Su’a William Sio says he looks forward to tabling the Tax Justice petition before parliament. He says having 50,000 signatures on a petition is enough reason for Parliament to take note and consider the merits and substance of this petition.
“The large numbers of people signing this petition also reflects the significant numbers of New Zealanders who are struggling to make ends meet due to the high cost of living, which I see everyday in Mangere,” says Mr Sio.
“Labour recognises that the cost of living is a huge issue in our communities and that’s why it has already set out its initial policies – removing all GST off fresh fruits and vegetables, and no tax on the first $5000 of income.”
As well as calling for the removal of GST off all food. The Tax Justice Petition calls for a Financial Transaction Tax on speculation. Currently the billions made by financiers like John Key and his ‘trader’ mates, goes untaxed. While food is taxed. This is why the campaign is called Tax Justice.
New Zealanders can sign an online version of the Tax Justice petition here
Sounds familiar Peter : “…..higher minimum wages flush more money into the economy without cutting into job growth — the latter a long-held contention of business interests and many conservatives.”
Is Christchurch going to come through this ok? Will the people return to at least the same as before and the economy rapidly gain its former capacity?
I don’t know, and there seem to be murmurings along these lines. There still seems to be a steady but low exodus from the city. Hundreds and hundreds of empty houses for rent. Businesses chopped down and evaporating.
Hope these thoughts are in the wrong direction but doubts are creeping in here and there.
Maybe what would help is some large scale demolition. Knock down a couple of the large buildings asap in order to show that progress is happenning.
Then again, only two weeks until the shortest day!
I think that history shows us that there is something akin to the “grieving process” that follows disasters like this.
One of those things that happen is the phase where the problem looks so big and the effort so little that people despair can set in – where you wonder how life can ever be “normal” again.
Human’s are resilient, very adaptive and have the smarts to survive. Human’s have throughout time adapted to changes in their physical environment and rebuilt that which has been destroyed.
Christchurch has taken a hit and, like the aftershocks, there is more to come as people adjust to the new realities (i.e. the need to relocate, the need to start a new business and or close an old one, dealing with the loss of investment etc).
When we build a life for ourselves we do so over time. Buy a car, lay down a lawn, build a house, get a job, move house, fix the plumbing, get the kids into a school.
But with an earthquake, not only is what you have built up over time destroyed or changed in a short time, you have to rebuild any number of things in a short time. Then you have to adapt to changes in the city – cafes you went to aren’t there anymore, the route you take to work doesn’t exist anymore, your morning walk no longer has the trees you loved.
All in all that is a HUGE number of stressors in with a short time in which to adapt.
Things will be “normal” again for Christchurch. Not “the same” but normal.
I feel (as much as I am able:-) ) for the burden that Chch people have to carry.
Having said all that, (and as an aside) the Christchurch earthquake was an obvious change that needs to be adapted to and humans will adapt.
It’s the slow stuff that worries me. The insidious creep of climate change may blind us to the urgent need to adapt.
Hi VTO,
I think that William Joyce has it right. Grieving is what you may have to do for all that is lost. I have gone through major changes forced on me by outside forces and while I tried to hold on to all that was familiar to me I found I could not move on until I acknowledged and grieved for all that I lost and I lost all.
It has taken me years and I still grief of and on but it gets easier in time and you and Christchurch will rebuild. It’s human nature.
Kind regards
Ev
I lived in Christchurch for 10 years when it was still beautiful. Went back after 22Feb; it’s a wreck, it will never be the same. I came up to Auckland for work just before all the quakes began and I’m sorry to say I have no desire to go back.. too depressing and messed up 🙁
Well I read a report the other day saying that Christchurch has had a total of 21 new housing consents since Sept last year, for replacing earthquake damaged housing.
At this pitiful run rate, they’ll still be fixing up houses from the recent Christchurch earthquake damage in the 24th/25th century.
Insurance companies are being slow to pay out, they are waiting for engineers to figure out how to stabilise the ground under those damaged properties, seems like a catch-22
While our bankster elite (both John and Don are after all finance boys firmly connected to the financial Wall street elite and the neocon boys through friendships and business relationships with Armitage, Geitner and Milton Friedman to name a few) advance the agenda of the international banksters here is a video of family members of some of those who died on the day it all began; 9/11 2001.
And why did people bet on the airplane companies to loose value in the week of 911. Oh and on Merrill Lynch too?
These ads are shown all over the US and with the UK marines of the coast of Yemen and 2000 US marines ready to invade Libya and New Zealand under attack from the Neocons scheisters who started it all I feel it is important to keep reminding people that this is not going away.
For more background information on the coordinated financial attack all the countries in the European/US region of influence (New Zealand amongst them) are currently suffering and the ongoing implementation of the NeoCon agenda in the middle East read up on it here.
There are still hundreds of questions not answered about the events that opened the door to all these developments and we will not stop until the family members, architects and engineers have those answers.
Surprising in the educated bloggers here that a number use loose instead of lose. I get the right meaning from the context, but why the mistake? I have seen it on Jackal’s posts and others too.
Try thinking of loose change in the pocket, though you can lose that. I think I need a better example.
It is the damn spell checkers. I notice it myself (and not just on the iPad). I check for spelling errors by looking at the spelling error highlights. If a word is spelt correctly but is the wrong variant then I don’t see it.
The classic examples in these pages is ‘you’ when people mean ‘your’. It shows up in posts and comments everywhere.
The converse is also true. I’m just itching to change ‘spelt’ because it shows as an error because of the idiot dictionary on this system.
I once chugged out an entire 12k word assignment that used, in every instance (which is quite often in an assignment on party leadership changes), “lead” instead of “led” because it was a bit rushed and I was reading it in my head to sound like “head” not “heed”. Interesting that my brain was full of the base metal I was spelling 🙂
I don’t like the USA bias which means a word with s is often underlined because it should be z. Myself I like to keep z as a rare letter for when I play scrabble for high stakes. Other USAisms intrude too but I find spell checker helpful, it does pick up the errors which occur more often since the last upgrade of the Opera browser when the font for the standard decreased straining my eyesight, and some of my keys are so worn that the wrong alpha gets up. Machinery!
Exactly! I use Open Orifice and make certain it’s set to UK English (as NZ English isn’t an option weirdly..) When I use Word (only occasionally), it defaults back to US English, and quite insanely, many language schools offer only US English on their computers – I say insanely because many students I’ve had, have come to NZ because they want to avoid learning US dialect…
If a word is spelt correctly but is the wrong variant then I don’t see it.
That reminds me of a story I heard years ago from a woman working as a temp dicta-typist, who got into a power of trouble for typing “The morning Jew lay gently on the grass”… 😀
Spelt as in the grain? Try meaning ‘fora’ (plural of forums in Microsoft Word. It simply won’t allow it, which caused trouble in an essay I was writing for linguistics in 2003)
Smarmy Peter Dunne. On Morning Report about 1080 with his own particular brand of common sense. Which is to heap an attitude of nonsense on anything that he doesn’t agree with. And the report saying that more 1080 is needed, and that the use of it has been refined so that it achieves its goals with minimum downside, he can’t agree with. Because he has become spokesperson for the huntin, shootin community. That is the constituency he has adopted, and vice versa, and he needs some group to back his Greta Garbo party (she was known for a comment that she ‘Wanted to be alone’). His ‘ commonsense’ approach is to point out the failure of 1080 so far to completely solve the problem of defoliating and predating furry critters, possums, rats etc etc which breed like billyoh out in the back country. Trappers should be used providing employment, but the wild areas of NZ are extremely hard to work in, and that method is impossibly expensive for government.
He was arguing against two women, one from Forest and Bird which he tried to portray as soft-headed greenies, and (thanks google) Dr Jan Wright [who]was sworn in as Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment for a five-year term on 5 March 2007. Jan has a multidisciplinary background … He called their argument emotional during his forthright emotional rant and brought up various nice ideas such as trappers and possum fur providing jobs (impossible as the large number of possums required for a viable business would increase their numbers and stymie the drive to urgently decrease their destructive reign.)
He thinks the environment should be sacrificed so that jobs can be created, he can get the hunting votes, and he can stay in parliament to dole out his common sense. And the hunters say they care for the environment and want to protect it. They care about their own interests, the ease of finding targets, and their hunting dogs which can fall prey to 1080 as they range around. But one dog can kill 200 kiwi in a short time. So the hunters as a group have members who are destroying protected wild life themselves. And the environmental lobby fears that all kiwi will vanish with this sort of predation and other problems, in a few decades.
“Because he has become spokesperson for the huntin, shootin community.”
They were nearly a political Party weren’t they Prism, but became instead a lobby group funneled through Mr Dunne. Funny therefore that Mr Dunne should blast a scientific report? No?
The discussion on 9 to noon about 9:30 ish ended with an American damning the use of aerial dropping of 1080. He said NZ was the only country who used this method, and therefore it must be wrong! Really?
He did say that there should be a research project set up. That would be good.
1 third with no action.
1 third aerial drop.
1 third bait station.
His rant about making a fur trapping business for export growth was clearly him just mouthing the right words.
If industrial-scale fur trapping were a viable business, it would already exist. The 1080 coverage is said to be a very very small percentage of all DOC lands, so there’s nothing stopping him from setting up a fur business dealing to possums in the rest of the country. I would suggest (don’t know, but I’m assuming) that the DOC areas with 1080 aerial drops are in the parts of the country where other methods of control aren’t feasible anyway.
I have some insider knowledge of 1080 drops, their impressive results (possums and also rats and stoats as a bonus), the way they are carefully GPS mapped so they avoid farms and waterways (unlike the bad old days when the pellets were dropped anywhere), and the various bullshit stories and even dangerous sabotage attempts coming from the hunting and/or DOC hating community. The Commissioner is completely bang on with her report, there is no other working alternative. Certainly not bloody trapping. Its a shame the government isn’t interested in slinging more money at the programme so they can cover more ground. Idiots like Dunne and those Graf brothers make me bloody furious.
Recent murmurings from the forgotten coast confirm that for sheep the price per kilo of wool is a handful of dollars, whereas for possum fur it is now one hundred and thirty dollars.
I have not read the report yet but everything in the media today lacks any actual facts and instead is a variation of “I have read the research and concluded that my view is right.” There have been no facts presented as part of the report release today. Subtle. Prove me wrong before this gets completely out of hand. Which it will in a localised way.
Getting out at night shooting the buggers, plucking them the moment they die (best time to pluck them and that about 22 X. That is a lot of hard work for a measly $130 and whether they are a pest or not it’s still a big mammal you have to kill and they are hard to kill. Not fun.
Now all we need are possum shepherds who can individually muster dozens at the time. To heck with 1080, bring back The Dog Show.
And now the news: the sheep dog trials ended in a ruckus when all four were found guilty. Baaaaaad dog! (that one was probably ancient when the Two Ronnies did it).
Hee hee. But it’s viable. A series of traplines checked once every day or two should, in a well populated area, realise a few dozen possums. 15 possums for a kilo of fur. They are quite easy to kill – hold them upside down by the tail and a quick chop to the back of the arching neck. 5 minutes to de-fur when fresh, 15 when not so. Move the traplines steadily back to the next ridge / valley / river and chomp through larger areas. It is entirely feasible. People already do it. Subsidies to the extent of 1080 cost may well be enough to break the back of trapping excuses.
As for 1080, when will we learn? 245t anyone? Or how about asbestos? Formaldehyde? The “authorities” claimed each and every one of these killers was ok too. Pardon me if I am not a believer.
the point is though that it’s not the high income yields for investment in work that you suggest – for the industry to be sustainably if womone worked 8 hours a day on traplines they’d have to get ($130/night*5nights = $650/w) a permanantly sustainable catch rate of 15 possums a night. Not including skinning or treating costs.
And we want skilled workers (even if trappers) to get more than that, as well as the possum industry to be unsustainable, i.e. possum eradication (not farming on DoC reserves).
ianmac Yes Dunne was for more research. Yet he wasn’t interested in the facts presently gathered. I think some of these guys use the idea of research as a delaying tactic so they don’t have to be seen doing something that will aggravate some possible voters. Talk, do nothing and the spotlight will turn away to some other problem.
For sure more research would be good, if government can prise money out of the wealthy’s pockets where they put those tax cuts. Um, sorry, we were a bit out on our budgets for the country and shouldn’t have cut the tax rate like that. We’re sure you’ll understand that we now need it back!
I think bait stations are used where possible aren’t they. Would half and half with 1080 for active depopulation of pests be the right proportion of intervention? I think they should use what they have to in as careful a way as possible. (One email to the station commented on the unlikelihood of Peter Dunne having done the bait station thing, getting out into the wild countryside, crawling through wet grass. You would have to go and put the trap in, bait it, back to check it, then rebait or dispose of the dead animal safely. Then repeat…for quite a while.)
A few years ago, a couple of Density Church members came to my house and asked for money. They appeared to be hyped on some sort of drug or perhaps that was just religious fervour. I engaged in conversation with them for a while but ultimately told them I had nothing to give, which wasn’t far from the truth. Once I had made it clear that I wasn’t going to part with any folding, they skedaddled leaving the gate open on the way out. I thought this rather rude as I had sheep that could’ve escape onto the road. Luckily I noticed, as there are large fines for wandering stock these days.
I could have predicted that one. I heard somebody mention he might be going to work for the UN. I’m not holding my breath in expectation of all his detractors to apologize for their accusations now that he’s been exonerated.
He hasn’t been exonerated (which has a quite explicit meaning and would have required him to stand trial to achieve).
He has not been charged because the evidence did not stack up to something that could be taken to court under a criminal charge. In other words the police did not think that they had even the moderate chance of winning the case.
It could be that he didn’t do whatever the allegation was, or that the alleged activity was not illegal, or that there was insufficient evidence. Unfortunately that is about all that Darren Hughes would or could get publically from the police will be the yes/no about if they are charging him.
I was meaning the word exonerated in the public and not legal sense. Perhaps vindicated would have been more appropriate. Whatever the case, it seems that the damage has been done and not only to his career. It will be a cold day in hell before Phil Goff gets an apology for the almost two weeks of media beat up we were all subjected to.
I believe speculating further when the police have found there is no case to answer would be inappropriate.
I don’t know. The trouble is, it only clears Hughes of criminal charges, but the police won’t go into details. So it means we don’t know if there was anethical or moral breach:
Well if there is no charge he’s innocent in my mind. He should be reinstated and there should be a public apology. The red necked Tory dirty trick brigade have come unstuck . I bet Crosby Textor are furious and licking their wounds.
They should now be exposed, and those responsible should be named .
Yesterday, Martyn Bradbury AKA Bomber declared war on the Jackal for debating issues raised in an article written for Tumeke entitled “Why I can’t vote Green this election.” His blog was inspired by an announcement concerning the political position of the Green Party. The implications of declaring WAR are far ranging as can be seen in the National Government’s “War on Beneficiaries,” which proposes the forced sterilization of Woman on the DPB in some kind of Nazi inspired Eugenics Program…
National knows it’s exact plan. Too early to tell really means that they haven’t softened up the populace enough to accept their radical, right-wing plans that give more power and our wealth to the capitalists yet.
Dont worry, guys and gals, the union movement and the Labour party will stop John Key and his minions dead in their tracks with a series of strongly worded press releases and a tacky website or two.
Yes! You heard right! Peter Dunne is our first Hero of the Week Award winner. I know we give Dunne a bit of stick… I mean who could go past the Bouffant or planking incident without throwing in a few jibes. For now, let’s put that aside. Let’s also out aside the fact that he’s a right-wing politician that’s been supporting the corrupt National Party in their campaign against society. The Jackal believes in the benefits of giving credit where credit is due, so good on ya mate!
I use Clearnet for my e-mail. To reduce spam and phishing, all customers have been sent a letter which in part says:
“Consequently, from 11 July 2011 you will no longer be able to send Clearnet email if you are connected from an overseas location and using email software such as Outlook, Microsoft Mail, Apple Mail etc”
Does this mean that usual e-mail traffic to/from friends overseas will be blocked? Will enquire further tomorrow.
Confusing terminology but what it means is that, if you’re overseas, you won’t be able to send email from a local (on the PC) email client. At a guess I’d say that you’ll still be able to use their web based mail client to send email.
I was out earlier this evening and recorded Back Benchers – have just watched it. I was left absolutely gobsmacked by Hillary Calvert’s antics – sheesh, words fail me. Between her and the MP for New Plymouth – go Andrew Little!! I was also delighted to see Clare Curran in her Highlander’s rugby shirt, after being turfed out of Parliament on Tuesday. It reminded me of a friend who was denied entry into a well known night club in Auckland in the 1960s [can’t recall the name] because he didn’t wear a tie. My friend immediately went outside, divested himself of his shirt, found a tie and went back inside – he was allowed in!!
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The right have a stupid saying that is only occasionally true:When is democracy not democracy? When it hasn’t been voted on.While not true in regards to branches of government such as the judiciary, it’s a philosophy that probably should apply to recently-elected local government councillors. Nevertheless, this concept seemed to ...
Long story short: the Government’s austerity policy has driven the economy into a deeper and longer recession that means it will have to borrow $20 billion more over the next four years than it expected just six months ago. Treasury’s latest forecasts show the National-ACT-NZ First Government’s fiscal strategy of ...
Come and join myself and CTU Chief Economist for a pop-up ‘Hoon’ webinar on the Government’s Half Yearly Economic and Fiscal Update (HYEFU) with paying subscribers to The Kākā for 30 minutes at 5 pm today.Jump on this link on YouTube Livestream to watch our chat. Don’t worry if ...
In 1998, in the wake of the Paremoremo Prison riot, the Department of Corrections established the "Behaviour Management Regime". Prisoners were locked in their cells for 22 or 23 hours a day, with no fresh air, no exercise, no social contact, no entertainment, and in some cases no clothes and ...
New data released by the Treasury shows that the economic policies of this Government have made things worse in the year since they took office, said NZCTU Economist Craig Renney. “Our fiscal indicators are all heading in the wrong direction – with higher levels of debt, a higher deficit, and ...
At the 2023 election, National basically ran on a platform of being better economic managers. So how'd that turn out for us? In just one year, they've fucked us for two full political terms: The government's books are set to remain deeply in the red for the near term ...
AUSTERITYText within this block will maintain its original spacing when publishedMy spreadsheet insists This pain leads straight to glory (File not found) Read more ...
The NZCTU Te Kauae Kaimahi are saying that the Government should do the right thing and deliver minimum wage increases that don’t see workers fall further behind, in response to today’s announcement that the minimum wage will only be increased by 1.5%, well short of forecast inflation. “With inflation forecast ...
Oh, I weptFor daysFilled my eyesWith silly tearsOh, yeaBut I don'tCare no moreI don't care ifMy eyes get soreSongwriters: Paul Rodgers / Paul Kossoff. Read more ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Bob HensonIn this aerial view, fingers of meltwater flow from the melting Isunnguata Sermia glacier descending from the Greenland Ice Sheet on July 11, 2024, near Kangerlussuaq, Greenland. According to the Programme for Monitoring of the Greenland Ice Sheet (PROMICE), the ...
In August, I wrote an article about David Seymour1 with a video of his testimony, to warn that there were grave dangers to his Ministry of Regulation:David Seymour's Ministry of Slush Hides Far Greater RisksWhy Seymour's exorbitant waste of taxpayers' money could be the least of concernThe money for Seymour ...
Willis is expected to have to reveal the bitter fiscal fruits of her austerity strategy in the HYEFU later today. Photo: Lynn Grieveson/TheKakaMōrena. Long stories short, the six things that matter in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, climate and poverty on Tuesday, December 17 in The Kākā’s Dawn Chorus podcast ...
On Friday the government announced it would double the number of toll roads in New Zealand as well as make a few other changes to how toll roads are used in the country. The real issue though is not that tolling is being used but the suggestion it will make ...
The Prime Minister yesterday engaged in what looked like a pre-emptive strike designed to counter what is likely to be a series of depressing economic statistics expected before the end of the week. He opened his weekly post-Cabinet press conference with a recitation of the Government’s achievements. “It certainly has ...
This whooping cough story from south Auckland is a good example of the coalition government’s approach to social need – spend money on urging people to get vaccinated but only after you’ve cut the funding to where they could get vaccinated. This has been the case all year with public ...
And if there is a GodI know he likes to rockHe likes his loud guitarsHis spiders from MarsAnd if there is a GodI know he's watching meHe likes what he seesBut there's trouble on the breezeSongwriter: William Patrick Corgan Read more ...
Here’s a quick round up of today’s political news:1. MORE FOOD BANKS, CHARITIES, DOMESTIC VIOLENCE SHELTERS AND YOUTH SOCIAL SERVICES SET TO CLOSE OR SCALE BACK AROUND THE COUNTRY AS GOVT CUTS FUNDINGSome of Auckland's largest foodbanks are warning they may need to close or significantly reduce food parcels after ...
Iain Rennie, CNZMSecretary and Chief Executive to the TreasuryDear Secretary, Undue restrictions on restricted briefings This week, the Treasury barred representatives from four organisations, including the New Zealand Council of Trade Unions Te Kauae Kaimahi, from attending the restricted briefing for the Half-Year Economic and Fiscal Update. We had been ...
This is a guest post by Tim Adriaansen, a community, climate, and accessibility advocate.I won’t shut up about climate breakdown, and whenever possible I try to shift the focus of a climate conversation towards solutions. But you’ll almost never hear me give more than a passing nod to ...
A grassroots backlash has forced a backdown from Brown, but he is still eyeing up plenty of tolls for other new roads. And the pressure is on Willis to ramp up the Government’s austerity strategy. Photo: Getty ImagesMōrena. Long stories short, the six things that matter in Aotearoa’s political economy ...
Hi all,I'm pretty overwhelmed by all your messages and emails today; thank you so very much.As much as my newsletter this morning was about money, and we all need to earn money, it was mostly about world domination if I'm honest. 😉I really hate what’s happening to our country, and ...
A listing of 23 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, December 8, 2024 thru Sat, December 14, 2024. Listing by Category Like last week's summary this one contains the list of articles twice: based on categories and based on ...
I started writing this morning about Hobson’s Pledge, examining the claims they and their supporters make, basically ripping into them. But I kept getting notifications coming through, and not good ones.Each time I looked up, there was another un-subscription message, and I felt a bit sicker at the thought of ...
Once, long before there was Harry and Meghan and Dodi and all those episodes of The Crown, they came to spend some time with us, Charles and Diana. Was there anyone in the world more glamorous than the Princess of Wales?Dazzled as everyone was by their company, the leader of ...
The collective right have a problem.The entire foundation for their world view is antiscientific. Their preferred economic strategies have been disproven. Their whole neoliberal model faces accusations of corporate corruption and worsening inequality. Climate change not only definitely exists, its rapid progression demands an immediate and expensive response in order ...
National has only been in power for a year, but everywhere you look, its choices are taking New Zealand a long way backwards. In no particular order, here are the National Government's Top 50 Greatest Misses of its first year in power. ...
The Government is quietly undertaking consultation on the dangerous Regulatory Standards Bill over the Christmas period to avoid too much attention. ...
The Government’s planned changes to the freedom of speech obligations of universities is little more than a front for stoking the political fires of disinformation and fear, placing teachers and students in the crosshairs. ...
The Ministry of Regulation’s report into Early Childhood Education (ECE) in Aotearoa raises serious concerns about the possibility of lowering qualification requirements, undermining quality and risking worse outcomes for tamariki, whānau, and kaiako. ...
A Bill to modernise the role of Justices of the Peace (JP), ensuring they remain active in their communities and connected with other JPs, has been put into the ballot. ...
Labour will continue to fight unsustainable and destructive projects that are able to leap-frog environment protection under National’s Fast-track Approvals Bill. ...
The Green Party has warned that a Green Government will revoke the consents of companies who override environmental protections as part of Fast-Track legislation being passed today. ...
The Green Party says the Half Year Economic and Fiscal Update shows how the Government is failing to address the massive social and infrastructure deficits our country faces. ...
The Government’s latest move to reduce the earnings of migrant workers will not only hurt migrants but it will drive down the wages of Kiwi workers. ...
Te Pāti Māori has this morning issued a stern warning to Fast-Track applicants with interests in mining, pledging to hold them accountable through retrospective liability and to immediately revoke Fast-Track consents under a future Te Pāti Māori government. This warning comes ahead of today’s third reading of the Fast-Track Approvals ...
The Government’s announcement today of a 1.5 per cent increase to minimum wage is another blow for workers, with inflation projected to exceed the increase, meaning it’s a real terms pay reduction for many. ...
All the Government has achieved from its announcement today is to continue to push responsibility back on councils for its own lack of action to help bring down skyrocketing rates. ...
The Government has used its final post-Cabinet press conference of the year to punch down on local government without offering any credible solutions to the issues our councils are facing. ...
The Government has failed to keep its promise to ‘super charge’ the EV network, delivering just 292 chargers - less than half of the 670 chargers needed to meet its target. ...
The Green Party is calling for the Government to stop subsidising the largest user of the country’s gas supplies, Methanex, following a report highlighting the multi-national’s disproportionate influence on energy prices in Aotearoa. ...
The Green Party is appalled with the Government’s new child poverty targets that are based on a new ‘persistent poverty’ measure that could be met even with an increase in child poverty. ...
New independent analysis has revealed that the Government’s Emissions Reduction Plan (ERP) will reduce emissions by a measly 1 per cent by 2030, failing to set us up for the future and meeting upcoming targets. ...
The loss of 27 kaimahi at Whakaata Māori and the end of its daily news bulletin is a sad day for Māori media and another step backwards for Te Tiriti o Waitangi justice. ...
Yesterday the Government passed cruel legislation through first reading to establish a new beneficiary sanction regime that will ultimately mean more households cannot afford the basic essentials. ...
Today's passing of the Government's Residential Tenancies Amendment Bill–which allows landlords to end tenancies with no reason–ignores the voice of the people and leaves renters in limbo ahead of the festive season. ...
After wasting a year, Nicola Willis has delivered a worse deal for the Cook Strait ferries that will end up being more expensive and take longer to arrive. ...
Green Party co-leader Chlöe Swarbrick has today launched a Member’s Bill to sanction Israel for its unlawful presence in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, as the All Out For Gaza rally reaches Parliament. ...
After years of advocacy, the Green Party is very happy to hear the Government has listened to our collective voices and announced the closure of the greyhound racing industry, by 1 August 2026. ...
In response to a new report from ERO, the Government has acknowledged the urgent need for consistency across the curriculum for Relationship and Sexuality Education (RSE) in schools. ...
The Green Party is appalled at the Government introducing legislation that will make it easier to penalise workers fighting for better pay and conditions. ...
Thank you for the invitation to speak with you tonight on behalf of the political party I belong to - which is New Zealand First. As we have heard before this evening the Kinleith Mill is proposing to reduce operations by focusing on pulp and discontinuing “lossmaking paper production”. They say that they are currently consulting on the plan to permanently shut ...
Auckland Central MP, Chlöe Swarbrick, has written to Mayor Wayne Brown requesting he stop the unnecessary delays on St James Theatre’s restoration. ...
Kiwis planning a swim or heading out on a boat this summer should remember to stop and think about water safety, Sport & Recreation Minister Chris Bishop and ACC and Associate Transport Minister Matt Doocey say. “New Zealand’s beaches, lakes and rivers are some of the most beautiful in the ...
The Government is urging Kiwis to drive safely this summer and reminding motorists that Police will be out in force to enforce the road rules, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says.“This time of year can be stressful and result in poor decision-making on our roads. Whether you are travelling to see ...
Health Minister Dr Shane Reti says Health New Zealand will move swiftly to support dozens of internationally-trained doctors already in New Zealand on their journey to employment here, after a tripling of sought-after examination places. “The Medical Council has delivered great news for hardworking overseas doctors who want to contribute ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has appointed Sarah Ottrey to the APEC Business Advisory Council (ABAC). “At my first APEC Summit in Lima, I experienced firsthand the role that ABAC plays in guaranteeing political leaders hear the voice of business,” Mr Luxon says. “New Zealand’s ABAC representatives are very well respected and ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has announced four appointments to New Zealand’s intelligence oversight functions. The Honourable Robert Dobson KC has been appointed Chief Commissioner of Intelligence Warrants, and the Honourable Brendan Brown KC has been appointed as a Commissioner of Intelligence Warrants. The appointments of Hon Robert Dobson and Hon ...
Improvements in the average time it takes to process survey and title applications means housing developments can progress more quickly, Minister for Land Information Chris Penk says. “The government is resolutely focused on improving the building and construction pipeline,” Mr Penk says. “Applications to issue titles and subdivide land are ...
The Government’s measures to reduce airport wait times, and better transparency around flight disruptions is delivering encouraging early results for passengers ahead of the busy summer period, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Improving the efficiency of air travel is a priority for the Government to give passengers a smoother, more reliable ...
The Government today announced the intended closure of the Apollo Hotel as Contracted Emergency Housing (CEH) in Rotorua, Associate Housing Minister Tama Potaka says. This follows a 30 per cent reduction in the number of households in CEH in Rotorua since National came into Government. “Our focus is on ending CEH in the Whakarewarewa area starting ...
The Government will reshape vocational education and training to return decision making to regions and enable greater industry input into work-based learning Tertiary Education and Skills Minister, Penny Simmonds says. “The redesigned system will better meet the needs of learners, industry, and the economy. It includes re-establishing regional polytechnics that ...
The Government is taking action to better manage synthetic refrigerants and reduce emissions caused by greenhouse gases found in heating and cooling products, Environment Minister Penny Simmonds says. “Regulations will be drafted to support a product stewardship scheme for synthetic refrigerants, Ms. Simmonds says. “Synthetic refrigerants are found in a ...
People travelling on State Highway 1 north of Hamilton will be relieved that remedial works and safety improvements on the Ngāruawāhia section of the Waikato Expressway were finished today, with all lanes now open to traffic, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says.“I would like to acknowledge the patience of road users ...
Tertiary Education and Skills Minister, Penny Simmonds, has announced a new appointment to the board of Education New Zealand (ENZ). Dr Erik Lithander has been appointed as a new member of the ENZ board for a three-year term until 30 January 2028. “I would like to welcome Dr Erik Lithander to the ...
The Government will have senior representatives at Waitangi Day events around the country, including at the Waitangi Treaty Grounds, but next year Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has chosen to take part in celebrations elsewhere. “It has always been my intention to celebrate Waitangi Day around the country with different ...
Two more criminal gangs will be subject to the raft of laws passed by the Coalition Government that give Police more powers to disrupt gang activity, and the intimidation they impose in our communities, Police Minister Mark Mitchell says. Following an Order passed by Cabinet, from 3 February 2025 the ...
Attorney-General Judith Collins today announced the appointment of Justice Christian Whata as a Judge of the Court of Appeal. Justice Whata’s appointment as a Judge of the Court of Appeal will take effect on 1 August 2025 and fill a vacancy created by the retirement of Hon Justice David Goddard on ...
The latest economic figures highlight the importance of the steps the Government has taken to restore respect for taxpayers’ money and drive economic growth, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. Data released today by Stats NZ shows Gross Domestic Product fell 1 per cent in the September quarter. “Treasury and most ...
Tertiary Education and Skills Minister Penny Simmonds and Associate Minister of Education David Seymour today announced legislation changes to strengthen freedom of speech obligations on universities. “Freedom of speech is fundamental to the concept of academic freedom and there is concern that universities seem to be taking a more risk-averse ...
Police Minister, Mark Mitchell, and Internal Affairs Minister, Brooke van Velden, today launched a further Public Safety Network cellular service that alongside last year’s Cellular Roaming roll-out, puts globally-leading cellular communications capability into the hands of our emergency responders. The Public Safety Network’s new Cellular Priority service means Police, Wellington ...
State Highway 1 through the Mangamuka Gorge has officially reopened today, providing a critical link for Northlanders and offering much-needed relief ahead of the busy summer period, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says.“The Mangamuka Gorge is a vital route for Northland, carrying around 1,300 vehicles per day and connecting the Far ...
The Government has welcomed decisions by the NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) and Ashburton District Council confirming funding to boost resilience in the Canterbury region, with construction on a second Ashburton Bridge expected to begin in 2026, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Delivering a second Ashburton Bridge to improve resilience and ...
The Government is backing the response into high pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) in Otago, Biosecurity Minister Andrew Hoggard says. “Cabinet has approved new funding of $20 million to enable MPI to meet unbudgeted ongoing expenses associated with the H7N6 response including rigorous scientific testing of samples at the enhanced PC3 ...
Legislation that will repeal all advertising restrictions for broadcasters on Sundays and public holidays has passed through first reading in Parliament today, Media Minister Paul Goldsmith says. “As a growing share of audiences get their news and entertainment from streaming services, these restrictions have become increasingly redundant. New Zealand on ...
Today the House agreed to Brendan Horsley being appointed Inspector-General of Defence, Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith says. “Mr Horsley’s experience will be invaluable in overseeing the establishment of the new office and its support networks. “He is currently Inspector-General of Intelligence and Security, having held that role since June 2020. ...
Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden says the Government has agreed to the final regulations for the levy on insurance contracts that will fund Fire and Emergency New Zealand from July 2026. “Earlier this year the Government agreed to a 2.2 percent increase to the rate of levy. Fire ...
The Government is delivering regulatory relief for New Zealand businesses through changes to the Anti-Money Laundering and Countering Financing of Terrorism Act. “The Anti-Money Laundering and Countering Financing of Terrorism Amendment Bill, which was introduced today, is the second Bill – the other being the Statutes Amendment Bill - that ...
Transport Minister Simeon Brown has welcomed further progress on the Hawke’s Bay Expressway Road of National Significance (RoNS), with the NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) Board approving funding for the detailed design of Stage 1, paving the way for main works construction to begin in late 2025.“The Government is moving at ...
The Government today released a request for information (RFI) to seeking interest in partnerships to plant trees on Crown-owned land with low farming and conservation value (excluding National Parks) Forestry Minister Todd McClay announced. “Planting trees on Crown-owned land will drive economic growth by creating more forestry jobs in our regions, providing more wood ...
Court timeliness, access to justice, and improving the quality of existing regulation are the focus of a series of law changes introduced to Parliament today by Associate Minister of Justice Nicole McKee. The three Bills in the Regulatory Systems (Justice) Amendment Bill package each improve a different part of the ...
A total of 41 appointments and reappointments have been made to the 12 community trusts around New Zealand that serve their regions, Associate Finance Minister Shane Jones says. “These trusts, and the communities they serve from the Far North to the deep south, will benefit from the rich experience, knowledge, ...
The Government has confirmed how it will provide redress to survivors who were tortured at the Lake Alice Psychiatric Hospital Child and Adolescent Unit (the Lake Alice Unit). “The Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care found that many of the 362 children who went through the Lake Alice Unit between 1972 and ...
It has been a busy, productive year in the House as the coalition Government works hard to get New Zealand back on track, Leader of the House Chris Bishop says. “This Government promised to rebuild the economy, restore law and order and reduce the cost of living. Our record this ...
“Accelerated silicosis is an emerging occupational disease caused by unsafe work such as engineered stone benchtops. I am running a standalone consultation on engineered stone to understand what the industry is currently doing to manage the risks, and whether further regulatory intervention is needed,” says Workplace Relations and Safety Minister ...
Mehemea he pai mō te tangata, mahia – if it’s good for the people, get on with it. Enhanced reporting on the public sector’s delivery of Treaty settlement commitments will help improve outcomes for Māori and all New Zealanders, Māori Crown Relations Minister Tama Potaka says. Compiled together for the ...
Mr Roger Holmes Miller and Ms Tarita Hutchinson have been appointed to the Charities Registration Board, Community and Voluntary Sector Minister Louise Upston says. “I would like to welcome the new members joining the Charities Registration Board. “The appointment of Ms Hutchinson and Mr Miller will strengthen the Board’s capacity ...
More building consent and code compliance applications are being processed within the statutory timeframe since the Government required councils to submit quarterly data, Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk says. “In the midst of a housing shortage we need to look at every step of the build process for efficiencies ...
Mental Health Minister Matt Doocey is proud to announce the first three recipients of the Government’s $10 million Mental Health and Addiction Community Sector Innovation Fund which will enable more Kiwis faster access to mental health and addiction support. “This fund is part of the Government’s commitment to investing in ...
New Zealand is providing Vanuatu assistance following yesterday's devastating earthquake, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says. "Vanuatu is a member of our Pacific family and we are supporting it in this time of acute need," Mr Peters says. "Our thoughts are with the people of Vanuatu, and we will be ...
The Government welcomes the Commerce Commission’s plan to reduce card fees for Kiwis by an estimated $260 million a year, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly says.“The Government is relentlessly focused on reducing the cost of living, so Kiwis can keep more of their hard-earned income and live a ...
Regulation Minister David Seymour has welcomed the Early Childhood Education (ECE) regulatory review report, the first major report from the Ministry for Regulation. The report makes 15 recommendations to modernise and simplify regulations across ECE so services can get on with what they do best – providing safe, high-quality care ...
The Government‘s Offshore Renewable Energy Bill to create a new regulatory regime that will enable firms to construct offshore wind generation has passed its first reading in Parliament, Energy Minister Simeon Brown says.“New Zealand currently does not have a regulatory regime for offshore renewable energy as the previous government failed ...
Kick Back has growing concerns about the impact that denying young people access to shelter is having on the mental health and physical safety of the young people we serve. ...
By Litia Cava, FBC News multimedia journalist Fiji Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka has revealed how arms and ammunition used to conduct the 1987 military coup were secretly brought into Fiji on board a naval survey ship. Speaking at the commissioning of a new research vessel for the Lands and Mineral ...
Youth advocates are worried tighter rules for emergency housing could lead to someone dying due to the impacts on mental health and physical safety for those denied shelter. ...
“We urge the Health Select Committee to extend the date for submissions,” concluded Rev Bush. “There is too much at stake to leave the outcome of this review only in the hands of politicians or those with vested interests.” ...
A separate passport, citizenship and membership of the United Nations are only available to fully independent nations, Winston Peters' office says. ...
By Emma Andrews, Henare te Ua Māori Journalism Intern at RNZ News The New Zealand fuel company Z Energy is swapping out street names for “correct” kupu on service stops around the country, with the help of local hapū. When Z took over 226 fuel sites from Shell in 2010, ...
Summer reissue: Was it a false measurement, a full-blown conspiracy or just some mild incompetence? Mad Chapman uncovers the truth of Maddi Wesche’s final throw. The Spinoff needs to double the number of paying members we have to continue telling these kinds of stories. Please read our open letter and ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Julie Old, Associate Professor, Biology, Zoology, Animal Science, Western Sydney University Dmitry Chulov, Shutterstock At this time of year, images of reindeer are everywhere. I’ve had a soft spot for reindeer ever since I was a little girl. Doesn’t everyone? ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Grozdana Manalo, Career Services Manager (Education), University of Sydney hedgehog94/Shutterstock Getting casual work over summer, or a part-time job that you might continue once your tertiary course starts, can be a great way to get workplace experience and earn some extra ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ty Ferguson, Research associate in exercise, nutrition and activity, University of South Australia Peera_Stockfoto/Shutterstock It’s never been easier to stay connected to work. Even when we’re on leave, our phones and laptops keep us tethered. Many of us promise ourselves we ...
The NZ Media Council upheld the complaint under principle four: comment and fact On 5 September 2024, The Spinoff published a brief article titled Made in Palestine, found in 1970s Hastings, which highlighted an upcoming art exhibition featuring photographs of vintage cosmetic products labelled “Made in Palestine.” The piece, described ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kasey Symons, Lecturer of Communication, Sports Media, Deakin University We are well and truly in cricket season. The Australian men’s cricket team is taking centre stage against India in the Border Gavaskar Trophy series while the Big Bash League is underway, as ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Andrew Woods, Lecturer, Nursing, Faculty of Health, Southern Cross University FTiare/Shutterstock Summer is here and for many that means going to the beach. You grab your swimmers, beach towel and sunscreen then maybe check the weather forecast. Did you think to ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Saman Khalesi, Senior Lecturer and Discipline Lead in Nutrition, School of Health, Medical and Applied Sciences, CQUniversity Australia Dean Clarke/Shutterstock The holiday season can be a time of joy, celebration, and indulgence in delicious foods and meals. However, for many, it ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ari Mattes, Lecturer in Communications and Media, University of Notre Dame Australia Late Night With The Devil. Maslow Entertainment Marketing is critical to the success of commercial films, and companies will often spend half as much again on top of the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Francisco Jose Testa, Lecturer in Earth Sciences (Mineralogy, Petrology & Geochemistry), University of Tasmania The Conversation As a kid, it was tough for me to grasp the massive time scale of Earth’s history. Now, with nearly two decades of experience as ...
Te Pāti Māori has had to adopt a new way of debating, operating and even thinking in Parliament in response to the Government’s “onslaught” against te ao Māori, co-leader Debbie Ngarewa-Packer says.In an end-of-year interview with Newsroom, the Te Tai Hauauru MP reflected on how 2024 has differed from her ...
Opinion: The latest Trends in International Mathematics and Science report was announced earlier this month, yet it didn’t get the flurry of media attention and political hand-wringing that typically accompanies these announcements. This might be because it presented good news, or you could argue, no news; the results paint a ...
NewsroomBy Dr Lisa Darragh, Dr Raewyn Eden and Dr David Pomeroy
At long last, The Spinoff shells out for a nut ranking. The Spinoff needs to double the number of paying members we have to continue telling these kinds of stories. Please read our open letter and sign up to be a member today.It recently came to The Spinoff’s attention ...
I was one of hundreds of people who lost my government job this week. Here’s exactly how it played out. The Spinoff needs to double the number of paying members we have to continue telling these kinds of stories. Please read our open letter and sign up to be a ...
Summer reissue: One anxiously attentive passenger pays attention to an in-flight safety video, and wonders ‘Why can’t I pick up my own phone?’ The Spinoff needs to double the number of paying members we have to continue telling these kinds of stories. Please read our open letter and sign up ...
Summer reissue: Why do those Lange-Douglas years cast such a long shadow 40 years on? The Spinoff needs to double the number of paying members we have to continue telling these kinds of stories. Please read our open letter and sign up to be a member today. First published June ...
Loading…(function(i,s,o,g,r,a,m){var ql=document.querySelectorAll('A[data-quiz],DIV[data-quiz]'); if(ql){if(ql.length){for(var k=0;k<ql.length;k++){ql[k].id='quiz-embed-'+k;ql[k].href="javascript:var i=document.getElementById('quiz-embed-"+k+"');try{qz.startQuiz(i)}catch(e){i.start=1;i.style.cursor='wait';i.style.opacity='0.5'};void(0);"}}};i['QP']=r;i[r]=i[r]||function(){(i[r].q=i[r].q||[]).push(arguments)},i[r].l=1*new Date();a=s.createElement(o),m=s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];a.async=1;a.src=g;m.parentNode.insertBefore(a,m)})(window,document,'script','https://take.quiz-maker.com/3012/CDN/quiz-embed-v1.js','qp');Got a good quiz question?Send Newsroom your questions.The post Newsroom daily quiz, Monday 23 December appeared first on Newsroom. ...
The Government’s social housing agency has backed out of a billion-dollar infrastructure alliance that would have built about 6000 new homes in Auckland – less than 18 months after signing a five-year extension.Labour says the decision to rip up the contract and sell off existing state houses could lead to ...
An unrelenting faith in “swift transition” has driven Tauranga Whai to their first Tauihi Basketball Aotearoa championship. At a boisterous Queen Elizabeth Youth Centre, the visiting Tokomanawa Queens were blown away 90-71 in the final.Whai led by 20 points at halftime as their urgent movement and unflinching faith in three-point shooting from anywhere ...
ByKoroi Hawkins, RNZ Pacific editor New Zealand’s Urban Search and Rescue (USAR) says impending bad weather for Port Vila is now the most significant post-quake hazard. A tropical low in the Coral Sea is expected to move into Vanuatu waters, bringing heavy rainfall. Authorities have issued warnings to people ...
Cosmic CatastropheThe year draws to a close.King Luxon has grown tired of the long eveningsListening to the dreary squabbling of his Triumvirate.He strolls up to the top floor of the PalaceTo consult with his Astronomer Royal.The Royal Telescope scans the skies,And King Luxon stares up into the heavensFrom the terrestrial ...
Spinoff editor Mad Chapman and books editor Claire Mabey debate Carl Shuker’s new novel about… an editor. Claire: Hello Mad, you just finished The Royal Free – overall impressions? Mad: Hi Claire, I literally just put the book down and I would have to say my immediate impression is ...
Christmas and its buildup are often lonely, hard and full of unreasonable expectations. Here’s how to make it to Jesus’s birthday and find the little bit of joy we all deserve. Have you found this year relentless? Has the latest Apple update “fucked up your life”? Have you lost two ...
Despite overwhelming public and corporate support, the government has stalled progress on a modern day slavery law. That puts us behind other countries – and makes Christmas a time of tragedy rather than joy, argues Shanti Mathias. Picture the scene on Christmas Day. Everyone replete with nice things to eat, ...
Asia Pacific Report “It looks like Hiroshima. It looks like Germany at the end of World War Two,” says an Israeli-American historian and professor of holocaust and genocide studies at Brown University about the horrifying reality of Gaza. Professor Omer Bartov, has described Israel’s ongoing war on Gaza as an ...
The New Zealand government coalition is tweaking university regulations to curb what it says is an increasingly “risk-averse approach” to free speech. The proposed changes will set clear expectations on how universities should approach freedom of speech issues. Each university will then have to adopt a “freedom of speech statement” ...
Report by Dr David Robie – Café Pacific. – COMMENTARY: By Caitlin Johnstone New York prosecutors have charged Luigi Mangione with “murder as an act of terrorism” in his alleged shooting of health insurance CEO Brian Thompson earlier this month. This news comes out at the same time as ...
Pacific Media Watch The union for Australian journalists has welcomed the delivery by the federal government of more than $150 million to support the sustainability of public interest journalism over the next four years. Combined with the announcement of the revamped News Bargaining Initiative, this could result in up to ...
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Labour MP for Mangere to table Tax Justice petition before parliament.
As well as calling for the removal of GST off all food. The Tax Justice Petition calls for a Financial Transaction Tax on speculation. Currently the billions made by financiers like John Key and his ‘trader’ mates, goes untaxed. While food is taxed. This is why the campaign is called Tax Justice.
New Zealanders can sign an online version of the Tax Justice petition here
Thank you for bringing this petition to my attention Jenny, I have just signed it and will urge my friends and family to do so as well.
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Hi Jilly, You might like this.
Kind regards Jenny
Todays Huffington Post in support of increasing mimimum wages
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/06/07/minimum-wage-increase-help-economy-experts_n_872617.html
‘
It may be little wonder that even conservative media are considering increasing minimum wages as US workers share of national income has fallen to its lowest point in modern history
Echoing the concerns expressed at the Huffington Post on this level of inequality, David Rosenberg asks, “Is this sustainable?”
Sounds familiar Peter : “…..higher minimum wages flush more money into the economy without cutting into job growth — the latter a long-held contention of business interests and many conservatives.”
Is Christchurch going to come through this ok? Will the people return to at least the same as before and the economy rapidly gain its former capacity?
I don’t know, and there seem to be murmurings along these lines. There still seems to be a steady but low exodus from the city. Hundreds and hundreds of empty houses for rent. Businesses chopped down and evaporating.
Hope these thoughts are in the wrong direction but doubts are creeping in here and there.
Maybe what would help is some large scale demolition. Knock down a couple of the large buildings asap in order to show that progress is happenning.
Then again, only two weeks until the shortest day!
I think that history shows us that there is something akin to the “grieving process” that follows disasters like this.
One of those things that happen is the phase where the problem looks so big and the effort so little that people despair can set in – where you wonder how life can ever be “normal” again.
Human’s are resilient, very adaptive and have the smarts to survive. Human’s have throughout time adapted to changes in their physical environment and rebuilt that which has been destroyed.
Christchurch has taken a hit and, like the aftershocks, there is more to come as people adjust to the new realities (i.e. the need to relocate, the need to start a new business and or close an old one, dealing with the loss of investment etc).
When we build a life for ourselves we do so over time. Buy a car, lay down a lawn, build a house, get a job, move house, fix the plumbing, get the kids into a school.
But with an earthquake, not only is what you have built up over time destroyed or changed in a short time, you have to rebuild any number of things in a short time. Then you have to adapt to changes in the city – cafes you went to aren’t there anymore, the route you take to work doesn’t exist anymore, your morning walk no longer has the trees you loved.
All in all that is a HUGE number of stressors in with a short time in which to adapt.
Things will be “normal” again for Christchurch. Not “the same” but normal.
I feel (as much as I am able:-) ) for the burden that Chch people have to carry.
Having said all that, (and as an aside) the Christchurch earthquake was an obvious change that needs to be adapted to and humans will adapt.
It’s the slow stuff that worries me. The insidious creep of climate change may blind us to the urgent need to adapt.
Hi VTO,
I think that William Joyce has it right. Grieving is what you may have to do for all that is lost. I have gone through major changes forced on me by outside forces and while I tried to hold on to all that was familiar to me I found I could not move on until I acknowledged and grieved for all that I lost and I lost all.
It has taken me years and I still grief of and on but it gets easier in time and you and Christchurch will rebuild. It’s human nature.
Kind regards
Ev
I lived in Christchurch for 10 years when it was still beautiful. Went back after 22Feb; it’s a wreck, it will never be the same. I came up to Auckland for work just before all the quakes began and I’m sorry to say I have no desire to go back.. too depressing and messed up 🙁
Well I read a report the other day saying that Christchurch has had a total of 21 new housing consents since Sept last year, for replacing earthquake damaged housing.
At this pitiful run rate, they’ll still be fixing up houses from the recent Christchurch earthquake damage in the 24th/25th century.
Insurance companies are being slow to pay out, they are waiting for engineers to figure out how to stabilise the ground under those damaged properties, seems like a catch-22
While our bankster elite (both John and Don are after all finance boys firmly connected to the financial Wall street elite and the neocon boys through friendships and business relationships with Armitage, Geitner and Milton Friedman to name a few) advance the agenda of the international banksters here is a video of family members of some of those who died on the day it all began; 9/11 2001.
They still have questions and so do 1500+ architects and engineers.
And why did people bet on the airplane companies to loose value in the week of 911. Oh and on Merrill Lynch too?
These ads are shown all over the US and with the UK marines of the coast of Yemen and 2000 US marines ready to invade Libya and New Zealand under attack from the Neocons scheisters who started it all I feel it is important to keep reminding people that this is not going away.
For more background information on the coordinated financial attack all the countries in the European/US region of influence (New Zealand amongst them) are currently suffering and the ongoing implementation of the NeoCon agenda in the middle East read up on it here.
There are still hundreds of questions not answered about the events that opened the door to all these developments and we will not stop until the family members, architects and engineers have those answers.
Surprising in the educated bloggers here that a number use loose instead of lose. I get the right meaning from the context, but why the mistake? I have seen it on Jackal’s posts and others too.
Try thinking of loose change in the pocket, though you can lose that. I think I need a better example.
Lost loose losers losing loose change usually means loose lost brains losing looseness. Lost?.
vto Now that’s education for you – Anne Tolley look and marvel.
It is the damn spell checkers. I notice it myself (and not just on the iPad). I check for spelling errors by looking at the spelling error highlights. If a word is spelt correctly but is the wrong variant then I don’t see it.
The classic examples in these pages is ‘you’ when people mean ‘your’. It shows up in posts and comments everywhere.
The converse is also true. I’m just itching to change ‘spelt’ because it shows as an error because of the idiot dictionary on this system.
Now, now, stop blaming the machinery 😛
I once chugged out an entire 12k word assignment that used, in every instance (which is quite often in an assignment on party leadership changes), “lead” instead of “led” because it was a bit rushed and I was reading it in my head to sound like “head” not “heed”. Interesting that my brain was full of the base metal I was spelling 🙂
I don’t like the USA bias which means a word with s is often underlined because it should be z. Myself I like to keep z as a rare letter for when I play scrabble for high stakes. Other USAisms intrude too but I find spell checker helpful, it does pick up the errors which occur more often since the last upgrade of the Opera browser when the font for the standard decreased straining my eyesight, and some of my keys are so worn that the wrong alpha gets up. Machinery!
Exactly! I use Open Orifice and make certain it’s set to UK English (as NZ English isn’t an option weirdly..) When I use Word (only occasionally), it defaults back to US English, and quite insanely, many language schools offer only US English on their computers – I say insanely because many students I’ve had, have come to NZ because they want to avoid learning US dialect…
That reminds me of a story I heard years ago from a woman working as a temp dicta-typist, who got into a power of trouble for typing “The morning Jew lay gently on the grass”… 😀
Spelt as in the grain? Try meaning ‘fora’ (plural of forums in Microsoft Word. It simply won’t allow it, which caused trouble in an essay I was writing for linguistics in 2003)
vicky 32 That sentence obviously should have been “The mourning Jew lay gently on the grass…” 😯
That’s poetry vto.
Smarmy Peter Dunne. On Morning Report about 1080 with his own particular brand of common sense. Which is to heap an attitude of nonsense on anything that he doesn’t agree with. And the report saying that more 1080 is needed, and that the use of it has been refined so that it achieves its goals with minimum downside, he can’t agree with. Because he has become spokesperson for the huntin, shootin community. That is the constituency he has adopted, and vice versa, and he needs some group to back his Greta Garbo party (she was known for a comment that she ‘Wanted to be alone’). His ‘ commonsense’ approach is to point out the failure of 1080 so far to completely solve the problem of defoliating and predating furry critters, possums, rats etc etc which breed like billyoh out in the back country. Trappers should be used providing employment, but the wild areas of NZ are extremely hard to work in, and that method is impossibly expensive for government.
He was arguing against two women, one from Forest and Bird which he tried to portray as soft-headed greenies, and (thanks google) Dr Jan Wright [who]was sworn in as Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment for a five-year term on 5 March 2007. Jan has a multidisciplinary background … He called their argument emotional during his forthright emotional rant and brought up various nice ideas such as trappers and possum fur providing jobs (impossible as the large number of possums required for a viable business would increase their numbers and stymie the drive to urgently decrease their destructive reign.)
He thinks the environment should be sacrificed so that jobs can be created, he can get the hunting votes, and he can stay in parliament to dole out his common sense. And the hunters say they care for the environment and want to protect it. They care about their own interests, the ease of finding targets, and their hunting dogs which can fall prey to 1080 as they range around. But one dog can kill 200 kiwi in a short time. So the hunters as a group have members who are destroying protected wild life themselves. And the environmental lobby fears that all kiwi will vanish with this sort of predation and other problems, in a few decades.
“Because he has become spokesperson for the huntin, shootin community.”
They were nearly a political Party weren’t they Prism, but became instead a lobby group funneled through Mr Dunne. Funny therefore that Mr Dunne should blast a scientific report? No?
The discussion on 9 to noon about 9:30 ish ended with an American damning the use of aerial dropping of 1080. He said NZ was the only country who used this method, and therefore it must be wrong! Really?
He did say that there should be a research project set up. That would be good.
1 third with no action.
1 third aerial drop.
1 third bait station.
His rant about making a fur trapping business for export growth was clearly him just mouthing the right words.
If industrial-scale fur trapping were a viable business, it would already exist. The 1080 coverage is said to be a very very small percentage of all DOC lands, so there’s nothing stopping him from setting up a fur business dealing to possums in the rest of the country. I would suggest (don’t know, but I’m assuming) that the DOC areas with 1080 aerial drops are in the parts of the country where other methods of control aren’t feasible anyway.
lanthanide That’s what I have heard. That 1080 is essential for the most inacessible areas.
I have some insider knowledge of 1080 drops, their impressive results (possums and also rats and stoats as a bonus), the way they are carefully GPS mapped so they avoid farms and waterways (unlike the bad old days when the pellets were dropped anywhere), and the various bullshit stories and even dangerous sabotage attempts coming from the hunting and/or DOC hating community. The Commissioner is completely bang on with her report, there is no other working alternative. Certainly not bloody trapping. Its a shame the government isn’t interested in slinging more money at the programme so they can cover more ground. Idiots like Dunne and those Graf brothers make me bloody furious.
Recent murmurings from the forgotten coast confirm that for sheep the price per kilo of wool is a handful of dollars, whereas for possum fur it is now one hundred and thirty dollars.
I have not read the report yet but everything in the media today lacks any actual facts and instead is a variation of “I have read the research and concluded that my view is right.” There have been no facts presented as part of the report release today. Subtle. Prove me wrong before this gets completely out of hand. Which it will in a localised way.
Of course, there is a relative cost in getting that kilo of possum fur vs a kilo of wool.
Getting out at night shooting the buggers, plucking them the moment they die (best time to pluck them and that about 22 X. That is a lot of hard work for a measly $130 and whether they are a pest or not it’s still a big mammal you have to kill and they are hard to kill. Not fun.
Yes the land comes free for a start
Lol.
Now all we need are possum shepherds who can individually muster dozens at the time. To heck with 1080, bring back The Dog Show.
And now the news: the sheep dog trials ended in a ruckus when all four were found guilty. Baaaaaad dog! (that one was probably ancient when the Two Ronnies did it).
Hee hee. But it’s viable. A series of traplines checked once every day or two should, in a well populated area, realise a few dozen possums. 15 possums for a kilo of fur. They are quite easy to kill – hold them upside down by the tail and a quick chop to the back of the arching neck. 5 minutes to de-fur when fresh, 15 when not so. Move the traplines steadily back to the next ridge / valley / river and chomp through larger areas. It is entirely feasible. People already do it. Subsidies to the extent of 1080 cost may well be enough to break the back of trapping excuses.
As for 1080, when will we learn? 245t anyone? Or how about asbestos? Formaldehyde? The “authorities” claimed each and every one of these killers was ok too. Pardon me if I am not a believer.
Add vioxx and synthetic red food colouring to the list. Mobile phone radiation too…
the point is though that it’s not the high income yields for investment in work that you suggest – for the industry to be sustainably if womone worked 8 hours a day on traplines they’d have to get ($130/night*5nights = $650/w) a permanantly sustainable catch rate of 15 possums a night. Not including skinning or treating costs.
And we want skilled workers (even if trappers) to get more than that, as well as the possum industry to be unsustainable, i.e. possum eradication (not farming on DoC reserves).
ianmac Yes Dunne was for more research. Yet he wasn’t interested in the facts presently gathered. I think some of these guys use the idea of research as a delaying tactic so they don’t have to be seen doing something that will aggravate some possible voters. Talk, do nothing and the spotlight will turn away to some other problem.
For sure more research would be good, if government can prise money out of the wealthy’s pockets where they put those tax cuts. Um, sorry, we were a bit out on our budgets for the country and shouldn’t have cut the tax rate like that. We’re sure you’ll understand that we now need it back!
I think bait stations are used where possible aren’t they. Would half and half with 1080 for active depopulation of pests be the right proportion of intervention? I think they should use what they have to in as careful a way as possible. (One email to the station commented on the unlikelihood of Peter Dunne having done the bait station thing, getting out into the wild countryside, crawling through wet grass. You would have to go and put the trap in, bait it, back to check it, then rebait or dispose of the dead animal safely. Then repeat…for quite a while.)
Had to put this tweet up:
by @paulwaite
oh I like that
The King of Destiny Church
http://thejackalman.blogspot.com/2011/06/king-of-destiny-church.html
A few years ago, a couple of Density Church members came to my house and asked for money. They appeared to be hyped on some sort of drug or perhaps that was just religious fervour. I engaged in conversation with them for a while but ultimately told them I had nothing to give, which wasn’t far from the truth. Once I had made it clear that I wasn’t going to part with any folding, they skedaddled leaving the gate open on the way out. I thought this rather rude as I had sheep that could’ve escape onto the road. Luckily I noticed, as there are large fines for wandering stock these days.
Breaking news on Stuff: “Darren Hughes will not be charged – police.”
What now for Darren Hughes?
Will he make a return to politics?
Can he do this at the next election?
I could have predicted that one. I heard somebody mention he might be going to work for the UN. I’m not holding my breath in expectation of all his detractors to apologize for their accusations now that he’s been exonerated.
He hasn’t been exonerated (which has a quite explicit meaning and would have required him to stand trial to achieve).
He has not been charged because the evidence did not stack up to something that could be taken to court under a criminal charge. In other words the police did not think that they had even the moderate chance of winning the case.
It could be that he didn’t do whatever the allegation was, or that the alleged activity was not illegal, or that there was insufficient evidence. Unfortunately that is about all that Darren Hughes would or could get publically from the police will be the yes/no about if they are charging him.
I was meaning the word exonerated in the public and not legal sense. Perhaps vindicated would have been more appropriate. Whatever the case, it seems that the damage has been done and not only to his career. It will be a cold day in hell before Phil Goff gets an apology for the almost two weeks of media beat up we were all subjected to.
I believe speculating further when the police have found there is no case to answer would be inappropriate.
I don’t know. The trouble is, it only clears Hughes of criminal charges, but the police won’t go into details. So it means we don’t know if there was anethical or moral breach:
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/5116263/No-charges-against-former-Labour-MP-Darren-Hughes
Well if there is no charge he’s innocent in my mind. He should be reinstated and there should be a public apology. The red necked Tory dirty trick brigade have come unstuck . I bet Crosby Textor are furious and licking their wounds.
They should now be exposed, and those responsible should be named .
Bomber Declares War on the Jackal
Yesterday, Martyn Bradbury AKA Bomber declared war on the Jackal for debating issues raised in an article written for Tumeke entitled “Why I can’t vote Green this election.” His blog was inspired by an announcement concerning the political position of the Green Party. The implications of declaring WAR are far ranging as can be seen in the National Government’s “War on Beneficiaries,” which proposes the forced sterilization of Woman on the DPB in some kind of Nazi inspired Eugenics Program…
Here we go again.
National are really starting to get their ducks in a row, but using the usual vague dissembling language they are becoming known for. Just a “a couple of initiatives around industrial relations, but what those are it’s too early for us to tell,” ‘Too early to tell’ but apparently early enough to give the teaser to RNZ (at least) about bargaining agents.
Talk about a forked tongue. I keep waiting for the metaphorical young boy in the media to shout “the emperor has no clothes”.
National knows it’s exact plan. Too early to tell really means that they haven’t softened up the populace enough to accept their radical, right-wing plans that give more power and our wealth to the capitalists yet.
Dont worry, guys and gals, the union movement and the Labour party will stop John Key and his minions dead in their tracks with a series of strongly worded press releases and a tacky website or two.
This is the link I meant to include above.
Hero of the Week Award – Peter Dunne
Yes! You heard right! Peter Dunne is our first Hero of the Week Award winner. I know we give Dunne a bit of stick… I mean who could go past the Bouffant or planking incident without throwing in a few jibes. For now, let’s put that aside. Let’s also out aside the fact that he’s a right-wing politician that’s been supporting the corrupt National Party in their campaign against society. The Jackal believes in the benefits of giving credit where credit is due, so good on ya mate!
Worth a look
http://www.dailymotion.com/user/OneWorldTV/subscriptions/2011-06-08/1:1?mode=playlist&from=email_subscriptiondigestusers&utm_source=Email&utm_medium=Email&utm_content=SubscriptionDigestUsers&utm_campaign=Alert-SubscriptionDigestUsers#videoId=xj5okw
This compelling tour of developing countries on the front line of climate
change shows the impacts they are experiencing today.Community organisers,
government ministers, development workers and aid donors speak out. A
special CDKN collaboration with OneWorld films.http://www.oneworldgroup.org
I use Clearnet for my e-mail. To reduce spam and phishing, all customers have been sent a letter which in part says:
“Consequently, from 11 July 2011 you will no longer be able to send Clearnet email if you are connected from an overseas location and using email software such as Outlook, Microsoft Mail, Apple Mail etc”
Does this mean that usual e-mail traffic to/from friends overseas will be blocked? Will enquire further tomorrow.
Confusing terminology but what it means is that, if you’re overseas, you won’t be able to send email from a local (on the PC) email client. At a guess I’d say that you’ll still be able to use their web based mail client to send email.
I was out earlier this evening and recorded Back Benchers – have just watched it. I was left absolutely gobsmacked by Hillary Calvert’s antics – sheesh, words fail me. Between her and the MP for New Plymouth – go Andrew Little!! I was also delighted to see Clare Curran in her Highlander’s rugby shirt, after being turfed out of Parliament on Tuesday. It reminded me of a friend who was denied entry into a well known night club in Auckland in the 1960s [can’t recall the name] because he didn’t wear a tie. My friend immediately went outside, divested himself of his shirt, found a tie and went back inside – he was allowed in!!