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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The government has announced it will strengthen whistleblower protections. The major change is "allowing people to report serious wrongdoing direct to an external authority if they wish", which fixes one of the big flaws in the Act. At present, whistleblowers must generally make their disclosure direct to the body they ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Bruce Lieberman CARLSBAD, CA. – When it comes to paying the electric bill, most people don’t give it a second thought – it’s something that in effect is “baked in.” But across California and several other states, local governments increasingly are ...
Excerpts from Being and Being Bought, by Kajsa Ekis Ekman, Spinifex Press, 2013. Part 4 Ekman, a Swedish journalist and critic, brings together a Marxist and feminist analysis of prostitution and surrogacy in this groundbreaking book. This is the fourth part of a synopsis and brief commentary of the book by Daphna ...
The Democracy Virus: China’s authoritarian political system enables a level of social surveillance and control that liberal democratic societies cannot match. The Chinese Government makes full use of the latest digital technology to both punish – and reward – its citizens. The plans it formulates cannot be challenged, or hindered. Where ...
Another day, another IPCA report on criminal conduct by policy. This time they kicked a child in the head when he was handcuffed:Police chased him and yelled out for him to stop. When he turned to face the police, he threatened them with a hammer. That's when the officers tasered ...
The investigation of two of the five parties in Parliament for fraud around their election donations has pushed the issue of party funding back into the spotlight. And while there are obvious things we can do to tighten up the donations regime - a much lower declaration threshold, realtime disclosure ...
While the south of New Zealand has been struggling with too much rain in recent days, here in the north we are so very short of it (though Saturday’s forecast looks promising). Basically, we have had almost none since Christmas.As someone who relies on rain to wash the car, ...
Former National Party MP Jami-Lee RossIt comes as no surprise that Jami-Lee Ross has been named as one of the defendants in the X2 $100,000 National Party donations case currently before the courts. Click bait journalists who were chaffing at the bit to discredit the former senior whip had already ...
Stand Clear! Winston Peters is encouraging voters to think of RNZ as belonging to “The Media Party”. He wants them to see it as a politically partisan institution with its own, vicious attack-dogs in the electoral fight. If he succeeds, it will be, and probably should be, the end of ...
"You're going to need a longer runway" Gratton et al explore the ongoing effects of upward-creeping temperatures on aviation in Greece in the period since 1955 at a range of airports in that country. For longer runways impacts are measurable but with little impact on operations. For airports with shorter runways, ...
In mid-December the Israeli secret police, the Shin Beit, revealed it had arrested dozens of Palestinian left-wing activists, including members of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), in the previous few months. Among those arrested was one of the central leaders of the PFLP, Khalida Jarrar. As ...
Former National Party chief whip Jami-Lee Ross is one of the four people charged over National's multiple fraudulent donations. How unsurprising. Meanwhile, just days ago National leader Simon Bridges was trying to pretend the charges were nothing to do with his party. Yeah, right. When your chief whip effectively publicly ...
If you've been watching FYI for a while, you'll have noticed that the police have a bad habit of demanding ID from requesters. They have apparently been repeatedly told to stop doing this by the Ombudsman, but we all know what law enforcement thinks of the law, so thye keep ...
Collateral Damage: For the Green Phoenix to be reborn, the funeral pyre so patiently assembled by its identity politicians over the course of many fractious years – but with growing intensity over the past three – first has to be ignited. The terrible probability, of course, is that, in setting ...
If you follow politics in New Zealand you've likely noticed that the right wing have been going on and on about the Coalition Government failing to reduce poverty. In fact they’ve been incessantly claiming, in the absence of any conclusive data, that poverty has been getting worse.Yesterday, NewstalkZB reported:Mike Hosking: ...
The Herald reported over the weekend that an Auckland business owner is being targeted with asset forfeiture laws over a workplace death:A workplace fatality has seen police use a law usually associated with drugs and organised crime to seize millions of dollars in assets from a business owner because of ...
Just days after talking about how people feel "squeezed" and promising tax and service cuts as a "solution", National is talking about cancelling a rise in the minimum wage if elected: National is considering scrapping the Government's planned minimum wage increase if it wins this year's election, the party's finance ...
Nobody thinks about the next century anymore. That at least is Sci-Fi writer William Gibson’s observation (in this BBC 4 short interview, starting at 1:43:50 ). He calls it “Futures Fatigue”, but isn’t judgemental about it. Gibson notes that in the 20th century speculation about the 21st (and beyond) was common. Now ...
A Labour government desperate for the numbers crawls into bed with Winston Peters. Winston ignores the law and secretly takes money under the table from someone. When it is exposed just months out from an election, he is investigated by the Serious Fraud Office. That's what happened back in 2008. ...
So the Serious Fraud Office has another secret $100,050 National Party donation before the Courts in a major scandal that looks set to quash any chances Simon Bridges had of winning the 2020 election.Yesterday, Newsroom reported:The Serious Fraud Office prosecution of four people over donations to the National Party involves ...
Story of the Week... Toon of the Week... Coming Soon on SkS... Climate Feedback Claim Review... Poster of the Week... SkS Week in Review... Story of the Week... Iceberg twice the size of Washington, D.C., breaks off Pine Island glacier in Antarctica Story Highlights: The Pine Island ...
Prof Philippa Howden-ChapmanHousing policy is building up to be the key election issue again. In this blog I reflect on the importance of the role of the New Zealand Government in improving access to affordable housing. I look at what the Government has been doing to increase quality public housing ...
Writing on The Spinoff, Danyl Mclauchlan argues that we have a vacuum in our political system, in that there is no longer an anti-establishment party anymore:I think there’s a vacuum in our political system. There are obvious problems with the status quo but no real critics offering reform. It’s a ...
Stuff today has a piece about the government discovering it has been oversubsidising polluters for a decade under the Emissions Trading scheme:The Government is pledging to urgently fix an issue within the Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS), after it emerged some polluters are likely being over-compensated with taxpayer-funded carbon credits. [...] ...
The Marlborough District Council, tired of public scrutiny, wants to increase the amount it charges for LGOIMA requests:The cost of requesting official information from Marlborough's government agency could almost double after a jump in "fishing expeditions". Charges could be raised from $60 to $100 an hour for information supplied by ...
When Winston Peters was caught money laundering donations and stalking journalists, the Greens were conspicuous by their silence. It was another example of how getting along with their government partners was eroding their values and their own reputation. It was obviously unsustainable, and so now James Shaw has finally spoken ...
I am among the most pro-free speech people I know. I don’t doubt there are others more strident than me, but I’m certainly up there. And my support for freedom of expression isn’t limited to opposition to government-imposed restrictions. It extends to a belief that employers should have limited powers ...
With over 69,000 confirmed cases and 1,600 deaths, here’s your round-up of the latest coronavirus news. New disease and virus have now officially been named On the 11th February, the WHO Director General announced a new name for the disease: COVID-19 which is short for coronavirus disease 2019. The naming ...
A chronological listing of news articles linked to on the Skeptical Science Facebook Page during the past week, i.e., Sun, Feb 9, 2020 through Sat, Feb 15, 2020 Editor's Pick ANALYSIS-Climate change opens up 'frontier' farmland, but at what cost to the planet?Climate change could expand farmland globally by ...
After cross-examination Jones knew he would lose the defamation case he took against film maker Renae Maihi. That’s why he threw in the towel. The weight of evidence was clearly against the old tycoon with the defense presenting fifty articles to confirm Jones’ racist views.Being unable to harass somebody into ...
Sprung! Former NZ First president, Lester Gray, chats with RNZ's Guyon Espiner in the carpark of a Tauranga shopping centre.(Photo supplied anonymously to NZ First and The BFD.)IT’S CLEAR THAT an important aspect of Jacinda Ardern’s political success is her willingness to seek – and take – advice. This ...
Ruth Cunningham, Charlotte Paul, Andrew MoorePublic health responses to infectious diseases such as COVID-19 require us to draw on our common humanity and be explicit about our values. Recognising this will help us make good decisions in difficult situations so that, for example, the need to impose restrictive measures ...
The Helen Clark Foundation has released its report on the housing crisis, and found that house-hoarders are to blame for it:Property investors are to blame for New Zealand's high house prices, a new research paper published by the Helen Clark Foundation says. [...] McArthur said previous attempts to address housing ...
The Abortion Legislation Committee has reported back on the Abortion Legislation Bill and recommended that it be passed with some amendments. Unfortunately, the latter include even more hoops to jump through for those seeking abortions after 20 weeks, including a time-wasting requirement to consult a second doctor. No-one casually seeks ...
Brexit is likely to be a disaster for the UK (how sad, never mind). But now that they're out of the EU, the latter has finaly taken the opportunity to blacklist one of their key tax havens:The Cayman Islands, a British overseas territory, is to be put on an EU ...
I’m not quite sure of what to make of the new figures for COVID-19 (as we must now call the novel coronavirus – though I’m not sure the capitalisation is correct) from Hubei province:Image from https://www.bbc.com/news/world-51495484The spike yesterday is a consequence of a using a different way of ...
Bob Jones has dropped his defamation case against Renae Maihi. Good. But at the same time, it perfectly exposes what the case was all about: not protecting Jones' reputation, but punishing someone who had dared to criticise him, and deterring others from doing the same. This rich pompous asshat dragged ...
As I've done for the past few years, I'm curating and presenting The Listening Lounge, the talk programme at Splore. On the morning of Saturday the 22nd at the Living Lounge stage, the korero goes like this.Yes, we're talking about drugs again, not just because I'm professionally interested in drug ...
What Were They Thinking? RNZ's CEO Paul Thompson (left) and Jim Mather, Chairman of the RNZ Board of Governors, attempt to justify the debacle arising out of their attempt to downgrade RNZ Concert to the Economic Development, Science and Innovation Select Committee at Parliament on Thursday, 13 February 2020.WHAT IS ...
Dame Tariana Turia with former PM John KeyWhat is it about Tariana Turia’s grudge against the Labour Party? Not content with attacking the Government over Whānau Ora funding, which was increased by $80 million in 2019, she has now made it personal by saying that Jacinda Ardern is out of her ...
Back in 2017, right after being elected, Jacinda Ardern promised that there would be no new mines on conservation land. Since then, her government has done nothing to make that happen, and now the policy has been officially "parked" for the election:West Coast-Tasman MP Damien O'Connor says the "no new ...
So the guy who advocated for public burning and beheading feels offended because someone called him a racist!Perhaps Bob Jones hasn't heard of the very old saying; Live by the sword, die by the sword?I mean for someone who often writes opinionated nonsense about Maori; this is a ridiculous case ...
The government today announced a major support package aimed at reducing homelessness. A thousand new transitional housing places, more support for people to find homes (or not lose them in the first place), all good stuff. The one problem with it is that they're going to start charging people in ...
Courtroom Drama: There is no off-switch in a courtroom. Neither is it possible to turn the page in disgust. Ill-formed and ill-defended opinions will be exposed ruthlessly and unapologetically. As Shakespeare put it: “Reputation is an idle and most false imposition; oft got without merit, and lost without deserving.” Sometimes the ...
As of today, the novel coronavirus spreading in China is called COVID-19. Why does it matter? Around the office, we’ve had several conversations over the past few weeks about how 2019-nCoV needed its own name. First, it was getting annoying calling it by the above designation, and ‘novel coronavirus’ doesn’t ...
by Philip Ferguson Last month B’Tselem, the Israeli Information Center for Human Rights in the Occupied Territories, reported: “In 2019, Israeli security forces killed 133 Palestinians, including 28 minors. Of the casualties, 104 were killed in the Gaza Strip, 26 in the West Bank (including East Jerusalem) and three within ...
A ballot for a single Member's Bill was held today, and the following bill was drawn: Arms (Firearms Prohibition Orders) Amendment Bill (No 2) (Brett Hudson)Its basicly more "tough on crime" nonsense (its already illegal for unlicensed people to own guns) designed to wedge NZ First against its arsehole base. ...
In 2015 the world agreed to the Paris Agreement to fight climate change. Each country would offer a Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) "that it intends to achieve", and "pursue domestic mitigation measures, with the aim of achieving [it]". And every five years, they'd improve on it, ratcheting up ambition until ...
In theory, the emissions trading scheme should reduce emissions. Making polluters pay for permits to pollute lets them save money by reducing pollution, giving them a financial incentive to do the right thing. But right from the start the ETS was broken with a system of free allocation, so polluters ...
Irish voters went to the polls on Saturday in parliamentary elections, and perhaps delivered a political revolution. Since independence, Irish politics has been dominated by two parties, Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael. Basicly patronage networks with indistinguishable policies, their cleavage isn't ideology, but who killed whose father or grandfather in ...
Once again the Aotearoa Bike Challenge is on us, and once again I’m participating. In principle this is not hard because it does not represent a significant switch in behavior for me. I already bike nearly every day. The Bicycle The fascinating thing about cycling is the realisation that this ...
Lately there has been a great deal of misinformation regarding the origins and purpose of Skeptical Science. As John Cook wrote nearly a decade ago, Skeptical Science is primarily a website that debunks climate misinformation with peer-reviewed science. Despite the ever-worsening impacts from climate change, with record after record being broken in ...
Under Attack: By sacking not only RNZ Concert’s presenters, but also its producers and librarians, and reducing the station to an automated purveyor of classical music in-between parliamentary broadcasts, RNZ’s CEO, Paul Thompson, wasn’t simply announcing an operational shake-up, he was declaring war on one of the most important guardians of ...
Story of the Week... Editorial of the Week... Toon of the Week... Quote of the Week... Coming Soon on SkS... Climate Feedback Reviews... SkS Week in Review... Poster of the Week... Story of the Week... Australian smoke plume sets recordsThe recent wildfires in Australia sent one of ...
The Global Protest to #FightInequality was powerful – thankyou and what next? Dear allies, We started the decade with a huge protest to #FightInequality that was heard around the world, including the 1% at Davos. Watch and share the highlights on facebook and twitter. A huge thank you. Together we ...
The Ministry of Health have announced a package that might ensure NZ will never experience another measles epidemic. While at the time of writing the details are still limited it appears that the important limitations in our current programme have been acknowledged and the intent is to address them. Great ...
Prof Nick Wilson, Prof Michael BakerIn this blog we briefly summarise our assessment of the highly uncertain new coronavirus threat. Given its potential to become a severe and prolonged global pandemic, a precautionary response now means activating all components of our pandemic plan, with a particular focus on ‘keep ...
When Labour was running for election, Jacinda Ardern famously said that climate change was "my generation's nuclear free moment". The implication was that her government would take the problem seriously, and act swiftly to reduce emissions. The reality:New Zealand will emit a million more tonnes of greenhouse gases in 2020 ...
James Renwick is Professor of Physical Geography at Victoria University of Wellington. He studied at Canterbury and the University of Washington and has worked on diverse aspects of climate science, including global atmospheric circulation and Antarctic sea ice. In December 2019 he was appointed to the New Zealand Climate Change ...
by Philip Ferguson Exit polls are showing a three-way virtual tie between the main parties in the south of Ireland. Sinn Fein, Fianna Fail and Fine Gael are all on just over 22%. FG on 22.4, SF on 22.3, FF on 22.2. Exit polls indicate that over 30% of 18-24 ...
Today New Zealand First made a pledge to campaign at the election to fund St John Ambulance the 90 per cent it has asked for. Government funding would allow St. John’s to achieve fully funded status. Leader of New Zealand First, Rt Hon Winston Peters publicly declared his determination to deliver ...
Darroch Ball MP, Spokesperson for Law and Order Newly released Police data shows once again the number of fleeing drivers have continued to skyrocket with a record 512 incidents occurring in December – almost tripling the number of incidents occurring just ten years ago, says New Zealand First Law and ...
While the Provincial Growth Fund has provided $2 million to set up temporary water supplies in Kaikohe and Kaitaia, Regional Economic Minister Shane Jones said he is greatly concerned that there are “issues” in implementing the projects. The Minister said the immediate solution was to pipe water from a bore ...
Mark Patterson MP, New Zealand First List MP for Clutha-Southland NZ First is calling on Rio Tinto to accept its responsibilities to the Southland community and enable the immediate removal of the toxic Aluminium Dross from the Mataura Paper Mill site. New Zealand First List MP for Clutha-Southland, Mark Patterson ...
The Coalition Government has announced that a further $500,000 will be given to help residents in Southland and Otago to speed up recovery efforts from the floods. It follows prior government assistance of $200,000 earlier this month where the Southland Mayoral Relief Fund received $100,000 to support communities impacted by ...
Regional Economic Development Minister Shane Jones was on RNZ’s Morning Report talking about the recent droughts in the Northland region and what the Provincial Growth Fund (PGF) is doing to alleviate its impact. The PGF recently announced a funding of $2 million for temporary water supplies to Kaikohe and Kaitaia, ...
Speaking to The Country’s Jamie Mackay, New Zealand First MP and Cabinet Minister Shane Jones talks water storage, plant-based meat imitation, and superstar Hollywood director James Cameron. While water storage may have its critics, Minister Jones defended the scheme by saying: “unless we invest and continue to invest” in this ...
Regional Economic Development Minister Shane Jones is accusing northern iwi leaders of selling out Māori by voting for ideologically-driven court cases rather than practical steps to increase water supply. “I just think that iwi leaders who think that water issues are going to be solved by perpetually fighting in the ...
A dairy owner in St Kilda, Dunedin was delighted to hear that an attempted robbery of his establishment was foiled by a government-funded security system. Sean Lee was delighted at how well the anti-theft smoke system worked. When a knife-wielding man entered the store, the shop assistant immediately pressed a ...
Customs says it stopped more than three tonnes of illegal drugs coming into New Zealand last year. This includes 1,180kg of methamphetamine, 329kg of ephedrine and pseudoephedrine precursors, which could have been converted into 246kg of methamphetamine, 739kg and 6469 pills of MDMA or Ecstasy and 60kg of cocaine. Offshore, ...
Hon. Shane Jones, Minister for Regional Economic Development Up to $2 million will be allocated from the Provincial Growth Fund to set up temporary water supplies in Kaikohe and Kaitaia where drought is biting hard, Regional Economic Development Minister Shane Jones has announced. Drought conditions in Northland have led to ...
Darroch Ball, Spokesperson for Law and Order New Zealand First welcomes the deployment of an Eagle Police helicopter in Christchurch in what is a step towards fulfilling its long-standing goal to increase the use of police helicopters for the front line, particularly in addressing the scourge of fleeing drivers. Christchurch leads ...
It may have been the first sitting week of 2020, but our Government is already in full-swing - managing a strong economy, investing in infrastructure, and working to break the cycle of homelessness. Read below for all that, and more... ...
In a heated debate in Parliament, National's Deputy Leader Paula Bennett claimed that “nearly 1600 patched gang members have been added” since the Coalition Government took power. To illustrate her point, she altered a chart used by Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern to show her government’s progress in housing to instead ...
Speech by the Rt Hon Winston Peters at Parliament’s Opening 2020 "We all need insurance" This year New Zealanders are going to have a clear choice to make That choice is between: Optimism versus pessimism; More progress versus back to the future; Investment versus divestment; Unity versus division. New Zealand ...
Infrastructure Minister Shane Jones has slammed the Board of Auckland Airport following the airport's runway closing twice within two weeks due to maintenance. Around 2,000 passengers were affected by last week’s runway closures, according to 1NEWS. Another maintenance closure on January 24 saw two international flights and three domestic flights ...
Jenny Marcroft, Spokesperson for Broadcasting New Zealand First supports the commissioning of a business case to assess the viability of a new public media entity. “A strong media environment is critical for a healthy democracy. New Zealand First is a strong supporter of a diverse, independent media,” New Zealand First broadcasting spokesperson ...
Pounamou and technology industries in the West Coast region are set to receive more than $2 million in Provincial Growth Fund (PGF) funding. This was announced by the Under-Secretary for Regional Economic Development Fletcher Tabuteau during Waitangi Day commemorations in Hokitika. He said $800,000 would be given to Development West ...
Clayton Mitchell MP, New Zealand First spokesperson for Labour and Industrial Relations Unemployment and wage growth numbers released by Stats NZ today demonstrate a labour market in good shape with unemployment falling to 4.0%, the underutilisation rate falling to an 11 year low, and wage growth at a 10-year high ...
Hon. Ron Mark, New Zealand First Spokesperson for Defence New Zealand First Spokesperson for Defence Ron Mark, welcomes the official opening of Te Rau Aroha, a new museum at Waitangi Treaty Grounds as part of our Coalition Agreement. “It is a great honour to be part of an effective Government ...
Rt. Hon. Winston Peters, Deputy Prime MinisterGood morning,Let us start with important acknowledgements.First, this special day, in remembrance of the 28th Maori Battalion, is also to honour all those men and women who have risked their lives in the service of our country.Second, special guest Robert ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters says New Zealand will look to build on its relationship with the United Kingdom and recommit to the European Union, after the country officially left the continental union recently. The Minister said New Zealand already cooperates closely with Britain on defence and security issues and has ...
Hon. Shane Jones, Minister for Regional Economic Development The Provincial Growth Fund (PGF) is delivering on its commitment to unlock the potential of Māori-owned land with investments up and down the country making a genuine difference to communities, Regional Economic Development Shane Jones says.At Waitangi last year, the Government ...
Rt. Hon. Winston Peters, Deputy Prime Minister The Government is placing temporary entry restrictions into New Zealand on all foreign nationals travelling from, or transiting through mainland China to assist with the containment of the novel coronavirus and to protect New Zealand and the Pacific Islands from the disease. This ...
Justice Minister Andrew Little will travel to Berlin tomorrow to represent New Zealand at a high-level summit on nuclear disarmament. This year, the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) celebrates 50 years since it entered into force. “New Zealand’s proud record and leadership on nuclear disarmament is unwavering, so it’s important we are present ...
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern will visit two of New Zealand’s most important Pacific partners, Fiji and Australia, next week. The visit to Fiji will be the first by a New Zealand Prime Minister in four years and comes during the 50th anniversary of Fijian independence and diplomatic relations between our ...
Justice Minister Andrew Little and New Zealand First MP Darroch Ball, have today announced the appointment of the Chief Commissioner of the Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC), the location, and the membership of the Establishment Advisory Group. Colin Carruthers QC has been appointed Chief Commissioner of the CCRC for an ...
Māori Development Minister Hon Nanaia Mahuta and Agriculture Minister Hon Damien O’Connor co-announced the first horticultural finalists for the Ahuwhenua Trophy celebrating excellence in the Māori agricultural sector. The three finalists are Ngai Tukairangi Trust from Mt Maunganui, Otama Marere Trust from Tauranga, and Hineora Orchard Te Kaha 15B Ahuwhenua ...
A new kete of resources to strengthen support for students with dyslexia will provide extra tools for the new Learning Support Coordinators (LSCs) as they start in schools, Associate Education Minister Tracey Martin announced today. The Minister launched the kete in Wellington this morning, at the first of three induction ...
The Government continues to make progress on a fairer and more secure rental market for renters and landlords with the First Reading of the Residential Tenancies Amendment Bill and its referral to the Social Services and Community Select Committee. “Now is the opportunity for landlords, tenants and others who want ...
Papua New Guinea’s Prime Minister Hon James Marape will visit New Zealand from 21-25 February, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced today. “New Zealand and Papua New Guinea have a warm and friendly relationship. I look forward to welcoming Prime Minister Marape here and strengthening the relationship between our two countries,” ...
Thousands of children have begun receiving a free lunch on every day of the school week, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said. The Government’s free and healthy school lunch programme is under way for 7,000 students at 31 schools in Hawke’s Bay / Tairāwhiti and Bay of Plenty / Waiariki, extending ...
The Minister for Social Development Carmel Sepuloni today announced a new approach that continues to broaden the Government’s social sector focus from a narrow, investment approach to one centred on people and wellbeing. Minister Sepuloni said redefining the previous approach to social investment by combining science, data and lived experience ...
The Government is strengthening the Protected Disclosures Act to provide better protection for whistle blowers, Minister of State Services Chris Hipkins said today. “The Protected Disclosures Act is meant to encourage people to speak up about serious wrongdoing in the workplace and protect them from losing their jobs or being ...
Nǐn hǎo (Hello in Mandarin). Xīn Nián Kuài Lè (Happy New Year in Mandarin) Néi Hóu (Hello in Cantonese). Sun Nin Fai Lok (Happy New Year in Cantonese) Tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou katoa. Thank you for your invitation to attend this celebration today. I would like to acknowledge ...
Kia ora. Ngā mihi nui ki a koutou katoa. Nau mai haere mai ki te Whare Pāremata. E ngā mana whenua ki tēnei rohe Taranaki Whānui, Te Upoko o Te Ika, Ngāti Toa Rangatira, Ngāti Raukawa – kei te mihi, kei te mihi, kei te mihi. E ngā mana, e ...
Kia ora. Ngā mihi nui ki a koutou katoa. Nau mai haere mai ki te Whare Pāremata. E ngā mana whenua ki tēnei rohe Taranaki Whānui, Te Upoko o Te Ika, Ngāti Toa Rangatira, Ngāti Raukawa – kei te mihi, kei te mihi, kei te mihi. E ngā mana, e ngā ...
Tougher penalties for gun crime are a step closer with the passage of firearms reform legislation through another stage in Parliament. The Arms Legislation Bill has tonight passed its Second Reading. “The changes have one objective - to prevent firearms falling into the wrong hands,” said Police Minister Stuart Nash. ...
Introduction Mr Speaker We all know why we are here today. It has been a long journey. The journey did not actually begin on 15 March 2019. It began on 30 June 1997. Almost 23 years ago, Justice Sir Thomas Thorp told us what was wrong with our firearms legislation. ...
The Government’s work to put trades and vocational education back on the agenda took another major step forward today with the passing of the Education (Vocational Education and Training Reform) Amendment Bill, Education Minister Chris Hipkins said. “This is a watershed day for trades and vocational education. These law changes formalise ...
Speeding up the return of Christchurch regeneration activities to local leadership is behind the Greater Christchurch Regeneration Amendment Bill introduced to Parliament today by Minister Megan Woods. “As we approach nine years since the February 2011 earthquake in Canterbury, and with the transition to local leadership well underway, the time ...
Hundreds of New Zealanders and international visitors will be able to get back out into nature with the Milford Track partially reopening next week, after extensive assessments and repairs, the Minister of Conservation Eugenie Sage announced today. The popular Great Walk has been closed since 3 February after an extreme ...
Up to 110 new EV chargers nationwide in cities and regions 50 electric vehicles for ride-sharing The Government is helping deliver more infrastructure and options for low emissions transport through new projects, Energy and Resources Minister Dr Megan Woods says. Tauranga, Nelson, Levin, New Plymouth and Oamaru are just some ...
New Zealanders are increasingly better off under this Government as wages rise and families have more disposable income, Finance Minister Grant Robertson says. Stats NZ reported today that average household disposable incomes after housing costs rose 4.9% in 2019. This was the highest rise in four years and came as ...
All New Zealanders need to have their voices heard at work to ensure we have an inclusive and productive economy. Today we introduce a Bill to do this for workers in the New Zealand screen industry, Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Iain Lees-Galloway says. “The Screen Industry Workers Bill will ...
The Government has announced further help for the Southland and Otago regions to speed up recovery efforts from the floods. “I’ve approved Enhanced Taskforce Green (ETFG), making $500,000 available to help with the clean-up in Fiordland, Southland, and the Clutha district in Otago,” Minister for Social Development Carmel Sepuloni said. ...
Following the announcement that more than 340 schools will be funded to run events promoting vocational education, the Government has announced it will fund a further 257 events to be run by employers and industry. “These industry-run events will allow more than 30,000 students to connect with more than 2,000 ...
Today the Government is making progress on a fairer and more secure rental market for renters and landlords with the introduction of the Residential Tenancies Amendment Bill in Parliament. “This Bill includes a series of reforms to improve the wellbeing of the 609,700 households that live in rented homes, and ...
A Government programme to wipe out pea weevil has achieved a world first, with Biosecurity Minister Damien O’Connor today announcing the successful eradication of the noxious pest from Wairarapa. This means the nearly four-year ban on pea plants and pea straw was lifted today. Commercial and home gardeners can again grow ...
Southland residents hit by flooding caused by heavy rainfall can now access help finding temporary accommodation with the Government activating the Temporary Accommodation Service, Minister of Civil Defence Peeni Henare announced today. “The Temporary Accommodation Service (TAS) has been activated by the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment to help ...
“Is that it?” That’s Finance Minister Grant Robertson’s response to Simon Bridges’ much-hyped economic speech today. “Simon Bridges just gave the most over-hyped and under-delivered speech that I can remember during my time in politics,” Grant Robertson said. “It’s not surprising. Simon Bridges literally said on the radio this morning ...
A trial deployment of the Police Eagle helicopter in Christchurch will test whether the aircraft would make a significant difference to crime prevention and community safety. “The Bell 429 helicopter will be based in Christchurch for five weeks, from 17 February to 20 March,” said Police Minister Stuart Nash. “The ...
The Government has kept up the pace of its work to promote New Zealand’s trade interests and diversify our export markets, with visits to Fiji and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) by Trade and Export Growth Minister David Parker. Building momentum to bring the PACER Plus trade and development agreement ...
The Coalition Government’s investment in a strong border and disrupting transnational organised crime produced record results for stopping drugs in 2019, says Minister of Customs Jenny Salesa. The illegal drugs were seized at the New Zealand border by Customs, and overseas by Customs’ international border partners before the drugs could ...
Transport Minister Phil Twyford today kicked off construction of a separated cycleway alongside Tamaki Drive. A two-way separated cycleway will be built along the northern side of Tamaki Drive, between the Quay Street Cycleway extension and Ngapipi Road. There will be a separate walking path alongside. Phil Twyford said giving ...
Owner-occupiers of unit and apartments living in earthquake-prone buildings will have certainty about the financial support they’ll be eligible for with the release of criteria for an upcoming assistance scheme, Minister for Building and Construction Jenny Salesa says. The Residential Earthquake-Prone Building Financial Assistance Scheme will help unit owners facing ...
Temporary restrictions on travel from China will remain in place as a precautionary measure to protect against the spread of the COVID-19 coronavirus. The restrictions which prevent foreign nationals travelling from, or transiting through, mainland China from entering New Zealand have been extended for a further 8 days. This position ...
Employment Minister Willie Jackson announced today that Tairāwhiti rangatahi will benefit from an investment made by the Government’s He Poutama Rangatahi (HPR) scheme. The funding will go to the Tautua Village, Kauneke programme and the Matapuna Supported Employment Programme which will fund 120 rangatahi over two years. “Both programmes work ...
All parents and caregivers need to ensure that their children go to school unless they are sick, Associate Education Minister Tracey Martin said today. “The school attendance results for 2019 show, across the board, a drop in the number of students going to school regularly,” the Minister says. “Apart from ...
A Deed of Settlement agreeing redress for historical Treaty claims has been signed by the Crown and Moriori at Kōpinga Marae on Rēkohu (Chatham Islands) today, Minister for Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations Andrew Little has announced. Moriori have a tradition of peace that extends back over 600 years. This settlement ...
Transport Minister Phil Twyford today with Māori King Tuheitia Pōtatau Te Wherowhero VII officially opened the country’s newest road, the $384 million Huntly section of the Waikato Expressway. The 15km four-lane highway with side and central safety barriers takes State Highway 1 east of Huntly town, across lowlands and streams ...
The rapid uptake of life-saving new hepatitis C medicine Maviret since it was funded by PHARMAC a year ago means the elimination of the deadly disease from this country is a realistic goal, Health Minister David Clark says. Hepatitis C is a blood-borne virus which attacks the liver, proving fatal ...
Kaupapa Māori will underpin the Government’s new plan to deal with homelessness announced by the Prime Minister in Auckland this morning. “Māori are massively overrepresented among people experiencing homelessness, so, to achieve different outcomes for Māori, we have to do things very differently,” says the Minister of Māori Development ...
1000 new transitional housing places delivered by end of year to reduce demand for emergency motel accommodation. Introduce 25% of income payment, after 7 days, for those in emergency motel accommodation to bring in line with other forms of accommodation support. Over $70m extra to programmes that prevents those at ...
It’s called ‘CANZUK’, and it’s a bad idea. New Zealand should not be suckered in by dreams of Empire 2.0, writes Lewis Holden.The clock struck 11 on January 31, 2020 and it was all over. Britain was out of the European Union after 47 years. Under the much-maligned Brexit deal ...
As a rising Hindu nationalism exerts itself in India, online Indian communities in New Zealand are also seeing a growth in Islamophobic sentiment.It was the scariest night of his life.Mohammad still remembers hiding in a shallow ditch with his family. He remembers covering his one-year-old brother’s mouth each time the ...
Being a new parent is scary and overwhelming and you can forget that it’s also full of happiness. Simon Day shares the moments of joy that have pulled him through the first eight weeks of being a new dad to twins. It’s 3:36am and I’ve just fed, changed, burped, and put ...
The Labour Party says it has received money from two of the people facing charges in relation to National Party donations but says they were above board. ...
New Zealand First’s action to halt the introduction of a ‘feebate’ scheme designed to support the nation’s transition to low-emission vehicles is a leap back into the industrial age, says Drive Electric Chairman Mark Gilbert. “While ...
Staff expenses at the Reserve Bank – which have increased by an average 4.4% a year since 2009/11 – surged by 14.8% in the 12 months to 2018/19. Total staff numbers increased by an average 3.4 a year during those nine years but shot up by 19 in 2018/19 from ...
The Socialist Equality Group is holding a protest rally on Sunday February 23 in Wellington to demand freedom for WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange and whistleblower Chelsea Manning. Sunday 23 February, 3:00pm Cuba Street (Left Bank intersection) ...
By Felipe F. Salvosa II in Manila ABS-CBN president and CEO Carlo Lopez Katigbak has broken his silence amid the controversy over renewal of the Philippine TV giant’s broadcast franchise, which expires in one month. Katigbak, in a video posted on the ABS-CBN News site and aired over flagship ...
RNZ management wants to grow a youth audience without having to build a costly new platform. Anna Dean offers a bunch – none of which involves scrapping RNZ Concert.Over the next few weeks RNZ National Concert staff are set to take part in strategy workshops focused on “growth in audience reach, ...
Today LockerRoom brings you the first episode of Pure As, a mini documentary series on the Silver Ferns' personal journeys to World Cup glory. So much of the magic and composure Silver Ferns captain Ameliaranne Ekenasio brings to the netball court today was learned from years of sitting on the ...
"He was an energy vacuum, a shit magnet, a waste of skin": a black comedy by Nelson writer Grant Smithies. The stars he saw were blue, green, golden. Little lights swam around slowly, then went out one by one. His face felt hot. His left eye wasn’t working. And ...
Yes, it’s still summer and, en route to that final festival or beach bolt-hole, the season of the road trip. Here Spinoff Art co-editor Mark Amery runs down some of the best North Island contemporary art stopovers, and the mavericks behind them. We cross the Cook Strait next year, promise.Back ...
The Star Wars prequels are universally regarded as the nadir of the franchise, but at least they gave us spinoff series The Clone Wars, writes Sam BrooksNobody likes the Star Wars prequels. Though that statement is slightly hyperbolic, it’s not far from the truth. Even if you can make a ...
Jai Breitnauer on what happens when male role models start disappearing from a child’s life.Recently, we saw a ghost from the past. Once a regular visitor to our home, there just after the birth of our first child and a constant presence for more than a decade, this individual disappeared ...
Dragon Quest: Your Story feels like an hour-and-a-half-long highlight reel of an adventure spanning dozens of hours, but it’s damn fun, writes Felix Walton.One of Netflix’s current hustles seems to be grabbing movies with little to no hope of a wide release and publishing them as “Netflix Originals.” The latest ...
The Ministry of Education is proposing a number of changes to NCEA Level One, including the merging of several subjects to be phased in over the next five years. Felix Walton looks into how, and why, these changes are happening.Why are they changing things now?They aren’t changing things now, per ...
Pacific Media Centre Chinese authorities are systematically harassing Uyghurs and other Muslim ethnic groups even after they have left the country, according to new testimonies gathered by Amnesty International. Uyghur New Zealanders were among those interviewed, despite the threat of further intimidation. The case studies, published online today, reveal ...
A victim of the Generate KiwiSaver hack is considering legal action to seek compensation for stress and the risk of identity theft. One of the 26,000 KiwiSavers who had personal information, including their physical address, IRD number, bank statements and identification, stolen by an unknown third party has sought advice ...
Healthcare appliance manufacturer Fisher & Paykel Healthcare has upped its profit forecasts for the third time this year, with increased sales off the back of the coronavirus. The company now expects a full year net profit of between $260 and $270 million, up 1.9 percent on its previous forecast. Chief ...
Power company Genesis Energy has taken a significant financial hit and lowered its guidance, because of lower hydro generation and gas shortages. Net profit for the six months ended December fell 81.4 percent to $9.2 million, from slightly lower revenue of $1.3 billion. Lower inflows for its hydro power stations ...
Kiwibank's first half profit is down on flat revenue growth and increased operations and compliance costs. The New Zealand-owned bank's net profit fell 18 percent to $51 million in the six months to December, compared with the year earlier's $62m. "As expected the bank faced rising operating costs due to ...
The New Zealand Bar Association has urged Parliament to balance carefully the need to reform legislation in respect of sexual violence with the need to ensure that only the guilty are convicted. The Association told the Justice Select Committee ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra Michelle Grattan talks with Assistant Professor Caroline Fisher about the week in politics, including the extension of the coronavirus travel ban, the royal commission into the bushfires, and labor’s stance on a compulsory superannuation guarantee ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Mary Steen, Professor of Midwifery, University of South Australia In a new parenting podcast, Catherine, the Duchess of Cambridge, said she used hypnobirthing techniques to help her get through severe morning sickness – a condition called hyperemesis gravidarum. She also used the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Samuel Alexander, Research fellow, Melbourne Sustainable Society Institute, University of Melbourne This article is the first in a three-part series on radical ideas to solve the environmental crisis. As the Productivity Commission confirmed this week, Australia’s economy has enjoyed uninterrupted growth for ...
The Nats are accusing Biosecurity Minister Damien O’Connor of being slow to act on a tuberculosis outbreak in Hawke’s Bay. Is it a fair cop? OSPRI confirmed an outbreak in Hawke’s Bay in April last year, but a disease management response wasn’t put in place until October, National agriculture spokesman ...
Porirua City Council is scratching its head on how it's going to meet the costs of a $2 billion bill to bring its water network up to scratch over the next two to three decades. ...
The sentencing of Grace Millane’s killer to life in prison with a minimum non-parole period of 17 years marks the end of a judicial process that can only have been extremely harrowing for her family. They had already experienced the loss of their daughter, ...
Twenty years ago, Auckland’s streets were ruled by diesel-hating narcs. Josie Adams looks back at the short-lived 0800 SMOKEY campaign.For five chaotic weeks in 2000, the Auckland Regional Council experimented with extreme, multi-level peer pressure. The goal: to get cleaner-burning fuel into Auckland cars. The method: turning citizens against each ...
The National Party donations scandal that had nothing to do with the National Party was the big news of the week. James Elliott has some thoughts on that. Simon Bridges has climbed into double digits as preferred Prime Minister in the latest political polling which is significant for two reasons. ...
He thought he’d moved on, but the news the Holden brand was being killed off hit Trevor McKewen harder than he expected. Here he reminisces about a youthful infatuation that never quite burned out.A part of me died this week and I didn’t see it coming.Holden has shut up shop ...
Today the unnamed man found guilty of murdering Grace Millane was sentenced to life in prison with a non-parole period of 17. “One person has been locked away but are New Zealand women any safer?” asks White Ribbon Manager Rob McCann. “We certainly ...
Pacific Media Watch An Australian federal court decision upholding the legality of the police raid on the Sydney headquarters of the national public broadcaster ABC last June has dealt a major blow to the protection of journalists’ sources and poses a grave danger for the future of public interest ...
The only published and available best-selling indie book chart in New Zealand is the top 10 sales list recorded every week at Unity Books’ stores in High St, Auckland, and Willis St, Wellington.AUCKLAND1 Before the Coffee Gets Cold by Toshikazu Kawaguchi (Picador, $20)What is going on, Auckland? Is it just ...
A poem by US Poet Laureate Joy Harjo.The FightThe rising sun paints the feet of night-crawling enemies. And they scatter into the burning hills. I have fought each of them. I know them by name. From before I could speak. I’ve used every weapon. To make them retreat. Yet they ...
A string of toy companies are facing legal action for selling unsafe toys that pose choking hazards for young children. Yesterday, Cinevan International was fined $81,000 and another four companies are before the courts. Businesses have been using a sticker on the packaging saying 'not suitable for children under three' ...
The Chairperson of the Social Services and Community Committee, Gareth Hughes, is calling for public submissions on the Residential Tenancies Amendment Bill, which was referred to the committee on 20 February 2020. The Residential Tenancies Act ...
ANALYSIS:By Johnny Blades of RNZ Pacific Papua New Guinea Prime Minister James Marape has embarked on a state visit to New Zealand. It is the first visit to New Zealand by a sitting PNG prime minister since Marape’s predecessor Peter O’Neill’s trip in 2013. Marape, who rolled O’Neill ...
Editor’s Note: Here below is a list of the main issues currently under discussion in New Zealand and links to media coverage.New Zealand Parliament Buildings, Wellington, New Zealand.Today’s contentDonations scandals Thomas Coughlan (Stuff): Who are the people at the centre of the SFO political donation row? Collette ...
Policyholders fear the sale of AMP LIfe to a Bermuda-based 'zombie fund guru' could leave them stranded because a legal gap means the FMA is powerless to protect them ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Mark Giancaspro, Lecturer in Law, University of Adelaide When booking a luxury cruise, you generally expect relaxation and enjoyment, not forced quarantine and distress. Unfortunately, for the thousands of vacationers trapped on cruise ships in Asia the past month, what started as ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Courtney Hempton, Associate Research Fellow, Deakin University The Voluntary Assisted Dying Review Board has this week published a report detailing the first six months of the legislation in action in Victoria. The report reveals 52 people legally ended their lives from the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Blanca del Rosal Rabes, Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Swinburne University of Technology Brain temperature is implicated in many common conditions including stroke, multiple sclerosis, epilepsy, traumatic brain injury, and headaches. Changes in brain temperature can indicate there is a disease developing, but researchers ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra Anthony Albanese will commit a Labor government to adopting a target of zero net emissions by 2050, in a speech titled “Leadership in a New Climate” to be delivered on Friday. The opposition leader’s embrace ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Timothy N. W. Jackson, Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Australian Venom Research Unit, University of Melbourne This is an article from I’ve Always Wondered, a series where readers send in questions they’d like an expert to answer. Send your question to alwayswondered@theconversation.edu.auWho would ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Benjamen Franklen Gussen, Lecturer in Law, Swinburne University of Technology In 1971, a Time magazine article, titled “Should New York City Be the 51st State?”, observed: States have not only short-changed and hamstrung their cities but are themselves the least creative ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ida Kubiszewski, Associate professor, Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University Labor’s treasury spokesman, Jim Chalmers, wants to follow New Zealand’s example and introduce a “wellbeing budget” alongside the traditional budget that stresses economic growth, when Labor is next in office. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Fiona Andreallo, Honorary research fellow, University of Sydney A sea of oversized hair bows bobs through primary school gates each morning. It might be dismissed as a harmless children’s fad but big bows are back, driven by current fashions, tween influencers and ...
The Government of New Zealand has recognized that the country is facing a housing crisis, said Leilani Farha, UN Special Rapporteur on the right to housing, at the end of her visit to the country . “While the Government has taken important steps ...
Survey results released today by the Helen Clark Foundation and the New Zealand Drug Foundation show that support for cannabis legalisation grows when people know more about the proposed legislation. When respondents were asked how they would vote ...
In today’s edition: Views on cannabis legalisation could hardly be tighter, the Papua New Guinea PM arrives in NZ, and bad light threatens cricket on the radio.A new poll published this morning finds that 46% of those surveyed would vote yes, and 44% no, with 10% undecided. That’s a markedly different ...
Actress Jennifer Ward-Lealand Te Atamira, a long-time champion of the arts, and te reo Māoriis the Kiwibank New Zealander of the Year for 2020. Mark Jennings reports on the night that honours the best of us. What does it mean to be a New Zealander? The question was posed by ...
This week's biggest-selling New Zealand books, as recorded by the Nielsen BookScan New Zealand bestseller list and described by Steve Braunias.FICTION 1 In the Clearing by JP Pomare (Hachette, $34.99) All next week at ReadingRoom is devoted to this brilliant thriller inspired by Australian cult The Family, led by ...
‘A life-changing experience’, ‘The greatest of the great! It must be experienced!’, ‘That show with the dancing lady on the billboard.’ Shen Yun ads are impossible to avoid, but what on earth is it?So what is Shen Yun?According to the Shen Yun website: “It is a brilliant artistic revival ...
A new, "true green" party hoping to break into Parliament at this year's election has been hit by resignations and allegations of questionable conduct, Newsroom's political editor Sam Sachdeva reports Fledgling political party Sustainable New Zealand has been rocked by a flurry of resignations and allegations of questionable behaviour by its ...
"To the girls, to the women, to the mothers, to the daughters who hear the music bubbling within, please speak up. We need to hear your voices." These are the words of Hildur Guðnadóttir, who recently accepted the Oscar for best original score for the film Joker at the 92nd ...
Dr Amanda Landers discusses the stigma associated with palliative care and why the field deserves recognition Scalpels are a powerful tool in medicine, but words can be just as mighty. Some medical specialties are easy to comprehend - they cut, stitch, unblock, restart or fix. Others are just too hard ...
A Northland property stockpiled one million litres of flammable and toxic chemicals. Almost two years since the situation came to the attention of authorities, the poorly stored solvents remain a fire and environmental risk. While Government agencies struggled to get a polluter to clean up his mess, up to one million ...
Georgia Hale's tireless and compassionate work, using her sport of rugby league to create opportunities for many different communities, has earned her the title of Young New Zealander of the Year. As soon as she left high school, Georgia Hale began working with children with intellectual disabilities. It changed her ...
A rare visit by a prime minister of Papua New Guinea to New Zealand highlights a strong friendship, but one which could be closer, writes Johnny Blades for RNZ.Papua New Guinea’s James Marape has embarked on a state visit to New Zealand. It’s the first visit to New Zealand by ...
Plant-based food producers ‘stigmatise and demonise’ traditional agriculture, according to Jones, but those working in the new industry say it should be seen as an opportunity, not a threat. NZ First minister Shane Jones’ suggestion that plant-based food must be “stopped in its tracks” has been labelled concerning, negligent and anti-competitive ...
The prospect of going to the Red Planet is possibly a step closer with the US President's State of the Nation speech, in which he promises we will land there. The chances of anything coming from Mars - according to the 1978 Jeff Wayne musical War of the Worlds - are ...
Jennifer Ward-Lealand’s dedication to acting, directing and te ao Māori saw her named the 2020 Kiwibank New Zealander of the Year at a special dinner in Auckland last night. Alice Webb-Liddall speaks to her about how she hopes to nurture the future of the craft that has given her so ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra Seen as a political narrative, the Morrison government’s handling of the coronavirus (COVID-19) fits the patterns of its approaches on border security and anti-terrorism. Stressing the central imperative is to “keep Australians safe”, it has ...
Open mike 07/12/2011 
Last week the Wall Street Journal published an article ‘The Dangerous Denial of Sex by two scientists Colin Wright and Emma Hilton. Write is an evolutionary biologist at Penn State and Hilton is a developmental biologist at the University of Manchester. It is well worth reading the article in full. Here ...12 hours ago
I am about to mail my overseas ballot to Florida so that it can be counted in the Democratic primary on March 17. In Florida you have closed as opposed to open primaries, which means that one must declare a party preference in order to vote in a party primary. ...13 hours ago
Winston Peters - Deputy Prime Minister and leader of the NZ First PartyWe all know that politics can be pretty messy at times. Just look at the Dirty Politics saga in New Zealand, the misgovernment of the Australian bushfires or the recent Trump impeachment debacle in the US. In a ...18 hours ago
Last Monday SpaceX launched another clutch of Starlink satellites into low-Earth orbit, bringing up to 300 the number of these units intended to bring 5G internet to the whole globe. In this post I present a movie showing how all 300 such satellites will be zipping around our planet over ...1 day ago
The recent floods in Southland have highlighted the issue of Rio Tinto's illegal toxic waste dump in Mataura. But according to Newsroom, there's an even worse mess in Ruakaka near Whangarei:A Northland property stockpiled one million litres of flammable and toxic chemicals. Almost two years since the situation came to ...2 days ago
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Bruce Lieberman CARLSBAD, CA. – When it comes to paying the electric bill, most people don’t give it a second thought – it’s something that in effect is “baked in.” But across California and several other states, local governments increasingly are ...2 days ago
The Democracy Virus: China’s authoritarian political system enables a level of social surveillance and control that liberal democratic societies cannot match. The Chinese Government makes full use of the latest digital technology to both punish – and reward – its citizens. The plans it formulates cannot be challenged, or hindered. Where ...2 days ago
In mid-December the Israeli secret police, the Shin Beit, revealed it had arrested dozens of Palestinian left-wing activists, including members of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), in the previous few months. Among those arrested was one of the central leaders of the PFLP, Khalida Jarrar. As ...4 days ago
I am among the most pro-free speech people I know. I don’t doubt there are others more strident than me, but I’m certainly up there. And my support for freedom of expression isn’t limited to opposition to government-imposed restrictions. It extends to a belief that employers should have limited powers ...6 days ago
...2 weeks ago
We're taking action on child poverty, getting Kiwis into the trades, and more ...9 hours ago
Today New Zealand First made a pledge to campaign at the election to fund St John Ambulance the 90 per cent it has asked for. Government funding would allow St. John’s to achieve fully funded status. Leader of New Zealand First, Rt Hon Winston Peters publicly declared his determination to deliver ...2 days ago
Justice Minister Andrew Little will travel to Berlin tomorrow to represent New Zealand at a high-level summit on nuclear disarmament. This year, the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) celebrates 50 years since it entered into force. “New Zealand’s proud record and leadership on nuclear disarmament is unwavering, so it’s important we are present ...15 hours ago
It’s called ‘CANZUK’, and it’s a bad idea. New Zealand should not be suckered in by dreams of Empire 2.0, writes Lewis Holden.The clock struck 11 on January 31, 2020 and it was all over. Britain was out of the European Union after 47 years. Under the much-maligned Brexit deal ...47 mins ago
The Labour Party says it has received money from two of the people facing charges in relation to National Party donations but says they were above board. ...11 hours ago
New Zealand First’s action to halt the introduction of a ‘feebate’ scheme designed to support the nation’s transition to low-emission vehicles is a leap back into the industrial age, says Drive Electric Chairman Mark Gilbert. “While ...12 hours ago
Staff expenses at the Reserve Bank – which have increased by an average 4.4% a year since 2009/11 – surged by 14.8% in the 12 months to 2018/19. Total staff numbers increased by an average 3.4 a year during those nine years but shot up by 19 in 2018/19 from ...15 hours ago
By Felipe F. Salvosa II in Manila ABS-CBN president and CEO Carlo Lopez Katigbak has broken his silence amid the controversy over renewal of the Philippine TV giant’s broadcast franchise, which expires in one month. Katigbak, in a video posted on the ABS-CBN News site and aired over flagship ...20 hours ago
Today LockerRoom brings you the first episode of Pure As, a mini documentary series on the Silver Ferns' personal journeys to World Cup glory. So much of the magic and composure Silver Ferns captain Ameliaranne Ekenasio brings to the netball court today was learned from years of sitting on the ...23 hours ago
"He was an energy vacuum, a shit magnet, a waste of skin": a black comedy by Nelson writer Grant Smithies. The stars he saw were blue, green, golden. Little lights swam around slowly, then went out one by one. His face felt hot. His left eye wasn’t working. And ...23 hours ago
Peter Griffin looks past the rollercoaster ride that is cryptocurrency to find out its true potential. ...2 days ago
A victim of the Generate KiwiSaver hack is considering legal action to seek compensation for stress and the risk of identity theft. One of the 26,000 KiwiSavers who had personal information, including their physical address, IRD number, bank statements and identification, stolen by an unknown third party has sought advice ...2 days ago
Apple is the latest tech firm to warn that Kiwis may lose access to streaming content if a new parental guidance law goes ahead. ...2 days ago
Healthcare appliance manufacturer Fisher & Paykel Healthcare has upped its profit forecasts for the third time this year, with increased sales off the back of the coronavirus. The company now expects a full year net profit of between $260 and $270 million, up 1.9 percent on its previous forecast. Chief ...2 days ago
Power company Genesis Energy has taken a significant financial hit and lowered its guidance, because of lower hydro generation and gas shortages. Net profit for the six months ended December fell 81.4 percent to $9.2 million, from slightly lower revenue of $1.3 billion. Lower inflows for its hydro power stations ...2 days ago
Kiwibank's first half profit is down on flat revenue growth and increased operations and compliance costs. The New Zealand-owned bank's net profit fell 18 percent to $51 million in the six months to December, compared with the year earlier's $62m. "As expected the bank faced rising operating costs due to ...2 days ago
Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters has landed the first blow in the demolition of a leaky St John call centre in Auckland. ...2 days ago
The National Party donations scandal that had nothing to do with the National Party was the big news of the week. James Elliott has some thoughts on that. Simon Bridges has climbed into double digits as preferred Prime Minister in the latest political polling which is significant for two reasons. ...2 days ago
A string of toy companies are facing legal action for selling unsafe toys that pose choking hazards for young children. Yesterday, Cinevan International was fined $81,000 and another four companies are before the courts. Businesses have been using a sticker on the packaging saying 'not suitable for children under three' ...2 days ago
The number of 14 and 15 year olds who have tried cannabis has fallen by more than a quarter. ...2 days ago
Paid parking on weekends looks set to stay, as Wellington Mayor Andy Foster struggles to find support for his agenda around the council table. ...2 days ago
Southland cleanup highlights climate change threat - Conservation Minister Eugenie Sage; and new taskforce to look at Wellington water issues. ...2 days ago
Policyholders fear the sale of AMP LIfe to a Bermuda-based 'zombie fund guru' could leave them stranded because a legal gap means the FMA is powerless to protect them ...2 days ago
Over the next three weeks Rod Oram will be cycling the length of New Zealand ...2 days ago
Actress Jennifer Ward-Lealand Te Atamira, a long-time champion of the arts, and te reo Māori is the Kiwibank New Zealander of the Year for 2020. Mark Jennings reports on the night that honours the best of us. What does it mean to be a New Zealander? The question was posed by ...2 days ago
This week's biggest-selling New Zealand books, as recorded by the Nielsen BookScan New Zealand bestseller list and described by Steve Braunias. FICTION 1 In the Clearing by JP Pomare (Hachette, $34.99) All next week at ReadingRoom is devoted to this brilliant thriller inspired by Australian cult The Family, led by ...2 days ago
A new, "true green" party hoping to break into Parliament at this year's election has been hit by resignations and allegations of questionable conduct, Newsroom's political editor Sam Sachdeva reports Fledgling political party Sustainable New Zealand has been rocked by a flurry of resignations and allegations of questionable behaviour by its ...2 days ago
"To the girls, to the women, to the mothers, to the daughters who hear the music bubbling within, please speak up. We need to hear your voices." These are the words of Hildur Guðnadóttir, who recently accepted the Oscar for best original score for the film Joker at the 92nd ...2 days ago
Dr Amanda Landers discusses the stigma associated with palliative care and why the field deserves recognition Scalpels are a powerful tool in medicine, but words can be just as mighty. Some medical specialties are easy to comprehend - they cut, stitch, unblock, restart or fix. Others are just too hard ...2 days ago
A Northland property stockpiled one million litres of flammable and toxic chemicals. Almost two years since the situation came to the attention of authorities, the poorly stored solvents remain a fire and environmental risk. While Government agencies struggled to get a polluter to clean up his mess, up to one million ...2 days ago
Georgia Hale's tireless and compassionate work, using her sport of rugby league to create opportunities for many different communities, has earned her the title of Young New Zealander of the Year. As soon as she left high school, Georgia Hale began working with children with intellectual disabilities. It changed her ...2 days ago
The prospect of going to the Red Planet is possibly a step closer with the US President's State of the Nation speech, in which he promises we will land there. The chances of anything coming from Mars - according to the 1978 Jeff Wayne musical War of the Worlds - are ...2 days ago
Leaked emails show a 'summer of sewage' has broken the confidence of councillors in the region's shared water services company ...2 days ago
Hugh Pavletich on the political circus taking the ‘garden’ out of the Garden City
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.