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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Zoom is a video conferencing service that allows you to share your screen, webcam, and audio with other participants. In addition to sharing your own audio, you can also share the audio from your computer with other participants. This can be useful for playing music, sharing presentations with audio, or ...
Building your own computer can be a rewarding and cost-effective way to get a high-performance machine tailored to your specific needs. However, it also requires careful planning and execution, and one of the most important factors to consider is the time it will take. The exact time it takes to ...
Sleep mode is a power-saving state that allows your computer to quickly resume operation without having to boot up from scratch. This can be useful if you need to step away from your computer for a short period of time but don’t want to shut it down completely. There are ...
Introduction Computer-Assisted Translation (CAT) has revolutionized the field of translation by harnessing the power of technology to assist human translators in their work. This innovative approach combines specialized software with human expertise to improve the efficiency, accuracy, and consistency of translations. In this comprehensive article, we will delve into the ...
In today’s digital age, mobile devices have become an indispensable part of our daily lives. Among the vast array of portable computing options available, iPads and tablet computers stand out as two prominent contenders. While both offer similar functionalities, there are subtle yet significant differences between these two devices. This ...
A computer is an electronic device that can be programmed to carry out a set of instructions. The basic components of a computer are the processor, memory, storage, input devices, and output devices. The Processor The processor, also known as the central processing unit (CPU), is the brain of the ...
Voice Memos is a convenient app on your iPhone that allows you to quickly record and store audio snippets. These recordings can be useful for a variety of purposes, such as taking notes, capturing ideas, or recording interviews. While you can listen to your voice memos on your iPhone, you ...
Laptop screens are essential for interacting with our devices and accessing information. However, when lines appear on the screen, it can be frustrating and disrupt productivity. Understanding the underlying causes of these lines is crucial for finding effective solutions. Types of Screen Lines Horizontal lines: Also known as scan ...
Right-clicking is a common and essential computer operation that allows users to access additional options and settings. While most desktop computers have dedicated right-click buttons on their mice, laptops often do not have these buttons due to space limitations. This article will provide a comprehensive guide on how to right-click ...
Powering up and shutting down your ASUS laptop is an essential task for any laptop user. Locating the power button can sometimes be a hassle, especially if you’re new to ASUS laptops. This article will provide a comprehensive guide on where to find the power button on different ASUS laptop ...
Dell laptops are renowned for their reliability, performance, and versatility. Whether you’re a student, a professional, or just someone who needs a reliable computing device, a Dell laptop can meet your needs. However, if you’re new to Dell laptops, you may be wondering how to get started. In this comprehensive ...
Two-thirds of the country think that “New Zealand’s economy is rigged to advantage the rich and powerful”. They also believe that “New Zealand needs a strong leader to take the country back from the rich and powerful”. These are just two of a handful of stunning new survey results released ...
In today’s digital world, screenshots have become an indispensable tool for communication and documentation. Whether you need to capture an important email, preserve a website page, or share an error message, screenshots allow you to quickly and easily preserve digital information. If you’re an Asus laptop user, there are several ...
A factory reset restores your Gateway laptop to its original factory settings, erasing all data, apps, and personalizations. This can be necessary to resolve software issues, remove viruses, or prepare your laptop for sale or transfer. Here’s a step-by-step guide on how to factory reset your Gateway laptop: Method 1: ...
“You talking about me?”The neoliberal denigration of the past was nowhere more unrelenting than in its depiction of the public service. The Post Office and the Railways were held up as being both irremediably inefficient and scandalously over-manned. Playwright Roger Hall’s “Glide Time” caricatures were presented as accurate depictions of ...
Roger Partridge writes – When the Coalition Government took office last October, it inherited a country on a precipice. With persistent inflation, decades of insipid productivity growth and crises in healthcare, education, housing and law and order, it is no exaggeration to suggest New Zealand’s first-world status was ...
Rob MacCulloch writes – In 2022, the Curriculum Centre at the Ministry of Education employed 308 staff, according to an Official Information Request. Earlier this week it was announced 202 of those staff were being cut. When you look up “The New Zealand Curriculum” on the Ministry of ...
Chris Bishop’s bill has stirred up a hornets nest of opposition. Photo: Lynn Grieveson for The KākāTL;DR: The six things that stood out to me in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, poverty and climate from the last day included:A crescendo of opposition to the Government’s Fast Track Approvals Bill is ...
Monday left me brokenTuesday, I was through with hopingWednesday, my empty arms were openThursday, waiting for love, waiting for loveThe end of another week that left many of us asking WTF? What on earth has NZ gotten itself into and how on earth could people have voluntarily signed up for ...
Hello! Here comes the Saturday edition of More Than A Feilding, catching you up on the past week’s editions.State of humanity, 20242024, it feels, keeps presenting us with ever more challenges, ever more dismay.Do you give up yet? It seems to ask.No? How about this? Or this?How about this?Full story Share ...
Determining the hardest sport in the world is a subjective matter, as the difficulty level can vary depending on individual abilities, physical attributes, and experience. However, based on various factors including physical demands, technical skills, mental fortitude, and overall accomplishment, here is an exploration of some of the most challenging ...
Our two-tiered system for veterans’ support is out of step with our closest partners, and all parties in Parliament should work together to fix it, Labour veterans’ affairs spokesperson Greg O’Connor said. ...
Stripping two Ministers of their portfolios just six months into the job shows Christopher Luxon’s management style is lacking, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said. ...
It appears Nicola Willis is about to pull the rug out from under the feet of local communities still dealing with the aftermath of last year’s severe weather, and local councils relying on funding to build back from these disasters. ...
The Government is making short-sighted changes to the Resource Management Act (RMA) that will take away environmental protection in favour of short-term profits, Labour’s environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said today. ...
Labour welcomes the release of the report into the North Island weather events and looks forward to working with the Government to ensure that New Zealand is as prepared as it can be for the next natural disaster. ...
The Labour Party has called for the New Zealand Government to recognise Palestine, as a material step towards progressing the two-State solution needed to achieve a lasting peace in the region. ...
Some of our country’s most important work, stopping the sexual exploitation of children and violent extremism could go along with staff on the frontline at ports and airports. ...
The Government’s Fast Track Approvals Bill will give projects such as new coal mines a ‘get out of jail free’ card to wreak havoc on the environment, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said today. ...
Cuts to frontline hospital staff are not only a broken election promise, it shows the reckless tax cuts have well and truly hit the frontline of the health system, says Labour Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall. ...
The Green Party has joined the call for public submissions on the fast-track legislation to be extended after the Ombudsman forced the Government to release the list of organisations invited to apply just hours before submissions close. ...
New Zealand’s good work at reducing climate emissions for three years in a row will be undone by the National government’s lack of ambition and scrapping programmes that were making a difference, Labour Party climate spokesperson Megan Woods said today. ...
More essential jobs could be on the chopping block, this time Ministry of Education staff on the school lunches team are set to find out whether they're in line to lose their jobs. ...
The Government is trying to bring in a law that will allow Ministers to cut corners and kill off native species, Labour environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said. ...
Cancelling urgently needed new Cook Strait ferries and hiking the cost of public transport for many Kiwis so that National can announce the prospect of another tunnel for Wellington is not making good choices, Labour Transport Spokesperson Tangi Utikere said. ...
A laundry list of additional costs for Tāmaki Makarau Auckland shows the Minister for the city is not delivering for the people who live there, says Labour Auckland Issues spokesperson Shanan Halbert. ...
The Green Party has today launched a step-by-step guide to help New Zealanders make their voice heard on the Government’s democracy dodging and anti-environment fast track legislation. ...
The National Government’s proposed changes to the Residential Tenancies Act will mean tenants can be turfed from their homes by landlords with little notice, Labour housing spokesperson Kieran McAnulty said. ...
Green Party co-leader Marama Davidson is calling on all parties to support a common-sense change that’s great for the planet and great for consumers after her member’s bill was drawn from the ballot today. ...
A significant milestone has been reached in the fight to strike an anti-Pasifika and unfair law from the country’s books after Teanau Tuiono’s members’ bill passed its first reading. ...
New Zealand has today missed the opportunity to uphold the right to a clean, healthy, and sustainable environment, says James Shaw after his member’s bill was voted down in its first reading. ...
Today’s advice from the Climate Change Commission paints a sobering reality of the challenge we face in combating climate change, especially in light of recent Government policy announcements. ...
Minister for Disability Issues Penny Simmonds appears to have delayed a report back to Cabinet on the progress New Zealand is making against international obligations for disabled New Zealanders. ...
The Government’s newly announced review of methane emissions reduction targets hints at its desire to delay Aotearoa New Zealand’s urgent transition to a climate safe future, the Green Party said. ...
Distinguished guests - It is an honour to return once again to this site which, as the resting place for so many of our war-dead, has become a sacred place for generations of New Zealanders. Our presence here and at the other special spaces of Gallipoli is made ...
Mai ia tawhiti pamamao, te moana nui a Kiwa, kua tae whakaiti mai matou, ki to koutou papa whenua. No koutou te tapuwae, no matou te tapuwae, kua honoa pumautia. Ko nga toa kua hinga nei, o te Waipounamu, o te Ika a Maui, he okioki tahi me o ...
Paul Goldsmith will take on responsibility for the Media and Communications portfolio, while Louise Upston will pick up the Disability Issues portfolio, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon announced today. “Our Government is relentlessly focused on getting New Zealand back on track. As issues change in prominence, I plan to adjust Ministerial ...
Recreational catch limits will be reduced in areas of Fiordland and the Chatham Islands to help keep those fisheries healthy and sustainable, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. The lower recreational daily catch limits for a range of finfish and shellfish species caught in the Fiordland Marine Area and ...
Energy Minister Simeon Brown has welcomed an important milestone in New Zealand’s hydrogen future, with the opening of the country’s first network of hydrogen refuelling stations in Wiri. “I want to congratulate the team at Hiringa Energy and its partners K one W one (K1W1), Mitsui & Co New Zealand ...
The coalition Government is delivering on its commitment to improve resource management laws and give greater certainty to consent applicants, with a Bill to amend the Resource Management Act (RMA) expected to be introduced to Parliament next month. RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop has today outlined the first RMA Amendment ...
Overseas models for regulating the oil and gas sector, including their decommissioning regimes, are being carefully scrutinised as a potential template for New Zealand’s own sector, Resources Minister Shane Jones says. The Coalition Government is focused on rebuilding investor confidence in New Zealand’s energy sector as it looks to strengthen ...
Emergency Management and Recovery Minister Mark Mitchell has today released the Report of the Government Inquiry into the response to the North Island Severe Weather Events. “The report shows that New Zealand’s emergency management system is not fit-for-purpose and there are some significant gaps we need to address,” Mr Mitchell ...
Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith is today travelling to Europe where he’ll update the United Nations Human Rights Council on the Government’s work to restore law and order. “Attending the Universal Periodic Review in Geneva provides us with an opportunity to present New Zealand’s human rights progress, priorities, and challenges, while ...
Associate Agriculture Minister, Mark Patterson, formally reopened the world’s largest wool processing facility today in Awatoto, Napier, following a $50 million rebuild and refurbishment project. “The reopening of this facility will significantly lift the economic opportunities available to New Zealand’s wool sector, which already accounts for 20 per cent of ...
Hon Andrew Bayly, Minister for Small Business and Manufacturing At the Southland Otago Regional Engineering Collective (SOREC) Summit, 18 April, Dunedin Ngā mihi nui, Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Ko Whanganui aho Good Afternoon and thank you for inviting me to open your summit today. I am delighted ...
The Government is delivering on its commitment to bring back the Three Strikes legislation, Associate Justice Minister Nicole McKee announced today. “Our Government is committed to restoring law and order and enforcing appropriate consequences on criminals. We are making it clear that repeat serious violent or sexual offending is not ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has today announced four new diplomatic appointments for New Zealand’s overseas missions. “Our diplomats have a vital role in maintaining and protecting New Zealand’s interests around the world,” Mr Peters says. “I am pleased to announce the appointment of these senior diplomats from the ...
New Zealand is contributing NZ$7 million to support communities affected by severe food insecurity and other urgent humanitarian needs in Ethiopia and Somalia, Foreign Minister Rt Hon Winston Peters announced today. “Over 21 million people are in need of humanitarian assistance across Ethiopia, with a further 6.9 million people ...
Minister for Arts, Culture and Heritage Paul Goldsmith is congratulating Mataaho Collective for winning the Golden Lion for best participant in the main exhibition at the Venice Biennale. "Congratulations to the Mataaho Collective for winning one of the world's most prestigious art prizes at the Venice Biennale. “It is good ...
The Government is reforming financial services to improve access to home loans and other lending, and strengthen customer protections, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly and Housing Minister Chris Bishop announced today. “Our coalition Government is committed to rebuilding the economy and making life simpler by cutting red tape. We are ...
“China remains a strong commercial opportunity for Kiwi exporters as Chinese businesses and consumers continue to value our high-quality safe produce,” Trade and Agriculture Minister Todd McClay says. Mr McClay has returned to New Zealand following visits to Beijing, Harbin and Shanghai where he met ministers, governors and mayors and engaged in trade and agricultural events with the New ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has completed a successful trip to Singapore, Thailand and the Philippines, deepening relationships and capitalising on opportunities. Mr Luxon was accompanied by a business delegation and says the choice of countries represents the priority the New Zealand Government places on South East Asia, and our relationships in ...
New Zealand is demonstrating its commitment to reducing global greenhouse emissions, and supporting clean energy transition in South East Asia, through a contribution of NZ$41 million (US$25 million) in climate finance to the Asian Development Bank (ADB)-led Energy Transition Mechanism (ETM). Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Climate Change Minister Simon Watts announced ...
The Government is today releasing a list of organisations who received letters about the Fast-track applications process, says RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop. “Recently Ministers and agencies have received a series of OIA requests for a list of organisations to whom I wrote with information on applying to have a ...
Attorney-General Judith Collins today announced the appointment of Wellington Barrister David Jonathan Boldt as a Judge of the High Court, and the Honourable Justice Matthew Palmer as a Judge of the Court of Appeal. Justice Boldt graduated with an LLB from Victoria University of Wellington in 1990, and also holds ...
Education Minister Erica Stanford will lead the New Zealand delegation at the 2024 International Summit on the Teaching Profession (ISTP) held in Singapore. The delegation includes representatives from the Post Primary Teachers’ Association (PPTA) Te Wehengarua and the New Zealand Educational Institute (NZEI) Te Riu Roa. The summit is co-hosted ...
A stopbank upgrade project in Tairawhiti partly funded by the Government has increased flood resilience for around 7000ha of residential and horticultural land so far, Regional Development Minister Shane Jones says. Mr Jones today attended a dawn service in Gisborne to mark the end of the first stage of the ...
Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters will represent the Government at Anzac Day commemorations on the Gallipoli Peninsula next week and engage with senior representatives of the Turkish government in Istanbul. “The Gallipoli campaign is a defining event in our history. It will be a privilege to share the occasion ...
Science, Innovation and Technology and Defence Minister Judith Collins will next week attend the OECD Science and Technology Ministerial conference in Paris and Anzac Day commemorations in Belgium. “Science, innovation and technology have a major role to play in rebuilding our economy and achieving better health, environmental and social outcomes ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon held a bilateral meeting today with the President of the Philippines, Ferdinand Marcos Jr. The Prime Minister was accompanied by MP Paulo Garcia, the first Filipino to be elected to a legislature outside the Philippines. During today’s meeting, Prime Minister Luxon and President Marcos Jr discussed opportunities to ...
The Government has announced that $20 million in funding will be made available to Westport to fund much needed flood protection around the town. This measure will significantly improve the resilience of the community, says Local Government Minister Simeon Brown. “The Westport community has already been allocated almost $3 million ...
The Government is proud to support the first ever Repco Supercars Championship event in Taupō as up to 70,000 motorsport fans attend the Taupō International Motorsport Park this weekend, says Economic Development Minister Melissa Lee. “Anticipation for the ITM Taupō Super400 is huge, with tickets and accommodation selling out weeks ...
Local Government Minister Simeon Brown has announced an increase to the Rates Rebate Scheme, putting money back into the pockets of low-income homeowners. “The coalition Government is committed to bringing down the cost of living for New Zealanders. That includes targeted support for those Kiwis who are doing things tough, such ...
The Coalition Government is investing in a project to boost survival rates of New Zealand mussels and grow the industry, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones has announced. “This project seeks to increase the resilience of our mussels and significantly boost the sector’s productivity,” Mr Jones says. “The project - ...
Benefit figures released today underscore the importance of the Government’s plan to rebuild the economy and have 50,000 fewer people on Jobseeker Support, Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston says. “Benefit numbers are still significantly higher than when National was last in government, when there was about 70,000 fewer ...
The Government’s commitment to doubling New Zealand’s renewable energy capacity is backed by new data showing that clean energy has helped the country reach its lowest annual gross emissions since 1999, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. New Zealand’s latest Greenhouse Gas Inventory (1990-2022) published today, shows gross emissions fell ...
The Government is bringing the earthquake-prone building review forward, with work to start immediately, and extending the deadline for remediations by four years, Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk says. “Our Government is focused on rebuilding the economy. A key part of our plan is to cut red tape that ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and his Thai counterpart, Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin, have today agreed that New Zealand and the Kingdom of Thailand will upgrade the bilateral relationship to a Strategic Partnership by 2026. “New Zealand and Thailand have a lot to offer each other. We have a strong mutual desire to build ...
RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop and Transport Minister Simeon Brown have today announced the Coalition Government’s intention to extend port coastal permits for a further 20 years, providing port operators with certainty to continue their operations. “The introduction of the Resource Management Act in 1991 required ports to obtain coastal ...
Today’s announcement that inflation is down to 4 per cent is encouraging news for Kiwis, but there is more work to be done - underlining the importance of the Government’s plan to get the economy back on track, acting Finance Minister Chris Bishop says. “Inflation is now at 4 per ...
Refreshed health guidance released today will help parents and schools make informed decisions about whether their child needs to be in school, addressing one of the key issues affecting school attendance, says Associate Education Minister David Seymour. In recent years, consistently across all school terms, short-term illness or medical reasons ...
Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones is streamlining high-level oceans management while maintaining a focus on supporting the sector’s role in the export-led recovery of the economy. “I am working to realise the untapped potential of our fishing and aquaculture sector. To achieve that we need to be smarter with ...
Associate Agriculture Minister Mark Patterson is speaking at the International Wool Textile Organisation Congress in Adelaide, promoting New Zealand wool, and outlining the coalition Government’s support for the revitalisation the sector. "New Zealand’s wool exports reached $400 million in the year to 30 June 2023, and the coalition Government ...
The Government is making legislative changes to make it easier for new early learning services to be established, and for existing services to operate, Associate Education Minister David Seymour says. The changes involve repealing the network approval provisions that apply when someone wants to establish a new early learning service, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra In the free-for-all between the Australian government and Big Tech boss Elon Musk this week, the government had to be on a winner. Most people would have little sympathy with Musk’s vociferous opposition to ...
Asia Pacific Report Chief Mandla Mandela, a member of the National Assembly of South Africa and Nelson Mandela’s grandson, has joined the Freedom Flotilla in istanbul as the ships prepare to sail for Gaza, reports Kia Ora Gaza. Mandela is also the ambassador for the Global Campaign to Return to ...
Pacific Media Watch Journalists who report on environmental issues are encountering growing difficulties in many parts of the world, reports Reporters Without Borders. According to the tally kept by RSF, 200 journalists have been subjected to threats and physical violence, including murder, in the past 10 years because they were ...
Analysis by Dr Bryce Edwards, Democracy Project (https://democracyproject.nz)Political scientist, Dr Bryce Edwards. Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has surprised everyone with his ruthlessness in sacking two of his ministers from their crucial portfolios. Removing ministers for poor performance after only five months in the job just doesn’t normally happen in ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By John Hawkins, Senior Lecturer, Canberra School of Politics, Economics and Society, University of Canberra BagzhanSadvakassov/Upsplash, CC BY-SA Australia’s inflation rate has fallen for the fifth successive quarter, and it’s now less than half of what it was back in late 2022. ...
ACT's Rural Communities and Veterans spokesman Mark Cameron responds to cancellations and protests of ANZAC Day commemorations in Wellington. He says, "These pitiful attempts to detract from ANZAC Day are not at all indicative of the feelings of mainstream ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Meighen McCrae, Associate Professor of Strategic & Defence Studies, Australian National University American and Australian stretcher bearers working together near the front line during the Battle of Hamel in 1918.Australian War Memorial While the AUKUS alliance is new, the Australian-American partnership ...
Pōneke based peace activists staged a silent protest at the ANZAC day service to highlight New Zealand’s complicity in war and genocide, and urge the government to take concrete steps to stop the genocide in Palestine. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Magdalena M.E. Bunbury, Postdoctoral Researcher, James Cook University Burial with a horse at the Rákóczifalva site, Hungary (8th century AD).Sándor Hegedűs, Hungarian National Museum, CC BY How do we understand past societies? For centuries, our main sources of information have been ...
Amanda Thompson doesn’t really do Anzac Day. But what she does do is remember the people she knew who had a lifetime to remember stuff they didn’t really want to, because of a war they didn’t ask for. And she does make Anzac biscuits.First published in 2021.All my ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kathryn Willis, Postdoctoral Researcher, CSIRO Xavier Boulenger/Shutterstock In the two decades to 2019, global plastic production doubled. By 2040, plastic manufacturing and processing could consume as much as 20% of global oil production and use up 15% of the annual carbon ...
With our collective remembrance, and steadfast belief in our common humanity, we strengthen our hope and resolve to do what we can to foster dialogue and understanding, and to heal divisions in our pursuit of peace. ...
Principal reasons for the opposition is the loss of the public’s democratic right to have “a fair say” and the vital need for a government free from corruption, said Casey Cravens of Dunedin, president of the New Zealand Federation of Freshwater ...
Never mind the scoreboard – in the 2000 Bledisloe Cup decider, the real trans-Tasman battle was won before kickoff.First published in 2016. The dawn of the new millennium was a dark time for the All Blacks. Their final game pre-Y2K was a 22-18 loss to South Africa in the ...
I’m on the wrong side of 40, I never pursued creative work and now my job is killing my soul. Help! Want Hera’s help? Email your problem to helpme@thespinoff.co.nzDear Hera,May I start with the least original conversation opener you’re likely to hear around the motu at the moment, particularly in Wellington: ...
“Never again - No AUKUS” was the message of the wreath laid at this morning’s national ANZAC Day commemorative service at Pukeahu National War Memorial Park this morning by the Stop AUKUS group. ...
Until this month, Auckland swimmer Hazel Ouwehand had never met a qualifying time in an Olympic event for a New Zealand team, even as a junior. Now she’s very likely off to the Paris Olympics after swimming well under the qualifying standard in the 100m butterfly twice – both in ...
While Anzac Day has experienced a resurgence in recent years, our other day of remembrance has slowly faded from view.The Sunday Essay is made possible thanks to the support of Creative New Zealand. Original illustrations by Hope McConnell.First published in 2022.The high school’s head girl and ...
Australian and New Zealand volunteers fought together in the Waikato War, yet still its place in the Anzac tradition is unacknowledged by our defence forces or Returned Services Association.First published in 2018.When I was a boy cub I attended Anzac Day services in the South Auckland suburb of ...
A poem by Wellington writer Tayi Tibble.Hoki Mai She kisses him goodbye with her eyes still wet and alight from their last swim in the Awatere river. At the train station celebration, she leads the Kapa Haka but her voice keeps breaking under and over itself like waves. ...
A poem from Bill Manhire’s 2017 book of verse Some Things to Place in a Coffin.My World War I Poem Inside each trench, the sound of prayer. Inside each prayer, the sound of digging. Image courtesy of Auckland War Memorial Museum. ...
There are three books I have wolfed down in one sitting over the last two years. Colleen Maria Lenihan’s gorgeous and sad debut Kōhine, Noelle McCarthy’s memoir Grand about becoming her mother and then unbecoming her, and now Hine Toa, a staunch yet gentle self-portrait by living legend Ngāhuia te ...
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Asia Pacific Report Students and activist staff at Australia’s University of Sydney (USyd) have set up a Gaza solidarity encampment in support of Palestinians and similar student-led protests in the United States. The camp was pitched as mass graves, crippled hospitals, thousands of civilian deaths and the near-total destruction of ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By James B. Dorey, Lecturer in Biological Sciences, University of Wollongong Australian teddy bear bees are cute and fluffy, but get a look at that massive (unbarbed) stinger! James Dorey Photography Most of us have been stung by a bee and we ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jen Roberts, Senior Lecturer, School of Humanities and Social Inquiry, University of Wollongong Aussie~mobs/FlickrVictor Farr, a private in the 1st Infantry Battalion, was among the first to land at Anzac Cove just before dawn on April 25 1915. Victor Farr ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Gregory Moore, Senior Research Associate, School of Ecosystem and Forest Sciences, The University of Melbourne Gregory Moore I had the good fortune to care for the sugar gum at The University of Melbourne’s Burnley Gardens in Victoria where I worked for ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By John Hawkins, Senior Lecturer, Canberra School of Politics, Economics and Society, University of Canberra BagzhanSadvakassov/Upsplash, CC BY-SA Australia’s inflation rate has fallen for the fifth successive quarter, and it’s now less than half of what it was back in late 2022. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Rachel Ong ViforJ, ARC Future Fellow & Professor of Economics, Curtin University Just when we think the price of rentals could not get any worse, this week’s Rental Affordability Snapshot by Anglicare has revealed low-income Australians are facing a housing crisis like ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Meighen McCrae, Associate Professor of Strategic & Defence Studies, Australian National University American and Australian stretcher bearers working together near the front line during the Battle of Hamel in 1918.Australian War Memorial While the AUKUS alliance is new, the Australian-American partnership ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Tracey Holmes, Professorial Fellow in Sport, University of Canberra When the news broke last weekend that 23 Chinese swimmers had tested positive to a banned drug in early 2021 and were allowed to compete at the Tokyo Olympic Games six months later ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Cally Jetta, Senior Lecturer and Academic Lead; College for First Nations, University of Southern Queensland Australian War MemorialAboriginal and Torres Strait Islander readers are advised this article contains names and images of deceased people, as well as sensitive historical information ...
RNZ News Melissa Lee has been ousted from New Zealand’s coalition cabinet and stripped of the Media portfolio, and Penny Simmonds has lost the Disability Issues portfolio in a reshuffle. Climate Change and Revenue Minister Simon Watts will take Lee’s spot in cabinet. Simmonds was a minister outside of cabinet. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By David Lindenmayer, Professor, Fenner School of Environment and Society, Australian National University laurello/Shutterstock Some reports and popular books, such as Bill Gammage’s Biggest Estate on Earth, have argued that extensive areas of Australia’s forests were kept open through frequent burning by ...
Analysis - Christopher Luxon framing the demotion of two ministers as the portfolios getting "too complex" is a charitable way of saying they weren't up to the job. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra With Jim Chalmers’s third budget on May 14, Australians will be looking for some more cost-of-living relief – beyond the tax cuts – although they have been warned extra measures will be modest. As ...
Analysis: Melissa Lee has lost the media portfolio and her spot in Cabinet after multiple failed attempts to find solutions for a media industry in crisis. On Wednesday, the Prime Minister announced Lee would be losing her spot in Cabinet along with her media and communications ministerial portfolio. The job ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Simon Wilmot, Senior Lecturer, Film, Deakin University Among the many Australian who served during the second world war, there is a small group of people whose stories remain largely untold. These are the Muslim men and women who, while small in number, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kelly Saunders, PhD Candidate, University of Canberra There has been much analysis and praise of Justice Michael Lee’s recent judgement in Bruce Lehrmann’s defamation case against Channel Ten. Many people were openly relieved to read Lee’s “forensic” and “nuanced” application of law ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kathy Gibbs, Program Director for the Bachelor of Education, Griffith University zEdward_Indy/Shutterstock Around one in 20 people has attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). It’s one of the most common neurodevelopmental disorders in childhood and often continues into adulthood. ADHD is diagnosed ...
The Fairer Future coalition of anti-poverty groups say Whaikaha must be properly funded going forward, and that to argue that poor financial management of the new Ministry is a red herring by the Prime Minister. ...
The Taxpayers’ Union is today congratulating Hon. Paul Goldsmith on his appointment as Minister for Media and Communications and urges him to rule out state intervention in the private media sector. ...
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Welcome to The Spinoff Books Confessional, in which we get to know the reading habits and quirks of New Zealanders at large. This week: writer and one of Time Magazine’s 100 most influential people of 2024, Lauren Groff.The book I wish I’d writtenIf I wish I’d written a ...
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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.
‘
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
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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!!