Someone posted this yesterday about the crisis in the US. Very interesting. They also talk about how hope keeps people ‘passive’, the MSM, investigative journalists etc. Something for everyone framed in the US context. Interestingly they were saying about record levels of US unemployment which is hidden in statistics and the fear of ‘hackers’ enemy no 1 as being able to show war crimes and so forth by people in power.
Bestselling author and Pulitzer Prize winner Chris Hedges sits down with Ben Makuch at the Toronto VICE office to discuss what it takes to be a rebel in modern times.
Sounds like someone was getting pissed off with the UK Labour-right that was leading them into oblivion and that right-wing are attacking back now that they’ve lost control of Labour.
“With the release of the full text of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), a sharpening of arguments on both sides outline a debate about privacy, corporatism, internet freedom and intellectual property, and even the plight of whistleblowers…
…the agreement requires internet service providers to help take down websites that are violating copyright laws, but does not allow the websites to dispute copyright accusations. This potentially opens the door to service providers taking down websites in one country over copyright accusations from a company based in another nation.
The pact also criminalizes the “unauthorized and willful disclosure of a trade secret including via a computer system.” According to FFTF, this is a clear effort to discourage whistleblowers and journalists from exposing sensitive issues.
Intellectual property protections in the agreement include biologic drugs – advanced and expensive drugs to manufacture. All countries in the TPP would have to enforce five to eight year minimums of exclusivity, preventing other companies from making cheaper generic forms called biosimilars. The United States protects exclusivity rights for 12 years. Critics say this would drive up the cost of life-saving medicines for developing countries.
Another concern related to intellectual property is the investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS) process, which FFTF opposes on principle as an anti-democratic system. Corporations can sue governments under the system if a country’s policies are perceived as cutting in on intellectual property values and profits…
What now?…More Protests …The TPPA has not been signed …Countries concerned are yet to agree to signing…All the more important that we put the heat on the Labour Party NOT to give agreement to the TPPA!
‘EXCLUSIVE: Jane Kelsey – TPPA HAS NOT BEEN SIGNED. Crucial protest on 14 Nov -‘
…The truth is that the TPPA can’t be signed for at least another three months. Until then New Zealand has not been committed in any formal legal manner to the political deal. Even then, the country won’t be bound irrevocably to the TPPA for probably another two years.
This is no time for surrender or fatigue. Other countries are fighting to ensure the political price is too high for their governments to do so and that opposition parties make an uncompromising commitment to reject the still-secret deal. We need to do that here, starting with a mass turnout to the protests around the country, especially in Auckland and Wellington, on Saturday 14 November…
Some feedback from the TPP text
From Australia:
“What about the claim that “there is explicit recognition that TPP Parties have an inherent right to regulate to protect public welfare, including in the areas of health and the environment”?
There is mention of a “right to regulate” in the preamble of the whole agreement, but this is not legally enforceable. In the investment chapter itself, a provision indicates that parties can maintain and enforce environmental and health measures that are “otherwise consistent” with the agreement. Translation: environmental and health measures (other than those related to tobacco control) can still be challenged under ISDS. http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-11-06/tienhaara-ttp-investment/6918810
from Canada
But critics say that wording may override laws like those in B.C. and Nova Scotia that keep government information such as health data and other personal details on servers within Canada to keep people’s information safe. http://www.cbc.ca/news/business/trans-pacific-partnership-details-1.3308248
“Protesters took to the streets in hundreds of cities around the world for the 2015 Million Mask March on Thursday, with police arresting dozens in London and activists storming the doors of biotech giant Monsanto in Washington, DC.
Organized by the hacktivist group Anonymous, the event featured thousands of people from around the world donning Guy Fawkes masks and protesting a variety of injustices ranging from inequality and corruption to police brutality and capitalism itself. Protests spanned the globe, with major events taking place in Europe and the United States, as well as Canada and Guatemala….
There has been lots on this site to show that people know independent journalism matters. It’s the lifeblood of democracy. That the news is broken can be taken as a given. Scoop Media’s Editor Alastair Thompson has written and answered questions on the Standard about why we need better journalism and where it’s at right now and why.
It’s not all bad news. As you will have read on this site Scoop’s campaign to ‘take back the news’ is a way to keep independent, public interest journalism alive in New Zealand.
A few days ago Alastair updated the funding campaign site http://pldg.me/scoop with a call to action. It’s crunch time. To have a fighting chance to save Scoop and survive the crisis the funding campaign needs to find another 600 people who care about independent news and journalism in New Zealand in the next 10 days!
Can you join me and help get Scoop over the line? In the last 36 hours support has risen from 41% to 48% of the $50,000 goal but the campaign needs more supporters and the message needs to be spread wider.
Here’s how you can help
You can become for $16 or more.
If you already use Scoop at work, encourage your employer to subscribe to a licence which will support – they can also do this by way of a pledge (pricing starts at $420)
Or, if you are really passionate about helping to build the future of news, volunteer to join the Scoop Team and participate directly in the future of Scoop (including a crew of social media amplifiers) at http://takebackthenews.nz/
Thanks for caring about this, if enough of us do, we can make a real difference
I’m glad to see the pledgeme has taken off and I really hope they reach their goal.
I think there is a problem for Scoop in that its public material is presented in a very complicated way. I want something I can give to my middle class family and friends (the ones with money to donate) who are concerned about the state of the media but aren’t hardcore political types. I asked Alaister in the Q and A to explain Scoop in a few paragraphs and while what he wrote kind of made sense to me it’s not an explanation I can pass on to others.
I still don’t know exactly what Scoop will do.
And sorry to be critical, but the messy formatting and unclarity in your comment is another example. Being able to present messages in clear and simple ways seems crucial for a news organisation and it’s a bit of a worry that that’s not happening.
I’m a supporter of Scoop and a librarian rather than a journalist. I had a problem with the editing. I got called away before I had finished. Without starting from scratch the main problem is in the sentence that reads
You can become for $16 or more
which should have said
You can become a Scoop member for $16 or more. The link should have taken you to http://pldg.me/Scoop
I thought that Alastair’s recent update and the video that you get taken to from that link are good resources to understand Scoop’s fundraising. If you let me know what is missing I can try to answer your questions.
I’m a librarian and for my part Scoop is “Just the News” in the sense of news that can help see justice occur as well as in the sense of being timely and being ‘only the news’. There are no stories based on celebrities, no name calling or personal attacks and no journalists who make themselves ‘the story’. In contrast to other news there are no ‘clickbait’ stories. Scoop collates news from many, many valuable civil society voices who are rarely heard by the mainstream media and presents these alongside news from government and together with business opinion.
Scoop journalist Robert Kelly has written a great article explaining how Scoop works. http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL1510/S00062/please-release-me-a-day-in-scoops-inbox.htm which is really illuminating. “We don’t take a position on the releases and we don’t edit them, we present them. We sit at the coal face of public of information and chip, chip, chip away. ” he wrote.
With greater resources the Scoop Foundation will be seeking to commission more research and more stories. There is no shortage of need there I think you would agree.
The 2012 Census revealed that the digital divide is at its widest in the in the Eastern Bay of Plenty where one in three families lack access to the internet. The country’s newest, and possibly smallest, Internet Service Provider, WiFi Connect is doing its best to bridge that divide by offering unlimited broadband for just $40 a month to people in isolated communities like Tokomaru and Tolaga Bays. Ivan Lomax is a co-founder and director of Wifi Connect.
My bold. It’s important to pay attention to the fact that many NZers aren’t online routinely. More and more NZ is assuming that everyone has cheap and easy internet access but this means that the voices not being heard are not even being noticed as absent.
The honest captions reveal how long she spent creating the shots, how much she was paid to promote products, and just how “incredibly alone” the process made her feel.
“Without realising, I’ve spent majority of my teenage life being addicted to social media, social approval, social status and my physical appearance. Social media, especially how I used it, isn’t real,” O’Neill wrote on her last Instagram post.
“It’s a system based on social approval, likes, validation in views, success in followers. It’s perfectly orchestrated self absorbed judgement. I was consumed by it.”
Will be interesting to see how that goes down and if it changes anything.
Also Labour Party President Nigel dispensing advice. One thing he might be concerned about with electorates is too much individual promotion, with Party coming in second-best.
Tracey noticed that. I made the facetious comment that he must have been let out, and wonder at the truth of that when I see his frantic efforts everywhere.
Were you impressed by his performance?
Would you seriously suggest he is capable of doing the job of PM?
Really, truly could you say that?
I suspect your dyspepsia is due to his display, not to my remarks about it.
Isn’t there anyone even half competent in the Labour Party?
I couldn’t give a rat’s arse about Little or Labour Alwyn. That ship sailed long ago, so no heartburn on my part, I just call it as I see it. Are you offended that I have characterized your tone as snide? Never mind. You set out to annoy and irritate others here so I guess you’ll just have to take the rough with the smooth.
Craig has now admitted he was Mr X, who was quoted in the booklet as describing Craig as “freakish under pressure” and said he had a chance of a comeback.
“A lot of expletives have been deleted from this dialogue,” the interview begins.
Craig said he didn’t see any problems with talking about himself in the third person and framing it as an anonymous whistleblower.
It was a common literary tool to get a message out to readers, he said.
It even has this little gem:
Slater disputed Craig’s claim it was a common practice to use fake interviews in publications.
Anyone fear a similar case with TPP? “Wellington City Council’s decision to pay its security contractors a living wage is headed to the High Court, and ratepayers could end up paying some of the legal bills.
The Wellington Chamber of Commerce announced on Friday that it would seek a judicial review of the council’s living wage policy.”
“the COC as they would have to follow suit”.
What do you mean by this? If the COC was to lose the case it wouldn’t mean that all their members would have to pay this “living wage”. At most it could only mean that any business wanting to get Council business might have to pay their own staff involved in carrying out that work that pay rate.
The Council has no power to set a minimum wage rate. That is a prerogative of Central Government.
I can’t see how losing the case could force them to pay everyone working in Wellington such a wage.
Have I misinterpreted what you are proposing?
I suspect that if all council subcontractors had to pay a living wage, employees of the COC membership would lose quite a lot of gruntles if the COCs didn’t follow suit.
Otherwise there’s no reason for the COCs to seek the review in the first place.
It wouldn’t have any legal meaning would it? A Court finding that the Council were entitled to award contracts only to companies who pay the employees involved more than a certain rate wouldn’t force those companies to pay that rate to all their staff would it?
If they worried that they would have to pay all their staff that rate because it might piss off their other staff who were working on other contracts they might not bid on the Council work at all. Then they might have to lay off staff if they had the work at the moment. It wouldn’t affect total employment of course but it might change the people who did have jobs, just like any company who wins or loses a contract.
However if the case is not brought, and they decide they will just have to accept the council dictum they are in no different state than having brought the case and losing are they?
As an aside the bringing of work in-house and paying the people more doesn’t seem to have worked in the case of parking enforcement staff. They did precisely that and then had the higher-paid people showed their thanks by cancelling their own parking infringement tickets. So much for gratitude eh?
I was being tongue in cheek. I thought using the word “imagine” was sufficient clue.
See as you have a bee buzzing. Only the company that wants to pay the living wage need apply for the contract. Others can continue to pay their luxury work car leases on the back of disproportionately low wages.
If the case is brought and lost, then the attempted CoC-blockers have sent good money after bad, when their members would be compensated for the hardship of paying a living wage anyway.
As for your aside, bringing the work inhouse seems to have exposed a flaw in the council audit processes and administration of infringement notices. I’m sure the responsible staff have been disciplined.
Morgan Godfrey hit it on the head on wellington.scoop.co.nz when he tweeted, “I wonder when the Wellington Chamber of Commerce will sue the city council for “ineffective and inefficient” executive-level salaries?”
“Cyberwarfare may cross over into the real world to harm humans, thanks to an upcoming military contract valued at almost half a billion dollars.
Raytheon, Northrop Grumman and Lockheed Martin are some of the defense firms competing for an upcoming $460 million US Cyber Command project to give the American military the power to turn an enemy’s critical infrastructure against them with weaponized code, according to Defense One. A 114-page draft of a 5-year contract released on September 30 details a plan to get private companies to support military operations with cyberwarfare.
The initial work order will support “cyber joint munitions effectiveness” by developing and deploying “cyber weapons” and coordinating with “tool developers” in the spy community, the documents state…
…US Cyber Command, which was only created in 2009, is in the process of recruiting 6,200 specialists for cyberwarfare teams positioned all around the world. The command’s duty is to prevent foreign hackers from executing attacks on domestic targets, to aid combat troops overseas, and to protect the military’s own networks. By comparison, China is believed to have 100,000 cyber warriors, according to Defense One.
Probably no one ever did believe it but it gained a few decades of deflecting the concerns of the masses. And English’s tax cuts for the rich were justified as a sort of trickle down.
“Ehara i te mea ko te hāngūtanga o te wāhine he taonga tuku iho nō tāukiuki, nō ō tātou kuia. E kāo. Māku e kī atu. Ehara tēnei kauhau mō te wāhine e whai mana ana – engari kē ia, ko te mana o te wahine. He mana wāhine! He mana tūturu! Nō mai rā anō. Tai timu, tai pari, e kore e mutu.
(Do not believe for a moment that a woman’s reticence is a necessary legacy that has been passed down from your Ancient Grandmothers.
So now I clarify.
This is not about women in power, but the power in women.
This is not about feminism but Mana Wahine, women’s inherent power.
Watch the Tide. It is unstoppable.)”
Marama Davison explains this part of her maiden speech,
Hello! Here comes the Saturday edition of More Than A Feilding, catching you up on the past week’s editions.State of humanity, 20242024, 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?Full story Share ...
Determining the hardest sport in the world is a subjective matter, as the difficulty level can vary depending on individual abilities, physical attributes, and experience. However, based on various factors including physical demands, technical skills, mental fortitude, and overall accomplishment, here is an exploration of some of the most challenging ...
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Graham Adams writes about the $55m media fund — When Patrick Gower was asked by Mike Hosking last week what he would say to the many Newstalk ZB callers who allege the Labour government bribed media with $55 million of taxpayers’ money via the Public Interest Journalism Fund — and ...
Note: this blog post has been put together over the course of the week I followed the happenings at the conference virtually. Should recordings of the Great Debates and possibly Union Symposia mentioned below, be released sometime after the conference ends, I'll include links to the ones I participated in. ...
The following was my submission made on the “Fast Track Approvals Bill”. This potential law will give three Ministers unchecked powers, un-paralled since the days of Robert Muldoon’s “Think Big” projects.The submission is written a bit tongue-in-cheek. But it’s irreverent because the FTAB is in itself not worthy of respect. ...
One Could Reduce Child Poverty At No Fiscal CostFollowing the Richardson/Shipley 1990 ‘redesign of the welfare state’ – which eliminated the universal Family Benefit and doubled the rate of child poverty – various income supplements for families have been added, the best known being ‘Working for Families’, introduced in 2005. ...
Buzz from the Beehive A few days ago, Point of Order suggested the media must be musing “on why Melissa is mute”. Our article reported that people working in the beleaguered media industry have cause to yearn for a minister as busy as Melissa Lee’s ministerial colleagues and we drew ...
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Jack Vowles writes – New Zealand is said to be suffering from ‘serious populist discontent’. An IPSOS MORI survey has reported that we have an increasing preference for strong leaders, think that the economy is rigged toward the rich and powerful, and political elites are ignoring ‘hard-working people’. ...
Chris Trotter writes – MELISSA LEE should be deprived of her ministerial warrant. Her handling – or non-handling – of the crisis engulfing the New Zealand news media has been woeful. The fate of New Zealand’s two linear television networks, a question which the Minister of Broadcasting, Communications ...
TL;DR: The podcast above features co-hosts and , along with regular guests Robert Patman on Gaza and AUKUS II, and on climate change.The six things that mattered in Aotearoa’s political economy that we wrote and spoke about via The Kākā and elsewhere for paying subscribers in the ...
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TL;DR: The global economy will be one fifth smaller than it would have otherwise been in 2050 as a result of climate damage, according to a new study by the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK) and published in the journal Nature. (See more detail and analysis below, and ...
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Foreign Minister Winston Peters is understood to be planning a major speech within the next fortnight to clear up the confusion over whether or not New Zealand might join the AUKUS submarine project. So far, there have been conflicting signals from the Government. RNZ reported the Prime Minister yesterday in ...
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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 ...
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 → ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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, ...
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 ...
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 ...
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. ...
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 ...
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 Brownannounced ...
The Green Party has joined the call for public submissions on the fast-track legislation to be extended after the Ombudsman forced the Government to release the list of organisations invited to apply just hours before submissions close. ...
New Zealand’s good work at reducing climate emissions for three years in a row will be undone by the National government’s lack of ambition and scrapping programmes that were making a difference, Labour Party climate spokesperson Megan Woods said today. ...
More essential jobs could be on the chopping block, this time Ministry of Education staff on the school lunches team are set to find out whether they're in line to lose their jobs. ...
The Government is trying to bring in a law that will allow Ministers to cut corners and kill off native species, Labour environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said. ...
Cancelling urgently needed new Cook Strait ferries and hiking the cost of public transport for many Kiwis so that National can announce the prospect of another tunnel for Wellington is not making good choices, Labour Transport Spokesperson Tangi Utikere said. ...
A laundry list of additional costs for Tāmaki Makarau Auckland shows the Minister for the city is not delivering for the people who live there, says Labour Auckland Issues spokesperson Shanan Halbert. ...
The Green Party has today launched a step-by-step guide to help New Zealanders make their voice heard on the Government’s democracy dodging and anti-environment fast track legislation. ...
The National Government’s proposed changes to the Residential Tenancies Act will mean tenants can be turfed from their homes by landlords with little notice, Labour housing spokesperson Kieran McAnulty said. ...
Green Party co-leader Marama Davidson is calling on all parties to support a common-sense change that’s great for the planet and great for consumers after her member’s bill was drawn from the ballot today. ...
A significant milestone has been reached in the fight to strike an anti-Pasifika and unfair law from the country’s books after Teanau Tuiono’s members’ bill passed its first reading. ...
New Zealand has today missed the opportunity to uphold the right to a clean, healthy, and sustainable environment, says James Shaw after his member’s bill was voted down in its first reading. ...
Today’s advice from the Climate Change Commission paints a sobering reality of the challenge we face in combating climate change, especially in light of recent Government policy announcements. ...
Minister for Disability Issues Penny Simmonds appears to have delayed a report back to Cabinet on the progress New Zealand is making against international obligations for disabled New Zealanders. ...
The Government’s newly announced review of methane emissions reduction targets hints at its desire to delay Aotearoa New Zealand’s urgent transition to a climate safe future, the Green Party said. ...
The Government must commit to the Maitai School building project for students with high and complex needs, to ensure disabled students from the top of the South Island have somewhere to learn. ...
Mental Health Minister Matt Doocey and his Government colleagues have made a meal of their mental health commitments, showing how flimsy their efforts to champion the issue truly are, says Labour Mental Health spokesperson Ingrid Leary. ...
Māori are yet to see anything from this Government except cuts, reversals and taking our people backwards, Māori Development spokesperson Willie Jackson said. ...
The Coalition Government’s refusal to commit to ongoing funding for social housing is seeing the sector pull back on developments and families watch their dreams of securing a home fade away, says Labour Housing spokesperson Kieran McAnulty. ...
Changes to minimum wage and benefit indexation means many New Zealanders will get less this year, as the Government gives a big tax break to landlords instead. ...
New Zealand is demonstrating its commitment to reducing global greenhouse emissions, and supporting clean energy transition in South East Asia, through a contribution of NZ$41 million (US$25 million) in climate finance to the Asian Development Bank (ADB)-led Energy Transition Mechanism (ETM). Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Climate Change Minister Simon Watts announced ...
The Government is today releasing a list of organisations who received letters about the Fast-track applications process, says RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop. “Recently Ministers and agencies have received a series of OIA requests for a list of organisations to whom I wrote with information on applying to have a ...
Attorney-General Judith Collins today announced the appointment of Wellington Barrister David Jonathan Boldt as a Judge of the High Court, and the Honourable Justice Matthew Palmer as a Judge of the Court of Appeal. Justice Boldt graduated with an LLB from Victoria University of Wellington in 1990, and also holds ...
Education Minister Erica Stanford will lead the New Zealand delegation at the 2024 International Summit on the Teaching Profession (ISTP) held in Singapore. The delegation includes representatives from the Post Primary Teachers’ Association (PPTA) Te Wehengarua and the New Zealand Educational Institute (NZEI) Te Riu Roa. The summit is co-hosted ...
A stopbank upgrade project in Tairawhiti partly funded by the Government has increased flood resilience for around 7000ha of residential and horticultural land so far, Regional Development Minister Shane Jones says. Mr Jones today attended a dawn service in Gisborne to mark the end of the first stage of the ...
Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters will represent the Government at Anzac Day commemorations on the Gallipoli Peninsula next week and engage with senior representatives of the Turkish government in Istanbul. “The Gallipoli campaign is a defining event in our history. It will be a privilege to share the occasion ...
Science, Innovation and Technology and Defence Minister Judith Collins will next week attend the OECD Science and Technology Ministerial conference in Paris and Anzac Day commemorations in Belgium. “Science, innovation and technology have a major role to play in rebuilding our economy and achieving better health, environmental and social outcomes ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 - ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
Associate Agriculture Minister Mark Patterson is speaking at the International Wool Textile Organisation Congress in Adelaide, promoting New Zealand wool, and outlining the coalition Government’s support for the revitalisation the sector. "New Zealand’s wool exports reached $400 million in the year to 30 June 2023, and the coalition Government ...
The Government is making legislative changes to make it easier for new early learning services to be established, and for existing services to operate, Associate Education Minister David Seymour says. The changes involve repealing the network approval provisions that apply when someone wants to establish a new early learning service, ...
Changes to the Resource Management Act will align consenting for coal mining to other forms of mining to reduce barriers that are holding back economic development, Resources Minister Shane Jones says. “The inconsistent treatment of coal mining compared with other extractive activities is burdensome red tape that fails to acknowledge ...
Trade, Agriculture and Forestry Minister Todd McClay has concluded productive discussions with ministerial counterparts in Beijing today, in support of the New Zealand-China trade and economic relationship. “My meeting with Commerce Minister Wang Wentao reaffirmed the complementary nature of the bilateral trade relationship, with our Free Trade Agreement at its ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon today paid tribute to Singapore’s outgoing Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong. Meeting in Singapore today immediately before Prime Minister Lee announced he was stepping down, Prime Minister Luxon warmly acknowledged his counterpart’s almost twenty years as leader, and the enduring legacy he has left for Singapore and South East ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon held a bilateral meeting today with Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong. While in Singapore as part of his visit to South East Asia this week, Prime Minister Luxon also met with Singapore President Tharman Shanmugaratnam and will meet with Deputy Prime Minister Lawrence Wong. During today’s meeting, Prime Minister Luxon ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has made further appointments to the Board of Antarctica New Zealand as part of a continued effort to ensure the Scott Base Redevelopment project is delivered in a cost-effective and efficient manner. The Minister has appointed Neville Harris as a new member of the Board. Mr ...
Finance Minister Nicola Willis will travel to the United States on Tuesday to attend a meeting of the Five Finance Ministers group, with counterparts from Australia, the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom. “I am looking forward to meeting with our Five Finance partners on how we can work ...
The coalition Government has today announced purrfect and pawsitive changes to the Residential Tenancies Act to give tenants with pets greater choice when looking for a rental property, says Housing Minister Chris Bishop. “Pets are important members of many Kiwi families. It’s estimated that around 64 per cent of New ...
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 Government has also asked NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) to consider and provide advice on a Long Tunnel option, Transport Minister Simeon Brown ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Foreign Minister Winston Peters have condemned Iran’s shocking and illegal strikes against Israel. “These attacks are a major challenge to peace and stability in a region already under enormous pressure," Mr Luxon says. "We are deeply concerned that miscalculation on any side could ...
Hundreds of people in little over a week have turned out in Northland to hear Regional Development Minister Shane Jones speak about plans for boosting the regional economy through infrastructure. About 200 people from the infrastructure and associated sectors attended an event headlined by Mr Jones in Whangarei today. Last ...
Health Minister Dr Shane Reti has today thanked outgoing Health New Zealand – Te Whatu Ora Chair Dame Karen Poutasi for her service on the Board. “Dame Karen tendered her resignation as Chair and as a member of the Board today,” says Dr Reti. “I have asked her to ...
The NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) has signalled their proposed delivery approach for the Government’s 15 Roads of National Significance (RoNS), with the release of the State Highway Investment Proposal (SHIP) today, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Boosting economic growth and productivity is a key part of the Government’s plan to ...
New Zealand is renewing its connections with a world facing urgent challenges by pursuing an active, energetic foreign policy, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says. “Our country faces the most unstable global environment in decades,” Mr Peters says at the conclusion of two weeks of engagements in Egypt, Europe and the United States. “We cannot afford to sit back in splendid ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has announced the Australian Governor-General, His Excellency General The Honourable David Hurley and his wife Her Excellency Mrs Linda Hurley, will make a State visit to New Zealand from Tuesday 16 April to Thursday 18 April. The visit reciprocates the State visit of former Governor-General Dame Patsy Reddy ...
Associate Health Minister David Seymour has announced that Medsafe has approved 11 cold and flu medicines containing pseudoephedrine. Pharmaceutical suppliers have indicated they may be able to supply the first products in June. “This is much earlier than the original expectation of medicines being available by 2025. The Government recognised ...
New Zealand and the United States have recommitted to their strategic partnership in Washington DC today, pledging to work ever more closely together in support of shared values and interests, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says. “The strategic environment that New Zealand and the United States face is considerably more ...
April 11, 2024 Joint Declaration by United States Secretary of State the Honorable Antony J. Blinken and New Zealand Minister of Foreign Affairs the Right Honourable Winston Peters We met today in Washington, D.C. to recommit to the historic partnership between our two countries and the principles that underpin it—rule ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has announced further New Zealand cooperation with the United States in the Pacific Islands region through $16.4 million in funding for initiatives in digital connectivity and oceans and fisheries research. “New Zealand can achieve more in the Pacific if we work together more urgently and ...
In apparent defiance of the Biden administration, the Netanyahu government has now initiated missile strikes against Iran. Last Saturday night (Sunday morning in New Zealand) Iran launched more than 300 drones, cruise missiles and ballistic missiles against Israeli military targets. With the assistance of US, UK and possibly French forces, ...
Māori representation brings a perspective that encompasses not only the interests of Māori communities but also a broader, holistic approach to environmental stewardship and community well-being, principles deeply embedded in Te Ao Māori (the Māori ...
This week in Auckland, a group of young people took over the microphone at a ministerial press conference, to explain why they oppose the Fast-Track Approvals Bill. One young woman said, ‘We’re here because we love Aotearoa New Zealand. We want to raise our children in an environment that’s thriving, ...
The summer was wonderful. Evie was wonderful, too; finally a teenager, finally worthy of long, hot days. She shaved her legs for the first time and bought cut-off shorts from the op-shop that made them look long. She got a Warehouse singlet so tight on her new shape that her ...
When Thomas James was on his solo camp as part of Outward Bound, the keen outdoorsman didn’t find it too challenging, as others often do. In what might just be the perfect illustration of his character, he saw it as a great opportunity to solve a few problems. “I thought, ...
From the unstable and drippy to the hi-tech and pretty, here’s our ranking of all the tunnels you can drive through in this country. The first tunnel seems to have been built in 2200BC in Babylonia, kicking off a global phenomenon for digging holes in order to get places more ...
Lucinda Bennett on the art of being greedy but resourceful. This is an excerpt from our weekly food newsletter, The Boil Up. When I picture the market, it is always this time of year. Crisp air, dripping nose, counting coins with cold fingers. Sunlight pale, filtered through specks of dew still ...
Zoë Colling’s favourite piece in the ‘That’s So Last Century’ collection is a lubrication chart for a sewing machine from the ’60s. It’s about the size of a postcard, and carefully maintained. “I like it that this piece of ephemera highlights that manual and technical side of the skill involved ...
Kia Ora Gaza A passionate haka reverberated through Auckland International Airport as a medical team of three New Zealand doctors received an emotional farewell from a big crowd of supporters before flying to Turkey to join the international Freedom Flotilla to Gaza. The doctors, who left Auckland yesterday, hope to ...
With submissions closing today, Macassey-Pickard says groups around the country have been supporting a huge range of people to make their submissions. ...
Our response to the new legislation is informed by targeted conversations with practitioners working in the system and through an implementation lens. ...
The new ‘Fast-track Approvals Bill’ would give just three Ministers the power to approve or deny development projects. They would avoid the usual checks and balances that are in place to protect rivers, land, the ocean, and communities. ...
COMMENTARY:By Eugene Doyle Helen Clark, how I miss you. The former New Zealand Prime Minister — the safest pair of hands this country has had in living memory — gave a masterclass on the importance of maintaining an independent foreign policy when she spoke at an AUKUS symposium held ...
The government's released the list of organisations provided with information on how to apply - just hours before public submissions on the bill close. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Milton Speer, Visiting Fellow, School of Mathematical and Physical Sciences, University of Technology Sydney Before climate change really got going, eastern Australia’s flash floods tended to concentrate on our coastal regions, east of the Great Dividing Range. But that’s changing. Now ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Elizabeth Finkel, Vice-Chancellor’s Fellow, La Trobe University Sia Duff / South Australian Museum In February, the South Australian Museum “re-imagined” itself. In the face of rising costs and inadequate government funds, CEO David Gaimster, who took the reins last June, declared ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Alan Pearce, Professor, School of Allied Heath, Human Services & Sport, La Trobe University, La Trobe University This week, Collingwood AFL player Nathan Murphy announced his retirement, brought on by his concussion history and ongoing issues. The 24-year-old’s seemingly sudden retirement, ...
The Mental Health Foundation provides support and resources for those facing the loss of their job, so it’s wrong in the very week the Government adds another 1000 jobs to its tally of cuts, that this is happening. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Alexander Howard, Senior Lecturer, Discipline of English and Writing, University of Sydney Daniel Boud/Sydney Theatre Company Decay, terror, revulsion. These are three of the central themes of Thomas Bernhard’s rarely performed play The President. The Austrian is one of the greatest ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ye In (Jane) Hwang, Postdoctoral Research Associate at School of Population Health, UNSW Sydney Shutterstock You’d be hard pressed to find any aspect of daily life that doesn’t require some form of digital literacy. We need only to look back ten ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon says threats by ministers Shane Jones and David Seymour to reform or close down the Waitangi Tribunal were “ill-considered”, as legal experts say the ministers may have breached Cabinet Manual conventions. “I think those comments are ill-considered and we expect all ministers to actually exercise good ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Rob Newton, Professor of Exercise Medicine, Edith Cowan University Pexels/RDNE stock project You’re not in your 20s or 30s anymore and you know regular health checks are important. So you go to your GP. During the appointment they measure your waist. ...
A new poem by Evangeline Riddiford Graham. Mitochondrial Problem I. It was long drive to Kansas for the man and his dog but you have to understand he said She doesn’t fly. Which calls to mind not carsick shitting barking or whining but a dog who chooses not to as ...
The only published and available best-selling indie book chart in New Zealand is the top 10 sales list recorded every week at Unity Books’ stores in High St, Auckland, and Willis St, Wellington.AUCKLAND1 Hemingway’s Goblet by Dermot Ross (Mary Egan Publishing, $38)Hot off the press, this debut ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Laura Wajnryb McDonald, PhD candidate in Criminology, University of Sydney Less than 24 hours after Ashlee Good was murdered in Bondi Junction, her family released a statement requesting the media take down photographs they had reproduced of Ashlee and her family without ...
Chief executive Shaun Robinson said it has not had any government funding cut, but government-funded contracts have not kept pace with rising costs. ...
The Ministry of Health has delayed the release of its evidence brief on the safety, reversibility and mental health and wellbeing outcomes for puberty blockers. While we wait, Julia de Bres speaks to those with firsthand experience. Best practice gender-affirming healthcare is based on trans people’s self-determination and agency. The ...
Barcelona’s city streets have gone from traffic-clogged to pedestrian-friendly. How? Superblocks. Ellen Rykers explains. This is an excerpt from our weekly environmental newsletter Future Proof. Sign up here. Last week I read a great interview with renowned urbanist Janette Sadik-Khan by The Spinoff’s Wellington editor Joel MacManus: “You can reimagine streets, ...
Student groups ‘Climate Action VUW’, Schools Strike 4 Climate and VUWSA will be on the street in Wellington today, the last day for submissions on the Fast-track Approvals Bill, with a message that the fight against the Government’s ‘War on ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sofia Ammassari, Research Fellow, Griffith University Since 2014, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s popularity has grown exponentially – and so has the formidable organisational machine of his Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). These two factors will be key to delivering the BJP a ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Brendon Hyndman, Associate Professor of Education (Adjunct) & Senior Manager (BCE), Charles Sturt University During COVID almost all Australian students and their families experienced online learning. But while schools have long since gone back to in-person teaching, online learning has not gone ...
Yes, they’re better for the environment. No, that’s not a good enough reason for me to use them. Once every 26 days or so, my period arrives, and if struck by an act of God, I am caught red-crotched without products. How, after 17 years of this, do I still ...
“It will cause significant harm to our environment and communities. It is completely at odds with New Zealanders’ relationship with nature and our need for a low-carbon, sustainable economic future." ...
The Chair of the National Maori Authority, Matthew Tukaki, has warned a Parliamentary Select Committee that fast-tracking legislation is a perilous practice that undermines the core tenets of democracy, transparency, and accountability. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Tim Tenbensel, Associate Professor, Health Policy, University of Auckland, Waipapa Taumata Rau Getty Images Since coming into power, the coalition government has adopted a simple but shrewd see-how-fast-we-can-move political strategy. However, in the health sector this need for speed entails ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Anastasia Hronis, Clinical Psychologist, University of Technology Sydney Darya Sannikova/Pexels Whether you’re watching TV, attending a footy game, or eating a meal at your local pub, gambling is hard to escape. Although the rise of gambling is not unique to Australia, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Mark Wong, Forrest Fellow, School of Biological Sciences, The University of Western Australia Have you ever wondered if there are more insects out at night than during the day? We set out to answer this question by combing through the scientific ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Carol T Kulik, Research Professor, University of South Australia IR Stone/Shutterstock In Australia, it’s not the done thing to know – let alone ask – what our colleagues are paid. Yet, it’s easy to see how pay transparency can make pay ...
The Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) is sounding a warning to migrants, that running foul of the law may see them leaving the country prematurely. ...
The government’s plan to get 50,000 people off jobseeker support by 2030 has had a rocky start, writes Catherine McGregor in this excerpt from The Bulletin, The Spinoff’s morning news round-up. To receive The Bulletin in full each weekday, sign up here. Beneficiary numbers are up – and so are ...
Raglan Roast is a staple of Wellington coffee culture. But with five branches across the capital, which one is the best? I am a die-hard Raglan Roast fan. It’s consistently the most affordable cafe in Wellington, and one of the only places you can get a coffee after 3pm. So, ...
Residents of University of Auckland halls are being urged to withhold their accommodation fees from May 1, in a bid to force the university to take student concerns over rent hikes seriously.The University of Auckland is facing a strike from students over the cost of on-campus accommodation. The Students ...
New Zealand and the Philippines have signed a new maritime security agreement and stated their concerns over activity in the South China Sea, as Chinese vessels continue to flout international law. Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Philippines President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos committed to signing a Mutual Logistics Supporting Arrangement by ...
The thousands of government “back-office” job cuts are causing widespread pain in the capital city. In today’s episode of The Detail, we speak to three journalists and a think tank researcher, looking at the larger picture around the cuts and what effect it will have on Wellington, a city that’s ...
Opinion: The famed American architect and urban designer Daniel Burnham once said, “Make no little plans. They have no magic to stir men’s blood!” Burnham wouldn’t have been referring to the transport plans in Aotearoa New Zealand over the past five years; projects so big they hadn’t the credibility to ...
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Opinion: With maths understanding at 42 percent for Year 8 students, there’s no doubt something has to be done. But how? The post Financial literacy should be on all of us appeared first on Newsroom. ...
Hineaupounamu ‘Missy’ Nuku has been scaling mountains in Canada for her college basketball team, the Lakeland Rustlers. Alberta is currently home for the 20-year-old point guard, who is in her first year of a scholarship at Lakeland College, where she is studying for a business degree. She has certainly made ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra When ASIO boss Mike Burgess delivered his annual threat assessment earlier this year, he stressed the rising danger posed by espionage and foreign interference. “In 2024, threats to our way of life have surpassed ...
The Tribunal had called on Minister for Children Karen Chhour to provide evidence at an urgent inquiry into the repeal of Section 7AA of the Oranga Tamariki Act. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By T.J. Thomson, Senior Lecturer in Visual Communication & Digital Media, RMIT University Midjourney image by T.J. Thomson As more than half of Australian office workers report using generative artificial intelligence (AI) for work, we’re starting to see this technology affect every ...
fro the Peeps in CHCH, 8 Nov at 7 pm Meeting in regards to Asset Sales.
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=824791230963122&set=a.289660677809516.60189.100002967584552&type=3&theater
(fb John Minto)
it might be good to show up and make oneself heard.
Someone posted this yesterday about the crisis in the US. Very interesting. They also talk about how hope keeps people ‘passive’, the MSM, investigative journalists etc. Something for everyone framed in the US context. Interestingly they were saying about record levels of US unemployment which is hidden in statistics and the fear of ‘hackers’ enemy no 1 as being able to show war crimes and so forth by people in power.
Bestselling author and Pulitzer Prize winner Chris Hedges sits down with Ben Makuch at the Toronto VICE office to discuss what it takes to be a rebel in modern times.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BUgaqJZLwOg
The anti-Corbyn left makes a play:
http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2015/nov/06/andrew-fisher-labour-suspends-corbyn-policy-chief
Sounds like someone was getting pissed off with the UK Labour-right that was leading them into oblivion and that right-wing are attacking back now that they’ve lost control of Labour.
‘TPP revealed: Pact details ignite debate over privacy, internet freedom, whistleblowers’
https://www.rt.com/usa/321002-tpp-details-revealed-trade-privacy/
“With the release of the full text of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), a sharpening of arguments on both sides outline a debate about privacy, corporatism, internet freedom and intellectual property, and even the plight of whistleblowers…
…the agreement requires internet service providers to help take down websites that are violating copyright laws, but does not allow the websites to dispute copyright accusations. This potentially opens the door to service providers taking down websites in one country over copyright accusations from a company based in another nation.
The pact also criminalizes the “unauthorized and willful disclosure of a trade secret including via a computer system.” According to FFTF, this is a clear effort to discourage whistleblowers and journalists from exposing sensitive issues.
Intellectual property protections in the agreement include biologic drugs – advanced and expensive drugs to manufacture. All countries in the TPP would have to enforce five to eight year minimums of exclusivity, preventing other companies from making cheaper generic forms called biosimilars. The United States protects exclusivity rights for 12 years. Critics say this would drive up the cost of life-saving medicines for developing countries.
Another concern related to intellectual property is the investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS) process, which FFTF opposes on principle as an anti-democratic system. Corporations can sue governments under the system if a country’s policies are perceived as cutting in on intellectual property values and profits…
What now?…More Protests …The TPPA has not been signed …Countries concerned are yet to agree to signing…All the more important that we put the heat on the Labour Party NOT to give agreement to the TPPA!
‘EXCLUSIVE: Jane Kelsey – TPPA HAS NOT BEEN SIGNED. Crucial protest on 14 Nov -‘
http://thedailyblog.co.nz/2015/11/02/exclusive-jane-kelsey-tppa-has-not-been-signed-crucial-protest-on-14-nov/
…The truth is that the TPPA can’t be signed for at least another three months. Until then New Zealand has not been committed in any formal legal manner to the political deal. Even then, the country won’t be bound irrevocably to the TPPA for probably another two years.
This is no time for surrender or fatigue. Other countries are fighting to ensure the political price is too high for their governments to do so and that opposition parties make an uncompromising commitment to reject the still-secret deal. We need to do that here, starting with a mass turnout to the protests around the country, especially in Auckland and Wellington, on Saturday 14 November…
Some feedback from the TPP text
From Australia:
“What about the claim that “there is explicit recognition that TPP Parties have an inherent right to regulate to protect public welfare, including in the areas of health and the environment”?
There is mention of a “right to regulate” in the preamble of the whole agreement, but this is not legally enforceable. In the investment chapter itself, a provision indicates that parties can maintain and enforce environmental and health measures that are “otherwise consistent” with the agreement. Translation: environmental and health measures (other than those related to tobacco control) can still be challenged under ISDS.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-11-06/tienhaara-ttp-investment/6918810
from US
“But now, for the first time, financial institutions could make an ISDS claim based on not receiving a “minimum standard of treatment.
https://theintercept.com/2015/11/06/ttp-trade-pact-would-give-wall-street-a-trump-card-to-block-regulations/
from Canada
But critics say that wording may override laws like those in B.C. and Nova Scotia that keep government information such as health data and other personal details on servers within Canada to keep people’s information safe.
http://www.cbc.ca/news/business/trans-pacific-partnership-details-1.3308248
Guy Fawkes Day Protests around the world…Organized by the hacktivist group Anonymous
‘2015 Million Mask March: Arrests in London, rush against Monsanto in DC’
https://www.rt.com/usa/321004-million-mask-march-london-usa/
“Protesters took to the streets in hundreds of cities around the world for the 2015 Million Mask March on Thursday, with police arresting dozens in London and activists storming the doors of biotech giant Monsanto in Washington, DC.
Organized by the hacktivist group Anonymous, the event featured thousands of people from around the world donning Guy Fawkes masks and protesting a variety of injustices ranging from inequality and corruption to police brutality and capitalism itself. Protests spanned the globe, with major events taking place in Europe and the United States, as well as Canada and Guatemala….
There has been lots on this site to show that people know independent journalism matters. It’s the lifeblood of democracy. That the news is broken can be taken as a given. Scoop Media’s Editor Alastair Thompson has written and answered questions on the Standard about why we need better journalism and where it’s at right now and why.
It’s not all bad news. As you will have read on this site Scoop’s campaign to ‘take back the news’ is a way to keep independent, public interest journalism alive in New Zealand.
A few days ago Alastair updated the funding campaign site http://pldg.me/scoop with a call to action. It’s crunch time. To have a fighting chance to save Scoop and survive the crisis the funding campaign needs to find another 600 people who care about independent news and journalism in New Zealand in the next 10 days!
Can you join me and help get Scoop over the line? In the last 36 hours support has risen from 41% to 48% of the $50,000 goal but the campaign needs more supporters and the message needs to be spread wider.
Here’s how you can help
You can become for $16 or more.
Tell your friends. Check out https://www.facebook.com/ScoopIndependentNews” for material to share.
If you already use Scoop at work, encourage your employer to subscribe to a licence which will support – they can also do this by way of a pledge (pricing starts at $420)
Or, if you are really passionate about helping to build the future of news, volunteer to join the Scoop Team and participate directly in the future of Scoop (including a crew of social media amplifiers) at http://takebackthenews.nz/
Thanks for caring about this, if enough of us do, we can make a real difference
I’m glad to see the pledgeme has taken off and I really hope they reach their goal.
I think there is a problem for Scoop in that its public material is presented in a very complicated way. I want something I can give to my middle class family and friends (the ones with money to donate) who are concerned about the state of the media but aren’t hardcore political types. I asked Alaister in the Q and A to explain Scoop in a few paragraphs and while what he wrote kind of made sense to me it’s not an explanation I can pass on to others.
I still don’t know exactly what Scoop will do.
And sorry to be critical, but the messy formatting and unclarity in your comment is another example. Being able to present messages in clear and simple ways seems crucial for a news organisation and it’s a bit of a worry that that’s not happening.
Thanks Weka.
I’m a supporter of Scoop and a librarian rather than a journalist. I had a problem with the editing. I got called away before I had finished. Without starting from scratch the main problem is in the sentence that reads
You can become for $16 or more
which should have said
You can become a Scoop member for $16 or more. The link should have taken you to http://pldg.me/Scoop
I thought that Alastair’s recent update and the video that you get taken to from that link are good resources to understand Scoop’s fundraising. If you let me know what is missing I can try to answer your questions.
I’m a librarian and for my part Scoop is “Just the News” in the sense of news that can help see justice occur as well as in the sense of being timely and being ‘only the news’. There are no stories based on celebrities, no name calling or personal attacks and no journalists who make themselves ‘the story’. In contrast to other news there are no ‘clickbait’ stories. Scoop collates news from many, many valuable civil society voices who are rarely heard by the mainstream media and presents these alongside news from government and together with business opinion.
Scoop journalist Robert Kelly has written a great article explaining how Scoop works. http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL1510/S00062/please-release-me-a-day-in-scoops-inbox.htm which is really illuminating. “We don’t take a position on the releases and we don’t edit them, we present them. We sit at the coal face of public of information and chip, chip, chip away. ” he wrote.
With greater resources the Scoop Foundation will be seeking to commission more research and more stories. There is no shortage of need there I think you would agree.
Thanks for that Jan.
7:47 Ivan Lomax – Bridging the Digital Divide
The 2012 Census revealed that the digital divide is at its widest in the in the Eastern Bay of Plenty where one in three families lack access to the internet. The country’s newest, and possibly smallest, Internet Service Provider, WiFi Connect is doing its best to bridge that divide by offering unlimited broadband for just $40 a month to people in isolated communities like Tokomaru and Tolaga Bays. Ivan Lomax is a co-founder and director of Wifi Connect.
http://www.radionz.co.nz/national/programmes/sunday/20151108
My bold. It’s important to pay attention to the fact that many NZers aren’t online routinely. More and more NZ is assuming that everyone has cheap and easy internet access but this means that the voices not being heard are not even being noticed as absent.
Now this is interesting:
Will be interesting to see how that goes down and if it changes anything.
Funny twitter social commentary from the Scots.
http://www.buzzfeed.com/lukebailey/scottish-twitter-round-2#.nq5XABRoM
My favourite was #32
A used tae love Harry potter until JK Rowling donated £1m to the no campaign now a think he’s a specky Tory cunt
Teenaa koe, Weka
A hilarious read! 😂
#27 On The Royal Baby…
“A ‘souvenir royal pullout’ would have saved us from they two wee drains on the system. “
I noted this reported on Radionz in Little’s speech. Why is David Cunliffe being blamed for losing good vibes with the Greens?
A lot of effort has gone into renewing Labour’s relationship with the Green Party, which soured under David Cunliffe’s leadership.
http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/political/288984/labour-conference-%27a-good-test-of-party-members%27
Also Labour Party President Nigel dispensing advice. One thing he might be concerned about with electorates is too much individual promotion, with Party coming in second-best.
Labour Party president Nigel Haworth earlier gave the party membership a serve saying it needed to be more disciplined and not focus on trivial matters./i>
http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/political/289093/labour-ditches-old-campaign-policies
Labour must be doing something right cos Slylands is over every conference thread dissecting everything he can, in a negative light.
Tracey noticed that. I made the facetious comment that he must have been let out, and wonder at the truth of that when I see his frantic efforts everywhere.
It was quite rabid. And on a Saturday too.
Oh dear. Was that really Little on “The Nation” this morning?
It looked like him but sounded more like a John Clarke performance.
Just about time to buy a new shipment of ‘SNIDE’ isn’t it Alwyn? You must have just about used up your last consignment by now.
+100 Grant.
Were you impressed by his performance?
Would you seriously suggest he is capable of doing the job of PM?
Really, truly could you say that?
I suspect your dyspepsia is due to his display, not to my remarks about it.
Isn’t there anyone even half competent in the Labour Party?
I couldn’t give a rat’s arse about Little or Labour Alwyn. That ship sailed long ago, so no heartburn on my part, I just call it as I see it. Are you offended that I have characterized your tone as snide? Never mind. You set out to annoy and irritate others here so I guess you’ll just have to take the rough with the smooth.
if a hair obsessed , incoherent, dissembler can attain a 50% plus approval rating as PM then anyone can do the job
Oh whatever ‘Munter’ Trollwyn…….at the very least girls’ ponytails and Richie will be protected from The Gauche Buster.
You can’t make this shit up:
It even has this little gem:
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/73727758/exconservative-leader-colin-craig-outed-as-mr-x
I’m starting to think that he is going to lose a substantial sum of money in the upcoming defamation action headed his way…
BIZARRE.. and that he doesnt think it is dishonest… the veneer has slipped
Anyone fear a similar case with TPP?
“Wellington City Council’s decision to pay its security contractors a living wage is headed to the High Court, and ratepayers could end up paying some of the legal bills.
The Wellington Chamber of Commerce announced on Friday that it would seek a judicial review of the council’s living wage policy.”
Well it would be embarrassing to the COC as they would have to follow suit. I bet Joyce is helping the COC bring the case.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/business/73778014/wellington-city-council-will-have-to-defend-its-living-wage-policy-in-court
“the COC as they would have to follow suit”.
What do you mean by this? If the COC was to lose the case it wouldn’t mean that all their members would have to pay this “living wage”. At most it could only mean that any business wanting to get Council business might have to pay their own staff involved in carrying out that work that pay rate.
The Council has no power to set a minimum wage rate. That is a prerogative of Central Government.
I can’t see how losing the case could force them to pay everyone working in Wellington such a wage.
Have I misinterpreted what you are proposing?
I suspect that if all council subcontractors had to pay a living wage, employees of the COC membership would lose quite a lot of gruntles if the COCs didn’t follow suit.
Otherwise there’s no reason for the COCs to seek the review in the first place.
But imagine if it did mean that… the risk of losing…with those consequences…. would they still take the case.
It wouldn’t have any legal meaning would it? A Court finding that the Council were entitled to award contracts only to companies who pay the employees involved more than a certain rate wouldn’t force those companies to pay that rate to all their staff would it?
If they worried that they would have to pay all their staff that rate because it might piss off their other staff who were working on other contracts they might not bid on the Council work at all. Then they might have to lay off staff if they had the work at the moment. It wouldn’t affect total employment of course but it might change the people who did have jobs, just like any company who wins or loses a contract.
However if the case is not brought, and they decide they will just have to accept the council dictum they are in no different state than having brought the case and losing are they?
As an aside the bringing of work in-house and paying the people more doesn’t seem to have worked in the case of parking enforcement staff. They did precisely that and then had the higher-paid people showed their thanks by cancelling their own parking infringement tickets. So much for gratitude eh?
I was being tongue in cheek. I thought using the word “imagine” was sufficient clue.
See as you have a bee buzzing. Only the company that wants to pay the living wage need apply for the contract. Others can continue to pay their luxury work car leases on the back of disproportionately low wages.
If the case is brought and lost, then the attempted CoC-blockers have sent good money after bad, when their members would be compensated for the hardship of paying a living wage anyway.
As for your aside, bringing the work inhouse seems to have exposed a flaw in the council audit processes and administration of infringement notices. I’m sure the responsible staff have been disciplined.
Morgan Godfrey hit it on the head on wellington.scoop.co.nz when he tweeted, “I wonder when the Wellington Chamber of Commerce will sue the city council for “ineffective and inefficient” executive-level salaries?”
Plus 1
‘Pentagon pushes for cyber weapons capable of real-world killing’
https://www.rt.com/usa/321116-pentagon-lethal-cyber-weapons/
“Cyberwarfare may cross over into the real world to harm humans, thanks to an upcoming military contract valued at almost half a billion dollars.
Raytheon, Northrop Grumman and Lockheed Martin are some of the defense firms competing for an upcoming $460 million US Cyber Command project to give the American military the power to turn an enemy’s critical infrastructure against them with weaponized code, according to Defense One. A 114-page draft of a 5-year contract released on September 30 details a plan to get private companies to support military operations with cyberwarfare.
The initial work order will support “cyber joint munitions effectiveness” by developing and deploying “cyber weapons” and coordinating with “tool developers” in the spy community, the documents state…
…US Cyber Command, which was only created in 2009, is in the process of recruiting 6,200 specialists for cyberwarfare teams positioned all around the world. The command’s duty is to prevent foreign hackers from executing attacks on domestic targets, to aid combat troops overseas, and to protect the military’s own networks. By comparison, China is believed to have 100,000 cyber warriors, according to Defense One.
The Pencilsword: We’re number one!
Excellent from pencilsword… Sadly.
Don’t laugh, you still believe in…
lol….but does anyone really?
Probably no one ever did believe it but it gained a few decades of deflecting the concerns of the masses. And English’s tax cuts for the rich were justified as a sort of trickle down.
I guess there are still a few flat earther’s out there…..you don’t really expect them to be making policy however
Marama Davison explains this part of her maiden speech,
https://www.facebook.com/marama.davidson/posts/10153427878504261
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1_xvve4ccaI (speech)
Very pleased to see her there. Her maiden speech has done nothing to make me think she will be anything but passionate and committed to others.
Whāia te iti kahurangi ki te tūohu koe me he maunga teitei
Seek the treasure you value most dearly: if you bow your head, let it be to a lofty mountain