Matthew Hooton has been interesting lately. He alleged without evidence that Labour has engaged in attempted manipulation of Ipredict but then refused to comment on a very clear example of right wing manipulation of the market.
Yesterday on Radio New Zealand he hinted that David Cunliffe had tried to sabotage Phil Goff last week by not providing him with a briefing. Nothing could be further from the truth. The draft costings have been in existence for a while and Goff knew in general terms what the figures are. The release of the figures last Friday had been planned for a while. I thought Goff just struggled to get the information out because Key kept overtalking him.
But Hooton’s comment was picked up by the Dominion’s Andrea Vance. And David’s Ipredict stock for becoming the future leader then suddenly plunged to as low as .20c before returning to its more normal level of .50c.
Hooton knows nothing about the Labour Party or its internal workings. David Cunliffe is an extremely competent performer and the only Labour MP who has continually bested his opposition. I am certain he would have the measure of Key in a debate. Yet this does not stop Hooton from claiming that the most damaging of a variety of scenarios is the truth. And then the media pick up on it.
The technique used by the right is really subtle, work in the background, plant an idea, influence the media, affect measures of popularity then voila the opinion polls back you up. Progressives need to work out how to respond to this.
I was also p**sed that Kathryn Ryan kept saying that Labour’s figures are under scrutiny yesterday – I think during the left vs right segment yesterday. i.e. part of the media following Key’s show me the money line, and continuing not to scrutinise Nat/Key’s figures as carefully.
Yes, it does seem that he knows that he can make all sorts of unfounded assertions without any evidence.
I was astounded, last night on iPredict, at the balls of the guy to make what would be otherwise unsupportable assertions.
As a National mouthpiece he knows that the quality of debate in the NZ media means that he can get his his wildly inaccurate soundbite out and the moderator/interviewer will not have noticed because they are not listening and busy reading the next pre-prepared patsy question.
Gee I just watched it and you are right, Hooton was appalling. I was particularly interested in his comment that Labour was heading down to National’s 2002 election support levels. Then this morning Ipredict’s Labour;’a party vote was sold down to .24c. It has since rallied however.
Maybe there should be securities oversight of Ipredict because there is a strong hint of some political manipulation going on.
He has repeated this same B.S. regarding Labour falling to the nats 2002 support for as long as anyone will listen to him.
Someone needs to remind him about the result in 1993.
Nikki Kaye on Back Benches last week did not look and act like an M.P. who was safe in thier seat.
Mm, this was interesting actually. Andrea Vance forgot the jounralism part of her job and it is a clear tactic from the right to insert some sort of wedge, at least at face value between Phil Goff and David Cunliffe.
Strange comments she makes appearing to have some insight into the Labour Caucus with her claim he has no numbers, I for one don’t believe this to be true if in fact that’s what’s happening, but from what I can see there is a lot of work happening between the Labour leadership and its senior MPs to deliver costed policies, that doesn’t happen if there is something else going on. Besides, I don’t believe any senior Labour MPs are stupid enough to put a possible left-win at risk given the split between left and right is only up to 5% across a range of polls.
The media has to do a better job before buying in to this kind of rubbish because it’s not about them, it’s about the voters and voters are being informed by media articles and blogs. The problem with this particular article is that Andrea did no work, rather just drew on Hooten’s comments about leadership and that’s unfortunate for her as someone working to develop her credibility as a journalist.
Goff doesn’t release policy without it being costed, it’s clear that’s his approach. Even if there were no pressure on finances, there would still be a full costing undertaken because he is not inclined to shoot from the hip. Hooten’s assertions are very unfortunate too, but tactically you would do it to destabilise Labour.
It’s hardly subtle with that interest free taxpayer loan to mediawonks, recycling rick at TVNZ and their good mate griffin at RNZ, granny needed little help as she was already out on the right.
Hooton snipes and talk over people then backs away leaving others to take up the case….nice work if you can get it, we’ve seem the hollowmen and what he’s about.
“We have struggled to develop a comprehensive measure of social well-being. We use a multitude of statistics – like mental illness, life expectancy, and prisoner numbers. But there is an increasing body of knowledge suggesting that the best indicator of social well-being may be simply the extent of inequality within a society. “
The platitudinous conclusion is prefaced by a load of old bollocks. The piece reads more like an attempt to justify the Fourth Labour Government’s contribution to New Zealand’s current political climate and economic situation coupled with a call to do it all again.
Key on Morning Report just now says that business people who think National doesn’t have a plan need to get out of their offices and go for a drive, as National’s plan is on billboards up and down the highway.
Amazing. Key thinks a few slogans counts as a “plan”.
It’s like we’re building a house and the architect turned up with a list on a piece of card saying
Walls!
A roof on top!
Windows you can see out of!
A door to every room!
Lets have a pool!
I can’t believe how inept the questions are. They are letting Key blather on and he is not answering anything. You have to admire his ability to constantly regurgitate sound bites.
Yes. And trying to listen objectively this morning, I cannot for the life of me hear Key say anything of substance. Waffle! And he still gets a free run!
Last Sunday morning the commentary said that the persona viewed on TV trumped the audio. Nixon beat Kennedy (?) on radio by virtue of his intellect but the same debate if seen on TV had Kennedy race in because he looked better.
Is this why Key refuses to debate with Goff on radio but is willing to do so on TV? In audio what Key says is pure waffle. Compare this with Phil’s TV performance late on Sunday night.
Key was quite keen to explain how he had helped the ‘underclass’ through these difficult times. We don’t know who these people are of course because we don’t have a definition of poverty, and the increase in GST affects the wealthy more because they spend more .. but National did help the poor by … not cutting benefits!. Now there is real compassion . . .
Now I know what’s on the Nat billboards the same shit as 2008, maybe some people with a little time, petrol and a video camera and go see what they can see and post the results.
. . . Having condemned his predecessor for many years for paying off debt too quickly, English said: “I want to stress that New Zealand starts from a reasonable position in dealing with the uncertainty of our economic outlook.
“In New Zealand we have room to respond. This is the rainy day that Government has been saving up for,” he told reporters at the Treasury briefing on the state of the economy and forecasts.
English pointed to a graph of the debt track since 1972 and projected five years out from today.
The recent low was 17 per cent of GDP and the ghastly projection for 2013 is 33.1 per cent and possibly worse, under what Treasury calls a “downside scenario” – 38.6 per cent.
Unemployment is forecast to rise to 6.4 per cent in 2010 and deficits forecast to be $2.4 billion to $3.5 billion larger over the 2010 to 2013 years than forecast just before the election . . .
. . . but, hey, why would an MSM journalist want to check facts? Too many of them have spent too much time saying National Ltd™ are going to romp home so its now up to them to ensure they’re correct. “Observer bias”, I believe its called.
Thanks for that .. lying with impunity .. it’s outrageous and those sycophantic journos don’t seem to listem to what he’s saying. No challenge, no rebuttal .. I depair!
Using the WFF calculator currently if you earn minimum wage with one primary age child and work a 45hr week you get $148 with a $15 minimum wage you get $88.
Would I be right in thinking that the $60 saved there would be the money that would go towards the extension? The minimum wage rise will make this close to cost neutral? Or will WFF push up with the minimum wage?
Using before tax figures I work out that someone earning minimum wage @45 hrs gets $607.50 in wages and $148 wff, total $755.50. @ $15 , $675 in wages and $88 wff total $763.
So unless wff rises not withstanding tax free threshold etc someone classed as ‘working poor’ will be less than $10 per week better off?
Very interesting. I hadn’t given it a lot of thought but of course it makes sense.
So really minimum wage increase will only individuals or couples without children, and families will have to rely on GST off FF&V and tax-free bracket (phased in) to get much benefit.
How long until National picks this up?
Also your figures are wrong. The current minimum wage is $13/hour not $13.50. So it’s $585 before tax not $607.50 for working 45 hours.
All my calculations show that if you work 40 hours a week going from $13 to $15 minimum wage will increase your after-WFF income by $2 per hour. Similarly if you work 45 hours a week going from $13 to $15 minimum wage it will increase your after-WFF income by $2 per hour.
Italy can’t get rid of Berlusconi. They elected him as a celebrity figure and then let him demolish the controls on pan-media ownership that aided his personal interests, so that he was then free to have influence everywhere. Why should he go, he likes the publicity and notoriety. He doesn’t care too much about the stability of the Italian nation and people’s future And they didn’t take care themselves to seek out a serious-minded politician committed to policies and a direction good for the health and wealth of the country.
Health and wealth now that is a good slogan for a NZ politician to support. Will a celebrity such as smile and wave, once over lightly Key have policies advancing those for us all in his mind?
Even though 99.9% of my friends despise him! One of my friends on Facebook managed a truly impressive shite storm of abuse about SB’s government tonight! 😀
Maybe that just reflects the friends I have?
Hi Prism, there is a major bit of action going on in Europe that will impact this elections winner big time…in short winning this time is the kiss of death. The Euro crisis is unfolding in a way which will see the failure of the European single currency and the total insolvency of the banks (unless bailed out by the public purse in a m. This contagion will spread like dominoes falling into the US and Asian banks. Concurrently we see Brent Crude stubbornly staying too high which will stifle any “growth” initiatives anywhere. The Arab Spring has turned into an Arab Autumn with no resolution of the key issues i.e. food prices, there is only trouble ahead there and we can expect Saudi political turmoil when the banking crash wipes out their “investments”.
When National resume their role as government of the day they will be looking straight down the barrel of collapsing markets and prices, and contagious financial mayhem. Tax cuts wont be affordable and I predict the inability to borrow offshore will see them rolled back, along with massive welfare and health cuts. Welcome to the “shrinking” economy, permanent growth will be a thing of the past.
The failure of all parties at this election is their commitment to business as usual with growth as their universal panacea. Ill fares the land.
I’m with you Bored, and don’t know where that leaves me in terms of who I want to take Government.
On one hand, I’d rather the Nat’s took it on the chin and had to live with the consequences of their ideology. And I’d rather Labour & Green didn’t get labelled with it.
On the other hand, I believe the Nats ( but to be fair probably the whole Establishment ) possibly have more of an Authoritarian bent, so Depression and ensuing social disintegration could be even nastier in their hands.
You have a voice – vote and make sure it is heard.
Abstaining is not a protest, it is silence – a silence that will be filled with the voices of others or taken as consent.
I know… I’m just concerned with the consequences either way, I guess what I’m saying is, Labour / Green may be better not to inherit the implosion of Europe and then Wall St as a byproduct of it’s $4 trillion exposure to Euro Banks. Perhaps Key’s ideology imploding on his watch is preferable?
Bored – It’s all so cheering isn’t it. You could be interested in the interview I heard on Radionz on Russia and its businesses and economy and laws after the fall of Stalinism. (I don’t say Communism as I understand there was only a brief attempt at the real deal in Russia.)
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p00ldy87
Three businessmen tell Peter Day about doing business in Russia. William Browder was an investment fund manager in the country who campaigned, with some success, against corruption and left the country, having moved all his company’s assets out, in 2007. He tells Peter Day about his experiences. And two current directors of companies in Moscow discuss what they think they can do to improve corporate governance there.
Drying of northern wetlands has led to much more severe peatland wildfires and nine times as much carbon released into the atmosphere, according to new research led by a University of Guelph professor.
The study, published today in Nature Communications, is the first to investigate the effect of drainage on carbon accumulation in northern peatlands and the vulnerability of that carbon to burning.
“Russia, Indonesia and Canada all have abundant peatlands, but they also have been hotspots for intense peat fires in the past decade,” said Guelph professor Merritt Turetsky, who worked on the study with William Donahue of the Water Matters Society of Alberta and Brian Benscoter from Florida Atlantic University.
In pristine states, peatlands often resist fire because of their wet soils. “Our study shows that when disturbance lowers the water table, that resistance disappears and peat becomes very flammable and vulnerable to deep burning,” she said.
“The euro zone periphery was a sideshow. This stuff with Italy is the real deal. With yields at 6.7% and rising, it’s game over for the euro zone. The extend and pretend stuff ain’t gonna work.”
Key on Morning report- the easy problems are solved by others. the hard ones get to my desk
HA
SO THAT is why the hard problems are not solved or even have a plan.
Yesterday I read a comment that I’m sure was someone trying to parody the people they didn’t much like. It was excellently put together – a real collection of self-satisfied right-wing stereotypes. It even had an avatar!
Today there are people referencing talkback radio as a means of measuring poverty. It’s just too much. Between chuckling at the black humour, I’m having to second guess what I think are genuine contributions. My internet reality is getting distorted. Come on, admit it, who here is being the mischievous scallywag?
It’s good to see the fracking issue being debated in the mainstream media. Being that a poll recently showed the environment is people’s number one concern, it’s important that a proper debate consisting of the facts is presented…
“We have built a dangerous financial system in the United States and Europe,” said the former chief economist at the International Monetary Fund. “We must step back and reform the system.”
Professor Johnson cited alarming parallels with October 1931, when “people thought the worst was behind them, but the smart people were wrong and instead the crisis just broadened.”
As EU falls apart, the cracks will spread across the Atlantic and quickly split our largest banks asunder dragging all of the American economy down to unbelievable depths of misfunction and colossal loss of entire generations of wealth. Commodities and agricultural land will be the only safe havens for smart money. Undoubtedly, wars will spring forth from this collapse. The next decade is going to rival the worst in the last few hundred years. The only uncertainty is when. How long will kicking the can down the road be possible as an avoidance
Why are people trying to rewrite the history of the crisis? Some are simply trying to save face. Interest groups who advocate for deregulation of the finance sector would prefer that deregulation not receive any blame for the crisis.
Some stand to profit from the status quo: Banks present a systemic risk to the economy, and reducing that risk by lowering their leverage and increasing capital requirements also lowers profitability. Others are hired guns, doing the bidding of bosses on Wall Street.
They all suffer cognitive dissonance — the intellectual crisis that occurs when a failed belief system or philosophy is confronted with proof of its implausibility.
And what about those facts? To be clear, no single issue was the cause. Our economy is a complex and intricate system. What caused the crisis? Look:
The main problem, of course, is that any global financial “correction” is inevitably going to impact most on those least to blame for the crisis and least able to insulate themselves from the ensuing mess.
It is always the poorest who bear the brunt of the blunders and excessive greed of the richest. It is unfair and will, I expect, provoke serious blowback for the suits this time around.
Has anyone from a bank or financial institution ever been indicted for the fraud that led to this crisis?
“A glass tower filled with people carefully selected for the polish and self-assurance that come with having been formed in institutions of privilege, whose primary attributes are a lack of consciousness, a penchant for deception and an incapacity for empathy or remorse. The curious onlookers behind the windows and we, arms locked in a circle on the concrete outside, did not speak the same language. Profit. Globalization. War. National security. These are the words they use to justify the snuffing out of tiny lives, acts of radical evil. Goldman Sachs’ commodities index….”
Brilliant piece from Pulitzer winning writer Chris Hedges arrested outside Goldman Sacs the other day…
RadioNZ Link
On the subject of Goff’s Top 10…key says
“The reality is that we have the global financial crisis which has been swirling around now for three years, Christchurch has had earthquakes, and he seems to be in a state of denial that either of those things have happened.”
He said National had done the best it could in guiding New Zealand through the crises.
He said National had done the best it could in guiding New Zealand through the crises.
Yeah, a crisis he helped create with his trading in vapour and making money of the backs of people who work for a living!
Time to throw the money changer out of the halls of government!
WANKER WALLOPING
Liz Bowen-Cluely thrashes David Farrar live on air
National Radio “The Panel”, Tuesday 8 November 2011
Ouch! Did anyone else hear Liz deal it out to that National Party stooge a few minutes ago, calling his attack on Robyn Malcolm “balderdash” and telling him to “move on”?
The glib one (Farrar) was reduced to silence.
The other glib one (Jim Mora) was reduced to cracking a lame joke in an unsuccessful attempt to soothe the scorched sensibilities of the fat bloke.
Why did she have to be so partisan?
How dare she express herself and try to shut down the type of pseudo-debate that has made us feel so comfortable in the past!
Public displays of passion like that is just oh so unbecoming for a woman?
Back to the kitchen I say – make me some eggs!
ps. Robyn, still waiting for that call – I’m still ready to carry your babies.
I don’t know Williams in any personal way so I don’t know if he is, by nature (i.e. by continued mode of conduct and belief), a racist.
I think the use of black was a descriptor rather than a pejorative term.
He was not saying that he was an arsehole because he was black (which is racist – i.e. black people are by nature arseholes) but because of all the the arseholes in the world he is black. The use of black was to merely be descriptive (but it was unnecessary).
The world’s MSM are saying that he called Woods a black arsehole. Giving him the benefit of the doubt, which I think is a nice liberal enlightened idea, and in view of his apology and what others have said about Williams, he didn’t.
He said about his jubilation at winning was to show – “It was my aim to shove it right up that black arsehole”.
Perhaps the issue is rather about accuracy. Is his arsehole black?
The French president, Nicolas Sarkozy, described the Israeli prime minister, Binyamin Netanyahu, as a “liar” in a private exchange with Barack Obama at last week’s G20 summit in Cannes that was inadvertently broadcast to journalists….
“I cannot stand him. He’s a liar,” Sarkozy told Obama. The US president responded by saying: “You’re fed up with him? I have to deal with him every day.”…
The gaffe followed a press conference after which the two presidents retired to a private room. The conversation apparently began with Obama criticising Sarkozy for not warning the US that France would vote in favour of the Palestinians’ application to join Unesco, the United Nations agency for culture and education.
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NOTE: This is an excerpt from a digital story – read the full story here.Tess TuxfordKo te Kauri Ko Au, Ko te Au ko Kauri I am the kauri, the kauri is me Te Roroa proverb In Waipoua Forest, at the top of the North Island, New ...
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Ringing A Clear Historical Bell: The extraordinary images captured in and around the US Capitol Building on 6 January 2021 mirror some of the worst images of America's past.THERE IS A SCENE in the 1982 movie Missing which has remained with me for nearly 40 years. Directed by the Greek-French ...
To impact or not to impeach? I understand why some of those who are justifiably aghast at Trump’s behaviour over recent days might still counsel against impeaching him for a second time. To impeach him, they argue, would run the risk of making him a martyr in the eyes of ...
The Capitol Building, Washington DC, Wednesday, 6 January 2021. Oh come, my little one, come.The day is almost done.Be at my side, behold the sightOf evening on the land.The life, my love, is hardAnd heavy is my heart.How should I live if you should leaveAnd we should be apart?Come, let me ...
A chronological listing of news articles linked to on the Skeptical Science Facebook Page during the past week: Sun, Jan 3, 2021 through Sat, Jan 9, 2021Editor's ChoiceAfter the Insurrection: Accountability, Reform, and the Science of Democracy The poisonous lies and enablers of sedition--including Senator Hawley, pictured ...
This article, guest authored by Prof. Angela Gallego-Sala & Dr. Julie Loisel, was originally published on the Carbon Brief website on Dec 21, 2020. It is reposted below in its entirety. Click here to access the original article and comments. Peatlands Peatlands are ecosystems unlike any other. Perpetually saturated, their ...
The assault on the US Capitol and constitutional crisis that it has caused was telegraphed, predictable and yet unexpected and confusing. There are several subplots involved: whether the occupation of the Michigan State House in May was a trial run for the attacks on Congress; whether people involved in the ...
On Christmas Eve, child number 1 spotted a crack in a window. It’s a double-glazed window, and inspection showed that the small, horizontal crack was in the outermost pane. It was perpendicular to the frame, about three-quarters of the way up one side. The origins are a mystery. It MIGHT ...
Anne-Marie Broudehoux, Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM)Will the COVID-19 pandemic prompt a shift to healthier cities that focus on wellness rather than functional and economic concerns? This is a hypothesis that seems to be supported by several researchers around the world. In many ways, containment and physical distancing ...
Does the US need to strike a grand bargain with like-minded countries to pool their efforts? What does this tell us about today’s global politics? Perhaps the most remarkable editorial of last year was the cover leader of the London Economist on 19 November 2020. Shortly after Joe Biden was ...
Alexander Gillespie, University of Waikato and Valmaine Toki, University of WaikatoAotearoa New Zealand likes to think it punches above its weight internationally, but there is one area where we are conspicuously falling behind — the number of sites recognised by the UNESCO World Heritage Convention. Globally, there are 1,121 ...
An event organised by the Auckland PhilippinesSolidarity group Have a three-course lunch at Nanam Eatery with us! Help support the organic farming of our Lumad communities through the Mindanao Community School Agricultural Foundation. Each ticket is $50. Food will be served on shared plates. To purchase, please email phsolidarity@gmail.com or ...
"Abandon Hope All Ye Who Enter Here." Prisons are places of unceasing emotional and physical violence, unrelieved despair and unforgivable human waste.IT WAS NATIONAL’S Bill English who accurately described New Zealand’s prisons as “fiscal and moral failures”. On the same subject, Labour’s Dr Martyn Findlay memorably suggested that no prison ...
This is a re-post from Inside Climate News by Ilana Cohen. Inside Climate News is a nonprofit, independent news organization that covers climate, energy and the environment. Sign up for the ICN newsletter here. Whether or not people accept the science on Covid-19 and climate change, both global crises will have lasting impacts on health and ...
. . American Burlesque As I write this (Wednesday evening, 6 January), the US Presidential election is all but resolved, confirming Joe Biden as the next President of the (Dis-)United State of America. Trump’s turbulent political career has lasted just four years – one of the few single-term US presidents ...
A growing public housing waiting list and continued increase of house prices must be urgently addressed by Government, Green Party Co-leader Marama Davidson said today. ...
The next steps in the Government’s ambitious firearms reform programme to include a three-month buy-back have been announced by Police Minister Poto Williams today. “The last buy-back and amnesty was unprecedented for New Zealand and was successful in collecting 60,297 firearms, modifying a further 5,630 firearms, and collecting 299,837 prohibited ...
The Government has released its Public Housing Plan 2021-2024 which outlines the intention of where 8,000 additional public and transitional housing places announced in Budget 2020, will go. “The Government is committed to continuing its public house build programme at pace and scale. The extra 8,000 homes – 6000 public ...
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has congratulated President Joe Biden on his inauguration as the 46th President of the United States of America. “I look forward to building a close relationship with President Biden and working with him on issues that matter to both our countries,” Jacinda Ardern said. “New Zealand ...
A major investment to tackle wilding pines in Mt Richmond will create jobs and help protect the area’s unique ecosystems, Biosecurity Minister Damien O’Connor says. The Mt Richmond Forest Park has unique ecosystems developed on mineral-rich geology, including taonga plant species found nowhere else in the country. “These special plant ...
To further protect New Zealand from COVID-19, the Government is extending pre-departure testing to all passengers to New Zealand except from Australia, Antarctica and most Pacific Islands, COVID-19 Response Minister Chris Hipkins said today. “The change will come into force for all flights arriving in New Zealand after 11:59pm (NZT) on Monday ...
Bay Conservation Cadets launched with first intake Supported with $3.5 million grant Part of $1.245b Jobs for Nature programme to accelerate recover from Covid Cadets will learn skills to protect and enhance environment Environment Minister David Parker today welcomed the first intake of cadets at the launch of the Bay ...
The Prime Minister of New Zealand Jacinda Ardern and the Prime Minister of the Cook Islands Mark Brown have announced passengers from the Cook Islands can resume quarantine-free travel into New Zealand from 21 January, enabling access to essential services such as health. “Following confirmation of the Cook Islands’ COVID ...
Jobs for Nature funding is being made available to conservation groups and landowners to employ staff and contractors in a move aimed at boosting local biodiversity-focused projects, Conservation Minister Kiritapu Allan has announced. It is estimated some 400-plus jobs will be created with employment opportunities in ecology, restoration, trapping, ...
The Government has approved an exception class for 1000 international tertiary students, degree level and above, who began their study in New Zealand but were caught offshore when border restrictions began. The exception will allow students to return to New Zealand in stages from April 2021. “Our top priority continues ...
Today’s deal between Meridian and Rio Tinto for the Tiwai smelter to remain open another four years provides time for a managed transition for Southland. “The deal provides welcome certainty to the Southland community by protecting jobs and incomes as the region plans for the future. The Government is committed ...
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has appointed Anna Curzon to the APEC Business Advisory Council (ABAC). The leader of each APEC economy appoints three private sector representatives to ABAC. ABAC provides advice to leaders annually on business priorities. “ABAC helps ensure that APEC’s work programme is informed by business community perspectives ...
The Government’s prudent fiscal management and strong policy programme in the face of the COVID-19 global pandemic have been acknowledged by the credit rating agency Fitch. Fitch has today affirmed New Zealand’s local currency rating at AA+ with a stable outlook and foreign currency rating at AA with a positive ...
The Government is putting in place a suite of additional actions to protect New Zealand from COVID-19, including new emerging variants, COVID-19 Response Minister Chris Hipkins said today. “Given the high rates of infection in many countries and evidence of the global spread of more transmissible variants, it’s clear that ...
$36 million of Government funding alongside councils and others for 19 projects Investment will clean up and protect waterways and create local jobs Boots on the ground expected in Q2 of 2021 Funding part of the Jobs for Nature policy package A package of 19 projects will help clean up ...
The commemoration of the 175th anniversary of the Battle of Ruapekapeka represents an opportunity for all New Zealanders to reflect on the role these conflicts have had in creating our modern nation, says Associate Minister for Arts, Culture and Heritage Kiri Allan. “The Battle at Te Ruapekapeka Pā, which took ...
Babies born with tongue-tie will be assessed and treated consistently under new guidelines released by the Ministry of Health, Associate Minister of Health Dr Ayesha Verrall announced today. Around 5% to 10% of babies are born with a tongue-tie, or ankyloglossia, in New Zealand each year. At least half can ...
The prisoner disorder event at Waikeria Prison is over, with all remaining prisoners now safely and securely detained, Corrections Minister Kelvin Davis says. The majority of those involved in the event are members of the Mongols and Comancheros. Five of the men are deportees from Australia, with three subject to ...
Travellers from the United Kingdom or the United States bound for New Zealand will be required to get a negative test result for COVID-19 before departing, and work is underway to extend the requirement to other long haul flights to New Zealand, COVID-19 Response Minister Chris Hipkins confirmed today. “The new PCR test requirement, foreshadowed last ...
In a historic corner of Dunedin, startup culture is thriving. Catherine McGregor visited the city’s Warehouse Precinct to meet the people driving the movement. When Jason and Kate Lindsey bought the four storey building now known as Petridish, it was an absolute wreck. Once home to a thriving hat and textiles ...
Summer reissue: The Fold’s very first guest is back to tell Duncan Greive how she pulled off the media deal of the year.The chaotic couple of weeks which finally saw the end of the Stuff-NZME saga were riveting and strange, replete with stock exchange announcements, legal challenges and finally the ...
Chris Liddell has dropped his candidacy to become director-general of the Paris-based OECD. Without support from the Ardern government and vilified in the media as somehow being involved in the encouragement by Donald Trump of the Washington riots, he plainly saw he had little chance of crowning his stellar career ...
Tara Ward hands out her first impression roses as she dives deep into the sea of single men vying to win The Bachelorette NZ’s heart. While the world burns in a searing fireball of unpredictability, we can take comfort in the fact that some things never change. The heart still yearns, ...
People from all around New Zealand will be converging on the super-secret Waihopai satellite interception spybase, in Marlborough, on Saturday January 30th. ...
In its Thursday editorial the NZ Herald speaks an important truth: “Investment important to stay on track”. This won’t have startled its more literate readers but in its text it notes the strong result in the latest Global Dairy Trade auction, which prompted Westpac to raise its forecast for dairy ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Craig Mark, Professor, Faculty of International Studies, Kyoritsu Women’s University With the spread of COVID-19 steadily worsening in Japan since the onset of winter — daily records for infections and deaths continue to be broken — the fate of the Tokyo Summer ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Adam Taylor, Early Career Research Leader, Emerging Viruses, Inflammation and Therapeutics Group, Menzies Health Institute Queensland, Griffith University All eyes are on COVID-19 vaccines, with Australia’s first expected to be approved for use shortly. But their development in record time, without compromising ...
Yesterday’s government announcement on new state housing is a pathetic response to the biggest housing crisis in New Zealand since the 1940s. At a time when the country needs an industrial-scale state house building programme, the government ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Obadiah Mulder, PhD Candidate in Computational Biology, University of Southern California Australia is in the midst of tropical cyclone season. As we write, a cyclone is forming off Western Australia’s Pilbara coast, and earlier in the week Queenslanders were bracing for a ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Lynette Vernon, School of Education – VC Research Fellow, Edith Cowan University When the holidays end, barring a fresh outbreak of COVID-19, teenagers across Australia will head back to school. Some will bounce out of bed well before the alarm goes off, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Richard Holden, Professor of Economics, UNSW In an age of hyperpartisan politics, the Biden presidency offers a welcome centrism that might help bridge the divides. But it is also Biden’s economic centrism that offers a chance to cut through what has become ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Gary Mortimer, Professor of Marketing and Consumer Behaviour, Queensland University of Technology Twenty years ago, on January 25 2001, a virtually unknown German supermarket chain quietly opened its first stores in Australia. The two stores – one in Sydney’s inner-west suburb of ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Liz Giuffre, Senior Lecturer in Communication, University of Technology Sydney Bluey is easily the most successful Australian television show of the last decade. A record-breaking success for its local broadcaster the ABC, as well as production partners BBC Studios and Screen Australia, ...
*This article first appeared on RNZ and is republished with permissionIt will take $3 million to clean up 1 million litres of abandoned toxic waste from a property in Ruakaka - three times more than the last big chemical clean-up undertaken by government agencies A two-year mission to clean up 1 million ...
*This article first appeared on RNZ and is republished with permission. The action Biden took on just his first afternoon in office demonstrates a radical shift in priority for the US when it comes to its efforts to combat the climate crisis. It could put more pressure on New Zealand to step up. ...
Ban Bomb Day event at the New Brighton Pier, 9am, on January 22nd, 2021 January 22nd, 2021, marks the first day the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) Enters into Force and becomes international law. Aotearoa NZ is one of the ...
This week's biggest-selling New Zealand books, as recorded by the Nielsen BookScan New Zealand bestseller list and described by Steve BrauniasFICTION 1 Tell Me Lies by J.P. Pomare (Hachette, $29.99) Every January, there's a new best-selling crime thriller by the New Zealand-born author who lives in Melbourne. Pomare is ...
Our approach so far in trying to end what Dr Collin Tukuitonga describes as a 'racist' disease - rheumatic fever - has not worked. It's time we try something new, he writes. Acute rheumatic fever and the rheumatic heart disease it causes, long-known as a disease of poverty, is a blight on ...
New Zealand triple-code star, Anna Harrison, can't stop returning to the courts - whether it's netball or beach volleyball. She tells Ashley Stanley what keeps drawing her back. The day before Anna Harrison leaps back into netball, she will have one more hit-out at another of her favourite old sports ...
The lights are burning into the night at the New York Yacht Club's America's Cup base as they race to fix their damaged boat. And Suzanne McFadden discovers something surprising may emerge. Out of American Magic’s calamity may come opportunity - for even more speed. While the lights burn bright ...
New to sailing? With the Prada Cup resuming this weekend, here’s how to bluff your way into sounding like a pro. When I was 10, my mum made my brother and I join the local sailing club. It was a favourite pastime of families in Kerikeri, and my brother was actually ...
A formal complaint to the UN, signed by a NZ Muslim group, says France’s Islamophobic laws and policies are entrenching discrimination and breaching human rights laws. The Khadija Leadership Network has joined a global coalition of Muslim organisations to formally complain about the French government’s systemic entrenchment of Islamophobia and discrimination against ...
Summer reissue: Join Michèle A’Court, Alex Casey, Leonie Hayden and a lineup of incredibly successful New Zealand women as they confront their imposter syndrome once and for all. First published 20 October, 2020. Independent journalism depends on you. Help us stay curious in 2021. The Spinoff’s journalism is funded by its members ...
With criticism from National piling on over the property market, the prime minister has detailed when the government will make housing announcements. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Marco Rizzi, Senior Lecturer in Law, University of Western Australia Some Australians could be receiving a COVID-19 vaccine within weeks. Amid the continued spread of the virus and emergence of highly contagious variants, the federal government has accelerated the start of the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Euan Ritchie, Professor in Wildlife Ecology and Conservation, Centre for Integrative Ecology, School of Life & Environmental Sciences, Deakin University Australia’s Threatened Species Strategy — a five-year plan for protecting our imperilled species and ecosystems — fizzled to an end last year. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Arosha Weerakoon, Lecturer, General Dentist & PhD Candidate, The University of Queensland Baby teeth, or milk teeth, act like lighthouses to guide the adult ones to their correct destination. A baby tooth will become wobbly and fall out because the adult tooth ...
Business is Boring is a weekly podcast series presented by The Spinoff in association with Callaghan Innovation. Host Simon Pound speaks with innovators and commentators focused on the future of New Zealand. This week he’s joined by Simon Coley, co-founder of All Good and Karma Drinks.Bananas are one of the ...
Tackling topics such as rugby and body image, Stuff’s latest podcast shines a much-needed light on Aotearoa’s complex relationship with masculinity, writes Trevor McKewen, author of the book Real Men Wear Black.I wasn’t sure what to think when two episodes of the new local podcast He’ll Be Right landed in ...
The Rainforest Alliance reveals that 68%* of Kiwis say the COVID-19 pandemic has made them more conscious about environmental and social sustainability issues. Seventy two percent* state that they have been trying to make more sustainable purchasing ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Tama Leaver, Professor of Internet Studies, Curtin University The inventor of the World Wide Web, Tim Berners-Lee, has raised concerns that Australia’s proposed News Media and Digital Platforms Mandatory Bargaining Code could fundamentally break the internet as we know it. His concerns ...
ANALYSIS:By Scott Lucas, University of Birmingham Politics doesn’t have to be a raging fire destroying everything in its path Two weeks after the storming of the US Capitol by the followers of his predecessor, in the middle of an out-of-control pandemic that has killed more than 400,000 ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kate Cantrell, Lecturer, Creative Writing & English Literature, University of Southern Queensland Described as “the world’s greatest storyteller”, Roald Dahl is frequently ranked as the best children’s author of all time by teachers, authors and librarians. However, the new film adaptation of ...
Peak housing body, Community Housing Aotearoa (CHA) welcomes the updated Public Housing Plan announced today by Minister Woods, and the commitment by this Government to fix New Zealand’s housing crisis. The 8,000 additional homes are a significant ...
Having recently walked much of the South Island stretch of Te Araroa, Kirsten O’Regan reflects on the magnificent landscapes and interesting characters she encountered along the way.On our 36th day of walking, we climb through the fire-blackened hills above Ohau, stopping to examine heat-disfigured trail markers. Fresh green shoots have ...
Miss Torta in central Auckland is putting the spotlight on a snack that’s commonplace in Mexico, but until now relatively unknown in New Zealand.You’ve heard of a torta, but what is it, exactly? Well, depending on the cuisine it can mean a flatbread, cake, tart, sweet pie, savoury pie or ...
Two of three ministerial statements from the Beehive have been released in the name of the PM over the past two days. The more important, insofar as it involves political action that will affect the wellbeing of significant numbers of Kiwis, was the release of the government’s Public Housing Plan ...
Jacinda Ardern has reminded Labour MPs "ongoing vigilance" will be required in 2021 to avoid another Covid outbreak, admitting she held her breath over the summer break. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Zareh Ghazarian, Senior Lecturer, School of Social Sciences, Monash University Despite many young Australians having a deep interest in political issues, most teenagers have a limited understanding about their nation’s democratic system. Results from the 2019 National Assessment Program – Civics and ...
Pinged $65 for overstaying 10 minutes in a parking block? Put away your hard-earned cash and read this first.Hopefully, by now, I’ve already established myself at The Spinoff as the resident tightarse, determined to avoid all unfair and unnecessary punishments (see: oversize baggage charges). Today, I’m focusing my attention on ...
Nuclear weapons states and their allies risk reputational ruin if they flout a new UN Treaty, Carolina Panico argues The United Nations Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons will come into force this month, on January 22, 2021, turning nuclear weapons into illegal objects. It is an achievement that ...
How does one turn into a rabid extremist over the description of a children’s bike? Emily Writes looks at Facebook comments so you don’t have to.You’ve been there, I know it. You’re scrolling along, trying to avoid QAnon conspiracy theories and Trump apocalypse memes when a story catches your eye. ...
Joe Biden is now the President of the United States and many people across America and throughout the world will consequently be breathing more easily. But while the erratic, unpredictable and irresponsible years of the Trump Presidency may be over, ...
Tough border testing for New Zealand honey imports to Japan is re-igniting the conversation about the use of the weed killer glypohsate in New Zealand. ...
The Taxpayers Union should be aware of the law and of the history of ACC. The ACC is a legal system introduced in 1974 to replace the common law right of accident victims to sue for damages for personal injury sustained as a result of negligence ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Denis Muller, Senior Research Fellow, Centre for Advancing Journalism, University of Melbourne Terrorism, political extremism, Donald Trump, social media and the phenomenon of “cancel culture” are confronting journalists with a range of agonising free-speech dilemmas to which there are no easy answers. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Nial Wheate, Associate Professor of the Sydney Pharmacy School, University of Sydney You’ve just come from your monthly GP appointment with a new script for your ongoing medical condition. But your local pharmacy is out of stock of your usual medicine. Your ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Deanna D’Alessandro, Professor & ARC Future Fellow, University of Sydney On Wednesday this week, the concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere was measured at at 415 parts per million (ppm). The level is the highest in human history, and is growing ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By James Renwick, Professor, Physical Geography (climate science), Te Herenga Waka — Victoria University of Wellington It might be summer in New Zealand but we’re in for some wild weather this week with forecasts of heavy wind and rain, and a plunge in ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Zareh Ghazarian, Senior Lecturer, School of Social Sciences, Monash University Despite many young Australians having a deep interest in political issues, most teenagers have a limited understanding about their nation’s democratic system. Results from the 2019 National Assessment Program – Civics and ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle O’Shea, Senior Lecturer, School of Business, Western Sydney University Last week, the McIver’s Ladies Baths in Sydney came under fire for their (since removed) policy stating “only transgender women who’ve undergone a gender reassignment surgery are allowed entry”. The policy was ...
There are good grounds for optimism after the guardrails of American democracy held firm through to Joe Biden's inauguration today as President, writes Stephen Hoadley Pessimism abounds about the perilous condition of American democracy. Commentators and headline writers proffer memes such as ‘broken and divided nation’, ‘the threat from within’. ...
*This article was originally appeared on RNZ and is republished with permission. Donald Trump will forever be remembered as the president who was impeached twice - and for his rhetoric that struck a chord so deep in America that it will take years to dissipate. Donald Trump leaves Washington with the lowest approval ...
A new plan shows how and where the Government will build 8,000 new state housing places it funded in Budget 2020, Marc Daalder reports Jacinda Ardern has kicked off the political year with a major announcement, promising hundreds of new state housing places in regional centres across the country. With ...
This is the full transcript of President Joe Biden's speech after being sworn in at his inauguration this morning in Washington DC Chief Justice Roberts, Vice President Harris, Speaker Pelosi, Leader Schumer, Leader McConnell, Vice President Pence, and my distinguished guests, my fellow Americans, this is America's day. This ...
Analysis: President Donald Trump has left the White House, and his deputy chief of staff confirms he is withdrawing his candidacy to lead the OECD. New Zealander Christopher Liddell withdrew his nomination to be Secretary-General of the powerful 37-member OECD and was one of the last members of the Trump Administration to depart ...
Kate Wills is facing stage four cancer with the same fierce approach she takes into her ocean swimming - never say can't. Even on the mornings Kate Wills feels wretched from her fortnightly chemotherapy treatment, she drags herself up at 5am and goes swimming. “I have to. It’s my job – to ...
Some costs associated with meetings speak for themselves, others are less conspicuous. Victoria University of Wellington's Val Hooper lays those costs out, making suggestions on where we can rein them in. Meetings – when last did we count the costs? And so it’s back to work and one of the ...
Andrew Paul Wood assesses the best-selling picture book by Grahame Sydney It's no great secret the commercially very successful Grahame Sydney has a long-standing beef that his work doesn’t receive more critical and institutional approval. I sympathise about the lack of critical attention, but I can understand why. The Discourse™ ...
This story was produced in collaboration with the Center for Public Integrity and Columbia Journalism Investigations. It was originally published by Public Integrity, Mother Jones, The Arizona Republic and Orlando Sentinel. It is republished here as part of Covering Climate Now, a global journalism collaboration strengthening coverage of the ...
Analysis: It has been easy to ignore anyone daring to criticise or even question any aspect of the government’s Covid-19 response. Their voices have rarely been heard, and when they have been raised they have been quickly and decisively howled down by the favoured coterie of academics. ...
Welcome to The Spinoff’s US presidential inauguration live blog: inauguration news, analysis and reaction, updated through Wednesday and Thursday. The inauguration ceremony begins at 5.15am Thursday, NZ time, and Joe Biden takes the oath of office around 6am. 7.25am: And what about Trump?In the early hours of this morning, NZ ...
In 10 x 100, we survey a group of 100 people via Stickybeak and ask them 10 questions. Last month we quizzed Wellingtonians. Today, we ask NZ drivers how they’ve found a holiday period without international tourists, and what they get up to while they’re on the road.Across Aotearoa roads ...
Emmanuel Macron's anti-separatist policies have garnered backlash from the international Muslim community. Now, a global coalition has complained to the UN. ...
Matthew Hooton has been interesting lately. He alleged without evidence that Labour has engaged in attempted manipulation of Ipredict but then refused to comment on a very clear example of right wing manipulation of the market.
Yesterday on Radio New Zealand he hinted that David Cunliffe had tried to sabotage Phil Goff last week by not providing him with a briefing. Nothing could be further from the truth. The draft costings have been in existence for a while and Goff knew in general terms what the figures are. The release of the figures last Friday had been planned for a while. I thought Goff just struggled to get the information out because Key kept overtalking him.
But Hooton’s comment was picked up by the Dominion’s Andrea Vance. And David’s Ipredict stock for becoming the future leader then suddenly plunged to as low as .20c before returning to its more normal level of .50c.
Hooton knows nothing about the Labour Party or its internal workings. David Cunliffe is an extremely competent performer and the only Labour MP who has continually bested his opposition. I am certain he would have the measure of Key in a debate. Yet this does not stop Hooton from claiming that the most damaging of a variety of scenarios is the truth. And then the media pick up on it.
The technique used by the right is really subtle, work in the background, plant an idea, influence the media, affect measures of popularity then voila the opinion polls back you up. Progressives need to work out how to respond to this.
I was also p**sed that Kathryn Ryan kept saying that Labour’s figures are under scrutiny yesterday – I think during the left vs right segment yesterday. i.e. part of the media following Key’s show me the money line, and continuing not to scrutinise Nat/Key’s figures as carefully.
And this morning Stuff continues that line here:
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/5923639/Labours-2-6b-plan-to-tackle-child-poverty
with the main page headline Labour’s $2.6b gamble
Yes, it does seem that he knows that he can make all sorts of unfounded assertions without any evidence.
I was astounded, last night on iPredict, at the balls of the guy to make what would be otherwise unsupportable assertions.
As a National mouthpiece he knows that the quality of debate in the NZ media means that he can get his his wildly inaccurate soundbite out and the moderator/interviewer will not have noticed because they are not listening and busy reading the next pre-prepared patsy question.
Gee I just watched it and you are right, Hooton was appalling. I was particularly interested in his comment that Labour was heading down to National’s 2002 election support levels. Then this morning Ipredict’s Labour;’a party vote was sold down to .24c. It has since rallied however.
Maybe there should be securities oversight of Ipredict because there is a strong hint of some political manipulation going on.
He has repeated this same B.S. regarding Labour falling to the nats 2002 support for as long as anyone will listen to him.
Someone needs to remind him about the result in 1993.
Nikki Kaye on Back Benches last week did not look and act like an M.P. who was safe in thier seat.
Yeah, have their own MSM channels, and implement strong public broadcasting with high journalistic standards.
We can’t expect anything different than today under a regime of corporate and money driven editorial standards.
Mm, this was interesting actually. Andrea Vance forgot the jounralism part of her job and it is a clear tactic from the right to insert some sort of wedge, at least at face value between Phil Goff and David Cunliffe.
Strange comments she makes appearing to have some insight into the Labour Caucus with her claim he has no numbers, I for one don’t believe this to be true if in fact that’s what’s happening, but from what I can see there is a lot of work happening between the Labour leadership and its senior MPs to deliver costed policies, that doesn’t happen if there is something else going on. Besides, I don’t believe any senior Labour MPs are stupid enough to put a possible left-win at risk given the split between left and right is only up to 5% across a range of polls.
The media has to do a better job before buying in to this kind of rubbish because it’s not about them, it’s about the voters and voters are being informed by media articles and blogs. The problem with this particular article is that Andrea did no work, rather just drew on Hooten’s comments about leadership and that’s unfortunate for her as someone working to develop her credibility as a journalist.
Goff doesn’t release policy without it being costed, it’s clear that’s his approach. Even if there were no pressure on finances, there would still be a full costing undertaken because he is not inclined to shoot from the hip. Hooten’s assertions are very unfortunate too, but tactically you would do it to destabilise Labour.
It’s hardly subtle with that interest free taxpayer loan to mediawonks, recycling rick at TVNZ and their good mate griffin at RNZ, granny needed little help as she was already out on the right.
Hooton snipes and talk over people then backs away leaving others to take up the case….nice work if you can get it, we’ve seem the hollowmen and what he’s about.
Excellent article by John Robertson in the Herald today
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/opinion/news/article.cfm?c_id=466&objectid=10764414
“We have struggled to develop a comprehensive measure of social well-being. We use a multitude of statistics – like mental illness, life expectancy, and prisoner numbers. But there is an increasing body of knowledge suggesting that the best indicator of social well-being may be simply the extent of inequality within a society. “
The platitudinous conclusion is prefaced by a load of old bollocks. The piece reads more like an attempt to justify the Fourth Labour Government’s contribution to New Zealand’s current political climate and economic situation coupled with a call to do it all again.
Key on Morning Report just now says that business people who think National doesn’t have a plan need to get out of their offices and go for a drive, as National’s plan is on billboards up and down the highway.
Amazing. Key thinks a few slogans counts as a “plan”.
It’s like we’re building a house and the architect turned up with a list on a piece of card saying
Walls!
A roof on top!
Windows you can see out of!
A door to every room!
Lets have a pool!
I wouldn’t call that a plan either.
I can’t believe how inept the questions are. They are letting Key blather on and he is not answering anything. You have to admire his ability to constantly regurgitate sound bites.
Yes… a load of waffle from Key, using his down-to-earth reasonable and calm tone of voice – Mr Slippery PM of the long con.
Yes. And trying to listen objectively this morning, I cannot for the life of me hear Key say anything of substance. Waffle! And he still gets a free run!
Last Sunday morning the commentary said that the persona viewed on TV trumped the audio. Nixon beat Kennedy (?) on radio by virtue of his intellect but the same debate if seen on TV had Kennedy race in because he looked better.
Is this why Key refuses to debate with Goff on radio but is willing to do so on TV? In audio what Key says is pure waffle. Compare this with Phil’s TV performance late on Sunday night.
Key was quite keen to explain how he had helped the ‘underclass’ through these difficult times. We don’t know who these people are of course because we don’t have a definition of poverty, and the increase in GST affects the wealthy more because they spend more .. but National did help the poor by … not cutting benefits!. Now there is real compassion . . .
I though the interview was going to be gutsy from the first question AND THEY let him away with the plan being the billboards.
I honestly could not bear to listen! I spent most of the time in the bathroom… fortunately, not throwing up…
Now I know what’s on the Nat billboards the same shit as 2008, maybe some people with a little time, petrol and a video camera and go see what they can see and post the results.
Photo’s of bubbles bursting on Queen St banks – #occupyauckland Nov 5th…
Awesome – thanks AAMC
Thank you Campbell!
Key on morning report:
‘We inherited a sick set of books … deficit was 60% of GDP …’
And .. ‘1/2 of the $18b deficit is due to Christchurch’
True? or is lying again.
Lies, of course. Even Blinglish had to admit Labour left the books looking pretty good:
. . . but, hey, why would an MSM journalist want to check facts? Too many of them have spent too much time saying National Ltd™ are going to romp home so its now up to them to ensure they’re correct. “Observer bias”, I believe its called.
Thanks for that .. lying with impunity .. it’s outrageous and those sycophantic journos don’t seem to listem to what he’s saying. No challenge, no rebuttal .. I depair!
What this country needs is someone in charge who understands economics and the workings of the international financial markets . . . oh, hang on!
Half of the $18B deficit for the last one year can be attributed to Christchurch, yes.
But given that Key’s govt has run up a total of $37B in deficits since it took over, that’s a measley $9B contribution to a much larger $37B hole.
His 60% of GDP number is bullshit.
Solar…
http://thinkprogress.org/romm/2011/11/07/362705/krugman-solar-power/
And NAct want to:-
1.) Build more farms rather than R&D and produce more valuable products
2.) Build more fossil fuelled power stations
Who are NAct working for again? Because it sure as hell doesn’t appear to be us.
Questions,
Using the WFF calculator currently if you earn minimum wage with one primary age child and work a 45hr week you get $148 with a $15 minimum wage you get $88.
Would I be right in thinking that the $60 saved there would be the money that would go towards the extension? The minimum wage rise will make this close to cost neutral? Or will WFF push up with the minimum wage?
Using before tax figures I work out that someone earning minimum wage @45 hrs gets $607.50 in wages and $148 wff, total $755.50. @ $15 , $675 in wages and $88 wff total $763.
So unless wff rises not withstanding tax free threshold etc someone classed as ‘working poor’ will be less than $10 per week better off?
Or am I missing something?
Very interesting. I hadn’t given it a lot of thought but of course it makes sense.
So really minimum wage increase will only individuals or couples without children, and families will have to rely on GST off FF&V and tax-free bracket (phased in) to get much benefit.
How long until National picks this up?
Also your figures are wrong. The current minimum wage is $13/hour not $13.50. So it’s $585 before tax not $607.50 for working 45 hours.
Ok, I used the IRD tax calculator and either you got your numbers completely wrong, or you’re deliberately lying.
http://www.ird.govt.nz/calculators/keyword/wff-tax-credits/calculator-wfftc-estimate-2012.html
All my calculations show that if you work 40 hours a week going from $13 to $15 minimum wage will increase your after-WFF income by $2 per hour. Similarly if you work 45 hours a week going from $13 to $15 minimum wage it will increase your after-WFF income by $2 per hour.
40 hours @ $13: $16.70 inc WFF
40 hours @ $15: $18.70 inc WFF
45 hours @ $13: $16.29 inc WFF
45 hours @ $15: $18.29 inc WFF
The WFF benefit of $148/week stays fixed under all these scenarios.
Italy can’t get rid of Berlusconi. They elected him as a celebrity figure and then let him demolish the controls on pan-media ownership that aided his personal interests, so that he was then free to have influence everywhere. Why should he go, he likes the publicity and notoriety. He doesn’t care too much about the stability of the Italian nation and people’s future And they didn’t take care themselves to seek out a serious-minded politician committed to policies and a direction good for the health and wealth of the country.
Health and wealth now that is a good slogan for a NZ politician to support. Will a celebrity such as smile and wave, once over lightly Key have policies advancing those for us all in his mind?
Another example where unbridled corporate MSM as frakked the political system.
Even though 99.9% of my friends despise him! One of my friends on Facebook managed a truly impressive shite storm of abuse about SB’s government tonight! 😀
Maybe that just reflects the friends I have?
Hi Prism, there is a major bit of action going on in Europe that will impact this elections winner big time…in short winning this time is the kiss of death. The Euro crisis is unfolding in a way which will see the failure of the European single currency and the total insolvency of the banks (unless bailed out by the public purse in a m. This contagion will spread like dominoes falling into the US and Asian banks. Concurrently we see Brent Crude stubbornly staying too high which will stifle any “growth” initiatives anywhere. The Arab Spring has turned into an Arab Autumn with no resolution of the key issues i.e. food prices, there is only trouble ahead there and we can expect Saudi political turmoil when the banking crash wipes out their “investments”.
When National resume their role as government of the day they will be looking straight down the barrel of collapsing markets and prices, and contagious financial mayhem. Tax cuts wont be affordable and I predict the inability to borrow offshore will see them rolled back, along with massive welfare and health cuts. Welcome to the “shrinking” economy, permanent growth will be a thing of the past.
The failure of all parties at this election is their commitment to business as usual with growth as their universal panacea. Ill fares the land.
I’m with you Bored, and don’t know where that leaves me in terms of who I want to take Government.
On one hand, I’d rather the Nat’s took it on the chin and had to live with the consequences of their ideology. And I’d rather Labour & Green didn’t get labelled with it.
On the other hand, I believe the Nats ( but to be fair probably the whole Establishment ) possibly have more of an Authoritarian bent, so Depression and ensuing social disintegration could be even nastier in their hands.
Contemplating not voting…
You have a voice – vote and make sure it is heard.
Abstaining is not a protest, it is silence – a silence that will be filled with the voices of others or taken as consent.
I know… I’m just concerned with the consequences either way, I guess what I’m saying is, Labour / Green may be better not to inherit the implosion of Europe and then Wall St as a byproduct of it’s $4 trillion exposure to Euro Banks. Perhaps Key’s ideology imploding on his watch is preferable?
Bored – It’s all so cheering isn’t it. You could be interested in the interview I heard on Radionz on Russia and its businesses and economy and laws after the fall of Stalinism. (I don’t say Communism as I understand there was only a brief attempt at the real deal in Russia.)
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p00ldy87
Three businessmen tell Peter Day about doing business in Russia. William Browder was an investment fund manager in the country who campaigned, with some success, against corruption and left the country, having moved all his company’s assets out, in 2007. He tells Peter Day about his experiences. And two current directors of companies in Moscow discuss what they think they can do to improve corporate governance there.
Drying intensifying wildfires, carbon release ninefold.
Drying of northern wetlands has led to much more severe peatland wildfires and nine times as much carbon released into the atmosphere, according to new research led by a University of Guelph professor.
The study, published today in Nature Communications, is the first to investigate the effect of drainage on carbon accumulation in northern peatlands and the vulnerability of that carbon to burning.
“Russia, Indonesia and Canada all have abundant peatlands, but they also have been hotspots for intense peat fires in the past decade,” said Guelph professor Merritt Turetsky, who worked on the study with William Donahue of the Water Matters Society of Alberta and Brian Benscoter from Florida Atlantic University.
In pristine states, peatlands often resist fire because of their wet soils. “Our study shows that when disturbance lowers the water table, that resistance disappears and peat becomes very flammable and vulnerable to deep burning,” she said.
Related: http://www.physorg.com/news/2011-07-largest-tundra-yields-scientific.html
Italy! Italy! Italy!
“The euro zone periphery was a sideshow. This stuff with Italy is the real deal. With yields at 6.7% and rising, it’s game over for the euro zone. The extend and pretend stuff ain’t gonna work.”
http://www.creditwritedowns.com/2011/11/italy-italy-italy.html
Key on Morning report- the easy problems are solved by others. the hard ones get to my desk
HA
SO THAT is why the hard problems are not solved or even have a plan.
Well, now we know how we ended up with a cycleway producing ~200 back office jobs.
So he’s saying his Ministers aren’t up to solving problems? Way to get behind your people there, John.
Are some of the commenters here real people?
Yesterday I read a comment that I’m sure was someone trying to parody the people they didn’t much like. It was excellently put together – a real collection of self-satisfied right-wing stereotypes. It even had an avatar!
Today there are people referencing talkback radio as a means of measuring poverty. It’s just too much. Between chuckling at the black humour, I’m having to second guess what I think are genuine contributions. My internet reality is getting distorted. Come on, admit it, who here is being the mischievous scallywag?
Fracking Earthquakes
It’s good to see the fracking issue being debated in the mainstream media. Being that a poll recently showed the environment is people’s number one concern, it’s important that a proper debate consisting of the facts is presented…
hey mickysavage. ipredict that kweewee will lose the election and ipredict that hooton will not get the vacant brt job.
Former IMF chief economist Simon Johnson says: ‘We Are Looking Straight Into The Face Of A Great Depression’
“We have built a dangerous financial system in the United States and Europe,” said the former chief economist at the International Monetary Fund. “We must step back and reform the system.”
Professor Johnson cited alarming parallels with October 1931, when “people thought the worst was behind them, but the smart people were wrong and instead the crisis just broadened.”
Previously: The Standard 8 April 2009
And as one of the comments states:
Europe’s leaders explain: “We don’t want elections. We want to govern.”
What caused the financial crisis? The Big Lie goes viral.
Why are people trying to rewrite the history of the crisis? Some are simply trying to save face. Interest groups who advocate for deregulation of the finance sector would prefer that deregulation not receive any blame for the crisis.
Some stand to profit from the status quo: Banks present a systemic risk to the economy, and reducing that risk by lowering their leverage and increasing capital requirements also lowers profitability. Others are hired guns, doing the bidding of bosses on Wall Street.
They all suffer cognitive dissonance — the intellectual crisis that occurs when a failed belief system or philosophy is confronted with proof of its implausibility.
And what about those facts? To be clear, no single issue was the cause. Our economy is a complex and intricate system. What caused the crisis? Look:
The main problem, of course, is that any global financial “correction” is inevitably going to impact most on those least to blame for the crisis and least able to insulate themselves from the ensuing mess.
It is always the poorest who bear the brunt of the blunders and excessive greed of the richest. It is unfair and will, I expect, provoke serious blowback for the suits this time around.
Has anyone from a bank or financial institution ever been indicted for the fraud that led to this crisis?
“A glass tower filled with people carefully selected for the polish and self-assurance that come with having been formed in institutions of privilege, whose primary attributes are a lack of consciousness, a penchant for deception and an incapacity for empathy or remorse. The curious onlookers behind the windows and we, arms locked in a circle on the concrete outside, did not speak the same language. Profit. Globalization. War. National security. These are the words they use to justify the snuffing out of tiny lives, acts of radical evil. Goldman Sachs’ commodities index….”
Brilliant piece from Pulitzer winning writer Chris Hedges arrested outside Goldman Sacs the other day…
http://www.truth-out.org/finding-freedom-handcuffs/1320678254
Some more thoughts for today
I’ve got a goodie that would compliment your offering, but no flicker account… any way to disseminate you can suggest…
I don’t know if you can submit it to the Standard boffins and they can forward it on?
Oh dear, I’m sure it’s an innocent mistake.
Goff’s top ten list of government failings, which the Herald lists two of links to a video of John Key and Nick Smith talking about employment.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10764588
RadioNZ Link
On the subject of Goff’s Top 10…key says
He said National had done the best it could in guiding New Zealand through the crises.
Yeah, a crisis he helped create with his trading in vapour and making money of the backs of people who work for a living!
Time to throw the money changer out of the halls of government!
WANKER WALLOPING
Liz Bowen-Cluely thrashes David Farrar live on air
National Radio “The Panel”, Tuesday 8 November 2011
Ouch! Did anyone else hear Liz deal it out to that National Party stooge a few minutes ago, calling his attack on Robyn Malcolm “balderdash” and telling him to “move on”?
The glib one (Farrar) was reduced to silence.
The other glib one (Jim Mora) was reduced to cracking a lame joke in an unsuccessful attempt to soothe the scorched sensibilities of the fat bloke.
I guess she’ll be banned!
I guess she’ll be banned!
Sadly, you could be correct. It’s a pity, as principled and eloquent confrontation is what that programme sorely needs much more of.
Why did she have to be so partisan?
How dare she express herself and try to shut down the type of pseudo-debate that has made us feel so comfortable in the past!
Public displays of passion like that is just oh so unbecoming for a woman?
Back to the kitchen I say – make me some eggs!
ps. Robyn, still waiting for that call – I’m still ready to carry your babies.
Anyone got the file??? I need a good laugh.
Bring back Bomber! but nice to hear the simpering gargoyle got a serve.
CV & Prism
‘Recreating Full Employment’ by Paul Dalziel – the most recent Bruce Jesson
Foundation lecture is now online:
http://www.brucejesson.com/lectures
Thanks Campbell L. Now I just have to get my adobe reader going and I’ll be away.
Yeah chur dude, most appreciated.
This is good:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2011/nov/07/one-per-cent-wealth-destroyers
What is it about the Kiwi psyche that whenever one of us is under scrutiny for our actions that we immediately go in to defend for that person.
The latest is this Williams-the-professional-golfer’s-caddy.
Seems we cannot bear to think that his actions might have been wrong. As always. it’s the other party’s fault.
I don’t know Williams in any personal way so I don’t know if he is, by nature (i.e. by continued mode of conduct and belief), a racist.
I think the use of black was a descriptor rather than a pejorative term.
He was not saying that he was an arsehole because he was black (which is racist – i.e. black people are by nature arseholes) but because of all the the arseholes in the world he is black. The use of black was to merely be descriptive (but it was unnecessary).
The world’s MSM are saying that he called Woods a black arsehole. Giving him the benefit of the doubt, which I think is a nice liberal enlightened idea, and in view of his apology and what others have said about Williams, he didn’t.
He said about his jubilation at winning was to show – “It was my aim to shove it right up that black arsehole”.
Perhaps the issue is rather about accuracy. Is his arsehole black?
Microphones on – priceless.