No comments yet. Everyone must be having a lie in. I know people on here are very tribal, but I do find today that both Labour and National are very similar and have both moved towards the centre. IMO it almost makes no difference which is the ruling party.
I don’t think reviewing NZ education curriculum by curriculum is the best approach. For example, a number of NCEA 1 subjects have been dropped but where/when are they now covered, if at all? To me it seems NZ education will continue to muddle through with uncertainty and lack of decisive visionary leadership. ACT is waiting in the wings with Charter Schools, which is no more than a plaster for some and does not address the system as a whole, which is just typical of those liberals.
The age-old problem of using surrogate measures, which in some cases are poor substitutes.
"In my experience in New Zealand, we are very good at coming up with solutions on a local basis. But identification and provision for equitable access of science education to all high-ability students is needed," says Dr. Moeed.
Indeed, local, ad hoc, reductionist, and aimed at symptoms rather than causes seems to be the ‘pragmatic’ approach here in NZ to many ills & evils. Where are our visionary leaders with deep-thinking skills and broad open minds?
That’s a rather unfortunate way of framing, IMO. Sure, they were tied up with political and ideological agendas and vested interests, but they also tried or claimed to address the issue of the long tail in NZ education. Quite a few people were genuinely supportive and work hard with the best of intentions to make a positive difference. To write them off is doing them and the children a huge disfavour and is unfair, IMHO.
I think the idea was for the state schools to wash their hands of the problem kids and they could be dumped in charters presumably just to be trained to read nothing but the Bible.
I rather think it was the other way round, Millsy. Charter schools would take lower decile students, and prove that state schools were failing these students, by making successes of them. They then tried to carefully cherry-pick lower decile students who would succeed anyway, but didn't quite do it right, and had to then quietly get rid of obvious upcoming failures.. They then found it was not so bloody easy to teach then anyway, so very few of the Charter Schools achieved anything like the superiority over the state system that they had claimed.
And where did our “Tomorrow’s Schools” review go ?? And now we have Haque now informing us that there are issues, we’ll sh@$ you are leading the eduction reviews Ffs lead.
we have had this century 4+ terms of a labour led government , that is now a 2nd generation being impacted from inaction and a race to the bottom. But keep on wishing, as every day you wish for action our children are missing out
I did not realise that I was so powerful- And schools already collaborate in not only this local area but other areas where family members teach.
Next time don't make sh^& up by making comments directed at me of something I have never said. But then if it suits your argument be like an Orange man in making things up.
You are on record as opposing any effort to stop schools competing, and bring back the education boards.
I would trust a public servant over a Karen any day in terms of running a school.
[You made a specific assertion about another commenter here. Please back it up with a link(s) or withdraw and apologise, thanks, or cop a ban – Incognito]
[Two weeks off for not backing up your allegations about another commenter or not withdrawing & apologising – Incognito]
Don't go fishing – Where is there any commentary by me that supports your comments ??
I gather you don't have any. There has been recently many occasions where commentators have been ask under threats of time in the corner for making unlinked comments as yours.
Put up then, without resorting to cheep name calling.
Millsy has the wrong end of the stick again. I do not believe that Herodotus is opposed to schools collaborating. Maybe he upset Millsy by arguing against some aspect back when National introduced a superficial policy of that type..
The rot actually starts in Early Childhood Education which was given over to private enterprise with the predictable consequences. If you don't get it right there the rest is built on a very shaky foundation
Well speaking as someone on the bottom of the financial pile there is a lot of difference. Labour's increase to core benefits plus the winter warmth payment and the end of the beneficiary hunting season has been a great help to me.
(meant as a reply to Jester)
But all that shows is that benefits core base should be way higher so that no supplementals – heating allowance, accom benefit, hard ship grants etc- are needed in the first place. And that was categorically ruled out before the second term. So that is it. The sum total of 6 years when all is set and done, a heating payment and a wee bit of an increase that does not hold up with anything. I don't say that it is not a bit better, on a scale of 1 – 10 you are 1 bit better off then you were before.
So this is again an exercise in doing nothing much where it is needed, and with the next government come in the supplementals like the heating allowance can just simply be canned and thus nothing was achieved other then a few drops on a hot stone for a few years.
In the meantime more people homeless, more people unemployed (well women people, people of color, other abled people, white men – as per the stats of the government are doing well), house prices even more unaffordable then they were 4 years ago, rents more unaffordable then they were 4 years ago, water, electricity and food up.
This is not to diminish that what little was done is to a benefit to you and others on a benefit, that personally is great, but it was no more then a drip on a hot stone.
And thus, there really is no real difference between the Nats and the Labs, and i would venture a guess that the 25 NZD benefit raise (core benefit) under Nat also would have helped a bit in the moment but as with Labours peanuts it changed nothing long term. Too little, in most cases to late, is just that, too little to late.
Apologies for shouting – I was feeling angry at the suggestion that the increases of Labour and National were similar. – Also forgot the reduced Doctor's charges
sometimes it's appropriate to shout I think, although should be used rarely. In this instance, regulars on TS have been repeatedly told that National's benefit raise was for only some beneficiaries. Shouting sometimes gets the message through (or at least gives some sense that it might).
I agree that general use of bold is annoying for moderation.
And not every one on the benefit have equally benefitted from changes under Labour.
The point is not to minimize what changes have been made, my friend is very happy with her heating allowance, her reduced doctors bills etc. But still every few month she is at the office – virtually – so to speak asking for help with some bills because it is not enough.
Same as it was not enough with National.
So my issue is not with 'who is being more generous' with the pennies that are being dispensed but my issue is that both sides are 'stingy beyond believe and need' with the pennies that they dispense.
By comparing two mediocre responses to a huge problem in our society, we are actually not discussing the need that exists, but rather the trickle down responses to it.
there's a problem with saying there is no difference between National and Labour. It's factually incorrect in important ways. And it discourages the underclass from being politically active to effect change.
Both increased rates, to some extend. Both have not done enough. The labour party has campaigned on not doing anything else for beneficiaries and got voted in on this promise among others – those dear cross over fiscal conservatives votes came in handy winning an all out majority..
So yes, in my personal opinion, they are both the same when it comes to increasing the benefits of all beneficiaries to such an extend that it would be at the very lest 480.00 per week (covid relieve for full timer after tax). Missing in action and hiding behind meaningless feel good rethoric.
The need is still there and raising. Both Parties for the longest time have failed. Both parties do nothing more then tinker on the edges – both parties do this to the extend that they need to not upset the people whose vote they want.
As for the underclass……we have 1 million people that don't vote, and not all of them are underclass. And quite a few of the underclass will not vote for Labour or Green or any other left leaning party because conservative / religious/ libertarian etc. I would not consider the 'underclass' a monolithic voting block that will vote reflexively for a so called social leaning party.
So you are happy to tip your cap to the government for reluctantly giving you some chump change For your total deviation and loyalty ?
when should it be determined that much govt handouts are inadequate then address the real issue. Hope you spend the 40 pieces of silver wisely.
Be it housing, poverty, inequality etc Labour only dish out the min, IF THAT🥵
Last winter that chump change was $65 a week maybe that's chump change to you – I found it pretty helpful – I remember well the National government – the threats ,the promises of crackdowns , the continued demonisation of those least able to defend themselves (me included). The only structural change I remember was reducing the maximum length of a Doctor's medical Certificate from 5 years to 2 years – great stuff to increase the level of fear and uncertainty among the long term mentally ill
seriously, you're calling beneficiaries spending what little the government give them a bribe for betrayal? We all know what Labour is doing is not enough, but that's not he fault of beneficiaries who are grateful for the relief.
I will spell this out for you, that I have commented many time before.
If there is a problem fix it, if benefits are not adequate increase them. What this and other governments do is add ons. But NOT addressing the issue directly.
Those in need, after the tokenism are less in need. But has their needs been fully met ? Less Poor is STILL Poor. Those in less Need are still in need 🤬
dude, I'm a politicised long term beneficiary. I know what the state of play is. Reread my comment. Beneficiaries are entitled to feel relieved and even grateful when their income increases, esp those that have been struggling to eat properly, get medical care, look after their kids.
Try this from the Greens commenting on Nationals deficient increases in benefits in 2016 – Same can now be applied to this government. So where are The Greens now and that their government has "Not" ensured that every family got the help they need. But hey, they should be grateful for the little they are given. That will fix this
“If the Government really cared about helping children living in families on the breadline, it would have ensured every child in every family got the help they need. Instead it chose to do the bare minimum,” Ms Logie said.
It's not the Greens' govt. It's a Labour majority govt, and the Greens are once again still largely locked out of having input on welfare. Talk to Labour voters about that, not me.
2. I've long argued against the child poverty approach politically because it separates beneficiaries into deserving and undeserving poor. Children are innocent and should be fed, ill and disabled adults can get fucked. Not that advocates see it like that, but they are buying into dangerous framing that National uses against us.
It is not The Greens Govt – But where is their response now to Labours inadequate increases, and why are so many that were vocal now not so ? As you said TG have been locked out so why not comment ?
As what has been done in increasing benefits does not ensure that every child gets the help… Perhaps they 2 were gifted 30 pieces for their silence or some offices of power? And as Sabine has stated what is the difference ?? or perhaps, The Greens don't benchmark their statements that had been made towards national and apply them now. Just thinking out loud 😉
no, you're just making shit up. So sick of this bullshit too. Been hearing it for decades, and it never pans out. They consistently step up and do what is needed, including holding Labour to account.
The Greens won't go as far as to say Labour's breached the agreement, but Green Party spokesperson for social development Jan Logie said the overhaul promised "should include a well overdue increase to the benefit."
he increased pressure on Labour comes after a dramatic surge in the number of grants issued to low-income New Zealanders for basic needs like food and accommodation.
The welfare figures for July show hardship grants for basic needs like food and accommodation have increased to nearly half-a-million – from 267,244 in June 2017 to 487,539 in June 2019.
The majority of grants were for food, which have increased by 100,000 since the coalition Government was elected. Spending on emergency housing grants has doubled to $66m in the same timeframe.
The Greens say the increase in grants is down to benefits that are too low to meet the cost of living.
The Government indexed benefits to the average wage in Budget 2019, meaning they will increase in line with wages. That'll mean benefits increase by an extra $10 to $17 a week by 2023. The Greens say indexing benefits "does not represent an overhaul of the welfare system."
"It will not result in any more money for almost a year which clearly doesn't reflect the urgency of this situation," Logie said.
Minister for Social Development Carmel Sepuloni told Newshub the indexation is "just a part of the overhaul of the system".
In the meantime Jan Logie and/ or the Green Party is/are still correct in the assessment that the hardship grants are just a window to the obviouis, the main benefits are not high enough, and that is ongoing as per the government owns stats.
A total of 634,207 hardship assistance payments, worth $215,069,392 were granted during the December 2020 quarter.
These figures are higher than the hardship assistance granted during the December 2019 quarter, when there were 573,851 hardship assistance payments worth $165,380,115.
Hardship assistance includes, but is not limited to: Special Needs Grants (SNGs), Benefit Advances (ADVs) and Recoverable Assistance Payments (RAPs). These forms of assistance are designed to help people who have immediate needs. The numbers reported for hardship assistance granted are sums of grants granted within the December quarter (i.e. 1 October to 31 December). Hardship assistance contains all ages data, rather than working-age only (i.e. 18 to 64).
Special Needs Grants:
The number of Special Needs Grants granted was 51,468 higher during the December 2020 quarter when compared with the same period last year.
The value of grants granted increased from $88,815,126 during the December 2019 quarter to $130,770,852 during the December 2020 quarter.
A Special Needs Grant provides non-taxable, one-off recoverable or non-recoverable financial assistance for people to meet immediate needs. A person does not need to be receiving a main benefit to be eligible for a Special Needs
TheGreens are not currently in the position to do much.
Fwiw, this is Labours and only Labours failure. They knew that the benefits were to short, lowly, miserly already when Key replaced Clark, and nothing has changed since. Their failure to stand up to the voting public in Sept /Oct and take some risk in what was a won election from the onset is what makes them mediocre and not much different from the Nats in my opinion. No guts, no glory.
And thus eventually they arrive at the position of 'i have tried nothing and everything failed, what else could i have possibly done'. Well you could have campaigned on raising the benefit levels for all, remove the unemployment benefits from relationship status, and finally admit that children are poor in this country because their parents are poor, or have fallen into poverty. Just a few suggestions.
Comes across as bitter and with an axe to grind. $25 plus $40 pw winter payments (for a 6 month duration) is not insignificant at all.
Prior to increase a base rate of around $202 in the hand.
Add $45 per week.
That's over 20% more in the hand. Also, state house tenants not living in fear of evictions, market rents, P-tests, drug tests, doxing etc as National like to do. So what's Sabine's deal other than grinding an axe. Poor people know there's a clear difference between Labour and National. Sure, Labour could do more. To say they're the same is some fanciful bullshit.
I'd add that with Labour there's the chance of good change, because they're at least facing in the right direction. National were going as fast as they could get away with in NZ down the proto-fascist pathway and beneficiaries were one of the front lines with that. Bill English's big data plans were horrendous. The Bennett Reforms were neoliberal punitive welfare on steroids. Labour have done some shit stuff, National took it to a whole new level. Ardern's Labour look to me like they're not going to do enough (thanks Labour voters), but they're not doing nothing and they're certainly not taking us in the direction that National were.
It pretty much confirms the suspicion I've always had that the women were trading off the abuse claims. Assange comes across to me as repulsive, but the woman who wrote the book invited him to stay with her, knowing pretty much what he was like. She has acknowledged she wanted to have sex with the man.
In terms of the allegations, it seems like it was a bit of a storm in a tea cup. Most women would accept they were partly to blame by encouraging the person in the first place, and hopefully move on having learnt from the experience.
As far as the "shit storms" over the case… I think some of it is identity politics taken too far. Now lets wait for the shit fight to begin. 😉
Not exactly on topic, but I'll be watching with interest what happens with Assange's extradition case once Merrick Garland gets confirmed as Attorney General.
Garland's history is fairly strong on the press having a right to publish, and Biden seems to have evolved from his 2010 views calling Assange a high-tech terrorist. So I'm kinda hopeful for the extradition to be dropped along with a statement that press freedom to publish is such an important right that the extradition case should never have been brought.
not sure what the point in posting that is. It's a fairly useless piece of reporting, and posting it here will open up TS for another round of rape culture denial. See Anne's comment below. So sick of this shit, and at a time when there's barely any feminist presence on TS, it just ends up being echo chamber affirmation of the status quo around women and sexual assault.
He he that reminds me of a story. Back in the 80s a friend of mine was on the Ponsonby Community Committee and the subject of street trees came up. My friend suggested planting fruit trees. The response from one woman was that you couldn't do that because the children might eat the fruit! Ponsonby was in the process of being gentrified at the time so was slowly being infested with the 'upwardly mobile'
Yes, i used to live in Grey Lynn when first moving to AKL. And gosh, there were boxes of free fruit out on Williamson Ave from the private houses. Now they mostly have rock gardens and house chartered accountants.
I plant fruit trees with a vengance. Its my great hobby.
Hedgerows could be a green and sappy venous system for the body landscape for all NZ. Insects, birds, fungi and bipedal walkers could flow from place to place, sheltered and fed all the way. Hamlets might form at the intersections and foot-traffic take its rightful place as the preferred form of travel. News might travel by hedgerow rather than wire or fibre, story-tellers in Lincoln green could….hang on! Anyone read Riddley Walker???
The roads in between make for good tracktor roads if they are a shared commodity and also allow for walking/cycling as a form of transport. As someone who used to cycle a lot this is the one thing that i miss, the old tracktor/walking/pilgrimage roads that often times have at least on one side a hedgerow growing.
Hi I'm a time traveler from the 1700s that the hanky to return to . Most of us were dead by 40 and we were ruled by feudal cunts ,take it from me you are much better off now.
It seems that way, Time Traveller, but if I may ask: did your activities in the 17 hundreds bring the natural world to the brink of collapse? It's kind of a pressing issue for us in the 20-20's and it may be that our own children and grandchildren will have far shorter lives even, than yours. All the best with your mission.
To be fair, that rough life expectancy was skewed by a massive infant mortality rate that wasn't the fault of hedgerows. It wasn't exactly unheard of to get to your 70s or 80s even in those days.
My point is RG s dream of the world becoming a small holding utopia, it's a pointless dream that helps not one bit with modern day problems, you can lump the whole power down mob in there to . Imho
It's an intriguing approach – to belittle and dismiss the efforts of one who is trialling alternative solutions to the 'pickle' of modern day problems. All civilisations fail – spaceship Earth simply can't sustain the one we've crafted – we (all) need to make changes.
It's prudent to work on improving societal resilience in order to retain at least some of the privileges that ‘the golden billion‘ enjoy. Imho.
The Public Will Never Go For That! [8 Feb 2021]
Which story do you think most business leaders and citizens have chosen to believe? The one that says there’s still time, that we can “solve” the problem if, if, if only, and that we can get where we need to get by painless baby steps. Starting in five years.
But they [climate scientists] told me there was another reason they didn’t say what they really believed, what they really knew, in public. And that was that they were afraid that a dire message that told people they had to make drastic changes in their own lifestyles, and major sacrifices, now, would simply be unacceptable to their audiences. They would not be invited back. They would be discounted as crazies, alarmists. People would simply not listen. People only want to hear reassurances, comforts, good news. Even if it’s untrue.
Now, to me, that’s defeatism. It indicates a failure to appreciate that throughout history people have been willing to make huge changes to the way they live, if everyone else is willing (perhaps with some cajoling) to do their part, too. And that’s the rub. We have given up believing in the potential for large-scale collective action in the public good. We have given up on each other.
That’s dreadfully understandable. Self-interested corporatists, conservatives and their media use the public will never go for that as a club to beat down any suggestion that large-scale collective action is possible. The public will never go for medicare for all. The public will never agree to make sacrifices to mitigate climate change. The public will never give up their guns, their cars, their vacation flights, to reduce needless deaths, global warming, or the spread of a pandemic.
The problem is, we don’t know that that’s true. Many countries have medicare for all, and have made major sacrifices for the benefit of all their citizens, including, if reluctantly, in New Zealand, Australia, Taiwan and other countries that have beaten CoVid-19 and long ago returned to near-normal lives.
Still, I'm undeterred by your misreading of my views 🙂
"Small holding utopia"?
Nah.
I see adaptation no matter where "you" are, no matter what you're doing.
It's a cultural thing – our present culture is not proving sustainable, so we (all) must change. Sticking to our guns will leave us … stuck to our guns.
I'd love to see more and bigger beards in the House. Most people think "patriarchy" when they see a substantial beard, but in fact, cascading beards reflect a growing feminine aspect; it's far more common to see long, curling locks on a the head of a woman than it is a man and the increased sensitivity to breeze, bramble-snagging and tugs by grandchildren help develop a more aware human; think buzz-cut American grunt as compared with fully-tressed 70's hippie from the cast of Hair 🙂
In fact, Mallard has form in this area. Soon after Brash's infamous Orewa speech, the Clark regime made the strategic decision to ease back on its support for Māori. This would apparently make the bigots who comprised Brash's base think twice, and appreciate that Labour was not "too P.C."
Clark could not be seen to lower herself to such dodgy behaviour, so Mallard was given the role of attack dog. One of the most unpleasant things he did was to publicly complain about the length of pōwhiri at parliamentary and other functions.That won him praise from people like Paul Holmes and Sean Plunket, but there is no evidence that the racists abandoned National and rushed to Labour.This disastrous reset in Labour policy culminated in Clark making her contemptuous statements about the Foreshore and Seabed protestors—"I'd rather meet Shrek the Sheep," she intoned, mirthlessly.
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TL;DR: As of 7:00 am on Wednesday, July 24, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:Beehive:Transport Minister Simeon Brownannounced plans to use PPPs to fund, build and run a four-lane expressway between Auckland ...
NewstalkZB host Mike Hosking, who can usually be relied on to give Prime Minister Christopher Luxon an easy run, did not do so yesterday when he interviewed him about the HealthNZ deficit. Luxon is trying to use a deficit reported last year by HealthNZ as yet another example of the ...
Back in January a StatsNZ employee gave a speech at Rātana on behalf of tangata whenua in which he insulted and criticised the government. The speech clearly violated the principle of a neutral public service, and StatsNZ started an investigation. Part of that was getting an external consultant to examine ...
Renting for life: Shared ownership initiatives are unlikely to slow the slide in home ownership by much. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The top six things I’ve noted around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy today are:A Deloittereport for Westpac has projected Aotearoa’s home-ownership rate will ...
You're broken down and tiredOf living life on a merry go roundAnd you can't find the fighterBut I see it in you so we gonna walk it outAnd move mountainsWe gonna walk it outAnd move mountainsAnd I'll rise upI'll rise like the dayI'll rise upI'll rise unafraidI'll rise upAnd I'll ...
There’s been a change in Myers Park. Down the steps from St. Kevin’s Arcade, past the grassy slopes, the children’s playground, the benches and that goat statue, there has been a transformation. The underpass for Mayoral Drive has gone from a barren, grey, concrete tunnel, to a place that thrums ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections Global society may have finally slammed on the brakes for climate-warming pollution released by human fossil fuel combustion. According to the Carbon Monitor Project, the total global climate pollution released between February and May 2024 declined slightly from the amount released during the same ...
TL;DR: My pick of the top six links elsewhere around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day or so to 7:00 am on Tuesday, July 23 are:Deep Dive: Penlink: where tolling rhetoric meets reality BusinessDesk-$$$’sOliver LewisScoop:Te Pūkenga plans for regional polytechs leak out ...
TL;DR: As of 6:00 am on Tuesday, July 23, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:Health: Shane Reti announcedthe Board of Te Whatu Ora-Health New Zealand was being replaced with Commissioner Lester Levy ...
Health NZ warned the Government at the end of March that it was running over Budget. But the reasons it gave were very different to those offered by the Prime Minister yesterday. Prime Minister Christopher Luxon blamed the “botched merger” of the 20 District Health Boards (DHBs) to create Health ...
Long ReadKey Summary: Although National increased the health budget by $1.4 billion in May, they used an old funding model to project health system costs, and never bothered to update their pre-election numbers. They were told during the Health Select Committees earlier in the year their budget amount was deficient, ...
As a momentous, historic weekend in US politics unfolded, analysts and commentators grasped for precedents and comparisons to help explain the significance and power of the choice Joe Biden had made. The 46th president had swept the Democratic party’s primaries but just over 100 days from the election had chosen ...
TL;DR: I’m casting around for new ideas and ways of thinking about Aotearoa’s political economy to find a few solutions to our cascading and self-reinforcing housing, poverty and climate crises.Associate Professor runs an online masters degree in the economics of sustainability at Torrens University in Australia and is organising ...
The Finance and Expenditure Committee has reported back on National's Local Government (Water Services Preliminary Arrangements) Bill. The bill sets up water for privatisation, and was introduced under urgency, then rammed through select committee with no time even for local councils to make a proper submission. Naturally, national's select committee ...
Some years ago, I bought a book at Dunedin’s Regent Booksale for $1.50. As one does. Vandrad the Viking (1898), by J. Storer Clouston, is an obscure book these days – I cannot find a proper online review – but soon it was sitting on my shelf, gathering dust alongside ...
History is not on the side of the centre-left, when Democratic presidents fall behind in the polls and choose not to run for re-election. On both previous occasions in the past 75 years (Harry Truman in 1952, Lyndon Johnson in 1968) the Democrats proceeded to then lose the White House ...
This is a free articleCoverageThis morning, US President Joe Biden announced his withdrawal from the Presidential race. And that is genuinely newsworthy. Thanks for your service, President Biden, and all the best to you and yours.However, the media in New Zealand, particularly the 1News nightly bulletin, has been breathlessly covering ...
A homeless person’s camp beside a blocked-off slipped damage walkway in Freeman’s Bay: we are chasing our tail on our worsening and inter-related housing, poverty and climate crises. Photo: Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The top six things I’ve noted around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy ...
What has happened to it all?Crazy, some'd sayWhere is the life that I recognise?(Gone away)But I won't cry for yesterdayThere's an ordinary worldSomehow I have to findAnd as I try to make my wayTo the ordinary worldYesterday morning began as many others - what to write about today? I began ...
TL;DR: My pick of the top six links elsewhere around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day or so to 7:00 am on Monday, July 22 are:Today’s Must Read: Father and son live in a tent, and have done for four years, in a million ...
TL;DR: As of 7:00 am on Monday, July 22, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:US President Joe Biden announced via X this morning he would not stand for a second term.Multinational professional services firm ...
A listing of 32 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, July 14, 2024 thru Sat, July 20, 2024. Story of the week As reflected by preponderance of coverage, our Story of the Week is Project 2025. Until now traveling ...
This weekend, a friend pointed out someone who said they’d like to read my posts, but didn’t want to pay. And my first reaction was sympathy.I’ve already told folks that if they can’t comfortably subscribe, and would like to read, I’d be happy to offer free subscriptions. I don’t want ...
National: The Party of ‘Law and Order’ IntroductionThis weekend, the Government formally kicked off one of their flagship policy programs: a military style boot camp that New Zealand has experimented with over the past 50 years. Cartoon credit: Guy BodyIt’s very popular with the National Party’s Law and Orderimage, ...
Day one of the solo leg of my long journey home begins with my favourite sound: footfalls in an empty street. 5.00 am and it’s already light and already too warm, almost.If I can make the train that leaves Budapest later this hour I could be in Belgrade by nightfall; ...
Do you remember Y2K, the threat that hung over humanity in the closing days of the twentieth century? Horror scenarios of planes falling from the sky, electronic payments failing and ATMs refusing to dispense cash. As for your VCR following instructions and recording your favourite show - forget about it.All ...
Climate Change Minister Simon Watts being questioned by The Kākā’s Bernard Hickey.TL;DR: My top six things to note around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the week to July 20 were:1. A strategy that fails Zero Carbon Act & Paris targetsThe National-ACT-NZ First Coalition Government finally unveiled ...
Summary:As New Zealand loses at least 12 leaders in the public service space of health, climate, and pharmaceuticals, this month alone, directly in response to the Government’s policies and budget choices, what lies ahead may be darker than it appears. Tui examines some of those departures and draws a long ...
The Minister of Housing’s ambition is to reduce markedly the ratio of house prices to household incomes. If his strategy works it would transform the housing market, dramatically changing the prospects of housing as an investment.Leaving aside the Minister’s metaphor of ‘flooding the market’ I do not see how the ...
As previously noted, my historical fantasy piece, set in the fifth-century Mediterranean, was accepted for a Pirate Horror anthology, only for the anthology to later fall through. But in a good bit of news, it turned out that the story could indeed be re-marketed as sword and sorcery. As of ...
An employee of tobacco company Philip Morris International demonstrates a heated tobacco device. Photo: Getty ImagesTL;DR: The top six things I’ve noted around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy on Friday, July 19 are:At a time when the Coalition Government is cutting spending on health, infrastructure, education, housing ...
TL;DR: My pick of the top six links elsewhere around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day or so to 8:30 am on Friday, July 19 are:Scoop: NZ First Minister Casey Costello orders 50% cut to excise tax on heated tobacco products. The minister has ...
Kia ora, it’s time for another Friday roundup, in which we pull together some of the links and stories that caught our eye this week. Feel free to add more in the comments! Our header image this week shows a foggy day in Auckland town, captured by Patrick Reynolds. ...
TL;DR : Here’s the top six items climate news for Aotearoa this week, as selected by Bernard Hickey and The Kākā’s climate correspondent Cathrine Dyer. A discussion recorded yesterday is in the video above and the audio of that sent onto the podcast feed.The Government released its draft Emissions Reduction ...
Save some money, get rich and old, bring it back to Tobacco Road.Bring that dynamite and a crane, blow it up, start all over again.Roll up. Roll up. Or tailor made, if you prefer...Whether you’re selling ciggies, digging for gold, catching dolphins in your nets, or encouraging folks to flutter ...
Waiting In The Wings:For truly, if Trump is America’s un-assassinated Caesar, then J.D. Vance is America’s Octavian, the Republic’s youthful undertaker – and its first Emperor.DONALD TRUMP’S SELECTION of James D. Vance as his running-mate bodes ill for the American republic. A fervent supporter of Viktor Orban, the “illiberal” prime ...
TL;DR: As of 6:00 am on Friday, July 19, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:The PSAannounced the Employment Relations Authority (ERA) had ruled in the PSA’s favour in its case against the Ministry ...
Te Rangi e tu nei (The sky above us) Te Papa e takoto nei (The land beneath us) Tatou katoa te hunga ora (To us all the living) Tena koutou katoa (Greetings) ...
A late change to charter school legislation will cheat educators out of fair pay and negotiating power proving charter schools are just a vehicle to make profit out of our education system. ...
In 2004 te iwi Māori rallied against the Crown’s attempt to confiscate our coastlines and moana with the Foreshore and Seabed Act. This led to the largest hīkoi of a generation and the birth of Te Pāti Māori. 20 years later, history is repeating itself. Today the government has announced ...
It has been five and a half years since the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care was established to investigate the abuse of children, young people, and vulnerable adults within state and faith-based institutions. Yesterday, the final report - Whanaketia through pain and trauma, from darkness to light ...
The Green Party is calling on the Government to take action off the back of the International Court of Justice ruling on Israel’s illegal occupation of Palestine. ...
On Friday the International Court of Justice reaffirmed what Palestinian’s have been telling us for decades: that the occupation and colonisation of Palestinian lands by Israel is illegal and must end immediately. They also called for reparations for Palestinian’s who have lived under Israeli occupation since it began in 1967. ...
Labour calls on the Government to act after the International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruled that Israel’s occupation of Palestinian Territories is illegal. ...
The 53.7 percent rise in benefit sanctions over the last year is more proof of this Government’s disdain for our communities most in need of support. ...
Aotearoa could be a country where every child grows up feeling safe, loved and with a sense of belonging in their whānau and community. But for some of our children, this is far from reality. Instead, they are trapped in a maze of intergenerational harm that they can’t escape on ...
Te Pāti Māori are calling for David Seymour to resign as Associate Health Minister in response to his call for Pharmac to ignore the Treaty of Waitangi. “This announcement is just another example of the government’s anti-Tiriti, anti-Māori agenda.” Said Co-leader and spokesperson for health, Debbie Ngarewa-Packer. “Seymour thinks it ...
The soaring price of renting is driving the rise of inflation in this country - with latest figures from Stats NZ showing rents are up 4.8 per cent on average while annual inflation is at 3.3 per cent. ...
National’s Emissions Reduction Plan will take New Zealand further from the economy we need to ensure the next generation has a stable climate and secure livelihoods. ...
Following consultation with named parties and thorough consideration of privacy interests, the Green Party is in a position to release the Executive Summary of the final report from the independent investigation into Darleen Tana. ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon should be asking serious questions of his Minister for Resources Shane Jones now it’s been revealed he misled the public about a dinner with mining companies that he didn’t declare and said wasn’t pre-arranged. ...
Te Pāti Māori have submitted to the Justice Select Committee against the Sentencing (Reinstating Three Strikes) Amendment Bill. The bill will further entrench racism in our justice system and fails to focus on rehabilitation. “Reinstating Three Strikes will empower a systematically racist system and exacerbate the overrepresentation of Māori in ...
The Transport and Infrastructure Committee is set to make a determination on the Residential Tenancies Amendment (RTA) Bill in the coming weeks. “This legislation will give landlords the power to kick our whānau out onto the street for no reason” said Housing spokesperson, Mariameno Kapa-Kingi. “Their solution to the housing ...
“National’s campaign was about tackling crime and the best they can do is a two-year long Ministerial Advisory Group,” Labour justice spokesperson Duncan Webb said. ...
“There are more examples of charter schools failing their students than there are success stories. The coalition Government is driving to dismantle our public school system and instead promote a privatised, competitive structure that puts profits before kids,” Jan Tinetti said. ...
“This government is choosing to deliberately mislead and withhold information, keeping our people in the dark about this government’s agenda and the future of our mokopuna,” said co-leader and spokesperson for Health, Debbie Ngarewa-Packer. The call comes after the demand from the Chief Ombudsman that Associate Minister of Health, Casey ...
“Today’s climate announcement by Simon Watts makes clear the National Government is simply paying lip service to meeting its climate change targets,” Megan Woods said. ...
National is choosing to make life harder for workers by taking away the rights our communities have fought hard for. Here's how they’re taking workers backwards. ...
Australia, Canada and New Zealand today issued the following statement on the need for an urgent ceasefire in Gaza and the risk of expanded conflict between Hizballah and Israel. The situation in Gaza is catastrophic. The human suffering is unacceptable. It cannot continue. We remain unequivocal in our condemnation of ...
Attorney-General Judith Collins today reminded all State and faith-based institutions of their legal obligation to preserve records relevant to the safety and wellbeing of those in its care. “The Abuse in Care Inquiry’s report has found cases where records of the most vulnerable people in State and faith‑based institutions were ...
Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden says the Government’s online safety website for children and young people has reached one million page views. “It is great to see so many young people and their families accessing the site Keep It Real Online to learn how to stay safe online, and manage ...
Tēnā tātou katoa, Ngā mihi te rangi, ngā mihi te whenua, ngā mihi ki a koutou, kia ora mai koutou. Thank you for the opportunity to be here and the invitation to speak at this 50th anniversary conference. I acknowledge all those who have gone before us and paved the ...
New Zealand’s payroll providers have successfully prepared to ensure 3.5 million individuals will, from Wednesday next week, be able to keep more of what they earn each pay, says Finance Minister Nicola Willis and Revenue Minister Simon Watts. “The Government's tax policy changes are legally effective from Wednesday. Delivering this tax ...
An experimental vineyard which will help futureproof the wine sector has been opened in Blenheim by Associate Regional Development Minister Mark Patterson. The covered vineyard, based at the New Zealand Wine Centre – Te Pokapū Wāina o Aotearoa, enables controlled environmental conditions. “The research that will be produced at the Experimental ...
The Coalition Government has confirmed the indicative regional breakdown of North Island Weather Event (NIWE) funding for state highway recovery projects funded through Budget 2024, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Regions in the North Island suffered extensive and devastating damage from Cyclone Gabrielle and the 2023 Auckland Anniversary Floods, and ...
Indonesia’s Foreign Minister, Retno Marsudi, will visit New Zealand next week, Foreign Minister Winston Peters has announced. “Indonesia is important to New Zealand’s security and economic interests and is our closest South East Asian neighbour,” says Mr Peters, who is currently in Laos to engage with South East Asian partners. ...
He aha te kai a te rangatira? He kōrero, he kōrero, he kōrero. The government has reaffirmed its commitment to supporting the aspirations of Ngāti Maniapoto, Minister for Māori Development Tama Potaka says. “My thanks to Te Nehenehenui Trust – Ngāti Maniapoto for bringing their important kōrero to a ministerial ...
Transport Minister Simeon Brown has thanked outgoing Chair of the Civil Aviation Authority, Janice Fredric, for her service to the board.“I have received Ms Fredric’s resignation from the role of Chair of the Civil Aviation Authority,” Mr Brown says.“On behalf of the Government, I want to thank Ms Fredric for ...
The Government is proposing legislation to overturn a Court of Appeal decision and amend the Marine and Coastal Area Act in order to restore Parliament’s test for Customary Marine Title, Treaty Negotiations Minister Paul Goldsmith says. “Section 58 required an applicant group to prove they have exclusively used and occupied ...
Regulation Minister David Seymour says that opposition parties have united in bad faith, opposing what they claim are ‘dangerous changes’ to the Early Childhood Education sector, despite no changes even being proposed yet. “Issues with affordability and availability of early childhood education, and the complexity of its regulation, has led ...
After receiving more than 740 submissions in the first 20 days, Regulation Minister David Seymour is asking the Ministry for Regulation to extend engagement on the early childhood education regulation review by an extra two weeks. “The level of interest has been very high, and from the conversations I’ve been ...
The Coalition Government is investing $802.9 million into the Wairarapa and Manawatū rail lines as part of a funding agreement with the NZ Transport Agency (NZTA), KiwiRail, and the Greater Wellington and Horizons Regional Councils to deliver more reliable services for commuters in the lower North Island, Transport Minister Simeon ...
Local Government Minister Simeon Brown has announced his intention to appoint a Crown Manager to both Hawke’s Bay Regional and Wairoa District Councils to speed up the delivery of flood protection work in Wairoa."Recent severe weather events in Wairoa this year, combined with damage from Cyclone Gabrielle in 2023 have ...
Mr Speaker, this is a day that many New Zealanders who were abused in State care never thought would come. It’s the day that this Parliament accepts, with deep sorrow and regret, the Report of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care. At the heart of this report are the ...
For the first time, the Government is formally acknowledging some children and young people at Lake Alice Psychiatric Hospital experienced torture. The final report of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in State and Faith-based Care “Whanaketia – through pain and trauma, from darkness to light,” was tabled in Parliament ...
The Government has acknowledged the nearly 2,400 courageous survivors who shared their experiences during the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Historical Abuse in State and Faith-Based Care. The final report from the largest and most complex public inquiry ever held in New Zealand, the Royal Commission Inquiry “Whanaketia – through ...
With a week to go before hard-working New Zealanders see personal income tax relief for the first time in fourteen years, 513,000 people have used the Budget tax calculator to see how much they will benefit, says Finance Minister Nicola Willis. “Tax relief is long overdue. From next Wednesday, personal income ...
Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Brooke van Velden says a bill that has passed its first reading will improve parental leave settings and give non-biological parents more flexibility as primary carer for their child. The Regulatory Systems Amendment Bill (No3), passed its first reading this morning. “It includes a change ...
Two Bills designed to improve regulation and make it easier to do business have passed their first reading in Parliament, says Economic Development Minister Melissa Lee. The Regulatory Systems (Economic Development) Amendment Bill and Regulatory Systems (Immigration and Workforce) Amendment Bill make key changes to legislation administered by the Ministry ...
New legislation paves the way for greater competition in sectors such as banking and electricity, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly says. “Competitive markets boost productivity, create employment opportunities and lift living standards. To support competition, we need good quality regulation but, unfortunately, a recent OECD report ranked New ...
Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden says lotteries for charitable purposes, such as those run by the Heart Foundation, Coastguard NZ, and local hospices, will soon be allowed to operate online permanently. “Under current laws, these fundraising lotteries are only allowed to operate online until October 2024, after which ...
The Coalition Government is accelerating work on the new four-lane expressway between Auckland and Whangārei as part of its Roads of National Significance programme, with an accelerated delivery model to deliver this project faster and more efficiently, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “For too long, the lack of resilient transport connections ...
Sir Don McKinnon will travel to Viet Nam this week as a Special Envoy of the Government, Foreign Minister Winston Peters has announced. “It is important that the Government give due recognition to the significant contributions that General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong made to New Zealand-Viet Nam relations,” Mr ...
Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden says newly appointed Commissioner, Grant Illingworth KC, will help deliver the report for the first phase of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into COVID-19 Lessons, due on 28 November 2024. “I am pleased to announce that Mr Illingworth will commence his appointment as ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters travels to Laos this week to participate in a series of Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)-led Ministerial meetings in Vientiane. “ASEAN plays an important role in supporting a peaceful, stable and prosperous Indo-Pacific,” Mr Peters says. “This will be our third visit to ...
Construction of a new mental health facility at Te Nikau Grey Hospital in Greymouth is today one step closer, Mental Health Minister Matt Doocey says. “This $27 million facility shows this Government is delivering on its promise to boost mental health care and improve front line services,” Mr Doocey says. ...
New Zealand is committing nearly $50 million to a package supporting sustainable Pacific fisheries development over the next four years, Foreign Minister Winston Peters and Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones announced today. “This support consisting of a range of initiatives demonstrates New Zealand’s commitment to assisting our Pacific partners ...
Associate Education Minister David Seymour says proposed changes to the Education and Training Amendment Bill will ensure charter schools have more flexibility to negotiate employment agreements and are equipped with the right teaching resources. “Cabinet has agreed to progress an amendment which means unions will not be able to initiate ...
In response to serious concerns around oversight, overspend and a significant deterioration in financial outlook, the Board of Health New Zealand will be replaced with a Commissioner, Health Minister Dr Shane Reti announced today. “The previous government’s botched health reforms have created significant financial challenges at Health NZ that, without ...
Minister for Space and Science, Innovation and Technology Judith Collins will travel to Adelaide tomorrow for space and science engagements, including speaking at the Australian Space Forum. While there she will also have meetings and visits with a focus on space, biotechnology and innovation. “New Zealand has a thriving space ...
Climate Change Minister Simon Watts will travel to China on Saturday to attend the Ministerial on Climate Action meeting held in Wuhan. “Attending the Ministerial on Climate Action is an opportunity to advocate for New Zealand climate priorities and engage with our key partners on climate action,” Mr Watts says. ...
Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones is travelling to the Solomon Islands tomorrow for meetings with his counterparts from around the Pacific supporting collective management of the region’s fisheries. The 23rd Pacific Islands Forum Fisheries Committee and the 5th Regional Fisheries Ministers’ Meeting in Honiara from 23 to 26 July ...
The Government today launched the Military Style Academy Pilot at Te Au rere a te Tonga Youth Justice residence in Palmerston North, an important part of the Government’s plan to crackdown on youth crime and getting youth offenders back on track, Minister for Children, Karen Chhour said today. “On the ...
The Government has welcomed news the NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) has begun work to replace nine priority bridges across the country to ensure our state highway network remains resilient, reliable, and efficient for road users, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says.“Increasing productivity and economic growth is a key priority for the ...
Acting Prime Minister David Seymour has been in contact throughout the evening with senior officials who have coordinated a whole of government response to the global IT outage and can provide an update. The Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet has designated the National Emergency Management Agency as the ...
New Zealand and Japan will continue to step up their shared engagement with the Pacific, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says. “New Zealand and Japan have a strong, shared interest in a free, open and stable Pacific Islands region,” Mr Peters says. “We are pleased to be finding more ways ...
New developments in the heart of North Island forestry country will reinvigorate their communities and boost economic development, Regional Development Minister Shane Jones says. Mr Jones visited Kaingaroa and Kawerau in Bay of Plenty today to open a landmark community centre in the former and a new connecting road in ...
President Adeang, fellow Ministers, honourable Diet Member Horii, Ambassadors, distinguished guests. Minasama, konnichiwa, and good afternoon, everyone. Distinguished guests, it’s a pleasure to be here with you today to talk about New Zealand’s foreign policy reset, the reasons for it, the values that underpin it, and how it ...
Last summer when Matairangi burned, Ginny and Tom stood at the window of their lounge, watching kākā shoot skyward from the burning trees. From the distance, they looked to Ginny like pages torn from books and thrown into a bonfire. It was Tom, voice tight, who told her it was ...
Opinion: The Canadian short story writer Alice Munro – winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2013 – died in May at the age of 92. Her work was about “the damage people inflict on one another in the name of love”, Deborah Treisman wrote in the New Yorker. ...
This month marks two years since the most powerful telescope ever built sent its first pictures back to earth. From its lofty vantage point, beyond the moon in orbit around the sun, the James Webb Space Telescope was tuned to observe the first stars and galaxies being born soon after ...
Comment: After Climate Change Minister Simon Watts’ preview several weeks ago, I had some optimism about the Government’s emissions reduction plan. Now I’ve read the discussion document, that hope has been dashed. How can the Government propose a plan that wants to take New Zealand taxpayers’ hard-earned money, and spend ...
Christopher Luxon: hurdles The little man from National jumps hurdles in his sleep. He’s quite good at it in his dreams and even though the reality doesn’t quite match up you have to give him credit for getting up every morning and crashing into the very first hurdle of the ...
Comment: It was a good two hours into the conversation when Tyrone Marks raised the most basic of questions when I first spoke to him in 2017. “They didn’t explain the things they did to me. They never told me why. And they still haven’t. There’s no explanation for it. ...
Madeleine Chapman rounds out Death Week on The Spinoff with a final recommendation. You can read all of our Death Week coverage here. Nothing forces you to reflect on your life and relationships quite like proximity to death. For those whose nearest and dearest have died, there are reasonably obvious ...
Whitney Greene takes us through her life in television, including the TV character she’d like to plan a funeral for and her cow lung catastrophe on The Traitors NZ. “If the phone rings, I have to answer it,” Whitney Greene from The Traitors NZ warns as we begin our My ...
Maddie Ballard reviews the debut essay collection of Pōneke writer Flora Feltham.In ‘The Raw Material’, the longest essay in Flora Feltham’s dazzling debut collection, the author heads out for a run after hours of weaving and sees the world turn to textile. “Pounding along the Parade, I saw the ...
Andy Christiansen, one half of the experimental rock-pop duo TRiPS, shares the tunes inspiring the band’s perfect weekend and new release. “Good speakers, good food, good music, no distractions”: that’s all you need to enjoy the psychedelic stylings of TRiPS, a new band formed by Fly My Pretties’ Barnaby Weir ...
Celebrating our quadrennial opportunity to become experts in a bunch of sports we never normally watch.The games of the XXXIII Olympiad are upon us. Paris will host this year’s showcase of sporting and athletic prowess, which means some late-night and early-morning viewing for us in Aotearoa.But what sports ...
The photograph is striking and beautiful, but also disturbing – a reminder that my love for John was often entangled in shame.The Sunday Essay is made possible thanks to the support of Creative New Zealand.In the spring of 1980, in Dunedin, shortly before his death, someone took a photograph ...
Get to know Babushka, our latest Dog of the Month. This feature was offered as a reward during our What’s Eating Aotearoa PledgeMe campaign. Thank you to Babu’s humans, Jo and Isabel, for their support. Dog name: Babushka (Babu for short) Age: 2Breed: Border Collie X poodleIf rescued, ...
Pacific Media Watch A Lebanese photojournalist who was severely wounded during an Israeli air strike in south Lebanon carried the Olympic torch in Paris this week in honour of her peers who have been wounded and killed in the field — especially in Gaza and Lebanon. Christina Assi of Agence ...
The first report in a five-part web series focused on the 15th Triennial Conference of Pacific Women taking place in the Marshall Islands this week.SPECIAL REPORT:By Netani Rika in Majuro Women continue to fight for justice 70 years after the first nuclear tests by the United States caused ...
Christopher Luxon has joined with Australia and Canada's leaders in voicing support for US President Joe Biden's ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra The 2022 election brought the “teal wave” into parliament. The next election will test whether teals, who occupy what were Liberal seats, and other independents can maintain their momentum. Joining us on the Podcast ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ian Musgrave, Senior lecturer in Pharmacology, University of Adelaide Pixavri/Shutterstock A major Federal Court class action has been dismissed this week after Justice Michael Lee ruled there was not enough evidence to prove the weedkiller Roundup causes cancer. Plaintiff Kelvin ...
In The Week in Politics: politicians have to decide what to do about child abuse, Health NZ is booked in for major surgery and Darleen Tana returns. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Clare Corbould, Associate Professor, Contemporary Histories Research Group, Deakin University Mainstream media are surprisingly muted at the prospect of the world’s most powerful nation being led for the first time by a woman – specifically a woman of colour, Vice President Kamala ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Rebecca Bennett, PhD Student, Associate Research Fellow, Deakin University Last week, a drone delivery company called Wing (owned by Google’s parent company, Alphabet) started operating in Melbourne. Some 250,000 residents in parts of the city’s eastern suburbs can now order food from ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jonathan Foo, Lecturer, Physiotherapy, Monash University pikselstock/Shutterstock In the next 40 years in Australia, it’s predicted the number of Australians aged 65 and over will more than double, while the number of people aged 85 and over will more than triple. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Katrina Grant, Research Associate, Power Institute for Arts and Visual Culture, University of Sydney Jonas Åkerström’s 1790 work, Session of the Accademia dell’Arcadia on August 17 1788.Nationalmuseum/Cecilia Heisser Ever wondered whether you’d have a better chance at winning an Olympic gold ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Alexandra Jones, Program Lead, Food Governance, George Institute for Global Health wavebreakmedia/Shutterstock On Thursday, Australian and New Zealand food ministers at state, federal and national levels met to thrash out what’s next for health star ratings on packaged foods. Now, after ...
The Abuse in Care report found many Pacific survivors lost their connections to their culture and language, resulting in trauma that has been carried from generation to generation. ...
In the regulatory review, ECC intends to suggest that ERO focus on curriculum delivery reviews rather than the Ministry, because it’s not efficient or effective to have two agencies with radically different approaches climbing over each other. ...
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No comments yet. Everyone must be having a lie in. I know people on here are very tribal, but I do find today that both Labour and National are very similar and have both moved towards the centre. IMO it almost makes no difference which is the ruling party.
Coming from an education background I can see Labour making moves to unravel the mess that National got it into. Long way to go yet tho!
I don’t think reviewing NZ education curriculum by curriculum is the best approach. For example, a number of NCEA 1 subjects have been dropped but where/when are they now covered, if at all? To me it seems NZ education will continue to muddle through with uncertainty and lack of decisive visionary leadership. ACT is waiting in the wings with Charter Schools, which is no more than a plaster for some and does not address the system as a whole, which is just typical of those liberals.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/education/124148144/new-zealand-failing-to-identify-highachieving-science-students-at-school-research-finds
https://educationhq.com/news/schools-are-failing-to-identify-high-ability-science-students-study-90006/
The age-old problem of using surrogate measures, which in some cases are poor substitutes.
https://phys.org/news/2021-02-schools-high-ability-science-students.html
Indeed, local, ad hoc, reductionist, and aimed at symptoms rather than causes seems to be the ‘pragmatic’ approach here in NZ to many ills & evils. Where are our visionary leaders with deep-thinking skills and broad open minds?
I always thought that Charter Schools were set up as a dumping ground for the bottom 20% of pupils.
That’s a rather unfortunate way of framing, IMO. Sure, they were tied up with political and ideological agendas and vested interests, but they also tried or claimed to address the issue of the long tail in NZ education. Quite a few people were genuinely supportive and work hard with the best of intentions to make a positive difference. To write them off is doing them and the children a huge disfavour and is unfair, IMHO.
I think the idea was for the state schools to wash their hands of the problem kids and they could be dumped in charters presumably just to be trained to read nothing but the Bible.
I believe you’re wrong and misinformed but feel free to find evidence in support. You may want to avoid Bible-bashing, if you can, thanks.
I rather think it was the other way round, Millsy. Charter schools would take lower decile students, and prove that state schools were failing these students, by making successes of them. They then tried to carefully cherry-pick lower decile students who would succeed anyway, but didn't quite do it right, and had to then quietly get rid of obvious upcoming failures.. They then found it was not so bloody easy to teach then anyway, so very few of the Charter Schools achieved anything like the superiority over the state system that they had claimed.
And where did our “Tomorrow’s Schools” review go ?? And now we have Haque now informing us that there are issues, we’ll sh@$ you are leading the eduction reviews Ffs lead.
we have had this century 4+ terms of a labour led government , that is now a 2nd generation being impacted from inaction and a race to the bottom. But keep on wishing, as every day you wish for action our children are missing out
Well people like you were horrified at the idea of schools collaborating and getting proper support so the government backed down.
The wealthier schools like AGC, Rangitoto, etc depend on the poorer schools failing
I did not realise that I was so powerful- And schools already collaborate in not only this local area but other areas where family members teach.
Next time don't make sh^& up by making comments directed at me of something I have never said. But then if it suits your argument be like an Orange man in making things up.
You are on record as opposing any effort to stop schools competing, and bring back the education boards.
I would trust a public servant over a Karen any day in terms of running a school.
[You made a specific assertion about another commenter here. Please back it up with a link(s) or withdraw and apologise, thanks, or cop a ban – Incognito]
[Two weeks off for not backing up your allegations about another commenter or not withdrawing & apologising – Incognito]
Don't go fishing – Where is there any commentary by me that supports your comments ??
I gather you don't have any. There has been recently many occasions where commentators have been ask under threats of time in the corner for making unlinked comments as yours.
Put up then, without resorting to cheep name calling.
a Karen? Please don't bring that politically dodgy term here. Just use a few more words to say what you mean.
See my Moderation note @ 4:30 PM.
Millsy has the wrong end of the stick again. I do not believe that Herodotus is opposed to schools collaborating. Maybe he upset Millsy by arguing against some aspect back when National introduced a superficial policy of that type..
Thanks but it is for millsy to front up or come clean. Let’s see what millsy is made of otherwise millsy will be marching.
See my second Moderation note @ 4:30 PM.
The rot actually starts in Early Childhood Education which was given over to private enterprise with the predictable consequences. If you don't get it right there the rest is built on a very shaky foundation
Well speaking as someone on the bottom of the financial pile there is a lot of difference. Labour's increase to core benefits plus the winter warmth payment and the end of the beneficiary hunting season has been a great help to me.
(meant as a reply to Jester)
But all that shows is that benefits core base should be way higher so that no supplementals – heating allowance, accom benefit, hard ship grants etc- are needed in the first place. And that was categorically ruled out before the second term. So that is it. The sum total of 6 years when all is set and done, a heating payment and a wee bit of an increase that does not hold up with anything. I don't say that it is not a bit better, on a scale of 1 – 10 you are 1 bit better off then you were before.
So this is again an exercise in doing nothing much where it is needed, and with the next government come in the supplementals like the heating allowance can just simply be canned and thus nothing was achieved other then a few drops on a hot stone for a few years.
In the meantime more people homeless, more people unemployed (well women people, people of color, other abled people, white men – as per the stats of the government are doing well), house prices even more unaffordable then they were 4 years ago, rents more unaffordable then they were 4 years ago, water, electricity and food up.
This is not to diminish that what little was done is to a benefit to you and others on a benefit, that personally is great, but it was no more then a drip on a hot stone.
And thus, there really is no real difference between the Nats and the Labs, and i would venture a guess that the 25 NZD benefit raise (core benefit) under Nat also would have helped a bit in the moment but as with Labours peanuts it changed nothing long term. Too little, in most cases to late, is just that, too little to late.
The Nats benefit raise WAS ONLY TO SOME BENEFITS not all – Job Seekers and Supported Living GOT NOTHING.
Using capitals is considered shouting on-line and using bold font makes it worse (and might be confused with Moderation here).
Please consider using italics when you want to emphasise something. For example:
FIFY
Apologies for shouting – I was feeling angry at the suggestion that the increases of Labour and National were similar. – Also forgot the reduced Doctor's charges![blush blush](https://cdn.ckeditor.com/4.11.3/full-all/plugins/smiley/images/embarrassed_smile.png)
I totally understand. It is because sometimes it can create ‘bad vibes’.
Hi Barfly, I agree!! There are times when righteous drivel and pro Nat anti Labour is reason to shout.
sometimes it's appropriate to shout I think, although should be used rarely. In this instance, regulars on TS have been repeatedly told that National's benefit raise was for only some beneficiaries. Shouting sometimes gets the message through (or at least gives some sense that it might).
I agree that general use of bold is annoying for moderation.
sad that beneficiaries have to keep yelling about this. Glad the Labour changes have made some difference for you Barfly![yes yes](https://cdn.ckeditor.com/4.11.3/full-all/plugins/smiley/images/thumbs_up.png)
And not every one on the benefit have equally benefitted from changes under Labour.
The point is not to minimize what changes have been made, my friend is very happy with her heating allowance, her reduced doctors bills etc. But still every few month she is at the office – virtually – so to speak asking for help with some bills because it is not enough.
Same as it was not enough with National.
So my issue is not with 'who is being more generous' with the pennies that are being dispensed but my issue is that both sides are 'stingy beyond believe and need' with the pennies that they dispense.
By comparing two mediocre responses to a huge problem in our society, we are actually not discussing the need that exists, but rather the trickle down responses to it.
there's a problem with saying there is no difference between National and Labour. It's factually incorrect in important ways. And it discourages the underclass from being politically active to effect change.
Well see i don't think it is factually incorrect.
Both increased rates, to some extend. Both have not done enough. The labour party has campaigned on not doing anything else for beneficiaries and got voted in on this promise among others – those dear cross over fiscal conservatives votes came in handy winning an all out majority..
So yes, in my personal opinion, they are both the same when it comes to increasing the benefits of all beneficiaries to such an extend that it would be at the very lest 480.00 per week (covid relieve for full timer after tax). Missing in action and hiding behind meaningless feel good rethoric.
The need is still there and raising. Both Parties for the longest time have failed. Both parties do nothing more then tinker on the edges – both parties do this to the extend that they need to not upset the people whose vote they want.
As for the underclass……we have 1 million people that don't vote, and not all of them are underclass. And quite a few of the underclass will not vote for Labour or Green or any other left leaning party because conservative / religious/ libertarian etc. I would not consider the 'underclass' a monolithic voting block that will vote reflexively for a so called social leaning party.
So you are happy to tip your cap to the government for reluctantly giving you some chump change For your total deviation and loyalty ?
when should it be determined that much govt handouts are inadequate then address the real issue. Hope you spend the 40 pieces of silver wisely.
Be it housing, poverty, inequality etc Labour only dish out the min, IF THAT🥵
Last winter that chump change was $65 a week maybe that's chump change to you – I found it pretty helpful – I remember well the National government – the threats ,the promises of crackdowns , the continued demonisation of those least able to defend themselves (me included). The only structural change I remember was reducing the maximum length of a Doctor's medical Certificate from 5 years to 2 years – great stuff to increase the level of fear and uncertainty among the long term mentally ill
seriously, you're calling beneficiaries spending what little the government give them a bribe for betrayal? We all know what Labour is doing is not enough, but that's not he fault of beneficiaries who are grateful for the relief.
Yup, it smelled of bad faith but was probably just extremely poorly worded.
the generous interpretation is that he didn't think about what forty pieces of silver means.
the chosen handle suggests otherwise.
Must be because of inflation.
Put my hand up there and own my mistake. 30 not 40 ☹️
I will spell this out for you, that I have commented many time before.
If there is a problem fix it, if benefits are not adequate increase them. What this and other governments do is add ons. But NOT addressing the issue directly.
Those in need, after the tokenism are less in need. But has their needs been fully met ? Less Poor is STILL Poor. Those in less Need are still in need 🤬
+1
dude, I'm a politicised long term beneficiary. I know what the state of play is. Reread my comment. Beneficiaries are entitled to feel relieved and even grateful when their income increases, esp those that have been struggling to eat properly, get medical care, look after their kids.
Try this from the Greens commenting on Nationals deficient increases in benefits in 2016 – Same can now be applied to this government. So where are The Greens now and that their government has "Not" ensured that every family got the help they need. But hey, they should be grateful for the little they are given. That will fix this
“If the Government really cared about helping children living in families on the breadline, it would have ensured every child in every family got the help they need. Instead it chose to do the bare minimum,” Ms Logie said.
https://www.greens.org.nz/half-families-denied-full-benefit-increase
2. I've long argued against the child poverty approach politically because it separates beneficiaries into deserving and undeserving poor. Children are innocent and should be fed, ill and disabled adults can get fucked. Not that advocates see it like that, but they are buying into dangerous framing that National uses against us.
It is not The Greens Govt – But where is their response now to Labours inadequate increases, and why are so many that were vocal now not so ? As you said TG have been locked out so why not comment ?
As what has been done in increasing benefits does not ensure that every child gets the help… Perhaps they 2 were gifted 30 pieces for their silence or some offices of power? And as Sabine has stated what is the difference ?? or perhaps, The Greens don't benchmark their statements that had been made towards national and apply them now. Just thinking out loud 😉
https://www.greens.org.nz/economic_windfall_should_be_funnelled_straight_back_into_communities
no, you're just making shit up. So sick of this bullshit too. Been hearing it for decades, and it never pans out. They consistently step up and do what is needed, including holding Labour to account.
To be fair, they said this in 2019
https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/politics/2019/07/greens-call-out-labour-over-failure-to-increase-benefits.html
In the meantime Jan Logie and/ or the Green Party is/are still correct in the assessment that the hardship grants are just a window to the obviouis, the main benefits are not high enough, and that is ongoing as per the government owns stats.
https://www.msd.govt.nz/documents/about-msd-and-our-work/publications-resources/statistics/benefit/2020/benefit-fact-sheets/benefit-fact-sheets-snapshot-december-2020.pdf Page 8
TheGreens are not currently in the position to do much.
Fwiw, this is Labours and only Labours failure. They knew that the benefits were to short, lowly, miserly already when Key replaced Clark, and nothing has changed since. Their failure to stand up to the voting public in Sept /Oct and take some risk in what was a won election from the onset is what makes them mediocre and not much different from the Nats in my opinion. No guts, no glory.
And thus eventually they arrive at the position of 'i have tried nothing and everything failed, what else could i have possibly done'. Well you could have campaigned on raising the benefit levels for all, remove the unemployment benefits from relationship status, and finally admit that children are poor in this country because their parents are poor, or have fallen into poverty. Just a few suggestions.
Ok I accept that Greens have made comments of wanting more.
My comments have migrated away from the main point – Inadequate support.
Comes across as bitter and with an axe to grind. $25 plus $40 pw winter payments (for a 6 month duration) is not insignificant at all.
Prior to increase a base rate of around $202 in the hand.
Add $45 per week.
That's over 20% more in the hand. Also, state house tenants not living in fear of evictions, market rents, P-tests, drug tests, doxing etc as National like to do. So what's Sabine's deal other than grinding an axe. Poor people know there's a clear difference between Labour and National. Sure, Labour could do more. To say they're the same is some fanciful bullshit.
I'd add that with Labour there's the chance of good change, because they're at least facing in the right direction. National were going as fast as they could get away with in NZ down the proto-fascist pathway and beneficiaries were one of the front lines with that. Bill English's big data plans were horrendous. The Bennett Reforms were neoliberal punitive welfare on steroids. Labour have done some shit stuff, National took it to a whole new level. Ardern's Labour look to me like they're not going to do enough (thanks Labour voters), but they're not doing nothing and they're certainly not taking us in the direction that National were.
I couldn’t possibly comment.
Herodotus @ 2.2 "Total deviation?" Devotion? Your biblical reference to coin…. Try some kindness, doesn't cost a bean.
Thanks Incognito.
It pretty much confirms the suspicion I've always had that the women were trading off the abuse claims. Assange comes across to me as repulsive, but the woman who wrote the book invited him to stay with her, knowing pretty much what he was like. She has acknowledged she wanted to have sex with the man.
In terms of the allegations, it seems like it was a bit of a storm in a tea cup. Most women would accept they were partly to blame by encouraging the person in the first place, and hopefully move on having learnt from the experience.
As far as the "shit storms" over the case… I think some of it is identity politics taken too far. Now lets wait for the shit fight to begin. 😉
Not exactly on topic, but I'll be watching with interest what happens with Assange's extradition case once Merrick Garland gets confirmed as Attorney General.
Garland's history is fairly strong on the press having a right to publish, and Biden seems to have evolved from his 2010 views calling Assange a high-tech terrorist. So I'm kinda hopeful for the extradition to be dropped along with a statement that press freedom to publish is such an important right that the extradition case should never have been brought.
not sure what the point in posting that is. It's a fairly useless piece of reporting, and posting it here will open up TS for another round of rape culture denial. See Anne's comment below. So sick of this shit, and at a time when there's barely any feminist presence on TS, it just ends up being echo chamber affirmation of the status quo around women and sexual assault.
We need hedgerows, now!
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/feb/02/reservoirs-of-life-hedgerows-help-uk-net-zero-2050-aoe
hazelnut and almonds make good hedgerows and they produce food.
He he that reminds me of a story. Back in the 80s a friend of mine was on the Ponsonby Community Committee and the subject of street trees came up. My friend suggested planting fruit trees. The response from one woman was that you couldn't do that because the children might eat the fruit! Ponsonby was in the process of being gentrified at the time so was slowly being infested with the 'upwardly mobile'
Yes, i used to live in Grey Lynn when first moving to AKL. And gosh, there were boxes of free fruit out on Williamson Ave from the private houses. Now they mostly have rock gardens and house chartered accountants.
I plant fruit trees with a vengance. Its my great hobby.
Hedgerows could be a green and sappy venous system for the body landscape for all NZ. Insects, birds, fungi and bipedal walkers could flow from place to place, sheltered and fed all the way. Hamlets might form at the intersections and foot-traffic take its rightful place as the preferred form of travel. News might travel by hedgerow rather than wire or fibre, story-tellers in Lincoln green could….hang on! Anyone read Riddley Walker???
No but it sounds wonderful like Beatrix Potter
Beatrix Potter?
Best you don't get yourself a copy then 🙂
Beatrix Potter for grown – ups?
The roads in between make for good tracktor roads if they are a shared commodity and also allow for walking/cycling as a form of transport. As someone who used to cycle a lot this is the one thing that i miss, the old tracktor/walking/pilgrimage roads that often times have at least on one side a hedgerow growing.
bustling hedgerows
… and spring cleaning may queens …
Hi I'm a time traveler from the 1700s that the hanky to return to . Most of us were dead by 40 and we were ruled by feudal cunts ,take it from me you are much better off now.
It seems that way, Time Traveller, but if I may ask: did your activities in the 17 hundreds bring the natural world to the brink of collapse? It's kind of a pressing issue for us in the 20-20's and it may be that our own children and grandchildren will have far shorter lives even, than yours. All the best with your mission.
We were well on our way, look forward for your answers not backwards.
Only a small % of people would want a quaint life.
To be fair, that rough life expectancy was skewed by a massive infant mortality rate that wasn't the fault of hedgerows. It wasn't exactly unheard of to get to your 70s or 80s even in those days.
My point is RG s dream of the world becoming a small holding utopia, it's a pointless dream that helps not one bit with modern day problems, you can lump the whole power down mob in there to . Imho
It's an intriguing approach – to belittle and dismiss the efforts of one who is trialling alternative solutions to the 'pickle' of modern day problems. All civilisations fail – spaceship Earth simply can't sustain the one we've crafted – we (all) need to make changes.
It's prudent to work on improving societal resilience in order to retain at least some of the privileges that ‘the golden billion‘ enjoy. Imho.
Harsh, bwaghorn, harsh!
Still, I'm undeterred by your misreading of my views 🙂
"Small holding utopia"?
Nah.
I see adaptation no matter where "you" are, no matter what you're doing.
It's a cultural thing – our present culture is not proving sustainable, so we (all) must change. Sticking to our guns will leave us … stuck to our guns.
Who dobbed-in the leader of Te Path Maori, for not wearing a tie in the House???
Bishop? or someone similarly petty
Could be any (of them) 🙂
Bishop is trying to tie a noose around Mallard’s neck.
Isn't 'colonial noose' a great term for it..
Did Dunne wear neck or bow?
https://twitter.com/Publicwrongs/status/1359058689647284227
All I can remember is the coiffure.
You’d be ok in Parliament though, you can hide anything underneath that magnificent beard, you could even go unbuttoned![wink wink](https://cdn.ckeditor.com/4.11.3/full-all/plugins/smiley/images/wink_smile.png)
I'd love to see more and bigger beards in the House. Most people think "patriarchy" when they see a substantial beard, but in fact, cascading beards reflect a growing feminine aspect; it's far more common to see long, curling locks on a the head of a woman than it is a man and the increased sensitivity to breeze, bramble-snagging and tugs by grandchildren help develop a more aware human; think buzz-cut American grunt as compared with fully-tressed 70's hippie from the cast of Hair 🙂
Mallard is being a goose. He could easily say it looks like a tie to me.
Hard to tell under that big hat.
yep, seems an odd path for Mallard to have taken, can't make sense of it tbh.
In fact, Mallard has form in this area. Soon after Brash's infamous Orewa speech, the Clark regime made the strategic decision to ease back on its support for Māori. This would apparently make the bigots who comprised Brash's base think twice, and appreciate that Labour was not "too P.C."
Clark could not be seen to lower herself to such dodgy behaviour, so Mallard was given the role of attack dog. One of the most unpleasant things he did was to publicly complain about the length of pōwhiri at parliamentary and other functions. That won him praise from people like Paul Holmes and Sean Plunket, but there is no evidence that the racists abandoned National and rushed to Labour. This disastrous reset in Labour policy culminated in Clark making her contemptuous statements about the Foreshore and Seabed protestors—"I'd rather meet Shrek the Sheep," she intoned, mirthlessly.
Looks like Chris Bishop is not the only person gunning for Mallard.
Barry Soper: Failure to hold Trevor Mallard to account shows Labour's hypocrisy – NZ Herald
No matter how hard they rub off on each other, they’ll never create an original spark, only fricative hot air.
It's pretty clear the man who was making a nuisance of himself and who Mallard outed is a good mate of Soper's.
Barry sees nothing wrong in chasing much younger women and I suspect our man in parliament is cut from the same cloth.
Yep I agree. I have always thought that Soper knows the person very well and is a friend.