Congratulations to all involved in achieving the Parata back down.
But do not underestimate the tories. They are fast tracking the return of the privatisation legislation and are returning the bill six weeks early. It appears they will try and smash the bill through next week.
They are trying to blunt the effectiveness of the petition and using the current political chaos to push the bill through.
And now this article has disappeared from the main page of the site, and there’s been no addition of more recent comments for a few hours. What a surprise! Could it be because most commenters are opposed to both asset sales and the abuse of democracy?
If NACT do not succeed in privatisation, including delivering school funding to the private sector, with charter schools, they will not get their rewards in the hereafter.
Key will not get his ten million dollar a year retirement, courtesy of Goldmen Saks, for one.
… “hell hath no fury like a woman scorned”?
And Key in an interview this morning firmly laid the blame on teacher unions
and the threats of protracted industrial action.
Nothing to do with public opinion telling them that it was lousy policy made on the hoof.
However, teacher organisations beware …
Speaking in Hamburg, Prime Minister John Key said he still felt the proposed changes were right and the U-turn had only been caused by parents’ negative perceptions of them.
“We were effectively saying to the sector ‘here is quite a lot of cash to fund [teacher] development [funded] by making what we think – I still think – is a very modest alteration of class sizes’. But what is clear is that parents don’t see it as modest and in the end perception is reality.”
It had become “blindingly obvious” parents would not wear the policy and that was why the Government had backed down, Key said.
Interesting to see Key’s “perception is reality” comment….. sums up his whole approach.
Agreed Carol. I guess that’s what happens when you’re the top smelly dog and everybody around says yes yes yes you are a great and mighty one – you start believing your own bullshit. It is a common human trait and Key has fallen straight into it.
I would suggest that the problem perceptions in NZ are not parents perceptions of how many children are in their child’s class but Key’s perceptions of the average NZer.
And then we also have Keys own ‘perception’ that small class sizes are good and that is why he sends his own kids to private schools.
Brilliant cartoon in the Press this morning highighting the warmongering and overlording ways of the American people (yes, it is time to push this back onto the American people and not let them off by saying ‘oh, it is the American government, not the people).
What I would like to know is why no Americans ever come on here and defend their murderous ways. Surely there are some who float around here…
The Americans are clearly both the most dangerous people on the planet and now at their most dangerous in their history.
What is the matter with them? I suspect that the power that has accumulated there through a series of historical events and machionations has simply got out of control. The place is out of control and we need to watch out.
I do know some Americans who are very critical of the US war-mongering and imperialistic ways. Some of them have left the US in disgust to live elsewhere. I don’t think they come to this forum, at least not regularly though.
The powerful groups within the US have done a very good job of marginalising dissenting views over a long period.
And many US people live in third world conditions, putting all their efforts into surviving. And they have been disenfranchised, or have just given up on voting because it doesn’t seem to change anything.
Unfortunately, here in the US it’s also the “Libertarians” (don’t let the name fool you) who speak most loudly in favor of all the OTHER machines. These days, the most likely thing you’ll find when you scratch a self-described Libertarian from the US is a hardcore pro-corporate right-winger who favors legalizing cannabis. Beyond that, their “liberty” extends only to corporations and the federal government; deregulation of industry and laissez-faire capitalism combined with strong state or local regulation of individual liberty is the order of the day. (Case in point: prominent Libertarian/Republican Ron Paul votes consistently in favor of corporate tax cuts, but believes the individual states should be allowed to outlaw abortion, gay marriage, and even certain consensual adult sexual activity.)
What I would like to know is why no Americans ever come on here and defend their murderous ways. Surely there are some who float around here…
Looks like you’re looking to have a beef. I do have US citizenship, but I’d probably disappoint you because I’m not murderous or horrible (although I do have many flaws as my wife is quick to note). So, sorry mate, although I have the passport, I’m not the one you’re looking to vent at.
The Americans are clearly both the most dangerous people on the planet and now at their most dangerous in their history.
Ha! Whenever I chat with people here they quickly notice my accent and ask if I am Canadian. When I reply that I’m not Canadian but that I’m from the States they look a bit puzzled and either drift away quickly as if I have some contagious disease (American cooties perhaps) or they seem surprised and mumble something or other about how I don’t seem ‘American’.
Thanks for the reply happynz. I guess yes a beef and venting is what is wanted. But I feel that is entirely legitimate when the sorts of actions are going around the world that are going on. And within the US. And even here, kowtowing to all things American as this government is.
That was the point of the post – trying to drag out a vibrant debate about the actions of your government.
As for pointing the finger at the people as well as the government, what do you think? Is that legit? I think so given who the American people keep electing and the history of American wars and actions. The American people need to stand up and explain imo.
If some other nation was going around invading other nations, launching drone attacks on others soil, making overt threats against loads of others, etc then that other nation would be painted by the US as evil. So is the US evil? Using its own reasons and definitions the US is evil.
I just want to hear the justification and the arguments. Not everything is opinion, often times there is a right and a wrong.
Is that legit? I think so given who the American people keep electing and the history of American wars and actions. The American people need to stand up and explain imo.
Yes! I recall a few days ago, all the bashing of the English that went on here, as the proud ‘Scots’ and ‘Irish’ New Zealanders went to town… If it’s legitimate to jeer at someone for being English, then it’s certainly legitimate to query Americans, especially at most of them have no problem with capital punishment, the ‘bearing of arms’ – oh, and drone attacks!
Ha! Whenever I chat with people here they quickly notice my accent and ask if I am Canadian.
In my experience, Canadians are not a lot different – although they (some of them) pride themselves on being… Yet they have the same self-centred and paranoid mentality.
Just checked The Press’s cartoon this morning on Press Display. It’s a cartoon of Obama, with his hands on a remote control, in “Mikado” outfit, singing a song to the tune of Gilbert & Sullivan’s Lord High Executioner:
I have a little drone
And the address of your home
And if that’s on a foreign shore
Its sovereignty I’ll ignore
Don’t question my right
You know I have the might
As president of the United States
I decide all your fates
Don’t appeal to any justice petitioner
I am prosecutor, defender, judge
and Lord High Executioner
Interesting also that the front page of The Press hard copy doesn’t seem to be reflected on the main page of Stuff online.
Front page, headline article is half a page on Coldest Day On Record (That was Wednesday in Christchurch)
Headline for article on bottom half of the front page: Key denies ‘pulling rug out’ from under Parata: Minister lauded and lambasted over U-turn
So I suppose you take full responsibility for John Key and the National governments actions? And all New Zealanders are right wing ideologues? If they can vote in Bush for a second term and we can vote in Key for a second term maybe we are more similar than you think?
Because that’s what you infer when painting all Americans with the same brush. I have a number of American friends who can’t stand their government and the way the whole system is set up.
Fair point, but from what I see the US has been going about these evil actions for a very long time now and imo the actual people need to step up to the plate and explain. I understand democracy and the tyranny of the majority, however it is a majority and they have voted in favour of continuing the murderous rampage – especially when they re-elected Bush.
If it happens in NZ over a similarly long period then fine, point the finger. At the moment though it aint to anything like the extent in the US.
Perhaps one of your friends would care to outline the justification for these long-term US actions.
It’s not their responsibility to outline any justification for the actions of the government any more than you or I should have to justify National selling state assets. Those that voted by and large never voted for the Demublicans and so have nothing to answer for.
They understand that federal U.S. is by and large a farce and are more focused on local politics by voting in councillors, water board members etc that actually have some impact on their lives and they actually have some power over.
It’s not their responsibility? I outlined some reasons why there is a responsibility – the long term actions of their governments and the simply murderous nature of what is and has been done. Imo this, over such a long period, does require justification. Do you think we should all just sit around quietly while the US arms people to murder women and children in Syria, for example? That sort of approach screams i see nothing i hear nothing i say nothing. Pathetic. Actually, worse than pathetic given that people are killed daily by the US govt.
At the risk of raising godwins law – people turned a blind eye and did not speak up prior to WWII. Perhaps the similarities are greater than people imagine. And keep in mind that when in the midst of volatile times the times generally do not feel as volatile as they actually are – the reality of the times gets exposed in hindsight.
Look the American people have contributed massively to the goodness of the world but it is now out of control. The system is stuffed and rampaging on with a whole bunch of Texan cowboys riding the bucking bronco.
Appreciate your feedback, but it would be good to hear someone outline whatever the justifications are for American actions in the world. Nobody has yet and one has to wonder why…
To quote from Thucydides’ description of the Athenian message to Melos: “Regarding the Gods we have the belief, regarding men the certainty that by a necessity of nature each one always commands wherever he has the power to do so.” America is now the great power, and it does what great powers tend to do, only with modern methods. I think also that their system is predicated on infinite resources, while resources are running low. It pays to remember, however, that American excesses are frequently challenged by the Americans themselves. Look at “Grapes of Wrath” as response to the depression, and the many American voices that speak out now, often at risk to themselves and their reputations.
It’s not their responsibility? I outlined some reasons why there is a responsibility – the long term actions of their governments and the simply murderous nature of what is and has been done. Imo this, over such a long period, does require justification. Do you think we should all just sit around quietly while the US arms people to murder women and children in Syria, for example? That sort of approach screams i see nothing i hear nothing i say nothing. Pathetic. Actually, worse than pathetic given that people are killed daily by the US govt.
Seconded 100%!
At the risk of raising godwins law – people turned a blind eye and did not speak up prior to WWII. Perhaps the similarities are greater than people imagine…………….
I feel like we are talking at cross points here. I agree that it’s their responsibility to critique their governments actions and create open discourse in their communities about how to change things. But you said justify, and it is 100% not their responsibility to justify the actions of a government they never voted for and don’t agree with.
Btw the U.S. has a huge number of dissenters who talk about the ravages of the U.S. government everyday. Noam Chomsky, Howard Zinn, Derrick Jensen, John Zerzan, Ward Chruchill, Jello Biafra, Immortal Technique, Amy Goodman, Alexander Cockburn ad infinitum.
+1 The puppet leader effect is more prominent in the US, where the drug companies, oil barons and war machine effectively has control of almost everything that happens.
Personal responsibility for the actions of the state is a difficult argument… because democracy is predated upon by dictators. Elections are often a mirage of choice, when you get the same outcome no-matter who you vote for. Although people should feel some responsibility for the actions of their countries, and the fact that democracy has been usurped, they are not the ones who pull the trigger.
Therefore it’s wrong to blame all Americans per se with generalizations. You can blame the United States because it collectively undertakes atrocities, but on an individual basis, whether somebody is personally responsible would be dependent on their attitudes and actions.
People should not be automatically prejudiced against all Americans, just as they should not be prejudiced against all Muslims. After all, it’s prejudices that often lead to and facilitate wars.
What democracy remains? An electoral college system where 538 unknown electors get to choose POTUS? Or one where unbridled amounts of corporate money drown out all voices but their own commercial interests? Or one where the populace is completely dumbed-down, stressed out, criminalised and distracted by the American mythos?
Greer has something to say about the US concept of “democracy”
Behind the rhetoric is a conception of democracy that has nothing in common with the real world, and everything in common with the Utopian fantasies that have come to infest contemporary political discourse. When Americans talk about democracy or, with even richer irony, “real democracy,” they usually mean a system that does not exist, has never existed, and can never exist—a system less real than Neverland, in which the free choices of millions of individual voters somehow always add up to an optimal response to the challenges of a complex age, without ever running afoul of the troubles that inevitably beset democratic systems in the real world.
“It’s not their responsibility to outline any justification for the actions of the government any more than you or I should have to justify National selling state assets.”
Exactly, also the imperialistic actions of the USA is relatively not much different from UK, Spain, France etc. To blindly blame individuals from those countries would be wrong…and I find that most British people are not only are aware of their country’s imperialism, but they then don’t care.
I found San Francisco to be one of the most politically aware cities I have been to, much more than European cities. I find many Europeans to often be self-righteous and always pointing the finger at the yanks, even when those Europeans know what’s going on in the world. Bush may have got re-elected, but that was by a voting public that has a blinkered view of history/current events….Blair got voted in by a UK public that was generally aware of their history/current events. So which people are more ‘stupid’?
Also USA is a neoliberal country…neoliberalism creates many victims, and few benefit. Democracy is a sham and a con…one surely cannot believe that a democratic system means all people have a say in how the country is run. Slavery created the USA, those people still suffer, not much has changed for African Americans. Slavery still continues under another guise, this is happening within the USA’s boarders. 10km from Wall Street are some horrible ghettos…those people have no voice, they have no choice, they are responsible for nothing.
Good vid. Understand your point but it kinda misses my point.
Hey Americans out there – is there one of you who can stand up and outline the justifications for your government’s actions? What about someone from the US government itself? Come on. Grow some balls. What about someone who voted for Bush? Or Obama?
“Good vid. Understand your point but it kinda misses my point.”
yeah brother ali has a lot of good things to say. I don’t think you will find any defenders of US imperialism / neo-colonialsim here. Try this: http://nation.foxnews.com/
“The question is: Is representative democracy really democracy or just dictatorship in another guise?
I’m picking the latter.”
True…(our) democracy is often taken for granted that it is effective and the best way to run society. What will become interesting is over the next 50 years democracy will begin to find itself under attack, in the same way capitalism is being questioned now.
Questions are being raised as to whether or not democracy is the best way to run capitalism…China is forcing us to face that.
Will China turn to our ‘democratic’ capitalism…or will they steam ahead and force us (Western, liberal capitalist democracy) to alter either our capitalism or our democracy.
Our “Democracy ” is not democracy in any way shape or form.
Being able to change the names of your dictators without the majority being able to change anything else, including policy direction, is NOT democracy.
If their representatives get too stupid they can have a binding referendum. Which means the “representatives” have to act as administrators, not dictators, and explain and have sensible policies, or they will not get anything done.
Notice whenever New Zealanders have a chance to choose, they always choose whatever gives politicians less power, because we know that giving them too much is a disaster.
It is well known in management research that the more people involved in a decision the better the resulting decisions.
In any case even if the decision is wrong, it is ours to make. Not 120 largely self selected morons.
Important some of the best of human endeavour also comes out of the States.
Such as? Seriously, I would like to know…
When I was in my teens, I believed the USA was the most scientifically and technically advanced country in the world. How many times do we see on the TV news or see in the paper some family whingeing about not having the money to send little Cameron or Madison to the States for some revolutionary new medical treatment? I was highly amused to learn that in many cases the treatment they are begging the public to fund, is available in Australia or even here in NZ for a tiny fraction of the price…
If the USA ever was the most scientifically and technically advanced country in the world, those days are long gone. Now the USA is noted for obesity, stupidity and aggression. Only.
I understand democracy and the tyranny of the majority, however it is a majority and they have voted in favour of continuing the murderous rampage – especially when they re-elected Bush.
Actually, it’s not. Their voter turnout for federal elections is usually only around 50% – usually below, sometimes above. Presidential elections get higher but 60% is still higher than the norm.
I’m not defending the US actions, they’ve been a rogue nation since at least 1890. Their problem stems from three things – low voter turn out (the people who want a better government aren’t voting), the fact that there really is no difference between the two parties (which puts off the people most likely to demand change) and an FPP voting system that entrenches the same two parties permanently in the halls of power.
They successfully raised an empire to become a global hyperpower. Unfortunately, they’ve forgotten the roots of their success – high levels of socialised education and housing as well as true capitalist industry (as opposed to crony capitalist financialisation).
The US position in the world is now held together by two things – the domination of the US dollar. And the massively capable military and intelligence machine it operates.
“The US position in the world is now held together by two things – the domination of the US dollar. And the massively capable military and intelligence machine it operates.”
very true…and the domination of their dollar is perpetuated by the IMF and the World Bank. American ideals are institutionalised and forced on the world. It’s military force is no longer so vital, neo-colonialism and ‘development’ of the global South is more effective than physical force. But that’s not to say the military is not useful, the military plays its part and is encouraged by the UN…the UN and Europe support US abuse of the minorities.
I would add a third thing that maintains US hegemony…and that is culture. Americanisation in the form of consumerism is still sweeping the world and shows no sign of slowing. Its the desire to consume, a belief in liberal capitalism, social liberalism and the notion of ‘freedom’ that draws the world’s money towards the USA. Capitalism put the money into the hands of a few – and since American culture defines our desires, that money moves towards America.
China might be up there in economic terms, but the USA controls the world’s knowledge. USA defines the ‘truth’
If we accept your idea that Americans are murderously rampaging across the provincial New Zealand countryside, then the reason they are not here articulating their dread plans is because they are too busy murderising stuff. Idle hands do the devils work and hands doing the devils work are never idle. American Idol is the devils work, Ryan Seacrest often acts as the devils agent and Keanu Reeves was once the Devils Advocate. Busy people. There could be a link.
If Americans are the most dangerous people on Earth, then there is probably not too much to fear. If the occupy movement was a measure of the collective awareness of a nation, then possibly 99% of the population do not agree with the actions of their government – as wars are still extensions of domestic policy – and are willing to act to change it. So very few Americans need justify their position as being out of control, unless they lied. Probably it was the devil making them lie.
I am happy you are keeping an eye on them. Let me know when the marines land.
Unfortunately, like your sweeping generalisation of Americans, there are also no useless tits. There is such a thing as confirmation bias however and before you begin your new life work of understanding the collective psyco-social behaviours of the north american people you should look that up.
well put Uturn, let’s hope vto dives into his new project with gusto – seems to me that the fact that hardly any americans have defended their government to vto’s question on this blog, tells the story – it’s a bit like why certain areas of goggle sky are blocked – vto has hit the jackpot – he could end up being famous and on TV with this one.
“well put Uturn, let’s hope vto dives into his new project with gusto – seems to me that the fact that hardly any americans have defended their government to vto’s question on this blog, tells the story – it’s a bit like why certain areas of goggle sky are blocked – vto has hit the jackpot – he could end up being famous and on TV with this one.”
Got anything decent to say? Or just your consistent personal smart arse rubbish.
but you must admit, this “putting up ideas” to generate discussion is a bit peteish.
I can’t even work out what the term, “americans” really means, there are just so many subgroups, some directly opposed to the other, yet somehow all american. The question just seems nonsensical to me, let alone somehow blaming them for what their government does. And then taunting because no one shows up to argue the silly non-point you have raised. So again no, I’ve got nothing to add to your thoughts vto.
I can’t even work out what the term, “americans” really means, there are just so many subgroups, some directly opposed to the other, yet somehow all american.
It’s simple. Americans are the people who say ‘bathroom’ because they’re too mealy-mouthed to say toilet, they’re the people who pixilate TV pictures of naked Ken dolls, even though Ken is as innocent of genitalia as a refrigerator. Americans are the people who ‘pledge allegiance to the flag’ every day of their school lives from 6 years old. They’re the people who think that Europe and Africa are each one big country, and that capital punishment is the only way to stop “serial killers” from shooting them dead on street corners. They’re the people who think that ‘fries’ and ‘ketchup’ are vegetables. They’re the people who believe that the Twin Towers were brought down by 19 ‘towel heads’, or ‘sand n-words’, who came from Afghanistan, or Eye-rak, or Syria or Eye-ran or whichever country they’re next told is the Enemy. They’re the ruthless murderers who exude sticky, sugary sentiment at the sight of their flag, and who have courthouses and churches (!) festooned with Old Glory (spit)…
Glad you like it! 😀
Marty Mars, yes, in this respect, I suppose I am a bigot. But as you’re bigoted in other ways, it evens out. At least I have reason!
Leon Panetta, the US defence secretary, has said that the majority of the country’s naval fleet will be based in the Asia-Pacific region by the year 2020.
Speaking at a security conference in Singapore on Saturday, Panetta said the assigning of 60 per cent of the fleet comes as part of a new strategy to increase US presence in the Asia-Pacific.
“Make no mistake, in a steady, deliberate and sustainable way, the United States military is rebalancing and is bringing an enhanced capability development to this vital region,” Panetta said at the annual Shangri-La Dialogue conference.
It seems that the US is becoming a threat to this region. Considering their war-warmongering over the centuries I suppose we shouldn’t be surprised.
Brilliant cartoon in the Press this morning highighting the warmongering and overlording ways of the American people (yes, it is time to push this back onto the American people and not let them off by saying ‘oh, it is the American government, not the people).
Sad but true, I agree! Unlike Carol, I don’t know any Americans who oppose their governments’ policies – in fact Americans I know defend them…
The Americans are clearly both the most dangerous people on the planet and now at their most dangerous in their history.
I know plenty of Americans who oppose their government’s policies, even though I don’t personally know any who oppose Obama’s stand on gay marriage. However, I doubt if any of them even know this blog exists, so I don’t think we can read a lot into their not posting here.
I’m sure some here will applaud the early downfall of a National government, but I think it will pose major risks for the country and it will trash our democracy.
And Labour are nowhere near ready yet, they’re too busy down and dirty to step up to the government plate.
People are getting crankier, not just in blog bubbles but out in the real world too. Subversion is working, but only because National are too shut off (arrogant?) to see it and deal with it. National alert – trouble likely to escalate.
Pete, I read your bloggy thing and suggest that it is not so-called subversion that is causing this, it is a direct result of National’s own politics and manner. It is due to them – the opposition simply highlights their shortcomings.
Case in point – asset sales. Everybody I speak to knows that financially it is a backwards step and that the government will be worse off (even the Finance Minister has admitted that). And that power prices will rise and profits head offshore. Yet this government does not explain and back itself – it just charges ahead arrogantly, ignoring the people. This is a an example of their modu operandi. So don’t blame others for the hatred that has built for the people in this National government, blame those national people themselves. After all, they are always going on about personal responsibility and accountability.
They completely deserve abusive descriptions such as pricks and wankers. And Key of course is most commonly described by people around here as “just a dick”.
not so-called subversion that is causing this, it is a direct result of National’s own politics and manner.
National’s “own politics and manner” is the direct result. So yes, it’s largely National’s own doing, if they weren’t so remote and stuffing up so much the subversion could be dismissed as negative nonsense.
I don’t think Key himself is the problem, but it could be his style of leadership, that worked well enough last term, is falling to pieces as ministers given their own responsibilities succumb to second term arrogance.
I hera mixed views for an against MOM, that could be because I listen to a wider range of people. I don’t think the policy being proposed is anywhere near as bad as some doomsayers keep pushing, but National seem to have got to cocky with their ability to shove it through parliament.
What a load of bullshit. Asset sales are going to leave us worse off.
Even the spin merchants can’t argue with that.
If they are going to leave us worse off. WHY DO IT??
Anyone who still supports this bunch of ignorant thieves are either deluded, crazy or greedy for self gain no matter what it does to New Zealand.
To ensure, Key’s payout for delivering New Zealand to US corporates?.
You’re making bullshit attributions again. You’d probably accuse me of personal ambitions if I pushed for an early election.
I believe in full term government except in exceptional circumstances, I supported that strongly when Labour where in power, the same as now.
Do you think the term of government should be subject to the whims of opposition? If it worked like that it would adversely affect all – especially the country.
I’m sure some here will applaud the early downfall of a National government, but I think it will pose major risks for the country and it will trash our democracy.
Of course you do PG, your sycophantic support of NACT would require that.
Does anyone outside NZ understand Key’s English anyway? Surely it’s all about smile-and-wave to the public, and in practice do what his foreign masters say?
I suspect his kiwi newzild accent is as fake as tits on a bull. When he’s chatting away to Bernanke I bet he speaks in something close to a Boston accent, with the Queen he would sound like an Oxford Don. It’s the same crap that George Bush used. I once say him interviewed on Irish tv and he spoke very eloquently and didn’t misunderpronunciate any words at all. As far as I know, that interview was never shown in the US.
We understand him! Impression Management!
That would be the “strength” of most politicians these days. Not the broad knowledge and preferably wisdom that DTB recognised yday as necessary for good political leadership and decision-making.
What lack of human values does it require to sit in judgement, aware of the trainwrecks approaching the country and its people, and not only do little, but actively encourage people to invest their purpose in perpetuating the mess.
Aussie aye! Release GDP FIGURES ending March. Been 2 challenging months since then.
We really appreciated the analysis and discussion of the different perspectives likely across socioeconomic class and the “left” yesterday.
Thanks Olwyn et al;
We are not fond of the middle class wannabe bourgeoisie. We believe that these are the most tame type of sheep, who are led to the “slaughter” of a thousand small cuts right across their lifetimes.
So sad,
We are also saddened to read of the leverage enjoyed by what seem to be otherwise inciteful left wing thinkers on this site but remember the need for our own
COMPASSION MODERATION HUMILITY.
It is a beautiful day in Hawkes Bay today. Nature is what the NZ province has most to offer but some want to frack that as well….
More than 1000 New Zealanders have applied for lucrative “fly in, fly out” work in Western Australian mines but unemployed Australians are fuming about it.
[…]
But Australian Joe Valentine, who has been looking for mining work for 19 months, says locals should come first.
“It’s just bringing in cheap labour from overseas to work in our mines. They don’t give a rat’s arse about Australian workers, the government doesn’t give a rat’s arse about Australian workers,” he told Channel 7’s Today Tonight current affairs show this week.
“How dare they say there’s a shortage of labour when people are willing to work in the mines. It’s bullshit, it really is.”
In the long term, undercutting the wages usually given to locals is bad for workers everywhere. Also, is there an element of union-busting in this move by Aussie mine owners?
I cannot find a a link for this, but a relative who lives in Sydney told me that Gillard was pressured by the unions and others into insisting that unemployed Australians should have priority for these jobs, and then got told off by the IMF for protectionism for having done so. From what I can understand she has now come to some sort of compromise position. It struck me as a chilling aspect of market freedom, if privileging your own citizens for jobs in your country counts as protectionism.
as the Gillard government, employers and unions become locked in dispute over whether the decision will undermine Australian working conditions, and as the government becomes riven by internal wrangling over the handling of the dispute.
[…]
The Roy Hill mine is expected to be the first of dozens of projects for which enterprise migration agreements are approved.
[…]
If Roy Hill has alarmed unions, it is probably because this agreement will benefit the world’s richest woman, Gina Rinehart.
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Mrs Rinehart is an advocate of special economic zones, in which employers would be able to operate with exemptions from Australia’s workplace laws. If the enterprise migration agreements were to form a first stage in the creation of such zones, the fears expressed by union leaders in response to the Roy Hill announcement would be justified. But no such guarantee has been given to Mrs Rinehart, nor should it be.
But a breakdown of the results shows the issue is more evenly balanced where passions are strong, with almost a quarter strongly against foreign labour and a quarter strongly in support.
The issue has become heated in the past week as unions lashed the Gillard government’s decision to grant visas to more than 1700 foreign labourers to work on Gina Rinehart’s Roy Hill mine.
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The public attitudes emerge in a snapshot of Australian opinion on key international issues in a poll conducted by the Sydney-based Lowy Institute.
There are plenty of advertised mining jobs in Oz. Kiwis work for the same pay and conditions as the Aussies, although we do tend to work harder. I suspect this is a complete media beatup and the guy they found is probably a Pauline Hansen supporter who hates the fact that Maori can get the same pay as him.
The issue of Gina Noheart and her special economic zones is something else altogether.
There are plenty of good reasons to not work in the mines. For example, they’re often on land that has been ethnically cleansed and they can be environmental disasters. However, taking jobs off good Aussie battlers and undermining their conditions is just abject bullshit.
Without growth, there’s only one ending for Euro debt crisis
by Jeff Rubin
“European voters are rejecting further fiscal restraint, showing the door to former austerity-imposing politicians in Greece and France. In a similar spirit, European Central Bank President Mario Draghi is now calling for a “growth pact” to replace the “fiscal pact” demanded by Angela Merkel’s government in Germany.
What Europe’s voters and its central bank are coming to recognize is that unremitting fiscal austerity measures are the wrong prescription for what ails the European economy. Instead of curbing budget deficits, they’re actually exacerbating the continent’s economic problems.
Economics textbooks will tell you that hiking taxes and implementing draconian spending cuts will lead to government’s running smaller deficits. But in practice, as we’re seeing across the eurozone right now, those measures can be self-defeating. Rather than helping to wrestle down budget deficits, brutal fiscal austerity measures are actually choking the life out of much of Europe’s economy. Since tax revenues are a function of economic activity, lifeless economies are making it that much harder for countries to stave off recession. In Greece, for instance, the budget deficit isn’t getting any smaller. The only thing austerity measures are shrinking is the country’s GDP.”
There is a nice side to mankind. We had to go driving in the snow yesterday. It was not sight seeing. Everyone was travelling slowly and carefully, well spaced from each other. After watching cars travel sideways through the ice at traffic lights, we took our turn with trepidation. Everyone waited, no one tooted and we crossed one of many intersections. Every minute was with care.
On 3 separate occasions we joined other people to help free cars stuck in ice. There was always plenty of help available. Then, half an hour later, our turn came and a group was working to get us back into an area of traction.
It is humbling. No one expected payment, just a simple “Thankyou” and the assumption that you will do the same for some one else.
No one was trying to win “piggy stamps”. Simply “Even if I never see you again, how can I help you.”
Irrespective of what language they spoke or god they did or did not worship.
On the serious side is your example John of real people doing helpful stuff because we just do. Unfortunately one of the flaws in Education is the belief that if you reward kids with stickers and certificates and cups they will get better. This leads to a lifelong belief that we must be rewarded for doing good stuff. Punished with Rewards. Performance Pay and Bonus Payments and Medals for example. Most people just do what is needed because it makes both the receiver (you John) and the giver feel good. Get it?
ianmac, bearing in mind that almost every post on this website is critical of some one in some way, I thought it would be refreshing to make the observation that there are still times when one can go out and receive help freely and gladly without being criticized for needing help.
BUT, behold, someone “who was not there” could not resist the temptation to have a dig. Did he feel any better ?
There are times when wisdom is silence.
Or when you’re around! Do the words fatuous and prick mean anything to you?
You remind me of Crabb and Goyle in the Harry Potter movies – with ianmac as Lucius Malfoy! Grovel, grovel… or maybe you’re Grima Wormtongue? After some Dawkins points maybe? 😀
Time for us all to gather our pots and pans and pin on the little red squares?!
The people united… Internationally, the narrative of left rebellion is gathering momentum… from Occupy to student protests!
Many in the audience had pinned small red squares of felt to their clothing. The carre rouge, or red square, has become the Canadian symbol of revolt. It comes from the French phrase carrement dans le rouge, or “squarely in the red,” referring to those crushed by debt.
The streets of Montreal are clogged nightly with as many as 100,000 protesters banging pots and pans and demanding that the old systems of power be replaced. The mass student strike in Quebec, the longest and largest student protest in Canadian history, began over the announcement of tuition hikes and has metamorphosed into what must swiftly build in the United States—a broad popular uprising.
[…]
The Canadian students have gathered widespread support because they linked their tuition protests to Quebec’s call for higher fees for health care, the firing of public sector employees, the closure of factories, the corporate exploitation of natural resources, new restrictions on union organizing, and an announced increase in the retirement age. Crowds in Montreal, now counting 110 days of protests, chant “On ne lâche pas”—“We’re not backing down.”
Shouldn’t we just leave oil prices separate from other commodities and present them as nominal only, rather than adjusting them for inflation which is measured by the consumer price index which is heavily influenced by the price of oil? It seems to me that oil is so important to the modern economy that is should be treated as an entity to itself. I’m not an economist so I’m wondering if a few of the more financial types could spread some light on this for me. Thanks.
Because it’s not the only factor that affects CPI, even it it is the most significant factor. And because of that, nominal price differences over decades wouldn’t be reflective of the comparative value of oil in each time period.
What you seem to be asking is for oil prices to remain out of the CPI. The problem with is that consumers don’t buy the raw oil – they buy the products of oil. That said, there’s probably an argument for leaving fuel out of the CPI which is the main driver of price rises from oil.
Cha Know? The influences of those texts written 2-2 and a half thousand years ago.
2 millenia of millions of people casting their fears upon these stories and collectively leading to a SELFULFILLING PROPHECY described by current global events.
Is the PM a closet “zionist”? We might never know.
Luckily there are almost as many Muslims and almost three quarters of them live in the Asia Pacific area. Surrounded by the Ring of Fire and Allah’s people, we stand a pretty good chance.
Readers have probably already seen the neo-nazi attack on two Greek MP’s, but this quick interview with one of the assaulted women, Liana Kanelli, has the best description of the moral void at the heart of the extreme right I’ve heard in years.
Te Reo P
That reminds me about the interviewer on radionz this morning who made a quick comment on the Greek thing. This guy from fascist Golden dawn threw water at somebody and then I think punched a woman MP from the communist side and said that is how things should be, or similar.
Considering Greek’s sad time under the Generals, I thought it was very insensitive for an announcer (Mercep?) to say that you would think with Greece’s troubles that they could find something better to do.
Pah – that’s what you get with ignorant NZ radio interviewers. Everyone knows what happens when Europe gets into unmanageable debt and economic strife. Fascist nationalism rears its head up and wars start. Europe is never that far from its history.
CV
Talking about economics this morning David Skilling ex NZ Institute think tank (which is now NZ Innovation via the Round Table post Kerr), referred to Switzerland as one of the small economies that is successful in the present world, implying that they would be a role model for us along with Nordic states mentioned also. I think Switzerland is in a special niche of its own don’t you think, when thinking about economies that have survived well in the world and looking at their methods.
Are you saying that if the Euro collapsed, the diverse nations there would be at each other’s throats in pre-war mode? I thought the Euro was mainly a method to combine financial strength and be strong to match other powerful economic blocs. What you said makes the agreement sound much more vulnerable.
Fancy that, the naughty French Prez has wave la middle finger at the neo-Liberal wankers and lowered the age for those who work manually, (gosh you mean some people don’t just tap computer keys?),to gain a State pension from 62 to 60,
The French Prez cites ‘social justice’ and giving the young a helping hand into employment,the neo-Libs are said to be horrified which would tend to suggest the French prez need lower the pension age a little more..
In its annual review of the New Zealand economy, the IMF says the enormity of its household debt is unique among highly indebted countries and getting that down will make the biggest difference to its overall debt levels.
However, Mr English says less government borrowing will help the country earn its way out of its debt hole.
He says by borrowing less, interest rates will be lower – meaning less demand for the New Zealand dollar and an exchange rate that is more helpful to exporters
I heard that report, and couldn’t follow English’s convoluted logic – cuts to public services will help lower private debt????
The government will borrow less??? Haven’t seen that happening so far. And cutting public services mean more people will be struggling financially, less jobs etc, hence more people unable to live on their income.
Meanwhile, those at the upper end of the property market are still taking on higher and higher mortgages…. raising the total country’s private debt?
As great as this saving on licensing costs is, I do wonder how much more could be saved by shifting to an open source ecosystem. I realize there are upfront costs and entrenched applications and processes where it appears more economical to continue with the status quo, but for day to day desktop tasks open-office suites and desktop OS linux solutions like Ubuntu et.al are very credible and mature solutions now. Open source solutions are used extensively in public service entities overseas, our public sector should also be making the most of it.
I recon the reason Microsoft are being so generous with their discounts is due to the strength of such alternatives, moreso than clever negotiations on our part.
To encourage free-market the government should be mandating the use of Open Standards in all government funded organisations. This would help bring competition to the software market.
By his (somewhat tongue-in-cheek) back-of-the-envelope calculation, this study really seems to suggest that Microsoft cost the world economy somewhere in the range of $500 billion:
Get rid of those proprietary standards and we, and the rest of the world if they follow, will save millions as well as open up huge amounts of software innovation.
PS. My CV in MS .doc format 31.5KB, in OpenDocument .odt format 23.1KB. When you’ve got millions of documents that’s a lot of extra HDD space for using MS.
The Brazilian government changed to Linux years ago. Microsoft threatened to take them to court because one of the ministers said they were like a drug pusher – a few free hits to get you hooked, then apply the screws. When they discovered it would have to be a Brazilian court, they backed off.
While looking for mention of the committee that closed down after 1 hour, I found the interesting video clips from Parliament Today. I didn’t parliament was such fun. The NACTs welcome the Miss Universe entrants to the House, and next day the Greens retaliate with the Feminists of the Year. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SKaZju7vCSI&feature=plcp
I liked this heading – The Day In Parliament May 30
Feminists Welcomed, Winston Wound Up.
I watched but didn’t see anyone turning a key, but he did make some good points about the Budget having been uplifted from the 1991 one which was followed by hardship and a downturn in everything.
New Zealand is again having to reconcile conflicting pressures from its military and its trade interests. Should we join Pillar Two of AUKUS and risk compromising our markets in China? For a century after New Zealand was founded in 1840, its external security arrangements and external economics arrangements were aligned. ...
The ‘50 Shades of Green’ farmers’ protest in 2019 was heavy on climate change denial, but five years on, scepticism and criticism about the idea that pine forests can save us is growing across the board. File photo: Lynn GrievesonTL;DR: Here’s the top six news items of note in climate ...
This morning the sky was bright.The birds, in their usual joyous bliss. Nature doesn’t seem to feel the heat of what might angst humans.Their calls are clear and beautiful.Just some random thoughts:MāoriPaul Goldsmith has announced his government will roll back the judiciary’s rulings on Māori Customary Marine Title, which recognises ...
In 2003, the Court of Appeal delivered its decision in Ngati Apa v Attorney-General, ruling that Māori customary title over the foreshore and seabed had not been universally extinguished, and that the Māori Land Court could determine claims and confirm title if the facts supported it. This kicked off the ...
Earlier this week at Parliament, Labour leader Chris Hipkins was applauded for saying that the response to the final report of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care had to be “bigger than politics.” True, but the fine words, apologies and “we hear you” messages will soon ring ...
TL;DR: In news breaking this morning:The Ministry of Education is cutting $2 billion from its school building programme so the National-ACT-NZ First Coalition Government has enough money to deliver tax cuts; The Government has quietly lowered its child poverty reduction targets to make them easier to achieve;Te Whatu Ora-Health NZ’s ...
Kia ora. These are some stories that caught our eye this week – as always, feel free to share yours in the comments. Our header image this week (via Eke Panuku) shows the planned upgrade for the Karanga Plaza Tidal Swimming Steps. The week in Greater Auckland On ...
1. What's not to love about the way the Harris campaign is turning things around?a. Nothingb. Love all of itc. God what a reliefd. Not that it will be by any means easye. All of the above 2. Documents released by the Ministry of Health show Associate Health Minister Casey ...
Trust in me in all you doHave the faith I have in youLove will see us through, if only you trust in meWhy don't you, you trust me?In a week that saw the release of the 3,000 page Abuse in Care report Christopher Luxon was being asked about Boot Camps. ...
TL;DR: The podcast above of the weekly ‘hoon’ webinar for paying subscribers last night features co-hosts and talking about the Royal Commission Inquiry into Abuse in Carereport released this week, and with:The Kākā’s climate correspondent on a UN push to not recognise carbon offset markets and ...
TL;DR: As of 6:00 am on Friday, July 26, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:Transport: Simeon Brown announced$802.9 million in funding for 18 new trains on the Wairarapa and Manawatū rail lines, which ...
The northern expressway extension from Warkworth to Whangarei is likely to require radical changes to legislation if it is going to be built within the foreseeable future. The Government’s powers to purchase land, the planning process and current restrictions on road tolling are all going to need to be changed ...
Text within this block will maintain its original spacing when publishedFirst they came for the doctors But I was confused by the numbers and costs So I didn't speak up Then they came for our police and nurses And I didn't think we could afford those costs anyway So I ...
Photo by Joshua J. Cotten on UnsplashWe’re back again after our mid-winter break. We’re still with the ‘new’ day of the week (Thursday rather than Friday) when we have our ‘hoon’ webinar with paying subscribers to The Kākā for an hour at 5 pm.Jump on this link on YouTube Livestream ...
Notes: This is a free article. Abuse in Care themes are mentioned. Video is at the bottom.BackgroundYesterday’s report into Abuse in Care revealed that at least 1 in 3 of all who went through state and faith based care were abused - often horrifically. At least, because not all survivors ...
Luxon speaks in Parliament yesterday about the Abuse in Care report. Photo: Hagen Hopkins/Getty ImagesTL;DR: The top six things I’ve noted around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy today are:PM Christopher Luxon said yesterday in tabling the Abuse in Carereport in Parliament he wanted to ‘do the ...
About a decade ago I worked with a bloke called Steve. He was the grizzled veteran coder, a few years older than me, who knew where the bodies were buried - code wise. Despite his best efforts to be approachable and friendly he could be kind of gruff, through to ...
Some of the recent announcements from the government have reminded us of posts we’ve written in the past. Here’s one from early 2020. There were plenty of reactions to the government’s infrastructure announcement a few weeks ago which saw them fund a bunch of big roading projects. One of ...
TL;DR: My pick of the top six links elsewhere around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day or so to 7:00 am on Thursday, July 25 are:News: Why Electric Kiwi is closing to new customers - and why it matters RNZ’s Susan EdmundsScoop: Government drops ...
Hi,I felt a small wet tongue snaking through one of the holes in my Crocs. It explored my big toe, darting down one side, then the other. “He’s looking for some toe cheese,” said the woman next to me, words that still haunt me to this day.Growing up in New ...
Yesterday I happily quoted the Prime Minister without fact-checking him and sure enough, it turns out his numbers were all to hell. It’s not four kg of Royal Commission report, it’s fourteen.My friend and one-time colleague-in-comms Hazel Phillips gently alerted me to my error almost as soon as I’d hit ...
TL;DR: As of 6:00 am on Thursday, July 25, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day were:The Abuse in Care Royal Commission of Inquirypublished its final report yesterday.PM Christopher Luxon and The Minister responsible for ...
The Official Information Act has always been a battle between requesters seeking information, and governments seeking to control it. Information is power, so Ministers and government agencies want to manage what is released and when, for their own convenience, and legality and democracy be damned. Their most recent tactic for ...
TL;DR: The top six things I’ve noted around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy today are:Transport and Energy Minister Simeon Brown is accelerating plans to spend at least $10 billion through Public Private Partnerships (PPPs) to extend State Highway One as a four-lane ‘Expressway’ from Warkworth to Whangarei ...
I live my life (woo-ooh-ooh)With no control in my destinyYea-yeah, yea-yeah (woo-ooh-ooh)I can bleed when I want to bleedSo come on, come on (woo-ooh-ooh)You can bleed when you want to bleedYea-yeah, come on (woo-ooh-ooh)Everybody bleed when they want to bleedCome on and bleedGovernments face tough challenges. Selling unpopular decisions to ...
Please note:To skip directly to the- parliamentary footage in the video, scroll to 1:21 To skip to audio please click on the headphone iconon the left hand side of the screenThis video / audio section is under development. ...
Given the crackdown on wasteful government spending, it behooves me to point to a high profile example of spending by the Luxon government that looks like a big, fat waste of time and money. I’m talking about the deployment of NZDF personnel to support the US-led coalition in the Red ...
TL;DR: My pick of the top six links elsewhere around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day or so to 7:40 am on Wednesday, July 24 are:Deep Dive: Chipping away at the housing crisis, including my comments RNZ/Newsroom’s The DetailNews: Government softens on asset sales, ...
As I reported about the city centre, Auckland’s rail network is also going through a difficult and disruptive period which is rapidly approaching a culmination, this will result in a significant upgrade to the whole network. Hallelujah. Also like the city centre this is an upgrade predicated on the City ...
Today, a 4 kilogram report will be delivered to Parliament. We know this is what the report of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in State and Faith-based Care weighs, because our Prime Minister told us so.Some reporter had blindsided him by asking a question about something done by ...
TL;DR: As of 7:00 am on Wednesday, July 24, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:Beehive:Transport Minister Simeon Brownannounced plans to use PPPs to fund, build and run a four-lane expressway between Auckland ...
NewstalkZB host Mike Hosking, who can usually be relied on to give Prime Minister Christopher Luxon an easy run, did not do so yesterday when he interviewed him about the HealthNZ deficit. Luxon is trying to use a deficit reported last year by HealthNZ as yet another example of the ...
Back in January a StatsNZ employee gave a speech at Rātana on behalf of tangata whenua in which he insulted and criticised the government. The speech clearly violated the principle of a neutral public service, and StatsNZ started an investigation. Part of that was getting an external consultant to examine ...
Renting for life: Shared ownership initiatives are unlikely to slow the slide in home ownership by much. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The top six things I’ve noted around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy today are:A Deloittereport for Westpac has projected Aotearoa’s home-ownership rate will ...
You're broken down and tiredOf living life on a merry go roundAnd you can't find the fighterBut I see it in you so we gonna walk it outAnd move mountainsWe gonna walk it outAnd move mountainsAnd I'll rise upI'll rise like the dayI'll rise upI'll rise unafraidI'll rise upAnd I'll ...
There’s been a change in Myers Park. Down the steps from St. Kevin’s Arcade, past the grassy slopes, the children’s playground, the benches and that goat statue, there has been a transformation. The underpass for Mayoral Drive has gone from a barren, grey, concrete tunnel, to a place that thrums ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections Global society may have finally slammed on the brakes for climate-warming pollution released by human fossil fuel combustion. According to the Carbon Monitor Project, the total global climate pollution released between February and May 2024 declined slightly from the amount released during the same ...
TL;DR: My pick of the top six links elsewhere around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day or so to 7:00 am on Tuesday, July 23 are:Deep Dive: Penlink: where tolling rhetoric meets reality BusinessDesk-$$$’sOliver LewisScoop:Te Pūkenga plans for regional polytechs leak out ...
TL;DR: As of 6:00 am on Tuesday, July 23, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:Health: Shane Reti announcedthe Board of Te Whatu Ora-Health New Zealand was being replaced with Commissioner Lester Levy ...
Health NZ warned the Government at the end of March that it was running over Budget. But the reasons it gave were very different to those offered by the Prime Minister yesterday. Prime Minister Christopher Luxon blamed the “botched merger” of the 20 District Health Boards (DHBs) to create Health ...
Long ReadKey Summary: Although National increased the health budget by $1.4 billion in May, they used an old funding model to project health system costs, and never bothered to update their pre-election numbers. They were told during the Health Select Committees earlier in the year their budget amount was deficient, ...
As a momentous, historic weekend in US politics unfolded, analysts and commentators grasped for precedents and comparisons to help explain the significance and power of the choice Joe Biden had made. The 46th president had swept the Democratic party’s primaries but just over 100 days from the election had chosen ...
TL;DR: I’m casting around for new ideas and ways of thinking about Aotearoa’s political economy to find a few solutions to our cascading and self-reinforcing housing, poverty and climate crises.Associate Professor runs an online masters degree in the economics of sustainability at Torrens University in Australia and is organising ...
The Finance and Expenditure Committee has reported back on National's Local Government (Water Services Preliminary Arrangements) Bill. The bill sets up water for privatisation, and was introduced under urgency, then rammed through select committee with no time even for local councils to make a proper submission. Naturally, national's select committee ...
Some years ago, I bought a book at Dunedin’s Regent Booksale for $1.50. As one does. Vandrad the Viking (1898), by J. Storer Clouston, is an obscure book these days – I cannot find a proper online review – but soon it was sitting on my shelf, gathering dust alongside ...
History is not on the side of the centre-left, when Democratic presidents fall behind in the polls and choose not to run for re-election. On both previous occasions in the past 75 years (Harry Truman in 1952, Lyndon Johnson in 1968) the Democrats proceeded to then lose the White House ...
This is a free articleCoverageThis morning, US President Joe Biden announced his withdrawal from the Presidential race. And that is genuinely newsworthy. Thanks for your service, President Biden, and all the best to you and yours.However, the media in New Zealand, particularly the 1News nightly bulletin, has been breathlessly covering ...
A homeless person’s camp beside a blocked-off slipped damage walkway in Freeman’s Bay: we are chasing our tail on our worsening and inter-related housing, poverty and climate crises. Photo: Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The top six things I’ve noted around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy ...
What has happened to it all?Crazy, some'd sayWhere is the life that I recognise?(Gone away)But I won't cry for yesterdayThere's an ordinary worldSomehow I have to findAnd as I try to make my wayTo the ordinary worldYesterday morning began as many others - what to write about today? I began ...
TL;DR: My pick of the top six links elsewhere around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day or so to 7:00 am on Monday, July 22 are:Today’s Must Read: Father and son live in a tent, and have done for four years, in a million ...
TL;DR: As of 7:00 am on Monday, July 22, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:US President Joe Biden announced via X this morning he would not stand for a second term.Multinational professional services firm ...
A listing of 32 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, July 14, 2024 thru Sat, July 20, 2024. Story of the week As reflected by preponderance of coverage, our Story of the Week is Project 2025. Until now traveling ...
This weekend, a friend pointed out someone who said they’d like to read my posts, but didn’t want to pay. And my first reaction was sympathy.I’ve already told folks that if they can’t comfortably subscribe, and would like to read, I’d be happy to offer free subscriptions. I don’t want ...
National: The Party of ‘Law and Order’ IntroductionThis weekend, the Government formally kicked off one of their flagship policy programs: a military style boot camp that New Zealand has experimented with over the past 50 years. Cartoon credit: Guy BodyIt’s very popular with the National Party’s Law and Orderimage, ...
Day one of the solo leg of my long journey home begins with my favourite sound: footfalls in an empty street. 5.00 am and it’s already light and already too warm, almost.If I can make the train that leaves Budapest later this hour I could be in Belgrade by nightfall; ...
Do you remember Y2K, the threat that hung over humanity in the closing days of the twentieth century? Horror scenarios of planes falling from the sky, electronic payments failing and ATMs refusing to dispense cash. As for your VCR following instructions and recording your favourite show - forget about it.All ...
Climate Change Minister Simon Watts being questioned by The Kākā’s Bernard Hickey.TL;DR: My top six things to note around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the week to July 20 were:1. A strategy that fails Zero Carbon Act & Paris targetsThe National-ACT-NZ First Coalition Government finally unveiled ...
Summary:As New Zealand loses at least 12 leaders in the public service space of health, climate, and pharmaceuticals, this month alone, directly in response to the Government’s policies and budget choices, what lies ahead may be darker than it appears. Tui examines some of those departures and draws a long ...
The Minister of Housing’s ambition is to reduce markedly the ratio of house prices to household incomes. If his strategy works it would transform the housing market, dramatically changing the prospects of housing as an investment.Leaving aside the Minister’s metaphor of ‘flooding the market’ I do not see how the ...
As previously noted, my historical fantasy piece, set in the fifth-century Mediterranean, was accepted for a Pirate Horror anthology, only for the anthology to later fall through. But in a good bit of news, it turned out that the story could indeed be re-marketed as sword and sorcery. As of ...
An employee of tobacco company Philip Morris International demonstrates a heated tobacco device. Photo: Getty ImagesTL;DR: The top six things I’ve noted around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy on Friday, July 19 are:At a time when the Coalition Government is cutting spending on health, infrastructure, education, housing ...
TL;DR: My pick of the top six links elsewhere around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day or so to 8:30 am on Friday, July 19 are:Scoop: NZ First Minister Casey Costello orders 50% cut to excise tax on heated tobacco products. The minister has ...
Kia ora, it’s time for another Friday roundup, in which we pull together some of the links and stories that caught our eye this week. Feel free to add more in the comments! Our header image this week shows a foggy day in Auckland town, captured by Patrick Reynolds. ...
TL;DR : Here’s the top six items climate news for Aotearoa this week, as selected by Bernard Hickey and The Kākā’s climate correspondent Cathrine Dyer. A discussion recorded yesterday is in the video above and the audio of that sent onto the podcast feed.The Government released its draft Emissions Reduction ...
Save some money, get rich and old, bring it back to Tobacco Road.Bring that dynamite and a crane, blow it up, start all over again.Roll up. Roll up. Or tailor made, if you prefer...Whether you’re selling ciggies, digging for gold, catching dolphins in your nets, or encouraging folks to flutter ...
Waiting In The Wings:For truly, if Trump is America’s un-assassinated Caesar, then J.D. Vance is America’s Octavian, the Republic’s youthful undertaker – and its first Emperor.DONALD TRUMP’S SELECTION of James D. Vance as his running-mate bodes ill for the American republic. A fervent supporter of Viktor Orban, the “illiberal” prime ...
TL;DR: As of 6:00 am on Friday, July 19, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:The PSAannounced the Employment Relations Authority (ERA) had ruled in the PSA’s favour in its case against the Ministry ...
TL;DR: The podcast above of the weekly ‘hoon’ webinar for paying subscribers last night features co-hosts and talking with:The Kākā’s climate correspondent talking about the National-ACT-NZ First Government’s release of its first Emissions Reduction Plan;University of Otago Foreign Relations Professor and special guest Dr Karin von ...
Open access notablesImproving global temperature datasets to better account for non-uniform warming, Calvert, Quarterly Journal of the Royal Meteorological Society:To better account for spatial non-uniform trends in warming, a new GITD [global instrumental temperature dataset] was created that used maximum likelihood estimation (MLE) to combine the land surface ...
A late change to charter school legislation will cheat educators out of fair pay and negotiating power proving charter schools are just a vehicle to make profit out of our education system. ...
In 2004 te iwi Māori rallied against the Crown’s attempt to confiscate our coastlines and moana with the Foreshore and Seabed Act. This led to the largest hīkoi of a generation and the birth of Te Pāti Māori. 20 years later, history is repeating itself. Today the government has announced ...
It has been five and a half years since the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care was established to investigate the abuse of children, young people, and vulnerable adults within state and faith-based institutions. Yesterday, the final report - Whanaketia through pain and trauma, from darkness to light ...
The Green Party is calling on the Government to take action off the back of the International Court of Justice ruling on Israel’s illegal occupation of Palestine. ...
On Friday the International Court of Justice reaffirmed what Palestinian’s have been telling us for decades: that the occupation and colonisation of Palestinian lands by Israel is illegal and must end immediately. They also called for reparations for Palestinian’s who have lived under Israeli occupation since it began in 1967. ...
Labour calls on the Government to act after the International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruled that Israel’s occupation of Palestinian Territories is illegal. ...
The 53.7 percent rise in benefit sanctions over the last year is more proof of this Government’s disdain for our communities most in need of support. ...
Aotearoa could be a country where every child grows up feeling safe, loved and with a sense of belonging in their whānau and community. But for some of our children, this is far from reality. Instead, they are trapped in a maze of intergenerational harm that they can’t escape on ...
Te Pāti Māori are calling for David Seymour to resign as Associate Health Minister in response to his call for Pharmac to ignore the Treaty of Waitangi. “This announcement is just another example of the government’s anti-Tiriti, anti-Māori agenda.” Said Co-leader and spokesperson for health, Debbie Ngarewa-Packer. “Seymour thinks it ...
The soaring price of renting is driving the rise of inflation in this country - with latest figures from Stats NZ showing rents are up 4.8 per cent on average while annual inflation is at 3.3 per cent. ...
National’s Emissions Reduction Plan will take New Zealand further from the economy we need to ensure the next generation has a stable climate and secure livelihoods. ...
Following consultation with named parties and thorough consideration of privacy interests, the Green Party is in a position to release the Executive Summary of the final report from the independent investigation into Darleen Tana. ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon should be asking serious questions of his Minister for Resources Shane Jones now it’s been revealed he misled the public about a dinner with mining companies that he didn’t declare and said wasn’t pre-arranged. ...
Te Pāti Māori have submitted to the Justice Select Committee against the Sentencing (Reinstating Three Strikes) Amendment Bill. The bill will further entrench racism in our justice system and fails to focus on rehabilitation. “Reinstating Three Strikes will empower a systematically racist system and exacerbate the overrepresentation of Māori in ...
The Transport and Infrastructure Committee is set to make a determination on the Residential Tenancies Amendment (RTA) Bill in the coming weeks. “This legislation will give landlords the power to kick our whānau out onto the street for no reason” said Housing spokesperson, Mariameno Kapa-Kingi. “Their solution to the housing ...
“National’s campaign was about tackling crime and the best they can do is a two-year long Ministerial Advisory Group,” Labour justice spokesperson Duncan Webb said. ...
“There are more examples of charter schools failing their students than there are success stories. The coalition Government is driving to dismantle our public school system and instead promote a privatised, competitive structure that puts profits before kids,” Jan Tinetti said. ...
“This government is choosing to deliberately mislead and withhold information, keeping our people in the dark about this government’s agenda and the future of our mokopuna,” said co-leader and spokesperson for Health, Debbie Ngarewa-Packer. The call comes after the demand from the Chief Ombudsman that Associate Minister of Health, Casey ...
“Today’s climate announcement by Simon Watts makes clear the National Government is simply paying lip service to meeting its climate change targets,” Megan Woods said. ...
National is choosing to make life harder for workers by taking away the rights our communities have fought hard for. Here's how they’re taking workers backwards. ...
Australia, Canada and New Zealand today issued the following statement on the need for an urgent ceasefire in Gaza and the risk of expanded conflict between Hizballah and Israel. The situation in Gaza is catastrophic. The human suffering is unacceptable. It cannot continue. We remain unequivocal in our condemnation of ...
Attorney-General Judith Collins today reminded all State and faith-based institutions of their legal obligation to preserve records relevant to the safety and wellbeing of those in its care. “The Abuse in Care Inquiry’s report has found cases where records of the most vulnerable people in State and faith‑based institutions were ...
Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden says the Government’s online safety website for children and young people has reached one million page views. “It is great to see so many young people and their families accessing the site Keep It Real Online to learn how to stay safe online, and manage ...
Tēnā tātou katoa, Ngā mihi te rangi, ngā mihi te whenua, ngā mihi ki a koutou, kia ora mai koutou. Thank you for the opportunity to be here and the invitation to speak at this 50th anniversary conference. I acknowledge all those who have gone before us and paved the ...
New Zealand’s payroll providers have successfully prepared to ensure 3.5 million individuals will, from Wednesday next week, be able to keep more of what they earn each pay, says Finance Minister Nicola Willis and Revenue Minister Simon Watts. “The Government's tax policy changes are legally effective from Wednesday. Delivering this tax ...
An experimental vineyard which will help futureproof the wine sector has been opened in Blenheim by Associate Regional Development Minister Mark Patterson. The covered vineyard, based at the New Zealand Wine Centre – Te Pokapū Wāina o Aotearoa, enables controlled environmental conditions. “The research that will be produced at the Experimental ...
The Coalition Government has confirmed the indicative regional breakdown of North Island Weather Event (NIWE) funding for state highway recovery projects funded through Budget 2024, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Regions in the North Island suffered extensive and devastating damage from Cyclone Gabrielle and the 2023 Auckland Anniversary Floods, and ...
Indonesia’s Foreign Minister, Retno Marsudi, will visit New Zealand next week, Foreign Minister Winston Peters has announced. “Indonesia is important to New Zealand’s security and economic interests and is our closest South East Asian neighbour,” says Mr Peters, who is currently in Laos to engage with South East Asian partners. ...
He aha te kai a te rangatira? He kōrero, he kōrero, he kōrero. The government has reaffirmed its commitment to supporting the aspirations of Ngāti Maniapoto, Minister for Māori Development Tama Potaka says. “My thanks to Te Nehenehenui Trust – Ngāti Maniapoto for bringing their important kōrero to a ministerial ...
Transport Minister Simeon Brown has thanked outgoing Chair of the Civil Aviation Authority, Janice Fredric, for her service to the board.“I have received Ms Fredric’s resignation from the role of Chair of the Civil Aviation Authority,” Mr Brown says.“On behalf of the Government, I want to thank Ms Fredric for ...
The Government is proposing legislation to overturn a Court of Appeal decision and amend the Marine and Coastal Area Act in order to restore Parliament’s test for Customary Marine Title, Treaty Negotiations Minister Paul Goldsmith says. “Section 58 required an applicant group to prove they have exclusively used and occupied ...
Regulation Minister David Seymour says that opposition parties have united in bad faith, opposing what they claim are ‘dangerous changes’ to the Early Childhood Education sector, despite no changes even being proposed yet. “Issues with affordability and availability of early childhood education, and the complexity of its regulation, has led ...
After receiving more than 740 submissions in the first 20 days, Regulation Minister David Seymour is asking the Ministry for Regulation to extend engagement on the early childhood education regulation review by an extra two weeks. “The level of interest has been very high, and from the conversations I’ve been ...
The Coalition Government is investing $802.9 million into the Wairarapa and Manawatū rail lines as part of a funding agreement with the NZ Transport Agency (NZTA), KiwiRail, and the Greater Wellington and Horizons Regional Councils to deliver more reliable services for commuters in the lower North Island, Transport Minister Simeon ...
Local Government Minister Simeon Brown has announced his intention to appoint a Crown Manager to both Hawke’s Bay Regional and Wairoa District Councils to speed up the delivery of flood protection work in Wairoa."Recent severe weather events in Wairoa this year, combined with damage from Cyclone Gabrielle in 2023 have ...
Mr Speaker, this is a day that many New Zealanders who were abused in State care never thought would come. It’s the day that this Parliament accepts, with deep sorrow and regret, the Report of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care. At the heart of this report are the ...
For the first time, the Government is formally acknowledging some children and young people at Lake Alice Psychiatric Hospital experienced torture. The final report of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in State and Faith-based Care “Whanaketia – through pain and trauma, from darkness to light,” was tabled in Parliament ...
The Government has acknowledged the nearly 2,400 courageous survivors who shared their experiences during the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Historical Abuse in State and Faith-Based Care. The final report from the largest and most complex public inquiry ever held in New Zealand, the Royal Commission Inquiry “Whanaketia – through ...
With a week to go before hard-working New Zealanders see personal income tax relief for the first time in fourteen years, 513,000 people have used the Budget tax calculator to see how much they will benefit, says Finance Minister Nicola Willis. “Tax relief is long overdue. From next Wednesday, personal income ...
Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Brooke van Velden says a bill that has passed its first reading will improve parental leave settings and give non-biological parents more flexibility as primary carer for their child. The Regulatory Systems Amendment Bill (No3), passed its first reading this morning. “It includes a change ...
Two Bills designed to improve regulation and make it easier to do business have passed their first reading in Parliament, says Economic Development Minister Melissa Lee. The Regulatory Systems (Economic Development) Amendment Bill and Regulatory Systems (Immigration and Workforce) Amendment Bill make key changes to legislation administered by the Ministry ...
New legislation paves the way for greater competition in sectors such as banking and electricity, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly says. “Competitive markets boost productivity, create employment opportunities and lift living standards. To support competition, we need good quality regulation but, unfortunately, a recent OECD report ranked New ...
Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden says lotteries for charitable purposes, such as those run by the Heart Foundation, Coastguard NZ, and local hospices, will soon be allowed to operate online permanently. “Under current laws, these fundraising lotteries are only allowed to operate online until October 2024, after which ...
The Coalition Government is accelerating work on the new four-lane expressway between Auckland and Whangārei as part of its Roads of National Significance programme, with an accelerated delivery model to deliver this project faster and more efficiently, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “For too long, the lack of resilient transport connections ...
Sir Don McKinnon will travel to Viet Nam this week as a Special Envoy of the Government, Foreign Minister Winston Peters has announced. “It is important that the Government give due recognition to the significant contributions that General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong made to New Zealand-Viet Nam relations,” Mr ...
Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden says newly appointed Commissioner, Grant Illingworth KC, will help deliver the report for the first phase of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into COVID-19 Lessons, due on 28 November 2024. “I am pleased to announce that Mr Illingworth will commence his appointment as ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters travels to Laos this week to participate in a series of Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)-led Ministerial meetings in Vientiane. “ASEAN plays an important role in supporting a peaceful, stable and prosperous Indo-Pacific,” Mr Peters says. “This will be our third visit to ...
Construction of a new mental health facility at Te Nikau Grey Hospital in Greymouth is today one step closer, Mental Health Minister Matt Doocey says. “This $27 million facility shows this Government is delivering on its promise to boost mental health care and improve front line services,” Mr Doocey says. ...
New Zealand is committing nearly $50 million to a package supporting sustainable Pacific fisheries development over the next four years, Foreign Minister Winston Peters and Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones announced today. “This support consisting of a range of initiatives demonstrates New Zealand’s commitment to assisting our Pacific partners ...
Associate Education Minister David Seymour says proposed changes to the Education and Training Amendment Bill will ensure charter schools have more flexibility to negotiate employment agreements and are equipped with the right teaching resources. “Cabinet has agreed to progress an amendment which means unions will not be able to initiate ...
In response to serious concerns around oversight, overspend and a significant deterioration in financial outlook, the Board of Health New Zealand will be replaced with a Commissioner, Health Minister Dr Shane Reti announced today. “The previous government’s botched health reforms have created significant financial challenges at Health NZ that, without ...
Minister for Space and Science, Innovation and Technology Judith Collins will travel to Adelaide tomorrow for space and science engagements, including speaking at the Australian Space Forum. While there she will also have meetings and visits with a focus on space, biotechnology and innovation. “New Zealand has a thriving space ...
Climate Change Minister Simon Watts will travel to China on Saturday to attend the Ministerial on Climate Action meeting held in Wuhan. “Attending the Ministerial on Climate Action is an opportunity to advocate for New Zealand climate priorities and engage with our key partners on climate action,” Mr Watts says. ...
Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones is travelling to the Solomon Islands tomorrow for meetings with his counterparts from around the Pacific supporting collective management of the region’s fisheries. The 23rd Pacific Islands Forum Fisheries Committee and the 5th Regional Fisheries Ministers’ Meeting in Honiara from 23 to 26 July ...
The Government today launched the Military Style Academy Pilot at Te Au rere a te Tonga Youth Justice residence in Palmerston North, an important part of the Government’s plan to crackdown on youth crime and getting youth offenders back on track, Minister for Children, Karen Chhour said today. “On the ...
The Government has welcomed news the NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) has begun work to replace nine priority bridges across the country to ensure our state highway network remains resilient, reliable, and efficient for road users, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says.“Increasing productivity and economic growth is a key priority for the ...
Acting Prime Minister David Seymour has been in contact throughout the evening with senior officials who have coordinated a whole of government response to the global IT outage and can provide an update. The Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet has designated the National Emergency Management Agency as the ...
New Zealand and Japan will continue to step up their shared engagement with the Pacific, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says. “New Zealand and Japan have a strong, shared interest in a free, open and stable Pacific Islands region,” Mr Peters says. “We are pleased to be finding more ways ...
New developments in the heart of North Island forestry country will reinvigorate their communities and boost economic development, Regional Development Minister Shane Jones says. Mr Jones visited Kaingaroa and Kawerau in Bay of Plenty today to open a landmark community centre in the former and a new connecting road in ...
President Adeang, fellow Ministers, honourable Diet Member Horii, Ambassadors, distinguished guests. Minasama, konnichiwa, and good afternoon, everyone. Distinguished guests, it’s a pleasure to be here with you today to talk about New Zealand’s foreign policy reset, the reasons for it, the values that underpin it, and how it ...
Last summer when Matairangi burned, Ginny and Tom stood at the window of their lounge, watching kākā shoot skyward from the burning trees. From the distance, they looked to Ginny like pages torn from books and thrown into a bonfire. It was Tom, voice tight, who told her it was ...
Opinion: The Canadian short story writer Alice Munro – winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2013 – died in May at the age of 92. Her work was about “the damage people inflict on one another in the name of love”, Deborah Treisman wrote in the New Yorker. ...
This month marks two years since the most powerful telescope ever built sent its first pictures back to earth. From its lofty vantage point, beyond the moon in orbit around the sun, the James Webb Space Telescope was tuned to observe the first stars and galaxies being born soon after ...
Comment: After Climate Change Minister Simon Watts’ preview several weeks ago, I had some optimism about the Government’s emissions reduction plan. Now I’ve read the discussion document, that hope has been dashed. How can the Government propose a plan that wants to take New Zealand taxpayers’ hard-earned money, and spend ...
Christopher Luxon: hurdles The little man from National jumps hurdles in his sleep. He’s quite good at it in his dreams and even though the reality doesn’t quite match up you have to give him credit for getting up every morning and crashing into the very first hurdle of the ...
Comment: It was a good two hours into the conversation when Tyrone Marks raised the most basic of questions when I first spoke to him in 2017. “They didn’t explain the things they did to me. They never told me why. And they still haven’t. There’s no explanation for it. ...
Madeleine Chapman rounds out Death Week on The Spinoff with a final recommendation. You can read all of our Death Week coverage here. Nothing forces you to reflect on your life and relationships quite like proximity to death. For those whose nearest and dearest have died, there are reasonably obvious ...
Whitney Greene takes us through her life in television, including the TV character she’d like to plan a funeral for and her cow lung catastrophe on The Traitors NZ. “If the phone rings, I have to answer it,” Whitney Greene from The Traitors NZ warns as we begin our My ...
Maddie Ballard reviews the debut essay collection of Pōneke writer Flora Feltham.In ‘The Raw Material’, the longest essay in Flora Feltham’s dazzling debut collection, the author heads out for a run after hours of weaving and sees the world turn to textile. “Pounding along the Parade, I saw the ...
Andy Christiansen, one half of the experimental rock-pop duo TRiPS, shares the tunes inspiring the band’s perfect weekend and new release. “Good speakers, good food, good music, no distractions”: that’s all you need to enjoy the psychedelic stylings of TRiPS, a new band formed by Fly My Pretties’ Barnaby Weir ...
Celebrating our quadrennial opportunity to become experts in a bunch of sports we never normally watch.The games of the XXXIII Olympiad are upon us. Paris will host this year’s showcase of sporting and athletic prowess, which means some late-night and early-morning viewing for us in Aotearoa.But what sports ...
The photograph is striking and beautiful, but also disturbing – a reminder that my love for John was often entangled in shame.The Sunday Essay is made possible thanks to the support of Creative New Zealand.In the spring of 1980, in Dunedin, shortly before his death, someone took a photograph ...
Get to know Babushka, our latest Dog of the Month. This feature was offered as a reward during our What’s Eating Aotearoa PledgeMe campaign. Thank you to Babu’s humans, Jo and Isabel, for their support. Dog name: Babushka (Babu for short) Age: 2Breed: Border Collie X poodleIf rescued, ...
Pacific Media Watch A Lebanese photojournalist who was severely wounded during an Israeli air strike in south Lebanon carried the Olympic torch in Paris this week in honour of her peers who have been wounded and killed in the field — especially in Gaza and Lebanon. Christina Assi of Agence ...
The first report in a five-part web series focused on the 15th Triennial Conference of Pacific Women taking place in the Marshall Islands this week.SPECIAL REPORT:By Netani Rika in Majuro Women continue to fight for justice 70 years after the first nuclear tests by the United States caused ...
Christopher Luxon has joined with Australia and Canada's leaders in voicing support for US President Joe Biden's ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra The 2022 election brought the “teal wave” into parliament. The next election will test whether teals, who occupy what were Liberal seats, and other independents can maintain their momentum. Joining us on the Podcast ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ian Musgrave, Senior lecturer in Pharmacology, University of Adelaide Pixavri/Shutterstock A major Federal Court class action has been dismissed this week after Justice Michael Lee ruled there was not enough evidence to prove the weedkiller Roundup causes cancer. Plaintiff Kelvin ...
In The Week in Politics: politicians have to decide what to do about child abuse, Health NZ is booked in for major surgery and Darleen Tana returns. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Clare Corbould, Associate Professor, Contemporary Histories Research Group, Deakin University Mainstream media are surprisingly muted at the prospect of the world’s most powerful nation being led for the first time by a woman – specifically a woman of colour, Vice President Kamala ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Rebecca Bennett, PhD Student, Associate Research Fellow, Deakin University Last week, a drone delivery company called Wing (owned by Google’s parent company, Alphabet) started operating in Melbourne. Some 250,000 residents in parts of the city’s eastern suburbs can now order food from ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jonathan Foo, Lecturer, Physiotherapy, Monash University pikselstock/Shutterstock In the next 40 years in Australia, it’s predicted the number of Australians aged 65 and over will more than double, while the number of people aged 85 and over will more than triple. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Katrina Grant, Research Associate, Power Institute for Arts and Visual Culture, University of Sydney Jonas Åkerström’s 1790 work, Session of the Accademia dell’Arcadia on August 17 1788.Nationalmuseum/Cecilia Heisser Ever wondered whether you’d have a better chance at winning an Olympic gold ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Alexandra Jones, Program Lead, Food Governance, George Institute for Global Health wavebreakmedia/Shutterstock On Thursday, Australian and New Zealand food ministers at state, federal and national levels met to thrash out what’s next for health star ratings on packaged foods. Now, after ...
The Abuse in Care report found many Pacific survivors lost their connections to their culture and language, resulting in trauma that has been carried from generation to generation. ...
In the regulatory review, ECC intends to suggest that ERO focus on curriculum delivery reviews rather than the Ministry, because it’s not efficient or effective to have two agencies with radically different approaches climbing over each other. ...
Te Rūnanga Nui o Ngā Kura Kaupapa Māori invites the current government to work in partnership with them to develop a pathway forward, including the development of a parallel pathway and meaningful policy and strategy for Kura Kaupapa Māori ...
If you haven’t started watching yet, Tara Ward begs you to reconsider. This is an excerpt from our weekly pop culture newsletter Rec Room. Sign up here. In the world of New Zealand reality television, we have many gems in our crown. There’s the delicious second season of the Celebrity Treasure ...
A new poem by Fiona Kidman. The clothes of the dead I did not keep my mother’s furry red beret for long nor the stringy scarves that adorned the necks of my aunts, although I have kept tag ends of gold, the rings and trinkets they wore, the brooches no ...
The government’s announcement that it will re-open the foreshore and seabed controversy by changing the rules on recognising centuries-old Māori customary title for a third time goes against the rule of law and New Zealand values,” Mr Tipa says. ...
The only published and available best-selling indie book chart in New Zealand is the top 10 sales list recorded every week at Unity Books’ stores in High St, Auckland, and Willis St, Wellington.AUCKLAND1 Lioness by Emily Perkins (Bloomsbury, $25) Roarrrr! Perkins’ brilliant, award-winning, Marian-Keyes anointed, darkly funny, long ...
The 2004 Act vested ownership of the foreshore and seabed in the Crown, extinguishing any Māori claims to ownership and causing widespread outrage and protests among Māori communities. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Antje Deckert, Associate Professor (Criminology), Auckland University of Technology Getty Images Despite the connection between institutional harm and gang membership made clear in this week’s mammoth royal commission abuse-in care report, the government seems unlikely to soften its “get tough on ...
From Lewis Clareburt in the swimming to the start of the rowing – the first seven days of Paris 2024 promise to be big for New Zealand. There are few events that bring the country together quite like an Olympic Games. Nothing quite matches the excitement of getting up in ...
Groundbreaking local science just showed up in the most surprising of places: the season finale of The Kardashians. In the season five finale of The Kardashians last night, several members of the family gathered together in one of their signature empty, cream-coloured rooms to hear test results that had been ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Amin Saikal, Emeritus professor of Middle Eastern and Central Asian Studies, Australian National University The Middle East is on the brink of a possibly devastating regional war, with hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah reaching an extremely dangerous level. Washington has engaged in ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Laura Elizabeth Eades, Rheumatologist, Monash University Lupus is an inflammatory autoimmune illness, where the body’s immune system mistakenly attacks itself. Lupus can affect virtually any part of the body, although it most commonly affects the skin, joints and kidneys. The symptoms ...
A law firm that specialises in working with survivors of abuse in State care is disappointed that the Government fails to recognise that its boot camps can be directly compared to previous boot camps from the 1990s and 2000s. ...
Dying is a natural part of life, like updating your Wof or seeing your hairdresser, but without the word-of-mouth recs that help guarantee a good service. What if we changed that? Dying Reviews received by The Spinoff have had the names of organisations redacted while Hospice NZ collects further data. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jonti Horner, Professor (Astrophysics), University of Southern Queensland Mike Lewinski/Flickr, CC BY On any clear night, if you gaze skywards long enough, chances are you’ll see a meteor streaking through the sky. Some nights, however, are better than others. At ...
Despite having no bars or other designated spaces for lesbians, Auckland boasts a small but mighty lesbian museum. So how did it get here? The past 18 months has brought increasing hostility towards the queer community across Aotearoa. Kellie-Jay Keen-Minshull’s anti-trans rally in Tamaki Makaurau last March led to a ...
Poneke Antifascist Coalition has invited Wellingtonians to stand in solidarity with the Kanak people at 12pm today outside the French Embassy in Wellington. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Peter Layton, Visiting Fellow, Strategic Studies, Griffith University Drones are the signature technology of the Ukraine war. A few miniature aircraft designs were used in the war’s early days, but an incredible array of drones have now evolved. There are different types, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Mark Slee, Associate Professor, Clinical Academic Neurologist, Flinders University Francisco Gonzelez/Unsplash Migraine is many things, but one thing it’s not is “just a headache”. “Migraine” comes from the Greek word “hemicrania”, referring to the common experience of migraine being predominantly ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Lee White, Senior Lecturer and Horizon Fellow, School of Social and Political Sciences, University of Sydney Australia was slow to introduce minimum building standards for energy efficiency. The Nationwide House Energy Rating Scheme (NatHERS) only came into force in 2003. Older homes ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Steven Sherwood, Professor of Atmospheric Sciences, Climate Change Research Centre, UNSW Sydney The past century of human-induced warming has increased rainfall variability over 75% of the Earth’s land area – particularly over Australia, Europe and eastern North America, new research shows. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Tony Heynen, Program Coordinator, Sustainable Energy, The University of Queensland A temporary stadium in the Champ-de-Mars, ParisEkaterina Pokrovsky/Shutterstock As Paris prepares to host the Olympic and Paralympic Games, the sustainability of the event is coming under scrutiny. The organisers have promoted ...
A night of karaoke and community in a pub that feels like a memory. You’d barely even notice it, unless you knew to look. Tucked away behind a liquor store on busy Constable Street is the capital’s last great pub. Newtown Sports Bar is an emblem of the pub culture ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ian Wright, Professor in Marine Geology, University of Canterbury Louise Corcoran/Getty Images The decline in the number of doctoral candidates at New Zealand universities is a worrying sign for the country’s effort to build a knowledge-based economy. Aotearoa New Zealand’s ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Laurie Berg, Associate Professor, University of Technology Sydney defotoberg/Shutterstock Migrant worker exploitation is entrenched in workplaces across Australia. Tragically, a deep fear of immigration consequences means most unlawful employer conduct goes unreported. On Wednesday, however, the government officially launched a ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Vaughan Cruickshank, Senior Lecturer in Health and Physical Education, University of Tasmania Paris is about to host its third summer Olympics. While we don’t yet know what the legacy of this year’s games will be, let’s take the opportunity to reflect on ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Hugh Breakey, Deputy Director, Institute for Ethics, Governance & Law, Griffith University In the wake of the assassination attempt on former US President Donald Trump, there were calls from bothsides of US politics, as well as internationally, to reduce the brutal, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Keith Rathbone, Senior Lecturer, Modern European History and Sports History, Macquarie University Two high-profile assaults on Australians in Paris have raised concerns about security ahead of the Olympic Games. On Saturday evening, a young woman was allegedly sexually assaulted by a ...
Dying is inevitable and, so it seems, is it costing a lot, writes Stewart Sowman-Lund in today’s extract from The Bulletin. To receive The Bulletin in full each weekday, sign up here.The cost of dying ...
The government took Joyce Harris's first baby and sent her off to a girls' home. Half a century on - and out of oceans of hurt - it asked her to be a mother figure. ...
It’s the deadliest fictional town in the country, but which death has been the most bonkers? Alex Casey looks back at 10 seasons of The Brokenwood Mysteries to find out. Warning: The following ranking story contains famous New Zealand actors appearing to be dead (not alive). The Spinoff has been ...
Water cremation is the biggest thing to happen to the death industry in the last 100 years. Alex Casey meets the people trying to bring it to Aotearoa. Through a set of mirrored doors down the industrial end of Christchurch’s St Asaph Street, death is getting a new lease on ...
The Department of Conservation is in greater need of a commissioner than Health NZ, a veteran scientist says The post The risks and rewards of remaking DoC appeared first on Newsroom. ...
Congratulations to all involved in achieving the Parata back down.
But do not underestimate the tories. They are fast tracking the return of the privatisation legislation and are returning the bill six weeks early. It appears they will try and smash the bill through next week.
They are trying to blunt the effectiveness of the petition and using the current political chaos to push the bill through.
Time to to keep campaigning …
I’ve already submitted my comment to stuff’s article on it this morning:
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/7062894/Asset-sales-law-being-rushed-to-dodge-poll
And now this article has disappeared from the main page of the site, and there’s been no addition of more recent comments for a few hours. What a surprise! Could it be because most commenters are opposed to both asset sales and the abuse of democracy?
Now’s the chance for Dunne to stand up for democracy and insist National send the bill back to select committee or he won’t vote for it.
If NACT do not succeed in privatisation, including delivering school funding to the private sector, with charter schools, they will not get their rewards in the hereafter.
Key will not get his ten million dollar a year retirement, courtesy of Goldmen Saks, for one.
Every thing else is just smokescreen
RIP Bob Chapman
… “hell hath no fury like a woman scorned”?
And Key in an interview this morning firmly laid the blame on teacher unions
and the threats of protracted industrial action.
Nothing to do with public opinion telling them that it was lousy policy made on the hoof.
However, teacher organisations beware …
Yep:
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/7063028/Class-size-backdown-political
Interesting to see Key’s “perception is reality” comment….. sums up his whole approach.
Agreed Carol. I guess that’s what happens when you’re the top smelly dog and everybody around says yes yes yes you are a great and mighty one – you start believing your own bullshit. It is a common human trait and Key has fallen straight into it.
I would suggest that the problem perceptions in NZ are not parents perceptions of how many children are in their child’s class but Key’s perceptions of the average NZer.
And then we also have Keys own ‘perception’ that small class sizes are good and that is why he sends his own kids to private schools.
… words fail me …
Brilliant cartoon in the Press this morning highighting the warmongering and overlording ways of the American people (yes, it is time to push this back onto the American people and not let them off by saying ‘oh, it is the American government, not the people).
What I would like to know is why no Americans ever come on here and defend their murderous ways. Surely there are some who float around here…
The Americans are clearly both the most dangerous people on the planet and now at their most dangerous in their history.
What is the matter with them? I suspect that the power that has accumulated there through a series of historical events and machionations has simply got out of control. The place is out of control and we need to watch out.
I do know some Americans who are very critical of the US war-mongering and imperialistic ways. Some of them have left the US in disgust to live elsewhere. I don’t think they come to this forum, at least not regularly though.
The powerful groups within the US have done a very good job of marginalising dissenting views over a long period.
And many US people live in third world conditions, putting all their efforts into surviving. And they have been disenfranchised, or have just given up on voting because it doesn’t seem to change anything.
Interestingly, it’s the hard core US Libertarians who speak most loudly in America against the War machine.
Unfortunately, here in the US it’s also the “Libertarians” (don’t let the name fool you) who speak most loudly in favor of all the OTHER machines. These days, the most likely thing you’ll find when you scratch a self-described Libertarian from the US is a hardcore pro-corporate right-winger who favors legalizing cannabis. Beyond that, their “liberty” extends only to corporations and the federal government; deregulation of industry and laissez-faire capitalism combined with strong state or local regulation of individual liberty is the order of the day. (Case in point: prominent Libertarian/Republican Ron Paul votes consistently in favor of corporate tax cuts, but believes the individual states should be allowed to outlaw abortion, gay marriage, and even certain consensual adult sexual activity.)
After watching our own Libertarians I came up with a simple description of them:
Libertarians: Dictators hiding behind liberal values.
It’s quite obvious that for libertarians that oppression is the order of the day, not liberty (except for themselves).
Looks like you’re looking to have a beef. I do have US citizenship, but I’d probably disappoint you because I’m not murderous or horrible (although I do have many flaws as my wife is quick to note). So, sorry mate, although I have the passport, I’m not the one you’re looking to vent at.
Ha! Whenever I chat with people here they quickly notice my accent and ask if I am Canadian. When I reply that I’m not Canadian but that I’m from the States they look a bit puzzled and either drift away quickly as if I have some contagious disease (American cooties perhaps) or they seem surprised and mumble something or other about how I don’t seem ‘American’.
Thanks for the reply happynz. I guess yes a beef and venting is what is wanted. But I feel that is entirely legitimate when the sorts of actions are going around the world that are going on. And within the US. And even here, kowtowing to all things American as this government is.
That was the point of the post – trying to drag out a vibrant debate about the actions of your government.
As for pointing the finger at the people as well as the government, what do you think? Is that legit? I think so given who the American people keep electing and the history of American wars and actions. The American people need to stand up and explain imo.
If some other nation was going around invading other nations, launching drone attacks on others soil, making overt threats against loads of others, etc then that other nation would be painted by the US as evil. So is the US evil? Using its own reasons and definitions the US is evil.
I just want to hear the justification and the arguments. Not everything is opinion, often times there is a right and a wrong.
Yes! I recall a few days ago, all the bashing of the English that went on here, as the proud ‘Scots’ and ‘Irish’ New Zealanders went to town… If it’s legitimate to jeer at someone for being English, then it’s certainly legitimate to query Americans, especially at most of them have no problem with capital punishment, the ‘bearing of arms’ – oh, and drone attacks!
” So, sorry mate, although I have the passport, I’m not the one you’re looking to vent at.”
That’s because you are an American person, not the American people 🙂 There is an obvious difference there.
In my experience, Canadians are not a lot different – although they (some of them) pride themselves on being… Yet they have the same self-centred and paranoid mentality.
Just checked The Press’s cartoon this morning on Press Display. It’s a cartoon of Obama, with his hands on a remote control, in “Mikado” outfit, singing a song to the tune of Gilbert & Sullivan’s Lord High Executioner:
Interesting also that the front page of The Press hard copy doesn’t seem to be reflected on the main page of Stuff online.
Front page, headline article is half a page on Coldest Day On Record (That was Wednesday in Christchurch)
Headline for article on bottom half of the front page:
Key denies ‘pulling rug out’ from under Parata: Minister lauded and lambasted over U-turn
So I suppose you take full responsibility for John Key and the National governments actions? And all New Zealanders are right wing ideologues? If they can vote in Bush for a second term and we can vote in Key for a second term maybe we are more similar than you think?
Because that’s what you infer when painting all Americans with the same brush. I have a number of American friends who can’t stand their government and the way the whole system is set up.
Fair point, but from what I see the US has been going about these evil actions for a very long time now and imo the actual people need to step up to the plate and explain. I understand democracy and the tyranny of the majority, however it is a majority and they have voted in favour of continuing the murderous rampage – especially when they re-elected Bush.
If it happens in NZ over a similarly long period then fine, point the finger. At the moment though it aint to anything like the extent in the US.
Perhaps one of your friends would care to outline the justification for these long-term US actions.
It’s not their responsibility to outline any justification for the actions of the government any more than you or I should have to justify National selling state assets. Those that voted by and large never voted for the Demublicans and so have nothing to answer for.
They understand that federal U.S. is by and large a farce and are more focused on local politics by voting in councillors, water board members etc that actually have some impact on their lives and they actually have some power over.
It’s not their responsibility? I outlined some reasons why there is a responsibility – the long term actions of their governments and the simply murderous nature of what is and has been done. Imo this, over such a long period, does require justification. Do you think we should all just sit around quietly while the US arms people to murder women and children in Syria, for example? That sort of approach screams i see nothing i hear nothing i say nothing. Pathetic. Actually, worse than pathetic given that people are killed daily by the US govt.
At the risk of raising godwins law – people turned a blind eye and did not speak up prior to WWII. Perhaps the similarities are greater than people imagine. And keep in mind that when in the midst of volatile times the times generally do not feel as volatile as they actually are – the reality of the times gets exposed in hindsight.
Look the American people have contributed massively to the goodness of the world but it is now out of control. The system is stuffed and rampaging on with a whole bunch of Texan cowboys riding the bucking bronco.
Appreciate your feedback, but it would be good to hear someone outline whatever the justifications are for American actions in the world. Nobody has yet and one has to wonder why…
To quote from Thucydides’ description of the Athenian message to Melos: “Regarding the Gods we have the belief, regarding men the certainty that by a necessity of nature each one always commands wherever he has the power to do so.” America is now the great power, and it does what great powers tend to do, only with modern methods. I think also that their system is predicated on infinite resources, while resources are running low. It pays to remember, however, that American excesses are frequently challenged by the Americans themselves. Look at “Grapes of Wrath” as response to the depression, and the many American voices that speak out now, often at risk to themselves and their reputations.
Seconded 100%!
I’ve often thought so…
Because there is no justification?
I feel like we are talking at cross points here. I agree that it’s their responsibility to critique their governments actions and create open discourse in their communities about how to change things. But you said justify, and it is 100% not their responsibility to justify the actions of a government they never voted for and don’t agree with.
Btw the U.S. has a huge number of dissenters who talk about the ravages of the U.S. government everyday. Noam Chomsky, Howard Zinn, Derrick Jensen, John Zerzan, Ward Chruchill, Jello Biafra, Immortal Technique, Amy Goodman, Alexander Cockburn ad infinitum.
The people of a democracy are always responsible for the actions of its administration.
Neither the USA or NZ are democracies.
Being graciously allowed to change the names of the dictatorship every three years does not make a democracy.
Especially when the actions of both lots of Dictators vary only in degree.
I agree in a “democracy” you could hold the people responsible.
It is notable that the worlds, few, true democracies do not vote to go to war.
+1 The puppet leader effect is more prominent in the US, where the drug companies, oil barons and war machine effectively has control of almost everything that happens.
Personal responsibility for the actions of the state is a difficult argument… because democracy is predated upon by dictators. Elections are often a mirage of choice, when you get the same outcome no-matter who you vote for. Although people should feel some responsibility for the actions of their countries, and the fact that democracy has been usurped, they are not the ones who pull the trigger.
Therefore it’s wrong to blame all Americans per se with generalizations. You can blame the United States because it collectively undertakes atrocities, but on an individual basis, whether somebody is personally responsible would be dependent on their attitudes and actions.
People should not be automatically prejudiced against all Americans, just as they should not be prejudiced against all Muslims. After all, it’s prejudices that often lead to and facilitate wars.
What democracy remains? An electoral college system where 538 unknown electors get to choose POTUS? Or one where unbridled amounts of corporate money drown out all voices but their own commercial interests? Or one where the populace is completely dumbed-down, stressed out, criminalised and distracted by the American mythos?
Greer has something to say about the US concept of “democracy”
http://thearchdruidreport.blogspot.co.nz/2012/05/democracys-arc.html
“It’s not their responsibility to outline any justification for the actions of the government any more than you or I should have to justify National selling state assets.”
Exactly, also the imperialistic actions of the USA is relatively not much different from UK, Spain, France etc. To blindly blame individuals from those countries would be wrong…and I find that most British people are not only are aware of their country’s imperialism, but they then don’t care.
I found San Francisco to be one of the most politically aware cities I have been to, much more than European cities. I find many Europeans to often be self-righteous and always pointing the finger at the yanks, even when those Europeans know what’s going on in the world. Bush may have got re-elected, but that was by a voting public that has a blinkered view of history/current events….Blair got voted in by a UK public that was generally aware of their history/current events. So which people are more ‘stupid’?
Also USA is a neoliberal country…neoliberalism creates many victims, and few benefit. Democracy is a sham and a con…one surely cannot believe that a democratic system means all people have a say in how the country is run. Slavery created the USA, those people still suffer, not much has changed for African Americans. Slavery still continues under another guise, this is happening within the USA’s boarders. 10km from Wall Street are some horrible ghettos…those people have no voice, they have no choice, they are responsible for nothing.
Good vid. Understand your point but it kinda misses my point.
Hey Americans out there – is there one of you who can stand up and outline the justifications for your government’s actions? What about someone from the US government itself? Come on. Grow some balls. What about someone who voted for Bush? Or Obama?
police state, facsist state, evil state
“Good vid. Understand your point but it kinda misses my point.”
yeah brother ali has a lot of good things to say. I don’t think you will find any defenders of US imperialism / neo-colonialsim here. Try this: http://nation.foxnews.com/
The question is: Is representative democracy really democracy or just dictatorship in another guise?
I’m picking the latter.
“The question is: Is representative democracy really democracy or just dictatorship in another guise?
I’m picking the latter.”
True…(our) democracy is often taken for granted that it is effective and the best way to run society. What will become interesting is over the next 50 years democracy will begin to find itself under attack, in the same way capitalism is being questioned now.
Questions are being raised as to whether or not democracy is the best way to run capitalism…China is forcing us to face that.
Will China turn to our ‘democratic’ capitalism…or will they steam ahead and force us (Western, liberal capitalist democracy) to alter either our capitalism or our democracy.
Our “Democracy ” is not democracy in any way shape or form.
Being able to change the names of your dictators without the majority being able to change anything else, including policy direction, is NOT democracy.
Democracy is what these people have. http://direct-democracy.geschichte-schweiz.ch/
If their representatives get too stupid they can have a binding referendum. Which means the “representatives” have to act as administrators, not dictators, and explain and have sensible policies, or they will not get anything done.
Notice whenever New Zealanders have a chance to choose, they always choose whatever gives politicians less power, because we know that giving them too much is a disaster.
It is well known in management research that the more people involved in a decision the better the resulting decisions.
In any case even if the decision is wrong, it is ours to make. Not 120 largely self selected morons.
OUR SYSTEM IS NOT DEMOCRACY!!!
Any society which has enjoyed the power the US have since the second world war are inevitable lured towards evil.
It’s not because they are “American”. Important some of the best of human endeavour also comes out of the States.
Such as? Seriously, I would like to know…
When I was in my teens, I believed the USA was the most scientifically and technically advanced country in the world. How many times do we see on the TV news or see in the paper some family whingeing about not having the money to send little Cameron or Madison to the States for some revolutionary new medical treatment? I was highly amused to learn that in many cases the treatment they are begging the public to fund, is available in Australia or even here in NZ for a tiny fraction of the price…
If the USA ever was the most scientifically and technically advanced country in the world, those days are long gone. Now the USA is noted for obesity, stupidity and aggression. Only.
Actually, it’s not. Their voter turnout for federal elections is usually only around 50% – usually below, sometimes above. Presidential elections get higher but 60% is still higher than the norm.
I’m not defending the US actions, they’ve been a rogue nation since at least 1890. Their problem stems from three things – low voter turn out (the people who want a better government aren’t voting), the fact that there really is no difference between the two parties (which puts off the people most likely to demand change) and an FPP voting system that entrenches the same two parties permanently in the halls of power.
1890? I’d go so far as 1823, the Monroe Doctrine, as the beginning of the rot.
They successfully raised an empire to become a global hyperpower. Unfortunately, they’ve forgotten the roots of their success – high levels of socialised education and housing as well as true capitalist industry (as opposed to crony capitalist financialisation).
The US position in the world is now held together by two things – the domination of the US dollar. And the massively capable military and intelligence machine it operates.
“The US position in the world is now held together by two things – the domination of the US dollar. And the massively capable military and intelligence machine it operates.”
very true…and the domination of their dollar is perpetuated by the IMF and the World Bank. American ideals are institutionalised and forced on the world. It’s military force is no longer so vital, neo-colonialism and ‘development’ of the global South is more effective than physical force. But that’s not to say the military is not useful, the military plays its part and is encouraged by the UN…the UN and Europe support US abuse of the minorities.
I would add a third thing that maintains US hegemony…and that is culture. Americanisation in the form of consumerism is still sweeping the world and shows no sign of slowing. Its the desire to consume, a belief in liberal capitalism, social liberalism and the notion of ‘freedom’ that draws the world’s money towards the USA. Capitalism put the money into the hands of a few – and since American culture defines our desires, that money moves towards America.
China might be up there in economic terms, but the USA controls the world’s knowledge. USA defines the ‘truth’
If we accept your idea that Americans are murderously rampaging across the provincial New Zealand countryside, then the reason they are not here articulating their dread plans is because they are too busy murderising stuff. Idle hands do the devils work and hands doing the devils work are never idle. American Idol is the devils work, Ryan Seacrest often acts as the devils agent and Keanu Reeves was once the Devils Advocate. Busy people. There could be a link.
If Americans are the most dangerous people on Earth, then there is probably not too much to fear. If the occupy movement was a measure of the collective awareness of a nation, then possibly 99% of the population do not agree with the actions of their government – as wars are still extensions of domestic policy – and are willing to act to change it. So very few Americans need justify their position as being out of control, unless they lied. Probably it was the devil making them lie.
I am happy you are keeping an eye on them. Let me know when the marines land.
.
useless tit
Unfortunately, like your sweeping generalisation of Americans, there are also no useless tits. There is such a thing as confirmation bias however and before you begin your new life work of understanding the collective psyco-social behaviours of the north american people you should look that up.
well put Uturn, let’s hope vto dives into his new project with gusto – seems to me that the fact that hardly any americans have defended their government to vto’s question on this blog, tells the story – it’s a bit like why certain areas of goggle sky are blocked – vto has hit the jackpot – he could end up being famous and on TV with this one.
“well put Uturn, let’s hope vto dives into his new project with gusto – seems to me that the fact that hardly any americans have defended their government to vto’s question on this blog, tells the story – it’s a bit like why certain areas of goggle sky are blocked – vto has hit the jackpot – he could end up being famous and on TV with this one.”
Got anything decent to say? Or just your consistent personal smart arse rubbish.
no, you said it all for me
but you must admit, this “putting up ideas” to generate discussion is a bit peteish.
I can’t even work out what the term, “americans” really means, there are just so many subgroups, some directly opposed to the other, yet somehow all american. The question just seems nonsensical to me, let alone somehow blaming them for what their government does. And then taunting because no one shows up to argue the silly non-point you have raised. So again no, I’ve got nothing to add to your thoughts vto.
.
“The question just seems nonsensical to me,”
.
It’s simple. Americans are the people who say ‘bathroom’ because they’re too mealy-mouthed to say toilet, they’re the people who pixilate TV pictures of naked Ken dolls, even though Ken is as innocent of genitalia as a refrigerator. Americans are the people who ‘pledge allegiance to the flag’ every day of their school lives from 6 years old. They’re the people who think that Europe and Africa are each one big country, and that capital punishment is the only way to stop “serial killers” from shooting them dead on street corners. They’re the people who think that ‘fries’ and ‘ketchup’ are vegetables. They’re the people who believe that the Twin Towers were brought down by 19 ‘towel heads’, or ‘sand n-words’, who came from Afghanistan, or Eye-rak, or Syria or Eye-ran or whichever country they’re next told is the Enemy. They’re the ruthless murderers who exude sticky, sugary sentiment at the sight of their flag, and who have courthouses and churches (!) festooned with Old Glory (spit)…
Gee, Vicky32.
😀
That’s a quality rant.
Glad you like it! 😀
Marty Mars, yes, in this respect, I suppose I am a bigot. But as you’re bigoted in other ways, it evens out. At least I have reason!
yuck. What a bigot you are (spit)
Where was my sweeping generalisation of Americans uturn? Please point it out – for your own credibility. Useless tit.
US Shifts Bulk of Naval Power to Asia-Pacific
It seems that the US is becoming a threat to this region. Considering their war-warmongering over the centuries I suppose we shouldn’t be surprised.
In two words, Military Keynesianism.
Also, a 2004 interview with Chalmers Johnson.
Part 1: An Empire of More Than 725 Military Bases
Part 2: From CIA Analyst to Best-Selling Scholar
Sad but true, I agree! Unlike Carol, I don’t know any Americans who oppose their governments’ policies – in fact Americans I know defend them…
Also 100% true!
I know plenty of Americans who oppose their government’s policies, even though I don’t personally know any who oppose Obama’s stand on gay marriage. However, I doubt if any of them even know this blog exists, so I don’t think we can read a lot into their not posting here.
I’m sure some here will applaud the early downfall of a National government, but I think it will pose major risks for the country and it will trash our democracy.
And Labour are nowhere near ready yet, they’re too busy down and dirty to step up to the government plate.
People are getting crankier, not just in blog bubbles but out in the real world too. Subversion is working, but only because National are too shut off (arrogant?) to see it and deal with it. National alert – trouble likely to escalate.
“Subversion is working”
Pete, I read your bloggy thing and suggest that it is not so-called subversion that is causing this, it is a direct result of National’s own politics and manner. It is due to them – the opposition simply highlights their shortcomings.
Case in point – asset sales. Everybody I speak to knows that financially it is a backwards step and that the government will be worse off (even the Finance Minister has admitted that). And that power prices will rise and profits head offshore. Yet this government does not explain and back itself – it just charges ahead arrogantly, ignoring the people. This is a an example of their modu operandi. So don’t blame others for the hatred that has built for the people in this National government, blame those national people themselves. After all, they are always going on about personal responsibility and accountability.
They completely deserve abusive descriptions such as pricks and wankers. And Key of course is most commonly described by people around here as “just a dick”.
not so-called subversion that is causing this, it is a direct result of National’s own politics and manner.
National’s “own politics and manner” is the direct result. So yes, it’s largely National’s own doing, if they weren’t so remote and stuffing up so much the subversion could be dismissed as negative nonsense.
I don’t think Key himself is the problem, but it could be his style of leadership, that worked well enough last term, is falling to pieces as ministers given their own responsibilities succumb to second term arrogance.
I hera mixed views for an against MOM, that could be because I listen to a wider range of people. I don’t think the policy being proposed is anywhere near as bad as some doomsayers keep pushing, but National seem to have got to cocky with their ability to shove it through parliament.
What a load of bullshit. Asset sales are going to leave us worse off.
Even the spin merchants can’t argue with that.
If they are going to leave us worse off. WHY DO IT??
Anyone who still supports this bunch of ignorant thieves are either deluded, crazy or greedy for self gain no matter what it does to New Zealand.
To ensure, Key’s payout for delivering New Zealand to US corporates?.
Which one are you? PG.
C’mon Pete…..be honest.
An early departure of this malevolent and incompetent crew would see the last of the hilarious bouffantry of your leader.
That’s all that really worries you.
You’re making bullshit attributions again. You’d probably accuse me of personal ambitions if I pushed for an early election.
I believe in full term government except in exceptional circumstances, I supported that strongly when Labour where in power, the same as now.
Do you think the term of government should be subject to the whims of opposition? If it worked like that it would adversely affect all – especially the country.
What on earth are you talking about Pete?
How could an opposition force an early election? You being daft man.
Of course you do PG, your sycophantic support of NACT would require that.
John Key is meeting with Angela Merkel. I wonder how that’s go to work – neither of them speaks English.
Does anyone outside NZ understand Key’s English anyway? Surely it’s all about smile-and-wave to the public, and in practice do what his foreign masters say?
I suspect his kiwi newzild accent is as fake as tits on a bull. When he’s chatting away to Bernanke I bet he speaks in something close to a Boston accent, with the Queen he would sound like an Oxford Don. It’s the same crap that George Bush used. I once say him interviewed on Irish tv and he spoke very eloquently and didn’t misunderpronunciate any words at all. As far as I know, that interview was never shown in the US.
😀
how many in NZ understand him?
Acshully, I guess it jist dapunds on whether you spuk unglish….
Sorry that was unkind……
No it wasn’t. That’s exactly how he speaks. The philistine.
Edit: I think you may be ‘tongue in cheek’. 😉
Hekia Parata – Asshole of the Week
The last couple of weeks have been an unmitigated disaster for Education Minister Hekia Parata…
We understand him! Impression Management!
That would be the “strength” of most politicians these days. Not the broad knowledge and preferably wisdom that DTB recognised yday as necessary for good political leadership and decision-making.
What lack of human values does it require to sit in judgement, aware of the trainwrecks approaching the country and its people, and not only do little, but actively encourage people to invest their purpose in perpetuating the mess.
Aussie aye! Release GDP FIGURES ending March. Been 2 challenging months since then.
We really appreciated the analysis and discussion of the different perspectives likely across socioeconomic class and the “left” yesterday.
Thanks Olwyn et al;
We are not fond of the middle class wannabe bourgeoisie. We believe that these are the most tame type of sheep, who are led to the “slaughter” of a thousand small cuts right across their lifetimes.
So sad,
We are also saddened to read of the leverage enjoyed by what seem to be otherwise inciteful left wing thinkers on this site but remember the need for our own
COMPASSION MODERATION HUMILITY.
It is a beautiful day in Hawkes Bay today. Nature is what the NZ province has most to offer but some want to frack that as well….
This looks to me to be something Kiwis shouldn’t be participating in, no matter how desperate they are to work:
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=10811563
In the long term, undercutting the wages usually given to locals is bad for workers everywhere. Also, is there an element of union-busting in this move by Aussie mine owners?
I cannot find a a link for this, but a relative who lives in Sydney told me that Gillard was pressured by the unions and others into insisting that unemployed Australians should have priority for these jobs, and then got told off by the IMF for protectionism for having done so. From what I can understand she has now come to some sort of compromise position. It struck me as a chilling aspect of market freedom, if privileging your own citizens for jobs in your country counts as protectionism.
Some Aussie MSM articles on it (of course, skewed towards support of corporates):
http://www.smh.com.au/opinion/editorial/foreign-worker-row-obscures-skills-debate-20120528-1zfd0.html
http://www.smh.com.au/national/come-and-work-here-if-you-must–just-dont-buy-the-farm-20120604-1zs9n.html
By the way, the lack of Aussies with relevant skills argument, in one of my links seems a weak one. How would a load of Kiwis from Northland towns be expected to have more skills in mining than large numbers of unemployed Aussies?
http://www.smh.com.au/opinion/politics/panic-on-the-house-floor-20120601-1zn4x.html
There are plenty of advertised mining jobs in Oz. Kiwis work for the same pay and conditions as the Aussies, although we do tend to work harder. I suspect this is a complete media beatup and the guy they found is probably a Pauline Hansen supporter who hates the fact that Maori can get the same pay as him.
The issue of Gina Noheart and her special economic zones is something else altogether.
There are plenty of good reasons to not work in the mines. For example, they’re often on land that has been ethnically cleansed and they can be environmental disasters. However, taking jobs off good Aussie battlers and undermining their conditions is just abject bullshit.
So why is National implementing austerity again?
Without growth, there’s only one ending for Euro debt crisis
by Jeff Rubin
“European voters are rejecting further fiscal restraint, showing the door to former austerity-imposing politicians in Greece and France. In a similar spirit, European Central Bank President Mario Draghi is now calling for a “growth pact” to replace the “fiscal pact” demanded by Angela Merkel’s government in Germany.
What Europe’s voters and its central bank are coming to recognize is that unremitting fiscal austerity measures are the wrong prescription for what ails the European economy. Instead of curbing budget deficits, they’re actually exacerbating the continent’s economic problems.
Economics textbooks will tell you that hiking taxes and implementing draconian spending cuts will lead to government’s running smaller deficits. But in practice, as we’re seeing across the eurozone right now, those measures can be self-defeating. Rather than helping to wrestle down budget deficits, brutal fiscal austerity measures are actually choking the life out of much of Europe’s economy. Since tax revenues are a function of economic activity, lifeless economies are making it that much harder for countries to stave off recession. In Greece, for instance, the budget deficit isn’t getting any smaller. The only thing austerity measures are shrinking is the country’s GDP.”
http://www.energybulletin.net/stories/2012-06-01/without-growth-there%E2%80%99s-only-one-ending-euro-debt-crisis
Mario Draghi growth pact…yes of course thats what he is saying.
No growth = bye bye Golman Sachs, along with any chance of propping up the financial system as a whole, any longer.
People have wised up to “growth”
There is a nice side to mankind. We had to go driving in the snow yesterday. It was not sight seeing. Everyone was travelling slowly and carefully, well spaced from each other. After watching cars travel sideways through the ice at traffic lights, we took our turn with trepidation. Everyone waited, no one tooted and we crossed one of many intersections. Every minute was with care.
On 3 separate occasions we joined other people to help free cars stuck in ice. There was always plenty of help available. Then, half an hour later, our turn came and a group was working to get us back into an area of traction.
It is humbling. No one expected payment, just a simple “Thankyou” and the assumption that you will do the same for some one else.
Most of the helpers were aetheists of course John, as they have humanitarian attitudes.
No one was trying to win “piggy stamps”. Simply “Even if I never see you again, how can I help you.”
Irrespective of what language they spoke or god they did or did not worship.
On the serious side is your example John of real people doing helpful stuff because we just do. Unfortunately one of the flaws in Education is the belief that if you reward kids with stickers and certificates and cups they will get better. This leads to a lifelong belief that we must be rewarded for doing good stuff. Punished with Rewards. Performance Pay and Bonus Payments and Medals for example. Most people just do what is needed because it makes both the receiver (you John) and the giver feel good. Get it?
ianmac, bearing in mind that almost every post on this website is critical of some one in some way, I thought it would be refreshing to make the observation that there are still times when one can go out and receive help freely and gladly without being criticized for needing help.
BUT, behold, someone “who was not there” could not resist the temptation to have a dig. Did he feel any better ?
There are times when wisdom is silence.
Never when you’re around, apparently…
Or when you’re around! Do the words fatuous and prick mean anything to you?
You remind me of Crabb and Goyle in the Harry Potter movies – with ianmac as Lucius Malfoy! Grovel, grovel… or maybe you’re Grima Wormtongue? After some Dawkins points maybe? 😀
An unnecessary sneer, ianmac. But I bet it made you feel like a big man!
Time for us all to gather our pots and pans and pin on the little red squares?!
The people united… Internationally, the narrative of left rebellion is gathering momentum… from Occupy to student protests!
http://www.truthdig.com/report/item/northern_light_20120603/
Casseroles.
Gasp! Theres a message for you Peter Dunne:
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/7064126/Puppets-charred-in-Backbencher-fire
So why is John Key really visiting Chancellor Merkel?
I’ve already posted this in another thread but it may have slipped out of attention. So here it is again.
Given that oil prices are the main driver of inflation, what is the relevance of inflation adjusted oil prices? It seems like an ridiculously circular system. This link here explains the current system: http://www.investopedia.com/ask/answers/06/oilpricesinflation.asp#axzz1x28reIzL
Shouldn’t we just leave oil prices separate from other commodities and present them as nominal only, rather than adjusting them for inflation which is measured by the consumer price index which is heavily influenced by the price of oil? It seems to me that oil is so important to the modern economy that is should be treated as an entity to itself. I’m not an economist so I’m wondering if a few of the more financial types could spread some light on this for me. Thanks.
Because it’s not the only factor that affects CPI, even it it is the most significant factor. And because of that, nominal price differences over decades wouldn’t be reflective of the comparative value of oil in each time period.
What you seem to be asking is for oil prices to remain out of the CPI. The problem with is that consumers don’t buy the raw oil – they buy the products of oil. That said, there’s probably an argument for leaving fuel out of the CPI which is the main driver of price rises from oil.
Cha Know? The influences of those texts written 2-2 and a half thousand years ago.
2 millenia of millions of people casting their fears upon these stories and collectively leading to a SELFULFILLING PROPHECY described by current global events.
Is the PM a closet “zionist”? We might never know.
Luckily there are almost as many Muslims and almost three quarters of them live in the Asia Pacific area. Surrounded by the Ring of Fire and Allah’s people, we stand a pretty good chance.
Readers have probably already seen the neo-nazi attack on two Greek MP’s, but this quick interview with one of the assaulted women, Liana Kanelli, has the best description of the moral void at the heart of the extreme right I’ve heard in years.
Te Reo P
That reminds me about the interviewer on radionz this morning who made a quick comment on the Greek thing. This guy from fascist Golden dawn threw water at somebody and then I think punched a woman MP from the communist side and said that is how things should be, or similar.
Considering Greek’s sad time under the Generals, I thought it was very insensitive for an announcer (Mercep?) to say that you would think with Greece’s troubles that they could find something better to do.
Pah – that’s what you get with ignorant NZ radio interviewers. Everyone knows what happens when Europe gets into unmanageable debt and economic strife. Fascist nationalism rears its head up and wars start. Europe is never that far from its history.
CV
Talking about economics this morning David Skilling ex NZ Institute think tank (which is now NZ Innovation via the Round Table post Kerr), referred to Switzerland as one of the small economies that is successful in the present world, implying that they would be a role model for us along with Nordic states mentioned also. I think Switzerland is in a special niche of its own don’t you think, when thinking about economies that have survived well in the world and looking at their methods.
Are you saying that if the Euro collapsed, the diverse nations there would be at each other’s throats in pre-war mode? I thought the Euro was mainly a method to combine financial strength and be strong to match other powerful economic blocs. What you said makes the agreement sound much more vulnerable.
Ah U-Turn. You and many others on here are wonderful. Best NZ site We’ve come across.
Larff!
Farkin Liberties!
Wotta u like? Aye? Aye?
Pretty good chance of woot?
Dya lahk dags?
Fancy that, the naughty French Prez has wave la middle finger at the neo-Liberal wankers and lowered the age for those who work manually, (gosh you mean some people don’t just tap computer keys?),to gain a State pension from 62 to 60,
The French Prez cites ‘social justice’ and giving the young a helping hand into employment,the neo-Libs are said to be horrified which would tend to suggest the French prez need lower the pension age a little more..
IMF reckons English is fucking things up.
http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/business/107765/english-plays-down-imf-report-over-debt
I heard that report, and couldn’t follow English’s convoluted logic – cuts to public services will help lower private debt????
The government will borrow less??? Haven’t seen that happening so far. And cutting public services mean more people will be struggling financially, less jobs etc, hence more people unable to live on their income.
Meanwhile, those at the upper end of the property market are still taking on higher and higher mortgages…. raising the total country’s private debt?
Travellerev posted a comment the other day about Charlie Skelton’s coverage of the Bilderberg.
http://thestandard.org.nz/open-mike-02062012/comment-page-1/#comment-478020
Skelton is first up on Kim Hill in the morning.
Up to $119m savings under Microsoft agreement:
http://www.techday.co.nz/itbrief/news/govt-to-save-119m-in-3-year-deal-with-microso/23915/
http://home.nzcity.co.nz/news/article.aspx?id=148617&fm=newsmain,nrhl
As great as this saving on licensing costs is, I do wonder how much more could be saved by shifting to an open source ecosystem. I realize there are upfront costs and entrenched applications and processes where it appears more economical to continue with the status quo, but for day to day desktop tasks open-office suites and desktop OS linux solutions like Ubuntu et.al are very credible and mature solutions now. Open source solutions are used extensively in public service entities overseas, our public sector should also be making the most of it.
I recon the reason Microsoft are being so generous with their discounts is due to the strength of such alternatives, moreso than clever negotiations on our part.
$119M in savings??!
How much was the original cost????
Exactly. I tried to find it, but the obvious question wasn’t obvious in the articles I read. Poor investigative journalism as per usual.
I’d imagine it must be at least 5-10x that, it’s pretty hard to imagine the likes of Micro$oft discounting more than 10-20%
To encourage free-market the government should be mandating the use of Open Standards in all government funded organisations. This would help bring competition to the software market.
As for MS:
Get rid of those proprietary standards and we, and the rest of the world if they follow, will save millions as well as open up huge amounts of software innovation.
PS. My CV in MS .doc format 31.5KB, in OpenDocument .odt format 23.1KB. When you’ve got millions of documents that’s a lot of extra HDD space for using MS.
The Brazilian government changed to Linux years ago. Microsoft threatened to take them to court because one of the ministers said they were like a drug pusher – a few free hits to get you hooked, then apply the screws. When they discovered it would have to be a Brazilian court, they backed off.
While looking for mention of the committee that closed down after 1 hour, I found the interesting video clips from Parliament Today. I didn’t parliament was such fun. The NACTs welcome the Miss Universe entrants to the House, and next day the Greens retaliate with the Feminists of the Year.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SKaZju7vCSI&feature=plcp
I liked this heading – The Day In Parliament May 30
Feminists Welcomed, Winston Wound Up.
I watched but didn’t see anyone turning a key, but he did make some good points about the Budget having been uplifted from the 1991 one which was followed by hardship and a downturn in everything.
Brilliant on the part of the Greens, right down to using the exact wording (other than the group concerned) used by Williamson the day before!
Thanks for that Prism.