There is a attitudinal change underway in Christchurch, New Zealand, following the first major earthquake 4 September 2010, the second 22 February with the third 13 June 2011.
To date, there have been some 7,700 aftershocks in total and they are still continuing.
In development and construction terms, Christchurch was on its knees prior to the September 2010 event, mainly because the failed amalgamation of local authorities some 20 years earlier, had bureaucratically buggered the city, sapping it of commercial vitality and enterprise.
Development in the wider city had degenerated very much in to a “political game”.
Some six months prior to the September 2010 earthquake, the writer discussed within “Houston, we have a (housing affordability) problem”, where Christchurch was getting it wrong with its ‘dense thinking’. And importantly – what some of the consequences are for the wider economy.
The bloated centralized Council “ruled” – and still does – so that now, it is at war with its community and business.
It is very much now a contest between the romantics and realists – whatever their political persuasions.
The three key players to date have been the former accountant / forex dealer and current Prime Minister Rt. Hon John Key, former woodwork teacher and current Recovery Minister Hon Gerry Brownlee and former chemist / television presenter and current Mayor Bob Parker. From the time of the first earthquake event, September last year, these three people never grasped what needed to be done, to maintain public morale and ensure commercial confidence was maintained.
An effort was made during the early part of this year to address the “leadership vacuum”, by bringing on board Roger Sutton, Chief Executive of the local Orion electricity network provider, to head up the Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Authority, responsible to Minister Brownlee.
Sutton has failed to date. He has not replaced the civil service management team, with skilled specialist people from the private sector to support him. Sutton’s abilities appear to begin and end as a “communicator”.
This is what id expect following on from Brownlees appointment of Shipley. It’s a precedent thats been set and followed from the top down.
So if it’s alright for Gerry the Hut to dish out jobs for the boys ands girls,and pay them more than they’re worth, it’s alright for everyone to do it.
Reminds me of Pike river where he looked the other way on safety and monitoring so everyone else did also.
Last week I was researching a prominent player in NZ HR and their statement was they hire based on who you know, not what you know. They want the potential connections of your wider contacts. Not at all a huge surprise in that idea, except that in context it was a statement of class division that contradicted the publicly stated aims of the organisation. If you’re out, don’t be thinking of getting in; and if you’re a client, figure on staying one. In this economic reality, that means huge increases in the gap between top and bottom. I don’t have a lot of sympathy for the middle classes, but the current attitude of class division will eliminate the middle classes faster than any yet-to-be-concieved socialist revolution. No more getting ahead. No more New Rich. Only way is down. Note to “Mum and Dad”: these guys aren’t your mates, support them at your peril.
Further down this page Pollywog says we should enter into partnerships with these born to rule delusionaries. I’d like that to be an option, but some are clearly steadfastly committed to ideals that will never compromise, in areas of great importance to society. In those instances, the public must simply sidestep official authority. This does not require any illegal acts, only that we refind in ourselves the elements of humanity we have been taught to dismiss under the influence of consumerism and the belief that paternal government will do it for us if we’d only give them more money. (This might sound remarkably like any number of variations of trojan-horse right wing policy, but I mean it in it’s individual, humanist, sense) Sure, a responsible government can act effectively with social intiatives, but that must never abdicate our personal responsiblity. Just act, in small moments, where there is need, where things that are clearly wrong can be made temporarily right. It’s not hard. It might even feel good.
Or didn’t vote. Here’s the Christchurch Central Electorate results (Candidate and Party votes) for 2011 and 2008. National and Wagner haven’t gained any more votes (even after the specials they may, in fact, have fewer). So no more people have gone to National.
The big drop is in Labour party vote (6,000 down) and Burns’ candidate vote (4,000 down).
Overall, party vote was down over 9,500 and electorate vote down about 8,500 (or so).
My guess is that a lot of people simply couldn’t be bothered to vote given their circumstances, rather than that there was a sudden mass disillusion with Burns, in particular. I don’t think anyone would argue that he’s done a bad job since the earthquakes.
After seeing the report on Campbell Live last week about the stress people are under living in Christchurch and how severe stress is now really affecting so many, I believe it has also affected voter turnout. When severely stressed, everything seems too hard . This year’s election was extra hard to me, and I wasn’t even living in Christchurch.
To me, many factors made these elections harder and far more stressful than others:
1. I did not feel informed enough about policies and thus under prepared to make decisions. I think this was the short run up to Nov. 26 after the RWC. As Phil Goff said, “he”, but I think he could have said ‘we’, ” could have done with another couple of weeks” to thrash things out. I still couldn’t find out why Key, (‘cos I am sure it is driven by him mainly), was selling the electricity assets. I asked my nat electorate office and John Key’s office, no one could give me a straight answer. So many different answers were given, in fact, or none, in the case of the PM’s office.
2. We not only had to vote on who to elect – and we had been waiting 3 years for this- we also had to vote in the referendum as to whether we should keep MMP. This made two, no four, huge decisions to think about.
3. To add to the other two, there was the huge worry of the asset sales. All very well for someone to say to me -it’s simple -if you want the assets sold then vote national ,if not then vote Labour-this two days before the election. Which is when it hit me -me voting Labour gave me a voice to vote Labour, but it gave me no voice about the asset sales. why had I not realised this before?
In the polling booth I had my say about the party I wanted, who I wanted for my electorate MP, whether I wanted MMP and what would be my second choice. OK this was a lot to decide, but I had a voice. How did I make my voice heard about asset sales,which could mean life or death to some?
I needed another referendum sheet, but I did not realise this properly until I stood in the polling booth.
This is where my feelings of unpreparedness and worry had come from. Thus the election was all too ‘tinpot'(never mind tea pot) and banana republic- typical national -smoke and mirrors . Give ’em cognitive overload, and while they’re puzzling about this, slip something else under the radar.They’ll never know what hit ’em , and by the time they wake up, it’ll be fait accomplis again. Fiendishly clever.
No wonder I was stressed at the thought of voting. and as for the poor folks in Christchurch….Having been so devastated and shaken for so long, I bet many could not even bear to think about all these choices they had to make, let alone be upbeat enough to tramp to the polling booths. Stress can be so debilitating and almost soul destroying.
Please God the severely stressed get through and are well enough to vote next time.
Charter Schools.
Will they be measured by the all-singing-all-dancing National Standards or not?
Is the floating of the idea of these schools an admission that this government does not believe in the ability of National Standards to lift the “tail”?
No one measure on it’s own will ‘lift the tail’. Identification is important (National Standards may help with this) but the problems then need to be addressed and targeted.
Failures in education are very complex, they involve not only schools but failures in families and society.
Different initiatives need to be tried to see what works – and different things may help in different areas and demographics.
So Petey do we have a good education system in NZ? The rest of the world seems to think so. And the ones that do really well, for example Finland, have even greater central control and management and more resources.
Failures are predominantly due to poverty. It is hard to be educated if you can’t hear because of glue ear or you are hungry.
Yes, our education system is far too good and is making the world worried. Our leadership need to wreckify matters by mypoically concentrating on schools and not on the wider issues that influence children throughout their lives. But we can thank the Human Rights Act for this, since Children have half as much spent on them as the Adults they will become (some TV doco), and thanks to the HA Act nobody can actually stand up for kids rights.
Wow. Even the OECD is saying that the gap between rich and poor in New Zealand is too big and it is advocating for an increase in taxes for the wealthy.
And the increase in the gap in New Zealand from the 1980s has been one of the largest.
Banks was on Radio New Zealand this morning saying that an increase in tax will not solve the problem. The guy really needs remedial education. Maybe he went to a charter school when he was young?
Widening income gaps, high unemployment levels and entrenched intergeneration social problems are far more complex than going back to tax rates that didn’t solve the problem over the course of a decade.
Tax rates only don’t equate to tax take if you have a poorly designed system and you cut out back office workers so that the tax cannot be collected.
Read the report Petey before you comment. There is a wealth of information there from a very fiscally conservative organisation and they have drawn a clear conclusion. Which regrettably is something I have never seen you do.
Tax take is more important than tax rates. Increased tax rates can have a negative affect on tax take.
If business conditions are improved then tax take increases and employment increases.
If employment increases the tax take increases, demands on tax decreases, and income improves for more people.
Increase tax rates have many effects pro and con. Those with influence will find loopholes to get around paying tax, usually a fee to a tax accountant. With too little tax government fails to churn money through the economy and allievate poverty, too much tax and government stifle innovation and companies move offshore. Now what is happening on the ground, well skilled individuals are leaving, private debt is huge, and we’re getting worse off. Stands to reasonable person that people who talk about matching taxation with OZ are actually fed up with arguing and just want the simpliest solution. Tax threshold, GST off fresh food, CGT, and take out the distortion that is sending kiwis flying to OZ. We are over taxed, newly skilled kiwis are over taxed, and those with wealth and property are under taxed. Because those over taxed LEAVE, the under taxed stay put and talk bollocks.
Improving business conditions will not necessarily increase tax take- the tax loopholes are still there to exploit- its just that businesses can write-off more ‘costs’ against the earnings- are you naive, stupid, or omitting the facts like most RWNJ’s. Not to mention the vast array of private tax loopholes, Trusts etc.
I’d like to know what the corporate tax take is for a start- I’d bet it is very, very low to almost non-existant. So Pete, improving business increases tax -take from the minions that are on wages and salaries because there are more jobs? You’ve just admitted that tax-take only comes from wage & salary workers. Is that fair?
Employment increases do not translate into income increases- maybe if you’re a CEO, but the policy of capping inflation introduced under rogernomics (and maintained by Treasury to this day) necessarily requires a policy of unemployment (around 5% minimum).
Spending money on what works (e.g. health promoting schools) and not spending it on things that actually increase the gap (Kiwisport) would be a nice place to start.
here is a breakdown of tax revenue proportions – gst revenue has doubles since 2001, whereas company tax has increased less than individual tax, as a proportion of itself. Below the graph is a link to an excel data table with the actual numbers.
Business used to pay more, and they’re still bitching.
Try reading some economists that are still alive Pete,
From Krugman yesterday…
“These days, you constantly see articles that make it seem as if there was a great debate in the 1930s between Keynes and Hayek, and that this debate has continued through the generations. As Warsh says, nothing like this happened. Hayek essentially made a fool of himself early in the Great Depression, and his ideas vanished from the professional discussion.
So why is his name invoked so much now? Because The Road to Serfdom struck a political chord with the American right, which adopted Hayek as a sort of mascot — and retroactively inflated his role as an economic thinker. ”
Could be time for a Crosby Textor memo Micky, I enjoy those, always chuckle to myself. Obvious humour but funny because of being so close to the mark.
Blinglish on RNZ this morning said “whether trickle down works or not is really just an idea”
The OECD says trickle down has not worked. The inequality in NZ is more than just an ‘idea’ for hundreds of thousands of citizens. The new nats trick, now that they are available for interview again, seems to be just spray words around with little regard to their veracity, and keep moving.
In the US the senate has just passed a law that will allow the US army to take to the streets of America and to arrest people and incarcerate them where ever they want whenever they want for as long as they like without a trial and without a jury of their peers.
In Pakistan the US shot 24 Pakistani soldiers in an army base. In retaliation the Pakistani government has closed of the main supply road to Afghanistan and Russia is threatening to do the same.
In Iran two army bases have been blown up nuclear scientists have been assassinated and a US drone has been shot down by Iran. The Mossad and CIA have been implicated.
Two Russian war ships and an unknown number of submarines have arrived and a defence rocket system is installed in Syria as I write this.
Russia has threatened to bomb the shit out of the countries where the US plans to install their rocket systems aimed at Russia and China is prepared to protect Pakistan even if that means WWIII.
Fukushima has reached a China syndrome stage in Reactor one and pumped even more tons of radioactive water into the Pacific.
And I haven’t even started on the continued Financial collapse of Europe.
These are some of the things you don’t find in our mainstream media. Well perhaps on page 10 somewhere in amongst the feel god crap.
I could link this to all kinds of sources but I’m sure deep in your heart you know this is all happening so I won’t bother.
Sort of puts everything in perspective don’t you think?
Wait till the appropriate apocalyptic time Polly, and adopt the “in case of nuclear war” position.
I’m not that cynical, people uniting got the yanks and soviets to pull their heads in a bit in the 80s, and it will have to happen again or everyone will be doing what the first sentence says.
I’ve had arguments with reductionists and idealogues about getting back to basics and doing their own little bit in their own little way as if it would make a difference in the wider scheme of things and got looked at like i was the enemy for suggesting that unless corporates and gov’ts come to the party it’s all for nought and that we should be looking to build constructive socially conscious partnerships with those who may be more receptive to change rather than trying to bring them down and start from scratch.
As my blog attests too so am I but I still tend to my veggie beds and distil my own. LOL.
In Europe traditionally booze and cigarettes were great barter tools during times of distress. If Cris Martensen’s contention is right and I have no reason to doubt what he is saying, we are in for a massive change and massive changes are never painless. That’s why I put it in my previous comment. but I agree getting blotto everyday is most definitely not the way to go.
“Government does not tax to get the money it needs; government always finds a need for the money it gets.” – Ronald Reagan
[2 minute fact check of the day: Ronald Reagan increased US Federal government spending from 32% of GDP to 34% while cutting taxes. This resulted in $1.9 trillion of borrowing that the US is still paying interest on. Under Reagan, did not tax to get the money it needed, borrowed instead. A lot like National, really. Eddie]
Thats not a thought, or a truism, in fact in the NZ context it is totally incorrect as we have posted surpluses, though notably these are far less common under a National government.
As with other tea partyesque slogans it is simply anti govt idealism which offers nothing in the way of actual suggestions as to how essential services may be maintained or improved.
Yes, Ronald Reagan, who expanded social security, and created a new government department – Veteran’s Affairs. I think he also kept Medicare and Medicaid — programs he railed against during the 1960’s.
Just read that a coal company in the US, Alpha Natural resources, is paying US$210m in damages for one of the worst US mining tragedies in decades, killing 29 men in April last year. A federal investigation found that the mine violated safety regulations.
Will the families of the Pike River 29 get compensation?
It is not enough for the shareholders whose money enabled this disaster to simply lose their “investment”. They should be held criminally accountable. Just as they “own” the profits, they should “own” the responsibilities.
“Corporation: An ingenious device for obtaining individual profit without individual responsibility” (Ambrose Bierce)
You could never have shareholders having liability. Unless they are majority shareholders they generally have absolutely no control over what the companies do and need to rely on what management and directors tell them.
If shareholders were personally liable for what their money enables to happen, they would naturally take a lot more interest in what their companies are doing, whether this be polluting rivers, exploiting workers, supplying arms to dictators, etc. – I expect even less of this would occur than with making directors personally responsible.
The whole idea of corporations was to free investors from legal obligations that arose with the “partnership” model. Limited liability is an essential component of the apparatus of capitalism.
The documentary “The Corporation” sets it out very clearly.
How hard could this be for you to understand!
When Key gets into any kind of trouble he’ll
invent stuff.
Police have time on their hands!
Christchurch schools are failing their pupils.
Ad hoc justifications that have no basis in fact.
Charter Schools are needed to keep the wall of
noise around the government going, if controvesy
should ever go silent National voters might just
start questioning National handling of the economy.
How hard could this be for you to understand!
And why do you like being lied to? Well its
simple, TV stopped informing you, your consent
is nolonger required for them to peddle their lies,
now even your election mandate can be ignored, Charter
Schools and limits on government spending ad hoc invention.
Because as a supporter of the government you
immediately come to their side if they are under attack,
and media make sure to reinforce the government line.
Poverty increasing faster, and why would the media care?
You’re too doppy to see the carrot and stick. The
carrot you provide by supporting a mate (govt) under
attack and the stick that if you question government you
could be the next target of government lying. Oh, and
expect to be used, like Police were used to create
consent for the calling Police in to search media organisations.
How hard could this be for you to understand?
Take limits on expenditure, everyone knows the
first thingthe next government can do is to remove the cap
citing the need to grow the economy, when the economy
picks up – as it slows help to industries crying out
for help. Why would National want to slow increases
in R&D spending by government when the economy recovers?
So its all bullshit. In fact its pork bullshit.
Its all about who they will put on the Charter School
consultative group and how much they pay them, ACT
party ‘pay back’ a doner alledgedly? So let’s sum up,
National win by looking under attack (on National
spin doctors CHOICE). Why not talk about CGT, or poverty,
or education (not charter).
In many ways, Key is treatened by education and by spending,
and thats why the spin doctors need to set the agenda in
these areas with ad hoc attacks. Growth down grade
means lower taxation means spending blow outs. Government
wants to move the anti-standard debate off the education
debate.
Key is quite happy setting precedents, like wanting
to over rule courts, overrule magna carta protections,
using police to investigate media during elections, and
even shock horror invent stuff on manifestos even before
the election count has yet to come in!!!!
This is nologer smart politics, its lying, and the worst
kind of politics, dictatorship of the powerful. MMP does
not stop Muldoonism, its just makes the Muldoonist alter
its methods. If we want good government we need our PM to
respect democracy, Key doesn’t.
And how can you not understand that lies in, means lies
out, lies corrupt the invisible hand and the informed
consent mandate. When we let lies stand we weaken the
debate. There is no strength in National, the fact that
they need to believe they can just distort means they’ve
lost. They’re losers, desperately trying to hold on to wealth
they never earnt and they now it.
Came across this 2009 article from The Atlantic: The Quiet Coup.
The crash has laid bare many unpleasant truths about the United States. One of the most alarming, says a former chief economist of the International Monetary Fund, is that the finance industry has effectively captured our government—a state of affairs that more typically describes emerging markets, and is at the center of many emerging-market crises. If the IMF’s staff could speak freely about the U.S., it would tell us what it tells all countries in this situation: recovery will fail unless we break the financial oligarchy that is blocking essential reform. And if we are to prevent a true depression, we’re running out of time.
The article continues, waving the yellow caution flag, until this passage:
Boris Fyodorov, the late finance minister of Russia, struggled for much of the past 20 years against oligarchs, corruption, and abuse of authority in all its forms. He liked to say that confusion and chaos were very much in the interests of the powerful—letting them take things, legally and illegally, with impunity. When inflation is high, who can say what a piece of property is really worth? When the credit system is supported by byzantine government arrangements and backroom deals, how do you know that you aren’t being fleeced?
The pricks must be rubbing their hands anticipating all those lovely state assets just waiting to be snapped up.
I know of a guy who works at a well-known bank (a manager)who had a son in 7th form last year and this year he got a job as an assessor in Chch- regularly flies down from Auckland to Chch. If he’s getting $75 per hr at aged 18/19 for ‘communication skills’, this country and its processes are seriously corrupt!!
That’s interesting. My nephew, a qualified builder, was approached to be an assessor but was turned down because he didn’t have the correct assessing qualification – and now we find out that they’re only employing on communication ability.
Surely the government could work to reduce the harm caused by treating alcohol as a dangerous drug. From young people binge drinking themselves to an early death to fueling violence and drunk driving, the destructive effects of alcohol are by far the most costly to our wallets and society.
Contrast that approximately 1000 alcohol-related deaths each year with the comparatively harmless drug marijuana, which is widely used and hasn’t killed a single person…
While I largely agree with your comment, Jackal, I do take issue with “hasn’t killed a single person”. Besides the apparent corellation with various psychoses, which I won’t debate one way or the other, claiming that inhaling burnt vegetation into one’s lungs at the rate of use in the global population has never killed anyone borders on crass hyperbole (particulalry if you take into account the tar content of leaf, which although shit is still sold for consumption). Not to mention that much alcohol-related harm involves behavioural effects of alcohol, so you’d also have to include darwin-award behaviour like driving or operating machinery while stoned.
Is dope safer than alcohol on a population basis? Almost certainly.
Is dope perfectly safe? Hell no.
Should it be decriminalised or regulated? From a public health perspective, there is a strong case for it. The only exception would be further research into its relationship with schiziod-type disorders, but that *might* be countered by the positive effect of quality standards regulations, e.g. not putting fly spray or class A/B drugs on it to heighten the effects. Same can be said for E.
I’m a recovering alcoholic and booze cost me countless missed opportunities and an engagement. Works for some people but hooks others in hopelessly. Weed on the other hand I can take or leave without wanting to consume it until it’s all gone and then go looking for more. I have a stressful job so a bong and some shit TV at the end of the day is nice and relaxing. So I’m biased but I can accept that cannabis seriously disagrees with some people in the way drink did for me.
Personally I think that all drugs should be out in the open and regulated and there should be drug education in schools not based around warmed over War On Some Drugs(tm) propaganda like DARE.
There’s a big double standard going on when I could get a free trip to the cop shop for having a puff in the park when there’s bottle shops on just about every bloody corner.
That said though, I think the booze culture goes a lot deeper than advertising or availability. It’s something culturally ingrained. Same with macho dickhead behavior. That’s something already present that’s just turned up to 11 by alcohol.
I’m a recovering alcoholic and booze cost me countless missed opportunities and an engagement.
Having had alcoholics in my family, I very much agree with you! Alcohol needs to be more regulated… at the least!
That said though, I think the booze culture goes a lot deeper than advertising or availability. It’s something culturally ingrained. Same with macho dickhead behavior. That’s something already present that’s just turned up to 11 by alcohol.
Thanks for trying to pull the discussion back to reality.
Unfortunately, most of those who comment don’t like discussing real stuff -like peak oil, financial chicanery that will lead to a meltdown, long term environmental collapse etc. (even morality is off the agenda most of the time)- so they do their best to get the conversation back onto irrelevant and trivial matters such as tax rates. That is exactly what happened during the so-called election debates, of course: no mention whasoever of reality by either of the major parties. Let’s not have an informed public that will start making appropriate choices. No wonder Labour lost support and the turnout was so low. Fortunately not everyone is stupid.
The period we are living through is very much like the world of 1928 combined with the world of 1938 …. ‘the market will go up for ever and there will be no war’.
The ‘magic’ of Christmas (which is a fake festival anyway*) will keep the proles distracted and amused for the next few weeks. After that?
* corresponding with the ‘rebirth’ of the Sun following the Northern Hemisphere winter solstice .
“* corresponding with the ‘rebirth’ of the Sun following the Northern Hemisphere winter solstice .”
I wonder if hanging decorations of angels on christmas trees has anything to do with Odin’s nine day self-inficted ordeal hanging from the “tree of life”. A god sacrificing himself to himself for knowledge of “the secrets”- there’s an interesting idea, almost artistic.
Cactus Kate over at Kiwiblog seems to be confirming rumours that David Shearer announced his candidacy after meetings with such people as Hooton, Odgers, Farrar and Slater.
Labour and other lefties would be well advised to ignore anything Slater, Farrar and Odgers have to say on the matter.
It doesn’t matter whether you agree with their assessments. It doesn’t matter whether you think they’re being malicious or not either. Time spent figuring their motives is time wasted.
Just disregard them as you would a JW at the door on a summer’s morning and get on with your life.
He was 22, a corporal in the Marines from Preston, Iowa, a “city” incorporated in 1890 with a present population of 949. He died in a hospital in Germany of “wounds received from an explosive device while on patrol in Helmand province [Afghanistan].” Of him, his high school principal said, “He was a good kid.” He is survived by his parents.
[…]
So who, that same week, was going to pay the slightest attention to the fate of 50 year-old Mohammad Rahim, a farmer from Kandahar Province in southern Afghanistan? Four of his children — two sons and two daughters, all between four and 12 years old — were killed in a “NATO” (undoubtedly American) airstrike, while working in their fields. In addition, an eight-year-old daughter of his was “badly wounded.” Whether Rahim himself was killed is unclear from the modest reports we have of the “incident.”
Shooter toting cabbies and liquor store owners–ACToids, what say you? The USA, where you seem to get many of the National/ACT policies enshrines the ‘right’ to bear arms.
Earlier this week Strontium tainted water was released into the ocean and yesterday it was reported that Cesium has been detected in infant milk powder.
Meiji said it is unsure exactly how the cesium got into the powdered milk, but it suspects radioactive substances emitted from the Fukushima accident may have been the source. A company spokesman told Reuters hot air used in the drying process may have contained cesium
Obviously someone’s been watching the James Bond season on TV1. I’m surprised he doesn’t demand taxis have flip-up bulletproof screens and knockout gas for when passengers get a bit frisky. 🙂
ts, see my comment 20.1.1. How can ‘hang ’em high’ National or at the very least, ACT supporters, object to Prossers call to arms? Libertarian surely. Or is the point you are making just to have a snark at certain voters for unexpected consequences of voting Winston without being properly acquainted with the NZ1 list.
I just think its kind of sad that many former Labour voters hate the party so much that they’d prefer to vote for a party that is fronted by a proven liar and includes at least one right-wing extremist as one of its MPs.
Quite possibly, everything seems to be user pay – and then they take their 15% GST on my rates too! But what’s the betting that business won’t have any charge?
Soon 100% Pure will represent Travel to NZ for 100% exotic flora and fauna experience
hate to think of how exposed the likes of Kapiti, Codfish, Little Barrier will be. It will be left up to the organisations like friends of Tititiri, Forest and Bird to save our uniqueness. Pity our environment is not worth spending a few $$. Extinction is forever 🙁 http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10771535
Just proves the inability of private healthcare to function without government handouts and regulations that benefit them. We need to be ramming this down Acts throat as it’s proof that the preferred economic theories are delusional.
The difficult economic conditions of recent years have already had an impact. The number of New Zealanders with health insurance cover decreased by nearly 25,000 or 1.8 per cent in the year to June
It seems to me that many healthy people simply can’t afford private medical insurance and those that have high medical needs can’t afford not to have it. The next thing is a greater loss of consultants who make most of their money in private health. A good proportion won’t work more hours in public health – they’ll be off overseas.
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Richard Edwards, Janet Hoek, Anaru Waa, George Thomson, Nick Wilson (author details*) We congratulate the NZ Government on its proposed Action Plan for the Smokefree Aotearoa 2025 goal. Here we examine the evidence for three key ideas outlined in the plan: permitting tobacco products to be sold in only ...
Punished, But Not Prevented: Though bitterly contested by those firmly convinced that the Christchurch Mosque Shootings represent something more than the crime of a Lone Wolf terrorist, the Royal Commission’s finding that no state agency could have prevented Brenton Tarrant from carrying out his deadly intent – except by chance ...
The Government has announced it intends making sex self-identification possible this year, as a priority. That would mean anyone could change the sex documented on their birth certificate by a simple declaration that they “identify” as the opposite sex. Speak Up For Women have launched a campaign encouraging New Zealanders ...
The travel bubble with Australia has not brought room for others to come into the MIQ system from overseas. Instead, spaces are being decommissioned. Why? The system is leaky. The government cannot afford to let riskier people into those spaces, because the system can’t handle them. My column in Insights ...
A Second Term Labour-led Government in New Zealand,a new Biden-led Administration in the US, a continuance of the Johnson Government in the UK: different approaches to major issues, same global problems – and discontent rising. Some warranted, some unwarranted, but as each emerges from the Covid pandemic, what ...
I will update this post as new information comes to handWhat has happened? Recently the vaccine safety watch dogs in Europe noted reports of unusual types of blood clots in people vaccinated with the AstraZeneca (AZ) COVID-19 vaccine. This prompted investigations across many countries to ascertain what, why, and ...
Alex Ford, University of Portsmouth and Gary Hutchison, Edinburgh Napier UniversityWithin just a few generations, human sperm counts may decline to levels below those considered adequate for fertility. That’s the alarming claim made in epidemiologist Shanna Swan’s new book, “Countdown”, which assembles a raft of evidence to show that ...
Just like last year, this year's General Assembly of the European Geosciences Union (EGU) will happen virtually instead of in person in Vienna. Contrary to last year, the organizers decided early on to hold their conference online and planned for it accordingly (quite a difference to last year's scramble where they switched ...
Time for a strange rant. A very strange rant. But bear with me, because this is serious business. A True Story, by Lucian of Samosata is not Science-Fiction. What on earth am I talking about? Well, it was one of those Wikipedia rabbit holes. I was reading ...
By Kate Evans for UndarkOne of New Zealand’s most spectacular fossil sites originated 23.2 million years ago. It was formed in a valley dotted with small volcanoes, when rising magma deep below the Earth’s surface came into contact with groundwater. Lava and water don’t mix — they explode. The ...
A Thorn In Their Side: As Chair of the Auckland Regional Council, Mike Lee made sure Auckland’s municipal resources remained in Aucklanders’ hands. Not surprisingly the neoliberal powers-that-be (in both their centre-left and centre-right incarnations) hated this last truly effective standard-bearer for democratic-socialist values and policies.MIKE LEE is the closest ...
It’s always something of a shock to come across a page run by a health-focused business that contains substantial misinformation. This one left me gobsmacked, given the sheer number of statements that are demonstrably untrue. And while a fair bit of the content is prefaced by the statement that it’s ...
Previously (9 February) I wrote about how business consultants Ernst & Young were used to do a hatchet job on the former senior management team at Canterbury District Health Board (CDHB). While this hatchet job was planned in 2019 its gestation was much longer. Its underlying causes involved differences in ...
Flying beneath the radar of guilt Fight or Flight: How Advertising for Air Travel Triggers Moral Disengagement(open access) by Stubenvoll & Neureiter not only takes an interesting approach to decomposing the effects of airline travel advertisements but also helps us to understand the general psychological landscape of our often conflicted ...
Yesterday I got told to “do some research” &, by extension, to think critically. The biologist in me cringed a little when I read it (and not because of the advice about doing research). Biology teachers I know suggested that perhaps everyone should take the NCEA standard that ...
Lis Ku, De Montfort University Since the onset of the pandemic, everyone from newspaper columnists to Twitter users has advanced the now idea that extroverts and introverts are handling the crisis differently. Many claim that introverts adapt to social distancing and isolation better than extroverts, with some even suggesting that ...
A friend of mine pointed me in the direction of this blog post by New Zealand’s “Plan B” group. While initially this group opposed the government’s use of lockdowns to manage covid19 outbreaks in this country, they seem to have since moved on to opposing the rollout of vaccines against ...
Twenty years after it invaded, the US is finally leaving Afghanistan. What's surprising is that it took them so long - its been clear for over a decade that their presence there was pointless and just pissing people off. But imperial pride leads to exactly this sort of stupidity. Their ...
The government has announced that it will ban the export of livestock by sea. Huzzah! A vile, cruel and unconscionable trade will be ended! But there's a catch: the ban won't kick in until 2023, giving farmers two ful years to continue to profit from extreme animal cruelty. But why ...
Today is unexpectedly a Member's Day - the Business Committee granted it early in the year, to make up for time list to government business. First up is a two-hour debate on the budget policy statement, with questions to Ministers, replacing the general debate. Then its the second reading of ...
. . Two stories which appeared almost side-by-side on RNZ’s website. Parent, Miranda Cross, was quoted as saying; “I think the expectations are that we can at least send our kids to school where they will receive an education.” An American parent would probably demand; “I think the expectations are ...
Time for reviewing something a bit different. Move over Tolkien adaptations, hello Japanese splatter movie. Specifically, a certain 2009 movie called Vampire Girl vs. Frankenstein Girl. I watched this one a few days ago with some acquaintances, never having seen it before, and not being familiar with the manga ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Jeff Masters, PhD An above-average Atlantic hurricane season is likely in 2021, the Colorado State University (CSU) hurricane forecasting team says in its latest seasonal forecast issued April 8. Led by Dr. Phil Klotzbach, with coauthors Dr. Michael Bell and Jhordanne Jones, the CSU ...
How seriously does the Māori Party take issues of corruption and the untoward influence of big money in politics? Not very, based on how it’s handling a political finance scandal in which three large donations were kept hidden from the public. The party is currently making excuses, and largely failing ...
The annual inventory report [PDF] of New Zealand's greenhouse gas emissions has been released, showing a significant increase in emissions: (Note that this is UNFCCC accounting, not the weird fudged figures the Climate Change Commission is using). Emissions increased by almost 2 million tons in 2019, from 80.6 MT ...
The melody from the classic movie Wizard of Oz echoes as Jacinta Ruru explains what inspired her to attend university, and her ambition to help create a more just society in Aotearoa. Jacinta, who affiliates to Raukawa and Ngāti Ranginui, specialises in the research areas of indigenous peoples and the law. ...
Stuff reports that National is refusing to back the Climate Change Commission's recommendations, which is apparently a Bad Thing: The National Party says it can’t support the Climate Change Commission’s draft plan to cut New Zealand’s greenhouse gas emissions unless changes are made. If National maintains this position when ...
Driven, accountable, unafraid to test limits and connected to the communities she serves are traits that come to mind when thinking about Dr Anne-Marie Jackson. (Ngāti Whātua, Ngāpuhi, Ngāti Kahu o Whangaroa, Ngāti Wai) She specialises in Māori physical education and health research disciplines while incorporating tikanga Māori and Te ...
This is my first post for a while. I have been a bit overwhelmed by other work in the last several weeks, with teaching and other commitments, and the blog has sadly suffered. But I’m still here. This morning, while sitting in a car in the permanent traffic jam through ...
Predatory Morality: Is geopolitical consultant, Paul Buchanan, right? Does the rest of the world truly monitor New Zealand’s miniscule contribution to the international arms trade so closely? Are foreign chancelleries truly so insensitive to their own governments’ complicity in the world’s horrors that they expect all other sovereign states to ...
Anna Källén, Stockholm University and Daniel Strand, Uppsala University A middle-aged white man raises his sword to the skies and roars to the gods. The results of his genetic ancestry test have just arrived in his suburban mailbox. His eyes fill with tears as he learns that he is “0.012% ...
March 2021 The housing crisis right now in New Zealand is one of our biggest contributors to income and wealth inequality. “With the explosive increase in sales and prices, those with houses have their income and/or wealth rapidly increasing, and those who are not on the property ladder are falling ...
Samoans went to the polls on Friday, and delivered a stinging blow to Prime Minister Tuilaepa Aiono Sailele Malielegaoi one-party state. Pre-election Malielegaoi's Human Rights Protection Party had controlled 44 of 49 seats in Parliament, while using restrictive standing orders to prevent there from even being a recognised opposition in ...
Prof Nick Wilson, Dr Jennifer Summers, Prof Michael BakerIn this blog we briefly consider a new Report from a European think tank that aims to identify an optimal COVID-19 response strategy. It considers mortality data, GDP impacts, and mobility data and suggests that COVID-19 elimination appears to be superior ...
Something I missed on Friday: the Māori Party has been referred to police over failure to disclose donations over $30,000. Looking at the updated return of large donations, this is about $320,000 donated to them by three donors - John Tamihere, the National Urban Māori Authority, and Aotearoa Te Kahu ...
Stormy Seas: Will Jacinda Ardern's Labour Government stand behind the revolutionary proposals contained in He Puapua – the 20-year plan devised by a government appointed working group to realise the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples in Aotearoa/New Zealand?“GETTING AHEAD of the story” is one of the most ...
We have not been fans of the Climate Change Commission’s draft report. New Zealand has an Emissions Trading Scheme with a binding cap, and a declining path for net emissions in the covered sector. Measures taken within the covered sector cannot reduce net emissions. NZU not purchased by one sector get ...
For several decades under Labour and National-led governments New Zealand has claimed to have an independent (and sometimes autonomous) foreign policy. This foreign policy independence is said to be gained by having a “principled but pragmatic” approach to international relations: principled when possible, pragmatic when necessary. More recently NZ foreign ...
This video produced in Seattle looks at the gender identity curriculum used in schools in the US. A thin veneer of pseudoscience is being used to indoctrinate children with an ideology based on scientific and medical inaccuracies. ...
For once, I have written my submission on a bill with enough time to spare to both enocurage any of you who wants to make a submission to do so as well, and to give you time to spot the typos in mine.Louisa Wall's Harmful Digital Communications (Unauthorised Posting of Intimate ...
A friend found a concerning FB post (see below – this is a public post & so I have not redacted the name) & – as you do – immediately queried it with Southern Cross Life & Health Insurance as well as sending the screenshot to me¹. We both read ...
Judith Collins’ National Party leadership is under more scrutiny, with increased talk in the media of her being replaced by brand new MP Christopher Luxon. For many commentators it’s just a question of “when” rather than “if” Collins is replaced. While others ponder whether Luxon really has what it takes ...
‘Tis the season for unearthing the rarest gems in Tolkien adaptation – which, considering that the fandom has been dominated by Peter Jackson for nigh on two decades, is a positively heart-warming development. It is why I have devoted so much blog space to the obscure and weirdly wonderful ...
Whatever the damage, especially to the British economy, Brexit has done us a service by illustrating the complexity of trade.Brexit is the only example we have of two closely integrated sophisticated economies severing trading ties. The European Union and Britain still do not have tariffs or import quotas between them ...
The Palmerston North City Council has voted for Māori wards: Palmerston North Māori will be guaranteed one or two seats on the city council from 2022, and this time, there is nothing opponents can do about it. The council decided by an 11-5 vote at its monthly meeting this ...
Kids are striking for the climate today, demanding a decent, liveable future. Meanwhile, the National Party, the reliable servant of the farm lobby and other polluting businesses, is calling for action to be delayed: National has written to Climate Change Minister James Shaw calling for him to extend the ...
Today tens of thousands of schoolkids have walked out of school to strike for a future free from climate change. And tens of thousands of older New Zealanders have joined them. Their demands are clear: eliminate fossil fuels, implement 100% renewable energy with a just transition, and support our Pacific ...
The Gods That Failed.We studied the dialecticRead the whole of ‘Capital’So we could follow youSo we could follow youHow we shoutedHow we scrawledPainted slogans on city wallsOn prison wallsProof we had followed youBut, we still didn’t find what we’re looking forAnd we still haven’t found what we’re looking forWhen they ...
Conventional Wisdom? The Republican Right is convinced that to “go woke” is to “go broke”. It simply does not believe sufficient Americans feel strongly enough about social justice to make any kind of boycott remotely effective. Clearly, the Boards of Directors of more and more American corporations disagree. RECENT MOVES by ...
On November 25, 2020 Skeptical Science Inc. became a registered nonprofit organization and on March 17, 2021 our application to the U.S. Internal Revenue Service for 501(c)(3) status was approved. In this blog post, we’ll explain why we went down this path and what will come next. Since its ...
Blowing Hot And Cold: Mike Hosking’s bosses should, perhaps, ask themselves what message Newstalk-ZB (and NZME) is sending to the people of New Zealand if Mike Hosking, their self-appointed “People’s Prosecutor”, is accorded bragging rights for “cancelling” the democratically-elected Prime Minister of New Zealand. Especially when said Prime Minister’s only ...
Ali Boyle, University of CambridgeIf you ask people to list the most intelligent animals, they’ll name a few usual suspects. Chimpanzees, dolphins and elephants are often mentioned, as are crows, dogs and occasionally pigs. Horses don’t usually get a look in. So it might come as a surprise that ...
Selwyn Manning and I dedicated this week’s video podcast to the potential emergence of rival blocs within the transitional process involved in the move from a unipolar to a multipolar international system currently underway. However one characterises the phenomenon–autocracies versus democracies, East versus West, colonial versus post-colonial–the global order is ...
With the rediscovery of the lost Soviet Lord of the Rings, the time has come for the important things in life. Specifically, compiling the Tom Bombadil scenes from the three known screen adaptations that feature him: This is a collection of scenes from:– Sagan om Ringen (1971: ...
Back in February the Climate Change Commission recommended a ban on new coal-fired boilers, and a phase out of existing ones by 2037. And today, the government has said they will implement that policy, and backed it up with funding to help transition some of our large pollution sources: ...
A ballot for three members bills was held today, and the following bills were drawn: Income Tax (Adjustment of Taxable Income Ranges) Amendment Bill (Simon Bridges) Regulatory Standards Bill (David Seymour) Human Rights (Disability Assist Dogs Non-Discrimination) Amendment Bill (Ricardo Menéndez March) The first two ...
Back in 2014, the police raided and searched journalist Nicky Hager's home over his book Dirty Politics, seizing his journalistic work in an effort to identify his sources to please their political masters in the National party. The raid - and much of the police's related investigative work - was ...
By Professor Tony Blakely, Dr Tim Wilson, Luke Thorburn and Professor Nathan Grills, University of MelbourneA new web tool, COVID-19 Pandemic Trade-offs, allows people to weigh the costs and benefits of different policy responses as Australia rolls out vaccines and considers opening borders.See here for an associated explanatory ...
The Greens welcome $6.6 million from the Government’s $455 million programme to increase access to mental health and addiction services for our Pasifika communities in Auckland and Wellington. ...
The Green Party is putting a Member’s Bill into the ballot today which will be a significant step towards overhauling the Social Security Act by embedding a tikanga Māori framework into the welfare system. ...
The Green Party have reaffirmed their strong commitment to the union movement in Aotearoa New Zealand by renewing a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with E Tū. ...
Soon, more kids in Aotearoa will have access to the in-school mental health support that has boosted the resilience of tamariki and whānau in Canterbury. ...
The Green Party supports the open letter released today by a cross-sector coalition calling for the Government to treat all drug use as a health issue, to repeal and replace the Misuse of Drugs Act 1975. ...
Small businesses are not only the heart of our economy – they’re also the heart of our communities. They provide important goods and services, as well as great employment opportunities. They know and love their locals. And after a tough year, they need our support! ...
Green Party spokesperson for Pacific Peoples Teanau Tuiono MP, supports the demand from Pasifika communities fighting for climate action as their homelands are more at risk in the Pacific region. ...
The Green Party supports the six demands for climate action put forward by School Strike for Climate NZ, who are striking across the country today. ...
The Ministry of Justice Māori victimisation report, released today, reinforces what we already know about the impact of systemic racism in Aotearoa and that urgent action is needed. ...
Ricardo Menéndez March’s Members Bill to ensure that disabled New Zealanders do not face discrimination for having a disability assist dog was today pulled from the biscuit tin to be debated in Parliament. ...
More than one million people will be better off from today, thanks to our Government’s changes to the minimum wage, main benefits and superannuation. ...
The Green Party is calling for the Government to do more for New Zealanders who continue to miss out, as main benefits are set to rise by less than $8 a week tomorrow, Thursday 1 April (at the start of the financial year). ...
Sunday 28th March 70 Rongomaiwahine descendants welcomed members of the Green Party’s Māori Caucus, Te Mātāwaka, Dr Elizabeth Kerekere and Teanau Tuiono, to discuss concerns about RocketLab’s operations on the Mahia Peninsula. ...
A ceremony has been held today in Gisborne where the unclaimed medals of 28 (Māori) Battalion C Company soldiers were presented to their families. After the Second World War, returning service personnel needed to apply for their medals and then they would be posted out to them. While most medals ...
New Zealand has today added its voice to the international condemnation of the malicious compromise and exploitation of the SolarWinds Orion platform. The Minister Responsible for the Government Communications Security Bureau, Andrew Little, says that New Zealand's international partners have analysed the compromise of the SolarWinds Orion platform and attributed ...
An expert consenting panel has approved the Queenstown Arterials Project, which will significantly improve transport links and reduce congestion for locals and visitors in the tourism hotspot. Environment Minister David Parker welcomed the approval for the project that will construct, operate and maintain a new urban road around Queenstown’s town ...
Economic and Regional Development Minister Stuart Nash says a landmark deal has been agreed with Amazon for The Lord of the Rings TV series, currently being filmed in New Zealand. Mr Nash says the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) secures multi-year economic and tourism benefits to New Zealand, outside the screen ...
The Government welcomes the findings from a rapid review into the health system response to lead contamination in Waikouaiti’s drinking water supply. Sample results from the town’s drinking-water supply showed intermittent spikes in lead levels above the maximum acceptable value. The source of the contamination is still under investigation by ...
Transport Minister Michael Wood today marked the start of construction on the New Zealand Upgrade Programme’s Papakura to Drury South project on Auckland’s Southern Motorway, which will create hundreds of jobs and support Auckland’s economic recovery. The SH1 Papakura to Drury South project will give more transport choices by providing ...
CHECK AGAINST DELIVERY E ngā mana, e ngā reo, e ngā karanga maha o te wa, tēnā koutou, tēna koutou, tēna tātou katoa. Ki ngā mana whenua, ko Ngāi Tahu, ko Waitaha, ko Kāti Māmoe anō nei aku mihi ki a koutou. Nōku te hōnore kia haere mai ki te ...
Transport Minister Michael Wood today marked the completion of upgrades to State Highway 20B which will give Aucklanders quick electric bus trips to and from the airport. The State Highway 20B Early Improvements project has added new lanes in each direction between Pukaki Creek Bridge and SH20 for buses and ...
The Government is putting in place a review of the work being done on animal welfare and safety in the greyhound racing industry, Grant Robertson announced today. “While Greyhound Racing NZ has reported some progress in implementing the recommendations of the Hansen Report, recent incidents show the industry still has ...
The infringement fee for using a mobile phone while driving will increase from $80 to $150 from 30 April 2021 to encourage safer driving, Transport Minister Michael Wood announced today. Michael Wood said too many people are still picking up the phone while driving. “Police issued over 40,000 infringement notices ...
Pacific people in New Zealand will be better supported with new mental health and addiction services rolling out across the Auckland and Wellington regions, says Aupito William Sio. “One size does not fit all when it comes to supporting the mental wellbeing of our Pacific peoples. We need a by ...
New measures are being proposed to accelerate progress towards becoming a smokefree nation by 2025, Associate Minister of Health Dr Ayesha Verrall announced. “Smoking or exposure to second-hand smoke kills around 12 people a day in New Zealand. Recent data tells us New Zealand’s smoking rates continue to decrease, but ...
More children will be able to access mental wellbeing support with the Government expansion of Mana Ake services to five new District Health Board areas, Health Minister Andrew Little says. The Health Minister made the announcement while visiting Homai School in Counties Manukau alongside Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and Associate ...
The Government’s COVID-19 response has meant a record number of people moved off a Benefit and into employment in the March Quarter, with 32,880 moving into work in the first three months of 2021. “More people moved into work last quarter than any time since the Ministry of Social Development ...
A stocktake undertaken by France and New Zealand shows significant global progress under the Christchurch Call towards its goal to eliminate terrorist and violent extremist content online. The findings of the report released today reinforce the importance of a multi-stakeholder approach, with countries, companies and civil society working together to ...
Racing Minister Grant Robertson has announced he is appointing Elizabeth Dawson (Liz) as the Chair of the interim TAB NZ Board. Liz Dawson is an existing Board Director of the interim TAB NZ Board and Chair of the TAB NZ Board Selection Panel and will continue in her role as ...
The Government has announced that the export of livestock by sea will cease following a transition period of up to two years, said Agriculture Minister Damien O’Connor. “At the heart of our decision is upholding New Zealand’s reputation for high standards of animal welfare. We must stay ahead of the ...
WORKSHOP ON LETHAL AUTONOMOUS WEAPONS SYSTEMS Wednesday 14 April 2021 MINISTER FOR DISARMAMENT AND ARMS CONTROL OPENING REMARKS Good morning, I am so pleased to be able to join you for part of this workshop, which I’m confident will help us along the path to developing New Zealand’s national policy on ...
For the first time, all 18 prisons in New Zealand will be invited to participate in an inter-prison kapa haka competition, Corrections Minister Kelvin Davis announced today. The 2021 Hōkai Rangi Whakataetae Kapa Haka will see groups prepare and perform kapa haka for experienced judges who visit each prison and ...
The Government has introduced the Counter-Terrorism Legislation Bill, designed to boost New Zealand's ability to respond to a wider range of terrorist activities. The Bill strengthens New Zealand’s counter-terrorism legislation and ensures that the right legislative tools are available to intervene early and prevent harm. “This is the Government’s first ...
Coal boiler replacements at a further ten schools, saving an estimated 7,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide over the next ten years Fossil fuel boiler replacements at Southern Institute of Technology and Taranaki DHB, saving nearly 14,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide over the next ten years Projects to achieve a total ...
Attorney-General David Parker today announced the appointment of Cassie Nicholson as Chief Parliamentary Counsel for a term of five years. The Chief Parliamentary Counsel is the principal advisor and Chief Executive of the Parliamentary Counsel Office (PCO). She is responsible for ensuring PCO, which drafts most of New Zealand’s legislation, provides ...
Every part of Government will need to take urgent action to bring down emissions, the Minister for Climate Change, James Shaw said today in response to the recent rise in New Zealand’s greenhouse emissions. The latest annual inventory of New Zealand’s greenhouse gas emissions shows that both gross and net ...
Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister David Clark says Aotearoa New Zealand has become the first country in the world to introduce a law that requires the financial sector to disclose the impacts of climate change on their business and explain how they will manage climate-related risks and opportunities. The Financial ...
Exceptional employment practices in the primary industries have been celebrated at the Good Employer Awards, held this evening at Parliament. “Tonight’s awards provided the opportunity to celebrate and thank those employers in the food and fibres sector who have gone beyond business-as-usual in creating productive, safe, supportive, and healthy work ...
Applications are now invited from all councils for a slice of government funding aimed at improving tourism infrastructure, especially in areas under pressure given the size of their rating bases. Tourism Minister Stuart Nash has already signalled that five South Island regions will be given priority to reflect that jobs ...
Tēnā koutou e ngā maata waka Tenā koutou te hau kāinga ngā iwi o Te Whanganui ā TaraTēnā koutou i runga i te kaupapa o te Rā. No reira, tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou, tēnā tatou katoa. It is a pleasure to be here tonight. Thank you Graeme (Peters, ENA Chief ...
The Construction Skills Action Plan has delivered early on its overall target of supporting an additional 4,000 people into construction-related education and employment, says Minister for Building and Construction Poto Williams. Since the Plan was launched in 2018, more than 9,300 people have taken up education or employment opportunities in ...
An innovative new Youth Justice residence designed in partnership with Māori will provide prevention, healing, and rehabilitation services for both young people and their whānau, Children’s Minister Kelvin Davis announced today. Whakatakapokai is located in South Auckland and will provide care and support for up to 15 rangatahi remanded or ...
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern today expressed New Zealand’s sorrow at the death of His Royal Highness The Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. “Our thoughts are with Her Majesty The Queen at this profoundly sad time. On behalf of the New Zealand people and the Government, I would like to express ...
We, the Home Affairs, Interior, Security and Immigration Ministers of Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and the United States of America (the ‘Five Countries’) met via video conference on 7/8 April 2021, just over a year after the outbreak of the COVID-19 global pandemic. Guided by our shared ...
Arts, Culture and Heritage Minister Carmel Sepuloni has today announced the opening of the first round of Ngā Puninga Toi ā-Ahurea me ngā Kaupapa Cultural Installations and Events. “Creating jobs and helping the arts sector rebuild and recover continues to be a key part of the Government’s COVID-19 response,” Carmel ...
Interim legislation that is already proving to keep people safer from drugs will be made permanent, Health Minister Andrew Little says. Research by Victoria University, on behalf of the Ministry of Health, shows that the Government’s decision in December to make it legal for drug-checking services to operate at festivals ...
Public consultation launched on ways to improve behaviour and reduce damage Tighter rules proposed for either camping vehicles or camping locations Increased penalties proposed, such as $1,000 fines or vehicle confiscation Rental companies may be required to collect fines from campers who hire vehicles Public feedback is sought on proposals ...
The Government is continuing to support Air New Zealand while aviation markets stabilise and the world moves towards more normal border operations. The Crown loan facility made available to Air New Zealand in March 2020 has been extended to a debt facility of up to $1.5 billion (an additional $600 ...
Christchurch’s Richmond suburb will soon have a new community hub, following the gifting of a red-zoned property by Land Information New Zealand (LINZ) to the Richmond Community Gardens Trust. The Minister for Land Information, Damien O’Connor said that LINZ, on behalf of the Crown, will gift a Vogel Street house ...
Minister for Pacific Peoples Aupito William Sio says the reopening of the Ministry for Pacific Peoples’ (MPP) Languages Funding in 2021 will make sure there is a future for Pacific languages. “Language is the key to the wellbeing for Pacific people. It affirms our identity as Pasifika and ...
It is a pleasure to be here tonight. Thank you Cameron for the introduction and thank you for ERANZ for also hosting this event. Last week in fact, we had one of the largest gatherings in our sector, Downstream 2021. I have heard from my officials that the discussion on ...
Research, Science and Innovation Minister Megan Woods has today announced the 16 projects that will together get $3.9 million through the 2021 round of Te Pūnaha Hihiko: Vision Mātauranga Capability Fund, further strengthening the Government’s commitment to Māori knowledge in science and innovation. “We received 78 proposals - the highest ...
The Government is delivering on a key election commitment to tackle climate change, by banning new low and medium temperature coal-fired boilers and partnering with the private sector to help it transition away from fossil fuels. This is the first major announcement to follow the release of the Climate Commission’s ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ian Hancock, School visitor, Australian National University Andrew Sharp Peacock, for so long “the coming man” of Australian politics, has died in the United States aged 82. Born in 1939, he was educated at Scotch College, Melbourne, acquired a law degree at ...
“ A Ministry of Health graph drawn by a graphic designer with no data to inform it is the perfect metaphor for this Government, all spin and no substance,” says ACT Leader David Seymour. “Like most things with this government, they present ...
OWell, well, well. New Zealand its expressing its indignation about something the Russians may or may not have been doing. But this expression of the nation’s indignation comes not from Foreign Affairs Minister Nanaia Mahuta but from Andrew Little, our Minister of … No, not Health on this occasion. Nor ...
"He pulled down the straps of her tank top with his teeth and bit her neck..Afterwards, she pretended it didn’t happen": a short story by Auckland writer Leanne RadojkovichA teenager riding an e-scooter shot across the intersection towards Patsy, she stepped aside, the front wheel took the ...
Critic's Chair: Guy Somerset watches and listens to two wonderful series on YouTube and Spotify featuring great raconteurs and wits broadcast from their homes during the long UK lockdown This week, the UK started off along the second stage of Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s “cautious but irreversible” roadmap to the ...
What happens when the world’s rarest gull sets up camp in earthquake-damaged buildings in central Christchurch? Frank Film investigates. Christchurch’s population of endangered tarāpuka/black-billed gulls may have a new home. The Christchurch City Council is hoping to fashion a new site for the gulls in what was once part of ...
WATCH: In the heart-wrenching final episode of the Pure As video series, Silver Ferns shooter Maia Wilson reveals the on-court highs and off-court lows she's been through. Maia Wilson's young life has already been an emotional rollercoaster. While her netball career soars to new heights every time she takes the court, away ...
LISTEN: Is 2021 the year the Tactix finally get to lift netball's ANZ Premiership trophy? with the ANZ Premiership starting this weekend, how will the absence of Silver Fern captain Amerliaranne Ekenasio affect the two-time champions Central Pulse? What impact will Australian international Caitlin Bassett have for the Waikato Bay of ...
After a marathon year of droughts and water restrictions, Auckland finally has a goal to reduce its water consumption Water, water everywhere, and most certainly in the news. After a massive public information campaign last year, Aucklanders managed to knock 100 million litres a day off the city’s water consumption. ...
A new initiative is taking on food insecurity and food wastage by encouraging diners to take uneaten food home. And, as chefs taking part of the scheme explain, what you do with those leftovers needn’t be limited to a quick blat in the microwave. It’s hard to know just how much ...
With the council in disarray, former Wellington mayor Justin Lester sat down with The Spinoff to share his thoughts on what’s gone wrong, and what needs to happen from here. Justin Lester is running again. When we meet at the Civic Square cafe Nikau, the former Wellington mayor is breaking in a ...
After months of lockdown, pubs in England were allowed to reopen this week, with outdoor seating only. New Zealander George Fenwick headed out to see how Londoners were welcoming the return of a cornerstone of British social life.Trying to explain what life has been like in the UK for the ...
The government's priorities are being questioned after announcing it will be giving Amazon a more than $100 million boost to film the Lord of the Rings television series here. ...
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meanwhile…
EQC accused of ‘jobs for boys, girls’
The Earthquake Commission (EQC) has been accused of “jobs for the boys and girls” after employing the daughter of its claims manager at $75 an hour
Assessors are chosen for communication skills not for their building knowledge.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/business/rebuilding-christchurch/6096870/EQC-accused-of-jobs-for-boys-girls
…meaning talk to Daddy nicely.
This is what id expect following on from Brownlees appointment of Shipley. It’s a precedent thats been set and followed from the top down.
So if it’s alright for Gerry the Hut to dish out jobs for the boys ands girls,and pay them more than they’re worth, it’s alright for everyone to do it.
Reminds me of Pike river where he looked the other way on safety and monitoring so everyone else did also.
Last week I was researching a prominent player in NZ HR and their statement was they hire based on who you know, not what you know. They want the potential connections of your wider contacts. Not at all a huge surprise in that idea, except that in context it was a statement of class division that contradicted the publicly stated aims of the organisation. If you’re out, don’t be thinking of getting in; and if you’re a client, figure on staying one. In this economic reality, that means huge increases in the gap between top and bottom. I don’t have a lot of sympathy for the middle classes, but the current attitude of class division will eliminate the middle classes faster than any yet-to-be-concieved socialist revolution. No more getting ahead. No more New Rich. Only way is down. Note to “Mum and Dad”: these guys aren’t your mates, support them at your peril.
Further down this page Pollywog says we should enter into partnerships with these born to rule delusionaries. I’d like that to be an option, but some are clearly steadfastly committed to ideals that will never compromise, in areas of great importance to society. In those instances, the public must simply sidestep official authority. This does not require any illegal acts, only that we refind in ourselves the elements of humanity we have been taught to dismiss under the influence of consumerism and the belief that paternal government will do it for us if we’d only give them more money. (This might sound remarkably like any number of variations of trojan-horse right wing policy, but I mean it in it’s individual, humanist, sense) Sure, a responsible government can act effectively with social intiatives, but that must never abdicate our personal responsiblity. Just act, in small moments, where there is need, where things that are clearly wrong can be made temporarily right. It’s not hard. It might even feel good.
The town where I live dishes out various ‘research’ and ‘projects’ to lots of people – helpful if your surname is M****son or B**ois….
I know what those names must be… I won’t say of course! 🙂
Judging by the election results, Christchurch people seem to be very happy with how the Government is handling the recovery!
Stockholm syndrome 😉 or the ones least happy have already left.
“the ones least happy have already left”
Or didn’t vote. Here’s the Christchurch Central Electorate results (Candidate and Party votes) for 2011 and 2008. National and Wagner haven’t gained any more votes (even after the specials they may, in fact, have fewer). So no more people have gone to National.
The big drop is in Labour party vote (6,000 down) and Burns’ candidate vote (4,000 down).
Overall, party vote was down over 9,500 and electorate vote down about 8,500 (or so).
My guess is that a lot of people simply couldn’t be bothered to vote given their circumstances, rather than that there was a sudden mass disillusion with Burns, in particular. I don’t think anyone would argue that he’s done a bad job since the earthquakes.
There’s still the specials, of course.
After seeing the report on Campbell Live last week about the stress people are under living in Christchurch and how severe stress is now really affecting so many, I believe it has also affected voter turnout. When severely stressed, everything seems too hard . This year’s election was extra hard to me, and I wasn’t even living in Christchurch.
To me, many factors made these elections harder and far more stressful than others:
1. I did not feel informed enough about policies and thus under prepared to make decisions. I think this was the short run up to Nov. 26 after the RWC. As Phil Goff said, “he”, but I think he could have said ‘we’, ” could have done with another couple of weeks” to thrash things out. I still couldn’t find out why Key, (‘cos I am sure it is driven by him mainly), was selling the electricity assets. I asked my nat electorate office and John Key’s office, no one could give me a straight answer. So many different answers were given, in fact, or none, in the case of the PM’s office.
2. We not only had to vote on who to elect – and we had been waiting 3 years for this- we also had to vote in the referendum as to whether we should keep MMP. This made two, no four, huge decisions to think about.
3. To add to the other two, there was the huge worry of the asset sales. All very well for someone to say to me -it’s simple -if you want the assets sold then vote national ,if not then vote Labour-this two days before the election. Which is when it hit me -me voting Labour gave me a voice to vote Labour, but it gave me no voice about the asset sales. why had I not realised this before?
In the polling booth I had my say about the party I wanted, who I wanted for my electorate MP, whether I wanted MMP and what would be my second choice. OK this was a lot to decide, but I had a voice. How did I make my voice heard about asset sales,which could mean life or death to some?
I needed another referendum sheet, but I did not realise this properly until I stood in the polling booth.
This is where my feelings of unpreparedness and worry had come from. Thus the election was all too ‘tinpot'(never mind tea pot) and banana republic- typical national -smoke and mirrors . Give ’em cognitive overload, and while they’re puzzling about this, slip something else under the radar.They’ll never know what hit ’em , and by the time they wake up, it’ll be fait accomplis again. Fiendishly clever.
No wonder I was stressed at the thought of voting. and as for the poor folks in Christchurch….Having been so devastated and shaken for so long, I bet many could not even bear to think about all these choices they had to make, let alone be upbeat enough to tramp to the polling booths. Stress can be so debilitating and almost soul destroying.
Please God the severely stressed get through and are well enough to vote next time.
Charter Schools.
Will they be measured by the all-singing-all-dancing National Standards or not?
Is the floating of the idea of these schools an admission that this government does not believe in the ability of National Standards to lift the “tail”?
No one measure on it’s own will ‘lift the tail’. Identification is important (National Standards may help with this) but the problems then need to be addressed and targeted.
Failures in education are very complex, they involve not only schools but failures in families and society.
Different initiatives need to be tried to see what works – and different things may help in different areas and demographics.
Answer the questions know-all…
So Petey do we have a good education system in NZ? The rest of the world seems to think so. And the ones that do really well, for example Finland, have even greater central control and management and more resources.
Failures are predominantly due to poverty. It is hard to be educated if you can’t hear because of glue ear or you are hungry.
Yes, our education system is far too good and is making the world worried. Our leadership need to wreckify matters by mypoically concentrating on schools and not on the wider issues that influence children throughout their lives. But we can thank the Human Rights Act for this, since Children have half as much spent on them as the Adults they will become (some TV doco), and thanks to the HA Act nobody can actually stand up for kids rights.
That is why 1/10 students (As per http://www.dyslexiafoundation.org.nz/index_flash.php )are grossly under supported regarding leading difficulties. Just look at the grossly inadequate funding that has been provided and the steps that parents have to under go to receive any assistance. We are so willing to sacrifice 10% away. If that is so Not so World Leading are we???
http://www.dyslexiafoundation.org.nz/govt_funding.html
http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/ED0806/S00041.htm
http://www.minedu.govt.nz/Parents/AllAges/UsefulInformation/Dyslexia.aspx
http://tvnz.co.nz/view/page/992327
No, we do not.
Roughly half the children in our schools are below average, for starters.
Ha, sometimes I think there needs to be a like button on comments.
Pompus git more boring the pants of everyone with the glaringly obvious
The research has been done already.
Wow. Even the OECD is saying that the gap between rich and poor in New Zealand is too big and it is advocating for an increase in taxes for the wealthy.
And the increase in the gap in New Zealand from the 1980s has been one of the largest.
Banks was on Radio New Zealand this morning saying that an increase in tax will not solve the problem. The guy really needs remedial education. Maybe he went to a charter school when he was young?
An increase in tax won’t solve ‘the problem’.
Widening income gaps, high unemployment levels and entrenched intergeneration social problems are far more complex than going back to tax rates that didn’t solve the problem over the course of a decade.
How many hospitals were closed by National before Bill Birch cut taxes in 1996? 38.
How many hospitals were closed by Labour after they raised taxes in 1999?
Taxes pay for social programs, and the lower the tax, the more our schools and hospitals are starved of funds.
Tax rates don’t necessarily equate to tax take, they can cause the reverse.
Increased funding doesn’t necessarily equate to efficient use of funds.
Noooo, fortune cookie Petey is here.
Tax rates only don’t equate to tax take if you have a poorly designed system and you cut out back office workers so that the tax cannot be collected.
Read the report Petey before you comment. There is a wealth of information there from a very fiscally conservative organisation and they have drawn a clear conclusion. Which regrettably is something I have never seen you do.
Tax take is more important than tax rates. Increased tax rates can have a negative affect on tax take.
If business conditions are improved then tax take increases and employment increases.
If employment increases the tax take increases, demands on tax decreases, and income improves for more people.
Something is more important than something else. Increasing something sometimes causes a decrease in something else.
If conditions improve some things get better.
I am just seeing if I can get even more generalised than Petey.
Increase tax rates have many effects pro and con. Those with influence will find loopholes to get around paying tax, usually a fee to a tax accountant. With too little tax government fails to churn money through the economy and allievate poverty, too much tax and government stifle innovation and companies move offshore. Now what is happening on the ground, well skilled individuals are leaving, private debt is huge, and we’re getting worse off. Stands to reasonable person that people who talk about matching taxation with OZ are actually fed up with arguing and just want the simpliest solution. Tax threshold, GST off fresh food, CGT, and take out the distortion that is sending kiwis flying to OZ. We are over taxed, newly skilled kiwis are over taxed, and those with wealth and property are under taxed. Because those over taxed LEAVE, the under taxed stay put and talk bollocks.
Improving business conditions will not necessarily increase tax take- the tax loopholes are still there to exploit- its just that businesses can write-off more ‘costs’ against the earnings- are you naive, stupid, or omitting the facts like most RWNJ’s. Not to mention the vast array of private tax loopholes, Trusts etc.
I’d like to know what the corporate tax take is for a start- I’d bet it is very, very low to almost non-existant. So Pete, improving business increases tax -take from the minions that are on wages and salaries because there are more jobs? You’ve just admitted that tax-take only comes from wage & salary workers. Is that fair?
Employment increases do not translate into income increases- maybe if you’re a CEO, but the policy of capping inflation introduced under rogernomics (and maintained by Treasury to this day) necessarily requires a policy of unemployment (around 5% minimum).
Get with the programme Petey!
I’d like to know what the corporate tax take is for a start- I’d bet it is very, very low to almost non-existant.
The corporate tax take was 8.6 percent more than expected at $2.71 billion in the four month period to October 31 2011.
http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/BU1112/S00124/nz-operating-deficit-wider-than-forecast-in-first-4-months.htm
Spending money on what works (e.g. health promoting schools) and not spending it on things that actually increase the gap (Kiwisport) would be a nice place to start.
here is a breakdown of tax revenue proportions – gst revenue has doubles since 2001, whereas company tax has increased less than individual tax, as a proportion of itself. Below the graph is a link to an excel data table with the actual numbers.
Business used to pay more, and they’re still bitching.
Pompus Git tell me why when National have reduced the tax rate they found the tax take also reduced.
PG needs to be put in the #museamofneoliberalism
Try reading some economists that are still alive Pete,
From Krugman yesterday…
“These days, you constantly see articles that make it seem as if there was a great debate in the 1930s between Keynes and Hayek, and that this debate has continued through the generations. As Warsh says, nothing like this happened. Hayek essentially made a fool of himself early in the Great Depression, and his ideas vanished from the professional discussion.
So why is his name invoked so much now? Because The Road to Serfdom struck a political chord with the American right, which adopted Hayek as a sort of mascot — and retroactively inflated his role as an economic thinker. ”
http://krugman.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/12/05/things-that-never-happened-in-the-history-of-macroeconomics/
Could be time for a Crosby Textor memo Micky, I enjoy those, always chuckle to myself. Obvious humour but funny because of being so close to the mark.
Blinglish on RNZ this morning said “whether trickle down works or not is really just an idea”
The OECD says trickle down has not worked. The inequality in NZ is more than just an ‘idea’ for hundreds of thousands of citizens. The new nats trick, now that they are available for interview again, seems to be just spray words around with little regard to their veracity, and keep moving.
Cheers TM. Will work on it.
Widening income gaps, high unemployment levels and entrenched intergeneration social problems are far more complex blah blah blah
and this govt that Your LEADER is part of of is making it worse and increasing these problems dickhead
Proud?? of course you are fukin tory
Proud?? I’m sure you’re not, abuse makes a very poor argument.
Meh. Seems appropriate in your case.
Pompus Git Neglecting large swaithes of children causes a $6 billion a year drag on our economy
In the US the senate has just passed a law that will allow the US army to take to the streets of America and to arrest people and incarcerate them where ever they want whenever they want for as long as they like without a trial and without a jury of their peers.
In Pakistan the US shot 24 Pakistani soldiers in an army base. In retaliation the Pakistani government has closed of the main supply road to Afghanistan and Russia is threatening to do the same.
In Iran two army bases have been blown up nuclear scientists have been assassinated and a US drone has been shot down by Iran. The Mossad and CIA have been implicated.
Two Russian war ships and an unknown number of submarines have arrived and a defence rocket system is installed in Syria as I write this.
Russia has threatened to bomb the shit out of the countries where the US plans to install their rocket systems aimed at Russia and China is prepared to protect Pakistan even if that means WWIII.
Fukushima has reached a China syndrome stage in Reactor one and pumped even more tons of radioactive water into the Pacific.
And I haven’t even started on the continued Financial collapse of Europe.
These are some of the things you don’t find in our mainstream media. Well perhaps on page 10 somewhere in amongst the feel god crap.
I could link this to all kinds of sources but I’m sure deep in your heart you know this is all happening so I won’t bother.
Sort of puts everything in perspective don’t you think?
So what should i be doing ev ?
Wait till the appropriate apocalyptic time Polly, and adopt the “in case of nuclear war” position.
I’m not that cynical, people uniting got the yanks and soviets to pull their heads in a bit in the 80s, and it will have to happen again or everyone will be doing what the first sentence says.
I’ve had arguments with reductionists and idealogues about getting back to basics and doing their own little bit in their own little way as if it would make a difference in the wider scheme of things and got looked at like i was the enemy for suggesting that unless corporates and gov’ts come to the party it’s all for nought and that we should be looking to build constructive socially conscious partnerships with those who may be more receptive to change rather than trying to bring them down and start from scratch.
The corporates will be collapsing anyway – what we need to do is ensure that they psychopaths don’t take control again.
Start your veggie beds, buy a still, dig in and try to be as independent of the system as you can and here is why: http://aotearoaawiderperspective.wordpress.com/2011/12/02/cris-martensen-on-fiat-money-peak-oil-and-why-the-next-20-years-are-going-to-be-like-never-before/
Why do i need a still for ?
Can’t see getting blotto every other day is gonna help and i hate hate feel of dirt under my fingernails.
Agree on getting off the grid but i’m more likey to jump into the system boots and all and start pissing on the inside of the tent instead.
As my blog attests too so am I but I still tend to my veggie beds and distil my own. LOL.
In Europe traditionally booze and cigarettes were great barter tools during times of distress. If Cris Martensen’s contention is right and I have no reason to doubt what he is saying, we are in for a massive change and massive changes are never painless. That’s why I put it in my previous comment. but I agree getting blotto everyday is most definitely not the way to go.
Yeah the products of a still can get you life or death products and services after a collapse.
Its a wonder what people will do for you for a bottle of gut rot when there is nothing else going.
Alcohol also good for basic medical proceedures.
I use it for infusions with herbs and flowers too. The methyl alcohol I use for home made cleaning sprays Great stuff!
Making some decent gold rum at the moment Ev. You must come round for a drop when it’s ready.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/business/rebuilding-christchurch/6096870/EQC-accused-of-jobs-for-boys-girls
My how surprising…
And worse yet, assessors are chosen on the basis of communication skills rather than building or civil engineering knowledge.
/groan
We can haz sceptical tv programs for a fucking change?:
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/6096676/Sensing-a-rise-in-psychic-beliefs
Psychic beliefs. Not my cup of the proverbial, things that go bump in the day like tory governments are scary enough.
Thought for the day:
“Government does not tax to get the money it needs; government always finds a need for the money it gets.” – Ronald Reagan
[2 minute fact check of the day: Ronald Reagan increased US Federal government spending from 32% of GDP to 34% while cutting taxes. This resulted in $1.9 trillion of borrowing that the US is still paying interest on. Under Reagan, did not tax to get the money it needed, borrowed instead. A lot like National, really. Eddie]
Thought for the day
“I’m a lumberjack and I’m OK” – Monty Python
Shit hot reply
Thats not a thought, or a truism, in fact in the NZ context it is totally incorrect as we have posted surpluses, though notably these are far less common under a National government.
As with other tea partyesque slogans it is simply anti govt idealism which offers nothing in the way of actual suggestions as to how essential services may be maintained or improved.
$1.9T in borrowing? That’s like 12 months work for Obama.
My thought for the day is why is John Banks wearing the same specs that the main character wears in the TV series ‘The Kennedy’s’ (see http://www.guardian.co.uk/tv-and-radio/2011/apr/07/kennedys-bodyshock-reviews)
Does he think he is old man Kennedy now?
IVV, Debt & Dumb, can I suggest you read this..
http://www.vanityfair.com/politics/features/2011/11/debt-and-dumb-201111
Yes, Ronald Reagan, who expanded social security, and created a new government department – Veteran’s Affairs. I think he also kept Medicare and Medicaid — programs he railed against during the 1960’s.
Just read that a coal company in the US, Alpha Natural resources, is paying US$210m in damages for one of the worst US mining tragedies in decades, killing 29 men in April last year. A federal investigation found that the mine violated safety regulations.
Will the families of the Pike River 29 get compensation?
I think they headed that one off yesterday in anticipation of liability.
Pike River: No money in mine’s kitty
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/pike-river-mine-disaster/6092596/Pike-River-No-money-in-mines-kitty
This is why limited liability is immoral.
It is not enough for the shareholders whose money enabled this disaster to simply lose their “investment”. They should be held criminally accountable. Just as they “own” the profits, they should “own” the responsibilities.
“Corporation: An ingenious device for obtaining individual profit without individual responsibility” (Ambrose Bierce)
Swiss banks don’t fail. In Switzerland, banking boards of directors are personally liable for outstanding debts if their banks go under.
Therefore, the ‘give a shit factor’ is much higher on those boards.
It’s the directors and executive management who should be on the hook. Not the shareholders.
Yeah I agree with this.
You could never have shareholders having liability. Unless they are majority shareholders they generally have absolutely no control over what the companies do and need to rely on what management and directors tell them.
Damn I’m sounding like a capitalist this evening.
Nope, the shareholders need to be liable as well as the directors.
If shareholders were personally liable for what their money enables to happen, they would naturally take a lot more interest in what their companies are doing, whether this be polluting rivers, exploiting workers, supplying arms to dictators, etc. – I expect even less of this would occur than with making directors personally responsible.
The whole idea of corporations was to free investors from legal obligations that arose with the “partnership” model. Limited liability is an essential component of the apparatus of capitalism.
The documentary “The Corporation” sets it out very clearly.
How hard could this be for you to understand!
When Key gets into any kind of trouble he’ll
invent stuff.
Police have time on their hands!
Christchurch schools are failing their pupils.
Ad hoc justifications that have no basis in fact.
Charter Schools are needed to keep the wall of
noise around the government going, if controvesy
should ever go silent National voters might just
start questioning National handling of the economy.
How hard could this be for you to understand!
And why do you like being lied to? Well its
simple, TV stopped informing you, your consent
is nolonger required for them to peddle their lies,
now even your election mandate can be ignored, Charter
Schools and limits on government spending ad hoc invention.
Because as a supporter of the government you
immediately come to their side if they are under attack,
and media make sure to reinforce the government line.
Poverty increasing faster, and why would the media care?
You’re too doppy to see the carrot and stick. The
carrot you provide by supporting a mate (govt) under
attack and the stick that if you question government you
could be the next target of government lying. Oh, and
expect to be used, like Police were used to create
consent for the calling Police in to search media organisations.
How hard could this be for you to understand?
Take limits on expenditure, everyone knows the
first thingthe next government can do is to remove the cap
citing the need to grow the economy, when the economy
picks up – as it slows help to industries crying out
for help. Why would National want to slow increases
in R&D spending by government when the economy recovers?
So its all bullshit. In fact its pork bullshit.
Its all about who they will put on the Charter School
consultative group and how much they pay them, ACT
party ‘pay back’ a doner alledgedly? So let’s sum up,
National win by looking under attack (on National
spin doctors CHOICE). Why not talk about CGT, or poverty,
or education (not charter).
In many ways, Key is treatened by education and by spending,
and thats why the spin doctors need to set the agenda in
these areas with ad hoc attacks. Growth down grade
means lower taxation means spending blow outs. Government
wants to move the anti-standard debate off the education
debate.
Key is quite happy setting precedents, like wanting
to over rule courts, overrule magna carta protections,
using police to investigate media during elections, and
even shock horror invent stuff on manifestos even before
the election count has yet to come in!!!!
This is nologer smart politics, its lying, and the worst
kind of politics, dictatorship of the powerful. MMP does
not stop Muldoonism, its just makes the Muldoonist alter
its methods. If we want good government we need our PM to
respect democracy, Key doesn’t.
And how can you not understand that lies in, means lies
out, lies corrupt the invisible hand and the informed
consent mandate. When we let lies stand we weaken the
debate. There is no strength in National, the fact that
they need to believe they can just distort means they’ve
lost. They’re losers, desperately trying to hold on to wealth
they never earnt and they now it.
Not only are they losers…they are afraid.
An amusing comment/cartoon on the media…
Came across this 2009 article from The Atlantic: The Quiet Coup.
The crash has laid bare many unpleasant truths about the United States. One of the most alarming, says a former chief economist of the International Monetary Fund, is that the finance industry has effectively captured our government—a state of affairs that more typically describes emerging markets, and is at the center of many emerging-market crises. If the IMF’s staff could speak freely about the U.S., it would tell us what it tells all countries in this situation: recovery will fail unless we break the financial oligarchy that is blocking essential reform. And if we are to prevent a true depression, we’re running out of time.
The article continues, waving the yellow caution flag, until this passage:
Boris Fyodorov, the late finance minister of Russia, struggled for much of the past 20 years against oligarchs, corruption, and abuse of authority in all its forms. He liked to say that confusion and chaos were very much in the interests of the powerful—letting them take things, legally and illegally, with impunity. When inflation is high, who can say what a piece of property is really worth? When the credit system is supported by byzantine government arrangements and backroom deals, how do you know that you aren’t being fleeced?
The pricks must be rubbing their hands anticipating all those lovely state assets just waiting to be snapped up.
Go long guillotine manufacturers.
+ Tumbrils
For the lesser minions who have served the 0.1% town square stocks will be sufficient.
Claims of corruption in NZ true
http://www.stuff.co.nz/business/rebuilding-christchurch/6096870/EQC-accused-of-jobs-for-boys-girls
Unfucking believable. This explains a lot.
And this:
“communication skills” can also sometimes, in some contexts, be the euphemistic expression for “spin”
I know of a guy who works at a well-known bank (a manager)who had a son in 7th form last year and this year he got a job as an assessor in Chch- regularly flies down from Auckland to Chch. If he’s getting $75 per hr at aged 18/19 for ‘communication skills’, this country and its processes are seriously corrupt!!
That’s interesting. My nephew, a qualified builder, was approached to be an assessor but was turned down because he didn’t have the correct assessing qualification – and now we find out that they’re only employing on communication ability.
Alcohol vs Marijuana
Surely the government could work to reduce the harm caused by treating alcohol as a dangerous drug. From young people binge drinking themselves to an early death to fueling violence and drunk driving, the destructive effects of alcohol are by far the most costly to our wallets and society.
Contrast that approximately 1000 alcohol-related deaths each year with the comparatively harmless drug marijuana, which is widely used and hasn’t killed a single person…
While I largely agree with your comment, Jackal, I do take issue with “hasn’t killed a single person”. Besides the apparent corellation with various psychoses, which I won’t debate one way or the other, claiming that inhaling burnt vegetation into one’s lungs at the rate of use in the global population has never killed anyone borders on crass hyperbole (particulalry if you take into account the tar content of leaf, which although shit is still sold for consumption). Not to mention that much alcohol-related harm involves behavioural effects of alcohol, so you’d also have to include darwin-award behaviour like driving or operating machinery while stoned.
Is dope safer than alcohol on a population basis? Almost certainly.
Is dope perfectly safe? Hell no.
Should it be decriminalised or regulated? From a public health perspective, there is a strong case for it. The only exception would be further research into its relationship with schiziod-type disorders, but that *might* be countered by the positive effect of quality standards regulations, e.g. not putting fly spray or class A/B drugs on it to heighten the effects. Same can be said for E.
I’m a recovering alcoholic and booze cost me countless missed opportunities and an engagement. Works for some people but hooks others in hopelessly. Weed on the other hand I can take or leave without wanting to consume it until it’s all gone and then go looking for more. I have a stressful job so a bong and some shit TV at the end of the day is nice and relaxing. So I’m biased but I can accept that cannabis seriously disagrees with some people in the way drink did for me.
Personally I think that all drugs should be out in the open and regulated and there should be drug education in schools not based around warmed over War On Some Drugs(tm) propaganda like DARE.
There’s a big double standard going on when I could get a free trip to the cop shop for having a puff in the park when there’s bottle shops on just about every bloody corner.
That said though, I think the booze culture goes a lot deeper than advertising or availability. It’s something culturally ingrained. Same with macho dickhead behavior. That’s something already present that’s just turned up to 11 by alcohol.
Having had alcoholics in my family, I very much agree with you! Alcohol needs to be more regulated… at the least!
Absolutely agreed!
trav
Thanks for trying to pull the discussion back to reality.
Unfortunately, most of those who comment don’t like discussing real stuff -like peak oil, financial chicanery that will lead to a meltdown, long term environmental collapse etc. (even morality is off the agenda most of the time)- so they do their best to get the conversation back onto irrelevant and trivial matters such as tax rates. That is exactly what happened during the so-called election debates, of course: no mention whasoever of reality by either of the major parties. Let’s not have an informed public that will start making appropriate choices. No wonder Labour lost support and the turnout was so low. Fortunately not everyone is stupid.
The period we are living through is very much like the world of 1928 combined with the world of 1938 …. ‘the market will go up for ever and there will be no war’.
The ‘magic’ of Christmas (which is a fake festival anyway*) will keep the proles distracted and amused for the next few weeks. After that?
* corresponding with the ‘rebirth’ of the Sun following the Northern Hemisphere winter solstice .
“* corresponding with the ‘rebirth’ of the Sun following the Northern Hemisphere winter solstice .”
I wonder if hanging decorations of angels on christmas trees has anything to do with Odin’s nine day self-inficted ordeal hanging from the “tree of life”. A god sacrificing himself to himself for knowledge of “the secrets”- there’s an interesting idea, almost artistic.
That’s torn it then, I’m putting a tree of life up in the lounge with a big fuck off Odin hanging off it.
Three legs and a single eye? More of a example of alien life than anything else..
Cactus Kate over at Kiwiblog seems to be confirming rumours that David Shearer announced his candidacy after meetings with such people as Hooton, Odgers, Farrar and Slater.
http://www.kiwiblog.co.nz/2011/12/own_goal-4.html#comment-911827
[lprent: Moved to OpenMike. It is interesting but you’d need to reframe it for the post. ]
I thought this was more interesting:
http://waitakerenews.blogspot.com/2011/11/who-should-be-labours-next-leader.html
Labour and other lefties would be well advised to ignore anything Slater, Farrar and Odgers have to say on the matter.
It doesn’t matter whether you agree with their assessments. It doesn’t matter whether you think they’re being malicious or not either. Time spent figuring their motives is time wasted.
Just disregard them as you would a JW at the door on a summer’s morning and get on with your life.
+1
Another one for your John Key voting mates: http://aotearoaawiderperspective.wordpress.com/2011/12/07/christchurch-fletcher-and-zombie-banks-are-john-keys-masters-making-a-mint-out-of-the-christchurch-quake/
A sobering read from an unusual source.
The American Conservative: He Was 22, She Was 12.
He was 22, a corporal in the Marines from Preston, Iowa, a “city” incorporated in 1890 with a present population of 949. He died in a hospital in Germany of “wounds received from an explosive device while on patrol in Helmand province [Afghanistan].” Of him, his high school principal said, “He was a good kid.” He is survived by his parents.
[…]
So who, that same week, was going to pay the slightest attention to the fate of 50 year-old Mohammad Rahim, a farmer from Kandahar Province in southern Afghanistan? Four of his children — two sons and two daughters, all between four and 12 years old — were killed in a “NATO” (undoubtedly American) airstrike, while working in their fields. In addition, an eight-year-old daughter of his was “badly wounded.” Whether Rahim himself was killed is unclear from the modest reports we have of the “incident.”
You know the world has finally gone mad when Fox News labels Kermit the Frog as a communist!
http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/shortcuts/2011/dec/06/muppet-movies-communist-plots-revealed
Komrade Kermit! Fox, they don’t like it up’em.
All you lefties who voted for Winsome getting a nice warm feeling inside?
http://www.starcanterbury.co.nz/news/mp-wants-taxi-drivers-armed/1200350/
Why?
You worried that your mate John Key is going to listen to that idiot or something?
Shooter toting cabbies and liquor store owners–ACToids, what say you? The USA, where you seem to get many of the National/ACT policies enshrines the ‘right’ to bear arms.
Earlier this week Strontium tainted water was released into the ocean and yesterday it was reported that Cesium has been detected in infant milk powder.
Meiji said it is unsure exactly how the cesium got into the powdered milk, but it suspects radioactive substances emitted from the Fukushima accident may have been the source. A company spokesman told Reuters hot air used in the drying process may have contained cesium
Hmmm… It looks like ex-Labour voters helped vote this guy in.. Nice.
Be careful what you wish…
Thank you John Key for maximising Winston’s airtime during the run up to election day!!!
lol – “Walther PPK”!
Obviously someone’s been watching the James Bond season on TV1. I’m surprised he doesn’t demand taxis have flip-up bulletproof screens and knockout gas for when passengers get a bit frisky. 🙂
So how come no ones saying anything about the strikes at the POA?
How come you’re not mentioning the lockout?
For some strange reason I thought strike action might have got some sort of a reaction on a left-wing political blog
Well, it’s come up in comments – if you want a post, why not write it yourself?
ts, see my comment 20.1.1. How can ‘hang ’em high’ National or at the very least, ACT supporters, object to Prossers call to arms? Libertarian surely. Or is the point you are making just to have a snark at certain voters for unexpected consequences of voting Winston without being properly acquainted with the NZ1 list.
I just think its kind of sad that many former Labour voters hate the party so much that they’d prefer to vote for a party that is fronted by a proven liar and includes at least one right-wing extremist as one of its MPs.
Yeah – I hate it when people go from Labour to National, too.
John Key dyscalculia
Let’s see if John Keys claim that an increase of £7 to the APD is “four or five times the cost of offsetting the carbon emissions produced” is true?
He obviously said that the tax itself is set at 4-5 times the offsetting the carbon emissions, not just the increase part.
No doubt this will be National’s Brighter Future in a few years…
Quite possibly, everything seems to be user pay – and then they take their 15% GST on my rates too! But what’s the betting that business won’t have any charge?
Soon 100% Pure will represent Travel to NZ for 100% exotic flora and fauna experience
hate to think of how exposed the likes of Kapiti, Codfish, Little Barrier will be. It will be left up to the organisations like friends of Tititiri, Forest and Bird to save our uniqueness. Pity our environment is not worth spending a few $$. Extinction is forever 🙁
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10771535
I prefer extirpation of invasive species a priotity.
the gubmint commends it.
twang.
My freeview is down in Grey Lynn. Anyone else….
Analogue 4:3 urrgh…
Back again.
Was out for quite a while..
I don’t think Kate Wilkinson actually understands what it is to be a Minister of Conservation.
Slash and burn (of jobs and species) didn’t use to be part of the job description.
It shits me puddle. Shrink the Dept of Conservation and expand the Dept of Mines and Irrigation. Says it all. Says it all. Says it all.
And what of Pike River? Is it not exactly as was expected – deadly criminal negligence by corporate and regulatory and operational individuals?
What a fucked up case. The most ever in NZ history I would postulate.
so sad
edit: and South Canterbury Finance… NZ is scraping its bottom on the bottom…
Sort of like the Minister for Social Welfare.
Or the Minister for Education.
The sad irony.
Southern Cross Insurance Wants Government Handouts
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/property/news/article.cfm?c_id=8&objectid=10771374
Fucking typical, lets nick the money out of the public health system eh.
Just proves the inability of private healthcare to function without government handouts and regulations that benefit them. We need to be ramming this down Acts throat as it’s proof that the preferred economic theories are delusional.
It seems to me that many healthy people simply can’t afford private medical insurance and those that have high medical needs can’t afford not to have it. The next thing is a greater loss of consultants who make most of their money in private health. A good proportion won’t work more hours in public health – they’ll be off overseas.