coastline while the other has drawn a line right through a single province.

              ’tis a complex matter the one you raise and personally I don’t see that too many such lines could or should be drawn in a populace and set of islands as small as ours.

              • weka …
                7 November 2012 at 2:20 pm

                Good questions. I think going with the landbase makes sense – you look at the watershed and resources and how they flow or are contained (take our cues from nature). The West Coast is fairly obvious – there is a big range of mountains in between it and everything else. If you want to go smaller, take the Waitaki Valley or the Clutha Valley and their watersheds/origins.

              • Bill …
                7 November 2012 at 2:56 pm

                Why have set geographic areas? The effects of any particular decision will vary enormously. And as said above, a democratic body can be determined through a rough guage of input being in line with potential consequences or impact.

                • Colonial Viper …
                  7 November 2012 at 3:36 pm

                  And its important to remember that NZ came from a sytem of Provincial Government. My feeling is that a lot of authority (and capital) needs to be devolved to a local and community level, but that we are a small country and a unified central government will remain important for issues of national importance, going forwards.

    • muzza 5.4
      7 November 2012 at 11:06 am

      VTO – I think a question to ask is, how important is NZ to those who want their dirty hands all over the Antartic regions resources, and using NZ as a bigger base than is currently. Oh and those resources known to be around/off the bottom of NZ, and you can include all the farm land also, and water….really just all of it, its not ours, NZ will not be allowed to benefit from any of it!

      The ChCh situation , is again the result of background corruption, and Gerry simply the idiot “messenger”.

    • lulu 5.5
      7 November 2012 at 1:46 pm

      Shame on you vto. Pike River is a tragedy not an event to list in a sound bite. It wasn’t so much a neoliberal failure as a victory for DOC and the Greens: “DOC discharged its statutory function to protect the conservation value of the land”. Besides former Ministers Wilkinson, Mallard, Dyson and Carter all had a hand in the events that culminated in the loss of lives.

      • McFlock 5.5.1
        7 November 2012 at 2:16 pm

        It is evident from the Commission report that the Pike River tragedy was the result of 20 years of neglect by successive governments. 
           
        The report said training of contractors was insufficient – almost half the people in the mine were contractors. This goes to relaxed employment law.
           
        The report said regulators failed to do their job. This goes to lax regulation and public service cuts.
                 
        The report said a number of design features made the mine unsafe (e.g. the ventilation fan at the bottom of the shaft). That this was permitted goes to lax regulation.
           
        But you want to blame DoC, about the only organisation involved that vaguely did their job to spec.
                 
         
         

      • weka 5.5.2
        7 November 2012 at 2:23 pm

        “a victory for DOC and the Greens:”
         
        How? Because DOC put conditions on land use that it oversees? And that made it harder to build a safe mine, so the company went ahead and built an unsafe one? And that is DOC’s fault?

      • Draco T Bastard 5.5.3
        7 November 2012 at 2:26 pm

        Gordon Campbell’s On the Pike River Report http://is.gd/esPCQu “…will take [time] to repair the damage done by our neo-liberal experiment in workplace safety”

        The Pike River tragedy is the culmination of small government, lax regulation and the pursuit of profit at all costs.

  6. Zorr 6
    7 November 2012 at 10:12 am

    For those watching the US elections today, *this* is how you win an election (edited to clarify this is a video proving electronic voting fraud)
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QdpGd74DrBM

  8. karol 8
    7 November 2012 at 10:51 am

    Damn!  So much happening today – hard to keep track of them all.  Darien Fenton’s Free Public Libraries Bill is due to its first reading, and Metiria Turei’s Income Tax (Universalisation of In-work Tax Credit) Amendment Bill, needs one more vote today -Peter Dunne? Turei says the Bill:

    would transform the In-work Tax Credit into a child payment for all children who need it, the Green Party said today.”
     
    My Bill would help to ensure that all children in New Zealand get what they need to have a good life and a fair future,” said Green Party Co-leader Metiria Turei.
     
    “Peter Dunne’s single vote could send my Bill to the Select Committee where a real discussion on how to end child poverty could be held.

     

  10. Dave Kennedy 10
    7 November 2012 at 1:21 pm

    The growing attacks on the Green Party is just part of the journey towards Government and is actually a sign of success.

    http://localbodies-bsprout.blogspot.co.nz/2012/11/national-greens-and-gandhi.html

  11. Jackal 11
    7 November 2012 at 1:37 pm

    Passing the buck over Pike River

    It’s little wonder that the Commission of Inquiry found both a lack of governmental oversight and the company is to blame for the Pike River disaster. How exactly the government deals with this will be an interesting development, because I think most agree that Kate Wilkinson’s largely meaningless resignation as Minister of Labour isn’t enough…

    • Jim Nald 11.1
      7 November 2012 at 2:11 pm

      Wilkinson’s resignation is convenient, calculated and cynical.

      • karol 11.1.1
        7 November 2012 at 2:33 pm

        Kevin Hague agrees and says it was only a symbolic resignation.
         
         

        • Jim Nald 11.1.1.1
          7 November 2012 at 3:46 pm

          Thanks for the link.

          Parker said and did the honourable thing as referred to in the Kevin Hague’s piece (“So following the Westminster tradition that I believe in, I resigned my other portfolios this morning”).

          As compared with that, maybe Wilkinson can say something like:

          “So following my Prime Mincer’s tradition of obfuscation, distraction, troughing and theatrics that I believe in, I kept my other portfolios this morning” 🙂

  12. muzza 12
    7 November 2012 at 1:55 pm

    Oh look, yet more falling tax take

    Finance Minister Bill English says there will need to be restraint “for some years to come” to meet the Government’s aims, after Treasury released figures today showing the Budget deficit is running $449m worse than forecast.

    Too much to pick apart in this article, so will leave it at that!

    • Jim Nald 12.1
      7 November 2012 at 2:12 pm

      Well done, Bill English. Strategic deficit going according to plan.

      • muzza 12.1.1
        7 November 2012 at 2:50 pm

        Yup, and as I have illustrated previously in comments, NZ can’t even export our way out of it!

        Meanwhile the majority have NFI what is actually going on around them, and therefore, to them!

    • Rogue Trooper 12.2
      7 November 2012 at 2:24 pm

      just had a quick overview of the “world economy” debacle as the NActs continue to lie about it to Parliament;
      -Merkel-European financial crisis at least another Five years to go
      -Europe desperately courting Asian economies to open up and import more
      -NZ government revenues down first quarter, subdued economy
      -still have this US “fiscal cliff” to come, despite the short-term efficacy of QE
      -Been following the political, philosophical background to the upcoming leadership change in PRC
      particularly the United Empire / Regional Division tension and the ever present legacy of Mao (despite the tragic losses of life during The Cultural Revolution and The Great Leap Forward)
      Mao is often compared favourably, even superlatively, with the original uniting Emperor.

      Hearing first person recent experiences of Ireland and Greece economies from fellow parishoners ( much work to be done on equity in the AC), the lived realities for many of the working, and former middle classes in these countries are not pleasant; redundant new businesses and homes to match the growing employment redundancies.

      • karol 12.2.1
        7 November 2012 at 2:30 pm

        Good on Parker for getting English to admit the reality behind the apparent increase in the proportion of people in work.  English admitted in Qu time that full time jobs are down, parrt time ones are up.  English rates that as a success for Bennett’s welfare changes, scaring people back into (no doubt low-paying) part time work.

        • Colonial Viper 12.2.1.1
          7 November 2012 at 3:39 pm

          English admitted in Qu time that full time jobs are down, parrt time ones are up.

          Same pattern as USA. And the way they measure their unemployment stats is a real scam – if you have had one hour of paid OR unpaid work in the last week, you are considered to be employed.

          Shadowstats suggests that the true unemployment rate in the USA is over 20%.

  13. karol 13
    7 November 2012 at 2:34 pm

    I love Turei’s prounciation in the House today to the Minister of Revenue. She keeps referring to the Key-Dung Government.

  14. starlight 14
    7 November 2012 at 2:56 pm

    In the House Peters asks Key if he used the term ‘batshit’ key’s reply said he did not.
    brain fade again, or what?

    • karol 14.1
      7 November 2012 at 3:27 pm

      Key is now saying that “categorically” that he did not use the words “David Beckham is as thick as bats**t“.  It sounds like he said something like that, but not with those words.

      • RedLogix 14.1.1
        7 November 2012 at 7:19 pm

        He’s weaselling.

        He’s denying using any term with the word “bat….”. in it, while at the same time he’s refusing to confirm what he did say. As few people have already stated, it’s a lot more plausible he used the kiwi idiom “thick as pigshit”.

        This sort of behaviour wouldn’t be tolerated in a four-year old.

      • blue leopard 14.1.2
        7 November 2012 at 9:54 pm

        My guess is that he has read all the twitter comments (“its ‘pig-shit’, numpty”) and wants to make out it was “pig-shit” he said.

  15. starlight 15
    7 November 2012 at 3:22 pm

    English’s fearce defence of Shearer in the house is telling, at least for those of us
    that consider shearer has a more right leaning belief than what labour voters are
    comfortable with, most of us that question shearer’s direction are on the right track.

    • Colonial Viper 15.1
      7 November 2012 at 3:42 pm

      Sheeezus 🙁

    • karol 15.2
      7 November 2012 at 3:50 pm

      English didn’t really defend Shearer in the genreal debate today.  He laid into Shearer, saying he’s about to be rolled.  He claims that David Parker, Robertson, Cunliffe were not in the House yesterday, because they were meeting to decide who to replace Shearer: ditto the unions in the Koru lounge.
       
      Though he’s laying into Cunliffe more.

      • gobsmacked 15.2.1
        7 November 2012 at 4:06 pm

        There’s a set pattern now at Question Time.

        Shearer asks his questions, nothing happens, then the fireworks start, with Peters, Turei and Norman getting stuck in.

        Peters got Key to deny, on the record, that he said “batshit” etc. But then he had no more questions available. It happens every week – the effective opposition are hampered by Parliament’s rules, while the “official’ opposition have far more chances, for less result.

        An innovative move would be for Shearer to ask one question, then sit down, and let others do a lot of supplementaries. But we have to pretend he’s in charge, so the charade continues.

    • blue leopard 15.3
      7 November 2012 at 10:01 pm

      re Starlight’s comment
      I felt heartened by English’s speech, it gave me the message that Nats are more worried than I had thought. It is one thing for an Opposition party to launch into the Government; another for the Government to launch into the Opposition. They sounded threatened and quite pathetic. Good!

  16. Morrissey 16
    7 November 2012 at 4:50 pm

    Impressions of Gaza
    by NOAM CHOMSKY
    chomsky.info, November 4, 2012

    Even a single night in jail is enough to give a taste of what it means to be under the total control of some external force. And it hardly takes more than a day in Gaza to begin to appreciate what it must be like to try to survive in the world’s largest open-air prison, where a million and a half people, in the most densely populated area of the world, are constantly subject to random and often savage terror and arbitrary punishment, with no purpose other than to humiliate and degrade, and with the further goal of ensuring that Palestinian hopes for a decent future will be crushed and that the overwhelming global support for a diplomatic settlement that will grant these rights will be nullified.

    The intensity of this commitment on the part of the Israeli political leadership has been dramatically illustrated just in the past few days, as they warn that they will “go crazy” if Palestinian rights are given limited recognition at the UN. That is not a new departure. The threat to “go crazy” (“nishtagea”) is deeply rooted, back to the Labor governments of the 1950s, along with the related “Samson Complex”: we will bring down the Temple walls if crossed. It was an idle threat then; not today.

    The purposeful humiliation is also not new, though it constantly takes new forms. Thirty years ago political leaders, including some of the most noted hawks, submitted to Prime Minister Begin a shocking and detailed account of how settlers regularly abuse Palestinians in the most depraved manner and with total impunity. The prominent military-political analyst Yoram Peri wrote with disgust that the army’s task is not to defend the state, but “to demolish the rights of innocent people just because they are Araboushim (“niggers,” “kikes”) living in territories that God promised to us.”

    Gazans have been selected for particularly cruel punishment. It is almost miraculous that people can sustain such an existence. How they do so was described thirty years ago in an eloquent memoir….

    Read more….
    http://chomsky.info/articles/20121104.htm

  17. weka 17
    7 November 2012 at 6:15 pm

    How long can Dunnokeyo’s nose grow before he trips over it?

    • Morrissey 17.1
      7 November 2012 at 6:23 pm

      How long can Dunnokeyo’s nose grow before he trips over it?

      He’s tripped over it repeatedly for more than year.. The problem is that Labour has a “leader” who is utterly incapable of taking advantage of this.

    • blue leopard 17.2
      7 November 2012 at 10:05 pm

      “How long can Dunnokeyo’s nose grow before he trips over it?”

      Has ipredict got bets on that one I wonder?

  18. Vicky32 18
    7 November 2012 at 6:24 pm

    A server error prevented me putting this on the relevant thread, so here it is:

    BBC news running a very good live stream with updates

    My son was watching that, while talking on the phone to me, and I was keeping an ear on BBC WS radio at the same time!
    18.20, and it looks good, though not as good as it did, according to L., he says that Ohio now looks shaky…
    I have been afraid for a while that Romney would be ‘selected’.. I hope not but we’ll see.

  19. karol 19
    7 November 2012 at 8:31 pm

    Very good speech from Metiria Turei on child poverty, concluding the first reading of her tax amendment Bill.  Something certainly needs to be don to fix the unfair Working for Families tax credit that excludes children of pow income unemployed parents.
     
    The Bill failed at its first reading by one vote – Banks and Dunne voted against it – shame on them!

  20. karol 20
    7 November 2012 at 9:19 pm

    Nick Smith and other Nats say they won’t be supporting Darien Fenton’s bill to entrench free public library services because:

    – Libraries are SO 1930s, and National  be providing a better service through Ultra Fast Broadband

    – and anyway, Nats don’t agree with government telling local government what to do

    – and it’s just spending other people’s money

    – and now Maggie Barry is going on about Nanny state: and Maggie, how can you say the Bill is ridiculous, when you clearly have no idea how libraries operate these days.
     

    • millsy 20.1
      7 November 2012 at 9:29 pm

      Anyone who opposes libraries in this country should be [no calls for violence please. r0b]

      • karol 20.1.1
        7 November 2012 at 9:42 pm

        Well, it didn’t pass – 60-61.  Banks and Dunne against.  Phil Twyford was laughing with utter disbelief that Nick Smith, after what he did with ECAN, was saying the government shouldn’t tell local governments what to do.
         
        Fenton said Nicki Kaye will not be able to show her face anywhere near any of the Libraries around Auckland, and just lost a load of votes.  Ardern gave a very good speech in answer to Nick Smith.

    • Colonial Viper 20.2
      7 November 2012 at 10:16 pm

      Maggie Barry is a self serving over privileged little wench. Perfect Tory, the next Social Welfare Minister no doubt.

      • Jackal 20.2.1
        7 November 2012 at 11:29 pm

        Yeah! Nationals performance in the debate on the Local Government (Public Libraries) Amendment Bill (PDF) was pretty diabolical! National clearly showed that they want a user pays system for our public libraries, presumably because they think only rich people should be allowed access to books, digital information and the Internet.

        Nikkie Kaye started harping on about not needing free access to libraries because National had already started something called the Manaiakalani project. What she failed to say was that Manaiakalani requires a wireless-enabled net device and the ability to access internet services from home, which isn’t much help for students who cannot afford a portable computer and a home internet connection.

        Then Maggie Barry let rip with a rhetoric laden speech full of invective critisizm for the previous Labour government. Apparently it was really really bad that they wanted people to use power saving lightbulbs and water saving shower heads. Nanny state she decried while National want to regulate people’s lives like never before.

        At one stage Barry even said Labour wanted “compulsion in the shower,” which was amusing. She then said she doesn’t support funding free and equal access to information in public libraries because she doesn’t know who pays for public services? I mean how fucking dumb can you get.

        Basically National don’t like the amendments because knowledge is power, and the power to effect change is something they most definitely want to remove from the poor. God forbid poor people educating themselves for free at a public library. Oh the humanity!

    • Colonial Viper 20.3
      7 November 2012 at 10:22 pm

      – and it’s just spending other people’s money

      Tell the fucking Tory MPs to hand back their Parliamentary salaries then as they don’t seem to have any problems when its them doing the spending.

    • prism 20.4
      7 November 2012 at 10:51 pm

      How sickening if Maggie Barry is yodelling about Nanny State. She worked for Radionz for years and presumably liked her pay and position, but must have been in a turmoil all the time poor thing, meeting the people’s wish for a good intellectual and cultural source. Which is what the libraries are also.

      In early colonial days Lady Barker was delivering books to her isolated shepherds and people really knew the benefit and need for supply of the written word.

      Now the over-reliance and obssession with technology and cheaper government the NACTs have is an indication of their shallow understanding of society, the elements of a modern country, and a willingness to dumb-down society at a crucial time when we need to be absorbing and critically appraising reliable information .

  21. millsy 21
    7 November 2012 at 9:34 pm

    Darien’s almost in tears delivering her speech…

  22. millsy 22
    7 November 2012 at 9:38 pm

    Fuck you Peter Dunne. Voting it down.

  23. prism 23
    7 November 2012 at 11:00 pm

    Didn’t Peter Dunne play his well-modulated voice-of-reason superbly when he explained his pathetic reasons for not voting to extend the Working for families Bill. It didn’t make logical sense but it sounded good to those who hate being part of a society that includes and helps all.

  24. xtasy 24
    7 November 2012 at 11:06 pm

    I know, I am hammering my head against a brick wall again, as nobody seems to be interested in welfare, sick, disabled and so forth, it just is not “exciting stuff”, aye?!

    But I got more PROOF of what I have hammered home before, namely that MSD (Ministry of Social (Under) Development) have been using health advisors for internal assessments and recommentations, which are done by insufficiently qualified, non expert and questionable staff of their own.

    They have since 2007 created and staffed Principal Health Advisor, Principal Disability Advisor, Regional Health Advisor, Regional Disability Advisor and Health and Disability Co-Ordiantor positions.

    Dr David Bratt, a GP from Wellington, who has a stubbornly unscientific, unreasonable, unproved and indeed BIASED view, that sick and disabled need “work” for medical care, that this will solve all their problems, and that otherwise “benefit dependency” is the same as “drug dependency”, has released a range of bizarre PDF and PowerPoint presentations that are available on the net and via this website.

    It has just come to my attention, that the College of Nursing (of Aotearoa) did two or so years back publish an article by him. It is about the plans they had at MSD to get the staff they needed, and it goes a bit into details.

    Short story is: They mostly empoy unregistered NURSES to decide about WINZ client’s disabilities and health conditions, and whether they may impact on their ability to do some forms of work. So that is it. It is decisions by supposed “medical” or “health experts”, that never are sufficiently experieinced to diagnose, assess and judge upon most health conditions, as their qualifications are not at all sufficient to do so.

    http://dc168.4shared.com/doc/k88tZRE2/preview.html

    Maybe draw your own conclusions, or do more research, but if you ever face a medical examination by a WINZ doctor and further recommendation by an RHA or RDA, think again, are you being treated “fairly”. You will NOT be, as they are all “trained” by Dr Bratt to decide what MSD and WINZ want them to decide. Remember ACC, for that sake, what MSD does is quite similar!

    • Mary 24.1
      8 November 2012 at 12:15 am

      You’re dead right, but MSD has been doing this for while now. The biggest problem is the “advisers” contacting medical professionals who have initially assessed the person as entitled to the medical related benefit (whether it’s sickness, invalid’s, child disability allowance or whatever) to convince them to change their “opinion” saying the person is not sick “according to the new rules”. Of course the rules have not been changed but doctors and others aren’t to know that so they give MSD the “opinion” they want and the benefit’s refused or stopped – easy. And the only reason they’re getting away with it is because nobody cares about the poor, the sick and the disabled, who just don’t count anymore. Labour hates the poor as they’ve shown over the previous decade, and even the unions don’t care because they’re only interested in people who’ve got jobs which is kind of surprising because workers need the poorest of the poor to be looked after so as to keep wages and conditions from dropping – but try telling that to a unionist in 2012 – the filthy tory scum have done a real job on them, and the result is that those who cannot participate in the fictitious wage labour economy don’t count anymore. We cannot rely on Labour or the unions to “look after those who can’t quite cut it”. Oh how times have changed.

      • xtasy 24.1.1
        8 November 2012 at 12:27 am

        Mary: Thank you so much!

        The reason they get away with it is: Nobody challenges them under the law – i.e. provisions under the Act (agreement to be sought before MSD or CE can “determine” a designated or chosen doctor of their type), or under natural justice, which requires fairness, to be heard, to be allowed to have ALL records of your own doctors and specialists presented, read, heard and given credit to. This is NOT what they do! They tell people to take a “pick” of a list of doctors that they see as “independent” (which they are NOT), or even tell you, see “doctor so and so”, as it happened to a mate of mine.

        They are breaking the law all the time. YOU have a right to suggest an “independent” doctor, and only if “agreement” fails (which can be questioned re “why”, if all reasonable steps to negotiate that were taken were ignored), then can they “determine” a doctor of their kind.

        But believe you me: I have ALL the evidence that they have been training and influencing the doctors they select and use!

        There will be some submissions heard re the new reform bill, and some of this will be raised! MSD are lying, dishonest and covering up, that they went further than ACC, and even “trained” the supposedly “independent” doctors they used to make “recommendations” on health and disability issues affecting sick and invalids, needing welfare support from MSD.

        Take a resolute stand, and do an Official Information Act request to get the bloody truth ouf of a commonly lying minister and her staff!!!

        • Mary 24.1.1.1
          8 November 2012 at 12:54 am

          I agree that few are challenging MSD on the law, but sometimes the law itself is bad or unfair. I agree that more challenging needs to happen, but we also need to inject compassion back into the law. How we do this I don’t know, but it’s about getting the wider public to re-adopt a caring attitude towards the vulnerable – the same attitude that all governments since the late 1980s (and particularly during the 1990s) have worked very hard and have succeeded at destroying. About using the OIA (and all other appropriate means, of course) to help expose all of this, aren’t there advocacy groups out there doing this already? I can understand why very few social security cases are challenged in the courts which I’d imagine would largely be because beneficiaries cannot afford lawyers, but surely there must be others around working on the wider issues?

    • prism 24.2
      8 November 2012 at 9:27 am

      I have been involved with ME unwellness problems the treatment of which has been influenced by British medical luminaries who pass judgments and prescriptions on sufferers and their rehabilitation that have no validity because it is a syndrome of ailments and nobody knows what causes it. The answer to that is a group of medicals who deny there is a real condition, and often classify sufferers as mentally unwell, malingerers, etc.

      There are good paying positions for ‘specialists’ who take this view and they make life more difficult and miserable for people whose real problems are not taken seriously. This sounds like the pattern that MSD has been following and also ACC. There only has to be one proved malingerer and that becomes the default position for for all with a prejudice to each from the first interaction between medicals and the unwell person.

  25. xtasy 25
    7 November 2012 at 11:26 pm

    I feel I am wasting my time again on this website. It is regrettable, but the focus is not where it should be, maybe that is why the “left” in NZ is where it is, it is failing an falling apart, I am sorry. Good night!

    • weka 25.1
      8 November 2012 at 12:05 am

      I appreciate the information you share xtasy. I’m not sure what you are wanting from people at the Standard.

      • xtasy 25.1.1
        8 November 2012 at 12:31 am

        An associate sent heaps of emails and info to the address of the STandard, NOTHING has been followed up. So either some “research” is going on behind the scenes, or the email address is obsolete, or nobody seems to bother, perhaps to cover also failings of the last Labour led government. But it is all very, very disappointing!

        • lprent 25.1.1.1
          8 November 2012 at 7:42 am

          The way it operates is that there are a number of editors who have access to the email thestandardnz@gmail.com. We each eye up whatever arrives there and each do with it what they will.

          Personally, I usually just look for reports of problems and occasionally I will put up a guest post. Mostly people send problems to my email. I forward guest posts to the Standard’s email.

          Others will follow up on information provided if they find it interesting and feel like they are not wasting their time. If you are lucky they might forward it to a author who may be interested.

          We put up something like three quarters of guest posts – so that is always the best route. Most background information will get read but typically not used, mostly because to confirm it enough to write an opinion on it would require more time and effort than our people have available.

          This is a coop, we are volunteers, and most of us have our time sucked up by jobs, friends, family and other conditions. We aren’t the archetypal single blogger hiding in their families back room desperately seeking attention and notoriety as an recent episode of The Good Wife put it. We are either busy or occupied with activities outside the blog. It means that there are no researchers unless one of us is interested and feels like pulling our personal time from somewhere else.

          We like to write opinions about current affairs as a small part of our busy daily lives. We have banded together because an existing editor or author thought that someone else was good, no one objected, and they got given a login. We are steadily accreting authors. That spreads the load.

          The only formal structure is the trust we set up to handle the server cost and any other issues. Everything else is done by whoever can spare the time and feels the urge to do something.

          • xtasy 25.1.1.1.1
            10 November 2012 at 2:18 am

            Lprent AND Prism below: This is all appreciated, but I have more or less given up. If what someone did, whom I also assisted, puts hours of work into something, sends it out to advocates AND the Standard by 5 emails, and nobody bothers to read and study it, plus absolutely convincing, sensitive attached documents of total authenticity, then this is a total waste of time in my view, to get anything across in this country.

            Ignorance is the choice of most, complacency the next best choice, do not bother me, get off my back, I have my agenda is exactly, what I get everyday. No wonder the media in this country is so full of crap and incompetence! IT IS THE PUPULACE that are the problem, lazy, complacent, brain-washed, self serving and not interested in REAL stuff. As long as the lifestyle is somehow manegeable, why bother risking anything. That is what is happening, so maybe you all just need to be thrown off the cliff, to wake up, I am sorry, but that is how I feel the state of affairs in NZ are.

            NZ will never become an advanced, developed and progressive country like this, it is a daydream of unrealistic romanticists, that is what I see, no substance, no decisiveness, no real goals, just talk, talk, talk and more cheap talk. A WASTE!

        • prism 25.1.1.2
          8 November 2012 at 9:54 am

          xstasy 25.1.1
          Did this associate write a guest post? You are given that option to offer one for publication and if you feel there is a tale to be told why don’t you do this using all the information you have and co-ordinating with like-minded people?

          Open Mike gives people a chance to discuss positive things or problems and bad behaviour by authority. This makes others aware, but a knight on a white charger is unlikely to appear to start a crusade. The Standard is valuable in keeping people informed about the state of our state and its functions and how it’s treating its citizens. This is a central place where thoughtful people can converse with each other.

          Someone could initiate a campaign to improve government services if people could be found who have time to get behind it. Also there are groups who do watchdog work and interact with or confront the government to get things changed. Sue Bradford did this for years and is no doubt continuing. It is hard when people are unwell to find people who have strength and fortitude to champion a cause. It is demanding and doesn’t pay much. But there are some out there who will.

    • Mary 25.2
      8 November 2012 at 12:22 am

      Just keep saying it, Xtasy. Don’t ever stop. That’s all you can do. Just keep going.
      keeping going is good.

      • xtasy 25.2.1
        8 November 2012 at 12:47 am

        Mary – I just picked up (again) what you wrote above. Yes, and if that is the case, that they ring doctors, to get them to change their assessments, that is A SOLID CASE FOR BREACH OF PRIVACY AND NATURAL JUSTICE!

        I have two cases before the Health and Disability Commissioner now, I have had another case before DAPAANZ, a totally useless, biased and incompetent ‘Professional Standards Committee” decision there, while the boss up top is the same boss also of the agency employing staff that was complained about.

        Naturally, the committee tried to white wash and off-load. That is now also before the H+D Commissioner. There is a separate case about a “designated doctor” of highest popularity and prominence with MSD in the Auckland region before the H+D Commissioner, also is another case before the Ombudsman, dealing with breaches of certain kinds, as well as a partly related, but yet also independent complaints before the Privacy Commissioner now.

        You must think I am MAD. I am NOT mad, I have come across totally disgusting, despiccable and worse cases of breaches of patient’s rights in this country, you would only get this otherwise in 3rd world countries.

        Remember the justice department staff from Holland that left their jobs years ago, believing in corruption by fellow corrections staff, have you heard about other health staff, even the prospective new hot shot welfare CEO Grossman, all leaving the shores of this country?

        It is because this is run like a CORRUPT, OLD BOY’S NETWORK society and sytem here. NZ IS CORRUPT to the core. The problem is professionals and politicians and business people covering each other’s back-sides!

        I am just waiting to sort all those legal cases out, and I may also leave this DAMNED PLACE for good. It is ROTTEN to the core, what goes on here, believe you me.

        I am sorry to offend, I am telling the bloody truth. I had people in danger of suicide I tried to help, but neve rely on mental health in this damned country, it is SHITE! NZ is a LOST COUNTRY, and I totally understand every person who chose to leave the shores of this place.

        What a waste this country is – so much natural potential wasted by bad leadership!

        • Mary 25.2.1.1
          8 November 2012 at 1:00 am

          I know what goes on, Xtasy, and you’re not mad. It’s just that nobody cares about the poorest of the poor anymore – it’s that simple. All we can do is keep going, how ever doing that might unfold.

          • xtasy 25.2.1.1.1
            8 November 2012 at 1:04 am

            Thank youMary –

            Your comment means so much to me, I cannot express it, but I see my need for refuges too, so I am off to YouTube now, to seek a bit if musical relief.

            Take care, all the best, I will contribute, where I can.

  26. xtasy 26
    8 November 2012 at 12:02 am

    What is the actual “value” of this “media”? How many clicks a day or an hours does this generate? I know there are some figures, and fair enough. I am not so much interested in the “commercial interest” of it, it is about integrity, validation and so on.

    We have so much crap media in NZ, it is disgusting. I would love to prove there is some record that shows you guys do so much better. Once they see your potential, you will be up for sale, I am sure.

    Sadly MY experience with AnY NZ media is totally BAD and DISASTROUS, so I TRUST NO ONE ANYMORE!

    Hence at least I dare to speak “some” of my mind here.

    It would be a pity if this is also becoming a zombie no brain strom trooper zone.

    Rgds

    Xtasy

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    Gareth’s WorldBy admin
    12 hours ago

  • How Many Watts Does a Laptop Use? Understanding Power Consumption and Efficiency
    Laptops have become essential tools for work, entertainment, and communication, offering portability and functionality. However, with rising energy costs and growing environmental concerns, understanding a laptop’s power consumption is more important than ever. So, how many watts does a laptop use? The answer, unfortunately, isn’t straightforward. It depends on several ...
    Gareth’s WorldBy admin
    12 hours ago

  • How to Screen Record on a Dell Laptop A Guide to Capturing Your Screen with Ease
    Screen recording has become an essential tool for various purposes, such as creating tutorials, capturing gameplay footage, recording online meetings, or sharing information with others. Fortunately, Dell laptops offer several built-in and external options for screen recording, catering to different needs and preferences. This guide will explore various methods on ...
    Gareth’s WorldBy admin
    12 hours ago

  • How Much Does it Cost to Fix a Laptop Screen? Navigating Repair Options and Costs
    A cracked or damaged laptop screen can be a frustrating experience, impacting productivity and enjoyment. Fortunately, laptop screen repair is a common service offered by various repair shops and technicians. However, the cost of fixing a laptop screen can vary significantly depending on several factors. This article delves into the ...
    Gareth’s WorldBy admin
    12 hours ago

  • How Long Do Gaming Laptops Last? Demystifying Lifespan and Maximizing Longevity
    Gaming laptops represent a significant investment for passionate gamers, offering portability and powerful performance for immersive gaming experiences. However, a common concern among potential buyers is their lifespan. Unlike desktop PCs, which allow for easier component upgrades, gaming laptops have inherent limitations due to their compact and integrated design. This ...
    Gareth’s WorldBy admin
    12 hours ago

  • Climate Change: Turning the tide
    The annual inventory report of New Zealand's greenhouse gas emissions has been released, showing that gross emissions have dropped for the third year in a row, to 78.4 million tons: All-told gross emissions have decreased by over 6 million tons since the Zero Carbon Act was passed in 2019. ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    13 hours ago

  • How to Unlock Your Computer A Comprehensive Guide to Regaining Access
    Experiencing a locked computer can be frustrating, especially when you need access to your files and applications urgently. The methods to unlock your computer will vary depending on the specific situation and the type of lock you encounter. This guide will explore various scenarios and provide step-by-step instructions on how ...
    Gareth’s WorldBy admin
    14 hours ago

  • Faxing from Your Computer A Modern Guide to Sending Documents Digitally
    While the world has largely transitioned to digital communication, faxing still holds relevance in certain industries and situations. Fortunately, gone are the days of bulky fax machines and dedicated phone lines. Today, you can easily send and receive faxes directly from your computer, offering a convenient and efficient way to ...
    Gareth’s WorldBy admin
    15 hours ago

  • Protecting Your Home Computer A Guide to Cyber Awareness
    In our increasingly digital world, home computers have become essential tools for work, communication, entertainment, and more. However, this increased reliance on technology also exposes us to various cyber threats. Understanding these threats and taking proactive steps to protect your home computer is crucial for safeguarding your personal information, finances, ...
    Gareth’s WorldBy admin
    15 hours ago

  • Server-Based Computing Powering the Modern Digital Landscape
    In the ever-evolving world of technology, server-based computing has emerged as a cornerstone of modern digital infrastructure. This article delves into the concept of server-based computing, exploring its various forms, benefits, challenges, and its impact on the way we work and interact with technology. Understanding Server-Based Computing: At its core, ...
    Gareth’s WorldBy admin
    15 hours ago

  • Vroom vroom go the big red trucks
    The absolute brass neck of this guy.We want more medical doctors, not more spin doctors, Luxon was saying a couple of weeks ago, and now we’re told the guy has seven salaried adults on TikTok duty. Sorry, doing social media. The absolute brass neck of it. The irony that the ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    15 hours ago

  • Jones finds $410,000 to help the government muscle in on a spat project
    Buzz from the Beehive Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones relishes spatting and eagerly takes issue with environmentalists who criticise his enthusiasm for resource development. He relishes helping the fishing industry too. And so today, while the media are making much of the latest culling in the public service to ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    16 hours ago

  • Again, hate crimes are not necessarily terrorism.
    Having written, taught and worked for the US government on issues involving unconventional warfare and terrorism for 30-odd years, two things irritate me the most when the subject is discussed in public. The first is the Johnny-come-lately academics-turned-media commentators who … Continue reading → ...
    KiwipoliticoBy Pablo
    19 hours ago

  • Despair – construction consenting edition
    Eric Crampton writes – Kainga Ora is the government’s house building agency. It’s been building a lot of social housing. Kainga Ora has its own (but independent) consenting authority, Consentium. It’s a neat idea. Rather than have to deal with building consents across each different territorial authority, Kainga Ora ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    19 hours ago

  • Coalition promises – will the Govt keep the commitment to keep Kiwis equal before the law?
    Muriel Newman writes – The Coalition Government says it is moving with speed to deliver campaign promises and reverse the damage done by Labour. One of their key commitments is to “defend the principle that New Zealanders are equal before the law.” To achieve this, they have pledged they “will not advance ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    19 hours ago

  • An impermanent public service is a guarantee of very little else but failure
    Chris Trotter writes –  The absence of anything resembling a fightback from the public servants currently losing their jobs is interesting. State-sector workers’ collective fatalism in the face of Coalition cutbacks indicates a surprisingly broad acceptance of impermanence in the workplace. Fifty years ago, lay-offs in the thousands ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    20 hours ago

  • What happens after the war – Mariupol
    Mariupol, on the Azov Sea coast, was one of the first cities to suffer almost complete destruction after the start of the Ukraine War started in late February 2022. We remember the scenes of absolute destruction of the houses and city structures. The deaths of innocent civilians – many of ...
    Open ParachuteBy Ken
    21 hours ago

  • Babies and benefits – no good news
    Lindsay Mitchell writes – Ten years ago, I wrote the following in a Listener column: Every year around one in five new-born babies will be reliant on their caregivers benefit by Christmas. This pattern has persisted from at least 1993. For Maori the number jumps to over one in three.  ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    21 hours ago

  • Should the RBNZ be looking through climate inflation?
    Climate change is expected to generate more and more extreme events, delivering a sort of structural shock to inflation that central banks will have to react to as if they were short-term cyclical issues. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāMy pick of the six newsey things to know from Aotearoa’s ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    21 hours ago

  • Bernard's pick 'n' mix of the news links
    The top six news links I’ve seen elsewhere in the last 24 hours, as of 9:16 am on Thursday, April 18 are:Housing: Tauranga residents living in boats, vans RNZ Checkpoint Louise TernouthHousing: Waikato councillor says wastewater plant issues could hold up Sleepyhead building a massive company town Waikato Times Stephen ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    22 hours ago

  • Gordon Campbell on the public sector carnage, and misogyny as terrorism
    It’s a simple deal. We pay taxes in order to finance the social services we want and need. The carnage now occurring across the public sector though, is breaking that contract. Over 3,000 jobs have been lost so far. Many are in crucial areas like Education where the impact of ...
    Gordon CampbellBy lyndon
    23 hours ago

  • Meeting the Master Baiters
    Hi,A friend had their 40th over the weekend and decided to theme it after Curb Your Enthusiasm fashion icon Susie Greene. Captured in my tiny kitchen before I left the house, I ending up evoking a mix of old lesbian and Hillary Clinton — both unintentional.Me vs Hillary ClintonIf you’re ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    1 day ago

  • How extreme was the Earth's temperature in 2023
    This is a re-post from Andrew Dessler at the Climate Brink blog In 2023, the Earth reached temperature levels unprecedented in modern times. Given that, it’s reasonable to ask: What’s going on? There’s been lots of discussions by scientists about whether this is just the normal progression of global warming or if something ...
    Skeptical Science
    1 day ago

  • Backbone, revisited
    The schools are on holiday and the sun is shining in the seaside village and all day long I have been seeing bunches of bikes; Mums, Dads, teens and toddlers chattering, laughing, happy, having a bloody great time together. Cheers, AT, for the bits of lane you’ve added lately around the ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    2 days ago

  • Ministers are not above the law
    Today in our National-led authoritarian nightmare: Shane Jones thinks Ministers should be above the law: New Zealand First MP Shane Jones is accusing the Waitangi Tribunal of over-stepping its mandate by subpoenaing a minister for its urgent hearing on the Oranga Tamariki claim. The tribunal is looking into the ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    2 days ago

  • What’s the outfit you can hear going down the gurgler? Probably it’s David Parker’s Oceans Sec...
    Buzz from the Beehive Point  of Order first heard of the Oceans Secretariat in June 2021, when David Parker (remember him?) announced a multi-agency approach to protecting New Zealand’s marine ecosystems and fisheries. Parker (holding the Environment, and Oceans and Fisheries portfolios) broke the news at the annual Forest & ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    2 days ago

  • Will politicians let democracy die in the darkness?
    Bryce Edwards writes  – Politicians across the political spectrum are implicated in the New Zealand media’s failing health. Either through neglect or incompetent interventions, successive governments have failed to regulate, foster, and allow a healthy Fourth Estate that can adequately hold politicians and the powerful to account. ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    2 days ago

  • Matt Doocey doubles down on trans “healthcare”
    Citizen Science writes –  Last week saw two significant developments in the debate over the treatment of trans-identifying children and young people – the release in Britain of the final report of Dr Hilary Cass’s review into gender healthcare, and here in New Zealand, the news that the ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    2 days ago

  • A TikTok Prime Minister.
    One night while sleeping in my bed I had a beautiful dreamThat all the people of the world got together on the same wavelengthAnd began helping one anotherNow in this dream, universal love was the theme of the dayPeace and understanding and it happened this wayAfter such an eventful day ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    2 days ago

  • Texas Lessons
    This is a guest post by Oscar Simms who is a housing activist, volunteer for the Coalition for More Homes, and was the Labour Party candidate for Auckland Central at the last election. ...
    Greater AucklandBy Guest Post
    2 days ago

  • Bernard's pick 'n' mix of the news links at 6:06 am
    The top six news links I’ve seen elsewhere in the last 24 hours as of 6:06 am on Wednesday, April 17 are:Must read: Secrecy shrouds which projects might be fast-tracked RNZ Farah HancockScoop: Revealed: Luxon has seven staffers working on social media content - partly paid for by taxpayer Newshub ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    2 days ago

  • Fighting poverty on the holiday highway
    Turning what Labour called the “holiday highway” into a four-lane expressway from Auckland to Whangarei could bring at least an economic benefit of nearly two billion a year for Northland each year. And it could help bring an end to poverty in one of New Zealand’s most deprived regions. The ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    2 days ago

  • Bernard's six-stack of substacks at 6:26 pm
    Tonight’s six-stack includes: launching his substack with a bunch of his previous documentaries, including this 1992 interview with Dame Whina Cooper. and here crew give climate activists plenty to do, including this call to submit against the Fast Track Approvals bill. writes brilliantly here on his substack ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    3 days ago

  • At a glance – Is the science settled?
    On February 14, 2023 we announced our Rebuttal Update Project. This included an ask for feedback about the added "At a glance" section in the updated basic rebuttal versions. This weekly blog post series highlights this new section of one of the updated basic rebuttal versions and serves as a ...
    Skeptical Science
    3 days ago

  • Apposite Quotations.
    How Long Is Long Enough? Gaza under Israeli bombardment, July 2014. This posting is exclusive to Bowalley Road. ...
    Bowalley Road
    3 days ago

  • What’s a life worth now?
    You're in the mall when you hear it: some kind of popping sound in the distance, kids with fireworks, maybe. But then a moment of eerie stillness is followed by more of the fireworks sound and there’s also screaming and shrieking and now here come people running for their lives.Does ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    3 days ago

  • Howling at the Moon
    Karl du Fresne writes –  There’s a crisis in the news media and the media are blaming it on everyone except themselves. Culpability is being deflected elsewhere – mainly to the hapless Minister of Communications, Melissa Lee, and the big social media platforms that are accused of hoovering ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    3 days ago

  • Newshub is Dead.
    I don’t normally send out two newsletters in a day but I figured I’d say something about… the news. If two newsletters is a bit much then maybe just skip one, I don’t want to overload people. Alternatively if you’d be interested in sometimes receiving multiple, smaller updates from me, ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    3 days ago

  • Seymour is chuffed about cutting early-learning red tape – but we hear, too, that Jones has loose...
    Buzz from the Beehive David Seymour and Winston Peters today signalled that at least two ministers of the Crown might be in Wellington today. Seymour (as Associate Minister of Education) announced the removal of more red tape, this time to make it easier for new early learning services to be ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    3 days ago

  • Bryce Edwards: Will politicians let democracy die in the darkness?
    Politicians across the political spectrum are implicated in the New Zealand media’s failing health. Either through neglect or incompetent interventions, successive governments have failed to regulate, foster, and allow a healthy Fourth Estate that can adequately hold politicians and the powerful to account. Our political system is suffering from the ...
    Democracy ProjectBy bryce.edwards
    3 days ago

  • Was Hawkesby entirely wrong?
    David Farrar  writes –  The Broadcasting Standards Authority ruled: Comments by radio host Kate Hawkesby suggesting Māori and Pacific patients were being prioritised for surgery due to their ethnicity were misleading and discriminatory, the Broadcasting Standards Authority has found. It is a fact such patients are prioritised. ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    3 days ago

  • PRC shadow looms as the Solomons head for election
    PRC and its proxies in Solomons have been preparing for these elections for a long time. A lot of money, effort and intelligence have gone into ensuring an outcome that won’t compromise Beijing’s plans. Cleo Paskall writes – On April 17th the Solomon Islands, a country of ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    3 days ago

  • Climate Change: Criminal ecocide
    We are in the middle of a climate crisis. Last year was (again) the hottest year on record. NOAA has just announced another global coral bleaching event. Floods are threatening UK food security. So naturally, Shane Jones wants to make it easier to mine coal: Resources Minister Shane Jones ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    3 days ago

  • Is saving one minute of a politician's time worth nearly $1 billion?
    Is speeding up the trip to and from Wellington airport by 12 minutes worth spending up more than $10 billion? Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The six news items that stood out to me in the last day to 8:26 am today are:The Lead: Transport Minister Simeon Brown announced ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    3 days ago

  • Long Tunnel or Long Con?
    Yesterday it was revealed that Transport Minister had asked Waka Kotahi to look at the options for a long tunnel through Wellington. State Highway 1 (SH1) through Wellington City is heavily congested at peak times and while planning continues on the duplicate Mt Victoria Tunnel and Basin Reserve project, the ...
    Greater AucklandBy Matt L
    3 days ago

  • Smoke And Mirrors.
    You're a fraud, and you know itBut it's too good to throw it all awayAnyone would do the sameYou've got 'em goingAnd you're careful not to show itSometimes you even fool yourself a bitIt's like magicBut it's always been a smoke and mirrors gameAnyone would do the sameForty six billion ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    3 days ago

  • What is Mexico doing about climate change?
    This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections The June general election in Mexico could mark a turning point in ensuring that the country’s climate policies better reflect the desire of its citizens to address the climate crisis, with both leading presidential candidates expressing support for renewable energy. Mexico is the ...
    Skeptical Science
    3 days ago

  • State of humanity, 2024
    2024, it feels, keeps presenting us with ever more challenges, ever more dismay.Do you give up yet? It seems to ask.No? How about this? Or this?How about this?When I say 2024 I really mean the state of humanity in 2024.Saturday night, we watched Civil War because that is one terrifying cliff we've ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    4 days ago

  • Govt’s Wellington tunnel vision aims to ease the way to the airport (but zealous promoters of cycl...
    Buzz from the Beehive A pet project and governmental tunnel vision jump out from the latest batch of ministerial announcements. The government is keen to assure us of its concern for the wellbeing of our pets. It will be introducing pet bonds in a change to the Residential Tenancies Act ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    4 days ago

  • The case for cultural connectedness
    A recent report generated from a Growing Up in New Zealand (GUiNZ) survey of 1,224 rangatahi Māori aged 11-12 found: Cultural connectedness was associated with fewer depression symptoms, anxiety symptoms and better quality of life. That sounds cut and dry. But further into the report the following appears: Cultural connectedness is ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago

  • Useful context on public sector job cuts
    David Farrar writes –    The Herald reports: From the gory details of job-cuts news, you’d think the public service was being eviscerated.   While the media’s view of the cuts is incomplete, it’s also true that departments have been leaking the particulars faster than a Wellington ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago

  • Gordon Campbell On When Racism Comes Disguised As Anti-racism
    Remember the good old days, back when New Zealand had a PM who could think and speak calmly and intelligently in whole sentences without blustering? Even while Iran’s drones and missiles were still being launched, Helen Clark was live on TVNZ expertly summing up the latest crisis in the Middle ...
    Gordon CampbellBy lyndon
    4 days ago

  • Govt ignored economic analysis of smokefree reversal
    Costello did not pass on analysis of the benefits of the smokefree reforms to Cabinet, emphasising instead the extra tax revenues of repealing them. Photo: Hagen Hopkins, Getty Images TL;DR: The six news items that stood out to me at 7:26 am today are:The Lead: Casey Costello never passed on ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago

  • True Blue.
    True loveYou're the one I'm dreaming ofYour heart fits me like a gloveAnd I'm gonna be true blueBaby, I love youI’ve written about the job cuts in our news media last week. The impact on individuals, and the loss to Aotearoa of voices covering our news from different angles.That by ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    4 days ago

  • Who is running New Zealand’s foreign policy?
    While commentators, including former Prime Minister Helen Clark, are noting a subtle shift in New Zealand’s foreign policy, which now places more emphasis on the United States, many have missed a key element of the shift. What National said before the election is not what the government is doing now. ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    4 days ago

  • 2024 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #15
    A listing of 31 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, April 7, 2024 thru Sat, April 13, 2024. Story of the week Our story of the week is about adults in the room setting terms and conditions of ...
    Skeptical Science
    4 days ago

  • Feline Friends and Fragile Fauna The Complexities of Cats in New Zealand’s Conservation Efforts

    Cats, with their independent spirit and beguiling purrs, have captured the hearts of humans for millennia. In New Zealand, felines are no exception, boasting the highest national cat ownership rate globally [definition cat nz cat foundation]. An estimated 1.134 million pet cats grace Kiwi households, compared to 683,000 dogs ...

    Gareth’s WorldBy admin
    5 days ago

  • Or is that just they want us to think?
    Nice guy, that Peter Williams. Amiable, a calm air of no-nonsense capability, a winning smile. Everything you look for in a TV presenter and newsreader.I used to see him sometimes when I went to TVNZ to be a talking head or a panellist and we would yarn. Nice guy, that ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    5 days ago

  • Fact Brief – Did global warming stop in 1998?
    Skeptical Science is partnering with Gigafact to produce fact briefs — bite-sized fact checks of trending claims. This fact brief was written by Sue Bin Park in collaboration with members from our Skeptical Science team. You can submit claims you think need checking via the tipline. Did global warming stop in ...
    Skeptical Science
    5 days ago

  • Arguing over a moot point.
    I have been following recent debates in the corporate and social media about whether it is a good idea for NZ to join what is known as “AUKUS Pillar Two.” AUKUS is the Australian-UK-US nuclear submarine building agreement in which … Continue reading → ...
    KiwipoliticoBy Pablo
    6 days ago

  • No Longer Trusted: Ageing Boomers, Laurie & Les, Talk Politics.
    Turning Point: â€œWhat has turned me away from the mainstream news media is the very strong message that its been sending out for the last few years.” â€œAnd what message might that be?” â€œThat the people who own it, the people who run it, and the people who provide its content, really don’t ...
    Bowalley Road
    6 days ago

  • Mortgage rates at 10% anyone?
    No – nothing about that in PM Luxon’s nine-point plan to improve the lives of New Zealanders. But beyond our shores Jamie Dimon, the long-serving head of global bank J.P. Morgan Chase, reckons that the chances of a goldilocks soft landing for the economy are “a lot lower” than the ...
    Point of OrderBy xtrdnry
    6 days ago

  • Sad tales from the left
    Michael Bassett writes –  Have you noticed the odd way in which the media are handling the government’s crackdown on surplus employees in the Public Service? Very few reporters mention the crazy way in which State Service numbers rocketed ahead by more than 16,000 during Labour’s six years, ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    6 days ago

  • In Whose Best Interests?
    On The Spot: The question Q+A host, Jack Tame, put to the Workplace & Safety Minister, Act’s Brooke van Velden, was disarmingly simple: “Are income tax cuts right now in the best interests of lowering inflation?”JACK TAME has tested another MP on his Sunday morning current affairs show, Q+A. Minister for Workplace ...
    Bowalley Road
    6 days ago

  • Don’t Question, Don’t Complain.
    It has to start somewhereIt has to start sometimeWhat better place than here?What better time than now?So it turns out that I owe you all an apology.It seems that all of the terrible things this government is doing, impacting the lives of many, aren’t necessarily ‘bad’ per se. Those things ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    6 days ago

  • Auckland faces 25% water inflation shock
    Three Waters became a focus of anti-Government protests under Labour, but its dumping by the new Government hasn’t solved councils’ funding problems and will eventually hit the back pockets of everyone. Photo: Lynn Grieveson/Getty ImagesTL;DR: The six news items that stood out to me at 8:06 am today are:The Government ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    6 days ago

  • Small accomplishments and large ironies
    Hello! Here comes the Saturday edition of More Than A Feilding, catching you up on the past week’s editions.Share Read more ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    6 days ago

  • The Song of Saqua: Volume VII
    In order to catch up to the actual progress of the D&D campaign, I present you with another couple of sessions. These were actually held back to back, on a Monday and Tuesday evening. Session XV Alas, Goatslayer had another lycanthropic transformation… though this time, he ran off into the ...
    A Phuulish FellowBy strda221
    6 days ago

  • Accelerating the Growth Rate?
    There is a constant theme from the economic commentariat that New Zealand needs to lift its economic growth rate, coupled with policies which they are certain will attain that objective. Their prescriptions are usually characterised by two features. First, they tend to be in their advocate’s self-interest. Second, they are ...
    PunditBy Brian Easton
    7 days ago

  • Comprehensive Partnership the goal for NZ and the Philippines
    Prime Minister Christopher Luxon held a bilateral meeting today with the President of the Philippines, Ferdinand Marcos Jr.  The Prime Minister was accompanied by MP Paulo Garcia, the first Filipino to be elected to a legislature outside the Philippines. During today’s meeting, Prime Minister Luxon and President Marcos Jr discussed opportunities to ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    9 hours ago

  • Government commits $20m to Westport flood protection
    The Government has announced that $20 million in funding will be made available to Westport to fund much needed flood protection around the town. This measure will significantly improve the resilience of the community, says Local Government Minister Simeon Brown. “The Westport community has already been allocated almost $3 million ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    15 hours ago

  • Taupō takes pole position
    The Government is proud to support the first ever Repco Supercars Championship event in Taupō as up to 70,000 motorsport fans attend the Taupō International Motorsport Park this weekend, says Economic Development Minister Melissa Lee. “Anticipation for the ITM Taupō Super400 is huge, with tickets and accommodation selling out weeks ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    16 hours ago

  • Cost of living support for low-income homeowners
    Local Government Minister Simeon Brown has announced an increase to the Rates Rebate Scheme, putting money back into the pockets of low-income homeowners.  “The coalition Government is committed to bringing down the cost of living for New Zealanders. That includes targeted support for those Kiwis who are doing things tough, such ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    18 hours ago

  • Government backing mussel spat project
    The Coalition Government is investing in a project to boost survival rates of New Zealand mussels and grow the industry, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones has announced. “This project seeks to increase the resilience of our mussels and significantly boost the sector’s productivity,” Mr Jones says. “The project - ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    18 hours ago

  • Government focused on getting people into work
    Benefit figures released today underscore the importance of the Government’s plan to rebuild the economy and have 50,000 fewer people on Jobseeker Support, Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston says. “Benefit numbers are still significantly higher than when National was last in government, when there was about 70,000 fewer ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    21 hours ago

  • Clean energy key driver to reducing emissions
    The Government’s commitment to doubling New Zealand’s renewable energy capacity is backed by new data showing that clean energy has helped the country reach its lowest annual gross emissions since 1999, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. New Zealand’s latest Greenhouse Gas Inventory (1990-2022) published today, shows gross emissions fell ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    22 hours ago

  • Earthquake-prone buildings review brought forward
    The Government is bringing the earthquake-prone building review forward, with work to start immediately, and extending the deadline for remediations by four years, Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk says. “Our Government is focused on rebuilding the economy. A key part of our plan is to cut red tape that ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago

  • Thailand and NZ to agree to Strategic Partnership
    Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and his Thai counterpart, Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin, have today agreed that New Zealand and the Kingdom of Thailand will upgrade the bilateral relationship to a Strategic Partnership by 2026. “New Zealand and Thailand have a lot to offer each other. We have a strong mutual desire to build ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago

  • Government consults on extending coastal permits for ports
    RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop and Transport Minister Simeon Brown have today announced the Coalition Government’s intention to extend port coastal permits for a further 20 years, providing port operators with certainty to continue their operations. “The introduction of the Resource Management Act in 1991 required ports to obtain coastal ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago

  • Inflation coming down, but more work to do
    Today’s announcement that inflation is down to 4 per cent is encouraging news for Kiwis, but there is more work to be done - underlining the importance of the Government’s plan to get the economy back on track, acting Finance Minister Chris Bishop says. “Inflation is now at 4 per ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago

  • School attendance restored as a priority in health advice
    Refreshed health guidance released today will help parents and schools make informed decisions about whether their child needs to be in school, addressing one of the key issues affecting school attendance, says Associate Education Minister David Seymour. In recent years, consistently across all school terms, short-term illness or medical reasons ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago

  • Unnecessary bureaucracy cut in oceans sector
    Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones is streamlining high-level oceans management while maintaining a focus on supporting the sector’s role in the export-led recovery of the economy. “I am working to realise the untapped potential of our fishing and aquaculture sector. To achieve that we need to be smarter with ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago

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