Dotcom’s going to want something that he is in charge of from the ground up as party president. And do you think Jonkey is going to gift ACT Epsom with Dotcom in it.
It appears from 2 stories in today’s Sunday Herald that the pathetic Paula Bennett is in for a deserved spanking having spent the last couple of days misleading the Parliament on the number of child abuse/neglect cases reported this year,
A ‘computer program fault’ is apparently what will be blamed for Bennett’s ‘mistake’ where She has used Parliaments Question Time lambasting the Opposition with claims that cases of abuse and neglect have been falling when all the time the opposite is the case,
The second of the stories in the Sunday Herald highlights the fact that having refused the Children’s Commissioner the monies necessary to undertake a comprehensive study of ‘child poverty’ Bennett will be less than pleased that using His initiative said Commissioner found the necessary 500 grand from the Roy McKenzie charitable foundation and the report produced is said to paint an extremely bleak picture of ‘child poverty’ in New Zealand which will be made public this week,
Another FAILURE by another shameful Minister in Slippery’s Shameful National Government…
Because people don’t like to go to whaleoils site heres something interesting:
I just wanted to share with you some of my experience as a beginning teacher in NZ and my views on the education system.
Unlike most teachers, I am not a lefty, not a unionist and I am male. I got into teaching with the sole purpose of making a difference in education. So i took the leap and enrolled in a local university and began my teaching degree. It was here that the ineptitude of our education system became evident. Over the next three years, I was surrounded by a ragtag group of people, ranging from recent school graduates to the nearing retirement aged. The year I began was the first year they doubled the size of the intake, from 30-60 and this created a number of problems.
Firstly, the campus was not large enough to hold a larger intake and our teacher training suffered from overcrowding and under resourcing. As time wore on, it became evident that things were not “equal”. Maori students were given the fast track on anything and everything and it soon became clear that they were destined for “greater” things. Some students were being treated differently by the lecturers as well. I remember one guy posted on Facebook, on the morning an assignment was due, that he better think about doing it. He handed the assignment in a week late and still received a pass mark. Uni policy for most assignments states that you lose 10% per day late and this guy was definitely not an “A” student. This sort of thing was a regular occurrence for the next three years and it made it hard for me to respect my cohort and the university.
Fast forward to the final year. Out of 45 people who made it to the end of the degree, only about 10 jobs came up in our area and 5 of them were taken up by new teachers (myself included) at the same school. And now, over 3 years later, only half of my graduating class have jobs as teachers. It was at this school that everything I thought, and knew, became irrelevant. It quickly became evident that most of what we had learned over the past 3 years had nothing to do with actual teaching. Those classes on creative pedagogy and integrated curriculums were pushed by the wayside, as the school had a focus on literacy and numeracy.
Add to this the fact that not one person from the school, took the time to really sit down and explain to us how their reading, writing and maths programmes actually worked and you have a recipe for disaster. So here I was, at a new job, in a new career, wandering through the “dark” with no light in sight. The phrase “trial by fire” is an understatement to what I endured. Only once I had been there a while and got to know people, that I began to get shown things (it took 6 months before I received a tour of the resource room).
It was during my first year at this school, that I began to experience the true bureaucracy that exists in education and its responsibility for the downfall of student achievement. As professional development in the school, we were subjected to an improvement programme that required us to be observed by an “expert” who would attend the school each term and check on our progress. During my first meeting with this expert and all subsequent meetings, he proceeded to identify all of the bad things I was doing as a teacher, never once identifying anything positive. He then ended each meeting without actually telling me how to improve or change my teaching. After speaking with other colleagues, this was the “norm” and happened to everyone, every-time. For this “in-depth” analysis of the school’s teachers, he was getting paid about $40k per year by the school.
Which brings me to his greatest advocate at the school, the deputy principal. Now at most schools I have attended and had the pleasure of interacting with, the principal is the figurehead of the school community. They are usually charismatic, passionate, friendly and a great advocate for their staff and pupils. Our principal was none of these, he had the charisma of a fence post. And although he was the figurehead of the school community, the school itself was run by his deputy, who had affectionately been nicknamed “The Pitbull”. This hobbit-esque woman ruled with an iron fist and her word was law. Because you can’t argue with 40 years of experience right? It became this woman’s crusade to improve the literacy and numeracy within the school and this meant by any means necessary. It was widely known that the school marked harder at the beginning of the year to make the marks lower and therefore increase the perceived “improvement” achieved over the year. But I began to question things when we were told that our end of year marks were to low and we need to “fix” them. To me, this is called fudging the numbers, but to my colleagues this was a common practice that did occur at other schools also.
So over the next 18 months I taught at this school and the last 6 months were rocky to say the least. My class in my second year became known as the class from hell. I started the year with 2 bipolar boys and 2 girls who had been separated at their last school. The class quickly descended into an unsafe environment for the other students. Here are some examples of the behaviour of these students. One girl, assaulted boys on a regular basis, by pulling hair, punching, kicking and stomping. She also threatened to murder a student’s family and threatened another teacher. One boy trashed the classroom in a fit of rage and after this he was moved to another class, flipped out at lunchtime and was removed in handcuffs by police. Another boy pulled a knife on a student in the classroom in front of a reliever. Also, another boy threw tables, chairs and objects around the classroom in numerous rages. Oh, and these were 11 year old students in a decile 7 school. When I approached the management for assistance with handling the class (this was less than 2 months into the year) I was told that it was all my fault and that I was to blame for everything that occurred in the classroom. To cut a long story short, my competence was called into question and I was effectively placed on probation. I chose to fight the school and undertook an advice and guidance programme to clear my name. This did not happen to a colleague though, who faced with a similar situation, chose to allow the school to help her find employment elsewhere. This was arranged by the school management and another local school, and was held over her head even after she left.
As a result of this, I resigned from the school and have left NZ to teach overseas. The grass is much greener over here and I now teach in a school that has a supportive management team and I am able to teach with the advice and guidance of people that I respect wilfully, not because they intimidate people.
I left NZ because there were not many options available to me. There is a lack of jobs, there are too many older teachers in education who are stuck in their ways and the schooling system is run like an “old boys” club. Also, the fact that education is treated as a political football in NZ means that every 3 years or so, it is 2 steps forward and 1 step back. When Labour and National finally decide to agree on actually fixing the education system rather than promoting their own political agendas, I will happily return to NZ. National standards are a good concept, as they give us benchmarks to aim for. But if they are not standard across all schools, they are completely useless. To finish off, I want to add my 2 cents to the recent PISA results discussion. NZ does have a world class education system and it suits “our” people, who are creative thinkers and doers, not robots. But the one difference Asia has that sets them apart, is that yes, you can fail and failure is not an option. When NZ can realise that “working towards”, “below” and “not achieved” are all bullshit ways of saying “FAIL”, the better.
‘..Also, the fact that education is treated as a political football in NZ means that every 3 years or so, it is 2 steps forward and 1 step back. When Labour and National finally decide to agree on actually fixing the education system rather than promoting their own political agendas,…’
I have heard much the same from my daughter who teaches in primary school and it is a fair comment that cold be applied not just to education, luckily she hasn’t experienced any of the other things in the schools she has taught at that your correspondent mentions.
Well I do take postings like this with a grain of salt (could be due to sour grapes and all that) but as an overview he does bring up some good points especially the bit about both parties being to blame
A Few points. (given that I bothered to read anything that might have been posted in the gutter in the first place.
“I was surrounded by a ragtag group of people, ranging from recent school graduates to the nearing retirement aged.”
I understand 45 to be the maximum age of enrolment unless under exceptional circumstances. Of course the young whipper-snappers have all the answers – can never learn from their elders.
“True bureaucracy” – emotive words but not explained.
“Professional Development” – School focussing on Literacy and Numeracy. He should have been an expert already in both of these areas – that’s what he should have been bringing with his diploma.
He proffers a whole lot of criticism of education based on his unsubstantiated claims of experience in one school, and yet in the whole missive does not appear to suggest one solution.
As above really, I suspect theres more then a few sour grapes at work but as an overview he does bring up some points about whats wrong with the system (both parties sticking their oars in)
I mean when I was in uni the fee paying students from China were certainly hogging the lecturers time, making it difficult for everyone else and the amount of collaboration on assignments was more then what was expected so their were a lot complaints made but from my pov they were just being smart and they got the results so fair play but someone else could see it another way
I think hes mostly venting but I agree that both parties play political football with education and thats where most of the problems start with
Having observed young Christopher’s progress over several years now, we are very pleased with his development into a more rational commenter who at times makes useful contributions to The Standard learning environment.
One notes a welcome change in attitude not uncommon in formerly troubled students as the reality of poll results brings home the futility of pointless abusive behaviour.
A capable young lad showing increasing promise: more work needed in the areas of political comprehension and logic, but overall a good result from a difficult personal beginning: end of year rating: ACHIEVED.
@ ak
chris 73 could even become the next Frank Mac (here’s hoping). Maybe there’s something to be said for allowing trolls to enter the site, and be confronted with rational arguments.
After all, there are quite a few Natzis that are now utterly embarrassed by the crass, self-serving, self-indulgent, selfish policies the party they once claimed an affinity with has now become.
(In my experience, they’re usually the ones that can’t stand the likes of trader John, or ladder puller-uppers, or – snobbery aside – nouveau riche Johnny-cum-latelies – but whatever their motivation – they are disillusioned).
Sometimes I wonder why Chris Finlayson has been hanging out so long – but then, maybe I misjudged his character, and maybe he is actually … well – just scared basically and a Limp Biscuit.
Silly Labour (bloody silly, even fucktardinous dimwittery) …. ‘cos Labour still has its equivalents.
Shame we can’t get them all together where they could reminisce – perhaps over a glass of Ch-ch-ch-chardonay – perhaps somewhere in HawkesBay, or even Waiheke Island.
Took me a while to realise Chris that your post was a quote.
Some of the stuff reported is questionable. The violence by kids in the class of 11 year olds is not credible. You would not be placed “on probation” if there were problems.
Note that the greener overseas is not named.
Politicians should leave schools alone. Leave it Education to develop properly researched and tested improvements without political interference, without League Tables, without using kids as footballs, without fear and favour.
For over a hundred years Education has evolved an improved from the bottom up until recently when this Government has interfered with disastrous results. We had had high PISA rankings because of Educational school driven innovation but this was in spite of political interference. (Mind you PISA rankings might cause unintended consequences like narrowing the focus of teaching and learning.)
Earlier I posted this bit (and I’ll put in quotes as well)
“Well I do take postings like this with a grain of salt (could be due to sour grapes and all that) but as an overview he does bring up some good points especially the bit about both parties being to blame”
I spent some time at the Christchurch College of Education a few years back and while there were some worthy people it also had its fair share of ex-hippies and people who were all theory and no practical
… nothing wrong with ex-hippies mate. Generally peace loving people who like to get on with their neighbours for the betterment of all mankind. chris73 some advice – don’t discredit your own discussions by letting your prejudices show through.
There may well have been some friction (may not be the correct term) as I was still in uniform at the time and the people that I was dealing with weren’t the same people that he was teaching about
He was training us to be dealing with nice, well-mannered middle class kids so there wasn’t anything about conflict management or how to deal with troubled kids
Both my parents were teachers. They met and married at ATC and both variously worked in many schools much of their lives. Later my father moved into another career, but Mum taught Intermediate until she retired.
She loved the classroom. She was really good at it. She hated the staffroom; all of the problems she ever encountered started there. So what your source has written has a certain old familiarity to it.
But what has changed in the last few decades is that we have been constantly diminishing teaching as a profession with meddling, micromanagement and over evaluation. Great teachers are not robots, rattling off a narrowly proscribed curriculum according to a tight timetable.
Children are not widgets in an education factory. They are unique, they each have their own strengths that will be uncovered in its own time … with encouragement and care. And some children will respond to some teachers, and not others.
Like many professions, teaching is about 50% science and 50% an artform. Great teachers have learnt how to weave these two coda into a true “educement”; inducing the flowering of emotional, intellectual and aesthetic sensibility in their charges.
It is the same weaving of the rational and the instinctive, the received wisdom and the creative impulse … that makes a great doctor, an outstanding jurist, the inspirational engineer or scientist. Equally if we treat teachers like disposable units in a factory, they will treat their children the same. And we will regret that bitterly.
PS: The incidents of violence mentioned are not implausible. Mum never saw anything quite that bad, but not too far off. Invariably … without exception …. the root cause lay in a grossly dysfunctional family. Incidentally she taught most of her life in one of NZ’s poshest suburbs.
My BF’s vision for education is that Teaching would be a rock-star profession: it will pay well and be highly respected. Instead of the best and brightest going off to become professionals, and those in the (typically) middle-lower end of the spectrum who don’t know what else to do with their lives so become teachers, teaching would be an inviting profession for the best and brightest.
Also when the teachers union demands a pay rise, smaller class sizes and all of the other changes in conditions that they want, they will get everything they ask for except the pay rise… which comes later when they prove the things they asked for are effective.
Expertise :
-“it is not necessary for an individual to have a professional or academic qualification.”-see shepherds.
-Skilled Memory Theory ; Ericsson et al;
– Deep structures ; Chi et al;
-and “dialogic expertise”
from “an ordinary fellow from another town” – Twain 😀
Corruption and kickbacks in NZ business, especially with contractors to councils etc as part of PPPs. The situation is being highlighted with a focus on rading contracts to Auckland Council since 2010:
Simon Everett was formerly managing director of roading contractor Blacktop Construction. His company collapsed in September, and Everett said he was now in a position to call for a debate on business practices that had become increasingly sharp.
[…]
Everett’s concerns were echoed by industry spokesman Jeremy Sole, chief executive of the New Zealand Contractors Federation, who warned recent public-sector contracting changes raised risks.
“There’s a propensity for some clients to move to very large contracts, which raises the stakes considerably. The game is changing dramatically, and the incentives are there to do whatever it takes. We might start to see an increase in corruption as a result,” Sole said.
Dealings between private and public-sector bodies needed to be policed more thoroughly, Sole said. “Most of our interactions are with central or local government agencies, and we would be very upset if anything above a Christmas Card was exchanged.”
The Serious Fraud Office is investigating individuals at Auckland Transport over alleged irregularities in the procurement of roading maintenance contracts. The council-controlled company fired a senior manager in September following an internal investigation into the corruption allegations dating back to 2010.
[…]
Toresen said public-sector organisations had rules against employees receiving gifts from contractors, but these were being skirted. “Most large organisations have a gift register and it’s being breached. It’s a funny sort of no man’s land because it’s not really well tested.”
Its not just auckland but rural areas where big contracts to big players squeeze local contractors out.
Then the locals discover the maintenance cycles and quality of work deteriorate over time and roads that used to be well looked after are let go as thats all the big contractor allowed for OR the local crowd lowballed it to get the work and ends up losing money.
blacktop have plenty to be unhappy about with downers and FH practices.
When is the news media going to drop the continuous assaults on decency?
If they wish to report on a vicious crime, put it in a crime section where those who enjoy such reporting can head to and be satisfied.
My “Bookmark” directs me to the news outlet.
I therefore do not need to be greeted by such revolting headlines.
Being that you wouldn’t answer any of the repeated questions I put to you I see no reason to answer yours
So I’ll try again, what did you mean by this:
“Give the missus a serious seeing to when she got home late with the Maccers dinner and no dipping sauce didya ?”
See I’m assuming you were asking if I’m physically abusive towards my wife however I’d like to know what you meant by it and why you come to that conclusion
No not really, people can disagree with me all they like (and they do) but suggesting I beat my wife simply because you disagree with me isn’t clever and it isn’t funny
Vince Siemer seems to be a very dedicated axe-grinder but every now and then I check in to his site for a read-up on his latest sharpenings. His New Zealand Judge Files are interesting reading.
Relevant part of Section 200 of the Criminal Procedure Act 2011 re name suppression:
” 200. Court may suppress identity of defendant
(1) A court may make an order forbidding publication of the name, address, or occupation of a person who is charged with, or convicted or acquitted of, an offence.
(2) The court may make an order under subsection (1) only if the court is satisfied that publication would be likely to—
(a) cause extreme hardship to the person charged with, or convicted of, or acquitted of the offence, or any person connected with that person; or
(b) cast suspicion on another person that may cause undue hardship to that person; or
(c) cause undue hardship to any victim of the offence; or
(d) create a real risk of prejudice to a fair trial; or
(e) endanger the safety of any person; or
(f) lead to the identification of another person whose name is suppressed by order or by law; or
(g) prejudice the maintenance of the law, including the prevention, investigation, and detection of offences; or
(h) prejudice the security or defence of New Zealand.
(3) The fact that a defendant is well known does not, of itself, mean that publication of his or her name will result in extreme hardship for the purposes of subsection (2)(a). ”
Interesting to note that Section 393 of the Criminal Procedure Act 2011 repealed Section 66 of the Land Transport Act 1998 with effect from 5 March 2012:
” 66. Names of drivers convicted of alcohol or drug-related offences may not be suppressed
[Repealed]
Section 66: repealed, on 5 March 2012 (applying in relation to a proceeding for an offence that was commenced before that date), by section 393 of the Criminal Procedure Act 2011 (2011 No 81). “
I’d rather we had blanket name suppression UNTIL a conviction was obtained. Then apply suppression only on the basis of the risk of victims being applied, and/or whether a defense team immediately signals intent to appeal.
Geez I love rhubarb – maybe that’s the problem. It’s a vege (as in animal/vege/mineral) that should be confined to digestive tracts – rather than an animal/vegetable/mineral phenomenon that can be used to bandage up failing ideology.
Christ Draco! I have a marketing idea already! The ‘Rhubarb Bandage’! (Mathew Hooten will be pleased)
John Key, Don McKinnon, Jim Bolger and Pita Sharples are going to Mandela’s funeral.
Personally, I think that Cunliffe should politely decline and send John Minto instead – if Minto would want to go with the Blue boys, that is.
Strangely enough, of the four you mention, it’s perhaps Don McKinnon that can claim the moral high ground – even though he chose to align himself with a bunch of Natz way back when. At least he made some efforts to engage with prisoners and victims of ‘the State’, and ease their plight. As for the others – their record is self-evident.
Abbott claim that nothing is wrong with the kiwi living in OZ policy, that it didn’t hurt his pakeha wife any, is of course classic Australian racism – adopt the whiter babies so you can take the higher moral ground and dictate a racist policy on the rest
So central banks actions for me and you are pretty 2nd degree. None of us use central bank money, we use commercial bank money. An increase in commercial bank money supply (by loan making) can have effects in the real economy, but supplies of cash to banks by a central bank only increases the money supply by effectively giving banks the confidence to lend more loans because they have more central bank reserves to back up any payments they will need to make. However, the link is not simple. If I am a bank treasurer sitting on a book of bad loans, I know that I will need a lot of central bank money in future to settle claims made on me by other banks. Any excess liquidity provided to me by the ECB will be used to shore up my balance sheet, not expand it.
One of the problems with our present monetary system is that neither the central bank nor the government has any real control over how much money is in circulation. That falls almost solely upon the private banks who create most of the money in circulation and they’re incentivised to make ever more ‘safe’ loans which means housing and so we get housing bubbles – just like the one we’re seeing in Auckland now.
@ Draco …. the harder they rise, the harder they fall. It’s just a bloody pain waiting for it all to happen sometimes. (But it is inevitable. Do the smart thing – make sure the entire family is equipped with ear muffs so they don’t have to hear the sound of pigs squealing)
Claims of sea level rise globally. In order for central Australia to be flooded there needs to be ~20m rise in sea levels, but such a vast area being flooded should buffer sea level rises!!!! That maybe good, but there is a problem, the hot environment will necessarily evaporate massive amounts of water into the atmosphere! So if we don’t get the projected sea level rises we may get an even worse scenario of much more rain globally. And a warmer world will also cool faster to balance itself, and that cooling will occur over the northern hemisphere continents (how else did all that ice get there during the ice age). Australia great desert will pump water into the atmosphere and snow will be dumped….
Australia’s vast interior, called the Outback, is ringed by coastal mountains and often quite dry. Because of the low-lying nature of the continent’s eastern interior and the lack of river runoff in its western dry environment, most of the heavy rainfall of 2010–11 remained inland rather than flowing into the oceans. While some of it evaporated in the desert sun, much of it sank into the dry, granular soil of the Western Plateau or filled the Lake Eyre basin in the east.
“No other continent has this combination of atmospheric set-up and topography,” Fasullo says. “Only in Australia could the atmosphere carry such heavy tropical rains to such a large area, only to have those rains fail to make their way to the ocean.”
As much as I follow climate change news, any predictions made on 20m sea rise should be ignored for the fact that it is almost sci-fi-level speculation at the moment. 2m sea rise can happen in the next century and its implications are bad enough that we don’t need to think about after it. If we can’t survive 2m, why should we worry about 20m? 😛
20m rises are indeed implausible in the next century.
Unless the West Antarctic Ice Shelf (WAIS) breaks up. That would lead to a rather rapid 6-7m rise in sea level over the period of about a decade or less.
And that event could easily occur at any time over the next several centuries. It’s happened before and will almost certainly happen again. We just don’t really know when.
What about the fact that water is most dense at 4 degrees? Think of sub 4 degree water as a cold reservoir we humans are using up rapidly, at present heating 0-4 degrees water up to 4 degrees and thus holding back expansion of heating of water over 4 degrees. So we hit a tipping point where expansion begins, although as I point out its non-linear (as sea rise they flood more area and for ever small rise there is more area to inundate).
Of course I’m speculating again, but hey, ain’t like this is a science journal. Also saline water is heavier, as warmer sea water hits the polar refrigerator it becomes more saline (some water freezes) and drops. More fresh water from melting land glaciers means slightly less dense water.
from the article;
-“…Libertarianism in my country is actually being taken seriously as an intelligent mode of political thought…It’s astonishing to me…People are saying ‘I don’t need anything but my ability to make a profit…” then to paraphrase, “We do not care who educates your children, only where ours are schooled, We do not care who funded and built the power generators, who puts out the fires or turns up to medical emergencies and accidents, who else requires water, or how freakin’ hot and turbulent the climate gets…”- Sam Hall…
Yet again, we are gutting our ability to prosecute white collar criminals while putting the boot on the neck of anyone unfortunate enough to not have silver spoons…
Friday spot got lost. But here’s some fast ruminating from Jackie Mason on going to the psychiatrist to find himself.
I went to a psychiatrist. I’m not ashamed to admit it. It’s because I didn’t know who I was. He took one look at me and said right away, “This is not you.”
I said, “If this is not me, then who is it?”
He said, “I don’t know either.”
I said, “Then what do I need you for?”
He said, “To find out who you are.”
I said to myself, If I don’t know who I am, how do I know who to look for? And even if I find me, how do I know it’s me? Besides, if I want to look for me, why do I need him? I can look myself…I need a partner (“shutef”)? Ten years ago I’d be glad to look for anybody. Now I’m doing good. Why should I look for him? He needs help? Why doesn’t he look for me?”
He said, “The search for the real you will have to continue. That’ll be a hundred dollars, please.”
I said to myself, “If this is not the real me, why should I give HIM a hundred dollars? I’ll look for the real me. Let HIM give me a hundred dollars.
…But what if I find the real me and he doesn’t think it’s worth a hundred dollars? Then I’ve stuck my money with the real him.”
Then I said, “For all I know the real me might be going to another psychiatrist altogether. Might even be a psychiatrist himself. Wouldn’t it be funny if you’re the real me and you owe me a hundred dollars?”
I said, “I’ll tell you what. I’ll charge you fifty dollars and we’ll call it even.” http://haruth.com/mw/3minutes.html
By an astonishing coincidence, greywarbler, I heard precisely the same comedy item on ‘The Laugh Track’ (Nat Rad) about an hour before you posted this. Serendipity or what !
swordfish
No coincidence, I heard it on rnz too and it was so good I searched on google for it. I couldn’t find any good youtube items but the shot gun speech of the prose carries the joke well. I said we needed some joie de vivre eh! I like to share some good things to keep our spirits up as we hear the policy filtering through that sounds like deja vue. Soon I’ll be so sick of hearing it that I will be writing French all the time, c’est la vie.
You’re a very good sport, greywarbler. In fact, so much so that I now feel more than a smidgen guilty about my mild teasing over the last couple of days. So, I’ll desist at this point with what, in retrospect, could be deemed borderline troll-like behaviour.
(And if I know Mr Prentice like I think I do, he’ll currently be circling me like a shark, just waiting for another dumbarse comment so he can come down like a ton of bricks. With my next comment, I’ll be expecting to see my beautiful teal-blue gravatar next to the name ‘Total Shit-For-Brains’, much like the said 1prent hilariously did a few weeks ago for some Tory troll purporting to be ‘Peter Davis’ (although in that case he altered the moniker to something like ‘Complete and Utter Dickhead’)).
that was just lovely, and well-timed to coincide with the day’s other rewards. (I didn’t wish to bore you with roguish repetition) .Moved me, moved me when it was released, they played it on our local AM radio station at particular times, usually around 4.30-7.30 PM. Bookmarked a non-research site for a change; progress, otherwise, All Selections Hand-Made.
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Open access notables A survey of interventions to actively conserve the frozen North, van Wijngaarden et al., Climatic Change:The frozen elements of the high North are thawing as the region warms much faster than the global mean. The dangers of sea level rise due to melting glacier ice, increased ...
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In 2015, then-Prime Minister John Key announced plans for a huge ocean sanctuary around the Kermadec Islands, banning fishing and mining from 15% of Aotearoa's EEZ. It was bold, it was ambitious, and it suggested that National might actually care about the environment. Except they fucked it up: Key failed ...
1. Who has just been given the accolade New Zealander of the Year?a. The Kokakob. The Cook Strait Ferryc. Fair God. Dr Jim Salinger 2. Which of these is an affront to decent society?a. Dame Edna Everageb. Mrs Doubtfire c. Dr. Frank-N-Furterd. Brian 3. Who is Penny Simmonds?a. The aspiring actress in Big ...
New Zealand’s biggest-ever political donations scandal is finally at an end. But what is the conclusion? No one can really be sure.The Court of Appeal released its judgement on Tuesday about the Serious Fraud Office case against the NZ First Foundation. On the face of it, the court found ...
Buzz from the Beehive Waves of rain are set to lash much of the North Island during Easter Weekend as a low-pressure system forms east of New Zealand, according to a weather forecast published in the past day or so. Niwa was warning of a “moisture-laden” long weekend, with rain expected ...
Look around us…Nicola Willis’ promises of balancing the books, of cutting spending without reducing services, and of delivering game changing tax cuts are disappearing before her eyes.Everyday we see stories of violent crime ending in horrific injuries, or worse. The cost of living worsens, whereas the PM claimed renters would ...
TL;DR: My top six news of note on the morning of Thursday, March 28 include:The Government will have to borrow between $10 billion to $15 billion more than previously expected in order to make up for a slowing economy and to pay for $14.9 billion of tax cuts, according to ...
This story by Naveena Sadasivam and Kate Yoder was originally published by Grist and is part of Covering Climate Now, a global journalism collaboration strengthening coverage of the climate story. The long-awaited jobs board for the American Climate Corps, promised early in the Biden administration, will open next month, according to details shared exclusively ...
Should landlords be able to deduct the interest on the loans they take out to bankroll their property speculation? The US Senate Budget Committee and Bloomberg News don’t think this is a good idea, for reasons set out below. Regardless, our coalition government has been burning through a ton of ...
Treasury’s first report on the economy since the change of government presents a damning indictment of Labour’s economic management. The problem for National is that it is so damning that logically, coupled with a rapidly slowing economy, Finance Minister Nicola Willis should respond to it by postponing or even cancelling ...
Budget tensions are becoming evident within the Coalition Government. Winston Peters made numerous political points in his speech to the NZF annual conference. But the attack on his own government’s fiscal policies raised issues of substance. ‘Today in the Sunday Star Times, journalist and former advisor to the Labour ...
Buzz from the Beehive The media – sure enough – have been binging on Finance Minister Nicola Willis’ release of the Budget Policy Statement and a statement headed Government announces Budget priorities This assures us – or rather, this parrots the Luxon team mantra – that the Budget “will deliver ...
The Ides of March brought me COVID followed by a bereavement. No wonder they tell you to be careful of them.I’m home now and have resumed the interrupted recuperation. Very much looking forward to getting back to regular things. Meanwhile, some thoughts…OneThis new Prime Minister guy just keeps getting more dire. ...
News that the Chinese ATP 40 cyber-hacking unit penetrated parliamentary internet networks in 2021 has renewed concerns about the PRC’s malign intentions in Aotearoa. But is the hack that significant given the length of time that has passed since its … Continue reading → ...
When Parliament passed the Intelligence and security Act in 2017, they assured us all that it was full of safeguards. Any intrusive surveillance of New Zealanders would be subject to a "triple lock", requiring the approval of the Minister and (supposedly independent) Commissioner of Intelligence Warrants, as well as post-facto ...
Eric Crampton writes – Richard Harman’s Politik newsletter provides a bit of the context that ought to have been showing up in other media reports on potential reductions in public service staffing. Media has been reporting on staffing cuts on the order of about 7%. Is that ...
Mike Grimshaw writes – It’s becoming increasingly apparent that many perceive free speech to have become the preserve of the politically right wing, the religiously conservative, the libertarian fringe, the anti-trans, the anti-Māori and…. well, just fill in with whatever groups or individuals you don’t like and don’t ...
Don Brash writes – As everybody who is not blind and deaf is aware, there is a huge political preoccupation with climate change at the moment, a widespread (though by no means unanimous) belief that global temperatures are rising mainly as a result of the greenhouse gases created ...
TL;DR: My six things to note in Aotearoa’s political economy on Wednesday, March 27 include:Chris Bishop laid out his vision for filling Aotearoa-NZ’s $100 billion infrastructure deficit in a speech yesterday, emphasising user pays and private funding, but failed to say how to achieve bipartisanship on population, public borrowing and ...
Bryce Edwards writes – Former Finance Minister Grant Robertson and former Prime Minister Chris Hipkins have been conveying how unhappy they are with the tax system. Last week in his valedictory speech, Robertson called for the introduction of a wealth or capital gains tax. And this week Hipkins ...
On February 14, 2023 we announced our Rebuttal Update Project. This included an ask for feedback about the added "At a glance" section in the updated basic rebuttal versions. This weekly blog post series highlights this new section of one of the updated basic rebuttal versions and serves as a ...
Buzz from the Beehive China has loomed large in Beehive considerations over the past 24 hours, largely because of that country’s mischief-making in the cyber espionage department. Two media statements emerged on that subject hard on the heels of the PM baulking at questions put to him on RNZ’s Morning ...
Chris Trotter writes – WHY IS THE NATIONAL PARTY doing so much for landlords, property developers, trucking, and construction companies, and so little for everybody who isn’t already pretty well-off? It’s as if protecting landlords’ investments and building apartments and roads now constitute the whole of National’s ...
Bryce Edwards writes – When she was campaigning to be Minister of Finance last year, Nicola Willis pledged that she would resign from the job if she failed to deliver tax cuts in her first Budget. Now, it’s that pledge, along with Prime Minister Christopher Luxon’s ...
Robert MacCulloch writes – The Reserve Bank has doubled staff numbers in five years to 510, with personnel costs rising to $80 million in 2023 from $32 million in 2018 – up by a whopping 150%. I guess when you print $50 billion and flood markets with liquidity, ...
The furore. In case you didn’t notice there was a controversy in the weekend involving dolphins in a little town off the South Island. Don’t panic, they haven’t declared independence and resumed whaling, this was simply a sailing event.The problem began when racing was cancelled on the opening day of ...
For 20 years or more, the case for a meaningful capital tax gains has been mulled over and analysed to death, including by the tax working group chaired by Sir Michael Cullen. More than once, the International Monetary Fund has said a CGT would be a good idea for New ...
TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read: The Public Health Communications Centre (PHCC) call for urgent preventive action and a risk assessment survey of long covid in this briefing noteLocal scoop: NZ road deaths surpass OECD rates, so why is the govt reversing safety plans? ...
This story was originally published by Grist and is part of Covering Climate Now, a global journalism collaboration strengthening coverage of the climate story. This story is part of a collaboration with Grist and WABE to demystify the Georgia Public Service Commission, the small but powerful state-elected board that makes critical decisions about everything from raising ...
This is a guest post from Robert McLachlan Global warming is accelerating; 2023 was off the charts. We need to stop burning fossil fuels. In New Zealand, transport accounts for half of all fossil fuels burnt. In the Emissions Reduction Plan, transport emissions fall 41% by 2035. As the ...
Labour productivity has been receding rapidly over the past two years, reversing a post-lockdown rise. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: My six things to note in Aotearoa’s political economy as at 6:26am on Tuesday, March 26 include:Workers have been treading water in output per hour worked for 12 years, ...
TL;DR: The key events to watch in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy in the week to April 2 include:Today, Parliament resumes sitting at 2pm for the second week of a two-week session. Officials for SIS and GCSB report their annual reviews in public to the Intelligence and Security Select Committee from 5.10pm.Tomorrow, ...
Faced with a barrage of criticism over the promised tax cuts from usually supportive commentators, Finance Minister Nicola Willis yesterday reaffirmed her intention to include them in this year’s Budget. The Government is up against it over the cuts just about every way it turns. Commentators like Fran O’Sullivan, Matthew ...
Here’s my pick of today’s substack posts as of 6:26pm on Monday, March 25: writes via his substack that Market-rate housing will make your city cheaper writes via his substack about the problems talking to double-cab ute (truck) drivers about their vehicles. today about moments of radicalisation in ...
Buzz from the Beehive Just before Christmas, Finance Minister Nicola Willis delivered something that was pitched as a mini-budget and brayed about the decisive action being taken to repair the Government books and support income tax relief in Budget 2024. In a statement headed Fiscal repair job underway. she introduced ...
My sister Belinda asked Dad yesterday what one word would describe Mum best. He said: vivacious.If you only knew her from the photos on the slideshow we've made for today,you might wonder about that, because the camera tended to lie with Mum.If ever she saw a camera pointed at her, she ...
There are two major public consultations closing in the next week, Auckland Council’s Long Term Plan (LTP), and the draft Government Policy Statement on Land Transport (GPS). Closing dates and times: LTP closes Thursday 28 February, at 11.59pm – a minute to midnight! GPS closes Tuesday 2 April, at 12pm noon – note that’s ...
From Kiwiblog’s David Farrar – Bryce Wilkinson writes: Senior Fellow Bryce Wilkinson’s analysis reveals that since March 2009, New Zealand has spent $158 billion more overseas than it has earned, but its NIIP has only fallen by $32 billion.Statistics New Zealand shows that receipts from overseas reinsurers have ...
Is she hinting that the Coalition Government will have to back down on key promises it made in Opposition? Brian Easton writes – The Minister of Finance, Nicola Willis, is telling an evolving story about her fiscal challenges. In Opposition she was confident that she could ...
Dear Nicola Willis,Right now you’ve probably got lots of competing demands coming at you. Ministers who’ve inherited quite a mess, or so you’ve told us, looking for money in the budget to improve things. I imagine that’s why they came to parliament - to make things better.You’ll have to make ...
The Local Government, Transport and Auckland Minister hasthreatened councils with intervention if they don’t merge water assets to take them off balance sheet, just as the now-repealed Three Waters plan directed. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: My six things of note this morning for Monday, March 25 include:Simeon ...
A listing of 36 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, March 17, 2024 thru Sat, March 23, 2024. Story of the week Thanks to John Mason having the stamina to sit down to watch "Climate - the Movie" ...
This morning the Q&A programme had Simeon Brown on to talk about National’s replacement for Three Waters. In case anyone’s forgotten the three are - drinking water, waste water, and sewerage. It’s quite important not to get them mixed up. In much the same way that you wouldn’t want to ...
Today’s newsletter comes with a mini-podcast conversation between me and my buddy Liv Tennet, talking about her time as a child actor in Lord of the Rings. It’s a conversation with a lot of giggles as she talks about falling off a horse, and becoming a meme. Read ...
The Desmog Climate Disinformation Database documents, "individuals and organisations that have helped to delay and distract the public and our elected leaders from taking needed action to reduce greenhouse gas pollution and fight global warming." It's a who's who of the organised climate change denial movement, in other words. In ...
Bob Edlin writes – A High Court judge has decided miscreants who have mana – or who claim to have mana – should be treated differently from miscreants who have none. It’s a ruling that suggests indigenous law-breakers have a better chance of securing a discharge without conviction ...
Welcome to the first, and possibly last, edition of Brickbats, Bouquets and Bull’s Wool. In which I’ll take a look at the events of the last week or so, and rate them.In such ratings the numbers usually have more to do with the opinions of the reviewer, than the actual ...
Roger Partridge writes – My earlier column this month, New Zealand’s highest court could be facing a turning point, prompted a flood of feedback from business readers and lawyers alike. A common query was what Parliament can do to restrain an overreaching judiciary. This week I discuss two steps Parliament ...
TL;DR: In today’s ‘six-stack’ of substacks at 6.16pm on Friday, March 22: writes about New Zealand's Building Boom—And What the World Must Learn From It over at his substack. challenges the Auckland Council’s use of a 3.8 degrees of warming forecast to oppose a wave-park and data centre project ...
Is she hinting that the Coalition Government will have to back down on key promises it made in Opposition?The Minister of Finance, Nicola Willis, is telling an evolving story about her fiscal challenges. In Opposition she was confident that she could deliver her promised income tax cuts. Appointed minister, she ...
Buzz from the Beehive Ministers of the Crown have drawn attention to one sector of the science sector which is unlikely to be subjected to heavy spending cuts, a state-funded broadcaster which is doing nicely, thank you, and a sporting event that had $5.4 million from the public purse puffed ...
Abbott’s Freestyle Libre sensors allow continuous glucose monitoring (CGM). The sensor is applied to the back of the patient’s arm, with a thin filament under the skin measuring glucose levels constantly. But it costs around $100 per sensor and must be replaced once every 14 days. Photo by BSIP/Universal Images ...
The Inspector General of Intelligence and Security (IGIS) recently released a report in which he exposes the existence of a foreign intelligence partner-controlled technological “capability” inside the headquarters of the GCSB, NZ’s 5 Eyes-affiliated signals intelligence collection and analysis agency. … Continue reading → ...
Peter Dunne writes – Nearly three decades after the introduction of MMP and multiparty governments there should be a greater level of understanding about their finer points than often appears to be the case. The reaction to the despicable outburst from the Deputy Prime Minister at the weekend highlights ...
The sweet kisses from fruit of summerHave slowly been turning dullerYou say, "those times"And "remember the daysWhen we went outside and there still was the shade?"Taking no reason into play…Autumn. Clear, blue days shortening to longer nights, growing colder. Aotearoa.That’s us. The temperature dropping, the looming car crash - so ...
Bryce Edwards writes – “It is often said that behind every great man is a great woman”. This is the pitch by the National Party Botany electorate branch to attend their “Ladies Afternoon Tea with Amanda Luxon”. For $110 including GST, you can turn up on Saturday 20 April ...
David Farrar writes – The Electoral Commission has published the expense returns for political parties for the 2023 election. I’ve put them in a table with how many votes a party got so we can see the spend per vote. National only spent $3.34 for every vote they got, almost ...
Winston Peters’ headline-making actions over the past week may have been a show of political power intended to strengthen his hand in Budget negotiations. It was no accident that his State of the Nation speech was as it was. He made it as New Zealand First Leader, not as Deputy ...
Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The five things that mattered in Aotearoa’s political economy that we wrote and spoke about via The Kākā and elsewhere for paying subscribers in the last week included:Former Labour Finance Minister Grant Robertson bowed out of politics this week, giving a series of exit ...
Graham Adams writes — If you love the law or sausages, as the saying goes, best not to look too closely at how they are made. And after watching the orgy of self-pity when Newshub’s closure was announced on February 28, television journalism should definitely be added to the list of those ...
Venerable New Zealand political commentator, Chris Trotter (https://bowalleyroad.blogspot.com/), is a sad creature these days. Once one of the most reliable Leftist writers out there – Economic Left at that – Trotter seems to have absorbed the worldview of Auckland culture-war obsessives. It is not for me to categorise what he ...
The Coalition Government’s plan to ‘get Auckland moving’ is a cuts cover-up that will ultimately cost Aucklanders more to move around the city, says Labour Auckland Issues spokesperson Shanan Halbert. ...
Slashing the Ministry of Pacific Peoples by 40% will have a devastating impact on pacific communities and further highlights how little this government cares about anything other than cutting taxes for the wealthiest few. ...
Labour has proposed an urgent inquiry to investigate the ever-increasing profits of supermarkets, aiming to lower costs for shoppers and food producers alike, says Labour Spokesperson for Commerce and Consumer Affairs Arena Williams and Primary Production Spokesperson Cushla Tangaere-Manuel. ...
With 14% of jobs on the line at the Ministry for Ethnic Communities, the responsible Minister Melissa Lee is failing to stand up for the very communities she’s meant to be representing. ...
COURT OF APPEAL: TRIFECTA OF VICTORY FOR NZ FIRST, TRIFECTA OF FAILURE FOR OPPONENTS For the third time since April 2020, New Zealand First has defeated the Serious Fraud Office and all those complicit in a malicious attack against a political party going about its lawful business in a lawful ...
The Green Party stands with people who live in public housing, people in dire housing need, experts and advocates in demanding better than the Government’s archaic approach to housing those who need our support the most. ...
New Zealand has recently lost the hosting rights of some major international sporting events including the America’s Cup, the Rugby Championship, Netball World Cup, and the Wellington Sevens. We are now at a huge risk of losing SailGP as well. And it won’t stop there. The recent issues with SailGP ...
A Member’s Bill drawn this week would modernise insurance law and make things fairer and more transparent for consumers, Christchurch Central MP Duncan Webb said. ...
The Minister for Disability Issues has confirmed she was aware of funding issues in mid-December and did nothing to stop it. On 14 March, she signed off on changes that were announced and implemented on 18 March without any consultation with disability communities. ...
Green Party MP Julie Anne Genter says her members' bill is an opportunity for the coalition government to plug the gap in electric vehicle incentives. ...
The National Government continues to talk about irresponsible tax cuts that will only drive up inflation, despite the country entering a technical recession. ...
The Minister for Disability Issues must act urgently to reinstate flexibility around the funding for disability support and apologise to disabled carers. ...
This story has been initiated by a leftie shill reporter who proactively sought to call a member of a former band, which disbanded twelve years ago, give their biased appraisal of what was said in my speech, and concocted a ham-fisted attempt at a story that does nothing but show ...
The Government has accepted Labour’s change to the Road User Charge (RUC) discount for hybrid vehicles, meaning there will still be some incentive for people to buy greener vehicles. ...
Many in the mainstream media have taken what was said in New Zealand First’s State of the Nation Speech in Palmerston North on Sunday and deliberately, deceitfully, and ignorantly misrepresented what I said and why I said it. The headlines and commentary on the news stated that I compared ‘co-governance ...
Kicking the most vulnerable people out of state housing and pushing them towards homelessness will result in a proliferation of poverty and trauma across our most vulnerable communities. ...
Te Pāti Māori co-leader and MP for Waiariki, Rawiri Waititi has penned a letter asking MPs to support his members bill to remove GST from all food. The bill is expected to go through its first reading in parliament this Wednesday. “I’m calling on all political parties to support my ...
Good afternoon. Thank you for, in your very busy lives, turning up to this meeting today. On October 14th last year New Zealanders overwhelmingly voted for change. That is exactly what this new government is bringing. New Zealand First campaigned to ‘take back our country’ and stop the disastrous economic ...
This year is about getting real with Kiwis and discussing the tough issues, as the National Government exacerbates inequality and divides New Zealand, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said ...
The Government adding Significant Natural Areas (SNAs) to its already roaring environmental policy bonfire is an assault on the future of wildlife that makes Aotearoa unique. ...
After 12 years of fighting to protect our moana we are finding ourselves back at square one and back at court. Today, the Environmental Protection Agency is sitting in Hawera to reconsider an application from Trans-Tasman Resources to dig up 50 million tonnes of the seabed in South Taranaki. This ...
Minister Shane Jones’ decision to step away from a seabed mining project is evidence of the murky waters surrounding the Government’s fast-track legislation. ...
The growth of Treaty of Waitangi clauses in legislation caused so much worry that a special oversight group was set up by the last government in a bid to get greater coherence in the publicservice on Treaty matters. When ministers first considered the need for tighter oversight in 2021, there ...
The growth of Treaty of Waitangi clauses in legislation caused so much worry that a special oversight group was set up by the last government in a bid to get greater coherence in the publicservice on Treaty matters. When ministers first considered the need for tighter oversight in 2021, there ...
The Coalition Government’s miscalculation saga continues as it has forgotten an eyewatering $90 million gap in its interest deductibility cost figures, say Labour Finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds and Revenue Spokesperson Deborah Russell. ...
He Pou a Rangi Climate Change Commission has today released advice that says if the Government doesn’t act now New Zealand is at risk of not meeting its climate goals. ...
The Coalition Government has today confirmed it is abandoning first home buyers who are struggling to get ahead, says Labour Finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds. ...
Transport Minister Simeon Brown has welcomed the passing of legislation to move light electric vehicles (EVs) and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) into the road user charges system from 1 April. “It was always intended that EVs and PHEVs would be exempt from road user charges until they reached two ...
New Zealand is strengthening its ability to combat illegal fishing outside its domestic waters and beef up regulation for its own commercial fishers in international waters through a Bill which had its first reading in Parliament today. The Fisheries (International Fishing and Other Matters) Amendment Bill 2023 sets out stronger ...
Economists Carl Hansen and Professor Prasanna Gai have been appointed to the Reserve Bank Monetary Policy Committee, Finance Minister Nicola Willis announced today. The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) is the independent decision-making body that sets the Official Cash Rate which determines interest rates. Carl Hansen, the executive director of Capital ...
Apartment owners and buyers will soon have greater protections as further changes to the law on unit titles come into effect, Housing Minister Chris Bishop says. “The Unit Titles (Strengthening Body Corporate Governance and Other Matters) Amendment Act had already introduced some changes in December 2022 and May 2023, and ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters will travel to Egypt and Europe from this weekend. “This travel will focus on a range of New Zealand’s traditional diplomatic and security partnerships while enabling broad engagement on the urgent situation in Gaza,” Mr Peters says. Mr Peters will attend the NATO Foreign ...
Transport Minister Simeon Brown is encouraging all road users to stay safe, plan their journeys ahead of time, and be patient with other drivers while travelling around this Easter long weekend. “Road safety is a responsibility we all share, and with increased traffic on our roads expected this Easter we ...
About 1.4 million New Zealanders will receive cost of living relief through increased government assistance from April 1 909,000 pensioners get a boost to Superannuation, including 5000 veterans 371,000 working-age beneficiaries will get higher payments 45,000 students will see an increase in their allowance Over a quarter of New Zealanders ...
Ensuring social housing is being provided to those with the greatest needs is front of mind as the Government restarts social housing tenancy reviews, Associate Housing Minister Tama Potaka says. “Our relentless focus on building a strong economy is to ensure we can deliver better public services such as social ...
The Kermadec Ocean Sanctuary will not go ahead, with Cabinet deciding to stop work on the proposed reserve and remove the Bill that would have established it from Parliament’s order paper. “The Kermadec Ocean Sanctuary Bill would have created a 620,000 sq km economic no-go zone,” Oceans and Fisheries Minister ...
Dam safety regulations are being amended so that smaller dams won’t be subject to excessive compliance costs, Minister for Building and Construction Chris Penk says. “The coalition Government is focused on reducing costs and removing unnecessary red tape so we can get the economy back on track. “Dam safety regulations ...
The coalition Government is expanding the medium-scale adverse event classification to parts of the North Island as dry weather conditions persist, Agriculture Minister Todd McClay announced today. “I have made the decision to expand the medium-scale adverse event classification already in place for parts of the South Island to also cover the ...
The passing of legislation giving effect to coalition Government tax commitments has been welcomed by Finance Minister Nicola Willis. “The Taxation (Annual Rates for 2023–24, Multinational Tax, and Remedial Matters) Bill will help place New Zealand on a more secure economic footing, improve outcomes for New Zealanders, and make our tax system ...
Science, Innovation and Technology Minister Judith Collins and Tertiary Education and Skills Minister Penny Simmonds today announced plans to transform our science and university sectors to boost the economy. Two advisory groups, chaired by Professor Sir Peter Gluckman, will advise the Government on how these sectors can play a greater ...
The Budget will deliver urgently-needed tax relief to hard-working New Zealanders while putting the government’s finances back on a sustainable track, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. The Finance Minister made the comments at the release of the Budget Policy Statement setting out the Government’s Budget objectives. “The coalition Government intends ...
The coalition Government will look at options to address a zoning issue that limits how much financial support Queenstown residents can get for accommodation. Cabinet has agreed on a response to the Petitions Committee, which had recommended the geographic information MSD uses to determine how much accommodation supplement can be ...
Cabinet has agreed to a short extension to the final reporting timeframe for the Royal Commission into Abuse in Care from 28 March 2024 to 26 June 2024, Internal Affairs Minister Brooke van Velden says. “The Royal Commission wrote to me on 16 February 2024, requesting that I consider an ...
The coalition Government is delivering an $18 million boost to New Zealanders needing to travel for specialist health treatment, Health Minister Dr Shane Reti says. “These changes are long overdue – the National Travel Assistance (NTA) scheme saw its last increase to mileage and accommodation rates way back in 2009. ...
The Government is recognising the innovative and rising talent in New Zealand’s growing space sector, with the Prime Minister and Space Minister Judith Collins announcing the new Prime Minister’s Prizes for Space today. “New Zealand has a growing reputation as a high-value partner for space missions and research. I am ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has confirmed New Zealand’s concerns about cyber activity have been conveyed directly to the Chinese Government. “The Prime Minister and Minister Collins have expressed concerns today about malicious cyber activity, attributed to groups sponsored by the Chinese Government, targeting democratic institutions in both New ...
Independent Reviewers appointed for School Property Inquiry Education Minister Erica Stanford today announced the appointment of three independent reviewers to lead the Ministerial Inquiry into the Ministry of Education’s School Property Function. The Inquiry will be led by former Minister of Foreign Affairs Murray McCully. “There is a clear need ...
State Highway 1 across the Brynderwyns will be open for Easter weekend, with work currently underway to ensure the resilience of this critical route being paused for Easter Weekend to allow holiday makers to travel north, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Today I visited the Brynderwyn Hills construction site, where ...
Introduction Good morning to you all, and thanks for having me bright and early today. I am absolutely delighted to be the Minister for Infrastructure alongside the Minister of Housing and Resource Management Reform. I know the Prime Minister sees the three roles as closely connected and he wants me ...
New Zealand stands with the United Kingdom in its condemnation of People’s Republic of China (PRC) state-backed malicious cyber activity impacting its Electoral Commission and targeting Members of the UK Parliament. “The use of cyber-enabled espionage operations to interfere with democratic institutions and processes anywhere is unacceptable,” Minister Responsible for ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters and Defence Minister Judith Collins today announced New Zealand will provide logistics support for the upcoming Solomon Islands election. “We’re sending a team of New Zealand Defence Force personnel and two NH90 helicopters to provide logistics support for the election on 17 April, at the request ...
The European Union Free Trade Agreement Legislation Amendment Bill received Royal Assent today, completing the process for New Zealand’s ratification of its free trade agreement with the European Union. “I am pleased to announce that today, in a small ceremony at the Beehive, New Zealand notified the European Union ...
Public consultation on the terms of reference for the Royal Commission into COVID-19 Lessons has concluded, Internal Affairs Minister Hon Brooke van Velden says. “I have been advised that there were over 11,000 submissions made through the Royal Commission’s online consultation portal.” Expanding the scope of the Royal Commission of ...
Hardworking families are set to benefit from a new credit to help them meet their early childcare education (ECE) costs, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. From 1 July, parents and caregivers of young children will be supported to manage the rising cost of living with a partial reimbursement of their ...
A specialised Independent Technical Advisory Group (ITAG) tasked with preparing and publishing independent non-binding advice on the design of a "green" (sustainable finance) taxonomy rulebook is being established, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. “Comprising experts and market participants, the ITAG's primary goal is to deliver comprehensive recommendations to the ...
Defence Minister Judith Collins has thanked the Chief of Army, Major General John Boswell, DSD, for his service as he leaves the Army after 40 years. “I would like to thank Major General Boswell for his contribution to the Army and the wider New Zealand Defence Force, undertaking many different ...
25 March 2024 Minister to meet Australian counterparts and Manufacturing Industry Leaders Small Business, Manufacturing, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly will travel to Australia for a series of bi-lateral meetings and manufacturing visits. During the visit, Minister Bayly will meet with his Australian counterparts, Senator Tim Ayres, Ed ...
Government commits almost $3 million for period products in schools The Coalition Government has committed $2.9 million to ensure intermediate and secondary schools continue providing period products to those who need them, Minister of Education Erica Stanford announced today. “This is an issue of dignity and ensuring young women don’t ...
Good morning, it’s great to be here. First, I would like to acknowledge the New Zealand Institute of Building Surveyors and thank you for the opportunity to be here this morning. I would like to use this opportunity to outline the Government’s ambitious plan and what we hope to ...
Minister for Pacific Peoples Dr Shane Reti has announced the Government’s commitment to the Auckland Secondary Schools Māori and Pacific Islands Cultural Festival, more commonly known as Polyfest. “The Ministry for Pacific Peoples is a longtime supporter of Polyfest and, as it celebrates 49 years in 2024, I’m proud to ...
Before moving onto the substance of today’s address, I want to recognise the very significant and ongoing contribution the Breast Cancer Foundation makes to support the lives of New Zealand women and their families living with breast cancer. I very much enjoy working with you. I also want to recognise ...
New Zealand has notched up a first with the launch of University of Canterbury research to the International Space Station, Science, Innovation and Technology and Space Minister Judith Collins says. The hardware, developed by Dr Sarah Kessans, is designed to operate autonomously in orbit, allowing scientists on Earth to study ...
Introduction Thank you for inviting me to speak with you today and I’m sorry I can’t be there in person. Yesterday I started in Wellington for Breakfast TV, spoke to a property conference in Auckland, and finished the day speaking to local government in Christchurch, so it would have been ...
The Coalition Government is contributing more than $1 million to support the establishment of an emergency multi-agency coordination centre in Northland. Emergency Management and Recovery Minister Mark Mitchell announced the contribution today during a visit of the Whangārei site where the facility will be constructed. “Northland has faced a number ...
New Zealanders have enjoyed a broader range of voices telling the story of Aotearoa thanks to the creation of Whakaata Māori 20 years ago, says Māori Development Minister Tama Potaka. The minister spoke at a celebration marking the national indigenous media organisation’s 20th anniversary at their studio in Auckland on ...
Commercial catch limits for some fisheries have been increased following a review showing stocks are healthy and abundant, Ocean and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. The changes, along with some other catch limit changes and management settings, begin coming into effect from 1 April 2024. "Regular biannual reviews of fish ...
COMMENTARY:By Ronny Kareni Since the atrocious footage of the suffering of an indigenous Papuan man reverberates in the heart of Puncak by the brute force of Indonesia’s army in early February, shocking tactics deployed by those in power to silence critics has been unfolding. Nowhere is this more evident ...
Analysis - Nicola Willis is holding firm on tax cuts despite the economic outlook being worse than forecast and critics urging her to wait, writes Peter Wilson for The Week In Politics. ...
Opposition MPs and unions are criticising a proposal by New Zealand’s Ministry of Pacific Peoples to cut staff by 40 percent. The country’s largest trade union — The Public Service Association — says the ministry has informed staff that it is looking to shed 63 of 156 positions. Opposition MPs ...
A poem by Poetry Aotearoa Yearbook 2024 featured poet Carin Smeaton. Daughtr of the 90s when she gets promoted to usherette a baby blu eel carries her all the way up to mothership she’s hovering high she lets the underaged in to see keanu reeves she lets the only lonely ...
Analysis by Keith Rankin. Keith Rankin, trained as an economic historian, is a retired lecturer in Economics and Statistics. He lives in Auckland, New Zealand. My earlier article – Can ‘Good’ be the Greater Evil? – looked at the issue of how wars should end, and how Good versus Evil ...
The only published and available best-selling indie book chart in New Zealand is the top 10 sales list recorded every week at Unity Books’ stores in High St, Auckland, and Willis St, Wellington.AUCKLAND1 AMMA by Saraid de Silva (Moa Press, $38)A stunning debut novel reviewed by Brannavan ...
From Steve Martin to Ricky Stanicky, a pick’n’mix of things worth watching and listening to this long weekend. This is an excerpt from our weekly pop culture newsletter Rec Room. Sign up here. If you’re at a loss for something to occupy yourself with this Easter, don’t panic: The Spinoff’s got ...
Jesus had dinner with his 12 disciples right before he died. Noted historian Madeleine Chapman finds out who really deserved to be there.First published in 2018 but let’s be honest, the subject is timeless. As you sit on your couch this Easter Sunday, eating a chocolate egg you know ...
The newly-promoted Northern League club is on a mission to return to the National League for the first time in two decades. Plenty about domestic football in New Zealand has changed in that time – but the sense that this amateur competition is not an entirely level playing field remains. ...
Comment: Every year on February 2, a dozen men in tuxedos and top hats approach the burrow of a groundhog in Gobbler’s Knob, Pennsylvania and entice the beaver-like rodent to emerge and predict the weather. If the groundhog, named Punxsutawney Phil, sees its own shadow when it is summoned, legend ...
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Auckland Council has put a deadline on new weather-impacted property owners applying for categorisation as government funding looks set to run out. Councillors have voted to support a deadline of September 30 for property owners who haven’t accessed support to come forward and engage with the council’s recovery office. It ...
NONFICTION 1 BBQ Economics by Liam Dann (Penguin Random House, $40) “It’s official,” wrote Dann nine days ago in the Herald, where he works as business editor at large, “we’re in recession.” Yeah, great. He delivered the bad stats: “GDP fell 0.1 percent in the December 2023 quarter, compared with ...
By Anneke Smith, RNZ News political reporter A petition urging the New Zealand government to provide urgent humanitarian assistance to the Palestinian people has been tabled in the House. More than 200 people gathered on Parliament’s forecourt today and they were met by MPs from Labour, the Greens and Te ...
Pacific Media Watch The Paris-based global media freedom watchdog RSF (Reporters Without Borders) has appealed for information about the “disappearance” of Palestinian journalist Bayan Abusultan. She was reportedly last seen on March 19 among people “sequestered” in this week’s raid and siege of Al Shifa hospital by Israeli troops in ...
EDITORIAL:The Jakarta Post It happens again and again; indigenous Papuans fall victim to Indonesian soldiers. This time, we have photographic evidence for the brutality, with videos on social media showing a Papuan man being tortured by a group of plainclothes men alleged to be the Indonesian Military (TNI) members. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Robyn J. Whitaker, Director of the Wesley Centre for Theology, Ethics, and Public Policy & Associate Professor, New Testament, Pilgrim Theological College, University of Divinity A strange and eclectic range of activities takes place across these few weeks of the year. Some ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Panizza Allmark, Professor Visual & Cultural Studies, Edith Cowan University It’s Easter weekend, which means many of us will be kicking back with the greatest hits on repeat. But whether you’re a boomer, or an ‘80s or ’90s kid, you might be ...
RNZ Pacific Fiji’s Acting Public Prosecutor has filed an appeal against the sentences of former prime minister Voreqe Bainimarama and suspended police chief Sitiveni Qiliho in their corruption case. Bainimarama was granted an absolute discharge for attempting to pervert the course of justice while Qiliho received a conditional discharge with ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Arosha Weerakoon, Senior Lecturer and General Dentist, School of Dentistry, The University of Queensland Casezy idea/Shutterstock How does toothpaste work? What did people use before toothpaste was invented? – Amelia, age 7, Meanjin (Brisbane) Thanks for your ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Brett Hallam, Associate professor, UNSW Sydney IM Imagery/Shutterstock Solar SunShot is well named. The Australian government announced today it would plough A$1 billion into bringing back solar manufacturing to Australia, boosting energy security, swapping coal and gas jobs for those ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Clare Dix, Research Fellow in Nutrition & Dietetics, The University of Queensland Easter is the time for chocolate. The shops are full of fantastically packaged and shiny chocolates in all shapes and sizes, making trips to the supermarket with children more challenging ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Emma Felton, Adjunct Senior Researcher, University of South Australia Even in a stubborn cost-of-living crisis, it seems there’s one luxury most Australians won’t sacrifice – their daily cup of coffee. Coffee sales have largely remained stable, even as financial pressures have ...
Mining company Trans-Tasman Resources has unexpectedly withdrawn its application for a consent to suck the valuable metals vanadium and titanium from the Taranaki seafloor, as it apparently wagers on the Government’s new fast-track process. It had spent two-and-a-half days putting its case to the Environmental Protection Agency’s decision-making committee, at ...
Contrary to the Associate Minister of Education’s claims, analysis of Healthy School Lunches Programme - Ka Ora, Ka Ako assessments has revealed it provides excellent value for the taxpayer dollar, as a groundswell of public opposition to Government ...
Greenpeace says wannabe Taranaki seabed miner Trans-Tasman Resources is likely banking on Christopher Luxon’s fast-track process to side-step proper scrutiny of its Taranaki seabed mining proposal by bailing out of the Environmental Protection Agency hearing ...
Kiwis Against Seabed mining today slammed Australian owned would-be seabed miner Trans Tasman Resources (TTR) for abandoning its application to the Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) to mine the seabed of the South Taranaki Bight. The company ...
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The Taxpayers’ Union has today made a formal request under the Regulations of the People’s Republic of China on Open Government Information () for information held about how New Zealand Members of Parliament are spending taxpayer ...
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Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Daryl Adair, Associate Professor of Sport Management, University of Technology Sydney Earlier this week, independent MP Andrew Wilkie accused the AFL of conducting “off the books” illicit drug testing to identify players using substances of abuse, then inappropriately withdrawing them from matches ...
The Government’s announcement that it will scrap plans for a vast marine sanctuary around the Kermadec Islands is ‘shameful’ and will make it impossible for Aotearoa New Zealand to meet its international commitments, says the World Wide Fund for Nature ...
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Yesterday the UN Security Council passed a resolution demanding an immediate ceasefire in Israel’s war on Gaza. This significant step and the deteriorating humanitarian situation in Gaza prompted an urgent debate in the New Zealand Parliament. Leader ...
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Apples are available year-round, but the wide variety on offer involves intensive scientific research – and large-scale commercialisation. What’s beautiful, red, sweet and crunchy? Tony Martin’s favourite kind of apple: Sassy. The CEO of apple and pear breeding organisation Prevar, Martin’s fondness for Sassy represents professional success as well as ...
Family violence specialist service Shine is calling on employers to stop asking for proof of domestic violence in order for employees to access domestic violence leave. The call comes five years after the introduction of the Domestic Violence ...
The Deputy Chairperson of the Finance and Expenditure Committee is calling for public submissions on the Budget Policy Statement 2024. The Budget Policy Statement 2024 (BPS) sets out the Government's priorities for the 2024 Budget. It explains the approach ...
Brutal government spending cuts that will see the size of the Ministry for Pacific Peoples slashed by 40% will hit Pasifika communities hard, the PSA says. The Ministry has told staff that it is seeking voluntary redundancies, and to redeploy and reassign ...
I live with five people I mostly love, but our different ideas about generosity are starting to really irk me.Want Hera’s help? Email your problem to helpme@thespinoff.co.nzDear Hera,This is a bit of a random one but here goes. I’m 22 and work an OK job (OK meaning I get paid ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Maria Nicholas, Senior Lecturer in Language and Literacy Education, Deakin University Earlier this month, the New South Wales government announced it would roll out programs for gifted students in every public school in the state. This comes amid concerns gifted school ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Christopher Rudge, Law lecturer, University of Sydney Massachusetts General Hospital In a world first, we heard last week that US surgeons had transplanted a kidney from a gene-edited pig into a living human. News reports said the procedure was a ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By David Tombs, Howard Paterson Chair of Theology and Public Issues, University of Otago The 5th-century Maskell panel showing Jesus in a loincloth.British Museum, CC BY-NC-SA When Jesus is shown on the cross, he is almost always depicted wearing a loincloth around ...
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While Nicola Willis wouldn’t give any details on its size, she said a package of tax cuts is definitely still coming in this year’s budget, writes Catherine McGregor in this excerpt from The Bulletin, The Spinoff’s morning news round-up. To receive The Bulletin in full each weekday, sign up here. ...
The Taxpayers’ Union is welcoming the investigation into the Department of Internal Affairs after it was revealed that the Department’s Chief Executive personally reached out to expedite a DJs passport application. Taxpayers’ Union Campaigns ...
Finance minister Nicola Willis delivers her first budget statement, and unwittingly helps Joel MacManus save his relationship. Nicola Willis strode into the Beehive Theatrette. Around me, on the green foldout seats, were the country’s top business and political journalists. They were all here to see her announce the Budget Policy ...
Twenty years ago today, Māori Television launched after much controversy. Jamie Tahana looks back on its survival and impact across two decades. Chad Chambers stepped onto the stage, the brim of his cap casting a shadow across his face. His smile beamed as bright as his white freezing works gumboots, ...
Sunday thought: would Kim Dotcom not be the perfect new leader for the ACT party?
After all, he has successfully ousted the previous leader, he is apparently a genuine libertarian, and he is looking for a political vehicle…
Dotcom’s going to want something that he is in charge of from the ground up as party president. And do you think Jonkey is going to gift ACT Epsom with Dotcom in it.
i doubt john key will gift epsom to a truly libertarian act, no corporate handouts for one thing.
Might not need a gift. Might not be Epsom either…
Maya Angelou tribute to Nelson Mandela: His Day is Done
Dotcon won’t support any party that supports the TPPA.
Because of copyright
It appears from 2 stories in today’s Sunday Herald that the pathetic Paula Bennett is in for a deserved spanking having spent the last couple of days misleading the Parliament on the number of child abuse/neglect cases reported this year,
A ‘computer program fault’ is apparently what will be blamed for Bennett’s ‘mistake’ where She has used Parliaments Question Time lambasting the Opposition with claims that cases of abuse and neglect have been falling when all the time the opposite is the case,
The second of the stories in the Sunday Herald highlights the fact that having refused the Children’s Commissioner the monies necessary to undertake a comprehensive study of ‘child poverty’ Bennett will be less than pleased that using His initiative said Commissioner found the necessary 500 grand from the Roy McKenzie charitable foundation and the report produced is said to paint an extremely bleak picture of ‘child poverty’ in New Zealand which will be made public this week,
Another FAILURE by another shameful Minister in Slippery’s Shameful National Government…
Because people don’t like to go to whaleoils site heres something interesting:
I just wanted to share with you some of my experience as a beginning teacher in NZ and my views on the education system.
Unlike most teachers, I am not a lefty, not a unionist and I am male. I got into teaching with the sole purpose of making a difference in education. So i took the leap and enrolled in a local university and began my teaching degree. It was here that the ineptitude of our education system became evident. Over the next three years, I was surrounded by a ragtag group of people, ranging from recent school graduates to the nearing retirement aged. The year I began was the first year they doubled the size of the intake, from 30-60 and this created a number of problems.
Firstly, the campus was not large enough to hold a larger intake and our teacher training suffered from overcrowding and under resourcing. As time wore on, it became evident that things were not “equal”. Maori students were given the fast track on anything and everything and it soon became clear that they were destined for “greater” things. Some students were being treated differently by the lecturers as well. I remember one guy posted on Facebook, on the morning an assignment was due, that he better think about doing it. He handed the assignment in a week late and still received a pass mark. Uni policy for most assignments states that you lose 10% per day late and this guy was definitely not an “A” student. This sort of thing was a regular occurrence for the next three years and it made it hard for me to respect my cohort and the university.
Fast forward to the final year. Out of 45 people who made it to the end of the degree, only about 10 jobs came up in our area and 5 of them were taken up by new teachers (myself included) at the same school. And now, over 3 years later, only half of my graduating class have jobs as teachers. It was at this school that everything I thought, and knew, became irrelevant. It quickly became evident that most of what we had learned over the past 3 years had nothing to do with actual teaching. Those classes on creative pedagogy and integrated curriculums were pushed by the wayside, as the school had a focus on literacy and numeracy.
Add to this the fact that not one person from the school, took the time to really sit down and explain to us how their reading, writing and maths programmes actually worked and you have a recipe for disaster. So here I was, at a new job, in a new career, wandering through the “dark” with no light in sight. The phrase “trial by fire” is an understatement to what I endured. Only once I had been there a while and got to know people, that I began to get shown things (it took 6 months before I received a tour of the resource room).
It was during my first year at this school, that I began to experience the true bureaucracy that exists in education and its responsibility for the downfall of student achievement. As professional development in the school, we were subjected to an improvement programme that required us to be observed by an “expert” who would attend the school each term and check on our progress. During my first meeting with this expert and all subsequent meetings, he proceeded to identify all of the bad things I was doing as a teacher, never once identifying anything positive. He then ended each meeting without actually telling me how to improve or change my teaching. After speaking with other colleagues, this was the “norm” and happened to everyone, every-time. For this “in-depth” analysis of the school’s teachers, he was getting paid about $40k per year by the school.
Which brings me to his greatest advocate at the school, the deputy principal. Now at most schools I have attended and had the pleasure of interacting with, the principal is the figurehead of the school community. They are usually charismatic, passionate, friendly and a great advocate for their staff and pupils. Our principal was none of these, he had the charisma of a fence post. And although he was the figurehead of the school community, the school itself was run by his deputy, who had affectionately been nicknamed “The Pitbull”. This hobbit-esque woman ruled with an iron fist and her word was law. Because you can’t argue with 40 years of experience right? It became this woman’s crusade to improve the literacy and numeracy within the school and this meant by any means necessary. It was widely known that the school marked harder at the beginning of the year to make the marks lower and therefore increase the perceived “improvement” achieved over the year. But I began to question things when we were told that our end of year marks were to low and we need to “fix” them. To me, this is called fudging the numbers, but to my colleagues this was a common practice that did occur at other schools also.
So over the next 18 months I taught at this school and the last 6 months were rocky to say the least. My class in my second year became known as the class from hell. I started the year with 2 bipolar boys and 2 girls who had been separated at their last school. The class quickly descended into an unsafe environment for the other students. Here are some examples of the behaviour of these students. One girl, assaulted boys on a regular basis, by pulling hair, punching, kicking and stomping. She also threatened to murder a student’s family and threatened another teacher. One boy trashed the classroom in a fit of rage and after this he was moved to another class, flipped out at lunchtime and was removed in handcuffs by police. Another boy pulled a knife on a student in the classroom in front of a reliever. Also, another boy threw tables, chairs and objects around the classroom in numerous rages. Oh, and these were 11 year old students in a decile 7 school. When I approached the management for assistance with handling the class (this was less than 2 months into the year) I was told that it was all my fault and that I was to blame for everything that occurred in the classroom. To cut a long story short, my competence was called into question and I was effectively placed on probation. I chose to fight the school and undertook an advice and guidance programme to clear my name. This did not happen to a colleague though, who faced with a similar situation, chose to allow the school to help her find employment elsewhere. This was arranged by the school management and another local school, and was held over her head even after she left.
As a result of this, I resigned from the school and have left NZ to teach overseas. The grass is much greener over here and I now teach in a school that has a supportive management team and I am able to teach with the advice and guidance of people that I respect wilfully, not because they intimidate people.
I left NZ because there were not many options available to me. There is a lack of jobs, there are too many older teachers in education who are stuck in their ways and the schooling system is run like an “old boys” club. Also, the fact that education is treated as a political football in NZ means that every 3 years or so, it is 2 steps forward and 1 step back. When Labour and National finally decide to agree on actually fixing the education system rather than promoting their own political agendas, I will happily return to NZ. National standards are a good concept, as they give us benchmarks to aim for. But if they are not standard across all schools, they are completely useless. To finish off, I want to add my 2 cents to the recent PISA results discussion. NZ does have a world class education system and it suits “our” people, who are creative thinkers and doers, not robots. But the one difference Asia has that sets them apart, is that yes, you can fail and failure is not an option. When NZ can realise that “working towards”, “below” and “not achieved” are all bullshit ways of saying “FAIL”, the better.
‘..Also, the fact that education is treated as a political football in NZ means that every 3 years or so, it is 2 steps forward and 1 step back. When Labour and National finally decide to agree on actually fixing the education system rather than promoting their own political agendas,…’
I have heard much the same from my daughter who teaches in primary school and it is a fair comment that cold be applied not just to education, luckily she hasn’t experienced any of the other things in the schools she has taught at that your correspondent mentions.
Well I do take postings like this with a grain of salt (could be due to sour grapes and all that) but as an overview he does bring up some good points especially the bit about both parties being to blame
A Few points. (given that I bothered to read anything that might have been posted in the gutter in the first place.
“I was surrounded by a ragtag group of people, ranging from recent school graduates to the nearing retirement aged.”
I understand 45 to be the maximum age of enrolment unless under exceptional circumstances. Of course the young whipper-snappers have all the answers – can never learn from their elders.
“True bureaucracy” – emotive words but not explained.
“Professional Development” – School focussing on Literacy and Numeracy. He should have been an expert already in both of these areas – that’s what he should have been bringing with his diploma.
He proffers a whole lot of criticism of education based on his unsubstantiated claims of experience in one school, and yet in the whole missive does not appear to suggest one solution.
That’ll be because the entire thing is made up.
Well of course it is, anything that runs contrary to what you believe has to be made up
chris73
So your comments on the points I raise …
As above really, I suspect theres more then a few sour grapes at work but as an overview he does bring up some points about whats wrong with the system (both parties sticking their oars in)
I mean when I was in uni the fee paying students from China were certainly hogging the lecturers time, making it difficult for everyone else and the amount of collaboration on assignments was more then what was expected so their were a lot complaints made but from my pov they were just being smart and they got the results so fair play but someone else could see it another way
I think hes mostly venting but I agree that both parties play political football with education and thats where most of the problems start with
chris. Buy a keyboard with fucking quote marks on it. I have no idea how many of those words are from you, Jason Ede, or some other subnormal twat.
That’s tough for a “cut and paste” web site.
That makes no sense.
You really can’t work out how much of that is mine…ok heres mine:
“Because people don’t like to go to whaleoils site heres something interesting:” and the rest is his
Dick
Don’t be a fuckwit chris, you often quote people without any indication which parts are quoted.
In the above, for all anyone knows the entire last paragraph could’ve been yours.
It’s annoying as all fuck to read and it would only take you a second to add a couple of quote marks like a normal human would.
The only person who would possibly think that the last paragraph could be mine would be you
or anyone else who has wrestled with your bizarre and arbitrary system of punctuation.
Just use fucking quote marks like everyone else manages to.
Who made you the arbiter of grammar and punctuation? I’ll post how I post and if you don’t like it then either fuck off or don’t read it
Your school didn’t have a focus on literacy, that much is obvious…
“Who made you the arbiter of grammar and punctuation? “
Yeah, I invented quote marks and I’m trying to impose them on the world for my own gratification.
🙄
Moron.
And how DARE you suggest to chris a simple and quick method for making his comments slightly more readable. You utter, utter bastard.
catty 😀 ( avoirdupois )
not putting quote marks is a de facto claim of ownership/authorship of the words..
..phillip ure..
Having observed young Christopher’s progress over several years now, we are very pleased with his development into a more rational commenter who at times makes useful contributions to The Standard learning environment.
One notes a welcome change in attitude not uncommon in formerly troubled students as the reality of poll results brings home the futility of pointless abusive behaviour.
A capable young lad showing increasing promise: more work needed in the areas of political comprehension and logic, but overall a good result from a difficult personal beginning: end of year rating: ACHIEVED.
Not sure if thats a burn or not but its amusing either way
-Could do better in Social Studies.
@ ak
chris 73 could even become the next Frank Mac (here’s hoping). Maybe there’s something to be said for allowing trolls to enter the site, and be confronted with rational arguments.
After all, there are quite a few Natzis that are now utterly embarrassed by the crass, self-serving, self-indulgent, selfish policies the party they once claimed an affinity with has now become.
(In my experience, they’re usually the ones that can’t stand the likes of trader John, or ladder puller-uppers, or – snobbery aside – nouveau riche Johnny-cum-latelies – but whatever their motivation – they are disillusioned).
Sometimes I wonder why Chris Finlayson has been hanging out so long – but then, maybe I misjudged his character, and maybe he is actually … well – just scared basically and a Limp Biscuit.
Silly Labour (bloody silly, even fucktardinous dimwittery) …. ‘cos Labour still has its equivalents.
Shame we can’t get them all together where they could reminisce – perhaps over a glass of Ch-ch-ch-chardonay – perhaps somewhere in HawkesBay, or even Waiheke Island.
Not that I had an issue working out what was yours.
But in case you don’t know, here’s how to quote.
[blockquote]Quoting..[/blockquote]
Just replace the [ ] with the greater than less than symbols to get it to work
Took me a while to realise Chris that your post was a quote.
Some of the stuff reported is questionable. The violence by kids in the class of 11 year olds is not credible. You would not be placed “on probation” if there were problems.
Note that the greener overseas is not named.
Politicians should leave schools alone. Leave it Education to develop properly researched and tested improvements without political interference, without League Tables, without using kids as footballs, without fear and favour.
For over a hundred years Education has evolved an improved from the bottom up until recently when this Government has interfered with disastrous results. We had had high PISA rankings because of Educational school driven innovation but this was in spite of political interference. (Mind you PISA rankings might cause unintended consequences like narrowing the focus of teaching and learning.)
Earlier I posted this bit (and I’ll put in quotes as well)
“Well I do take postings like this with a grain of salt (could be due to sour grapes and all that) but as an overview he does bring up some good points especially the bit about both parties being to blame”
I spent some time at the Christchurch College of Education a few years back and while there were some worthy people it also had its fair share of ex-hippies and people who were all theory and no practical
But thats just my opinion
… nothing wrong with ex-hippies mate. Generally peace loving people who like to get on with their neighbours for the betterment of all mankind. chris73 some advice – don’t discredit your own discussions by letting your prejudices show through.
There may well have been some friction (may not be the correct term) as I was still in uniform at the time and the people that I was dealing with weren’t the same people that he was teaching about
He was training us to be dealing with nice, well-mannered middle class kids so there wasn’t anything about conflict management or how to deal with troubled kids
Chris,
Both my parents were teachers. They met and married at ATC and both variously worked in many schools much of their lives. Later my father moved into another career, but Mum taught Intermediate until she retired.
She loved the classroom. She was really good at it. She hated the staffroom; all of the problems she ever encountered started there. So what your source has written has a certain old familiarity to it.
But what has changed in the last few decades is that we have been constantly diminishing teaching as a profession with meddling, micromanagement and over evaluation. Great teachers are not robots, rattling off a narrowly proscribed curriculum according to a tight timetable.
Children are not widgets in an education factory. They are unique, they each have their own strengths that will be uncovered in its own time … with encouragement and care. And some children will respond to some teachers, and not others.
Like many professions, teaching is about 50% science and 50% an artform. Great teachers have learnt how to weave these two coda into a true “educement”; inducing the flowering of emotional, intellectual and aesthetic sensibility in their charges.
It is the same weaving of the rational and the instinctive, the received wisdom and the creative impulse … that makes a great doctor, an outstanding jurist, the inspirational engineer or scientist. Equally if we treat teachers like disposable units in a factory, they will treat their children the same. And we will regret that bitterly.
PS: The incidents of violence mentioned are not implausible. Mum never saw anything quite that bad, but not too far off. Invariably … without exception …. the root cause lay in a grossly dysfunctional family. Incidentally she taught most of her life in one of NZ’s poshest suburbs.
Personally I think teachers should be paid more
Personally I think we should value them more.
+1
My BF’s vision for education is that Teaching would be a rock-star profession: it will pay well and be highly respected. Instead of the best and brightest going off to become professionals, and those in the (typically) middle-lower end of the spectrum who don’t know what else to do with their lives so become teachers, teaching would be an inviting profession for the best and brightest.
Also when the teachers union demands a pay rise, smaller class sizes and all of the other changes in conditions that they want, they will get everything they ask for except the pay rise… which comes later when they prove the things they asked for are effective.
For outstanding excellence in educational commentary with distinction: RedLogix 6.3.1.1.1.
A must-read on the subject and as always a pleasure old chap, do keep it up.
Expertise :
-“it is not necessary for an individual to have a professional or academic qualification.”-see shepherds.
-Skilled Memory Theory ; Ericsson et al;
– Deep structures ; Chi et al;
-and “dialogic expertise”
from “an ordinary fellow from another town” – Twain 😀
“hippies” have quite open minds which is a good asset when helping children to think critically.
Corruption and kickbacks in NZ business, especially with contractors to councils etc as part of PPPs. The situation is being highlighted with a focus on rading contracts to Auckland Council since 2010:
Its not just auckland but rural areas where big contracts to big players squeeze local contractors out.
Then the locals discover the maintenance cycles and quality of work deteriorate over time and roads that used to be well looked after are let go as thats all the big contractor allowed for OR the local crowd lowballed it to get the work and ends up losing money.
blacktop have plenty to be unhappy about with downers and FH practices.
small players “sleep with the fishes”.
Why such headlines from a “serious” media outlet. “Knife embedded in head”
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11168963
When is the news media going to drop the continuous assaults on decency?
If they wish to report on a vicious crime, put it in a crime section where those who enjoy such reporting can head to and be satisfied.
My “Bookmark” directs me to the news outlet.
I therefore do not need to be greeted by such revolting headlines.
The Herald is not serious.
It is garbage.
I dunno, quite a lot of it is serious garbage. John Armstrong and most editorials in particular come to mind.
Aha Arfamo. So does “serious garbage” stink?
Yup.
@ herald:..credit where credit is due..
..the hos has an editorial ripping into paula bennett..
..for doing nothing about child poverty..
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/politics/news/article.cfm?c_id=280&objectid=11168837
which is described as a ‘blight’..
..the other side of the coin is this exercise is arse-kissing of bennett..
..by ‘tory hack’ audrey young..
..where the interest is not so much in the gag-inducing exercise in hagiography..
..but in the comments-thread..where bennett/young are both hung out to dry..
..the comments-thread was closed off at 162..with the few in support looking like they were written by bennetts’ staffers..
..bennett would need to be made of asbestos..not to feel the vitriol/hatred directed her way..
..her due for her persecutions of the weakest/poorest..
..(and i added my five cents worth of comment..)
http://whoar.co.nz/2013/tory-hack-audrey-young-delivers-a-master-class-in-arse-kissing-in-a-profile-of-paula-bennett-and-gets-monstered-by-commenters/
phillip ure..
i wonder how the afrikaaner boltholes up in the east coast bays are reacting to mandelas’ death..
..those who fled when apartheid was dismantled..
..didn’t he ‘ruin everything’ for them..?
..hadn’t apartheid been ‘good’ for/to them..?
..is there a (modern day) deep south reaction to kennedy assassination going on there..?
..and what about the reactions in our most racist city..?..
..christchurch..?
..are the skinheads/white-powers out celebrating in the streets..as if after a football victory..?
..phillip ure..
Rich kid wants special treatment on drink driving charge because of famous Dad
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/crime/9491090/Teen-wants-off-hook-because-of-famous-dad
Thats the problem we have with the name suppression laws in NZ
Do we have a problem with the name suppression law, or the way different judges apply it?
Both but mostly with the judges
Examples re the judges please ? And a cogent expression of your point.
Being that you wouldn’t answer any of the repeated questions I put to you I see no reason to answer yours
So I’ll try again, what did you mean by this:
“Give the missus a serious seeing to when she got home late with the Maccers dinner and no dipping sauce didya ?”
See I’m assuming you were asking if I’m physically abusive towards my wife however I’d like to know what you meant by it and why you come to that conclusion
Answer me that and I’ll answer your question
being a bit precious, aren’t you?
No not really, people can disagree with me all they like (and they do) but suggesting I beat my wife simply because you disagree with me isn’t clever and it isn’t funny
Fair enough, but you can say that without all the “what did you mean” and twee I’ll-answer-yours-when-you-answer-mine bullshit.
I disagree, if someone wants me to answer a question from them then they should answer mine as well
but why ask a question for which you have already assumed an answer?
Good question McF.
And also, has chris ever answered the first question? The one he keeps going on about, the one about his wife and the maccas?
‘Cos apparently, not answering pointless rhetorical questions can have serious consequences regarding future expectations of answers from others.
Vince Siemer seems to be a very dedicated axe-grinder but every now and then I check in to his site for a read-up on his latest sharpenings. His New Zealand Judge Files are interesting reading.
http://www.kiwisfirst.co.nz/
If his dad “makes people laugh” he has a good chance……..
Actually I see it as a problem with our media.
The case should go ahead like any normal DIC. The names should not be suppressed.
But neither should it be an opportunity for the media to indulge in a feeding frenzy just because the father of the person convicted is a politician.
Family and private lives are off-limits. This is why.
Relevant part of Section 200 of the Criminal Procedure Act 2011 re name suppression:
” 200. Court may suppress identity of defendant
(1) A court may make an order forbidding publication of the name, address, or occupation of a person who is charged with, or convicted or acquitted of, an offence.
(2) The court may make an order under subsection (1) only if the court is satisfied that publication would be likely to—
(a) cause extreme hardship to the person charged with, or convicted of, or acquitted of the offence, or any person connected with that person; or
(b) cast suspicion on another person that may cause undue hardship to that person; or
(c) cause undue hardship to any victim of the offence; or
(d) create a real risk of prejudice to a fair trial; or
(e) endanger the safety of any person; or
(f) lead to the identification of another person whose name is suppressed by order or by law; or
(g) prejudice the maintenance of the law, including the prevention, investigation, and detection of offences; or
(h) prejudice the security or defence of New Zealand.
(3) The fact that a defendant is well known does not, of itself, mean that publication of his or her name will result in extreme hardship for the purposes of subsection (2)(a). ”
Interesting to note that Section 393 of the Criminal Procedure Act 2011 repealed Section 66 of the Land Transport Act 1998 with effect from 5 March 2012:
” 66. Names of drivers convicted of alcohol or drug-related offences may not be suppressed
[Repealed]
Section 66: repealed, on 5 March 2012 (applying in relation to a proceeding for an offence that was commenced before that date), by section 393 of the Criminal Procedure Act 2011 (2011 No 81). “
I’d rather we had blanket name suppression UNTIL a conviction was obtained. Then apply suppression only on the basis of the risk of victims being applied, and/or whether a defense team immediately signals intent to appeal.
ooops “applied” should read “identified”
(dotage is prematurely knocking at the door – all those ‘aluminum’ saucepans)
the ‘aluminium’ thesis has not remained current. 🙂 (though not healthy for rhubarb to be cooked in).
Geez I love rhubarb – maybe that’s the problem. It’s a vege (as in animal/vege/mineral) that should be confined to digestive tracts – rather than an animal/vegetable/mineral phenomenon that can be used to bandage up failing ideology.
Christ Draco! I have a marketing idea already! The ‘Rhubarb Bandage’! (Mathew Hooten will be pleased)
John Key, Don McKinnon, Jim Bolger and Pita Sharples are going to Mandela’s funeral.
Personally, I think that Cunliffe should politely decline and send John Minto instead – if Minto would want to go with the Blue boys, that is.
Strangely enough, of the four you mention, it’s perhaps Don McKinnon that can claim the moral high ground – even though he chose to align himself with a bunch of Natz way back when. At least he made some efforts to engage with prisoners and victims of ‘the State’, and ease their plight. As for the others – their record is self-evident.
Abbott claim that nothing is wrong with the kiwi living in OZ policy, that it didn’t hurt his pakeha wife any, is of course classic Australian racism – adopt the whiter babies so you can take the higher moral ground and dictate a racist policy on the rest
Why I don’t care what the ECB does today
One of the problems with our present monetary system is that neither the central bank nor the government has any real control over how much money is in circulation. That falls almost solely upon the private banks who create most of the money in circulation and they’re incentivised to make ever more ‘safe’ loans which means housing and so we get housing bubbles – just like the one we’re seeing in Auckland now.
@ Draco …. the harder they rise, the harder they fall. It’s just a bloody pain waiting for it all to happen sometimes. (But it is inevitable. Do the smart thing – make sure the entire family is equipped with ear muffs so they don’t have to hear the sound of pigs squealing)
Claims of sea level rise globally. In order for central Australia to be flooded there needs to be ~20m rise in sea levels, but such a vast area being flooded should buffer sea level rises!!!! That maybe good, but there is a problem, the hot environment will necessarily evaporate massive amounts of water into the atmosphere! So if we don’t get the projected sea level rises we may get an even worse scenario of much more rain globally. And a warmer world will also cool faster to balance itself, and that cooling will occur over the northern hemisphere continents (how else did all that ice get there during the ice age). Australia great desert will pump water into the atmosphere and snow will be dumped….
Or something else might happen.
Australia’s vast interior, called the Outback, is ringed by coastal mountains and often quite dry. Because of the low-lying nature of the continent’s eastern interior and the lack of river runoff in its western dry environment, most of the heavy rainfall of 2010–11 remained inland rather than flowing into the oceans. While some of it evaporated in the desert sun, much of it sank into the dry, granular soil of the Western Plateau or filled the Lake Eyre basin in the east.
“No other continent has this combination of atmospheric set-up and topography,” Fasullo says. “Only in Australia could the atmosphere carry such heavy tropical rains to such a large area, only to have those rains fail to make their way to the ocean.”
https://www2.ucar.edu/atmosnews/news/10090/global-sea-level-rise-dampened-australia-floods
As much as I follow climate change news, any predictions made on 20m sea rise should be ignored for the fact that it is almost sci-fi-level speculation at the moment. 2m sea rise can happen in the next century and its implications are bad enough that we don’t need to think about after it. If we can’t survive 2m, why should we worry about 20m? 😛
20m rises are indeed implausible in the next century.
Unless the West Antarctic Ice Shelf (WAIS) breaks up. That would lead to a rather rapid 6-7m rise in sea level over the period of about a decade or less.
And that event could easily occur at any time over the next several centuries. It’s happened before and will almost certainly happen again. We just don’t really know when.
What about the fact that water is most dense at 4 degrees? Think of sub 4 degree water as a cold reservoir we humans are using up rapidly, at present heating 0-4 degrees water up to 4 degrees and thus holding back expansion of heating of water over 4 degrees. So we hit a tipping point where expansion begins, although as I point out its non-linear (as sea rise they flood more area and for ever small rise there is more area to inundate).
Of course I’m speculating again, but hey, ain’t like this is a science journal. Also saline water is heavier, as warmer sea water hits the polar refrigerator it becomes more saline (some water freezes) and drops. More fresh water from melting land glaciers means slightly less dense water.
Science journals aren’t all they are cracked up to be
http://www.theguardian.com/science/2013/dec/09/nobel-winner-boycott-science-journals
Perhaps you have not included all the ice which rests above sea level.
David Simon, creator of The Wire, speaks of the necessity of Marxism and the horror show of the “Two Americas”
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/dec/08/david-simon-capitalism-marx-two-americas-wire
from the article;
-“…Libertarianism in my country is actually being taken seriously as an intelligent mode of political thought…It’s astonishing to me…People are saying ‘I don’t need anything but my ability to make a profit…” then to paraphrase, “We do not care who educates your children, only where ours are schooled, We do not care who funded and built the power generators, who puts out the fires or turns up to medical emergencies and accidents, who else requires water, or how freakin’ hot and turbulent the climate gets…”- Sam Hall…
karol @7 raised the issue of corruption in NZ but the following is currently buried on Stuff under National News (no headline for it despite it’s far reaching consequences):
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/9491510/Serious-Fraud-Office-faces-cutback
Yet again, we are gutting our ability to prosecute white collar criminals while putting the boot on the neck of anyone unfortunate enough to not have silver spoons…
Friday spot got lost. But here’s some fast ruminating from Jackie Mason on going to the psychiatrist to find himself.
I went to a psychiatrist. I’m not ashamed to admit it. It’s because I didn’t know who I was. He took one look at me and said right away, “This is not you.”
I said, “If this is not me, then who is it?”
He said, “I don’t know either.”
I said, “Then what do I need you for?”
He said, “To find out who you are.”
I said to myself, If I don’t know who I am, how do I know who to look for? And even if I find me, how do I know it’s me? Besides, if I want to look for me, why do I need him? I can look myself…I need a partner (“shutef”)? Ten years ago I’d be glad to look for anybody. Now I’m doing good. Why should I look for him? He needs help? Why doesn’t he look for me?”
He said, “The search for the real you will have to continue. That’ll be a hundred dollars, please.”
I said to myself, “If this is not the real me, why should I give HIM a hundred dollars? I’ll look for the real me. Let HIM give me a hundred dollars.
…But what if I find the real me and he doesn’t think it’s worth a hundred dollars? Then I’ve stuck my money with the real him.”
Then I said, “For all I know the real me might be going to another psychiatrist altogether. Might even be a psychiatrist himself. Wouldn’t it be funny if you’re the real me and you owe me a hundred dollars?”
I said, “I’ll tell you what. I’ll charge you fifty dollars and we’ll call it even.”
http://haruth.com/mw/3minutes.html
By an astonishing coincidence, greywarbler, I heard precisely the same comedy item on ‘The Laugh Track’ (Nat Rad) about an hour before you posted this. Serendipity or what !
swordfish
No coincidence, I heard it on rnz too and it was so good I searched on google for it. I couldn’t find any good youtube items but the shot gun speech of the prose carries the joke well. I said we needed some joie de vivre eh! I like to share some good things to keep our spirits up as we hear the policy filtering through that sounds like deja vue. Soon I’ll be so sick of hearing it that I will be writing French all the time, c’est la vie.
You’re a very good sport, greywarbler. In fact, so much so that I now feel more than a smidgen guilty about my mild teasing over the last couple of days. So, I’ll desist at this point with what, in retrospect, could be deemed borderline troll-like behaviour.
(And if I know Mr Prentice like I think I do, he’ll currently be circling me like a shark, just waiting for another dumbarse comment so he can come down like a ton of bricks. With my next comment, I’ll be expecting to see my beautiful teal-blue gravatar next to the name ‘Total Shit-For-Brains’, much like the said 1prent hilariously did a few weeks ago for some Tory troll purporting to be ‘Peter Davis’ (although in that case he altered the moniker to something like ‘Complete and Utter Dickhead’)).
Only $100???? Not a real psychiatrist then 😉
Tracey
I would swear it’s a bit dated though the subject is still current, and quite electric.
ahh, but Are Friends Electric? , or do they need regular winding up…
(a $100, oh what I could do with a $100, let me think…)
I prefer to play Down In The Park myself
…And just for a second I thought I remembered you…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=22Z4Tv1zn-s
Not like you to leave out the link RT. A newer version of that particular alienated angst.
that was just lovely, and well-timed to coincide with the day’s other rewards. (I didn’t wish to bore you with roguish repetition) .Moved me, moved me when it was released, they played it on our local AM radio station at particular times, usually around 4.30-7.30 PM. Bookmarked a non-research site for a change; progress, otherwise, All Selections Hand-Made.
Thanks for the reminder. It moved me too, as a teenager. And still, listening to it again.
An interesting example of what the government can gather from your location data collected from your own cellphone use and licence plate readers-
https://www.aclu.org/meet-jack-or-what-government-could-do-all-location-data
The man was honest.
The way I remember it, Ted Koppel said, ‘Well, now, the Communists….’ Mandela said, ‘They were the only ones who helped us. Next question.’”
http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/12/06/the-day-a-newly-freed-mandela-came-to-new-york/
Doctor doctor..
http://forward.com/articles/188881/doctor-cannabis/?p=all
Love to… Love “…well, it’s been too many times and I can’t go back…” 😎 now,off to watch Prometheus !
CV yeah the ying and yang of economics.
Something I had described 3 years ago on this site.
OMG, Bernard Hickey used the ‘d’ word.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=11168792
I’ve just seen that piece.