DUAL NATURE OF POVERTY
Two kinds of poverty plague our schools; one readily observed via images of the students’ home refrigerators towards the close of a week; the second, poverty of self-belief leading to our high suicide rates, depression and bullying. A fertile field for its manifestation is the classroom where the bold extroverts, richly endowed with ego, raise their hand and offer answers with confidence day in and day out at the expense of the shy and the hesitant.
As in the monetary world the rich in spirit get richer. Each bold and happy answer is reinforced through positive teacher feedback, encouraging in turn ongoing vocal participation. Such students rise in stature, not only through the bolstering of esteem, but also in the eyes of their peers.
Though numbering perhaps 5 – 10 in a class of 30 their influence spreads to give an overall impression of buzz, participation, progress – warmly acclaimed by ERO as “lively atmosphere conducive to learning”. These kids enter life qualified with excellence in a subject for which there is no tick-box on the record of learning: confidence and self belief. Our school system serves them well.
Of course there are quiet learners who excel and attain. There are many more who could attain given genuine educational nourishment, but in a class of large numbers there’s just not enough sustenance to go round. The demands of the formal curriculum, pressure of the upcoming assessment, anticipation of ERO’s next visit, the inevitable demands of unruly students and the clamour of the happy extroverts bent on voicing their progress all sap the time and energy of the teacher. And there’s only ONE of them!
With numbers around 20 (as I experienced occasionally) a whole new world of possibility opens up. There is the opportunity to allow a hesitant student TIME to formulate an answer, to consider it in the light of an earlier contribution from another and to show how both ideas are relevant and valued. Through regular feedback the less confident come to believe they COUNT and the bold begin to note ‘hey, there are others here who know what’s going on.’ The class takes on an identity of its own, greater than a collection of individuals some of whom tend to dominate input. In short the class dynamic becomes a team with all individuals valued for their particular roles.
“Students who are happy and engaged at school are much more likely to be learning, achieving and better equipped for life after school.” (ERO) But now we are investigating (TV 3 Project, Thursday) whether its weak teachers that are failing to get them “happy and engaged.”
And National’s research indicates class side does not affect grades. After all grades are the currency, not rates of depression, obesity and suicide.
Ant, I’ve been asking a number of teachers lately how they feel about the education system, all of them believe it is failing kids, and this is why.
So much effort is being placed on National Standards for reading, writing and maths, some kids will never reach national standards, and if they are no good at reading, writing or maths at primary level then the whole system is loaded against them.
Teachers are saying that kids are unable to learn, grow and explore if the curriculum is so driven on those 3 subjects. They are unable to find something they are really good at doing, and thereby giving them a sense of accomplishment and the ability to feel good about themselves, which leads to depression, bullying, being withdrawn and in some cases taking their own lives.
For example a child may be really interested in building and creating, if a child is interested in something, everything else follows. Kids need to feel good about themselves, and if that isn’t happening at home, and they are not able to feel good about the 3 subjects that the education system are hell bent on pushing, one can only imagine the sense of failure going on inside of them.
Teachers are also sick of the government implementing education systems in NZ that have failed overseas.
Teachers are crying out for change, and with kids killing themselves is it any wonder.
If kids can’t read write and do basic maths they’re pretty much stuffed for life.
Any teachers who let children get through primary without the basics need to be kicked out of the teaching profession, they’re the ones responsible, not the government of the day.
There are poor teachers but they’re a small minority and it would probably be better and cheaper for the country if we just increased their training and support so that they become excellent teachers.
If a teacher is that bad the union will help get rid of them.
Thing is, I doubt if any of our teachers are that bad and some remedial training and support will do wonders for them and the schools that they work at.
And doing that will be far cheaper than the RWNJ solution of privatisation that always makes things worse.
Ed
You’re right, our trollers must wake up joyfully, with TS to fill their day ahead, giving them something to do with their narrow boneheads and idle minds.
Another day of delightful trolling for people who don’t care, can’t be bothered to care (about others’ concerns and welfare). Their cleverness shows in ability to wind the handle for the hurdy-gurdy and play the monkey capering around at the same time.
It is quite possible they went through an education system that taught them to read and write, but, unfortunately lacked in all other areas.
As such they are the victims of the very thing we are bemoaning and, in fact, deserve our sympathy rather than criticism.
I will agree with you that the three R’s are important. You’re failing to understand that the education system is ALL about the three R’s – and nothing else.
Combine that with too much competitive atmosphere due to too many kids in the class (much like too many players in a market) and the failure rate increases. If we only concentrate on the winners in a skewed market we run the risk of being overwhelmed by the losers.
Oh hang on – that describes many an aspect of modern society doesn’t it? I see a pattern…
Children who struggle with the ‘three Rs’ often learn best when they are able to approach them through an interest or ability. Cinny mentioned building – just think about all the maths and literacy skills required for building
Yep – but they still have to be able to read, write and do math. Else they dont end up a builder – they end up the guy pushing a wheelbarrow for the rest of their lives.
‘In Internet slang, a troll is a person who sows discord on the Internet by starting arguments or upsetting people, by posting inflammatory,extraneous, or off-topic messages in an online community (such as a newsgroup, forum, chat room, or blog) with the intent of provoking readers into an emotional response or of otherwise disrupting normal, on-topic discussion,often for the troll’s amusement.
BM
Two questions. Who is Paul? And why do you have entitlement to attack those who speak against the corroding drips from people like yourself? These interfere with the ability to have discussions leading to better understanding of problems and possible future effective policy.
I sense hypocrisy here, BM. You claim to be concerned about education, but hate teacher unions. Here is an inconvenient truth for you. Teachers get to know and really care about other people’s children. Right wingers like you don’t. Teachers therefore tend towards egalitarianism, which you find evil (leftie)..
What are the odds that you sent your own kids to a private school, BM, and by not supporting the state education system, left the other kids to sink? You may retort that all other parents ought to do the same, but the fact is that you are callously abandoning the children of the poor. I see you as a shallow, selfish ratbag.
“Usenet convention defines spamming as excessive multiple posting, that is, the repeated posting of a message (or substantially similar messages). The prevalence of Usenet spam led to the development of the Breidbart Index as an objective measure of a message’s “spamminess”.”
“For a guy that got banned for three years, you’re really demonstrating an utter lack of awareness as to why you got kicked off last time.”
Ed, it’s getting close to when I’ll say something in the back end about this. I’d suggest figuring out how you want to be here pretty quick. You know what the issues are.
Can’t understand why BM’s pronouncements are wise saws weka.
Trolls regularly cut people off at the knees without adding much and yet some seem to think they have some manipulation effect.
A better indication of that is the damage done to hearing due to hearing impairments. A study done in NZ back in the 90’s indicated more than 50% of prisoners had hearing impairments. Many a result of undiagnosed glue ear. Which would obviously have impacted on learning ability as well.
(Can’t link to the study, was one I read back at the time, but Google has few)
You know I really struggle to decide whether you are being obtuse or challenged when you continually respond to comments in ways that show that either you do not understand what they’ve said or you are deliberately undermining the conversation
Those type of kids do very well in the charter school environment, shame Labour is willing to throw them back on the garbage heap just to appease the teacher unions.
State schools work very well for the vast majority of kids, but there is a small group where it just doesn’t work, might be the teaching methods, might be the environment.
Your comments re charter schools shows a decided lack of knowledge. On a level of four legs good, two legs bad.
Charter schools are privatisation by stealth. And we should ensure that every child attending a state school gets what they need in order to learn.
That means, making sure that we have a society where they have a healthy, warm home to live in, food to eat and then attend a school where additional assistance is fully funded from central govenment – not operational budgets.
Ed, I very seldom agree with BM, but not everything he/she says is trolling. Yes, BM’s trying to provoke disagreement, but he/she isn’t using personal attacks or swerving off the topic under discussion. If anything, you seem to be the one doing this, with the repeated replies about trolling.
As for the “do very well in the charter school environment” bs, you need to dig a lot deeper than that, BM. These kids may well do better in smaller classes, often exploring the curriculum through a practical lens, but guess what? State schools can provide these learning environments if they’re given the resources, and plenty of them do even under the funding constraints that they currently deal with.
BTW, our schools are not a “garbage heap”. When was the last time you were in a school?
It is understandable that many people see benefits in charter schools, especially when they can see an opportunity to provide assistance and/or support to those who don’t fit the mainstream.
Charter schools act as a divide and conquer in this respect.
What he says about the delivery for the Maaori students attending is probably quite true. But the fundamental problem for other Maaori students is that within the state school, the deficiency will remain and that is the wider picture that needs to be addressed.
Unless you are surrounded by yes men and/or are one of them, it is unreasonable to expect to agree with everything a politician says. Willie Jackson is giving his opinion on charter schools, from his perspective and it is understandable. But I disagree with his conclusion.
My son is a “square peg” child who the standard school system doesn’t really fit. We are looking at putting him in the Vanguard Military Academy when he is older. Why should Labour deprive parents of educational options when Charter Schools makes up a minuscule percentage of total student numbers?
Because if the state schools got as much public cash as the charter schools on a per student basis, you wouldn’t have to send your kids to a school that doesn’t have to reach the same standards.
BTW, wasn’t Vanguard the one with the sub-par attainment levels?
But on a personal note, if your son is truly a “square peg” then Vanguard is probably not the best choice. As McFlock mentioned, they failed to meet their targets (which BTW are lower than state schools), and their expulsion and suspension rate is very high. (I suspect that is the result of some “square peg” students objecting to having their corners rounded off.)
A rigid discipline and routine may help your son, if he has issues with a chaotic learning environment, but this kind of approach reinforces extrinsic reinforcement rather than promoting long-term intrinsic motivation.
“Teachers and learning environments need to be conitually assessed to ensure that all learners are being catered for.”
Except, the funding goes to the continual assessment – and none at all, to the additional help that is required.
Teachers and students already know when they need help, without National Standards.
A better use of funding, would be to have that help available to be used. It shows the priorities of our current government. To require report after report, without providing what is needed.
Getting help for children who have learning challenges such as dyslexia, dyspraxia is very difficult in our schools. Any help, if offered needs to come out of the operational budget.
There are also issues regarding nutrition, sleep deprivation, transitional families, and stress that schools do not have the resources to deal with – and students are not even starting their education from a neutral position.
Children learn in different ways, and if the class size is too big and resources are stretched, then alternative methods of instruction are not able to be given.
The government of the day sets priorities (National Standards), funding programmes (non-existent to none), class size and teacher numbers. Of course they take a large measure of responsibility for outcomes.
There are also issues regarding nutrition, sleep deprivation, transitional families, and stress that schools do not have the resources to deal with – and
students are not even starting their education from a neutral position.
Is that not the sort of stuff cyps should be dealing with? why do teachers think they have to deal with it?
If a teacher thinks a child’s home life is poor and creating issues then the teacher needs to let cyps know.
Teachers have to deal with the results of a failure of social policy, which is also a responsibility of the government. Children don’t shirk off those issues as they walk through the school gates, whether you think they should or not.
As for the rest of your comment: Obviously, your knowledge of CYFS – is as wide as your knowledge of charter schools.
And what pray tell is the best way for kids to learn those basics? Through integrated approaches using flexibility. Hidebound assessment strictures mitigate against that and cretinous measurement mongrels with little knowledge or sense about how kids learn rabbit on demanding the cretinous approaches.
They spend half their lives criticising teachers for having ‘one size fits all’ approaches and the other half wanting teachers to measure kids by ‘one size fits all’ standards.
No one is saying reading, writing and maths are not important, because they are, but if one is not good at those 3 subjects at primary level they are not going to feel good about themselves and the flow on effects are as severe as taking their own lives.
Do you know of any teachers that use music in their maths class? Makes a massive difference, in their learning especially for the kid who is not great at maths but loves music, all of a sudden that kid is counting the beats and the maths start to flow after that.
What about the dyslexic child who has a fantastic imagination, but due to large class sizes and under funding no one has picked up on their disability? That child maybe falling in reading and writing, but in drama and storytelling the child shines. Still they are failing at two of the ‘core’ subjects, and as a result their self esteem plummets, no one knows that the child is a great story teller, the child is not given the chance. Meanwhile the child’s low self esteem has lead to them bullying other kids to feel good about themselves and before you know it, it gets physical… another child left behind.
Are you getting where I’m coming from now BM?
Re Charter Schools, I’m fiercely against unqualified adults teaching kids.
“Re Charter Schools, I’m fiercely against unqualified adults teaching kids.
I’m not per se. I am fiercely against charter schools though, because they take away the focus on delivering diversity and support for all students in state education, while funding private enterprise.
Children learn from a wide variety of sources, including adults that are not qualified teachers, or other ages.
I am also against a failure to recognise that a rich, learning environment exists with gifted facilitators and communicators. Current education policy requires delivery and assessments and that gets in the way.
Agree, with the perspective your example gives above. Our view of success should be much broader and diverse, and recognise the value of all students.
Some people never learn maths worth a damn, and some can’t learn to read beyond a basic understanding, because their brains don’t work that way. Should we just chuck them on the scrap heap? Or perhaps find something they are good at and emphasise their strengths?
Ant. That is a good summary.
If a 30+ size class is to run well it has to be mass organised. Most kids do the same size fits all. If you apply the same organisation to a class of 20 nothing much changes. Hence the claim that size doesn’t matter. Rubbish.
But in a class of 20 if the organisation is modified, then as you say, ” a whole new world of possibility opens up.” No wonder private schools can afford small classes. Individualised. Special needs catered for. Social tone lifts the behaviour or disruptive kids.
Exactly.
Private schools who cater to those with enough money to make choices are usually very proud of their small class sizes.
Point in case, Kings College, where I think Max Key attended..class size…18.
I don’t recall John Key ever bemoaning the fact that Kings (presumably) wastes money by having unnecessary small class sizes.
I recall a study of studies which concluded that class sizes of 14 were the maximum for individual attention – more than that means most kids get around 1 minute a day of individual attention.
Exemption applications for compulsory schooling have to meet “as well as and as regularly as ” state provided education.
Way back when my application was being made, the benchmark given by a study for individual attention for children in the classroom in NZ was five minutes a week. So I think your recall is accurate.
The classroom model with hour periods isn’t based on what we know about attention spans and similar learning constraints – that design is for institutional convenience, not for learning. There are ways of radically improving student outcomes – but charter school funding models don’t have much to do with them.
well said ant.
worthy of a post on it’s own.
then the heartless comments from bm could be moderated and the compasionate adults with an inkling of concern for others can have an adult conversation.
i am not a teacher, but am involved with youth (scouting) and what you say resonates.
the confident excell. the ones that show up carrying baggage from home, school or perhaps not prepared to engage (hungry), resort to disruptive or sometimes violent behaviour to get the attention we all crave.
i am mindful of last election where mana pledged to put a teacher aid(e?) in every classroom. not a solution in itself but a step in the right direction.
the wages paid to two recently ‘retired’ national mps could have gotten 7 or 8 aides into schools.
Though numbering perhaps 5 – 10 in a class of 30 their influence spreads to give an overall impression of buzz, participation, progress – warmly acclaimed by ERO as “lively atmosphere conducive to learning”. These kids enter life qualified with excellence in a subject for which there is no tick-box on the record of learning: confidence and self belief. Our school system serves them well.
I’m not so sure about that. They’ll probably all grow up to vote National because of all that false belief they have in themselves always being right.
True;
as I said where all are valued through attention and recognition of individuality the rowdy self-confident become integrated within a new dynamic of inclusiveness.
Sure:
“Of course there are quiet learners who excel and attain….”
“Through regular feedback the less confident come to believe they COUNT….”
“the class dynamic becomes a team with all individuals valued for their particular roles…..”
[text excerpt below]
“A rise in the use of zero hours contracts could be contributing to poor mental health among younger people, a new study suggests.
Young adults who are employed on the controversial contracts, under which they do not know if they have work from one week to the next, are less likely to be in good health and are at higher risk of poor mental health than workers with stable jobs.
Researchers from the Centre for Longitudinal Studies at the UCL Institute of Education analysed data on more than 7,700 people living in England who were born in 1989-90.
A total of 5% had zero hours contracts.
Researchers found that those employed under zero hours contracts were 50% more likely to report poor mental health than those in more secure employment.
The unemployed and shift workers were also more likely to report mental ill health.
Meanwhile, compared to those who were not on such a contract, having a zero hours contract reduced the odds of reporting good health by 41%.
“More people than ever are working on zero hours contracts in the UK, and this new data shows this to be contributing to poorer mental health among younger workers,” said Craig Thorley, senior research fellow at the Institute for Public Policy Research.
“Efforts to improve the UK’s mental health must recognise the important relationship between health and work.
“Government and employers must work together to promote better quality jobs which enhance, rather than damage, mental health and wellbeing.
“Without this, we risk seeing increased demand for mental health services, reduced productivity, and more young people moving on to out-of-work sickness benefits.”
The lead author, Dr Morag Henderson, added: “Millennials have faced a number of challenges as they entered the world of work. They joined the labour market at the height of the most recent financial crisis and faced higher than ever university fees and student loan debt.”
An argument I repudiate is that kids need to ‘harden up’ in preparation for the manner in which the ‘real world’ operates. The early years (including teenager time) are highly formative, – a setting in which hardening up will occur naturally at different times for individuals provided the classroom climate is supportive rather than confrontational. No one is without talent, present, emerging or latent.
Finland, currently rated in the top three for education amongst nations, honours these things and many more. A visiting educator checking out the ‘system’ asked a local teacher “what programs do you have in place for your gifted children?” Surprised, the teacher replied “all our children are gifted.”
Heads up to BM et al. Finland is not longer teaching compulsory subjects at secondary level.
Unfortunately, our MoE is looking at this, but missing the point that the whole system is set up completely differently with different priorities, so our education at primary level would need to be completely changed before this was a move that NZ could make.
We all know that confidence does not equal competence but that there’s a quality in confidence that makes it appear that way; confidence is attractive, sexy even, and no wonder superbly confident people get an easier ride [no pun] in life.
Lack of confidence and self-belief or worse, a negative self-image, is fostered during the early formative years and further cemented (confirmed) on a daily basis throughout life. Quiet learners might excel (academically?) and attain (…) but this doesn’t mean they will get anywhere near their ‘true potential’. And, as is often the case, they will always have to compete with the confident or extravert ones.
You can see this quite well on the sports field where the confident often wins over the more timid one, not because they are technically better or have better team-play and skills, but almost purely because of confidence and self-belief and, dear I say it, the will to win.
The sad truth is that in this day and age of hyper-individuality our society and education system appear to nurture the individuality of only some, the ‘winners’, and to ignore or even suppress that of a large number of other people who are less prominent.
Nobody knows for sure what the jobs of the future will look like and what kind of education or training is required. However, it seems likely that there will be a (increased) demand for people with social and emotion skills, people skills (incl. leadership & management), with creativity, with collaborative skills and attitudes, and for people who are flexible and resilient and who are life-long learners who can adapt to the increasing complexities of life and our societies.
This is what we should be, and should have been, focussing on in education and we need to build a value system to nurture these people for the public good – we also need (different) role models.
‘For the many, not the few’ or ”a fresh approach’.
Which slogan gives a clearer message that the concerns of the working class will be addressed?
Which slogan gives a clearer message that neoliberalism will be torn down and austerity got rid of?
” even some lefties cannot bring themselves to vote for labour.”
It’s going to be fascinating to see how many “righties”, National voters, don’t vote National in Barclay Country this election. Invercargill “righties” will show an even stronger rejection of National, now that the debacle has spread to the city. Sarah Dowie will be anxious.
I really hope Dowie mounts a spirited nothing-to-see-here-just-move-on watchoolookinat defence of Wee Toddy. That’ll go down like a cup of cold sick. I’d love to know if there’s a Hishon Barclay family link too.
Poor james ignorance on display again, like our other favorite troll puckish rouge this love and fetish for the polls proves one thing. You ant got anything else.
No. A slogan like “for the many, not the few” makes a massive difference, as it conveys a whole ideology in a short sentence. That has far greater cut-through than any range of policies.
Ultimately, the average voter responds to an idea, rather than people and policies.
Sure, have those to back up the idea. But the idea is key. It needs to be simple, easily repeated, easily understood – and believable.
That’s what works in elections. Not explaining. Not laying out detail. Labour have fallen into this trap many times. And National will try it on them again. “Labour have no detail”. “Explain exactly how this works”. “Show us where the money comes from”
And they will try and explain. And lose the voter in doing so.
They need to keep it simple. And believable. Let the voter make up their own mind about it, but if the message is clear enough, everything else flows through into that.
The left need to stop damn explaining everything. The right never do, and it works for them.
If the objective is to take the country in a completely different direction then you better provide some detail and get your salesperson hat on or otherwise you haven’t got a shit show of winning.
A cheesy slogan and some buzzwords really ain’t going to cut it.
National never runs to detail. Probably has a strong parallel with that admission by John Banks (ex-National MP) that if he actually told people his policies he’d never get voted in.
If National told people what they really wanted to do then they’d never get voted in.
“You can run a slogan – what I said that you need more than a slogan – like people and politics.” (… policies?)
I’ll help you out, by telling you where I’m currently thinking of putting my vote.
I’ll most likely vote Mana because despite wanting a different government to the current, I also want to use my vote to indicate to all politicians of every party what my priorities are. They are not completely in line with my values, but are pretty close (but I don’t expect a political party to be, unless it is a party of one, run by me)
I also would prefer a coalition government rather than a single party dominated one.
What – apart from a slogan – makes you vote National, James?
‘In Internet slang, a troll is a person who sows discord on the Internet by starting arguments or upsetting people, by posting inflammatory,extraneous, or off-topic messages in an online community (such as a newsgroup, forum, chat room, or blog) with the intent of provoking readers into an emotional response or of otherwise disrupting normal, on-topic discussion,often for the troll’s amusement.’
Own it, James. Accepting that you’re a troll won’t kill you and you might earn a point or two here for honesty. What people hate over lies is hypocrisy.
Nothing will be done or changed until people switch off the channel when Hosking is on. Otherwise, its business as usual, bad news will always be listened to, scandals and outrageous behavior seem to be more interesting than any other topic. Proven concept, stupid people abound so a certain no fail and money spinner. In other words, the media outlet has its clown and milk it for all its got.
‘Children suffer housing crisis fallout as rate of low-decile transience hits record
Transient children have hit record numbers in low-income schools as the housing crisis forces more renting families to move house repeatedly.
Numbers are still low, but the latest Ministry of Education data shows that 2.8 per cent of children in schools in the poorest tenth of areas moved at least twice last year – the highest low-income transience rate since records began in 2009.”The shortage of rental and social housing has meant that families are often having to move out of where they were,” she said.
“For example, if you are in social housing, you may find you have to shift out of the area where you were in one part of Auckland and now the housing is available in South Auckland.
“People at the higher end have more options available. They are usually going to shift within the same area. They have more control over their housing choices than poor people do.”
Although on average only 0.5 per cent of children moved at least twice in any one year, the data shows that 15 per cent of all children who started school aged 5 in 2011 moved schools at least twice before they left year 6 at the end of 2016.
And continued transience had a dramatic effect on whether students achieved the National Certificate of Educational Achievement (NCEA).’
Ed
Your line on Jess Mulligan at the bottom of your comment gives the wrong impression of him and what he said.
But don’t say this Government is delivering for all New Zealanders when what you mean is that it’s delivering for all New Zealanders except the poor, the homeless, the first-home buyers, New Zealanders suffering from depression and mental illness and the 100-plus young New Zealanders who take their own lives each year.
Of course, that slogan isn’t quite so catchy.
Jesse Mulligan is a host for Three’s The Project.
That’s the end para summarising Jesse’s piece in your link to him. So we can see that he is asking hard questions about government.
Did anybody else realise TNZ were backed by a foreign billionaire? I knew sponsors such as Emirates and the baby-killing and plastic proliferating Nespresso were involved but this guy seems to have kept a very low profile. From the Herald today.
“The French turned their backs on Team New Zealand hours after the dramatic capsize….. claims Team NZ’s billionaire backer. In an exclusive interview with the Weekend Herald this week, Emirates Team New Zealand principal, Matteo de Nora…….”
Yes, James, he has been the team principle for years (your spelling!) – a billionaire, overseas sponsorship and foreign capital, with bought-in talent, in a ‘sport’ where only the super rich can play, who make the rules and sucker politicians into their service- all in the name of (great) entertainment for the masses.
It is the masses who decide whether it is entertainment or not.
There aren’t many other events, (sporting, political, cultural or otherwise) that gets 80,000 ordinary kiwis out on the streets on a wet misberable winter’s day.
No problem, at all. I got up and watched some races, after all.
But, I also put it into a historical and social perspective.
That which drove bigger crowds into the arenas of Rome throughout the Empire was entertainment provided and vetted by the elite of the day- the billionaires, ruling oligarchy and later the monarchy as well, with religious and social approval.
The masses attended, and the brutality of Roman civilisation was further inculcated with a diet of executions, public dismemberment and the sport of chariot racing which was also brutal and violent.
The masses were given their heroes to emulate, the bookies and their owners had the gambling scene sewn up.
Politicians used such entertainment to make themselves popular with the masses.
Charioteers, trainers, horses, chariot builders, the whole panoply of Roman technology and organisation, with talent from foreign countries to provide the muscle for the entertainment, willingly or otherwise…….
Bread and circuses, Enough is Enough, panis et circenses. Tho oldest populist trick in the political book.
The problem is the parallel between what is actually being served to us in the guise of entertainment, be it Roman games and circuses or The Americas Cup. Not so much the what, but rather the why.
Oh I did! And enjoyed the sight of nemesis meeting hubris.
But, after the race is over, and the Cup is put on the shelf? Enjoy some reading of history!
And for further motivation into something more beneficial to the human masses, there’s a wee matter of politics, where the question of bread for the masses, and housing, and health, and water can be addressed, in the interim, between Cups.
i enjoyed and was educated by that mac1.
i was mesmorised by the sight of those boats, the beautiful backdrop and the stunning quality of the camera work.
slightly bewildered by the drone camera technology too.
but back to the bigger picture: commonalities of empires in decline- bread and circuses,
large and growing inequality,
war,
the elevation of cooks to celebrity status.
even as a chef i am puzzled by the allure of the last one.
I think I came up with a good idea. James seems very concerned to get us on the right road in all matters. Perhaps we should use this great resource.
Can you tell us James if there is a way of cutting off salary for politicians that are under investigation and not carrying out their duties?
excellent greywarshark.
another one: should the consequences, for an individual who attempts to intimidate a witness in a police investigation, be harsher if they are high up in the hierarchy of a party that has ‘tough on crime’ as part of it’s dna?
You should watch the interview Gabby. I did at the time, and was dismayed at the level of arrogance shown by Kim Hill.
At a time when all media was in support of the invasion of Iraq, it was refreshing to have someone interviewed that disagreed. His response to her preparation (or lack of) was measured until it became apparent that she was just going to continue sneering at his answers.
Completely put me off watching Kim Hill at the time.
I had a look at that link for Kim Hill going back to 2003. It shows John Pilger in lordly rant talking down to Kim because she wants to ask some questions which is what interviewers do. He wants to dominate the time making a statement. I note that he is Australian – famous for being right about everything, and a male which would double the certainty when talking to a female.
Pilger has done much through his investigative reporting. But he can’t be right all the time. If he wants to get his message over on television and promote his book, he should try to earn his time by responding to questions, put on behalf of viewers wanting to be informed. To say that Kim hasn’t read the book, is ignorant! She is well known for being informed, all others in the world except Pilger think that, but he would be right. If she did not know something, perhaps she didn’t get the book in time to really study it.
And we have ideas about foreigners too waka, and sometimes reserve our opinion if the individuals are not worth even a passing judgment.
hey bm and james, there is a post up about tories in southland that needs your help.
maybe pop over there and give us your opinions rather than soiling open mike.
It was with the police from the start, James yet you’re still happy to “wait for the facts to come out”?
James; why do you think the police dropped the case? Why did they accept Barclay’s refusal to speak with them as a reason to stop investigating? Does that sound a little odd to you; dropping an investigation just because the accused won’t come in for a chat?
James?
I havnt been watching this closely – You may have noticed that my post over the last few weeks have been less – I have been out of the country for a bit of a winter break.
So just havnt been watching things at home that closely.
I just know that the entire thing has been a pile of ***** the entire way thru.
c’mon james, what do you think of the claim of mr joyce that the tape was heard in a non-ministerial capacity?
there is no shame in acknowledging the prime minister has obfuscated, mislead, diminished his role and potentially outright lied during this debarclay.
The New Zealand Defence Force is highlighting the diversity and spread of its international operations, saying 11 percent of Kiwi troops are now overseas.
“What is significant is the geographical spread of our operations, given the relative size of our defence force,” Major General Tim Gall, the Commander Joint Forces New Zealand, said.
“We have personnel in six of the seven continents.”
Some of those deployments I’m in full support of. But many we shouldn’t be going anywhere near.
It’s a crazy thing if we are paying for ourselves to take part in overseas fights that are to advance some other country’s objectives. We should mind our own business which is needing some close scrutiny to see its state of health. Is that a strong pulse or a dying spasm I feel?
I have been reading about 12th century times in Britain. A lot of the fighting there was with mercenaries, it was a way of making a living for many. The English contender to the throne, Maud, apparently had Flemish forces, the Danes had ships that could be hired etc.
If we are using our Defence Forces in other theatres of activity I hope we are getting paid! We can’t afford to be somebody’s lapdog and not get nice regular payments and travel expenses!
What exactly do we think we are in New Zealand? We are just a little country with its main earner being dairy cows, borrowing huge amounts to boost the standard of living for some while others are in poverty. Almost a mirror image of 19th century NZ! We should be uniting with the Falklands, with a regular interchange of people from our fellow islanders down at the bottom of the world.
Thanks joe90 for exposing yourself to that germ-ridden place, you’re a stalwart.
I will follow my usual practice and not go there, I have enough problem coping with the trolls here like blowflies striking vulnerable targets.
Over the last three weeks, 140 countries have engaged in final negotiations of the new treaty. The nine states with nuclear weapons (US, Russia, China, France, UK, India, Pakistan, Israel and North Korea) have been boycotting the meeting in an attempt to rob the process of its legitimacy. NATO members have also stayed outside of the negotiations, and on the wrong side of history. Their absence is sadly significant; unless a country ratifies the treaty, it is not bound by it.
Unfortunately I think we can be pretty much assured that none of the present nuclear weapon holding countries will get rid of them. They’ll simply not sign on the dotted line ensuring that this law doesn’t apply to them.
This will mean that other countries, even if they sign, will be forced over time to develop their own nuclear weapons capabilities.
Trump Gives Speech to the People of Poland, Says 14 Words That Leave Americans Stunned https://t.co/8iKHEQemn9— Sarah Palin (@SarahPalinUSA) July 7, 2017
A new criteria, added on Friday with no press release, requires the panel who consider applications to to take into account whether granting the money will “contribute to impeding or delaying the ability of people and communities to provide for their social, economic and cultural well-being in relation to important needs, including employment, housing and infrastructure.”
Critics say this change will render the fund useless.
Working to protect business against the wishes of the people.
So make the protest/appeal process very expensive.
Then starve access to funds.
Protest/appeal dies.
See we the Government know that all the people must have wanted this project or else they would have objected. And they didn’t.
We are a very clever Government. (Does our Government get these ideas from Fiji?)
12-year-old Vaanan Murugathas will bring his do-it-yourself spectrometer to this weekend’s Maker Festival to shed light on how anyone hack their phone to measure water quality using just construction paper, a CD, and his mobile app.
In an interview on CBC’s Metro Morning, Murugathas said he was inspired by hearing host Matt Galloway and Indigenous critic Jesse Wente discussing the frequent and sometimes constant boil water advisories among First Nations reserves.
“Many [First Nations] reserves don’t have access to clean water and I feel like the government is not doing enough to actually stop this issue,” he said.
hardhitting – needs to be known – aussies and aussie lovers need to own up to the truth
Like children after an old, long-concealed family tragedy, we’ve all been left subtly bruised by the history we’ve repressed. I’m not the only Australian to sense that the brash, cocksure, sun-bronzed Aussie image we love – so easygoing, so delightfully laid-back – also comes with a paradoxical hint of dryness, emptiness, blustering adolescent uncertainty, in our national psyche.
Why the cultural cringe? The tall poppy suspicions? The strange timidity that has us creeping under the wing of one great and powerful friend or another? Our nation was built on a silent quicksand of wrongs. Aborigines; convicts; White Australia. We’re yet to crawl completely out; yet to turn into fully mature, proper grown-ups. But things are changing. Despite sneers at the “black armband view of history”, most of us now admit that terrible deeds were done, then hidden. Government apologies have elated almost everyone. And where now are those shrill massacre denials?
One truth, though, is still wincingly hard to face: that most Australians owe our comfortable living first and foremost to the fact that Aborigines used to own the precious land, and now we do. None of us is guilty of those old wrongs: but we have benefited prodigiously from them.
Unknowingly – and reluctant to probe too deeply – we’ve all lived well and thrived on the proceeds of crime.
Now, far too late, it really is time to get out those black armbands. And above all, to listen.
Just picked up my partner from watching the game at Eden Park.
I suggested before he left that he should lead a chant of “O, Jeremy Corbyn” and we had a laugh at how that would be taken by his workmates.
He’s sure that he heard several times during the game a chant very similar to “O, Jeremy Corbyn” coming from the Lions supporters. Could be mistaken, he – like me is getting older, and hard of hearing – but heartening to think the chant is becoming a way of calling out your Britishness to the world.
Open access notables A survey of interventions to actively conserve the frozen North, van Wijngaarden et al., Climatic Change:The frozen elements of the high North are thawing as the region warms much faster than the global mean. The dangers of sea level rise due to melting glacier ice, increased ...
Bryce Edwards writes – New Zealand’s biggest-ever political donations scandal is finally at an end. But what is the conclusion? No one can really be sure. The Court of Appeal released its judgement on Tuesday about the Serious Fraud Office case against the NZ First Foundation. On ...
In 2015, then-Prime Minister John Key announced plans for a huge ocean sanctuary around the Kermadec Islands, banning fishing and mining from 15% of Aotearoa's EEZ. It was bold, it was ambitious, and it suggested that National might actually care about the environment. Except they fucked it up: Key failed ...
1. Who has just been given the accolade New Zealander of the Year?a. The Kokakob. The Cook Strait Ferryc. Fair God. Dr Jim Salinger 2. Which of these is an affront to decent society?a. Dame Edna Everageb. Mrs Doubtfire c. Dr. Frank-N-Furterd. Brian 3. Who is Penny Simmonds?a. The aspiring actress in Big ...
New Zealand’s biggest-ever political donations scandal is finally at an end. But what is the conclusion? No one can really be sure.The Court of Appeal released its judgement on Tuesday about the Serious Fraud Office case against the NZ First Foundation. On the face of it, the court found ...
Buzz from the Beehive Waves of rain are set to lash much of the North Island during Easter Weekend as a low-pressure system forms east of New Zealand, according to a weather forecast published in the past day or so. Niwa was warning of a “moisture-laden” long weekend, with rain expected ...
Look around us…Nicola Willis’ promises of balancing the books, of cutting spending without reducing services, and of delivering game changing tax cuts are disappearing before her eyes.Everyday we see stories of violent crime ending in horrific injuries, or worse. The cost of living worsens, whereas the PM claimed renters would ...
TL;DR: My top six news of note on the morning of Thursday, March 28 include:The Government will have to borrow between $10 billion to $15 billion more than previously expected in order to make up for a slowing economy and to pay for $14.9 billion of tax cuts, according to ...
This story by Naveena Sadasivam and Kate Yoder was originally published by Grist and is part of Covering Climate Now, a global journalism collaboration strengthening coverage of the climate story. The long-awaited jobs board for the American Climate Corps, promised early in the Biden administration, will open next month, according to details shared exclusively ...
Should landlords be able to deduct the interest on the loans they take out to bankroll their property speculation? The US Senate Budget Committee and Bloomberg News don’t think this is a good idea, for reasons set out below. Regardless, our coalition government has been burning through a ton of ...
Treasury’s first report on the economy since the change of government presents a damning indictment of Labour’s economic management. The problem for National is that it is so damning that logically, coupled with a rapidly slowing economy, Finance Minister Nicola Willis should respond to it by postponing or even cancelling ...
Budget tensions are becoming evident within the Coalition Government. Winston Peters made numerous political points in his speech to the NZF annual conference. But the attack on his own government’s fiscal policies raised issues of substance. ‘Today in the Sunday Star Times, journalist and former advisor to the Labour ...
Buzz from the Beehive The media – sure enough – have been binging on Finance Minister Nicola Willis’ release of the Budget Policy Statement and a statement headed Government announces Budget priorities This assures us – or rather, this parrots the Luxon team mantra – that the Budget “will deliver ...
The Ides of March brought me COVID followed by a bereavement. No wonder they tell you to be careful of them.I’m home now and have resumed the interrupted recuperation. Very much looking forward to getting back to regular things. Meanwhile, some thoughts…OneThis new Prime Minister guy just keeps getting more dire. ...
News that the Chinese ATP 40 cyber-hacking unit penetrated parliamentary internet networks in 2021 has renewed concerns about the PRC’s malign intentions in Aotearoa. But is the hack that significant given the length of time that has passed since its … Continue reading → ...
When Parliament passed the Intelligence and security Act in 2017, they assured us all that it was full of safeguards. Any intrusive surveillance of New Zealanders would be subject to a "triple lock", requiring the approval of the Minister and (supposedly independent) Commissioner of Intelligence Warrants, as well as post-facto ...
Eric Crampton writes – Richard Harman’s Politik newsletter provides a bit of the context that ought to have been showing up in other media reports on potential reductions in public service staffing. Media has been reporting on staffing cuts on the order of about 7%. Is that ...
Mike Grimshaw writes – It’s becoming increasingly apparent that many perceive free speech to have become the preserve of the politically right wing, the religiously conservative, the libertarian fringe, the anti-trans, the anti-Māori and…. well, just fill in with whatever groups or individuals you don’t like and don’t ...
Don Brash writes – As everybody who is not blind and deaf is aware, there is a huge political preoccupation with climate change at the moment, a widespread (though by no means unanimous) belief that global temperatures are rising mainly as a result of the greenhouse gases created ...
TL;DR: My six things to note in Aotearoa’s political economy on Wednesday, March 27 include:Chris Bishop laid out his vision for filling Aotearoa-NZ’s $100 billion infrastructure deficit in a speech yesterday, emphasising user pays and private funding, but failed to say how to achieve bipartisanship on population, public borrowing and ...
Bryce Edwards writes – Former Finance Minister Grant Robertson and former Prime Minister Chris Hipkins have been conveying how unhappy they are with the tax system. Last week in his valedictory speech, Robertson called for the introduction of a wealth or capital gains tax. And this week Hipkins ...
On February 14, 2023 we announced our Rebuttal Update Project. This included an ask for feedback about the added "At a glance" section in the updated basic rebuttal versions. This weekly blog post series highlights this new section of one of the updated basic rebuttal versions and serves as a ...
Buzz from the Beehive China has loomed large in Beehive considerations over the past 24 hours, largely because of that country’s mischief-making in the cyber espionage department. Two media statements emerged on that subject hard on the heels of the PM baulking at questions put to him on RNZ’s Morning ...
Chris Trotter writes – WHY IS THE NATIONAL PARTY doing so much for landlords, property developers, trucking, and construction companies, and so little for everybody who isn’t already pretty well-off? It’s as if protecting landlords’ investments and building apartments and roads now constitute the whole of National’s ...
Bryce Edwards writes – When she was campaigning to be Minister of Finance last year, Nicola Willis pledged that she would resign from the job if she failed to deliver tax cuts in her first Budget. Now, it’s that pledge, along with Prime Minister Christopher Luxon’s ...
Robert MacCulloch writes – The Reserve Bank has doubled staff numbers in five years to 510, with personnel costs rising to $80 million in 2023 from $32 million in 2018 – up by a whopping 150%. I guess when you print $50 billion and flood markets with liquidity, ...
The furore. In case you didn’t notice there was a controversy in the weekend involving dolphins in a little town off the South Island. Don’t panic, they haven’t declared independence and resumed whaling, this was simply a sailing event.The problem began when racing was cancelled on the opening day of ...
For 20 years or more, the case for a meaningful capital tax gains has been mulled over and analysed to death, including by the tax working group chaired by Sir Michael Cullen. More than once, the International Monetary Fund has said a CGT would be a good idea for New ...
TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read: The Public Health Communications Centre (PHCC) call for urgent preventive action and a risk assessment survey of long covid in this briefing noteLocal scoop: NZ road deaths surpass OECD rates, so why is the govt reversing safety plans? ...
This story was originally published by Grist and is part of Covering Climate Now, a global journalism collaboration strengthening coverage of the climate story. This story is part of a collaboration with Grist and WABE to demystify the Georgia Public Service Commission, the small but powerful state-elected board that makes critical decisions about everything from raising ...
This is a guest post from Robert McLachlan Global warming is accelerating; 2023 was off the charts. We need to stop burning fossil fuels. In New Zealand, transport accounts for half of all fossil fuels burnt. In the Emissions Reduction Plan, transport emissions fall 41% by 2035. As the ...
Labour productivity has been receding rapidly over the past two years, reversing a post-lockdown rise. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: My six things to note in Aotearoa’s political economy as at 6:26am on Tuesday, March 26 include:Workers have been treading water in output per hour worked for 12 years, ...
TL;DR: The key events to watch in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy in the week to April 2 include:Today, Parliament resumes sitting at 2pm for the second week of a two-week session. Officials for SIS and GCSB report their annual reviews in public to the Intelligence and Security Select Committee from 5.10pm.Tomorrow, ...
Faced with a barrage of criticism over the promised tax cuts from usually supportive commentators, Finance Minister Nicola Willis yesterday reaffirmed her intention to include them in this year’s Budget. The Government is up against it over the cuts just about every way it turns. Commentators like Fran O’Sullivan, Matthew ...
Here’s my pick of today’s substack posts as of 6:26pm on Monday, March 25: writes via his substack that Market-rate housing will make your city cheaper writes via his substack about the problems talking to double-cab ute (truck) drivers about their vehicles. today about moments of radicalisation in ...
Buzz from the Beehive Just before Christmas, Finance Minister Nicola Willis delivered something that was pitched as a mini-budget and brayed about the decisive action being taken to repair the Government books and support income tax relief in Budget 2024. In a statement headed Fiscal repair job underway. she introduced ...
My sister Belinda asked Dad yesterday what one word would describe Mum best. He said: vivacious.If you only knew her from the photos on the slideshow we've made for today,you might wonder about that, because the camera tended to lie with Mum.If ever she saw a camera pointed at her, she ...
There are two major public consultations closing in the next week, Auckland Council’s Long Term Plan (LTP), and the draft Government Policy Statement on Land Transport (GPS). Closing dates and times: LTP closes Thursday 28 February, at 11.59pm – a minute to midnight! GPS closes Tuesday 2 April, at 12pm noon – note that’s ...
From Kiwiblog’s David Farrar – Bryce Wilkinson writes: Senior Fellow Bryce Wilkinson’s analysis reveals that since March 2009, New Zealand has spent $158 billion more overseas than it has earned, but its NIIP has only fallen by $32 billion.Statistics New Zealand shows that receipts from overseas reinsurers have ...
Is she hinting that the Coalition Government will have to back down on key promises it made in Opposition? Brian Easton writes – The Minister of Finance, Nicola Willis, is telling an evolving story about her fiscal challenges. In Opposition she was confident that she could ...
Dear Nicola Willis,Right now you’ve probably got lots of competing demands coming at you. Ministers who’ve inherited quite a mess, or so you’ve told us, looking for money in the budget to improve things. I imagine that’s why they came to parliament - to make things better.You’ll have to make ...
The Local Government, Transport and Auckland Minister hasthreatened councils with intervention if they don’t merge water assets to take them off balance sheet, just as the now-repealed Three Waters plan directed. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: My six things of note this morning for Monday, March 25 include:Simeon ...
A listing of 36 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, March 17, 2024 thru Sat, March 23, 2024. Story of the week Thanks to John Mason having the stamina to sit down to watch "Climate - the Movie" ...
This morning the Q&A programme had Simeon Brown on to talk about National’s replacement for Three Waters. In case anyone’s forgotten the three are - drinking water, waste water, and sewerage. It’s quite important not to get them mixed up. In much the same way that you wouldn’t want to ...
Today’s newsletter comes with a mini-podcast conversation between me and my buddy Liv Tennet, talking about her time as a child actor in Lord of the Rings. It’s a conversation with a lot of giggles as she talks about falling off a horse, and becoming a meme. Read ...
The Desmog Climate Disinformation Database documents, "individuals and organisations that have helped to delay and distract the public and our elected leaders from taking needed action to reduce greenhouse gas pollution and fight global warming." It's a who's who of the organised climate change denial movement, in other words. In ...
Bob Edlin writes – A High Court judge has decided miscreants who have mana – or who claim to have mana – should be treated differently from miscreants who have none. It’s a ruling that suggests indigenous law-breakers have a better chance of securing a discharge without conviction ...
Welcome to the first, and possibly last, edition of Brickbats, Bouquets and Bull’s Wool. In which I’ll take a look at the events of the last week or so, and rate them.In such ratings the numbers usually have more to do with the opinions of the reviewer, than the actual ...
Roger Partridge writes – My earlier column this month, New Zealand’s highest court could be facing a turning point, prompted a flood of feedback from business readers and lawyers alike. A common query was what Parliament can do to restrain an overreaching judiciary. This week I discuss two steps Parliament ...
TL;DR: In today’s ‘six-stack’ of substacks at 6.16pm on Friday, March 22: writes about New Zealand's Building Boom—And What the World Must Learn From It over at his substack. challenges the Auckland Council’s use of a 3.8 degrees of warming forecast to oppose a wave-park and data centre project ...
Is she hinting that the Coalition Government will have to back down on key promises it made in Opposition?The Minister of Finance, Nicola Willis, is telling an evolving story about her fiscal challenges. In Opposition she was confident that she could deliver her promised income tax cuts. Appointed minister, she ...
Buzz from the Beehive Ministers of the Crown have drawn attention to one sector of the science sector which is unlikely to be subjected to heavy spending cuts, a state-funded broadcaster which is doing nicely, thank you, and a sporting event that had $5.4 million from the public purse puffed ...
Abbott’s Freestyle Libre sensors allow continuous glucose monitoring (CGM). The sensor is applied to the back of the patient’s arm, with a thin filament under the skin measuring glucose levels constantly. But it costs around $100 per sensor and must be replaced once every 14 days. Photo by BSIP/Universal Images ...
The Inspector General of Intelligence and Security (IGIS) recently released a report in which he exposes the existence of a foreign intelligence partner-controlled technological “capability” inside the headquarters of the GCSB, NZ’s 5 Eyes-affiliated signals intelligence collection and analysis agency. … Continue reading → ...
Peter Dunne writes – Nearly three decades after the introduction of MMP and multiparty governments there should be a greater level of understanding about their finer points than often appears to be the case. The reaction to the despicable outburst from the Deputy Prime Minister at the weekend highlights ...
The sweet kisses from fruit of summerHave slowly been turning dullerYou say, "those times"And "remember the daysWhen we went outside and there still was the shade?"Taking no reason into play…Autumn. Clear, blue days shortening to longer nights, growing colder. Aotearoa.That’s us. The temperature dropping, the looming car crash - so ...
Bryce Edwards writes – “It is often said that behind every great man is a great woman”. This is the pitch by the National Party Botany electorate branch to attend their “Ladies Afternoon Tea with Amanda Luxon”. For $110 including GST, you can turn up on Saturday 20 April ...
David Farrar writes – The Electoral Commission has published the expense returns for political parties for the 2023 election. I’ve put them in a table with how many votes a party got so we can see the spend per vote. National only spent $3.34 for every vote they got, almost ...
Winston Peters’ headline-making actions over the past week may have been a show of political power intended to strengthen his hand in Budget negotiations. It was no accident that his State of the Nation speech was as it was. He made it as New Zealand First Leader, not as Deputy ...
Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The five things that mattered in Aotearoa’s political economy that we wrote and spoke about via The Kākā and elsewhere for paying subscribers in the last week included:Former Labour Finance Minister Grant Robertson bowed out of politics this week, giving a series of exit ...
Graham Adams writes — If you love the law or sausages, as the saying goes, best not to look too closely at how they are made. And after watching the orgy of self-pity when Newshub’s closure was announced on February 28, television journalism should definitely be added to the list of those ...
Venerable New Zealand political commentator, Chris Trotter (https://bowalleyroad.blogspot.com/), is a sad creature these days. Once one of the most reliable Leftist writers out there – Economic Left at that – Trotter seems to have absorbed the worldview of Auckland culture-war obsessives. It is not for me to categorise what he ...
The cruelty of short-term memory loss is that each time you ask where she is, you get the fresh shock and grief of the news. That was Dad's day yesterday.Comfortingly, it seems to be less so today. Last night he looked crumpled, today he seems more settled. There's a card ...
Photo by Alvan Nee on UnsplashIt’s that new day of the week (Thursday rather than Friday) when and I co-host our ‘hoon’ webinar with paying subscribers to The Kākā for an hour at 5 pm. Jump on this link on YouTube Livestream for our chat about the week’s news ...
Buzz from the Beehive One minister is talking tough while a colleague – whose ministry had acted tough and drawn a barrage of flak – has shown an official softening. Some ministers are doing what Labour was good at, which is distributing public funds to causes regarded as worthy or ...
A ballot for 4 Member's Bills was held today, and the following bills were drawn: Insurance Contracts Bill (Duncan Webb) Income Tax (Clean Transport FBT Exclusion) Amendment Bill (Julie Anne Genter) Crimes (Increased Penalties for Slavery Offences) Amendment Bill (Greg Fleming) Pae Ora (Healthy Futures) ...
One of the strongest narratives about "our" spy agencies is that they are basically institutional traitors, working for foreign powers (or just themselves), without any control or oversight by the elected government. And today, we have yet another report from the Inspector-General of Intelligence and Security which explicitly confirms this. ...
“It is often said that behind every great man is a great woman”. This is the pitch by the National Party Botany electorate branch to attend their “Ladies Afternoon Tea with Amanda Luxon”. For $110 including GST, you can turn up on Saturday 20 April to meet the Prime Minister’s ...
The Coalition Government’s plan to ‘get Auckland moving’ is a cuts cover-up that will ultimately cost Aucklanders more to move around the city, says Labour Auckland Issues spokesperson Shanan Halbert. ...
Slashing the Ministry of Pacific Peoples by 40% will have a devastating impact on pacific communities and further highlights how little this government cares about anything other than cutting taxes for the wealthiest few. ...
Labour has proposed an urgent inquiry to investigate the ever-increasing profits of supermarkets, aiming to lower costs for shoppers and food producers alike, says Labour Spokesperson for Commerce and Consumer Affairs Arena Williams and Primary Production Spokesperson Cushla Tangaere-Manuel. ...
With 14% of jobs on the line at the Ministry for Ethnic Communities, the responsible Minister Melissa Lee is failing to stand up for the very communities she’s meant to be representing. ...
COURT OF APPEAL: TRIFECTA OF VICTORY FOR NZ FIRST, TRIFECTA OF FAILURE FOR OPPONENTS For the third time since April 2020, New Zealand First has defeated the Serious Fraud Office and all those complicit in a malicious attack against a political party going about its lawful business in a lawful ...
The Green Party stands with people who live in public housing, people in dire housing need, experts and advocates in demanding better than the Government’s archaic approach to housing those who need our support the most. ...
New Zealand has recently lost the hosting rights of some major international sporting events including the America’s Cup, the Rugby Championship, Netball World Cup, and the Wellington Sevens. We are now at a huge risk of losing SailGP as well. And it won’t stop there. The recent issues with SailGP ...
A Member’s Bill drawn this week would modernise insurance law and make things fairer and more transparent for consumers, Christchurch Central MP Duncan Webb said. ...
The Minister for Disability Issues has confirmed she was aware of funding issues in mid-December and did nothing to stop it. On 14 March, she signed off on changes that were announced and implemented on 18 March without any consultation with disability communities. ...
Green Party MP Julie Anne Genter says her members' bill is an opportunity for the coalition government to plug the gap in electric vehicle incentives. ...
The National Government continues to talk about irresponsible tax cuts that will only drive up inflation, despite the country entering a technical recession. ...
The Minister for Disability Issues must act urgently to reinstate flexibility around the funding for disability support and apologise to disabled carers. ...
This story has been initiated by a leftie shill reporter who proactively sought to call a member of a former band, which disbanded twelve years ago, give their biased appraisal of what was said in my speech, and concocted a ham-fisted attempt at a story that does nothing but show ...
The Government has accepted Labour’s change to the Road User Charge (RUC) discount for hybrid vehicles, meaning there will still be some incentive for people to buy greener vehicles. ...
Many in the mainstream media have taken what was said in New Zealand First’s State of the Nation Speech in Palmerston North on Sunday and deliberately, deceitfully, and ignorantly misrepresented what I said and why I said it. The headlines and commentary on the news stated that I compared ‘co-governance ...
Kicking the most vulnerable people out of state housing and pushing them towards homelessness will result in a proliferation of poverty and trauma across our most vulnerable communities. ...
Te Pāti Māori co-leader and MP for Waiariki, Rawiri Waititi has penned a letter asking MPs to support his members bill to remove GST from all food. The bill is expected to go through its first reading in parliament this Wednesday. “I’m calling on all political parties to support my ...
Good afternoon. Thank you for, in your very busy lives, turning up to this meeting today. On October 14th last year New Zealanders overwhelmingly voted for change. That is exactly what this new government is bringing. New Zealand First campaigned to ‘take back our country’ and stop the disastrous economic ...
This year is about getting real with Kiwis and discussing the tough issues, as the National Government exacerbates inequality and divides New Zealand, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said ...
The Government adding Significant Natural Areas (SNAs) to its already roaring environmental policy bonfire is an assault on the future of wildlife that makes Aotearoa unique. ...
After 12 years of fighting to protect our moana we are finding ourselves back at square one and back at court. Today, the Environmental Protection Agency is sitting in Hawera to reconsider an application from Trans-Tasman Resources to dig up 50 million tonnes of the seabed in South Taranaki. This ...
Minister Shane Jones’ decision to step away from a seabed mining project is evidence of the murky waters surrounding the Government’s fast-track legislation. ...
The growth of Treaty of Waitangi clauses in legislation caused so much worry that a special oversight group was set up by the last government in a bid to get greater coherence in the publicservice on Treaty matters. When ministers first considered the need for tighter oversight in 2021, there ...
The growth of Treaty of Waitangi clauses in legislation caused so much worry that a special oversight group was set up by the last government in a bid to get greater coherence in the publicservice on Treaty matters. When ministers first considered the need for tighter oversight in 2021, there ...
The Coalition Government’s miscalculation saga continues as it has forgotten an eyewatering $90 million gap in its interest deductibility cost figures, say Labour Finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds and Revenue Spokesperson Deborah Russell. ...
He Pou a Rangi Climate Change Commission has today released advice that says if the Government doesn’t act now New Zealand is at risk of not meeting its climate goals. ...
The Coalition Government has today confirmed it is abandoning first home buyers who are struggling to get ahead, says Labour Finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds. ...
Transport Minister Simeon Brown has welcomed the passing of legislation to move light electric vehicles (EVs) and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) into the road user charges system from 1 April. “It was always intended that EVs and PHEVs would be exempt from road user charges until they reached two ...
New Zealand is strengthening its ability to combat illegal fishing outside its domestic waters and beef up regulation for its own commercial fishers in international waters through a Bill which had its first reading in Parliament today. The Fisheries (International Fishing and Other Matters) Amendment Bill 2023 sets out stronger ...
Economists Carl Hansen and Professor Prasanna Gai have been appointed to the Reserve Bank Monetary Policy Committee, Finance Minister Nicola Willis announced today. The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) is the independent decision-making body that sets the Official Cash Rate which determines interest rates. Carl Hansen, the executive director of Capital ...
Apartment owners and buyers will soon have greater protections as further changes to the law on unit titles come into effect, Housing Minister Chris Bishop says. “The Unit Titles (Strengthening Body Corporate Governance and Other Matters) Amendment Act had already introduced some changes in December 2022 and May 2023, and ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters will travel to Egypt and Europe from this weekend. “This travel will focus on a range of New Zealand’s traditional diplomatic and security partnerships while enabling broad engagement on the urgent situation in Gaza,” Mr Peters says. Mr Peters will attend the NATO Foreign ...
Transport Minister Simeon Brown is encouraging all road users to stay safe, plan their journeys ahead of time, and be patient with other drivers while travelling around this Easter long weekend. “Road safety is a responsibility we all share, and with increased traffic on our roads expected this Easter we ...
About 1.4 million New Zealanders will receive cost of living relief through increased government assistance from April 1 909,000 pensioners get a boost to Superannuation, including 5000 veterans 371,000 working-age beneficiaries will get higher payments 45,000 students will see an increase in their allowance Over a quarter of New Zealanders ...
Ensuring social housing is being provided to those with the greatest needs is front of mind as the Government restarts social housing tenancy reviews, Associate Housing Minister Tama Potaka says. “Our relentless focus on building a strong economy is to ensure we can deliver better public services such as social ...
The Kermadec Ocean Sanctuary will not go ahead, with Cabinet deciding to stop work on the proposed reserve and remove the Bill that would have established it from Parliament’s order paper. “The Kermadec Ocean Sanctuary Bill would have created a 620,000 sq km economic no-go zone,” Oceans and Fisheries Minister ...
Dam safety regulations are being amended so that smaller dams won’t be subject to excessive compliance costs, Minister for Building and Construction Chris Penk says. “The coalition Government is focused on reducing costs and removing unnecessary red tape so we can get the economy back on track. “Dam safety regulations ...
The coalition Government is expanding the medium-scale adverse event classification to parts of the North Island as dry weather conditions persist, Agriculture Minister Todd McClay announced today. “I have made the decision to expand the medium-scale adverse event classification already in place for parts of the South Island to also cover the ...
The passing of legislation giving effect to coalition Government tax commitments has been welcomed by Finance Minister Nicola Willis. “The Taxation (Annual Rates for 2023–24, Multinational Tax, and Remedial Matters) Bill will help place New Zealand on a more secure economic footing, improve outcomes for New Zealanders, and make our tax system ...
Science, Innovation and Technology Minister Judith Collins and Tertiary Education and Skills Minister Penny Simmonds today announced plans to transform our science and university sectors to boost the economy. Two advisory groups, chaired by Professor Sir Peter Gluckman, will advise the Government on how these sectors can play a greater ...
The Budget will deliver urgently-needed tax relief to hard-working New Zealanders while putting the government’s finances back on a sustainable track, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. The Finance Minister made the comments at the release of the Budget Policy Statement setting out the Government’s Budget objectives. “The coalition Government intends ...
The coalition Government will look at options to address a zoning issue that limits how much financial support Queenstown residents can get for accommodation. Cabinet has agreed on a response to the Petitions Committee, which had recommended the geographic information MSD uses to determine how much accommodation supplement can be ...
Cabinet has agreed to a short extension to the final reporting timeframe for the Royal Commission into Abuse in Care from 28 March 2024 to 26 June 2024, Internal Affairs Minister Brooke van Velden says. “The Royal Commission wrote to me on 16 February 2024, requesting that I consider an ...
The coalition Government is delivering an $18 million boost to New Zealanders needing to travel for specialist health treatment, Health Minister Dr Shane Reti says. “These changes are long overdue – the National Travel Assistance (NTA) scheme saw its last increase to mileage and accommodation rates way back in 2009. ...
The Government is recognising the innovative and rising talent in New Zealand’s growing space sector, with the Prime Minister and Space Minister Judith Collins announcing the new Prime Minister’s Prizes for Space today. “New Zealand has a growing reputation as a high-value partner for space missions and research. I am ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has confirmed New Zealand’s concerns about cyber activity have been conveyed directly to the Chinese Government. “The Prime Minister and Minister Collins have expressed concerns today about malicious cyber activity, attributed to groups sponsored by the Chinese Government, targeting democratic institutions in both New ...
Independent Reviewers appointed for School Property Inquiry Education Minister Erica Stanford today announced the appointment of three independent reviewers to lead the Ministerial Inquiry into the Ministry of Education’s School Property Function. The Inquiry will be led by former Minister of Foreign Affairs Murray McCully. “There is a clear need ...
State Highway 1 across the Brynderwyns will be open for Easter weekend, with work currently underway to ensure the resilience of this critical route being paused for Easter Weekend to allow holiday makers to travel north, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Today I visited the Brynderwyn Hills construction site, where ...
Introduction Good morning to you all, and thanks for having me bright and early today. I am absolutely delighted to be the Minister for Infrastructure alongside the Minister of Housing and Resource Management Reform. I know the Prime Minister sees the three roles as closely connected and he wants me ...
New Zealand stands with the United Kingdom in its condemnation of People’s Republic of China (PRC) state-backed malicious cyber activity impacting its Electoral Commission and targeting Members of the UK Parliament. “The use of cyber-enabled espionage operations to interfere with democratic institutions and processes anywhere is unacceptable,” Minister Responsible for ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters and Defence Minister Judith Collins today announced New Zealand will provide logistics support for the upcoming Solomon Islands election. “We’re sending a team of New Zealand Defence Force personnel and two NH90 helicopters to provide logistics support for the election on 17 April, at the request ...
The European Union Free Trade Agreement Legislation Amendment Bill received Royal Assent today, completing the process for New Zealand’s ratification of its free trade agreement with the European Union. “I am pleased to announce that today, in a small ceremony at the Beehive, New Zealand notified the European Union ...
Public consultation on the terms of reference for the Royal Commission into COVID-19 Lessons has concluded, Internal Affairs Minister Hon Brooke van Velden says. “I have been advised that there were over 11,000 submissions made through the Royal Commission’s online consultation portal.” Expanding the scope of the Royal Commission of ...
Hardworking families are set to benefit from a new credit to help them meet their early childcare education (ECE) costs, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. From 1 July, parents and caregivers of young children will be supported to manage the rising cost of living with a partial reimbursement of their ...
A specialised Independent Technical Advisory Group (ITAG) tasked with preparing and publishing independent non-binding advice on the design of a "green" (sustainable finance) taxonomy rulebook is being established, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. “Comprising experts and market participants, the ITAG's primary goal is to deliver comprehensive recommendations to the ...
Defence Minister Judith Collins has thanked the Chief of Army, Major General John Boswell, DSD, for his service as he leaves the Army after 40 years. “I would like to thank Major General Boswell for his contribution to the Army and the wider New Zealand Defence Force, undertaking many different ...
25 March 2024 Minister to meet Australian counterparts and Manufacturing Industry Leaders Small Business, Manufacturing, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly will travel to Australia for a series of bi-lateral meetings and manufacturing visits. During the visit, Minister Bayly will meet with his Australian counterparts, Senator Tim Ayres, Ed ...
Government commits almost $3 million for period products in schools The Coalition Government has committed $2.9 million to ensure intermediate and secondary schools continue providing period products to those who need them, Minister of Education Erica Stanford announced today. “This is an issue of dignity and ensuring young women don’t ...
Good morning, it’s great to be here. First, I would like to acknowledge the New Zealand Institute of Building Surveyors and thank you for the opportunity to be here this morning. I would like to use this opportunity to outline the Government’s ambitious plan and what we hope to ...
Minister for Pacific Peoples Dr Shane Reti has announced the Government’s commitment to the Auckland Secondary Schools Māori and Pacific Islands Cultural Festival, more commonly known as Polyfest. “The Ministry for Pacific Peoples is a longtime supporter of Polyfest and, as it celebrates 49 years in 2024, I’m proud to ...
Before moving onto the substance of today’s address, I want to recognise the very significant and ongoing contribution the Breast Cancer Foundation makes to support the lives of New Zealand women and their families living with breast cancer. I very much enjoy working with you. I also want to recognise ...
New Zealand has notched up a first with the launch of University of Canterbury research to the International Space Station, Science, Innovation and Technology and Space Minister Judith Collins says. The hardware, developed by Dr Sarah Kessans, is designed to operate autonomously in orbit, allowing scientists on Earth to study ...
Introduction Thank you for inviting me to speak with you today and I’m sorry I can’t be there in person. Yesterday I started in Wellington for Breakfast TV, spoke to a property conference in Auckland, and finished the day speaking to local government in Christchurch, so it would have been ...
The Coalition Government is contributing more than $1 million to support the establishment of an emergency multi-agency coordination centre in Northland. Emergency Management and Recovery Minister Mark Mitchell announced the contribution today during a visit of the Whangārei site where the facility will be constructed. “Northland has faced a number ...
New Zealanders have enjoyed a broader range of voices telling the story of Aotearoa thanks to the creation of Whakaata Māori 20 years ago, says Māori Development Minister Tama Potaka. The minister spoke at a celebration marking the national indigenous media organisation’s 20th anniversary at their studio in Auckland on ...
Commercial catch limits for some fisheries have been increased following a review showing stocks are healthy and abundant, Ocean and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. The changes, along with some other catch limit changes and management settings, begin coming into effect from 1 April 2024. "Regular biannual reviews of fish ...
Auckland Council has put a deadline on new weather-impacted property owners applying for categorisation as government funding looks set to run out. Councillors have voted to support a deadline of September 30 for property owners who haven’t accessed support to come forward and engage with the council’s recovery office. It ...
NONFICTION 1 BBQ Economics by Liam Dann (Penguin Random House, $40) “It’s official,” wrote Dann nine days ago in the Herald, where he works as business editor at large, “we’re in recession.” Yeah, great. He delivered the bad stats: “GDP fell 0.1 percent in the December 2023 quarter, compared with ...
Comment: Every year on February 2, a dozen men in tuxedos and top hats approach the burrow of a groundhog in Gobbler’s Knob, Pennsylvania and entice the beaver-like rodent to emerge and predict the weather. If the groundhog, named Punxsutawney Phil, sees its own shadow when it is summoned, legend ...
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By Anneke Smith, RNZ News political reporter A petition urging the New Zealand government to provide urgent humanitarian assistance to the Palestinian people has been tabled in the House. More than 200 people gathered on Parliament’s forecourt today and they were met by MPs from Labour, the Greens and Te ...
Pacific Media Watch The Paris-based global media freedom watchdog RSF (Reporters Without Borders) has appealed for information about the “disappearance” of Palestinian journalist Bayan Abusultan. She was reportedly last seen on March 19 among people “sequestered” in this week’s raid and siege of Al Shifa hospital by Israeli troops in ...
EDITORIAL:The Jakarta Post It happens again and again; indigenous Papuans fall victim to Indonesian soldiers. This time, we have photographic evidence for the brutality, with videos on social media showing a Papuan man being tortured by a group of plainclothes men alleged to be the Indonesian Military (TNI) members. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Robyn J. Whitaker, Director of the Wesley Centre for Theology, Ethics, and Public Policy & Associate Professor, New Testament, Pilgrim Theological College, University of Divinity A strange and eclectic range of activities takes place across these few weeks of the year. Some ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Panizza Allmark, Professor Visual & Cultural Studies, Edith Cowan University It’s Easter weekend, which means many of us will be kicking back with the greatest hits on repeat. But whether you’re a boomer, or an ‘80s or ’90s kid, you might be ...
RNZ Pacific Fiji’s Acting Public Prosecutor has filed an appeal against the sentences of former prime minister Voreqe Bainimarama and suspended police chief Sitiveni Qiliho in their corruption case. Bainimarama was granted an absolute discharge for attempting to pervert the course of justice while Qiliho received a conditional discharge with ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Arosha Weerakoon, Senior Lecturer and General Dentist, School of Dentistry, The University of Queensland Casezy idea/Shutterstock How does toothpaste work? What did people use before toothpaste was invented? – Amelia, age 7, Meanjin (Brisbane) Thanks for your ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Brett Hallam, Associate professor, UNSW Sydney IM Imagery/Shutterstock Solar SunShot is well named. The Australian government announced today it would plough A$1 billion into bringing back solar manufacturing to Australia, boosting energy security, swapping coal and gas jobs for those ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Clare Dix, Research Fellow in Nutrition & Dietetics, The University of Queensland Easter is the time for chocolate. The shops are full of fantastically packaged and shiny chocolates in all shapes and sizes, making trips to the supermarket with children more challenging ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Emma Felton, Adjunct Senior Researcher, University of South Australia Even in a stubborn cost-of-living crisis, it seems there’s one luxury most Australians won’t sacrifice – their daily cup of coffee. Coffee sales have largely remained stable, even as financial pressures have ...
Mining company Trans-Tasman Resources has unexpectedly withdrawn its application for a consent to suck the valuable metals vanadium and titanium from the Taranaki seafloor, as it apparently wagers on the Government’s new fast-track process. It had spent two-and-a-half days putting its case to the Environmental Protection Agency’s decision-making committee, at ...
Contrary to the Associate Minister of Education’s claims, analysis of Healthy School Lunches Programme - Ka Ora, Ka Ako assessments has revealed it provides excellent value for the taxpayer dollar, as a groundswell of public opposition to Government ...
Greenpeace says wannabe Taranaki seabed miner Trans-Tasman Resources is likely banking on Christopher Luxon’s fast-track process to side-step proper scrutiny of its Taranaki seabed mining proposal by bailing out of the Environmental Protection Agency hearing ...
Kiwis Against Seabed mining today slammed Australian owned would-be seabed miner Trans Tasman Resources (TTR) for abandoning its application to the Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) to mine the seabed of the South Taranaki Bight. The company ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Katie Attwell, Associate Professor, School of Social Sciences, The University of Western Australia Ground Picture/Shutterstock Months after COVID vaccines were introduced in 2021, governments and private organisations mandated them for various groups. Health and aged care workers were among the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Andrew Dzurak, Scientia Professor Andrew Dzurak, CEO and Founder of Diraq, UNSW Sydney Diraq For decades, the pursuit of quantum computing has struggled with the need for extremely low temperatures, mere fractions of a degree above absolute zero (0 Kelvin or ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Adrian Beaumont, Election Analyst (Psephologist) at The Conversation; and Honorary Associate, School of Mathematics and Statistics, The University of Melbourne A national Essential poll, conducted March 20–24 from a sample of 1,150, gave the Coalition a 50–44 lead including undecided, a reversal ...
The Taxpayers’ Union has today made a formal request under the Regulations of the People’s Republic of China on Open Government Information () for information held about how New Zealand Members of Parliament are spending taxpayer ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Robert Nelson, Honorary Principal Fellow, The University of Melbourne A Byzantine depiction of the Eucharist in Saint Sophia Cathedral, Kyiv.Jacek555/Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA A nasty quarrel arose in the 11th century over what kind of bread should be used in holy ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Patrick Hesp, Professor, Flinders University Patrick Hesp In some parts of Australia, coastal dunes are retreating from the ocean at an alarming rate, as waves carve up the beach and wind blows the sand inland. But coastal communities are largely ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Luke Heemsbergen, Senior Lecturer, Digital, Political, Media, Deakin University With an impressive 60% of the US smartphone market, Apple is undeniably big, but not a clear monopoly. Yet, years of innovation by Apple have effectively given the company its own exclusive ...
Whether you’re facing layoffs or are just an emotional junior staffer, it’s always a good idea to scout out a good crying place before you need it. It’s an incredibly hard time for Wellington. Across the city, thousands of public servants are hearing tough news about redundancies and layoffs. Government ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By James Miller-Jones, Professor, Curtin University Nuclear explosions on a neutron star feed its jets. Danielle Futselaar and Nathalie Degenaar, Anton Pannekoek Institute, University of Amsterdam, CC BY-SA How fast can a neutron star drive powerful jets into space? The answer, it ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Daryl Adair, Associate Professor of Sport Management, University of Technology Sydney Earlier this week, independent MP Andrew Wilkie accused the AFL of conducting “off the books” illicit drug testing to identify players using substances of abuse, then inappropriately withdrawing them from matches ...
The Government’s announcement that it will scrap plans for a vast marine sanctuary around the Kermadec Islands is ‘shameful’ and will make it impossible for Aotearoa New Zealand to meet its international commitments, says the World Wide Fund for Nature ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By John Quiggin, Professor, School of Economics, The University of Queensland Shutterstock The federal government has bowed to pressure from the car industry, announcing it will relax proposed emissions rules for utes and vans and delay enforcement of the new standards ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Suzanne Rutland, Professor Emerita, University of Sydney In his latest book, Jewish Life in Medieval Spain, Jonathan Ray focuses on the tumult of the 14th century in Spain – a time of the plague, civil strife and war between the two largest ...
While creating a slate of world-class shows, Whakaata Māori also developed a generation of world-class creatives. Television is an odd word. It mixes the Ancient Greek and Latin languages, and its most literal meaning is “far-off sight”. In the contemporary and living language of te reo Māori, “whakaata” as a ...
Yesterday the UN Security Council passed a resolution demanding an immediate ceasefire in Israel’s war on Gaza. This significant step and the deteriorating humanitarian situation in Gaza prompted an urgent debate in the New Zealand Parliament. Leader ...
The Government’s decision to reduce access to continuous glucose monitors (CGM) not only threatens the lives of children with type 1 diabetes and increases the potential for ‘Dead in Bed’ syndrome, but also threatens the health of their parents an ...
Apples are available year-round, but the wide variety on offer involves intensive scientific research – and large-scale commercialisation. What’s beautiful, red, sweet and crunchy? Tony Martin’s favourite kind of apple: Sassy. The CEO of apple and pear breeding organisation Prevar, Martin’s fondness for Sassy represents professional success as well as ...
Family violence specialist service Shine is calling on employers to stop asking for proof of domestic violence in order for employees to access domestic violence leave. The call comes five years after the introduction of the Domestic Violence ...
The Deputy Chairperson of the Finance and Expenditure Committee is calling for public submissions on the Budget Policy Statement 2024. The Budget Policy Statement 2024 (BPS) sets out the Government's priorities for the 2024 Budget. It explains the approach ...
Brutal government spending cuts that will see the size of the Ministry for Pacific Peoples slashed by 40% will hit Pasifika communities hard, the PSA says. The Ministry has told staff that it is seeking voluntary redundancies, and to redeploy and reassign ...
I live with five people I mostly love, but our different ideas about generosity are starting to really irk me.Want Hera’s help? Email your problem to helpme@thespinoff.co.nzDear Hera,This is a bit of a random one but here goes. I’m 22 and work an OK job (OK meaning I get paid ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Maria Nicholas, Senior Lecturer in Language and Literacy Education, Deakin University Earlier this month, the New South Wales government announced it would roll out programs for gifted students in every public school in the state. This comes amid concerns gifted school ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Christopher Rudge, Law lecturer, University of Sydney Massachusetts General Hospital In a world first, we heard last week that US surgeons had transplanted a kidney from a gene-edited pig into a living human. News reports said the procedure was a ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By David Tombs, Howard Paterson Chair of Theology and Public Issues, University of Otago The 5th-century Maskell panel showing Jesus in a loincloth.British Museum, CC BY-NC-SA When Jesus is shown on the cross, he is almost always depicted wearing a loincloth around ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Panizza Allmark, Professor Visual & Cultural Studies, Edith Cowan University Shutterstock When you think about a red object, you might picture a red carpet, or the massive ruby in the Queen’s crown. Indeed, Western monarchies and marketing from brands such ...
COMMENTARY:Jewish Voice for Peace The UN Security Council passed a resolution demanding an immediate ceasefire in Gaza on Monday — and for the first time since the beginning of the Israeli military’s genocide of Palestinians, the United States abstained rather than vetoing it. Security Council resolutions are legally binding, ...
Asia Pacific Report A New Zealand investigative journalist and author says the US spy system hosted by the Government Communications Security Bureau (GCSB) appears to be a controversial intelligence system used in global capture-kill operations. Writing a commentary for RNZ News today, Nicky Hager, author of Secret Power, a 1996 ...
While Nicola Willis wouldn’t give any details on its size, she said a package of tax cuts is definitely still coming in this year’s budget, writes Catherine McGregor in this excerpt from The Bulletin, The Spinoff’s morning news round-up. To receive The Bulletin in full each weekday, sign up here. ...
The Taxpayers’ Union is welcoming the investigation into the Department of Internal Affairs after it was revealed that the Department’s Chief Executive personally reached out to expedite a DJs passport application. Taxpayers’ Union Campaigns ...
Finance minister Nicola Willis delivers her first budget statement, and unwittingly helps Joel MacManus save his relationship. Nicola Willis strode into the Beehive Theatrette. Around me, on the green foldout seats, were the country’s top business and political journalists. They were all here to see her announce the Budget Policy ...
Twenty years ago today, Māori Television launched after much controversy. Jamie Tahana looks back on its survival and impact across two decades. Chad Chambers stepped onto the stage, the brim of his cap casting a shadow across his face. His smile beamed as bright as his white freezing works gumboots, ...
Tauranga, Rotorua, Wellsford, Onehunga, Westhaven marina – Gavin Strawhan walks the meanish streets of New Zealand in his entertaining debut novel The Call, almost sure to roar into the number 1 position on the Nielsen bestseller chart, its front cover bearing a rave from somebody: “A really good and genuinely ...
On a Thursday in February, at Wellington’s Conservation House, the Conservation Authority, a statutory body advising the eponymous department and minister, Tama Potaka, opened its 195th meeting. Under consideration that afternoon was an agenda item written by Tim Bamford, chief advisor in the Department of Conservation’s biodiversity, heritage and visitors ...
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A lengthy response to the recently released draft Government policy statement on transport will soon be delivered from Auckland Council to Minister of Transport Simeon Brown. A submission raising concerns about funding distribution and the plan’s treatment of Auckland passed through the council’s transport committee on Wednesday, despite some councillors ...
The unidentified foreign intelligence operation discussed in a scathing report by New Zealand’s Inspector-General of Intelligence and Security (IGIS) last week appears to be a controversial United States intelligence system. The IGIS report said the Government Communications Security Bureau (GCSB) decision to host a foreign system from 2012-2020 was “improper” ...
As a young gymnast, Aimee Didierjean was always conscious of making sure her underwear wasn’t showing on the competition floor. A peek of a bra strap, or briefs if a leotard rode up, would cost a gymnast points in her routines. “When I was growing and going through puberty, it ...
Jubi/West Papua Daily Repeated cases of Indonesian military (TNI) soldiers torturing civilians in Papua have been evident, as seen in the viral video depicting the torture of civilians in the Puncak Regency allegedly done by soldiers of Raider 300/Brajawijaya Infantry Battalion. There is a pressing need for stringent law enforcement ...
DUAL NATURE OF POVERTY
Two kinds of poverty plague our schools; one readily observed via images of the students’ home refrigerators towards the close of a week; the second, poverty of self-belief leading to our high suicide rates, depression and bullying. A fertile field for its manifestation is the classroom where the bold extroverts, richly endowed with ego, raise their hand and offer answers with confidence day in and day out at the expense of the shy and the hesitant.
As in the monetary world the rich in spirit get richer. Each bold and happy answer is reinforced through positive teacher feedback, encouraging in turn ongoing vocal participation. Such students rise in stature, not only through the bolstering of esteem, but also in the eyes of their peers.
Though numbering perhaps 5 – 10 in a class of 30 their influence spreads to give an overall impression of buzz, participation, progress – warmly acclaimed by ERO as “lively atmosphere conducive to learning”. These kids enter life qualified with excellence in a subject for which there is no tick-box on the record of learning: confidence and self belief. Our school system serves them well.
Of course there are quiet learners who excel and attain. There are many more who could attain given genuine educational nourishment, but in a class of large numbers there’s just not enough sustenance to go round. The demands of the formal curriculum, pressure of the upcoming assessment, anticipation of ERO’s next visit, the inevitable demands of unruly students and the clamour of the happy extroverts bent on voicing their progress all sap the time and energy of the teacher. And there’s only ONE of them!
With numbers around 20 (as I experienced occasionally) a whole new world of possibility opens up. There is the opportunity to allow a hesitant student TIME to formulate an answer, to consider it in the light of an earlier contribution from another and to show how both ideas are relevant and valued. Through regular feedback the less confident come to believe they COUNT and the bold begin to note ‘hey, there are others here who know what’s going on.’ The class takes on an identity of its own, greater than a collection of individuals some of whom tend to dominate input. In short the class dynamic becomes a team with all individuals valued for their particular roles.
“Students who are happy and engaged at school are much more likely to be learning, achieving and better equipped for life after school.” (ERO) But now we are investigating (TV 3 Project, Thursday) whether its weak teachers that are failing to get them “happy and engaged.”
And National’s research indicates class side does not affect grades. After all grades are the currency, not rates of depression, obesity and suicide.
Ant, I’ve been asking a number of teachers lately how they feel about the education system, all of them believe it is failing kids, and this is why.
So much effort is being placed on National Standards for reading, writing and maths, some kids will never reach national standards, and if they are no good at reading, writing or maths at primary level then the whole system is loaded against them.
Teachers are saying that kids are unable to learn, grow and explore if the curriculum is so driven on those 3 subjects. They are unable to find something they are really good at doing, and thereby giving them a sense of accomplishment and the ability to feel good about themselves, which leads to depression, bullying, being withdrawn and in some cases taking their own lives.
For example a child may be really interested in building and creating, if a child is interested in something, everything else follows. Kids need to feel good about themselves, and if that isn’t happening at home, and they are not able to feel good about the 3 subjects that the education system are hell bent on pushing, one can only imagine the sense of failure going on inside of them.
Teachers are also sick of the government implementing education systems in NZ that have failed overseas.
Teachers are crying out for change, and with kids killing themselves is it any wonder.
Biggest pile of bull shit ever.
If kids can’t read write and do basic maths they’re pretty much stuffed for life.
Any teachers who let children get through primary without the basics need to be kicked out of the teaching profession, they’re the ones responsible, not the government of the day.
Troll wakes up, starts typing hate speech….
Ed – the man who has to call everyone Troll who he disagrees with.
Truth is – if you cannot read and write or do basic math – your options in life are very limited.
Its not hate speech saying that they should be fired if they are not ensuring the very basics are provided to the kids they are trusted to learn.
There are good teachers and poor teachers. Unfortunately a poor teacher can ruin a kids future prospects. They should be fired.
And more BS from an ignorant RWNJ.
There are poor teachers but they’re a small minority and it would probably be better and cheaper for the country if we just increased their training and support so that they become excellent teachers.
“They should be fired.”
Can’t do that James, they hide behind the teachers union so the poor teacher has a job for life !
more BS from another ignorant RWNJ
If a teacher is that bad the union will help get rid of them.
Thing is, I doubt if any of our teachers are that bad and some remedial training and support will do wonders for them and the schools that they work at.
And doing that will be far cheaper than the RWNJ solution of privatisation that always makes things worse.
Ed
You’re right, our trollers must wake up joyfully, with TS to fill their day ahead, giving them something to do with their narrow boneheads and idle minds.
Another day of delightful trolling for people who don’t care, can’t be bothered to care (about others’ concerns and welfare). Their cleverness shows in ability to wind the handle for the hurdy-gurdy and play the monkey capering around at the same time.
They really hate being called up on it too.
The music is a bit jerky and repetitive IMO.
It is quite possible they went through an education system that taught them to read and write, but, unfortunately lacked in all other areas.
As such they are the victims of the very thing we are bemoaning and, in fact, deserve our sympathy rather than criticism.
I will agree with you that the three R’s are important. You’re failing to understand that the education system is ALL about the three R’s – and nothing else.
Combine that with too much competitive atmosphere due to too many kids in the class (much like too many players in a market) and the failure rate increases. If we only concentrate on the winners in a skewed market we run the risk of being overwhelmed by the losers.
Oh hang on – that describes many an aspect of modern society doesn’t it? I see a pattern…
Children who struggle with the ‘three Rs’ often learn best when they are able to approach them through an interest or ability. Cinny mentioned building – just think about all the maths and literacy skills required for building
Yep – but they still have to be able to read, write and do math. Else they dont end up a builder – they end up the guy pushing a wheelbarrow for the rest of their lives.
Or spending most of their lives in prison.
Troll.
‘In Internet slang, a troll is a person who sows discord on the Internet by starting arguments or upsetting people, by posting inflammatory,extraneous, or off-topic messages in an online community (such as a newsgroup, forum, chat room, or blog) with the intent of provoking readers into an emotional response or of otherwise disrupting normal, on-topic discussion,often for the troll’s amusement.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet_troll
Fuck off, Paul, you don’t get to decide who’s a troll and who isn’t.
If anyone’s ticking the troll box it’s you with your endless spam.
For a guy that got banned for three years, you’re really demonstrating an utter lack of awareness as to why you got kicked off last time.
Its Ed, can you read?
Yeah, it’s Ed, Pauls identical brother. 🙄
Wait, BM. Paul was an inveterate poster of vegan propaganda whenever there was a thread about climate change, whereas Ed… oh, I see. As you were.
Exactly completely different and I believe its a breach to identify users.
BM
Two questions. Who is Paul? And why do you have entitlement to attack those who speak against the corroding drips from people like yourself? These interfere with the ability to have discussions leading to better understanding of problems and possible future effective policy.
I sense hypocrisy here, BM. You claim to be concerned about education, but hate teacher unions. Here is an inconvenient truth for you. Teachers get to know and really care about other people’s children. Right wingers like you don’t. Teachers therefore tend towards egalitarianism, which you find evil (leftie)..
What are the odds that you sent your own kids to a private school, BM, and by not supporting the state education system, left the other kids to sink? You may retort that all other parents ought to do the same, but the fact is that you are callously abandoning the children of the poor. I see you as a shallow, selfish ratbag.
Spammer.
“Usenet convention defines spamming as excessive multiple posting, that is, the repeated posting of a message (or substantially similar messages). The prevalence of Usenet spam led to the development of the Breidbart Index as an objective measure of a message’s “spamminess”.”
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spamming#Newsgroup_and_forum
Ed
Disagreeing with your argument is not “inflamatory” unless of course you are very thin skinned.
It is you who destroys every thread with your mad “troll” rantings, everytime someone says something you disagree with.
BM said,
“For a guy that got banned for three years, you’re really demonstrating an utter lack of awareness as to why you got kicked off last time.”
Ed, it’s getting close to when I’ll say something in the back end about this. I’d suggest figuring out how you want to be here pretty quick. You know what the issues are.
Can’t understand why BM’s pronouncements are wise saws weka.
Trolls regularly cut people off at the knees without adding much and yet some seem to think they have some manipulation effect.
A better indication of that is the damage done to hearing due to hearing impairments. A study done in NZ back in the 90’s indicated more than 50% of prisoners had hearing impairments. Many a result of undiagnosed glue ear. Which would obviously have impacted on learning ability as well.
(Can’t link to the study, was one I read back at the time, but Google has few)
You know I really struggle to decide whether you are being obtuse or challenged when you continually respond to comments in ways that show that either you do not understand what they’ve said or you are deliberately undermining the conversation
He’s just being an internet troll.
Personally, I wish these troglodytes were banned so we could discuss topics without their intervention.
Yes, me too
Yes. Opposing speach must be stopped at all cost.
I wouldn’t mind if it was considered argument but the majority of it is just oppositional blather
Those type of kids do very well in the charter school environment, shame Labour is willing to throw them back on the garbage heap just to appease the teacher unions.
And that comment is not trolling?
State schools work very well for the vast majority of kids, but there is a small group where it just doesn’t work, might be the teaching methods, might be the environment.
That’s where charter schools fit in.
The language you employed was clearly intended to get a reaction.
It was trolling.
And you know it.
For BM.
Your comments re charter schools shows a decided lack of knowledge. On a level of four legs good, two legs bad.
Charter schools are privatisation by stealth. And we should ensure that every child attending a state school gets what they need in order to learn.
That means, making sure that we have a society where they have a healthy, warm home to live in, food to eat and then attend a school where additional assistance is fully funded from central govenment – not operational budgets.
Charter schools are not the magical answer.
A change in priorities is.
Ed, I very seldom agree with BM, but not everything he/she says is trolling. Yes, BM’s trying to provoke disagreement, but he/she isn’t using personal attacks or swerving off the topic under discussion. If anything, you seem to be the one doing this, with the repeated replies about trolling.
As for the “do very well in the charter school environment” bs, you need to dig a lot deeper than that, BM. These kids may well do better in smaller classes, often exploring the curriculum through a practical lens, but guess what? State schools can provide these learning environments if they’re given the resources, and plenty of them do even under the funding constraints that they currently deal with.
BTW, our schools are not a “garbage heap”. When was the last time you were in a school?
No they don’t as the real world has shown.
Charter schools don’t have to meet the National Standards if they don’t want to. And receive greater funding.
You have identified a couple of the major issues that get in the way of good educational environments.
And handing them over to God-freaks and corporates is going to solve everything.
You do realise that if charter schools are allowed to flourish, evolution will be effectively purged from the school curriculum,
“God-freaks”
Thats not very polite to rubbish other peoples views like that.
Gee really??? – lets look at what a certian Labour MP to be (if there are enough votes ) says about charter (partnership) schools:
http://partnershipschools.education.govt.nz/news/opinion-willie-jackson/
Now remember kids – vote for labour you are voting for a man with views like this – do you really want someone like him in power?
For james:
It is understandable that many people see benefits in charter schools, especially when they can see an opportunity to provide assistance and/or support to those who don’t fit the mainstream.
Charter schools act as a divide and conquer in this respect.
What he says about the delivery for the Maaori students attending is probably quite true. But the fundamental problem for other Maaori students is that within the state school, the deficiency will remain and that is the wider picture that needs to be addressed.
Unless you are surrounded by yes men and/or are one of them, it is unreasonable to expect to agree with everything a politician says. Willie Jackson is giving his opinion on charter schools, from his perspective and it is understandable. But I disagree with his conclusion.
My son is a “square peg” child who the standard school system doesn’t really fit. We are looking at putting him in the Vanguard Military Academy when he is older. Why should Labour deprive parents of educational options when Charter Schools makes up a minuscule percentage of total student numbers?
Because if the state schools got as much public cash as the charter schools on a per student basis, you wouldn’t have to send your kids to a school that doesn’t have to reach the same standards.
BTW, wasn’t Vanguard the one with the sub-par attainment levels?
Agree with McFlock’s comments above.
But on a personal note, if your son is truly a “square peg” then Vanguard is probably not the best choice. As McFlock mentioned, they failed to meet their targets (which BTW are lower than state schools), and their expulsion and suspension rate is very high. (I suspect that is the result of some “square peg” students objecting to having their corners rounded off.)
A rigid discipline and routine may help your son, if he has issues with a chaotic learning environment, but this kind of approach reinforces extrinsic reinforcement rather than promoting long-term intrinsic motivation.
Wrong.
Most can learn at their own pace. What can get in the way is a focus on learning reading and maths at the pace set by National Standards.
And the self-doubt that sets in from a very young age because of the failure to meet these arbitrary standards.
Thank goodness for you Molly your ideas stick to the real point of whatever is being discussed and bring something sound to the
discussion.
Thanks, I enjoy discussions where I have time to revisit and keep the dialogue going.
But also enjoy reading comments from many other commentators when I don’t – including yours.
MathSSSSS, jame.
Actually, you’re belief is the BS.
My nephew left school without SC and did have difficulty with basic maths. He’s now a qualified builder (maths essential).
He’s a slow learner but not stupid.
It’s people like this that National constantly throw away with their outdated policies such as National Standards.
Exactly!
I think that is the point he was trying to make Draco.
Different people have different learning needs. It is the learning environment that needs to be stress tested.
The point that BM was making was that people who don’t meet National’s strict criteria should be thrown away like so much garbage.
I am not speaking for him, but my interpretation of what he said is that if we allow kids to fail, then they will have a tougher road though life.
That is a matter of fact isn’t it?
That is the reason why we need to be flexible when it comes to teaching, as what works for Bill, might not work for Bob.
Teachers and learning environments need to be conitually assessed to ensure that all learners are being catered for.
“Teachers and learning environments need to be conitually assessed to ensure that all learners are being catered for.”
Except, the funding goes to the continual assessment – and none at all, to the additional help that is required.
Teachers and students already know when they need help, without National Standards.
A better use of funding, would be to have that help available to be used. It shows the priorities of our current government. To require report after report, without providing what is needed.
yes…
He insists that the slow learners fail.
True but BM is insistent that we not be flexible.
On the money.
Yet that is not what is happening. It is actually made more difficult by current policy.
Nailed it Draco 😀
Getting help for children who have learning challenges such as dyslexia, dyspraxia is very difficult in our schools. Any help, if offered needs to come out of the operational budget.
There are also issues regarding nutrition, sleep deprivation, transitional families, and stress that schools do not have the resources to deal with – and students are not even starting their education from a neutral position.
Children learn in different ways, and if the class size is too big and resources are stretched, then alternative methods of instruction are not able to be given.
The government of the day sets priorities (National Standards), funding programmes (non-existent to none), class size and teacher numbers. Of course they take a large measure of responsibility for outcomes.
There are also issues regarding nutrition, sleep deprivation, transitional families, and stress that schools do not have the resources to deal with – and
students are not even starting their education from a neutral position.
Is that not the sort of stuff cyps should be dealing with? why do teachers think they have to deal with it?
If a teacher thinks a child’s home life is poor and creating issues then the teacher needs to let cyps know.
Teachers have to deal with the results of a failure of social policy, which is also a responsibility of the government. Children don’t shirk off those issues as they walk through the school gates, whether you think they should or not.
As for the rest of your comment: Obviously, your knowledge of CYFS – is as wide as your knowledge of charter schools.
And what pray tell is the best way for kids to learn those basics? Through integrated approaches using flexibility. Hidebound assessment strictures mitigate against that and cretinous measurement mongrels with little knowledge or sense about how kids learn rabbit on demanding the cretinous approaches.
They spend half their lives criticising teachers for having ‘one size fits all’ approaches and the other half wanting teachers to measure kids by ‘one size fits all’ standards.
Are you an educator BM?
No one is saying reading, writing and maths are not important, because they are, but if one is not good at those 3 subjects at primary level they are not going to feel good about themselves and the flow on effects are as severe as taking their own lives.
Do you know of any teachers that use music in their maths class? Makes a massive difference, in their learning especially for the kid who is not great at maths but loves music, all of a sudden that kid is counting the beats and the maths start to flow after that.
What about the dyslexic child who has a fantastic imagination, but due to large class sizes and under funding no one has picked up on their disability? That child maybe falling in reading and writing, but in drama and storytelling the child shines. Still they are failing at two of the ‘core’ subjects, and as a result their self esteem plummets, no one knows that the child is a great story teller, the child is not given the chance. Meanwhile the child’s low self esteem has lead to them bullying other kids to feel good about themselves and before you know it, it gets physical… another child left behind.
Are you getting where I’m coming from now BM?
Re Charter Schools, I’m fiercely against unqualified adults teaching kids.
“Re Charter Schools, I’m fiercely against unqualified adults teaching kids.
I’m not per se. I am fiercely against charter schools though, because they take away the focus on delivering diversity and support for all students in state education, while funding private enterprise.
Children learn from a wide variety of sources, including adults that are not qualified teachers, or other ages.
I am also against a failure to recognise that a rich, learning environment exists with gifted facilitators and communicators. Current education policy requires delivery and assessments and that gets in the way.
Agree, with the perspective your example gives above. Our view of success should be much broader and diverse, and recognise the value of all students.
Some people never learn maths worth a damn, and some can’t learn to read beyond a basic understanding, because their brains don’t work that way. Should we just chuck them on the scrap heap? Or perhaps find something they are good at and emphasise their strengths?
Excellent piece, Ant. It’s not often are given the perspectives of intelligent, sensitive teachers struggling with the system as it is
Times infinity
Ant. That is a good summary.
If a 30+ size class is to run well it has to be mass organised. Most kids do the same size fits all. If you apply the same organisation to a class of 20 nothing much changes. Hence the claim that size doesn’t matter. Rubbish.
But in a class of 20 if the organisation is modified, then as you say, ” a whole new world of possibility opens up.” No wonder private schools can afford small classes. Individualised. Special needs catered for. Social tone lifts the behaviour or disruptive kids.
Exactly.
Private schools who cater to those with enough money to make choices are usually very proud of their small class sizes.
Point in case, Kings College, where I think Max Key attended..class size…18.
I don’t recall John Key ever bemoaning the fact that Kings (presumably) wastes money by having unnecessary small class sizes.
I recall a study of studies which concluded that class sizes of 14 were the maximum for individual attention – more than that means most kids get around 1 minute a day of individual attention.
Exemption applications for compulsory schooling have to meet “as well as and as regularly as ” state provided education.
Way back when my application was being made, the benchmark given by a study for individual attention for children in the classroom in NZ was five minutes a week. So I think your recall is accurate.
The classroom model with hour periods isn’t based on what we know about attention spans and similar learning constraints – that design is for institutional convenience, not for learning. There are ways of radically improving student outcomes – but charter school funding models don’t have much to do with them.
Fully agree – we need to invest in more teachers and their development, and work smarter.
well said ant.
worthy of a post on it’s own.
then the heartless comments from bm could be moderated and the compasionate adults with an inkling of concern for others can have an adult conversation.
i am not a teacher, but am involved with youth (scouting) and what you say resonates.
the confident excell. the ones that show up carrying baggage from home, school or perhaps not prepared to engage (hungry), resort to disruptive or sometimes violent behaviour to get the attention we all crave.
i am mindful of last election where mana pledged to put a teacher aid(e?) in every classroom. not a solution in itself but a step in the right direction.
the wages paid to two recently ‘retired’ national mps could have gotten 7 or 8 aides into schools.
I’m not so sure about that. They’ll probably all grow up to vote National because of all that false belief they have in themselves always being right.
Excessive positive feedback has it’s downsides.
True;
as I said where all are valued through attention and recognition of individuality the rowdy self-confident become integrated within a new dynamic of inclusiveness.
Hopefully you’re praising the quiet hesitant kids too Ant, not just the figjams.
Sure:
“Of course there are quiet learners who excel and attain….”
“Through regular feedback the less confident come to believe they COUNT….”
“the class dynamic becomes a team with all individuals valued for their particular roles…..”
Young workers on zero hour contracts in UK
http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/politics/young-workers-zero-hour-contracts-10738207?utm_source=IPPR+weekly+newsletter&utm_campaign=5a60819aaf-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2017_07_06&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_0b30c067fe-5a60819aaf-277507253#ICID=nsm
[text excerpt below]
“A rise in the use of zero hours contracts could be contributing to poor mental health among younger people, a new study suggests.
Young adults who are employed on the controversial contracts, under which they do not know if they have work from one week to the next, are less likely to be in good health and are at higher risk of poor mental health than workers with stable jobs.
Researchers from the Centre for Longitudinal Studies at the UCL Institute of Education analysed data on more than 7,700 people living in England who were born in 1989-90.
A total of 5% had zero hours contracts.
Researchers found that those employed under zero hours contracts were 50% more likely to report poor mental health than those in more secure employment.
The unemployed and shift workers were also more likely to report mental ill health.
Meanwhile, compared to those who were not on such a contract, having a zero hours contract reduced the odds of reporting good health by 41%.
“More people than ever are working on zero hours contracts in the UK, and this new data shows this to be contributing to poorer mental health among younger workers,” said Craig Thorley, senior research fellow at the Institute for Public Policy Research.
“Efforts to improve the UK’s mental health must recognise the important relationship between health and work.
“Government and employers must work together to promote better quality jobs which enhance, rather than damage, mental health and wellbeing.
“Without this, we risk seeing increased demand for mental health services, reduced productivity, and more young people moving on to out-of-work sickness benefits.”
The lead author, Dr Morag Henderson, added: “Millennials have faced a number of challenges as they entered the world of work. They joined the labour market at the height of the most recent financial crisis and faced higher than ever university fees and student loan debt.”
An argument I repudiate is that kids need to ‘harden up’ in preparation for the manner in which the ‘real world’ operates. The early years (including teenager time) are highly formative, – a setting in which hardening up will occur naturally at different times for individuals provided the classroom climate is supportive rather than confrontational. No one is without talent, present, emerging or latent.
Finland, currently rated in the top three for education amongst nations, honours these things and many more. A visiting educator checking out the ‘system’ asked a local teacher “what programs do you have in place for your gifted children?” Surprised, the teacher replied “all our children are gifted.”
Heads up to BM et al. Finland is not longer teaching compulsory subjects at secondary level.
Unfortunately, our MoE is looking at this, but missing the point that the whole system is set up completely differently with different priorities, so our education at primary level would need to be completely changed before this was a move that NZ could make.
Thank you for another excellent comment Ant.
We all know that confidence does not equal competence but that there’s a quality in confidence that makes it appear that way; confidence is attractive, sexy even, and no wonder superbly confident people get an easier ride [no pun] in life.
Lack of confidence and self-belief or worse, a negative self-image, is fostered during the early formative years and further cemented (confirmed) on a daily basis throughout life. Quiet learners might excel (academically?) and attain (…) but this doesn’t mean they will get anywhere near their ‘true potential’. And, as is often the case, they will always have to compete with the confident or extravert ones.
You can see this quite well on the sports field where the confident often wins over the more timid one, not because they are technically better or have better team-play and skills, but almost purely because of confidence and self-belief and, dear I say it, the will to win.
The sad truth is that in this day and age of hyper-individuality our society and education system appear to nurture the individuality of only some, the ‘winners’, and to ignore or even suppress that of a large number of other people who are less prominent.
Nobody knows for sure what the jobs of the future will look like and what kind of education or training is required. However, it seems likely that there will be a (increased) demand for people with social and emotion skills, people skills (incl. leadership & management), with creativity, with collaborative skills and attitudes, and for people who are flexible and resilient and who are life-long learners who can adapt to the increasing complexities of life and our societies.
This is what we should be, and should have been, focussing on in education and we need to build a value system to nurture these people for the public good – we also need (different) role models.
‘For the many, not the few’ or ”a fresh approach’.
Which slogan gives a clearer message that the concerns of the working class will be addressed?
Which slogan gives a clearer message that neoliberalism will be torn down and austerity got rid of?
A fresh approach to what?
Screwing over the workers?
It’s not the slogan that is going to stop labour winning the elections (well labour / greens and whoever) – it’s their people and policies.
No James , it’s more the bloody media.
No garibaldi – Thats just an excuse – read the thread yesterday – even some lefties cannot bring themselves to vote for labour.
Its the media – geeeze you need a tin foil hat.
” even some lefties cannot bring themselves to vote for labour.”
It’s going to be fascinating to see how many “righties”, National voters, don’t vote National in Barclay Country this election. Invercargill “righties” will show an even stronger rejection of National, now that the debacle has spread to the city. Sarah Dowie will be anxious.
National deserve to lose votes down that way.
Lucky labour are losing votes elsewhere in larger numbers. 🙂
I really hope Dowie mounts a spirited nothing-to-see-here-just-move-on watchoolookinat defence of Wee Toddy. That’ll go down like a cup of cold sick. I’d love to know if there’s a Hishon Barclay family link too.
You’re misrepresenting James – the thread yesterday referred to campaigning for them.
The media are absolute shite – biased and frequently uninformed.
They still don’t pull Bill up on his ‘strong economy’ piffle.
Again with the ignorance james. It’s no longer FPP, and if you look outside – the sun is shining.
I know that its not FPP – but when labour are so low in the polls – the odds of them cobbling something together demolishes as their numbers go lower.
But I guess if you havnt learnt this in the last few elections – you wont learn after another loss this year.
Poor james ignorance on display again, like our other favorite troll puckish rouge this love and fetish for the polls proves one thing. You ant got anything else.
No. A slogan like “for the many, not the few” makes a massive difference, as it conveys a whole ideology in a short sentence. That has far greater cut-through than any range of policies.
Ultimately, the average voter responds to an idea, rather than people and policies.
Sure, have those to back up the idea. But the idea is key. It needs to be simple, easily repeated, easily understood – and believable.
That’s what works in elections. Not explaining. Not laying out detail. Labour have fallen into this trap many times. And National will try it on them again. “Labour have no detail”. “Explain exactly how this works”. “Show us where the money comes from”
And they will try and explain. And lose the voter in doing so.
They need to keep it simple. And believable. Let the voter make up their own mind about it, but if the message is clear enough, everything else flows through into that.
The left need to stop damn explaining everything. The right never do, and it works for them.
If the objective is to take the country in a completely different direction then you better provide some detail and get your salesperson hat on or otherwise you haven’t got a shit show of winning.
A cheesy slogan and some buzzwords really ain’t going to cut it.
You would think so, but they actually do.
Your mates in the Nats have done it for the last three elections.
And I don’t recall seeing a lot of actual details from them.
Exactly and when I saw labours slogan my first reaction was a WTF moment.
Zero passion, about as cutting as a spoon. More bs identity politics.
Its my fault for expecting more from beltway troughers, carrerists and national light pollys expecting a turn at the wheel for showing up
I know what you mean. Andrew Kirton talked it up on Twitter as something fantsatic about to be released, something inspiring.
Then he revealed and…..tumbleweeds.
A Fresh Approach? WTF
I am very worried about Kirton’s limitations asthe campaign manager.
I have a slogan for the Na(sty)tional Party-“For the few not the many”.
So why do the Tories run on slogans every election?
Think I answered that one for you Ed.
You did answer it very well.
The question though was posed to James, who is a Tory.
You can run a slogan – what I said that you need more than a slogan – like people and politics.
And people dont seem to want Little or labour / green policies.
reference poll results for the last 9 years.
Just checked out National’s policies:
https://www.national.org.nz/policies
It’s … a bit light … and I’m not just talking about the colour of the skin of every single person in the pictures.
Working for All New Zealanders. Yeah, right.
National never runs to detail. Probably has a strong parallel with that admission by John Banks (ex-National MP) that if he actually told people his policies he’d never get voted in.
If National told people what they really wanted to do then they’d never get voted in.
If people don’t seem to want Little or labour / green policie, jame, why do they vote nuttyanal? Do the mathSSSS jame.
Ive done the maths.
The left is going to lose.
Which makes comments like your even more funny.
Nuttyanal is about as left as Labour jame. Do the geography.
“People” lose elections for their parties?
Barclay
Collins
Bennett
Sabin
McCully
Brownlee
et al.
It’s allover, Blue Rover.
Not over till its over.
But looking at the poll results todate – trends, and even comments from a lot on here – I’d bet on National winning and not Labour.
So Id say all over for little and labour if anything.
Why do you vote National James?
because I believe they are the best for the country.
“You can run a slogan – what I said that you need more than a slogan – like people and politics.” (… policies?)
I’ll help you out, by telling you where I’m currently thinking of putting my vote.
I’ll most likely vote Mana because despite wanting a different government to the current, I also want to use my vote to indicate to all politicians of every party what my priorities are. They are not completely in line with my values, but are pretty close (but I don’t expect a political party to be, unless it is a party of one, run by me)
I also would prefer a coalition government rather than a single party dominated one.
What – apart from a slogan – makes you vote National, James?
Sure, but why do you believe that?
You expecting a reply?!!
Molly asked 4 hours ago and was ignored.
James only comes on the site for a certain purpose.
I normally come and go – Im not a tragic that needs to sit here all day.
Ive already answered the question – There is no requirement for me to go into it any more.
I gave my reason – if people dont like it – tough.
You mean “because they are best for the country.”
That means nothing. So general a comment , I guess intentionally, that it cannot be understood.
James is another troll who has woken up to pass on his anti-Labour vitriol.
Sorry Johan,
You have a pretty slim definition of vitriol. Just because you dont agree with it – dosnt make it wrong.
Sounds like Johan has defined you quite well.
‘In Internet slang, a troll is a person who sows discord on the Internet by starting arguments or upsetting people, by posting inflammatory,extraneous, or off-topic messages in an online community (such as a newsgroup, forum, chat room, or blog) with the intent of provoking readers into an emotional response or of otherwise disrupting normal, on-topic discussion,often for the troll’s amusement.’
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet_troll
Own it, James. Accepting that you’re a troll won’t kill you and you might earn a point or two here for honesty. What people hate over lies is hypocrisy.
+100
Jesus you are boring.
I wasn’t looking for Jesus myself, but I’m glad for you that you found him.
Sorry that he instantly disappointed you.
Hosking again proves himself to be unfit to be employed by on our public broadcaster, TVNZ.
He is an outright sexist.
“When do we stop celebrating women’s achievements?”
http://www.stuff.co.nz/entertainment/tv-radio/94356437/Hosking-When-do-we-stop-celebrating-womens-achievements
And remember this one?
“We don’t need a woman, this is man’s time. That’s what we said – man’s time! We’re going to talk about the league,”
http://www.stuff.co.nz/entertainment/tv-radio/84193664/Newsreader-Bernadine-Oliver-Kerby-says-Mike-Hosking-mans-time-drama-hilarious
No its a sign tvnz needs a senior cleaning out of nact enablers and jobs for the boys.
Kendrick called netflix a passing fad the other day. Facepalm.
“Kendrick called netflix a passing fad the other day. Facepalm.”
Really ???????
He is an idiot.
Who is Kendrick?
CEO or something to TVNZ. Seems that he’s getting upset with the competition.
Not to mention stuck in the past.
If Fox ever opens a New Zealand channel, gods forbid, Hosking would be the first one signed up as a commentator, along with Leighton Smith,
Nothing will be done or changed until people switch off the channel when Hosking is on. Otherwise, its business as usual, bad news will always be listened to, scandals and outrageous behavior seem to be more interesting than any other topic. Proven concept, stupid people abound so a certain no fail and money spinner. In other words, the media outlet has its clown and milk it for all its got.
I think being on prime time means a certain percentage of the population watch automatically.
Only if they lost the TV control, I just switch channel.
Bill English.
Delivering for New Zealanders.
Not these New Zealanders…
‘Children suffer housing crisis fallout as rate of low-decile transience hits record
Transient children have hit record numbers in low-income schools as the housing crisis forces more renting families to move house repeatedly.
Numbers are still low, but the latest Ministry of Education data shows that 2.8 per cent of children in schools in the poorest tenth of areas moved at least twice last year – the highest low-income transience rate since records began in 2009.”The shortage of rental and social housing has meant that families are often having to move out of where they were,” she said.
“For example, if you are in social housing, you may find you have to shift out of the area where you were in one part of Auckland and now the housing is available in South Auckland.
“People at the higher end have more options available. They are usually going to shift within the same area. They have more control over their housing choices than poor people do.”
Although on average only 0.5 per cent of children moved at least twice in any one year, the data shows that 15 per cent of all children who started school aged 5 in 2011 moved schools at least twice before they left year 6 at the end of 2016.
And continued transience had a dramatic effect on whether students achieved the National Certificate of Educational Achievement (NCEA).’
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11887420
Jesse Mulligan: Government delivering to ‘all NZers’? Yeah right
http://www.newshub.co.nz/home/politics/2017/06/jesse-mulligan-government-delivering-to-all-nzers-yeah-right.html
Ed
Your line on Jess Mulligan at the bottom of your comment gives the wrong impression of him and what he said.
But don’t say this Government is delivering for all New Zealanders when what you mean is that it’s delivering for all New Zealanders except the poor, the homeless, the first-home buyers, New Zealanders suffering from depression and mental illness and the 100-plus young New Zealanders who take their own lives each year.
Of course, that slogan isn’t quite so catchy.
Jesse Mulligan is a host for Three’s The Project.
That’s the end para summarising Jesse’s piece in your link to him. So we can see that he is asking hard questions about government.
paul just spams though a deluded prism of his making , what do you expect, analysis or synthesis
Yes I knew that.
I meant that Mulligan’s line is one we could use regularly ourselves.
For aficionados of hilarious swivel-eyed loon rants, this one from Alex Jones is a real gem.
http://www.salon.com/2017/07/07/alex-jones-is-freaking-out-about-humanoids-who-are-80-percent-gorilla-80-percent-pig/
Alex Jones is a trained actor
You know that, right?
Noooo … are you telling me the patron saint of anti-vaxxers, 9/11 troofers, Deep State exposers, anti-GMO activists is an ACTOR? It’s all a FRAUD?
Did anybody else realise TNZ were backed by a foreign billionaire? I knew sponsors such as Emirates and the baby-killing and plastic proliferating Nespresso were involved but this guy seems to have kept a very low profile. From the Herald today.
“The French turned their backs on Team New Zealand hours after the dramatic capsize….. claims Team NZ’s billionaire backer. In an exclusive interview with the Weekend Herald this week, Emirates Team New Zealand principal, Matteo de Nora…….”
yes – hes been the team principle for ages. Listed on all the websites etc. hardly kept a secret.
Ozzie skipper too, makes you feel proud… just like Blake.
Yes, James, he has been the team principle for years (your spelling!) – a billionaire, overseas sponsorship and foreign capital, with bought-in talent, in a ‘sport’ where only the super rich can play, who make the rules and sucker politicians into their service- all in the name of (great) entertainment for the masses.
Bit like Roman chariot racing really.
Without the bread!
It is the masses who decide whether it is entertainment or not.
There aren’t many other events, (sporting, political, cultural or otherwise) that gets 80,000 ordinary kiwis out on the streets on a wet misberable winter’s day.
I am not sure what your problem with it is.
No problem, at all. I got up and watched some races, after all.
But, I also put it into a historical and social perspective.
That which drove bigger crowds into the arenas of Rome throughout the Empire was entertainment provided and vetted by the elite of the day- the billionaires, ruling oligarchy and later the monarchy as well, with religious and social approval.
The masses attended, and the brutality of Roman civilisation was further inculcated with a diet of executions, public dismemberment and the sport of chariot racing which was also brutal and violent.
The masses were given their heroes to emulate, the bookies and their owners had the gambling scene sewn up.
Politicians used such entertainment to make themselves popular with the masses.
Charioteers, trainers, horses, chariot builders, the whole panoply of Roman technology and organisation, with talent from foreign countries to provide the muscle for the entertainment, willingly or otherwise…….
Bread and circuses, Enough is Enough, panis et circenses. Tho oldest populist trick in the political book.
The problem is the parallel between what is actually being served to us in the guise of entertainment, be it Roman games and circuses or The Americas Cup. Not so much the what, but rather the why.
When will we say “Satis est satis?” indeed.
Relax and enjoy the sight of foiling sail boats.
Oh I did! And enjoyed the sight of nemesis meeting hubris.
But, after the race is over, and the Cup is put on the shelf? Enjoy some reading of history!
And for further motivation into something more beneficial to the human masses, there’s a wee matter of politics, where the question of bread for the masses, and housing, and health, and water can be addressed, in the interim, between Cups.
Good to hear Mac
i enjoyed and was educated by that mac1.
i was mesmorised by the sight of those boats, the beautiful backdrop and the stunning quality of the camera work.
slightly bewildered by the drone camera technology too.
but back to the bigger picture: commonalities of empires in decline- bread and circuses,
large and growing inequality,
war,
the elevation of cooks to celebrity status.
even as a chef i am puzzled by the allure of the last one.
Better a foreign billionaire than the taxpayer.
Bearded Git
You should have checked this out with James to get all relevant info and be uptodate.!@
I think I came up with a good idea. James seems very concerned to get us on the right road in all matters. Perhaps we should use this great resource.
Can you tell us James if there is a way of cutting off salary for politicians that are under investigation and not carrying out their duties?
excellent greywarshark.
another one: should the consequences, for an individual who attempts to intimidate a witness in a police investigation, be harsher if they are high up in the hierarchy of a party that has ‘tough on crime’ as part of it’s dna?
Or just read and get informed
Paraphrasing John Pilger, James? (@7:12)
That was unexpected.
Arrogant Kim Hill, unprepared is an understatement. To interview one of the best living journalists and display such ignorance did NZ no favors.
The bloody nerve of the woman, not seeing things his way and honouring his preeminence.
I think your ignorance is breath taking. Really. NZ is far away from everything and it shows.
You should watch the interview Gabby. I did at the time, and was dismayed at the level of arrogance shown by Kim Hill.
At a time when all media was in support of the invasion of Iraq, it was refreshing to have someone interviewed that disagreed. His response to her preparation (or lack of) was measured until it became apparent that she was just going to continue sneering at his answers.
Completely put me off watching Kim Hill at the time.
I had a look at that link for Kim Hill going back to 2003. It shows John Pilger in lordly rant talking down to Kim because she wants to ask some questions which is what interviewers do. He wants to dominate the time making a statement. I note that he is Australian – famous for being right about everything, and a male which would double the certainty when talking to a female.
Pilger has done much through his investigative reporting. But he can’t be right all the time. If he wants to get his message over on television and promote his book, he should try to earn his time by responding to questions, put on behalf of viewers wanting to be informed. To say that Kim hasn’t read the book, is ignorant! She is well known for being informed, all others in the world except Pilger think that, but he would be right. If she did not know something, perhaps she didn’t get the book in time to really study it.
And we have ideas about foreigners too waka, and sometimes reserve our opinion if the individuals are not worth even a passing judgment.
hey bm and james, there is a post up about tories in southland that needs your help.
maybe pop over there and give us your opinions rather than soiling open mike.
I commented about it before the post went up:
“Glenda Hughes to be investigated by police.
http://www.newshub.co.nz/home/politics/2017/07/police-to-investigate-board-member-over-todd-barclay-saga.html
the gift that keeps on giving for the left.”
They are morons down there.
big ups to the greens then for their oia request then, eh james?
so what should national do about this?
something honourable and principled, or wait and see what the polling reveals and decide then?
Isn’t Glenda Hughes from up there?
She’s no Southlander. Bill English is though.
Is he a “moron” as well, James?
Its been handled very poorly – everyone involved as acted like a moron in this circumstance.
You arnt going to find me sticking up for them.
Its with the police now – as it should be,
So I guess we have to wait for facts to come out from the investigation.
“Its with the police now – as it should be”
It was with the police from the start, James yet you’re still happy to “wait for the facts to come out”?
James; why do you think the police dropped the case? Why did they accept Barclay’s refusal to speak with them as a reason to stop investigating? Does that sound a little odd to you; dropping an investigation just because the accused won’t come in for a chat?
James?
I havnt been watching this closely – You may have noticed that my post over the last few weeks have been less – I have been out of the country for a bit of a winter break.
So just havnt been watching things at home that closely.
I just know that the entire thing has been a pile of ***** the entire way thru.
Simple as that really.
“Or just read and get informed”
Good advice, innit!
c’mon james, what do you think of the claim of mr joyce that the tape was heard in a non-ministerial capacity?
there is no shame in acknowledging the prime minister has obfuscated, mislead, diminished his role and potentially outright lied during this debarclay.
Knowing some of the facts, I’m very interested in the outcome of the investigation. JS
Kiwi soldiers spreading across the globe
Some of those deployments I’m in full support of. But many we shouldn’t be going anywhere near.
Which one don’t you support?
For starters as those are mostly based upon the US’s agenda to grab the ME oil for themselves.
What are the other three doing?
It’s a crazy thing if we are paying for ourselves to take part in overseas fights that are to advance some other country’s objectives. We should mind our own business which is needing some close scrutiny to see its state of health. Is that a strong pulse or a dying spasm I feel?
I have been reading about 12th century times in Britain. A lot of the fighting there was with mercenaries, it was a way of making a living for many. The English contender to the throne, Maud, apparently had Flemish forces, the Danes had ships that could be hired etc.
If we are using our Defence Forces in other theatres of activity I hope we are getting paid! We can’t afford to be somebody’s lapdog and not get nice regular payments and travel expenses!
What exactly do we think we are in New Zealand? We are just a little country with its main earner being dairy cows, borrowing huge amounts to boost the standard of living for some while others are in poverty. Almost a mirror image of 19th century NZ! We should be uniting with the Falklands, with a regular interchange of people from our fellow islanders down at the bottom of the world.
Multiple likes for this piece of hate posted in comments over on the sewer.
(if you have the stomach you’ll need to wash after reading)
http://archive.li/Ef5XV
Thanks joe90 for exposing yourself to that germ-ridden place, you’re a stalwart.
I will follow my usual practice and not go there, I have enough problem coping with the trolls here like blowflies striking vulnerable targets.
Probably someone has already put this up. But a little ray of sunshine on a cloudy day.
Today at the UN Headquarters in New York, a global treaty banning nuclear weapons has been adopted.
This is an historic moment: according to the treaty, to possess and develop nuclear weapons is now illegal under international law.
The treaty will be open for signature by states on September 20th.
(Activists release peace doves during the Hiroshima atomic bombing 60th anniversary in Japan, 2005. © Greenpeace / Jeremy Sutton-HibbertActivists release peace doves during the Hiroshima atomic bombing 60th anniversary. (2005))
Over the last three weeks, 140 countries have engaged in final negotiations of the new treaty. The nine states with nuclear weapons (US, Russia, China, France, UK, India, Pakistan, Israel and North Korea) have been boycotting the meeting in an attempt to rob the process of its legitimacy. NATO members have also stayed outside of the negotiations, and on the wrong side of history. Their absence is sadly significant; unless a country ratifies the treaty, it is not bound by it.
http://www.greenpeace.org/new-zealand/en/blog/historic-day-at-the-un-nuclear-weapons-are-no/blog/59812/
Unfortunately I think we can be pretty much assured that none of the present nuclear weapon holding countries will get rid of them. They’ll simply not sign on the dotted line ensuring that this law doesn’t apply to them.
This will mean that other countries, even if they sign, will be forced over time to develop their own nuclear weapons capabilities.
is it a coincidence that the school holidays are here (no sat morn sport) and open mike is fizzing or some other reason?
The stranglehold on Gaza is still relentless.
http://normanfinkelstein.com/2017/07/07/dear-lord-please-have-mercy-on-gaza/
An economy like this pisses off the business people because it lowers their profits.
Great quote.
Do you access to the whole speech?
Warren Mosler’s talk in Chianciano, Italy, January 11, 2014
Thank you
Yup, she went there.
National doing the dirty again:
Working to protect business against the wishes of the people.
So make the protest/appeal process very expensive.
Then starve access to funds.
Protest/appeal dies.
See we the Government know that all the people must have wanted this project or else they would have objected. And they didn’t.
We are a very clever Government. (Does our Government get these ideas from Fiji?)
12-year-old inventor’s DIY phone hack packs a political punch
That is awesome, switched on young man he is, love his outlook…
“His mantra: Want it? Make it! “
A wee something to look forward to.
/
http://fe2017.com/
Apparently on the second day they have a rumble with the hollow earthers…
and the winner gets to take on the ice wallers…
https://wiki.tfes.org/The_Ice_Wall
Is that real? Because if it is, it’s pretty mind blowing.
Oh, they’re real, double dog batshit insane, but they’re real alright.
http://www.denverpost.com/2017/07/07/colorado-earth-flat-gravity-hoax/
hardhitting – needs to be known – aussies and aussie lovers need to own up to the truth
http://www.smh.com.au/comment/the-truth-behind-aboriginal-massacres-and-the-laidback-aussie-image-20170706-gx5si4.html
Terra nullius, huh.
http://ontheworldmap.com/australia/aboriginal-tribes-map-of-australia.jpg
amazing map – so much gone and lost – we could use that knowledge now
Hoh! halftime ABs
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HfqZtQOvKlM
Just picked up my partner from watching the game at Eden Park.
I suggested before he left that he should lead a chant of “O, Jeremy Corbyn” and we had a laugh at how that would be taken by his workmates.
He’s sure that he heard several times during the game a chant very similar to “O, Jeremy Corbyn” coming from the Lions supporters. Could be mistaken, he – like me is getting older, and hard of hearing – but heartening to think the chant is becoming a way of calling out your Britishness to the world.