Prime Minister John Key made the transtasman exodus of New Zealanders a major election issue in 2008 but, as the Herald reported last week, far from dwindling, that flow has increased under his watch … unquote
-0.3% growth inreal terms since coming to power with the best commodity prices for years trickle down is actually trickle up as the OECD has pointed out.Spread some moiney around History has proven that it works!
If anyone needs the perfect example of why I grin and grimace at the same time when NZ First is described as being on the left of the political spectrum then newbie MP Richard Prosser has provided one.
His proposal to ban the burqa is dog whistle racist cant. Why using the full force of the law to stop women from deciding to wear a small piece of material is beyond me.
Not only this but he wishes to arm taxi drivers and bring back compulsory military training.
He has that loud opinionated shrill and stupid approach to politics that I despise.
NZF has always had its share of loony MP’s; Prosser is just a slightly less subtle Michael Laws. Have to disagree with your assessment of why women wear the burqa though; it’s not from their own choice, its a culturally enforced symbol of patriarchal ownership.
Once skimmed a column Richard Prosser penned in Ian Wisharts “Investigate” magazine, (in a waiting room) he appeared to have all the blustering insight of an inebriated talk back caller.
The sound of barrels being scraped must be quite usual at NZ1 candidate selections. Will Winston operate the choker chain on this loose cannon once he gauges reaction to his utterances?
I’ve noticed that virtually every medical-related waiting room I’ve been in for a couple of years, both at home and in Auckland, has been heavily stocked with “Investigate”. Way out of proportion to its small market niche. And while I’m thinking, I can think of a few public ‘bureaucratic’ waiting rooms stocked with many copies too.
I’m guessing Wishart either ‘donates’ them, or facilitates actual buyers doing so.
I don’t like the way the waiting room stacking (however it comes about) seems to lend the magazine a bit of undeserved credibility. You don’t expect to find extremist fringe propaganda, including religious dogma in such places.
“…it’s not from their own choice, its a culturally enforced symbol of patriarchal ownership…”
From a western perspective looking in, it may be a culturally enforced symbol etc etc. I’m not excusing the modern/practical abuses that are entertained under the guise of Islam by certain regimes and the kind of general manipulative ignorance found anywhere in the world, any more than I will say that Christianity is the sum total if it’s abuses. There are for sure “muslims” who would not wish to be muslims, but have no choice because of chance of birthplace. There will be those who barely fullfil the basic concepts of Islam and think themselves devout. But then there are true muslims who would take deep offence at being asked to remove symbols of the surrender to Allah.
From a muslim perspective looking out (going from memory here so apologies to any muslim readers) it is an attempt to bring the individual into the sanctuary of the temple, recreating the closeness to Allah; Allah is everywhere at all times, and a muslim can be close to Allah anywhere, but in the temple is to be closest. It is the act of submission and moving towards Allah that is responded to by Allah moving twice as rapidly towards the disciple – that makes a large theological difference.
I’ve strained most of the poetic beauty out of the concept as it was told to me originally, but just thought I’d offer that idea as I believe a better world encourages understanding of others from their perspective, not just that of the observer.
If we truly embrace the diversity of ideas, then we would accept that there are people who are different. Mr Prosser for example can have his opinion even if we disagree. Mr Brash can have his ideas about decriminalisation and Mr Banks can have his racist ideas and Mr Key can have his mean-spirited ideas about Education and Welfare. And those who wear the burqa are entitled to do so. We welcome diversity of ideas -don’t we?
Oh yes please, but they must live their ideals, themselves, and not be allowed to push them on the vulnerable or those who reject them. Any arguments that a muslim should in no way offend a taxi driver while a taxi driver may offend a muslim should be discussed. Please begin.
And would Banks, Brash and others please put forward the basis of their ideology too, explained in full from all angles, so we can see clearly what they stand for and what they seek.
The difference you’ll soon discover is that a muslim is obliged to reveal and face the source of their morality, whereas Banks and others will twist, turn and lie to either conceal theirs or avoid facing the truth. A muslim (theoretically) is not concerned with philosophy and politics, because his god outlines all there is, via the prophet. A politician will believe only in expediency because he is moving too fast or using false ideas.
RNZ breakfast show inter view with Prosser said a lot of these comments were taken out of context he said read investigate articles and see the real story.
The Right wing have selectively released parts of sentences and not the whole sentence.
Prosser also said he adheres to NZFirst policy and is a team player .
Depends on the person – I have a friend who wears the niqab from choice. Her husband would be quite happy for her not to. Many women wear the niqab/burqa for modesty or tradition – there was a most interesting RNZ item some time ago on this very subject.
Gross generalisations do not apply to most situations.
Annette – Gross generalisations do not apply to most situations.
We need to know more about the subject when referring to niqab/burqa as if they are just a different form of ordinary female clothing. These are extreme forms of human camouflage.
Burqa refers to the whole body covering that is needed in a country where in some places, in more traditional country areas, a woman can be condemned as loose if her eyes meet a man’s. And loose women may be dealt with terminally. (There have been many books written about the harsh penalties such as Burned Alive by Souad.) So the niqab which shows the eyes must seem quite an advance.
Many women and some men have fought for women’s rights and respect in New Zealand and it is an unsatisfactory situation if some women retreat from what has been achieved and cover themselves in tents even if it they say it’s their choice.
But there are other coverings that Islamic women wear that suffice to give comfort, modesty and religious conformity. The khima and chador both cover well leaving the face open. The niqab does this then other head coverings that are less extensive are hijab, al-amira and shayla. All these should be accepted by all as respecting Islamic choice and precepts, just as we accept Sikh headgear. It is only the burqa that obliterates the person’s appearance to others.
Here is a good information link. http://www.apologeticsindex.org/505-muslim-veils-hijab-burqa
Sorry, while I can’t speak personally, I do know a woman, a divorced, single, educated, professional woman, who chooses to wear the burqa and who challenges anyone who thinks she does it because she’s been forced to by anyone – she wears it because she wants to. That is all.
Prosser raised some ‘interesting’ ideas, none of which have much chance of progressing. You have to wonder why he was put at 4 on the NZ First list, but one of his quips…
“As recently as 1973 every bank in New Zealand had a pistol under the counter and tellers undertook regular revolver training.
“Whose brilliantly stupid idea was it for that policy to be abandoned?”
In a firm I worked for in the sixties the pay clerk who collected the weekly pay from the bank carried a gun, and the briefcase containing the money was handcuffed to his left wrist.
NZ1st is left of Labour but not actually of the left. They’re also far more authoritarian – almost as much so as National and Act – which is where the cries for conformity come from. John Banks is another good example of this authoritarianism.
BTW, The burqa is the full body covering so not a small bit of cloth. That would be the niqab. Plenty of women wear them voluntarily and it’s not our place to tell them what to wear.
Yep pays to remember that NZ First originally appeared out of the socially conservative, though far more socially responsible wing of the National Party. The one which rejected the tenets of corporatist neo-liberalism. Old fashioned ‘wet’ Tories in other words.
Apparently Walt was obsessed with the idea that his writers were all closeted reds and that they were manipulating the various cartoon characters to undermine capitalism. He used to pore over scripts looking for signs of a pink tinge before OK’ing production and once referred to the Screen Actors Guild as a communist front, which must have come as a surprise to the organisation’s leaders, who included the well known lefty Ronald Reagan.
Prosser from NZFirst is a strange individual but it’s even stranger that Labour supporters are complaining about a member of a possible coalition party they were happy to utilize under MMP.
Politics makes for strange bed fellows it seems.
[source for Labour complaining about Prosser? Eddie]
How is it strange that Labour Party members are complaining about someone who is advocating introducing firearms on to our streets, who is a climate change denier, and who is dismissive of others’ religious and cultural traditions to the point of authoritarianism?
Jester – look at the vile racist filth that inhabits comments on Kiwiblog and Whale Oil. And National was in coalition with the Maori Party for three years. At least here the focus is the man’s ideas, not the colour of his skin.
Data obtained by Amnesty International shows that the US has repeatedly transferred ammunition to Egypt despite security forces’ violent crackdown on protesters.
The capitalist running dogs are profiting from the unrest. One wonders if they intentionally create conflicts to keep their weapons manufacturers happy.
Well, US corporations had lucrative existing munitions supply contracts with the Mubarak regime (even if most of them were paid for out of US Government funds anyway), why cancel them just because a new dictatorship is now in charge? Another day, another dollar.
Really Vernon? Shearer was endearing last night but hardly ‘landslide’ worthy and everyone I spoke to after the meeting was having trouble choosing and couldn’t make up their minds. Why? All four were superb.
But made up my mind last night. Cunliffe and Mahuta. Cunliffe needs to do some work on how he presents but he hit the right points for me last night – and both of them were able to provide more specific answers when pressed on how to fix things.
Again, it was a superb evening. National should be crapping their pants.
I was watching all of them through the Crosby Trextor lens last night – ie. what spin lines will stick in critiquing them. Cunliffe comes across as a little ‘smarmy’ – his jokes are a little forced, a little ‘I’m funny and you know it’. And he’s got to do something about his smile when he’s listening, waiting. He’s very polished and that might actually work against him against Shearer (and indeed Key) who come off as a bit rougher.
It’s all style though, CV, something that a good PR expert could fix in no time. I hate having to pick people apart like this but it’s the game the Nats have excelled in with Key and we need to take the fight to them. Substance-wise I’ve always been impressed by him and last night he sealed it for me.
I’d generally say – relax. Try not to be so earnest and precise about nearly everything. Show a bit of fun and spontenaity. You have a huge smile- use it naturally. Humanise your opponent, don’t talk about him as ‘my opponent’ – you guys are going to have to work together no matter what the outcome so make it clear that bygones will be bygones after the vote and that party unity is paramount.
(note that I’ve not seen much of the two in the last few days, this is based on the election campaign and immediate post election period so he may be presenting slightly differently. With Shearer I’d say he needs to sharpen up in look and ideas. He is way too vague and the over relaxed image may not survive the hard grillings he’s likely to get in the selection process. I think he needs more solidity behind his vague concepts of ‘reform’. A bit too ‘third way’ for my liking.)
From what I have seen on the blogs, party members and supporters seem to largely prefer Cunliffe while those who get to vote reportedly favour Shearer. This leaves me hoping to hell that they listen to us, and are not just going through an “inclusive” exercise trundling them around the country.
I am most concerned that those who get to vote may consider that “we have lost the centre & need to move to the centre to get it back” – a concern exacerbated by Shearer’s use of the term “the hopes & aspirations of all NZers.” My question is, move to the centre from where?”
A brief potted history: By the 70s, liberal politics joined class politics, & while they were not 100% compatible at all times, they were able to function as a left wing. In the eighties Labour dumped the class politics and retained what remained its left wing credentials through liberal politics. The Clark government moved toward the centre from the Rogernomic outskirts, reasonably thinking that people had put up with enough disruption, & that the markets had matured enough for a new accommodation to be wrought, one that was not so unjust. This hope became untenable by 2008, but was reasonable at the time. Enter John Key who did not so much move toward the centre as woo it and bide his time, with a second term in mind. He wooed the centre so as to allay the fear many had of a right wing government, and this is the point of this whole paragraph: those who think that the centre is where it’s at forget about the fear factor.
Both Helen Clark and John Key moved decisively to the centre (or in Key’s case pretended to) at least partly to allay fears. No one presently fears the Labour Party, and if it is going to gain traction, it needs someone who is going to scare the horses a bit. Cunliffe is far more likely to do that than Shearer.
All four are impressive but quite different. My main worry about Cunliffe is that although he is a very good speaker, he doesn’t seem to be a team player and could quite easily alienate people.
Actually, if you look at his bio & Standard posts, Cunliffe seems to have worked very well in teams before he got into politics. And comments from people active in his electorate describe him as working very well in his electorate team.
The fact that there are millions of assault weapons in civilian US hands and a few hundred thousand vets from recent Afghanistan and Iraqi campaigns kicking around the US, makes me think that the original rationale for ‘the right to bear arms’ might just be coming valid again.
I used to be a consummate Pacifist but if I was in the US right now, I’d be carrying. Better to go down fighting instead of being a sheeple. Absolutely terrifying.
Auckland Council vs occupy auckland is currently being heard in an Auckland court. Penny Bright has been on the stand critquing the Auckland Council actions and statements on the issue, making some references to law, Bill of Rights etc.
I’ve been reading Debt: The First 5,000 Years by David Graeber. I’m only a couple of chapters in but it’s got these sentences in it:-
In [Adam] Smith’s time, at least it could be said that reliable information on Native American economic systems was unavailable in Scottish libraries. But by mid-century, Lewis Henry Morgan’s descriptions of the Six Nations of the Iroquois, among others, were widely published – and they made it clear that the main economic institution among the Iroquois were longhouses where most goods were stockpiled and then allocated by women’s councils, and no one ever traded arrowheads for slabs of meat. Economists simply ignored this information.
He’s going on about the Myth of Barter (Chapter 2). It seems even the most basic assumption of economists, that people started bartering and thus invented money to make things easier, is wrong.
If you want to study economics then study history – you’ll learn more and what you learn is more likely to be correct than if you study an economics text book.
Karl Polanyi also provided an interesting debunking of the myth that humans are naturally inclined to “truck and barter” in his 1940s tome “The Great Transformation”. Prior to the advent of Western capitalism, most societies got by just fine on the systems of economic reciprocity, redistribution, and domestic householding.
Several other people arrested in the drug bust also appeared in court, including a company director, but they sought continued name suppression.
Now this guy, once found guilty, needs to be banned from being a director/manager or business owner for a time. I’d go for 5 years – same as bankruptcy. Why? Because he’s shown himself unfit to be such.
To be a company director all you need to do is pay $150 to Companies Office to get a company registered and get yourself listed as a director. I wouldn’t get too excited about what he calls himself.
it’s not about size it’s about relevance. lots of people commit crimes like assault but don’t get banned from say driving. It appears you just want to ban him because you assume he is a rich prick
Auckland-based
Company Director
Chair – IAG New Zealand Limited; IAG New Zealand Holdings Limited
Director – Fletcher Building Limited; Rubicon Limited; Vector Limited; Insurance Australia Group Limited; IAG Finance (New Zealand) Limited; NGC Holdings Limited; NZI Staff Superannuation Fund Nominees Limited
Member – Australian and New Zealand Advisory Board of L.E.K. Consulting
Trustee – Dilworth Trust; New Zealand Portrait Gallery; The University of Auckland Foundation
First appointed 10 June 2002 – current term expires 9 June 2012
And a member of the trilateral commission just like Mike Moore. That’s the old boy network at work for ya!
Just think how much better things are than they were. In the past those who got in the way of rampant capitalism were killed ‘security’ forces.
‘On May 4, l970 members of the Ohio National Guard fired into a crowd of Kent State University demonstrators, killing four and wounding nine Kent State students.’
‘The Ludlow Massacre was an attack by the Colorado National Guard on a tent colony of 1,200 striking coal miners and their families at Ludlow, Colorado on April 20, 1914.
The massacre resulted in the violent deaths of between 19 and 25 people; sources vary but all sources include two women and eleven children, asphyxiated and burned to death under a single tent. The deaths occurred after a day-long fight between strikers and the Guard.’
Better not mention the Maori Land Wars. They had ‘nothing’ to do with rampant capitalism.
Whereas those who worked for rampant capitalism got terrible diseases or died as a consequence.
Even those unfortunate enough to be born near industrial activity frequently suffer, of course,
‘study history – you’ll learn more and what you learn is more likely to be correct than if you study an economics text book.’
Very true.
The problem is, which version of history. Much of what is promulgated as history by the mainstream is not what actually happened, or has been given spin by the empire. The events of 9/11 are a prime example.
Modern economics is a complete fabrication, built on misinformation and bizarre theories, some of which are fairly recent and others that go right back to the time of John Locke (they may not have seemed bizarre to people of his time).
The fundamental [false] assumptions of economics are what are going to bring the current sytem crashing down shortly.
One way of thinking about modern economics is that we are caught up in a ‘game’ that has a life expectancy of 420 years (plus or minus 15 years) and we are now in the 402nd year.
The problem is, which version of history. Much of what is promulgated as history by the mainstream is not what actually happened, or has been given spin by the empire.
Agreed. That’s why I tend to read multiple sources and then to think about what I’ve read.
Modern economics is a complete fabrication, built on misinformation and bizarre theories…
One of the fairly recent ones is the myth based around the Tragedy of the Commons. In the economic myths this is used to promote privatisation over common ownership. They ignore the simple fact that such commons have always had rules and regulations about their use which completely removes the tragedy. They also ignore the fact that privatisation without regulation is what’s leading to resource depletion, pollution and Climate Change.
Talking about new MPs – I was impressed with Andrew Little on Back Benchers last night – he and Catherine Delahunty made David Bennett look the inept MP he appears to me to be. Andrew should go far.
The history of ancient climate changes, which occurred over millions of years in the planet’s history as it moved in and out of ice ages, offers the best insight into how humans’ greenhouse gas emissions will alter the planet, Hansen said here today (Dec. 6) at the annual American Geophysical Union (AGU) meeting. And his research suggests the climate is more sensitive to greenhouse gas emissions than had been suspected.
“What the paleoclimate record tells us is that the dangerous level of global warming is less than what we thought a few years ago,” Hansen said. “The target that has been talked about in international negotiations for 2 degrees of warming is actually a prescription for long-term disaster.”
Paleoclimate data yield our best assessment of climate sensitivity, which is the eventual global temperature change in response to a specified climate forcing. A climate forcing is an imposed change of Earth’s energy balance, as may be caused, for example, by a change of the sun’s brightness or a human-made change of atmospheric CO2. For convenience scientists often consider a standard forcing, doubled atmospheric CO2, because that is a level of forcing that humans will impose this century if fossil fuel use continues unabated.
the Clark government (nine years of it! ) set up all the preconditions for the collapse we will witness over the next three years
like those disastrous surpluses. Fortunately the fiscally prudent Nats have have remedied that problem
No, when thinking of the failures of the Clark government I was thinking more in terms of the promotion of an economy predicated on perpetual growth (which is impossible on a finite planet and is grinding to halt right now because it is a mathematical impossibility) and the promoting of looting of natural resources and turning them into waste by corporations.
I was thinking more in terms of the abysmal failure of the Clark government with respect to local government of 2002 (ever read any of it Brooklyn?), i.e. permitting city and district councils to present, and then accepting from them, so-called 10 year plans which do not mention one factor that will determine the future ,plans that read like touurism brochures and are much use to the community as tourism brochures.
I was thinking more in terms of Cullen pouring hundreds of milions of dollars into the banksters’ international Ponzi scheme and losing much of it for us.
I was thinking in terms of the national debt, which went up under Clark, raher than the government’s fiscal balance.
I was thinking of the urban sprawl and in-fill housing, the leaky home sydrome, the box-store ‘development’ and covering of agricultural land that the Clark government encouraged. I was thinking of the huge waste of resources that went into road transport infrastructure when we were ‘at or close to peak oil’, as acknowledged by Helen Clark.
Sabotage (especially of the next generation’s future) is the word that always comes to mind when I think of Helen Clark and Michael Cullen.
Of course, those who only look at superficialities never see the big picture.
[lprent: And I’m thinking that you’re getting way off the point of the post and moved into speech mode. So I have moved your comment to OpenMike. ]
afew that ponzi scheme has grown by nearly $6billion since this govt took office without any further contribution. Clark and Cullen rescued and resuscitated rail. you such a pessimist time to go and get your prescription filled out. Better still join the Scientology movement they have plenty of conspiracy theories and doomsday dates.
AFKTT is pretty much right on this one. There aren’t enough chairs to go around and the bankster owned DJ is about to stop playing. Europe goes down first., and soon.
r0b – I don’t think Tigger is referring to the govt. The article is about how WINZ will now be requiring those with HIV/AIDS on the sickness benefit to be work-tested. Tigger is alluding (ironically) to “solution” preferred by Adolf Hitler and co.
Cameron Slater and his Wail oily mates were most vehemently and frothingly accusing the Greens and Labor of being virtually culpable for murder over the Pike River mine tragedy.
Now under oath evidence is coming out about the covering of gas safety sensors with plastic bags to prioritize profits over safety, and also other serious Health&Safety regulatory deficiencies…
I’m wondering if Mr Slater and his cohorts will take a step back and acknowledge that the environmental policies of the Labor and the Greens weren’t the actual cause for this tragedy.
My gut feeling is you won’t hear a peep from them about these revelations. I really can’t be assed dredging through whaleoil to see if that’s the case, so if Slater/team-WO is trolling this forum: What is your take on these revelations?
Full credit to this enlightened and sensible policing by Auckland Central Police which is respecting the basic democratic rights of New Zealanders.
1) “…Police is aware that Council has issued trespass notices to the occupiers of Aotea Square. Having considered all the circumstances, including that the occupiers are protestors exercising rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and freedom of expression, Police has formed the view that there is not currently legal justification for Police to forcibly remove those in the square pursuant to a criminal trespass…”
Andrew D Coster
Inspector
Area Commander
Auckland City Central
(Quote from ‘Letter for Consideration in the Auckland District Court Auckland Council v The Occupiers of Aotea Square, Auckland CIV-2011-404-002497 7 December 2011 )
2) How many Kiwibloggers support Auckland ratepayers monies being wasted on unnecessary Court proceedings because the Auckland Council Manager for Risk and Assurance Natalie Verdouw didn’t properly double-check her purported and unsubstantiated telephone conversation with Andrew Hendrie “He told me no resolutions had been made”, regarding a collective response from the Occupy Auckland General Assembly to requests from Mayor Len Brown?
This was NOT true, and the evidence to support this is a letter addressed to Mayor Len Brown dated 27 November 2011, which was was annexed to the ‘Supplementary Affidavit of Natalie Louise Verdouw dated 2 December 2011′.
Why weren’t these unnecessary and precipitious court proceedings immediately stopped, once it was realised that Ms Verdouw had made this serious FACTUAL error?
Doesn’t the buck for ‘operational’ matters stop with the CEO of Auckland Council Doug McKay?
Why didn’t HE step in and stop proceedings?
How come he didn’t even put in an affidavit?
There were a number of affidavits filed by some of the Auckland Council ‘Indians’ – how about the ‘Chief’?
How ‘accountable’ is THAT?
Or is this really all about unlawful discrimination on the basis of political opinion, by some senior Auckland Council staff and some elected representatives?
(Tomorrow should be VERY interesting in Court! 🙂
Penny Bright
Named ‘Respondent’ in the above-mentioned proceedings – who did not ask to go to Court.
(But who WILL defend herself). [email deleted]
Re: Andrew Little – At Pike River, Miners union (EPMU and forerunner) failed in representing workers industrial health and safety interests – with pay and benefits the most basic of workers welfare interests – (which of course includes monitoring performance by Dept. Labour of mining safety responsibilities). Basically this is the fault of trade union membership who have permitted a takeover of their union (and trade unions generally) by people from the urban educated liberal elite who see themselves more as part of the “labour movement” than as trade union activists. This description appears to fit Andrew little miners union/EPMU Little General Secretary for 11 years until recently – 2011 election Labour candidate for New Plymouth (and perhaps also predecessor Rex Jones) during which 11 years the rot set into mining safety – following the destruction of regulation by previous National Governments (left unremedied). Both Jones and Little found time to be President of the NZ Labour Party at the same time as being EPMU General Secretary. Mr Little apparently wasn’t likely to robustly challenge the industrial safety policy failures of Labour Government Ministers of Labour and dereliction of public duty by Dept.of Labour chiefs.
[lprent: IMHO: just another fool from offshore ranting about something that they know even less on than I do (and I have never been in a union). Why do I get the impression that this has all just been copied from somewhere, given a theoretical faith driven spin and dumped here by a troll. If someone wants to convince people then this isn’t the way. It is just meaningless drivel where assertions are mixed with fact without a sustaining argument. It is symptomatic of the idiots that I usually just trash first comments from. I figure that if they can’t argue then they are unlikely to survive here. I’ll let this one through for peoples amusement. ]
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It should be obvious by now but let’s be clear: The same folk who regularly traffic in disinformation, misinformation and “fake news” are also those who most strongly claim that their freedom of expression rights are being violated when moves are made to curb hate speech (as opposed to protected ...
Michael SchulsonWhen Shane Burcaw flies on an airplane, he brings along a customized gel cushion, a car seat, and about 10 pieces of memory foam. The whole arsenal costs around $1,000, but for Burcaw it’s a necessity. The 27-year-old author and speaker — who, alongside his fiancée, Hannah ...
We are very pleased to publish this submission is from Lucinda Stoan. She is a social justice activist, mother, and educator, based in Washington State in the US. This detailed and comprehensive source-linked overview of trans issues and what is at stake will be useful for many people, especially in ...
New Zealand's Underarm Banker: It bears recalling that the “independence” of the Reserve Bank Governor was for decades held up by neoliberal capitalists as the most compelling justification for passing the Reserve Bank Act. Interesting, is it not, how the ruling class’s support for the Bank’s independence lasted no longer than ...
Rubbish In, Rubbish Out: Put all this together, and it’s difficult to avoid the conclusion that anyone who responds positively to a pollster’s request to “answer a few questions” is just ever-so-slightly weird. Desperately lonely? Some sort of psephological train-spotter? Political party member primed to skew the poll for or against ...
“Free at last, Free at last, Thank God almighty we are free at last.” ― Martin Luther King Jr. A long and bitter court feud between former Conservative Party leader Colin Craig and Jordan Williams has been settled, with an apology and compensation from Williams. On Tuesday, Craig sent out ...
Some people seem to want to close down any critical discussion of the current research into the relationship between water fluoride and child IQ. They appear to argue that claims made by researchers should not be open to critical review and that the claims be accepted without proper consideration ...
The government has been congratulating itself over the passage of the Zero Carbon Act, which sets out long-term emissions targets. Meanwhile, Climate Action Tracker has the shameful reality: those targets are insufficient:While New Zealand is showing leadership by having passed the world’s second-ever Zero Carbon Act in November 2019, under ...
The government introduced a Racing Industry Bill today. As an urban who horse racing as pointless-to-cruel, and gambling as a tax on stupidity and/or hope, this isn't normally a bill which would interest me in the slightest, beyond grumpiness at more government money for a dying industry. But there is ...
Check. Check. One, two, three, four. Is this thing ON? Hello readers, I logged in last night (yeah, it’s been a while) to mark THE END of the landmark legal case, Jordan Williams v Colin Craig, which (gulp) reached The Supreme Court, in which New Zealand’s most-defamed man was suing the politician he ...
Before The Birth: Israel’s most fervent supporters set their clocks ticking in Biblical times. They cite the kingdoms of David and Solomon as proof that, in the words of the Exodus movie’s theme-song: “This land is mine.” The majority of Israel’s backers, however, start their clocks in 1933 – the year Adolf ...
In an unreliable, strange and confusing world, Public Address is proud to present a measure of comfort and stability by annually asking everyone what words or phrases sum up the year that's been – and then giving some of them consumer goods as prizes for being clever or simply lucky.Well, ...
Both my parents are pretty handy – and they seem to have the right tools for most jobs in the garage and they know how to fix practically anything. A similar story could be told about their generation’s experience in the workforce – being a generalist was not unusual and ...
When it was revealed that NZ First had tried to enrich itself from public office via the Provoncial Growth Fund, the Prime Minister assured us that everything was OK as Shane Jones, the Minister responsible for the fund, had recused himself. Except it seems that that recusal came very late ...
Today is a Member's Day, and probably the last one of the year. After the marathon of the End of Life Choice Act, most of the bills up for debate today are uncontentious. First up is the second reading of Chlöe Swarbrick's Election Access Fund Bill. This will be followed ...
The Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade Committee has reported back on the government's odious and tyrannical control orders bill. As expected, the fraudulent select committee process has made no significant changes (partly because they couldn't agree, but mostly because it was a stitch-up from the start, with no intention of ...
Yesterday, the government released its draft Cannabis Legalisation and Control Bill, which will be put to a non-binding referendum at the next election. I'm not a drug policy expert, but Russell Brown is, and he thinks its pretty good. And pretty obviously, it will be a massive improvement on the ...
As you're probably aware, the draft bill outlining the proposed legal cannabis regime to be put to a referendum late next year was published yesterday, and has already attracted a flurry of comment. It's notable that a good deal of the comment is about proposals that aren't actually new.A minimum ...
One of the big problems in New Zealand climate change policy is the government working at cross-purposes with itself. It wants to reduce fossil fuel use, but encourages oil and gas exploration. It wants to reduce transport emissions, but then builds enormous new roads. The problem could be avoided if ...
Climate Explained is a collaboration between The Conversation, Stuff and the New Zealand Science Media Centre to answer your questions about climate change.If you have a question you’d like an expert to answer, please send it to climate.change@stuff.co.nzAccording to the United Nations, food shortages are a threat ...
Last year, the government announced it was ending offshore oil exploration by no longer issuing new permits. The idea was that the industry would then die off as permits expired. Except almost immediately the government revealed its bad faith, by saying they would extend permits and alter conditions to keep ...
The government introduced the Education and Training Bill to Parliament yesterday. Its a massive bill, which replaces both existing Education Acts, as well as various other bits of legislation (including some which are still proceeding through the House). I'll leave the serious analysis to teachers and people who actually know ...
Amelia SharmanThere’s no one-size-fits-all when it comes to micro-credentials, those bits of bite-sized learning that can help workers stay on top of technological change. What’s a micro-credential? While definitions vary, micro-credentials can be understood as short courses that allow people to learn new skills or have an existing competency recognised. ...
All Smiles Now: Claire Szabo is taking up her presidential role after serving as the CEO of Habitat For Humanity. Which is absolutely perfect! After KiwiBuild was so comprehensively mismanaged by Phil Twyford, the party has not only elected a new president from a thoroughly respectable not-for-profit, but one who ...
While much of the NZ left has transitioned to postmodern and identity politics in relation to transgender ideology, there are some very good articles about that deploy Marxist methodology in relation to this subject. The one below is from the British marxist group Counterfire and appeared on their site here ...
by Daphna Whitmore At Golden Oaks, a luxurious country retreat in the Hudson Valley, pregnant women have the best care money can buy. From the organic food, personalised exercise programmes, private yoga instruction and daily massages Golden Oaks looks like a country lodge for the upper class. Set some time ...
When Labour was running for election in 2017, it felt it needed to demonstrate "fiscal responsibility" and signed itself up to masochistic "budget responsibility rules". It was a fool's errand: the sorts of voters who demand fiscal responsibility are also the sorts of voters who believe that labour can never ...
Writing in Stuff, Joel MacManus looks at what we need to do to meet the Zero Carbon Act's targets. The core of it:1. Convert 85 per cent of vehicles on the road to electric. 2. Eliminate fossil fuels from all industrial heating up to 300 degrees Celsius. 3. Double our ...
Professors Janet Hoek and Richard Edwards, Emeritus Professor Phil Gendall, Jude Ball, Dr Judith McCool, Anaru Waa, Dr Becky FreemanRecent media reports have presented conflicting evidence on youth vaping in NZ. While some NZ school principals report concerns about increasing vaping on school grounds and confiscating vapes, ASH Year ...
“America the Beautiful!”, staunch defender of democracy, freedom and… a whole lot of despotic tyrants that play nice with what is called “the Washington Consensus.” America is indeed capable of immense good, but like any Nation, and most assuredly any aspirant to the mantle of Empire, great, immense evil. All ...
Image credit:The beginner’s guide to blogging I notice a few regulars no longer allow public access to the site counters. This may happen accidentally when the blog format is altered. If your blog is ...
1080 is used to control pests in NZ. Its use is contested by a noisy few. A new report claims high levels of 1080 in rats washed up on a beach. Flora and Fauna of Aotearoa (F&F) won’t name the laboratory that did their testing. It has sparked a hunt ...
What Kind Of Empire? The thing for Kiwis to decide is what kind of empire they want to belong to. The kind that, while offering its own citizens democratic rights, demands absolute obedience from its “friends”? Or, the kind that, while authoritarian at home, takes a relaxed attitude to the ...
It hasn't been a good week for the Conservatives, pollwise. All major recent polls are showing their lead shrinking.Comparing each pollster's current (between 29/11 and 22/11) and previous most recent poll.Com Res - Conservative lead down 3 points.You Gov - Conservative lead down 1 point.Kantar - Conservative lead down 4 ...
Within quick succession, Countdown maths wizard and twitterer Rachel Riley, alleged comedian David Baddiel and prominent lawyer Andrew Julius have all expressed very similar opinions / ideas:
These #3billboards are going round London today, organised by ex-Labour people, horrified by what their party has become. Their principles haven’t changed, they’re ...
So, there have been a bunch of bad polls out for Labour, and even the Leftie's friend, Survation, have recently given the Conservatives a rip-snorting 11% lead. You Gov's much vaunted MRP poll - which pretty much nailed the result in 2015 - is currently predicting a comfortable majority for ...
The European Parliament has voted overwhelmingly to declare a climate emergency:The European parliament has declared a global “climate and environmental emergency” as it urged all EU countries to commit to net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. The vote came as scientists warned that the world may have already crossed ...
Pure Fear: Worse than Heroin, this drug’s addictive power was terrifying. People under its influence didn’t drift off to Elysium. Nor did it persuade inadequate individuals that they could conquer the world. No, this drug – pure crystal methamphetamine, “P” for short – unlocked the gates of Hell itself. It ...
As the rate of measles infection, and of deaths, continues to climb in Samoa, antivaccination activists infectious disease proponents seem intent on doubling down on their claims about vaccination. (Check pretty much any news-media FB post about measles & you’ll see exactly what I mean.) Unfortunately, some of them have ...
Samoa are experiencing a devastating measles epidemic. It is possible that 2-3% of the population will ultimately be infected by the time it is over. Hopefully the mass immunisation campaign currently under way can mitigate some of this, for many it is too late. The first question many people ask ...
Meghan Murphy is a Canadian writer and journalist She runs the Feminist Current website which she founded in 2012. She was a keynote speaker for the Feminism2020 conference in Wellington this month. When Massey University cancelled the original venue booking Feminism2020 was hosted in Parliament by MP David Seymour. Meghan ...
Text and photos by Gearóid Ó Loingsigh Colombia has lived through one week of protests against the economic measures taken by president Duque. What looked like a protest that would fizzle out after its first day on November 21st is still going strong. Part of the reason for the continuance ...
Around a million billion pass through you each second, almost all originating from our sun, but few of them are likely to interact with you enroute. I was reading in a physics magazine earlier in the week about the nature of neutrinos. These are extremely numerous elementary particles, but only ...
By Pallab GhoshThere’s value in covering new research advances, even when the underlying science is unsettled. But there are also risks.The recent announcement that scientists discovered water on the planet K2-18b, 110 light years away, prompted a media swoon. News stories, including a piece written by me, billed ...
I wrote this review a couple of years ago when I was still in the process of getting my head around the politics of transgenderism, and specifically the claim that intersex conditions lend support to the notion that sex is ‘socially constructed’. Since writing this review I have come across ...
Climate Explained is a collaboration between The Conversation, Stuff and the New Zealand Science Media Centre to answer your questions about climate change.If you have a question you’d like an expert to answer, please send it to climate.change@stuff.co.nzHow much does our use of air travel contribute to the ...
Minor planet/asteroid (2309) Mr. Spock is named not for the character in Star Trek, but for a cat that was itself imperturbable, logical, intelligent and had pointed ears. In a preceding blog post I introduced one of my favourite asteroids, (2472) Bradman, and also mentioned (6581) Sobers amongst a few ...
Today the death toll from measles in Samoa rose to 32. All but four of the dead were less than 5 years old. Absolutely terrible, heartbreaking, news. That statistic alone should be enough to give the lie to the common claim by antivaccination activists plague enthusiasts that “measles is a ...
by Gearóid Ó Loingsigh It is late here in Bogotá, almost 11.30pm on Monday the 25th of November as I write this. The day began full of hope with yet more massive marches throughout the country, a mix of the International Day of Non-Violence Against Women and the National Strike. ...
Anti-fluoride activists are rubbing their hands in glee over what they claim is “yet another study” showing fluoride harms the brains of children. But their promotion relies on IQ relationships which the paper’s authors acknowledge disappearing when outliers or other factors are considered. And they completely ignore other relationships ...
New Zealand First MP Darroch Ball’s bill introducing a six-month minimum sentence for assaults on first responders has passed its first reading in Parliament. Mr Ball said the new offence of "injuring a first responder or prison officer with intent" would target people who attacked paramedics, police, firefighters, and corrections ...
New Zealand First leader Winston Peters gave his final interview for 2019 on The Country to tell farmers they have never had it better under the current coalition Government. “Here you've got these record returns [for farmers]. These returns would be nothing like a record if the currency under the ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters said that New Zealand's Cook Islands High Commissioner, Tessa Temata, has died over the weekend. Ms Temata, 52, died in Palmerston North and had returned to New Zealand for medical treatment. She was the first New Zealand High Commissioner to the Cook Islands of Cook Island ...
A new defence report has mapped out how New Zealand's soldiers will navigate rising seas, and a year after the Defence Force announced its need to prepare for climate change. In the “Responding to the Climate Crisis” report, the Force restates its operational plan and sets goals to tackle climate ...
Mark Patterson, Spokesperson for Primary Industries New Zealand First spokesperson for Primary Industries, Mark Patterson, has called for awareness to be raised and more stringent biosecurity checks to be put in place for African Swine Fever (ASF), a widespread virus that is uncontrolled in most of Asia and a serious ...
Jenny Marcroft MP, Spokesperson for Human Rights A critical step has been taken to end gender based violence against women and girls in Parliament this evening. New Zealand First Spokesperson for Human Rights Jenny Marcroft MP has welcomed the passing of the first reading of the Crimes (Definition of Female ...
New Zealand First MP Shane Jones says it's time to recognise market forces haven't led to the expected reduction in Māori smoking rates and try a new approach. The Party had recently invoked the agree to disagree clause in their Coalition Agreement with the Labour Party, and will not support ...
Live from the Whanganui Opera House, on the final day of the 2019 Labour Party Conference, Jacinda Ardern announced the largest investment in school property in 25 years. ...
The Coalition Government will be banning foreign donations to political parties and candidates, ahead of next year’s general elections. Legislation will be introduced to Parliament and passed under urgency – emphasising the need for such restrictions to safeguard our democracy. The bill introduces a new requirement that party secretaries and ...
Associate Transport Minister Shane Jones opened Taipā's $19 million bridge recently, improving transport infrastructure in the Northland region. The two-lane bridge is 107m long with a 2.5m-wide shared walking and cycling path, and will reduce the congestion that the old one-lane bridge was notorious for. The project had also included ...
The Overseas Investment Office have rejected the application of Mercury Agriculture LP, which is 92 per cent controlled by Canadian interests, to purchase more than 2000 hectares of South Canterbury and Otago land. Mercury wanted to buy 2000ha at Rangitata, 1494ha near Ashburton, 816ha near Cromwell and 212ha near Temuka. ...
This weekend was Labour's 103rd Party Conference! We welcomed over 500 of our Labour whānau in red to Whanganui, where we reflected on the last two years in Government, and looked ahead to 2020 and beyond. We know the long-term challenges facing New Zealand won't be tackled overnight, but we're making ...
Regional Economic Development Minister Shane Jones announced that the Provincial Growth Fund will invest $9.6 million to seal the final unsealed section of State Highway 43 from Stratford to Taumarunui. The Minister said sealing the 12-kilometre gravel section of the highway – also called the “Forgotten World Highway” - through ...
Former Finance Minister and former chair of the Tax Working Group, Sir Michael Cullen, has voiced his support for New Zealand First’s decision to oppose the planned increase in tobacco excise tax. In an interview with The Weekend Collective, he said that increasing the price was no longer effective in ...
Māori are natural storytellers. On the marae we use stories to tell our history, to teach the next generation life lessons and to let people know, in our most creative of ways, who we are and where we have come from. ...
Rt Hon Winston Peters, New Zealand First Leader New Zealand First has invoked the ‘Agree to Disagree’ provisions of the Coalition Agreement because it cannot support the announced 11.46 percent increase in the tobacco excise from 1 January 2020. “Studies show that the automatic tobacco excise increases are having less effect ...
Taupō-based company Geo40 has made a breakthrough in extracting near battery-grade lithium from geothermal fluid which its says could be a gamechanger. Its chief executive John Worth said the earth mineral was highly prized, with battery-grade lithium selling for US$10,000 (NZ$15,600) a tonne. Geo40 was founded in 2010 to find ...
Crown research institute AgResearch Ltd, as part of its Future Footprint plan, had intended to relocate top scientists and support staff — particularly those focused on sheep genetics and genomics — from Invermay to Lincoln. However, those plans seem to have been shelved at the request of the Coalition Government. ...
Ten engineering firms in Southland are receiving a total of $2.13 million in Provincial Growth Fund funding to lift productivity and create new jobs. Regional Economic Development Minister Shane Jones announced in Invercargill that the 10 engineering and manufacturing firms would receive funding to assist them with buying equipment that ...
The number of new residents to New Zealand is the lowest it has been in nearly two decades and it has earned the ire of the immigration industry. The industry alleges that 'Trump-style extreme vetting' is being put in place aimed at keeping a lid on immigration numbers. June Ranson, ...
The Royal New Zealand Air Force is one step closer to modernising its fleet after the United States State Department recently approved the sale of five new C-130J Hercules aircraft to New Zealand. Arms manufacturer Lockheed Martin, in Fort Worth, Texas, will provide the aircraft, but as a "foreign military ...
Forestry Minister Shane Jones wants to create a log barging facility at Hicks Bay and turn the area into a Special Economic Zone. The move would be part of protecting New Zealand's forests from being depleted by India and China, he said. It follows his announcement last week to strengthen ...
New Zealand First supports the changes recommended by the Winter Grazing Taskforce to improve animal welfare outcomes through the winter months, and the establishment of a pan-sector action group to implement them. New Zealand First Primary Industries Spokesperson Mark Patterson says the report highlights areas of concern about the animal ...
Former prime ministers Helen Clark and Sir John Key, formerly from the Labour and National parties respectively, have joined forces in support of New Zealand First’s plan to relocate Auckland's port to Whangārei. While Ms Clark and Sir John spent their political careers on opposite sides of the political divide, ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters is in Japan for the Foreign Ministers' meeting of the G20 grouping of countries as one of nine "invited" countries. He has used the opportunity to cast a spotlight on the plight of Pacific countries, calling out countries which still offered subsidies or Government assistance to ...
It's been a great week of progress: we've celebrated Children's Day, we've made communities safer with 1800 new police, and we've seen almost 90% of eligible schools take up Government funding to scrap school donations - taking pressure off the families of more than 416,000 students. ...
Hon Shane Jones, Minister of Forestry The Government will further strengthen New Zealand’s wood processing sector as part of our focus on ‘value over volume’ in our forestry industry, Forestry Minister Shane Jones says. Minister Jones will today meet with forestry representatives in Northland to signal new measures to help the ...
New Zealand firms expanding beyond the start-up phase are set for more support after today’s passage of the Venture Capital Fund Bill, Associate Finance Minister David Parker said. The Bill, which establishes a $300 million Venture Capital Fund, puts in place a key initiative of the Wellbeing Budget’s economic package. ...
E ngā mana, e ngā reo, e ngā iwi, e ngā rau rangatira mā. Tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou katoa. Señora Presidenta, Excellencies, Delegates. International action A common thread that runs through the Paris Agreement is the commitment we have made to each other to do what we can to ...
Budget 2020 will continue the Coalition Government’s focus on tackling the long-term challenges facing New Zealand while also investing to future-proof the economy. When the Government took office in 2017 it was left with crumbling infrastructure, severe underinvestment in public services, degraded rivers and lakes, a housing crisis and rising ...
The Government is lifting capital investment to the highest level in more than 20 years as it takes the next step to future-proof New Zealand. Finance Minister Grant Robertson has announced $12 billion of new investment, with $8 billion for specific capital projects and $4 billion to be added to ...
The Government is forecast to run $12 billion worth of surpluses across the four years to 2023/24 as the economy continues to grow. The surpluses will help fund day-to-day capital requirements each year. These include fixing leaky hospitals, building new classrooms to cover population growth and take pressure off class ...
The Minister responsible for the Marine and Coastal Area (Takutai Moana) Act 2011 (te Takutai Moana Act 2011), Andrew Little has welcomed the launch of an online geospatial tool that provides data-rich, dynamic coastline maps that will significantly boost research and evidence-gathering under the Act. Te Kete Kōrero a Te ...
The Chief Victims Advisor to Government Dr Kim McGregor, QSO, has been reappointed in her role for a further two years. Dr McGregor has held the role since it was established in November 2015. She provides independent advice to government on how to improve the criminal justice system for victims. ...
Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters and Civil Defence Minister Peeni Henare have today announced the deployment of a network of DART (Deep-ocean Assessment and Reporting of Tsunami) buoys. “New Zealand and the Pacific region are particularly vulnerable to natural disasters. It is vital we have adequate warning systems in place,” ...
DART Buoys Announcement Aotea Wharf, 9.30am 11 December 2019 Acknowledgements Acknowledgements to Minister for Civil Defence Hon Peeni Henare also here today. White Island It is with regret that this event shadows the tragic natural disaster two days ago. The volcanic eruptions on White Island have claimed 5 lives, ...
Racing Minister Winston Peters has welcomed the first reading of the Racing Industry Bill in parliament today. This is the second of two Bills that have been introduced this year to revitalise New Zealand’s racing industry. “Our domestic racing industry has been in serious decline. The Government is committed to ...
Minister for Disability Issues, Carmel Sepuloni, is pleased to announce that $291,321 is to be awarded to national and local community initiatives to maintain and promote the use of New Zealand Sign Language (NZSL). “New Zealand is one of the few countries in the world where Sign Language is an ...
Minister for Veterans Ron Mark has announced today the Coalition Government’s initial response to work completed by the independent statutory body, the Veterans’ Advisory Board. “When Professor Ron Paterson completed his review of the Veterans’ Support Act in 2018, he made a number of recommendations, including one which I referred ...
The Government will fund the bulk of the cost of a rural water supply for the Ohakea community affected by PFAS contamination, Environment Minister David Parker announced today at a meeting of local residents. This new water scheme will provide a reliable and clean source of drinking water to the ...
I have had the opportunity to be briefed on the details of the volcanic eruption of Whakaari/White Island, off the coast of Whakatane in the Bay of Plenty. The eruption happened at 2.11pm today. It continues to be an evolving situation. We know that there were a number of tourists ...
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and Minister of Civil Defence Peeni Henare have today confirmed initial Government support of $100,000 for communities affected by the severe weather that swept across the South Island and lower North Island over the weekend. The contribution will be made to Mayoral relief funds across the ...
New Zealand's High Commissioner to the Cook Islands, Tessa Temata, died in Palmerston North over the weekend, Foreign Minister Winston Peters said today. Ms Temata, 52, had recently returned to New Zealand for medical treatment. "On behalf of the Government and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, we extend ...
Transport Minister Phil Twyford today announced construction is underway on Wellington commuter rail upgrades which will mean more frequent services and fewer breakdowns. The upgrades include converting the Trentham to Upper Hutt single track section to a double track, with a new signalling system, upgraded stations and level crossings, and ...
Minister of Defence Ron Mark and Minister for Climate Change James Shaw have announced the release of a Defence Climate Change Implementation Work Plan, titled Responding to the Climate Crisis: An Implementation Plan. The plan sets out a series of recommendations based on the 2018 New Zealand Defence Assessment, The ...
A medium-scale adverse event has been declared for the South Canterbury district, which will see up to $50,000 in funding made available to support farming communities which have been significantly affected by recent heavy rain and flooding in the area, says Agriculture Minister Damien O’Connor. “Two weeks of solid rain ...
Thank you Professor Juliet Gerrard and your team for the comprehensive and extremely helpful report and recommendations. Thank you too to all the stakeholders and interested parties who have contributed ideas and thinking to it. “Making best practice, standard practice” is a great framework for change and the action plan ...
The Government will phase out more single-use plastics following the success of its single-use plastic bag ban earlier this year and the release today of a pivotal report for dealing with waste. Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has welcomed the Rethinking Plastics in Aotearoa New Zealandreport, released by her Chief Science Advisor ...
International education continues to thrive as the Government focuses on quality over quantity, Education Minister Chris Hipkins said. The tuition revenue from international education increased to $1.16 billion last year with the average tuition fee per student increasing by $960. The total number of international students enrolled in New Zealand ...
I want to talk about one of the most pressing issues in our national life: the housing crisis and the poor performance of our cities. The argument I want to make to you is that generations of urban land use policy have lacked a decent grounding in economics. The consequences ...
Health Minister Dr David Clark says new appointments to DHBs represent a significant changing of the guard, with 13 new chairs including four Māori chairs. Today 76 appointments have been announced to complement elected board members, as well as eight elected members appointed as either chair or deputy chair. Four ...
Parliamentary Under-Secretary for Foreign Affairs, Fletcher Tabuteau, is travelling to Germany, Poland, Austria, and Spain next week to bolster New Zealand’s political and trade relationships in Europe. While in Spain, Mr Tabuteau will represent New Zealand at the 14th Asia-Europe (ASEM) Foreign Ministers’ Meeting in Madrid. “New Zealand strongly supports ...
“I’ve spoken to Minister Faafoi, who has apologised for his poor handling of this issue,” Jacinda Ardern said. “I have confidence in Kris as a hardworking and effective Minister, but this should have been dealt with in a much clearer manner, and I’ve made my views on that very clear ...
Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters met with Tongan Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pohiva Tu'i'onetoa in Wellington today. The pair signed a Statement of Partnership setting out joint priorities for cooperation out to 2023. “We welcomed Prime Minister Tu'i'onetoa on his first visit to New Zealand as Prime Minister. Tonga ...
The Minister of Police Stuart Nash says his sympathies are with the family of a man who died after being shot by Police in Kurow. “Initial reports are that Police were called by a family member to help the man who was threatening to harm himself,” Mr Nash says. “However ...
Ethnic communities will be able to plan and deliver more community initiatives thanks to an increase in Government funding, Minister for Ethnic Communities Hon Jenny Salesa said today. “Ensuring Aotearoa New Zealand is a place we can all be proud to call home has been a key priority of our ...
Healthier waterways, better productivity and farmer wellbeing are front and centre in a new project involving more than 1000 Southland farmers and growers. Minister of Agriculture Damien O’Connor today announced that the Thriving Southland Change and Innovation Project is the first region-wide extension programme supported by the $229 million Sustainable ...
Work to look after nature and restore freshwater quality in Te Hoiere/Pelorus River catchment is getting a significant boost, thanks to new Government funding support Minister for Conservation Eugenie Sage announced in Canvastown today. “Every New Zealander should be able to swim in their local river without getting sick, and ...
Eight Queen’s Counsel have been appointed under a process that includes the new criterion of a commitment to improving access to justice, Attorney-General David Parker announced today. “The new criterion was included this year. It emphasises that excellence and leadership in the profession can be seen through a wider, community ...
Onslow College in Wellington will get 20 new classrooms for more than 400 students, Education Minister Chris Hipkins announced today. The much-needed investment will relieve growth pressure the school has been experiencing for some time. Seven existing classrooms which have deteriorated over time will also be replaced, bringing the total ...
More than 250 young New Zealanders will add international experience to their education, thanks to the latest Prime Minister’s Scholarships for Asia (PMSA) and Latin America (PMSLA), Education Minister Chris Hipkins announced today. This round of scholarships supports 252 recent graduates or current students to undertake study, research or internships ...
Consumers will benefit from a more competitive, transparent retail fuel market as a result of changes the Government will be making in response to the findings of the Commerce Commission’s study of the fuel sector. “We accept the Commission’s findings and, as the Prime Minister has said, we’re ready to ...
Five new cancer medicines have now been funded this year, meaning thousands of people have more treatment options PHARMAC has today announced that it has approved two new medicines for funding – fulvestrant for breast cancer and olaparib for ovarian cancer. This follows earlier decisions on advanced lung cancer treatment alectinib, ...
The Minister of Local Government, Hon Nanaia Mahuta says the Government will consider making changes to local electoral legislation before the 2022 elections to fix the problems that have arisen where elections are settled by a coin toss. The Minister says the recount process in the Murupara- Galatea ward at ...
New Zealand will sign up to new international maritime regulations to reduce ship emissions and lift air quality around ports and harbours, Associate Transport Minister Julie Anne Genter announced today. Subject to completion of the Parliamentary treaty examination process, New Zealand will sign up to Annex VI of MARPOL, an ...
New legislation to transform our urban areas and create sustainable, inclusive and thriving communities will tomorrow be introduced to Parliament, Urban Development Minister Phil Twyford said. “The Urban Development Bill gives Kāinga Ora-Homes and Communities the tools it needs to partner with councils, communities, mana whenua and private developers to ...
Today’s launch of He taonga te Tamaiti: Every child a taonga: The Early Learning Action Plan 2019-2029 provides the foundation for long-lasting changes to early learning, Education Minister Chris Hipkins says. “Early learning will be one of the Government’s top education priorities going into 2020,” Chris Hipkins said. ...
The Chief Ombudsman is launching a follow up investigation to see whether government agencies have improved their Official Information Act compliance. ...
How to watch the Rugby World Cup? How to make spaghetti bolognese? Who is James Charles? Google just released what New Zealanders looked for the most in 2019, and it says a lot about us.Another year on the internet, another year of Google searches you hope nobody excavates. Until now!Our Google ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Rachael Burgin, Research associate, Monash University The NSW Law Reform Commission will hand down its final recommendations for a reformed definition of sexual consent in the new year, following draft proposals in October. The commission’s inquiry is largely the result of the ...
Auckland Mayor Phil Goff says he welcomes the government’s announcement of $12 billion in extra infrastructure investment, including $6.8 billion for new transport projects, and looks forward to working with the government to ensure that a fair ...
“We’re delighted with today’s announcement of $12 billion in new capital investment by the Government,” says Infrastructure New Zealand CEO Paul Blair. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Eric Brymer, Reader, Psychology with Outdoor and Adventure studies, Leeds Beckett University Review: Finke: There & Back, directed by Dylan River The Finke Desert Race takes place in the harsh desert environment near Alice Springs. Scores of motorbikes and cars are raced ...
Climate action organisations 350 Aotearoa and Coal Action Network Aotearoa commend New Zealand’s Crown Research Institutes’ phase-out of coal burning in their operations, with the final two users, Plant and Food Research and Landcare Research decommissioning ...
The government’s books are now expected to go into the red this financial year with a forecast deficit of $900 million, down from a budget forecast surplus of $1.3 billion.The government will borrow $12 billion to spend on transport, schools, hospitals and investment in the regions over the next five ...
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Curator and art writer Justin Paton on the process of writing McCahon Country, homesickness, and uncontemporary art. Plus his top tips for art writers. Justin Paton is theauthor of the award-winning How to Look at a Painting. A book so popular it inspired aTV series of ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jacob Blokland, Palaeontology PhD Candidate and Casual Academic, Flinders University A new species of extinct penguin has been discovered. It’s helping us bridge the gap between modern penguins and their counterparts from the Paleocene epoch – the 10-million-year period following dinosaur extinction. ...
The Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) is placing greater controls on the use of the herbicide paraquat. Paraquat is the first active ingredient on our priority chemicals list, announced in October 2018, to be reassessed. ...
Today the Government revealed its plan to spend an extra $12bn on infrastructure projects following public pressure for them to do more. Irrigation New Zealand supports government investment to ensure New Zealand is future-ready however, the organisation ...
The grim statistics set out in the Child Poverty Monitor report issued this week underscore yet again the need for bolder action to reduce entrenched inequality, Peter Malcolm, spokesperson for the income equality project Closing the Gap, said ...
The Public Service Association strongly supports Labour MP Ginny Andersen’s bill to give three days paid leave to parents who experience a miscarriage or stillbirth. ...
From Waipukurau to Waipawa, Hastings to Havelock North, how did a humble crumbed meatball reach cult status? Fiona Fraser investigates the origins of this east coast delicacy.I was halfway out the door of a client’s premises when he bellowed “Have you had lunch? I’m just nipping out to get some ...
Back in September, when the NZ Herald issued its supplement “Mood of the Boardroom”, Commerce Minister Kris Faafoi featured as the politician who most impressed top chief executives on ministerial performance. The newspaper reported it was the first time in the history of the Mood of the Boardroom survey that ...
"The Government’s announcement that an additional $12 billion capital will be available to address backlogs in our deteriorating schools, hospitals and rail infrastructure and for regional development is welcome news and sensible policy", ...
Whether tourists should have been allowed to visit Whakaari-White Island in the past and whether tourists should be allowed to visit in future are among the questions inevitably raised in the aftermath of the tragic volcanic eruption this week. Concerns have extended beyond the operations of White Island Tours, which ...
Government books are now expected to go into the red this financial year with a forecast deficit of $900 million, down from a Budget forecast surplus of $1.3 billion. ...
Responding to the Minister of Finance’s Half Year Economic and Fiscal Update , which includes a $900 million deficit for the next financial year, New Zealand Taxpayers’ Union spokesman Louis Houlbrooke says: “At at time of high commodity ...
The Maniapoto Māori Trust Board (MMTB) is pleased the Waitangi Tribunal’s report has agreed that the Crown was correct to recognise it as the appropriate body to hold the settlement mandate for Maniapoto. ...
Government books are now expected to go into the red this financial year with a forecast deficit of $900 million, down from a Budget forecast surplus of $1.3 billion. ...
Government books are now expected to go into the red this financial year with a forecast deficit of $900 million, down from a Budget forecast surplus of $1.3 billion. ...
In this hard-hitting episode of current affairs show OTR 24/7, lady journalist Leonie Hayden comes face to face with one of society’s most elusive figures.“Hey baby, show us ya [insert weird word for body part here]!”To many women and non-binary folks this is a common greeting, usually delivered with great ...
Start learning te reo Māori anywhere in Aotearoa with this list of introductory, part-time classes.‘Learn te reo Māori’ is at the top of a lot of people’s New Year’s resolutions. The problem is, it can be hard to enrol after the new year, which is typically when resolutions are meant ...
Last year, we published the anonymous account of a Koru Club member who was denied their mandated birthright entry into the Koru Club. This Koru Club member returns to give us their harrowing, haunting account of the day the Koru Lounge went dry.“Bye, bye miss American Pie. Drove the Chevy ...
A Labour MP’s private members bill which allowed for bereavement leave for a miscarriage has been withdrawn and resubmitted , in seemingly a deliberate attempt to exclude post-abortive women who may also be suffering grief and loss. It will receive its ...
The police are not ruling out starting the recovery operation today for eight people missing after the Whakaari / White Island eruption but say safety comes first ...
Power Play - The latest report on moving the bulk of Auckland's port operations to Northport will be released tomorrow, but Jane Patterson asks whether it will be possible for Cabinet to press ahead prior to next year's election. ...
Toby Manhire gazes back at the last almost-10 years in New Zealand politics, leadership and tragedy.When I returned to New Zealand after 11 years away in 2010, John Key had been prime minister for a couple of years and it felt like he’d been prime minister forever. He was a ...
The Chief Ombudsman is launching a new inquiry into whether central government agencies have addressed any weaknesses identified in a landmark investigation five years ago. ...
Op-Ed by Kaveh Zahedi and Van NguyenKaveh Zahedi, Deputy Executive Secretary for Sustainable Development, United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP).“The 2030 Agenda is coming to life”, declared the Secretary General at the opening of the first SDG Summit, a quadrennial event for ...
Editor’s Note: Here below is a list of the main issues currently under discussion in New Zealand and links to media coverage.New Zealand Parliament Buildings, Wellington, New Zealand.Whakaari/White Island eruption Gordon Campbell: On the Whakaari/White Island eruption MIchael Lueck (Stuff): Should NZ look again at risky adventure tourism? Brook ...
The senior doctors’ union, the Association of Salaried Medical Specialists, is welcoming a report from the Medical Protection Society which provides further evidence of doctor burnout and high workload pressures. ...
Responding to reports of New Plymouth District Council’s $1.6 million rates surplus, New Zealand Taxpayers’ Union spokesman Louis Houlbrooke says: “A rates surplus means the Council has taken more from the people of New Plymouth than it needs. It ...
The fatal eruption on Whakaari on Monday may force the tourism industry to review its current rules, writes tourism professor Michael Lueck.The official death toll is six and eight people are still missing, presumed to have died, in Monday’s volcanic eruption at Whakaari/White Island. The people on the island were ...
The Council of Licenced Firearms Owners (COLFO) is calling out Police for stepping up their intimidation campaign of licenced firearms owners as the deadline for firearms compensation draws near. ...
Belong Aotearoa alongside leading organisations working in the resettlement (refugee background) sector is calling on the New Zealand Government to play a greater role in responding to the international refugee crisis, ahead of the Global Refugee Forum ...
Protest groups and human rights supporters are preparing to “unwelcome” bulk carrying cargo ship ‘Federal Crimson’ as it arrives in Dunedin on Wednesday. The ship has carried over 50,000 tonnes of ‘conflict phosphate’ from the non-self ...
Tower boss quits after turning around $6.3m loss with risk-based insurance pricing strategy; and Prime Minister meets with rescuers of Whakaari / White Island survivors. ...
Should we modify the process of government formation to ensure no future incoming PM has the authority and mana of their office compromised from the outset? ...
A petition to Government that would see e-scooters and other personal transport devices banned from New Zealand footpaths is to be presented to the Honorable Tracey Martin, Minister for Children and Seniors on Thursday, 12th December, at 1.00 pm on the steps ...
All eyes today will be on Treasury and Finance Minister Grant Robertson when he releases his "significant infrastructure spending package" at 1pm today. ...
The Auckland Rotuman Fellowship Group Incorporated (ARFGI) is marking today’s International Human Rights Day to draw attention to the NZ Government’s discriminatory policy of only supporting selective Pacific Island languages. ...
Western Australia’s move to legalise voluntary assisted dying continues a worldwide trend supported by a clear majority of New Zealanders, the End-of-Life Choice Society’s President, Dr Mary Panko, said on Wednesday. ...
School support staff have voted to accept collective agreement offers from the Ministry of Education, with the Living Wage of $21.15 as the new minimum pay rate. ...
Our pop culture superfans at The Real Pod look back at the local celebrities who defined the last decade in Aotearoa.If there’s any group of people we can turn to in these uncertain times, it’s celebrities. And lucky for us, New Zealand suddenly seems to have heaps of them. The ...
Wellington’s newest local body political party, the Wellington Party , welcomes the news that if returned to Government, the National Party will accelerate the construction work on the proposed duplicate Mt Victoria tunnel. Party President, David Lloyd, ...
Sweeping law changes proposed by an official inquiry into last year's election and foreign interference have taken too long to be of use for next year's election. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Cameron Webb, Clinical Lecturer and Principal Hospital Scientist, University of Sydney Mosquito-borne disease is a concern for health authorities around Australia. Each year, thousands fall ill to Ross River virus disease caused by mosquito bites. Tracking mosquito populations can help us respond ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Elaine Pearson, Adjunct Lecturer in Law, UNSW As we approach the last days of the decade, it’s important to reflect on the fight for human rights, the setbacks and successes over the past year in Australia and around the world. Our list ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Nathan Kettlewell, Chancellor’s Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Economics Discipline Group, University of Technology Sydney Every year private health insurers raise premiums and every year we rue the hit to our hip pocket. This cycle is heavily regulated: insurers apply to the health minister ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jenny Johnston, Lecturer in Primary Education, Southern Cross University It’s the end of the first year of school for many children and proud parents. Some children may be reading quicker than their classmates, others slower; some can add double digits, others only ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sarah Ann Wheeler, Professor in Water Economics, University of Adelaide For the thousand or so farmers in Canberra in the past week venting their anger at the federal government, it’s the Murray-Darling Basin Plan to blame for destroying their livelihoods and forcing ...
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Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Peter Ellerton, Lecturer in Critical Thinking; Curriculum Director, UQ Critical Thinking Project, The University of Queensland As bushfires rage and our cities lie shrouded in smoke, climate change is shaping as a likely topic of conversation at the family dinner table this ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jeff Seadon, Senior Lecturer, Auckland University of Technology CC BY-NDClimate Explained is a collaboration between The Conversation, Stuff and the New Zealand Science Media Centre to answer your questions about climate change.If you have a question you’d like an expert to ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Andrew Butt, Associate Professor in Sustainability and Urban Planning, RMIT University This is the third article in a series to mark the 50th anniversary of the landmark Melbourne Transportation Plan. Like the modernist plans of its time, the 1969 Melbourne Metropolitan Transportation ...
Open mike 08/12/2011 
In previous elections pollsters have bemoaned the 'shy Tory' - the respondent who is so fearful of being judged as a cruel and heartless bastard by an anonymous pollster, or their spouses, workmates and friends, that they lie about their intention of voting Conservative, skewing the poll figures in Labour's ...53 mins ago
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Now the Herald finds its voice – strange that, and within a week of the election.
Quote http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10767717
Exodus to Oz swells under Nats
Prime Minister John Key made the transtasman exodus of New Zealanders a major election issue in 2008 but, as the Herald reported last week, far from dwindling, that flow has increased under his watch … unquote
-0.3% growth inreal terms since coming to power with the best commodity prices for years trickle down is actually trickle up as the OECD has pointed out.Spread some moiney around History has proven that it works!
If anyone needs the perfect example of why I grin and grimace at the same time when NZ First is described as being on the left of the political spectrum then newbie MP Richard Prosser has provided one.
His proposal to ban the burqa is dog whistle racist cant. Why using the full force of the law to stop women from deciding to wear a small piece of material is beyond me.
Not only this but he wishes to arm taxi drivers and bring back compulsory military training.
He has that loud opinionated shrill and stupid approach to politics that I despise.
NZF has always had its share of loony MP’s; Prosser is just a slightly less subtle Michael Laws. Have to disagree with your assessment of why women wear the burqa though; it’s not from their own choice, its a culturally enforced symbol of patriarchal ownership.
Once skimmed a column Richard Prosser penned in Ian Wisharts “Investigate” magazine, (in a waiting room) he appeared to have all the blustering insight of an inebriated talk back caller.
The sound of barrels being scraped must be quite usual at NZ1 candidate selections. Will Winston operate the choker chain on this loose cannon once he gauges reaction to his utterances?
I have this overwhelming urge to replace the “Pr” in his surname with a “T” …
I’ve noticed that virtually every medical-related waiting room I’ve been in for a couple of years, both at home and in Auckland, has been heavily stocked with “Investigate”. Way out of proportion to its small market niche. And while I’m thinking, I can think of a few public ‘bureaucratic’ waiting rooms stocked with many copies too.
I’m guessing Wishart either ‘donates’ them, or facilitates actual buyers doing so.
I don’t like the way the waiting room stacking (however it comes about) seems to lend the magazine a bit of undeserved credibility. You don’t expect to find extremist fringe propaganda, including religious dogma in such places.
“…it’s not from their own choice, its a culturally enforced symbol of patriarchal ownership…”
From a western perspective looking in, it may be a culturally enforced symbol etc etc. I’m not excusing the modern/practical abuses that are entertained under the guise of Islam by certain regimes and the kind of general manipulative ignorance found anywhere in the world, any more than I will say that Christianity is the sum total if it’s abuses. There are for sure “muslims” who would not wish to be muslims, but have no choice because of chance of birthplace. There will be those who barely fullfil the basic concepts of Islam and think themselves devout. But then there are true muslims who would take deep offence at being asked to remove symbols of the surrender to Allah.
From a muslim perspective looking out (going from memory here so apologies to any muslim readers) it is an attempt to bring the individual into the sanctuary of the temple, recreating the closeness to Allah; Allah is everywhere at all times, and a muslim can be close to Allah anywhere, but in the temple is to be closest. It is the act of submission and moving towards Allah that is responded to by Allah moving twice as rapidly towards the disciple – that makes a large theological difference.
I’ve strained most of the poetic beauty out of the concept as it was told to me originally, but just thought I’d offer that idea as I believe a better world encourages understanding of others from their perspective, not just that of the observer.
If we truly embrace the diversity of ideas, then we would accept that there are people who are different. Mr Prosser for example can have his opinion even if we disagree. Mr Brash can have his ideas about decriminalisation and Mr Banks can have his racist ideas and Mr Key can have his mean-spirited ideas about Education and Welfare. And those who wear the burqa are entitled to do so. We welcome diversity of ideas -don’t we?
Oh yes please, but they must live their ideals, themselves, and not be allowed to push them on the vulnerable or those who reject them. Any arguments that a muslim should in no way offend a taxi driver while a taxi driver may offend a muslim should be discussed. Please begin.
And would Banks, Brash and others please put forward the basis of their ideology too, explained in full from all angles, so we can see clearly what they stand for and what they seek.
The difference you’ll soon discover is that a muslim is obliged to reveal and face the source of their morality, whereas Banks and others will twist, turn and lie to either conceal theirs or avoid facing the truth. A muslim (theoretically) is not concerned with philosophy and politics, because his god outlines all there is, via the prophet. A politician will believe only in expediency because he is moving too fast or using false ideas.
RNZ breakfast show inter view with Prosser said a lot of these comments were taken out of context he said read investigate articles and see the real story.
The Right wing have selectively released parts of sentences and not the whole sentence.
Prosser also said he adheres to NZFirst policy and is a team player .
TVOR
I acknowledge the cultural complexities relating to Burqas. I just don’t think criminalising Burqa wearers is the solution.
+1 Voice of Reason. I agree, although I suspect Dick Prosser isn’t coming at it from the angle of protecting women from religious oppression!!
Depends on the person – I have a friend who wears the niqab from choice. Her husband would be quite happy for her not to. Many women wear the niqab/burqa for modesty or tradition – there was a most interesting RNZ item some time ago on this very subject.
Gross generalisations do not apply to most situations.
Annette and Arandar
We need to know more about the subject when referring to niqab/burqa as if they are just a different form of ordinary female clothing. These are extreme forms of human camouflage.
Burqa refers to the whole body covering that is needed in a country where in some places, in more traditional country areas, a woman can be condemned as loose if her eyes meet a man’s. And loose women may be dealt with terminally. (There have been many books written about the harsh penalties such as Burned Alive by Souad.) So the niqab which shows the eyes must seem quite an advance.
Many women and some men have fought for women’s rights and respect in New Zealand and it is an unsatisfactory situation if some women retreat from what has been achieved and cover themselves in tents even if it they say it’s their choice.
But there are other coverings that Islamic women wear that suffice to give comfort, modesty and religious conformity. The khima and chador both cover well leaving the face open. The niqab does this then other head coverings that are less extensive are hijab, al-amira and shayla. All these should be accepted by all as respecting Islamic choice and precepts, just as we accept Sikh headgear. It is only the burqa that obliterates the person’s appearance to others.
Here is a good information link. http://www.apologeticsindex.org/505-muslim-veils-hijab-burqa
Sorry, while I can’t speak personally, I do know a woman, a divorced, single, educated, professional woman, who chooses to wear the burqa and who challenges anyone who thinks she does it because she’s been forced to by anyone – she wears it because she wants to. That is all.
Prosser raised some ‘interesting’ ideas, none of which have much chance of progressing. You have to wonder why he was put at 4 on the NZ First list, but one of his quips…
…prompted some good anecdotes on bank security in the good old days – NZ First, and bank security
In a firm I worked for in the sixties the pay clerk who collected the weekly pay from the bank carried a gun, and the briefcase containing the money was handcuffed to his left wrist.
in marked contrast to you???
NZ1st is left of Labour but not actually of the left. They’re also far more authoritarian – almost as much so as National and Act – which is where the cries for conformity come from. John Banks is another good example of this authoritarianism.
BTW, The burqa is the full body covering so not a small bit of cloth. That would be the niqab. Plenty of women wear them voluntarily and it’s not our place to tell them what to wear.
Yep pays to remember that NZ First originally appeared out of the socially conservative, though far more socially responsible wing of the National Party. The one which rejected the tenets of corporatist neo-liberalism. Old fashioned ‘wet’ Tories in other words.
Thanks Draco and apologies for my cultural insensitivity. You learn something new every day!
NZFirst are not leftist, they are muldoonist conservatives.
Muldoon, in one of his books, Rise & Fall of a Young Turk, described himself as an old fashioned liberal.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/opinion/news/headlines.cfm?c_id=466
Fox news accuses the muppets of braiinwashing kids.
Well they would know!
So funny. Imagine what they think of that arch-liberal Walt Disney inventing Scrooge McDuck way back when.
Apparently Walt was obsessed with the idea that his writers were all closeted reds and that they were manipulating the various cartoon characters to undermine capitalism. He used to pore over scripts looking for signs of a pink tinge before OK’ing production and once referred to the Screen Actors Guild as a communist front, which must have come as a surprise to the organisation’s leaders, who included the well known lefty Ronald Reagan.
Yeah, Walt was crazy about pinko infiltration… but not as crazy as Fox, it seems. I’d be struggling with that thought if I wasn’t laughing at them.
Prosser from NZFirst is a strange individual but it’s even stranger that Labour supporters are complaining about a member of a possible coalition party they were happy to utilize under MMP.
Politics makes for strange bed fellows it seems.
[source for Labour complaining about Prosser? Eddie]
How is it strange that Labour Party members are complaining about someone who is advocating introducing firearms on to our streets, who is a climate change denier, and who is dismissive of others’ religious and cultural traditions to the point of authoritarianism?
You must not know what Labour stands for.
Jester – look at the vile racist filth that inhabits comments on Kiwiblog and Whale Oil. And National was in coalition with the Maori Party for three years. At least here the focus is the man’s ideas, not the colour of his skin.
USA repeatedly shipped arms supplies to Egyptian security forces
The capitalist running dogs are profiting from the unrest. One wonders if they intentionally create conflicts to keep their weapons manufacturers happy.
Well, US corporations had lucrative existing munitions supply contracts with the Mubarak regime (even if most of them were paid for out of US Government funds anyway), why cancel them just because a new dictatorship is now in charge? Another day, another dollar.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/6104643/Numbers-firm-up-in-Shearers-favour Vernon Small says most members last night preferred Shearer.
Really Vernon? Shearer was endearing last night but hardly ‘landslide’ worthy and everyone I spoke to after the meeting was having trouble choosing and couldn’t make up their minds. Why? All four were superb.
But made up my mind last night. Cunliffe and Mahuta. Cunliffe needs to do some work on how he presents but he hit the right points for me last night – and both of them were able to provide more specific answers when pressed on how to fix things.
Again, it was a superb evening. National should be crapping their pants.
Tigger, what could Cunliffe do to sharpen his presentation up a bit? I’ll get word to his team.
I was watching all of them through the Crosby Trextor lens last night – ie. what spin lines will stick in critiquing them. Cunliffe comes across as a little ‘smarmy’ – his jokes are a little forced, a little ‘I’m funny and you know it’. And he’s got to do something about his smile when he’s listening, waiting. He’s very polished and that might actually work against him against Shearer (and indeed Key) who come off as a bit rougher.
It’s all style though, CV, something that a good PR expert could fix in no time. I hate having to pick people apart like this but it’s the game the Nats have excelled in with Key and we need to take the fight to them. Substance-wise I’ve always been impressed by him and last night he sealed it for me.
Ah thanks. Useful.
I’d generally say – relax. Try not to be so earnest and precise about nearly everything. Show a bit of fun and spontenaity. You have a huge smile- use it naturally. Humanise your opponent, don’t talk about him as ‘my opponent’ – you guys are going to have to work together no matter what the outcome so make it clear that bygones will be bygones after the vote and that party unity is paramount.
(note that I’ve not seen much of the two in the last few days, this is based on the election campaign and immediate post election period so he may be presenting slightly differently. With Shearer I’d say he needs to sharpen up in look and ideas. He is way too vague and the over relaxed image may not survive the hard grillings he’s likely to get in the selection process. I think he needs more solidity behind his vague concepts of ‘reform’. A bit too ‘third way’ for my liking.)
From what I have seen on the blogs, party members and supporters seem to largely prefer Cunliffe while those who get to vote reportedly favour Shearer. This leaves me hoping to hell that they listen to us, and are not just going through an “inclusive” exercise trundling them around the country.
I am most concerned that those who get to vote may consider that “we have lost the centre & need to move to the centre to get it back” – a concern exacerbated by Shearer’s use of the term “the hopes & aspirations of all NZers.” My question is, move to the centre from where?”
A brief potted history: By the 70s, liberal politics joined class politics, & while they were not 100% compatible at all times, they were able to function as a left wing. In the eighties Labour dumped the class politics and retained what remained its left wing credentials through liberal politics. The Clark government moved toward the centre from the Rogernomic outskirts, reasonably thinking that people had put up with enough disruption, & that the markets had matured enough for a new accommodation to be wrought, one that was not so unjust. This hope became untenable by 2008, but was reasonable at the time. Enter John Key who did not so much move toward the centre as woo it and bide his time, with a second term in mind. He wooed the centre so as to allay the fear many had of a right wing government, and this is the point of this whole paragraph: those who think that the centre is where it’s at forget about the fear factor.
Both Helen Clark and John Key moved decisively to the centre (or in Key’s case pretended to) at least partly to allay fears. No one presently fears the Labour Party, and if it is going to gain traction, it needs someone who is going to scare the horses a bit. Cunliffe is far more likely to do that than Shearer.
All four are impressive but quite different. My main worry about Cunliffe is that although he is a very good speaker, he doesn’t seem to be a team player and could quite easily alienate people.
Actually, if you look at his bio & Standard posts, Cunliffe seems to have worked very well in teams before he got into politics. And comments from people active in his electorate describe him as working very well in his electorate team.
While here we are still labouring under the illusion we are with the good guys and the US is the land of the free and home of the brave I thought I’d inject some reality: http://aotearoaawiderperspective.wordpress.com/2011/12/08/low-level-terrorists-the-2012-defence-bill-and-the-activation-of-fema-camps-and-crowd-control-weapons-were-watching-the-terrifying-end-of-america-the-home-of-the-free-and-the-brave/
The fact that there are millions of assault weapons in civilian US hands and a few hundred thousand vets from recent Afghanistan and Iraqi campaigns kicking around the US, makes me think that the original rationale for ‘the right to bear arms’ might just be coming valid again.
Bad times.
I used to be a consummate Pacifist but if I was in the US right now, I’d be carrying. Better to go down fighting instead of being a sheeple. Absolutely terrifying.
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/black-friday-gun-sales-break-records
Ah, zerohedge, nice.
One writer’s experience of an Occupy arrest. Beautifully expressed.
http://myoccupylaarrest.blogspot.com/
Sobering and distressing Tigger. The Land of the Free?
Auckland Council vs occupy auckland is currently being heard in an Auckland court. Penny Bright has been on the stand critquing the Auckland Council actions and statements on the issue, making some references to law, Bill of Rights etc.
http://occupyauckland.org/
http://www.stuff.co.nz/auckland/local-news/6102227/Row-delays-Occupy-protesters-court-case/
I’ve been reading Debt: The First 5,000 Years by David Graeber. I’m only a couple of chapters in but it’s got these sentences in it:-
He’s going on about the Myth of Barter (Chapter 2). It seems even the most basic assumption of economists, that people started bartering and thus invented money to make things easier, is wrong.
If you want to study economics then study history – you’ll learn more and what you learn is more likely to be correct than if you study an economics text book.
Karl Polanyi also provided an interesting debunking of the myth that humans are naturally inclined to “truck and barter” in his 1940s tome “The Great Transformation”. Prior to the advent of Western capitalism, most societies got by just fine on the systems of economic reciprocity, redistribution, and domestic householding.
Yep. The so-called ‘gift economy’.
Dmitri Orlov speaks about it as a way to continue economic activity post-collapse and to improve social cohesion to boot.
Lotta posts today, but it is always somewhat reassuring to see bent coppers, in this case non sworn ‘copettes’ subject to the same rules as the rest of us for once.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/crime/6107933/Police-staff-in-drug-bust-court-reveals
All those confiscated sacks of dak, piles of Andean climbing powder and happy pills must be very tempting for some of the bluebellies.
Quoting article:
Now this guy, once found guilty, needs to be banned from being a director/manager or business owner for a time. I’d go for 5 years – same as bankruptcy. Why? Because he’s shown himself unfit to be such.
To be a company director all you need to do is pay $150 to Companies Office to get a company registered and get yourself listed as a director. I wouldn’t get too excited about what he calls himself.
Oh, so according to you it’s all about how big the company is and not about the simple fact that he’s proven himself immoral?
it’s not about size it’s about relevance. lots of people commit crimes like assault but don’t get banned from say driving. It appears you just want to ban him because you assume he is a rich prick
No, I want to ban him because of his influence upon society is such a position of power.
Indeed. Company directors are the captains of a capitalist economy.
insider- Not if you are banned.
I understand from the media that the Chinese company buying the Crafar farms gave the National Party $50,000 as a campaign contribution.
Really? Link?
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10771749
Just Koha! ROFL.
Here is a link someone put on a post on my blog: http://www.rbnz.govt.nz/about/whoweare/0092967.html connecting the Reserve bank with Fletcher building and assorted other conflicts of interests:
Mr Hugh Fletcher (Deputy Chair)
Auckland-based
Company Director
Chair – IAG New Zealand Limited; IAG New Zealand Holdings Limited
Director – Fletcher Building Limited; Rubicon Limited; Vector Limited; Insurance Australia Group Limited; IAG Finance (New Zealand) Limited; NGC Holdings Limited; NZI Staff Superannuation Fund Nominees Limited
Member – Australian and New Zealand Advisory Board of L.E.K. Consulting
Trustee – Dilworth Trust; New Zealand Portrait Gallery; The University of Auckland Foundation
First appointed 10 June 2002 – current term expires 9 June 2012
And a member of the trilateral commission just like Mike Moore. That’s the old boy network at work for ya!
Just think how much better things are than they were. In the past those who got in the way of rampant capitalism were killed ‘security’ forces.
‘On May 4, l970 members of the Ohio National Guard fired into a crowd of Kent State University demonstrators, killing four and wounding nine Kent State students.’
http://dept.kent.edu/sociology/lewis/lewihen.htm
‘The Ludlow Massacre was an attack by the Colorado National Guard on a tent colony of 1,200 striking coal miners and their families at Ludlow, Colorado on April 20, 1914.
The massacre resulted in the violent deaths of between 19 and 25 people; sources vary but all sources include two women and eleven children, asphyxiated and burned to death under a single tent. The deaths occurred after a day-long fight between strikers and the Guard.’
Better not mention the Maori Land Wars. They had ‘nothing’ to do with rampant capitalism.
Whereas those who worked for rampant capitalism got terrible diseases or died as a consequence.
Even those unfortunate enough to be born near industrial activity frequently suffer, of course,
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/03/080326201751.htm
Better turn a blind eye to what is going on in China and India etc. so we can cheap consumer goods too.
DTB
‘study history – you’ll learn more and what you learn is more likely to be correct than if you study an economics text book.’
Very true.
The problem is, which version of history. Much of what is promulgated as history by the mainstream is not what actually happened, or has been given spin by the empire. The events of 9/11 are a prime example.
Modern economics is a complete fabrication, built on misinformation and bizarre theories, some of which are fairly recent and others that go right back to the time of John Locke (they may not have seemed bizarre to people of his time).
The fundamental [false] assumptions of economics are what are going to bring the current sytem crashing down shortly.
One way of thinking about modern economics is that we are caught up in a ‘game’ that has a life expectancy of 420 years (plus or minus 15 years) and we are now in the 402nd year.
Agreed. That’s why I tend to read multiple sources and then to think about what I’ve read.
One of the fairly recent ones is the myth based around the Tragedy of the Commons. In the economic myths this is used to promote privatisation over common ownership. They ignore the simple fact that such commons have always had rules and regulations about their use which completely removes the tragedy. They also ignore the fact that privatisation without regulation is what’s leading to resource depletion, pollution and Climate Change.
A refutation of Garrett Hardin’s argument found on a really interesting website:
Rewriting the ‘Tragedy of the Commons’
Talking about new MPs – I was impressed with Andrew Little on Back Benchers last night – he and Catherine Delahunty made David Bennett look the inept MP he appears to me to be. Andrew should go far.
Yeah I agree. Andrew Little was good wasn’t he.
I also noticed David Shearer, Darien Fenton and David Farrar having a good ole chin wag at the end.
I hope Back benchers is going to be back next year.
James Hansen, director of NASA’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies: 2 Degrees of Warming a Recipe for Disaster.
The history of ancient climate changes, which occurred over millions of years in the planet’s history as it moved in and out of ice ages, offers the best insight into how humans’ greenhouse gas emissions will alter the planet, Hansen said here today (Dec. 6) at the annual American Geophysical Union (AGU) meeting. And his research suggests the climate is more sensitive to greenhouse gas emissions than had been suspected.
“What the paleoclimate record tells us is that the dangerous level of global warming is less than what we thought a few years ago,” Hansen said. “The target that has been talked about in international negotiations for 2 degrees of warming is actually a prescription for long-term disaster.”
Earth’s Climate History: Implications for Tomorrow
Paleoclimate data yield our best assessment of climate sensitivity, which is the eventual global temperature change in response to a specified climate forcing. A climate forcing is an imposed change of Earth’s energy balance, as may be caused, for example, by a change of the sun’s brightness or a human-made change of atmospheric CO2. For convenience scientists often consider a standard forcing, doubled atmospheric CO2, because that is a level of forcing that humans will impose this century if fossil fuel use continues unabated.
Moore: “Wall Street Has Their Man And His Name Is Barack Obama”
Brooklyn
the Clark government (nine years of it! ) set up all the preconditions for the collapse we will witness over the next three years
like those disastrous surpluses. Fortunately the fiscally prudent Nats have have remedied that problem
No, when thinking of the failures of the Clark government I was thinking more in terms of the promotion of an economy predicated on perpetual growth (which is impossible on a finite planet and is grinding to halt right now because it is a mathematical impossibility) and the promoting of looting of natural resources and turning them into waste by corporations.
I was thinking more in terms of the abysmal failure of the Clark government with respect to local government of 2002 (ever read any of it Brooklyn?), i.e. permitting city and district councils to present, and then accepting from them, so-called 10 year plans which do not mention one factor that will determine the future ,plans that read like touurism brochures and are much use to the community as tourism brochures.
I was thinking more in terms of Cullen pouring hundreds of milions of dollars into the banksters’ international Ponzi scheme and losing much of it for us.
I was thinking in terms of the national debt, which went up under Clark, raher than the government’s fiscal balance.
I was thinking of the urban sprawl and in-fill housing, the leaky home sydrome, the box-store ‘development’ and covering of agricultural land that the Clark government encouraged. I was thinking of the huge waste of resources that went into road transport infrastructure when we were ‘at or close to peak oil’, as acknowledged by Helen Clark.
Sabotage (especially of the next generation’s future) is the word that always comes to mind when I think of Helen Clark and Michael Cullen.
Of course, those who only look at superficialities never see the big picture.
[lprent: And I’m thinking that you’re getting way off the point of the post and moved into speech mode. So I have moved your comment to OpenMike. ]
afew that ponzi scheme has grown by nearly $6billion since this govt took office without any further contribution. Clark and Cullen rescued and resuscitated rail. you such a pessimist time to go and get your prescription filled out. Better still join the Scientology movement they have plenty of conspiracy theories and doomsday dates.
AFKTT is pretty much right on this one. There aren’t enough chairs to go around and the bankster owned DJ is about to stop playing. Europe goes down first., and soon.
http://www.gaynz.com/articles/publish/2/article_11165.php
This will open your eyes to exactly what a bunch of heartless aholes this govt is
Next up, let’s just shoot them all. Don’t think that’s coming…? Give them time.
[I’m having a bit of a crack down on calls for shooting at the moment – please don’t. Ta — r0b]
r0b – I don’t think Tigger is referring to the govt. The article is about how WINZ will now be requiring those with HIV/AIDS on the sickness benefit to be work-tested. Tigger is alluding (ironically) to “solution” preferred by Adolf Hitler and co.
Cameron Slater and his Wail oily mates were most vehemently and frothingly accusing the Greens and Labor of being virtually culpable for murder over the Pike River mine tragedy.
Now under oath evidence is coming out about the covering of gas safety sensors with plastic bags to prioritize profits over safety, and also other serious Health&Safety regulatory deficiencies…
I’m wondering if Mr Slater and his cohorts will take a step back and acknowledge that the environmental policies of the Labor and the Greens weren’t the actual cause for this tragedy.
My gut feeling is you won’t hear a peep from them about these revelations. I really can’t be assed dredging through whaleoil to see if that’s the case, so if Slater/team-WO is trolling this forum: What is your take on these revelations?
The good thing is about this was that it was on TV 1 news and I am amazed they rolled with it
Makes Whittle out to be the creep he is.
A fuking bully.
He needs to be charged over this
Charter Schools
Yet another way for Companies to launder their tax accounts no doubt, and get good publicity…
Full credit to this enlightened and sensible policing by Auckland Central Police which is respecting the basic democratic rights of New Zealanders.
1) “…Police is aware that Council has issued trespass notices to the occupiers of Aotea Square. Having considered all the circumstances, including that the occupiers are protestors exercising rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and freedom of expression, Police has formed the view that there is not currently legal justification for Police to forcibly remove those in the square pursuant to a criminal trespass…”
Andrew D Coster
Inspector
Area Commander
Auckland City Central
(Quote from ‘Letter for Consideration in the Auckland District Court Auckland Council v The Occupiers of Aotea Square, Auckland CIV-2011-404-002497 7 December 2011 )
2) How many Kiwibloggers support Auckland ratepayers monies being wasted on unnecessary Court proceedings because the Auckland Council Manager for Risk and Assurance Natalie Verdouw didn’t properly double-check her purported and unsubstantiated telephone conversation with Andrew Hendrie “He told me no resolutions had been made”, regarding a collective response from the Occupy Auckland General Assembly to requests from Mayor Len Brown?
This was NOT true, and the evidence to support this is a letter addressed to Mayor Len Brown dated 27 November 2011, which was was annexed to the ‘Supplementary Affidavit of Natalie Louise Verdouw dated 2 December 2011′.
Why weren’t these unnecessary and precipitious court proceedings immediately stopped, once it was realised that Ms Verdouw had made this serious FACTUAL error?
Doesn’t the buck for ‘operational’ matters stop with the CEO of Auckland Council Doug McKay?
Why didn’t HE step in and stop proceedings?
How come he didn’t even put in an affidavit?
There were a number of affidavits filed by some of the Auckland Council ‘Indians’ – how about the ‘Chief’?
How ‘accountable’ is THAT?
Or is this really all about unlawful discrimination on the basis of political opinion, by some senior Auckland Council staff and some elected representatives?
(Tomorrow should be VERY interesting in Court! 🙂
Penny Bright
Named ‘Respondent’ in the above-mentioned proceedings – who did not ask to go to Court.
(But who WILL defend herself).
[email deleted]
Interesting….
Well done Penny Bright.
“Doesn’t the buck for ‘operational’ matters stop with the CEO of Auckland Council Doug McKay?
Why didn’t HE step in and stop proceedings?”
Because the ex ‘sell lolly water with a kick to teenagers’ is too busy readying the local government assets for sale.
Re: Andrew Little – At Pike River, Miners union (EPMU and forerunner) failed in representing workers industrial health and safety interests – with pay and benefits the most basic of workers welfare interests – (which of course includes monitoring performance by Dept. Labour of mining safety responsibilities). Basically this is the fault of trade union membership who have permitted a takeover of their union (and trade unions generally) by people from the urban educated liberal elite who see themselves more as part of the “labour movement” than as trade union activists. This description appears to fit Andrew little miners union/EPMU Little General Secretary for 11 years until recently – 2011 election Labour candidate for New Plymouth (and perhaps also predecessor Rex Jones) during which 11 years the rot set into mining safety – following the destruction of regulation by previous National Governments (left unremedied). Both Jones and Little found time to be President of the NZ Labour Party at the same time as being EPMU General Secretary. Mr Little apparently wasn’t likely to robustly challenge the industrial safety policy failures of Labour Government Ministers of Labour and dereliction of public duty by Dept.of Labour chiefs.
[lprent: IMHO: just another fool from offshore ranting about something that they know even less on than I do (and I have never been in a union). Why do I get the impression that this has all just been copied from somewhere, given a theoretical faith driven spin and dumped here by a troll. If someone wants to convince people then this isn’t the way. It is just meaningless drivel where assertions are mixed with fact without a sustaining argument. It is symptomatic of the idiots that I usually just trash first comments from. I figure that if they can’t argue then they are unlikely to survive here. I’ll let this one through for peoples amusement. ]