My family before me yes, and I voted Labour (or Greens occaisionally) all my life – until the last election, when I finally got so sick of the infighting, the lack of vision, and the slavish conformity to outdated dogma that I voted for National as a protest.
If you’ve seen that graph that shows Labour support over the last 100 years, you’ll recognize that this is just part of the overall pattern of decline in support.
I’m still waiting for The Left to see the writing on the wall. Let alone start to write the story that will make it relevant to The People again. Hence the stories above Titi. Wake up call anyone?
Translation: unions, human rights, fair pay rates, evidence-based policy.
To be replaced by the mindless shite that Sheep believes very hard.
Edit: I note that “outdated dogma” is an oxymoron: if it’s been outdated (by what?) it was once appropriate to its time and therefore, not dogma. This will sail right over Gobsheep’s head.
Anyone wanting to understand why the Left is bleeding support only need study your collected works here OAB.
Anyone not wanting to understand can parrot the Lefts new narrative of blame. The Voters are Stupid / The Voters are Greedy / The Media is against us / The voters are brainwashed / It’s a conspiracy (many conspiracies actually) / Money is an unfair advantage / etc etc etc.
Anything but take a look in the mirror.
You are happy with the status quo aren’t you. No need to change anything.
It’s 20 years since we moved form FPP to MMP Tls. And you didn’t know? Where have you been hiding? Under a rock in the Sahara Desert?
That’s the height of ignorance you know.
Hi Anne this is from below but it seems pertinent to this discussion
Remind me again how many elections Labour have been in power for since the advent of MMP versus how many National have been in
In case you were wondering of the seven elections held under MMP National have won power in four and Labour have won power in three and since National is likely to regain power in 2017 it’ll be 2020 before Labours back in power
[lprent: You really shouldn’t use spurious stats when I am around. I find it irritating. What you are describing is 2 changes of government each currently of 3 terms, and the one term left over from the government at the time of a change to MMP.
And trolling such simple minded bullshit annoys me even more. I suggest that you discontinue ]
Looks as if at some point (Cunliffe’s “sorry”, I’ll wager) you have just decided to abandon your values.
Mate. I voted Labour in ’84 and ’87, and then I voted for them again in ’90.
If i stuck with them through all those changes in values, I think you can take it as read that a relative featherweight like Cunliffe would hardly tip me off the boat!
The Greenslade piece in ‘The Guardian’ is a bit odd. A lot of the analysis seems reasonable, but a fair chunk of what he’s driving at hinges on this …
Despite strolling to the Oldham by-election victory, the party is generally regarded by the majority of its MPs, political journalists and their editors, as unelectable.
Now, count those people up and how many people are we talking of? Not many.
And then there’s….Corbyn’s new army embodies yet another faction: the idealistic middle classes. Reconciling their views with those who lean towards Ukip is more than a stretch.
Does he not understand that many of those who voted UKIP cast their vote as a protest, and does he also not understand that Labour kind of endorsed voting on an immigration ticket with it’s own stupid fucking ‘tough on immigration’ policy?
Anyway. Labour in Scotland is dead. But Labour in England and Wales is possibly on the cusp of a revival given that Miliband’s changes opened up the party far and a way beyond any opening up that has occurred for the NZ Labour Party.
Add to that that the UK Labour Party is, under Corbyn, seeking to articulate the type of sensibilities that now belong to the SNP in Scotland and, well….we’ll see.
My only real criticism of Corbyn is that he’s stuck fast in a dim and irrelevant ‘one world’ past with regards nationalism. He should have signaled an alliance with the SNP and left the corpse of the Blairite Scottish Labour Party to rot. Civic nationalism in Scotland should have embraced by Labour, afterall, you can’t have internationalism without nationalism, and the smaller a political entity is, the greater chance for better accountability, and then the greater the chance is for the emergence of authentic autonomy – the next step beyond nationalism and nation states, y’know, socialism.;-)
He’s an odd mix ,if you keep in mind that he’s a horrible simple minded prick,I find him honest in that he says it how he sees it.
Interestly he was just pushing Finland’s upcoming ubi trial.
“,I find him honest in that he says it how he sees it.”
I find people who say they do this (call a spade a spade type shite) to be intentionally simplistic and hence deceitful. They hide things with their simplistic nonsense.
Despite assurances (lies) from Key, detainees are signing forms that give away their guaranteed right to appeal when they’re coerced to return home.
And of course not any other media except RNZ is reporting this, because it’s just another big lie in the long list of John Key’s lies and we’re becoming numb/used/indifferent to it.
IHC gets 58 NEW homes and 300 LEASED from private owners. The Sally Army gets 50 NEW homes and 37 EXISTING pensioner flats. And goodness knows where the Chinese Settlers will find their 36 homes, or the other 27 subsidies. So the Govt is subsidising private owners yet again, and in reality there will be at least 158 NEW homes of some sort or other built somewhere, and maybe a few more.
Yes, the story just got buried by Stuff & the Herald. Stuff changed their headline from one about deportees having to sign away their right of appeal to one that now reads: John Key ‘confident’ of deportees’ appeal rights despite Australian form.
Still I expect it’s going to be brief news item on telly tonight and it’s hard to see how Key can avoid being seen as either a liar or a dupe. I just hope whoever reports it take the time to read out the offending sentence.
How will the parliamentary left regain the momentum it had with the public over the Australian deportees?
Government’s reshuffle and the Cabinet decisions this week have tilted the momentum back to Key. Very smart decision for Act’s Seymour to stay out of Cabinet.
I am incredibly surprised that the Opposition parties have not built upon the climate change marches momentum and continued strong stories during the Paris COP 21 negotiations.
Momentum will of course come and go, but it will take more than the occasional stunt out of a helicopter to sustain public attention.
Momentum will gradually build up, Ad. That is better than quick ups and downs.
And hopefully the upward momentum will be retained thru to 2017.
I also note that ShonKey’s popularity has been gradually sliding downwards for quite a while …. it’s still respectable, but maybe more and more people are finally waking up to him !
Let me give you an example of the kinds of successes that this current government will ride from 2016 to 2017:
– Announcement of full funding for City Rail Link, first quarter 2016 (and start of early construction works within a couple of weeks)
– Commence works on National Convention Centre with Sky City, first quarter 2016
– Start of full demolition of Auckland’s downtown shopping centre, second quarter 2016
– Commencement of SH1 Puhoi to Wellsford construction, end second quarter 2016
– Announcement of confirmed timing of Waitemata harbor tunnel crossing, second quarter 2016
– Start of Elliot Street tower (over 40 stories high), second quarter 2016
– Start construction on 5 star hotel on Auckland’s waterfront, second quarter 2016
– Queenstown Convention Centre starts construction, third quarter 2016
– Announcement of Auckland light rail options, third quarter 2016
– Opening of new Waterfront theatre, end 2016
– Start of Ruataniwha Dam construction, third quarter 2016
– Opening of Waterview tunnels for SH16 and SH20, first quarter 2017
– Huge number of civic openings in Christchurch as stages complete, first quarter 2017
– Then you have the 2017 budget tax cuts, which will be substantial
etc
What I am indicating is that this government understands the secret to politics in New Zealand right now is real estate and roading. The momentum that they have built and encouraged through incredibly low Reserve Bank targets will see Auckland, Christchurch, and Queenstown-Lakes take the economic lead as the rest of the economy remains at 2% growth.
The stories that the Opposition break have to be even bigger than this.
That was how good Kelvin’s hit was. The loss of momentum is a serious loss.
These guys are fully geared for a fourth term, and the momentum of the economy is with them.
The CHB Council has all but guaranteed that this dam will go ahead buy buying up water rights to provide drinking water for their constituents… that they currently get for free.
The fact that the Mayor and several councillors will benefit directly from the commencement of this project is probably the worst conflict of interest I have ever seen.
Now we’ll see how good Kelvin Davis is (or if he can be leader) now that he has a real challenge on his hands
Jacinda Ardern is a lightweight dolly bird that couldn’t handle Paula Bennett and Nikki Kay and as such shouldn’t be considered as a viable option for leader of Labour and now Kelvin Davis has a real chance to show what hes got
Yes well a leader that can’t convince an electorate to vote for him either but more importantly I’m looking forward to Davis vs Collins, we’ll see if Davis has what it takes
In case you were wondering of the seven elections held under MMP National have won power in four and Labour have won power in three and since National is likely to regain power in 2017 it’ll be 2020 before Labours back in power
“Our supporters have the same impact when they squabble, bitch and back-stab on so-called ‘left-friendly’ sites like The Standard (a dreadful 21st century bastardisation of a once proud Labour broadsheet)”
I see that USA are being sued under NAFTA because the USA law requiring the labelling of the origin of meat contravenes the agreement.
The United States’ North American trading partners argued that being forced to label where animals were born, raised, and slaughtered placed an undue burden on livestock producers and processors and, as AgriPulse reports, “ultimately persuaded the WTO that the law accorded unfavorable treatment to Canadian and Mexican livestock.”
TPP does not benefit citizens of any country, only giant agrochemical multi nationals who will benefit from relaxed food standards and consumer choice to ram toxic intensive and un proven food with poor animal welfare standards onto unwitting consumers plates.
Very interesting video about how TTIP (and likewise TPP) will destroy small and medium farmers (i.e. like NZ farmers), introduce Genetically modified foods, introduce chlorinated meat washing techniques and USA agricultural intensive farming practises around the world with these ‘free trade’ agreements.
It is not only NZ farms being bought up by agribusiness and foreign investors it is also happening in Europe. Soon as well as being tenants in our own country we will also be able to afford the ‘raw food’ materials of our country as they will be exported using mega supply chains to other countries to be processed.
The video also has a lot of useful statistics like how 70% of the worlds fresh water is used in agribusiness and 52% of emissions are from agribusiness as to get that massive scale petrol is used to ship around the world.
While we like to think NZ is an exporter so TPP will ‘help’ farmers it appears that most mega agribusiness like Montanso and investment companies buying up land for food are most likely to use NZ as a banana republic, and use their own migrant labour, offshore productions and supply chains to export the food cutting out the middle men (Kiwis) and using sophisticated tax laws to pay the minimum of taxes while getting the maximum of corporate welfare.
It is already happening, TPP just means governments will not be able to stop it as they can be sued.
Request: Please do not upset TRP today.
Te Reo Putake is in a very grumpy mood and lashing out at all and sundry. She/He is very very very sensitive to any hint that Robertson and King had a major say in the cabinet selection. TRP is also very very very sensitive to Claire Trevett’s story that King promised her Rongotai seat to Little on condition that he publically humiliate Cunliffe.
te reo putake…
7 December 2015 at 10:40 pm
Chooky, I have a life. I’ve been out, as it happens, and even if I wasn’t, I answer if and when when I fucken well feel like it, not according to your agenda. Bill’s comments are full of shit. The shadow cabinet was chosen by Little as is his right.
I never said what Bill claimed I did, and what he claimed about caucus selecting the shadow cabinet was wrong in fact anyway and the that’s the end of that story.
Bill fucked up out of ignorance. What’s your excuse?
Why do you keep repeating this bullshit, Northsider?
Trevett’s story did not do what you claim yet you keep repeating your lies, and your obsession with Robertson is getting to the pathological stage.
I am not a fan of the way TRP reacts to criticism, but your continuous attempts to enter into long, pointless and ill-informed attacks on Labour in a desperate attempt to get him to respond makes me suspicious of your real motives.
1. Trevett says Annette will surrender Rongotai to Andrew Little. No one disputed this. Trevett has shown she is being fed excellent intelligence throughput this process.
2. All are saying the ABC’s have seen the Cunliffe supporters in the Caucus demoted, relative to Robertson supporter, and Cunliffe himself humiliated.
3. The insulting positiong of Cunliffe had nothing to do with his work rate, ability or behaviour since Little took over.
4. Cunliffe strongly supported Little in the Leadership battle and actually held-off standing down until it was coinfirmed little was elected. So Cunliffe was done to for other reasons that Little was unable to resist.
5. Trevett says there was no room for a “charachter like Cunliffe” . That was code for saying the ABCers wanted Cunliffe fully out this time. Little had no personal or performance related reason to want Cunliffe out.
6. That does mean that the Rongotai seat and Cunliffe were part of the one conversation.
Karen, do not impune my motive. I have not impuned yours. We are all Labour.
Okay Northsider, I’ll take your word that you are not a right wing troll trying to create dissent, but it sure was starting to look like it. And by the way my politics are somewhat to the left of both Labour and the Green Party, but I have supported both electorally and financially .
As to your points:
1. Trevett did not say “Annette will surrender Rongotai to Andrew Little.” She said it was a possibility, which it obviously is. Anybody can see that. Your assumption that Trevett is getting leaked information is based on a misunderstanding of the work of political journalists.
2. A number of Cunliffe supporters have been promoted. This has been pointed out to you before.
3. I was also disappointed with Cunliffe’s demotion, but I do not know what his work rate has been like over recent months compared to others and neither do you.
4. Cunliffe stood down when Little decided to stand, not when Little was elected.
5. I like Cunliffe and supported his leadership, but there is no question he is a decisive figure. I suspect Little has asked for Cunliffe to work with him to see how well he works with others. I know Little wanted caucus members to work together on projects and perhaps Cunliffe found that difficult. I do not know – I am just guessing.
6.Sorry, your conclusion does not follow at all.
+100 CV…from what I have heard Cunliffe is very good to work with and work for…so what the hell is going on?!
…the rank and file Labour members voted for David Cunliffe!…that should be enough to earn him a top place in Cabinet …if the management was good
….and a high place for Mania Mahuta who brought in the Maori seats, when Labour was losing most others ….except for TTT which was won by Kelvin Davis against Hone Harawira
….and we all know Lusk was involved in TTT…he says so himself and there is suggestion of payment of the Maori voters in TTT
….” Duncan Garner also revealed supporters of Labour’s Napier MP Stewart Nash paid Simon Lusk to canvas the option of a new political party, and that Simon Lusk had told him Labour MP Phil Twyford would be his next target.
Simon Lusk also claimed on Story he had been instrumental in unseating Mana Party co-leader Hone Harawira in the last election. Unnamed “businessmen” had paid thousands for that, he said. And in conversation with his co-host last Monday, Duncan Garner said money had been paid to get Maori electors to vote in Te Tai Tokerau.
Was political operative Simon Lusk really paying people on behalf of clients to influence an election? Disappointingly, no more was said about this claim.The following day, Duncan Garner posted a statement from Simon Lusk on the websites of TV3’s Story and Radio Live. In it, Simon Lusk said:
Iwi now have extensive databases of members who they can easily mobilise. Assembling a team of 50 or 100 iwi members to get out the vote is straightforward, legal and effective if it is possible to raise some koha.
He added that “if you’re not paying for votes or offering anything in exchange for a vote, or treating,” it is not against the law. But that statement didn’t answer key questions: How much was paid? By whom? And for what purpose? “…
( Questions need to be asked and answered about what is going on in the Labour Party)
Why do you keep repeating that nonsense Chooky? Why would you believe anything Garner and Lusk (in particular) says? and you’re dreaming re: “new party”
Go and talk with Ngāpuhi, you will find Lusk had nothing to do with Hone losing his seat, it was partnering up with Dotcom that did. I got told Hone lost all credibility when he showed he needed a “white man” (their words) to win.
David Cunliffe is still very much a target by msm, and didn’t he tell John Campbell post election/leadership that he didn’t know if he would be staying on for the 2017 election? Personally I wouldn’t want to see him go, but “IF” he did, I would respect his decision, and you do not know of the talks Cunliffe and Little would have had prior to the reshuffle, which I am sure David Cunliffe was well aware of before the announcement.
That’s just your opinion CV and you have provided no evidence to back up your theories.
You obviously loathe Robertson and you and your small band of supporters are trying desperately to get people to believe your conspiracy theories. To what end I have no idea, but I personally am disappointed that you have decided to undertake this campaign as I used to find your comments on NZ politics worth reading. No longer.
Cheers, Karen, a couple of points well made. I do tend to lash out when people claim I’ve said things I haven’t and it’s a fault, I know. But that and excessive modesty are pretty much my only character defects as far as I can tell 😉
And to te reo putake – people are different, react in different ways, I – personally – find what you have to say refreshing and to the point. So I always read your opinions.
Cheers, Jenny, much appreciated. It’s one of the strengths of the Standard that there are many so many great contributors, yourself included. We have the liveliest, most educated comments of any NZ blog, by quite some distance.
@ E p surveillance started? It has probably been on going the whole time!
What else is the increased 8 million to be spent on, (apart from undermining the political and activist opposition to this corrupt government and their spin doctors)!
Theres a court case coming soon in Dunedin [deleted]
[lprent: I believe that it is also subject to court suppression orders. I’d strongly suggest that if you want to comment here and you don’t think that you can use the name, then you don’t make the detail of the cases obvious either. Otherwise you should state is there is a suppression order and what its limits are. There are multiple levels from simple name suppression through to blanket suppression that will even make mentioning that a suppression order has been made subject to contempt of court. If you can’t state them, then I’m liable, and quite liable to simply kick you off the site for a year or two to make sure I don’t have waste time moderating you.
But really, the courts operational rules on suppression simply don’t work in an online world. I’m forever having to find out about suppression orders to just know what to moderate. It is a bit of a nuisance that the courts run under a stupid secrecy model and don’t supply us with lists of what is and what isn’t suppressed. ]
It turns out Zuckerbergs $45bn ‘donation’ wasn’t a proper gift at all. It has just been “stuffed into a for-profit limited liability company, rather than a foundation, which means that you don’t have to tell everybody exactly what you’re up to, and you’re allowed to make money from poorer people who are making money, do a bit of political lobbying, take some money back, support your very own pet causes, change the world however you fancy and feel just like God: all-powerful and adored.”
‘I was suspicious of the Zuckerbergs’ $45bn donation – and I was right to be”
Michele Hanson
I’ve just been reading about early photographer Nikola Persheid (or Perscheid). He was a good photographer and worked at his studio with many who became as well-known as him on their own. He developed a special camera suitable for portraits that was used internationally. He worked in many different places, after ‘developing’ his trade by being an itinerant photographer. But was not able to make a good living, although his work was high quality and well considered. The competitive self-reliant world can be very hard on individuals who are acting as entrepreneurs breaking into new fields. He came to a sad end. He deserved better.
Wikipedia
Towards the end of the 1920s, Perscheid had severe financial problems. In autumn 1929 he had to sub-rent his apartment to be able to pay his own rent. Shortly afterwards, he suffered a stroke, and was hospitalized in spring of 1930.
While he was at the hospital, his belongings, including his cameras and photographic plates, but also all his furniture were auctioned off to pay his debts. Two weeks after the auction, on 12 May 1930,[6] Perscheid died at the Charité hospital in Berlin.
So he died and I can’t find where he was buried, probably in a pauper’s grave. We need to keep our social welfare so that people of note, who have been of note, or who never achieved a note can be treated fairly and kindly.
lprent
I was browsing on TS and went to scroll up and the blog vanished to a white screen headed Gone and then something about the address had gone with no further addres and to remove all references to it from my computer. I closed down and immediately requested TS again and it came on no trouble.
Also it has been very slow loading at times lately. Just letting you know.
Interesting. That usually indicates that a TCP connection has been forcibly disconnected from the server side. I will have a look at the page load time profile.
Can confirm very slow loading… we’re talking of minutes not seconds. I can also report something similar to gws’s experience – a vanishing TS only to return upon a fresh loading.
If only our opposition could put together real policies and detailed plans that actually say exactly what they will do when they get into power and why.
This should be compulsory reading for the opposition in NZ on how to write up policy and not just on climate change!
(in particular Labour)
i.e. You need to actually have something real, rather than airy fairy words to get people to believe in a party and the words within the policy have to actually make sense and have a detailed action plan.
How serendipitous for the UK government and others going to war against the daesh that ‘The Guardian’ has now obtained blueprints on the planned state building of the self appointed caliphate. Now they can say they are at war with an almost state, which lends a smear of credibility and a veneer of legality to the bombing of, well…let’s face it, it’s just ‘people on the ground’ – men, boys, women, girls, old people, babies….
There is growing support for a day to officially remember the Land Wars, with Labour even opening the door to another public holiday.
The New Zealand Wars were pretty complicated affairs but my pakeha forebears would’ve probably been among, or supported, the European settlers who killed Maori & stole and confiscated their land all around New Zealand. I have the feeling a New Zealand Wars Day would provoke a lot of mutual hostility rather than be treated as a respectful remembrance day.
Grindlebottom – Isn’t it about time that NZers learned what went on during the Land Wars, and why ?
Its not taught in schools as far as I can make out – it wasn’t taught in my day, and it wasn’t taught to my sons – and we’ve had to find out for ourselves.
And it might make some Pakeha realise just why Maori continue to raise grievances which go back decades.
This is a commemmoration whose time has come – but of course ShonKey won’t have a bar of it.
Only because it dovetails in with National’s privatisation ideology.
The treaty settlement process is the biggest privatisation programme in this country’s history, transfering billions of dollars to public assets and cash to tribal elites while single Maori mothers sleep in their cars with their newborn babies.
I agree NZ history including the Land Wars should be taught in our schools Jenny. I’m surprised it still isn’t. I’d rather see that done than establish a New Zealand Land Wars commemoration day. Just maintaining Waitangi Day is a better idea.
I think this is good, if we had a better understanding of the colonisation of this country and its effects I think it would put us a few steps further down the road of a progressive country. It’s an opportunity for compassion from pakeha. These are the most important events that have happened in NZ’s modern history yet they’re largely forgotten, shame on us. We do history so poorly.
The histories of those battles are very interesting in themselves, and if kids and adults knew what took place in their own town or city they might respect those places more, instead of doing stupid shit like building suburbia over them.
The conventional wisdom, taught in textbooks of monetary economics, is that the government creates money, not banks. Furthermore, banks are financial intermediaries: they lend money which they gather as deposits. The reality is that the banks invent the money that they lend. This means that the banks, and not the government, are in control of the money supply in the economy. Bank creation of money acts in ways that are opposite to Keynesian prescriptions, and destabilise the economy.
Time to change the conventional wisdom but the rich won’t like it.
“On November 20, the World Trade Organization (WTO) declared that dolphin-safe labels on cans of tuna are a barrier to trade that place the U.S. in violation of its treaty obligations. The U.S. must stop offering “dolphin-safe” labels or face punitive sanctions from Mexico. Analysts expect the government to cave.
The case is a classic example of what globalization critics have warned of for years: that “free trade” agreements allow foreign corporations to force the repeal of laws that interfere with their profits, thereby gutting protections for consumers, workers and the environment. Observers warn that the soon-to-be implemented Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) contains the exact same provisions, and that more such forced repeals are soon to come.”
Hopefully it’ll be a better rifle then what the guys and girls have now but whether its exactly whats needed only time will tell but its interesting switching from bullpup to conventional layout
Still leaves us open to supply problems when the shit hits the fan which it will, IMO, in the near future. The only solution to which being to make the weapons that our defence forces need in NZ from NZ resources.
In other words, the NZ government should build the factories and do the R&D to produce them here. I guestimate that we could do it with a mere 10,000 people employed most of which would be in R&D.
And, no, I don’t think it should be done by the private sector as I don’t think that the production of weapons should be done for profit at all.
I see that Key now decides who he answers questions to in question time in the House. In today’s session Andrew Little wished to put a question to the “Honourable John Key”. Andrew questioned Carter at the start of the session and wondered why he, listed as question 5 was now listed as putting the question to another Minister. Carter said under the speaker’s rules bla bla bla he was allowed to do this. Andrew then came back with another question to the speaker that he wished to ask the house to make the decision as he particularly wished to ask the PM the question – Carter said to stop wasting his time as it would ultimately come back to he, Carter to make the decision again anyway. When question 5 came up Andrew rose to his feet and said in not so many words to forget it that he was withdrawing the question.
So now Key decides who he wishes to answer to with probably pesky questions. How much more is this government going to be allowed to get away with when sitting in the House? They are not even subtle any more and must think we all are a pack of dumb nuts and can get away with it because we will just lie down and put up with this shit. A revolution anyone???
Interesting.
Probably no great loss though, it’s pretty pointless asking Key anything if you want a genuine answer.
After the dead cat rapists & ‘molesterers’ [sic] fiasco, it occurred to me that the combined opposition should just stop directing questions to the prime minister as he can’t be relied upon to answer without abusiveness.
Who needs to put up with that when they’re just trying to do their job?
Added bonus – being ignored would probably drive the attention seeking Key mad.
You are so right, he is on the back foot always and defensive as well as abusive. A sign of lacking intelligence, where he obviously is berefit of knowledge and so deflects with either dead cats or blatant refusal to answer questions which will put him on the spot. God what an awful man he is. I wonder if other women see him in the same light. We are supposed to have the ability to be intuitive to suss out creeps but still he hangs in there. He didn’t do it for me from the first time he came on the scene and he is getting worse by the day.
Interesting thought ,imagine if they just completely ignored key and directed all their questions at Collins instead.
It would’nt take key long to start jumping up and down like a little boy going what about me.
Young New Zealand women are heading to Iraq and Syria with fears they are joining the droves of Jihadi brides.
Security Intelligence Security director Rebecca Kitteridge revealed on Tuesday the numbers were on the rise and it was a big concern.
Kitteridge was giving evidence to Parliament’s powerful intelligence and security committee, chaired by Prime Minister John Key.
…”It’s something we haven’t seen before.”
…Asked by Key if they were leaving for Iraq and Syria to become “Jihadi brides”, Kitteridge declined to comment.
…The committee was told of 24 hour surveillance on some but a lack of evidence to charge them, despite concerns they were accessing radicalised material and talking about committing attacks.
“A lot of them seem to be people who may have other problems in their life,” Kitteridge said.
“It’s not your average person going out to work and happily married and raising kids… it’s a pattern of people who are kind of disengaged in some way with a productive life.”
Big Kurdish population in NZ. Just saying that perhaps the SIS, like other better funded “intelligence” “organisations”, may not be the best source nor judge of character.
I want to see their workings, because their word ain’t worth shit.
Well, yeah, numbers could’ve gone up from one or two to three. And it reads like anybody travelling back to their homeland is now suspect. But this bit was also interesting.
…The committee was told of 24 hour surveillance on some but a lack of evidence to charge them, despite concerns they were accessing radicalised material and talking about committing attacks.
I’m happy for surveillance to quietly continue OAB.
I want to see their workings, because their word ain’t worth shit.
Yeah, so do I but good luck to us with that. That’d be never no matter who in power.
Yes, I am too. But I would like to point out to Ms Kitteridge that if someone is NOT going out to work and happily married and raising kids… , it doesn’t follow they are therefore NOT an average person.
Run by people who if overseas experience is anything to go by, will prey upon vulnerable members of the community to manufacture cases they can bring to court.
Surveillance isn’t “quiet”, Grindlebottom. It’s all-pervasive. It guards you while you sleep.
Those who sacrifice privacy on the altar of security deserve neither. Where have I heard that before? The key to these issues is trust and cameraderie, not fear and panty-sniffing.
PS: watch the video. The phrase “Jihadi Brides” plopped out of the Right Honourable John Key, Prime Minister’s mouth. Kitteridge didn’t verify it. Funnily enough, the headline implies that the things that plop out of the Prime Minister’s mouth are accurate.
Yeah I know, I did, but that’s our crappy media: you know how they often cite a quote from Key as the headline when it later becomes obvious it was inaccurate or misleading.
That article keeps growing. Every time I look at it the information has increased.
Professor flips out after student yawns loudly in class
If someone yawns during the class you’re teaching, you can laugh it off and say something like “Sorry to wake you up.” Alternatively, there’s the option of going nuclear…
Let me tell you something: my bad side is as bad as my pleasant side is pleasant. All right? Don’t push me that way. I like to keep things informal in here as much as possible, but understand where the difference between informal and impolite is. And I won’t tolerate impolite. If I hear ONE MORE of these overly loud yawns… GET UP AND WALK THE HELL OUT! YAWN OUTSIDE!! STAY OUTA CLASS, WHATEVER IT IS YA NEED TO DO TO GET OVER IT!! I WANNA KNOW WHY TWO HUNDRED AND TWENTY OTHER PEOPLE IN THIS ROOM DON’T FIND THE NEED TO DO THAT! And you should be asking yourself, ‘Why am I the one loser that has to do that when 220 other people KNOW BETTER?’ Don’t push me to this point again…..”
How much is the military paying Springsteen to play at its “Stand Up for Heroes” event?
It was recently revealed that the reason those tedious yet disturbing military displays before American sports events are not done because the people who own NFL, NBA and MLB franchises are super-patriotic, but because the Pentagon pays them millions of dollars to wave huge flags and have jet-fighters fly over the stadia before the action begins.
Presumably the Obama cultist Bruce Springsteen is receiving a fair whack to play this event….
On 25 April 2021, I published an internal all-staff Anzac Day message. I did so as the Secretary of the Department of Home Affairs, which is responsible for Australia’s civil defence, and its resilience in ...
You’ve likely noticed that the disgraced blogger of Whale Oil Beef Hooked infamy, Cameron Slater, is still slithering around the internet, peddling his bile on a shiny new blogsite calling itself The Good Oil. If you thought bankruptcy, defamation rulings, and a near-fatal health scare would teach this idiot a ...
The Atlas Network, a sprawling web of libertarian think tanks funded by fossil fuel barons and corporate elites, has sunk its claws into New Zealand’s political landscape. At the forefront of this insidious influence is David Seymour, the ACT Party leader, whose ties to Atlas run deep.With the National Party’s ...
Nicola Willis, National’s supposed Finance Minister, has delivered another policy failure with the Family Boost scheme, a childcare rebate that was big on promises but has been very small on delivery. Only 56,000 families have signed up, a far cry from the 130,000 Willis personally championed in National’s campaign. This ...
This article was first published on 7 February 2025. In January, I crossed the milestone of 24 years of service in two militaries—the British and Australian armies. It is fair to say that I am ...
He shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old.Age shall not weary him, nor the years condemn.At the going down of the sun and in the morningI will remember him.My mate Keith died yesterday, peacefully in the early hours. My dear friend in Rotorua, whom I’ve been ...
The podcast above of the weekly ‘Hoon’ webinar for paying subscribers on Thursday night features co-hosts & talking about the week’s news with regular and special guests, including: on news New Zealand abstained from a vote on a global shipping levy on climate emissions and downgraded the importance ...
Hi,In case you missed it, New Zealand icon Lorde has a new single out. It’s called “What Was That”, and has a very low key music video that was filmed around her impromptu performance in New York’s Washington Square Park. When police shut down the initial popup, one of my ...
A strategy of denial is now the cornerstone concept for Australia’s National Defence Strategy. The term’s use as an overarching guide to defence policy, however, has led to some confusion on what it actually means ...
The IMF’s twice-yearly World Economic Outlook and Fiscal Monitor publications have come out in the last couple of days. If there is gloom in the GDP numbers (eg this chart for the advanced countries, and we don’t score a lot better on the comparable one for the 2019 to ...
For a while, it looked like the government had unfucked the ETS, at least insofar as unit settings were concerned. They had to be forced into it by a court case, but at least it got done, and when National came to power, it learned the lesson (and then fucked ...
The argument over US officials’ misuse of secure but non-governmental messaging platform Signal falls into two camps. Either it is a gross error that undermines national security, or it is a bit of a blunder ...
Cost of living ~1/3 of Kiwis needed help with food as cost of living pressures continue to increase - turning to friends, family, food banks or Work and Income in the past year, to find food. 40% of Kiwis also said they felt schemes offered little or no benefit, according ...
Hi,Perhaps in 2025 it shouldn’t come as a surprise that the CEO and owner of Voyager Internet — the major sponsor of the New Zealand Media Awards — has taken to sharing a variety of Anti-Muslim and anti-Jewish conspiracy theories to his 1.2 million followers.This included sharing a post from ...
In the sprint to deepen Australia-India defence cooperation, navy links have shot ahead of ties between the two countries’ air forces and armies. That’s largely a good thing: maritime security is at the heart of ...
'Cause you and me, were meant to be,Walking free, in harmony,One fine day, we'll fly away,Don't you know that Rome wasn't built in a day?Songwriters: Paul David Godfrey / Ross Godfrey / Skye Edwards.I was half expecting to see photos this morning of National Party supporters with wads of cotton ...
The PSA says a settlement with Health New Zealand over the agency’s proposed restructure of its Data and Digital and Pacific Health teams has saved around 200 roles from being cut. A third of New Zealanders have needed help accessing food in the past year, according to Consumer NZ, and ...
John Campbell’s Under His Command, a five-part TVNZ+ investigation series starting today, rips the veil off Destiny Church, exposing the rot festering under Brian Tamaki’s self-proclaimed apostolic throne. This isn’t just a church; it’s a fiefdom, built on fear, manipulation, and a trail of scandals that make your stomach churn. ...
Some argue we still have time, since quantum computing capable of breaking today’s encryption is a decade or more away. But breakthrough capabilities, especially in domains tied to strategic advantage, rarely follow predictable timelines. Just ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Pearl Marvell(Photo credit: Pearl Marvell. Image credit: Samantha Harrington. Dollar bill vector image: by pch.vector on Freepik) Igrew up knowing that when you had extra money, you put it under a bed, stashed it in a book or a clock, or, ...
The political petrified piece of wood, Winston Peters, who refuses to retire gracefully, has had an eventful couple of weeks peddling transphobia, pushing bigoted policies, undertaking his unrelenting war on wokeness and slinging vile accusations like calling Green co-leader Chlöe Swarbrick a “groomer”.At 80, the hypocritical NZ First leader’s latest ...
It's raining in Cockermouth and we're following our host up the stairs. We’re telling her it’s a lovely building and she’s explaining that it used to be a pub and a nightclub and a backpackers, but no more.There were floods in 2009 and 2015 along the main street, huge floods, ...
A recurring aspect of the Trump tariff coverage is that it normalises – or even sanctifies – a status quo that in many respects has been a disaster for working class families. No doubt, Donald Trump is an uncertainty machine that is tanking the stock market and the growth prospects ...
The National Party’s Minister of Police, Corrections, and Ethnic Communities (irony alert) has stumbled into yet another racist quagmire, proving that when it comes to bigotry, the right wing’s playbook is as predictable as it is vile. This time, Mitchell’s office reposted an Instagram reel falsely claiming that Te Pāti ...
In the week of Australia’s 3 May election, ASPI will release Agenda for Change 2025: preparedness and resilience in an uncertain world, a report promoting public debate and understanding on issues of strategic importance to ...
In a world crying out for empathy, J.K. Rowling has once again proven she’s more interested in stoking division than building bridges. The once-beloved author of Harry Potter has cemented her place as this week’s Arsehole of the Week, a title earned through her relentless, tone-deaf crusade against transgender rights. ...
Health security is often seen as a peripheral security domain, and as a problem that is difficult to address. These perceptions weaken our capacity to respond to borderless threats. With the wind back of Covid-19 ...
Would our political parties pass muster under the Fair Trading Act?WHAT IF OUR POLITICAL PARTIES were subject to the Fair Trading Act? What if they, like the nation’s businesses, were prohibited from misleading their consumers – i.e. the voters – about the nature, characteristics, suitability, or quantity of the products ...
Rod EmmersonThank you to my subscribers and readers - you make it all possible. Tui.Subscribe nowSix updates today from around the world and locally here in Aoteaora New Zealand -1. RFK Jnr’s Autism CrusadeAmerica plans to create a registry of people with autism in the United States. RFK Jr’s department ...
We see it often enough. A democracy deals with an authoritarian state, and those who oppose concessions cite the lesson of Munich 1938: make none to dictators; take a firm stand. And so we hear ...
370 perioperative nurses working at Auckland City Hospital, Starship Hospital and Greenlane Clinical Centre will strike for two hours on 1 May – the same day senior doctors are striking. This is part of nationwide events to mark May Day on 1 May, including rallies outside public hospitals, organised by ...
Character protections for Auckland’s villas have stymied past development. Now moves afoot to strip character protection from a bunch of inner-city villas. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāLong stories shortest from our political economy on Wednesday, April 23:Special Character Areas designed to protect villas are stopping 20,000 sites near Auckland’s ...
Artificial intelligence is poised to significantly transform the Indo-Pacific maritime security landscape. It offers unprecedented situational awareness, decision-making speed and operational flexibility. But without clear rules, shared norms and mechanisms for risk reduction, AI could ...
For what is a man, what has he got?If not himself, then he has naughtTo say the things he truly feelsAnd not the words of one who kneelsThe record showsI took the blowsAnd did it my wayLyrics: Paul Anka.Morena folks, before we discuss Winston’s latest salvo in NZ First’s War ...
Britain once risked a reputation as the weak link in the trilateral AUKUS partnership. But now the appointment of an empowered senior official to drive the project forward and a new burst of British parliamentary ...
Australia’s ability to produce basic metals, including copper, lead, zinc, nickel and construction steel, is in jeopardy, with ageing plants struggling against Chinese competition. The multinational commodities company Trafigura has put its Australian operations under ...
There have been recent PPP debacles, both in New Zealand (think Transmission Gully) and globally, with numerous examples across both Australia and Britain of failed projects and extensive litigation by government agencies seeking redress for the failures.Rob Campbell is one of New Zealand’s sharpest critics of PPPs noting that; "There ...
On Twitter on Saturday I indicated that there had been a mistake in my post from last Thursday in which I attempted to step through the Reserve Bank Funding Agreement issues. Making mistakes (there are two) is annoying and I don’t fully understand how I did it (probably too much ...
Indonesia’s armed forces still have a lot of work to do in making proper use of drones. Two major challenges are pilot training and achieving interoperability between the services. Another is overcoming a predilection for ...
The StrategistBy Sandy Juda Pratama, Curie Maharani and Gautama Adi Kusuma
As a living breathing human being, you’ve likely seen the heart-wrenching images from Gaza...homes reduced to rubble, children burnt to cinders, families displaced, and a death toll that’s beyond comprehension. What is going on in Gaza is most definitely a genocide, the suffering is real, and it’s easy to feel ...
Donald Trump, who has called the Chair of the Federal Reserve “a major loser”. Photo: Getty ImagesLong stories shortest from our political economy on Tuesday, April 22:US markets slump after Donald Trump threatens the Fed’s independence. China warns its trading partners not to side with the US. Trump says some ...
Last night, the news came through that Pope Francis had passed away at 7:35 am in Rome on Monday, the 21st of April, following a reported stroke and heart failure. Pope Francis. Photo: AP.Despite his obvious ill health, it still came as a shock, following so soon after the Easter ...
The 2024 Independent Intelligence Review found the NIC to be highly capable and performing well. So, it is not a surprise that most of the 67 recommendations are incremental adjustments and small but nevertheless important ...
This is a re-post from The Climate BrinkThe world has made real progress toward tacking climate change in recent years, with spending on clean energy technologies skyrocketing from hundreds of billions to trillions of dollars globally over the past decade, and global CO2 emissions plateauing.This has contributed to a reassessment of ...
Hi,I’ve been having a peaceful month of what I’d call “existential dread”, even more aware than usual that — at some point — this all ends.It was very specifically triggered by watching Pantheon, an animated sci-fi show that I’m filing away with all-time greats like Six Feet Under, Watchmen and ...
Once the formalities of honouring the late Pope wrap up in two to three weeks time, the conclave of Cardinals will go into seclusion. Some 253 of the current College of Cardinals can take part in the debate over choosing the next Pope, but only 138 of them are below ...
The National Party government is doubling down on a grim, regressive vision for the future: more prisons, more prisoners, and a society fractured by policies that punish rather than heal. This isn’t just a misstep; it’s a deliberate lurch toward a dystopian future where incarceration is the answer to every ...
The audacity of Don Brash never ceases to amaze. The former National Party and Hobson’s Pledge mouthpiece has now sunk his claws into NZME, the media giant behind the New Zealand Herald and half of our commercial radio stations. Don Brash has snapped up shares in NZME, aligning himself with ...
A listing of 28 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, April 13, 2025 thru Sat, April 19, 2025. This week's roundup is again published by category and sorted by number of articles included in each. The formatting is a ...
“What I’d say to you is…” our Prime Minister might typically begin a sentence, when he’s about to obfuscate and attempt to derail the question you really, really want him to answer properly (even once would be okay, Christopher). Questions such as “Why is a literal election promise over ...
Ruth IrwinExponential Economic growth is the driver of Ecological degradation. It is driven by CO2 greenhouse gas emissions through fossil fuel extraction and burning for the plethora of polluting industries. Extreme weather disasters and Climate change will continue to get worse because governments subscribe to the current global economic system, ...
A man on telly tries to tell me what is realBut it's alright, I like the way that feelsAnd everybody singsWe are evolving from night to morningAnd I wanna believe in somethingWriter: Adam Duritz.The world is changing rapidly, over the last year or so, it has been out with the ...
MFB Co-Founder Cecilia Robinson runs Tend HealthcareSummary:Kieran McAnulty calls out National on healthcare lies and says Health Minister Simeon Brown is “dishonest and disingenuous”(video below)McAnulty says negotiation with doctors is standard practice, but this level of disrespect is not, especially when we need and want our valued doctors.National’s $20bn ...
Chris Luxon’s tenure as New Zealand’s Prime Minister has been a masterclass in incompetence, marked by coalition chaos, economic lethargy, verbal gaffes, and a moral compass that seems to point wherever political expediency lies. The former Air New Zealand CEO (how could we forget?) was sold as a steady hand, ...
Has anybody else noticed Cameron Slater still obsessing over Jacinda Ardern? The disgraced Whale Oil blogger seems to have made it his life’s mission to shadow the former Prime Minister of New Zealand like some unhinged stalker lurking in the digital bushes.The man’s obsession with Ardern isn't just unhealthy...it’s downright ...
Skeptical Science is partnering with Gigafact to produce fact briefs — bite-sized fact checks of trending claims. You can submit claims you think need checking via the tipline. Is climate change a net benefit for society? Human-caused climate change has been a net detriment to society as measured by loss of ...
When the National Party hastily announced its “Local Water Done Well” policy, they touted it as the great saviour of New Zealand’s crumbling water infrastructure. But as time goes by it's looking more and more like a planning and fiscal lame duck...and one that’s going to cost ratepayers far more ...
Donald Trump, the orange-hued oligarch, is back at it again, wielding tariffs like a mob boss swinging a lead pipe. His latest economic edict; slapping hefty tariffs on imports from China, Mexico, and Canada, has the stench of a protectionist shakedown, cooked up in the fevered minds of his sycophantic ...
In the week of Australia’s 3 May election, ASPI will release Agenda for Change 2025: preparedness and resilience in an uncertain world, a report promoting public debate and understanding on issues of strategic importance to ...
One pill makes you largerAnd one pill makes you smallAnd the ones that mother gives youDon't do anything at allGo ask AliceWhen she's ten feet tallSongwriter: Grace Wing Slick.Morena, all, and a happy Bicycle Day to you.Today is an unofficial celebration of the dawning of the psychedelic era, commemorating the ...
It’s only been a few months since the Hollywood fires tore through Los Angeles, leaving a trail of devastation, numerous deaths, over 10,000 homes reduced to rubble, and a once glorious film industry on its knees. The Palisades and Eaton fires, fueled by climate-driven dry winds, didn’t just burn houses; ...
Four eighty-year-old books which are still vitally relevant today. Between 1942 and 1945, four refugees from Vienna each published a ground-breaking – seminal – book.* They left their country after Austria was taken over by fascists in 1934 and by Nazi Germany in 1938. Previously they had lived in ‘Red ...
Good Friday, 18th April, 2025: I can at last unveil the Secret Non-Fiction Project. The first complete Latin-to-English translation of Giovanni Pico della Mirandola’s twelve-book Disputationes adversus astrologiam divinatricem (Disputations Against Divinatory Astrology). Amounting to some 174,000 words, total. Some context is probably in order. Giovanni Pico della Mirandola (1463-1494) ...
National MP Hamish Campbell's pathetic attempt to downplay his deep ties to and involvement in the Two by Twos...a secretive religious sect under FBI and NZ Police investigation for child sexual abuse...isn’t just a misstep; it’s a calculated lie that insults the intelligence of every Kiwi voter.Campbell’s claim of being ...
New Zealand First’s Shane Jones has long styled himself as the “Prince of the Provinces,” a champion of regional development and economic growth. But beneath the bluster lies a troubling pattern of behaviour that reeks of cronyism and corruption, undermining the very democracy he claims to serve. Recent revelations and ...
Give me one reason to stay hereAnd I'll turn right back aroundGive me one reason to stay hereAnd I'll turn right back aroundSaid I don't want to leave you lonelyYou got to make me change my mindSongwriters: Tracy Chapman.Morena, and Happy Easter, whether that means to you. Hot cross buns, ...
New Zealand’s housing crisis is a sad indictment on the failures of right wing neoliberalism, and the National Party, under Chris Luxon’s shaky leadership, is trying to simply ignore it. The numbers don’t lie: Census data from 2023 revealed 112,496 Kiwis were severely housing deprived...couch-surfing, car-sleeping, or roughing it on ...
The podcast above of the weekly ‘Hoon’ webinar for paying subscribers on Thursday night features co-hosts & talking about the week’s news with regular and special guests, including: on a global survey of over 3,000 economists and scientists showing a significant divide in views on green growth; and ...
Simeon Brown, the National Party’s poster child for hubris, consistently over-promises and under-delivers. His track record...marked by policy flip-flops and a dismissive attitude toward expert advice, reveals a politician driven by personal ambition rather than evidence. From transport to health, Brown’s focus seems fixed on protecting National's image, not addressing ...
Open access notables Recent intensified riverine CO2 emission across the Northern Hemisphere permafrost region, Mu et al., Nature Communications:Global warming causes permafrost thawing, transferring large amounts of soil carbon into rivers, which inevitably accelerates riverine CO2 release. However, temporally and spatially explicit variations of riverine CO2 emissions remain unclear, limiting the ...
Once a venomous thorn in New Zealand’s blogosphere, Cathy Odgers, aka Cactus Kate, has slunk into the shadows, her once-sharp quills dulled by the fallout of Dirty Politics.The dishonest attack-blogger, alongside her vile accomplices such as Cameron Slater, were key players in the National Party’s sordid smear campaigns, exposed by Nicky ...
Once upon a time, not so long ago, those who talked of Australian sovereign capability, especially in the technology sector, were generally considered an amusing group of eccentrics. After all, technology ecosystems are global and ...
The ACT Party leader’s latest pet project is bleeding taxpayers dry, with $10 million funneled into seven charter schools for just 215 students. That’s a jaw-dropping $46,500 per student, compared to roughly $9,000 per head in state schools.You’d think Seymour would’ve learned from the last charter school fiasco, but apparently, ...
Te Pāti Māori are appalled by Cabinet's decision to agree to 15 recommendations to the Early Childhood Education (ECE) sector following the regulatory review by the Ministry of Regulation. We emphasise the need to prioritise tamariki Māori in Early Childhood Education, conducted by education experts- not economists. “Our mokopuna deserve ...
The Government must support Northland hapū who have resorted to rakes and buckets to try to control a devastating invasive seaweed that threatens the local economy and environment. ...
New Zealand First has today introduced a Member’s Bill that would ensure the biological definition of a woman and man are defined in law. “This is not about being anti-anyone or anti-anything. This is about ensuring we as a country focus on the facts of biology and protect the ...
After stonewalling requests for information on boot camps, the Government has now offered up a blog post right before Easter weekend rather than provide clarity on the pilot. ...
More people could be harmed if Minister for Mental Health Matt Doocey does not guarantee to protect patients and workers as the Police withdraw from supporting mental health call outs. ...
The Green Party recognises the extension of visa allowances for our Pacific whānau as a step in the right direction but continues to call for a Pacific Visa Waiver. ...
The Government yesterday released its annual child poverty statistics, and by its own admission, more tamariki across Aotearoa are now living in material hardship. ...
Today, Te Pāti Māori join the motu in celebration as the Treaty Principles Bill is voted down at its second reading. “From the beginning, this Bill was never welcome in this House,” said Te Pāti Māori Co-Leader, Rawiri Waititi. “Our response to the first reading was one of protest: protesting ...
The Green Party is proud to have voted down the Coalition Government’s Treaty Principles Bill, an archaic piece of legislation that sought to attack the nation’s founding agreement. ...
A Member’s Bill in the name of Green Party MP Julie Anne Genter which aims to stop coal mining, the Crown Minerals (Prohibition of Mining) Amendment Bill, has been pulled from Parliament’s ‘biscuit tin’ today. ...
Labour MP Kieran McAnulty’s Members Bill to make the law simpler and fairer for businesses operating on Easter, Anzac and Christmas Days has passed its first reading after a conscience vote in Parliament. ...
Nicola Willis continues to sit on her hands amid a global economic crisis, leaving the Reserve Bank to act for New Zealanders who are worried about their jobs, mortgages, and KiwiSaver. ...
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 Butter by Asako Yuzuki (Fourth Estate, $35) Fictionalised true crime for foodies. 2 Sunrise on ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Taneshka Kruger, UP ISMC: Project Manager and Coordinator, University of Pretoria Healthcare in Africa faces a perfect storm: high rates of infectious diseases like malaria and HIV, a rise in non-communicable diseases, and dwindling foreign aid. In 2021, nearly half of ...
Australia and New Zealand join forces once more to bring you the best films and TV shows to watch this weekend. This Anzac Day, our free-to-air TV channels will screen a variety of commemorative coverage. At 11am, TVNZ1 has live coverage of the Anzac Day National Commemorative Service in Wellington. ...
Our laws are leaving many veterans who served after 1974 out in the cold. I know, because I’m one of them.This Sunday Essay was made possible thanks to the support of Creative New Zealand.First published in 2024.As I write this story, I am in constant pain. My hands ...
An MP fighting for anti-trafficking legislation says it is hard for prosecutors to take cases to court - but he is hopeful his bill will turn the tide. ...
NONFICTION1 No Words for This by Ali Mau (HarperCollins, $39.99)2 Everyday Comfort Food by Vanya Insull (Allen & Unwin, $39.99)3 Three Wee Bookshops at the End of the World by Ruth Shaw (Allen & Unwin, $39.99)
This Anzac Day marks 110 years since the Gallipoli landings by soldiers in the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps - the ANZACS. It signalled the beginning of a campaign that was to take the lives of so many of our young men - and would devastate the ...
The violent deportation of migrants is not new, and New Zealand forces had a hand in such a regime after World War II, writes historian Scott Hamilton. The world is watching the new Trump government wage a war against migrants it deems illegal. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials and ...
While Anzac Day has experienced a resurgence in recent years, our other day of remembrance has slowly faded from view.This Sunday Essay was made possible thanks to the support of Creative New Zealand. Original illustrations by Hope McConnell.First published in 2022.The high school’s head girl and ...
A new poem by Aperahama Hurihanganui, about the name of Aperahama and Abby Hauraki’s three-year-old son, Te Hono ki Īhipa (which translates to ‘The Connection to Egypt’). Te Hono ki Īhipa what’s in a name? te hono – the connection to your tīpuna, valiant soldiers of the 28th Māori Battalion ...
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Pacific Media Watch The Fijians for Palestine Solidarity Network today condemned the Fiji government’s failure to stand up for international law and justice over the Israeli war on Gaza in their weekly Black Thursday protest. “For the past 18 months, we have made repeated requests to our government to do ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra Michelle Grattan and Amanda Dunn discuss the fourth week of the 2025 election campaign. While the death of Pope Francis interrupted campaigning for a while, the leaders had another debate on Tuesday night and the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra Whatever the result on May 3, even people within the Liberals think they have run a very poor national campaign. Not just poor, but odd. Nothing makes the point more strongly than this week’s ...
The Finance Minister says the leftover funding from the unexpectedly low uptake of the FamilyBoost policy will be redistributed to families who need it. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Daniel Ghezelbash, Professor and Director, Kaldor Centre for International Refugee Law, UNSW Law & Justice, UNSW Sydney People who apply for asylum in Australia face significant delays in having their claims processed. These delays undermine the integrity of the asylum system, erode ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Adrian Beaumont, Election Analyst (Psephologist) at The Conversation; and Honorary Associate, School of Mathematics and Statistics, The University of Melbourne Every election cycle the media becomes infatuated, even if temporarily, with preference deals between parties. The 2025 election is no exception, with ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Robert Hortle, Deputy Director, Tasmanian Policy Exchange, University of Tasmania For each Australian federal election, there are two different ways you get to vote. Whether you vote early, by post or on polling day on May 3, each eligible voter will be ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Anna Mortimore, Lecturer, Griffith Business School, Griffith University wedmoment.stock/Shutterstock If elected, the Coalition has pledged to end Labor’s substantial tax break for new zero- or low-emissions vehicles. This, combined with an earlier promise to roll back new fuel efficiency standards, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Pi-Shen Seet, Professor of Entrepreneurship and Innovation, Edith Cowan University Once again, housing affordability is at the forefront of an Australian federal election. Both major parties have put housing policies at the centre of their respective campaigns. But there are still ...
After a nearly four year hiatus, New Zealand’s premiere popstar is back with a brand new single. It’s been a thrilling few weeks of breadcrumbing for Lorde fans, as the New Zealand popstar has been teasing her return to the zeitgeist through mysterious silver duct tape on her shoes, rainbow ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Richard Meade, Adjunct Associate Professor, Centre for Applied Energy Economics and Policy Research, Griffith University Daria Nipot/Shutterstock With ongoing cost of living pressures, the Australian and New Zealand supermarket sectors are attracting renewed political attention on both sides of the Tasman. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Erika K. Smith, Associate Lecturer, School of Social Sciences, Western Sydney University This article contains mention of racist terms in historical context. Every Anzac Day, Australians are presented with narratives that re-inscribe particular versions of our national story. One such narrative persistently ...
“Anzac Day is portrayed as a day where the country can reflect on the horrors of war, the costs in human lives and commit collectively to never again allowing genocidal mass murder. We have to ask, is that really happening?” said Valerie Morse, member ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jennifer Parker, Adjunct Fellow, Naval Studies at UNSW Canberra, and Expert Associate, National Security College, Australian National University Australian strategic thinking has long struggled to move beyond a narrow view of defence that focuses solely on protecting our shores. However, in today’s ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By T.J. Thomson, Senior Lecturer in Visual Communication & Digital Media, RMIT University As Australia begins voting in the federal election, we’re awash with political messages. While this of course includes the typical paid ads in newspapers and on TV (those ones ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Natalie Peng, Lecturer in Accounting, The University of Queensland Shutterstock For Australians approaching retirement, recent market volatility may feel like more than just a bump in the road. Unlike younger investors, who have time on their side, retirees don’t have ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Judith Brett, Emeritus Professor of Politics, La Trobe University Beatrice Faust is best remembered as the founder, early in 1972, of the Women’s Electoral Lobby (WEL). Women’s Liberation was already well under way. Betty Friedan had published The Feminine Mystique in 1962, ...
The Spinoff’s top picks of events from around the motu. Wow lucky us, it’s time to kiss the wheelie office chairs goodbye and begin another(!) long weekend. As tempting as I know it is to lean into the phone addiction and do just about nothing, you should make the most ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kate Fitz-Gibbon, Professor (Practice), Faculty of Business and Economics, Monash University In the past week, at least seven women have been killed in Australia, allegedly by men. These deaths have occurred in different contexts – across state borders, communities and relationships. But ...
National MP and diehard Shihad fan Chris Bishop sings the praises of his favourite band’s classic 1995 album. Last week I went to my first ever Taite Music Prize ceremony, the annual bash to honour independent music in New Zealand. I’d love to say I was invited, but I wasn’t ...
Grim reading today Comrades!
‘Counter revolution’ in Venezuela…
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-venezuela-election-idUSKBN0TP03Y20151207
The rise of the Far Right in France…
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/dec/07/frances-governing-socialists-urge-tactical-voting-in-face-of-far-right-surge
The destruction of the British Labour Party….
http://www.theguardian.com/media/greenslade/2015/dec/07/labour-is-falling-apart-but-dont-blame-jeremy-corbyn-for-its-collapse
Are you the one whose family voted Labour for generation upon generation until David Cunnliffe became leader?
My family before me yes, and I voted Labour (or Greens occaisionally) all my life – until the last election, when I finally got so sick of the infighting, the lack of vision, and the slavish conformity to outdated dogma that I voted for National as a protest.
If you’ve seen that graph that shows Labour support over the last 100 years, you’ll recognize that this is just part of the overall pattern of decline in support.
I’m still waiting for The Left to see the writing on the wall. Let alone start to write the story that will make it relevant to The People again. Hence the stories above Titi. Wake up call anyone?
outdated dogma
Translation: unions, human rights, fair pay rates, evidence-based policy.
To be replaced by the mindless shite that Sheep believes very hard.
Edit: I note that “outdated dogma” is an oxymoron: if it’s been outdated (by what?) it was once appropriate to its time and therefore, not dogma. This will sail right over Gobsheep’s head.
Anyone wanting to understand why the Left is bleeding support only need study your collected works here OAB.
Anyone not wanting to understand can parrot the Lefts new narrative of blame. The Voters are Stupid / The Voters are Greedy / The Media is against us / The voters are brainwashed / It’s a conspiracy (many conspiracies actually) / Money is an unfair advantage / etc etc etc.
Anything but take a look in the mirror.
You are happy with the status quo aren’t you. No need to change anything.
I’m the Left, apparently, and yet, curiously, I have never once advanced any of Sheep’s litany of alleged Leftie tropes.
Meanwhile, Labour is up 5% since the last election. Gosh, two examples of utterly false assertions in one Gobsheep! 😆
3 elections on, Labour 31% National 47%.
And you are happy.
I rest my case.
It’s 20 years since we moved form FPP to MMP Tls. And you didn’t know? Where have you been hiding? Under a rock in the Sahara Desert?
That’s the height of ignorance you know.
Hi Anne this is from below but it seems pertinent to this discussion
Remind me again how many elections Labour have been in power for since the advent of MMP versus how many National have been in
In case you were wondering of the seven elections held under MMP National have won power in four and Labour have won power in three and since National is likely to regain power in 2017 it’ll be 2020 before Labours back in power
[lprent: You really shouldn’t use spurious stats when I am around. I find it irritating. What you are describing is 2 changes of government each currently of 3 terms, and the one term left over from the government at the time of a change to MMP.
And trolling such simple minded bullshit annoys me even more. I suggest that you discontinue ]
“Happy.”
Fuck off. Confine your observations to things you have a clue about. Yes, that will leave you with nothing to say.
Looks as if at some point (Cunliffe’s “sorry”, I’ll wager) you have just decided to abandon your values.
Looks as if at some point (Cunliffe’s “sorry”, I’ll wager) you have just decided to abandon your values.
Mate. I voted Labour in ’84 and ’87, and then I voted for them again in ’90.
If i stuck with them through all those changes in values, I think you can take it as read that a relative featherweight like Cunliffe would hardly tip me off the boat!
The Greenslade piece in ‘The Guardian’ is a bit odd. A lot of the analysis seems reasonable, but a fair chunk of what he’s driving at hinges on this …
Despite strolling to the Oldham by-election victory, the party is generally regarded by the majority of its MPs, political journalists and their editors, as unelectable.
Now, count those people up and how many people are we talking of? Not many.
And then there’s….Corbyn’s new army embodies yet another faction: the idealistic middle classes. Reconciling their views with those who lean towards Ukip is more than a stretch.
Does he not understand that many of those who voted UKIP cast their vote as a protest, and does he also not understand that Labour kind of endorsed voting on an immigration ticket with it’s own stupid fucking ‘tough on immigration’ policy?
Anyway. Labour in Scotland is dead. But Labour in England and Wales is possibly on the cusp of a revival given that Miliband’s changes opened up the party far and a way beyond any opening up that has occurred for the NZ Labour Party.
Add to that that the UK Labour Party is, under Corbyn, seeking to articulate the type of sensibilities that now belong to the SNP in Scotland and, well….we’ll see.
My only real criticism of Corbyn is that he’s stuck fast in a dim and irrelevant ‘one world’ past with regards nationalism. He should have signaled an alliance with the SNP and left the corpse of the Blairite Scottish Labour Party to rot. Civic nationalism in Scotland should have embraced by Labour, afterall, you can’t have internationalism without nationalism, and the smaller a political entity is, the greater chance for better accountability, and then the greater the chance is for the emergence of authentic autonomy – the next step beyond nationalism and nation states, y’know, socialism.;-)
http://m.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11557358
Audrey pimping for collins as is henry who just gave the horrible women collins free reign to reinvent herself into a honest women.
For the hard right, Collins is the way forward.
Henry is simply a pimp for the corporate criminals running this place.
He’s an odd mix ,if you keep in mind that he’s a horrible simple minded prick,I find him honest in that he says it how he sees it.
Interestly he was just pushing Finland’s upcoming ubi trial.
“,I find him honest in that he says it how he sees it.”
I find people who say they do this (call a spade a spade type shite) to be intentionally simplistic and hence deceitful. They hide things with their simplistic nonsense.
You could be right but I tend to think henry isn’t that bright.
Despite assurances (lies) from Key, detainees are signing forms that give away their guaranteed right to appeal when they’re coerced to return home.
And of course not any other media except RNZ is reporting this, because it’s just another big lie in the long list of John Key’s lies and we’re becoming numb/used/indifferent to it.
http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/national/291540/detainees-sign-'unusual'-forms-lawyer
508 extra housing units says the Govt. Yeah right – its the usual smoke and mirrors.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/property/news/article.cfm?c_id=8&objectid=11557186
IHC gets 58 NEW homes and 300 LEASED from private owners. The Sally Army gets 50 NEW homes and 37 EXISTING pensioner flats. And goodness knows where the Chinese Settlers will find their 36 homes, or the other 27 subsidies. So the Govt is subsidising private owners yet again, and in reality there will be at least 158 NEW homes of some sort or other built somewhere, and maybe a few more.
There is a very much to the point letter here on this subject of Smith’s drivel.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/northern-advocate/news/article.cfm?c_id=1503450&objectid=11557058
To amirite – Surely if detainees have signed such documents without legal advice beforehand then said document is invalid ?
and thank goodness for Radio NZ ! At least one MSM outlet keeping track of things
Yes, the story just got buried by Stuff & the Herald. Stuff changed their headline from one about deportees having to sign away their right of appeal to one that now reads:
John Key ‘confident’ of deportees’ appeal rights despite Australian form.
Still I expect it’s going to be brief news item on telly tonight and it’s hard to see how Key can avoid being seen as either a liar or a dupe. I just hope whoever reports it take the time to read out the offending sentence.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/74854431/john-key-confident-of-deportees-appeal-rights-despite-australian-form
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11557630
Also deportees are being charged for the cost of travel back to NZ.
Also deportees are being charged for the cost of travel back to NZ.
How will the parliamentary left regain the momentum it had with the public over the Australian deportees?
Government’s reshuffle and the Cabinet decisions this week have tilted the momentum back to Key. Very smart decision for Act’s Seymour to stay out of Cabinet.
I am incredibly surprised that the Opposition parties have not built upon the climate change marches momentum and continued strong stories during the Paris COP 21 negotiations.
Momentum will of course come and go, but it will take more than the occasional stunt out of a helicopter to sustain public attention.
Momentum will gradually build up, Ad. That is better than quick ups and downs.
And hopefully the upward momentum will be retained thru to 2017.
I also note that ShonKey’s popularity has been gradually sliding downwards for quite a while …. it’s still respectable, but maybe more and more people are finally waking up to him !
I think that’s a little blithe, Jenny.
Let me give you an example of the kinds of successes that this current government will ride from 2016 to 2017:
– Announcement of full funding for City Rail Link, first quarter 2016 (and start of early construction works within a couple of weeks)
– Commence works on National Convention Centre with Sky City, first quarter 2016
– Start of full demolition of Auckland’s downtown shopping centre, second quarter 2016
– Commencement of SH1 Puhoi to Wellsford construction, end second quarter 2016
– Announcement of confirmed timing of Waitemata harbor tunnel crossing, second quarter 2016
– Start of Elliot Street tower (over 40 stories high), second quarter 2016
– Start construction on 5 star hotel on Auckland’s waterfront, second quarter 2016
– Queenstown Convention Centre starts construction, third quarter 2016
– Announcement of Auckland light rail options, third quarter 2016
– Opening of new Waterfront theatre, end 2016
– Start of Ruataniwha Dam construction, third quarter 2016
– Opening of Waterview tunnels for SH16 and SH20, first quarter 2017
– Huge number of civic openings in Christchurch as stages complete, first quarter 2017
– Then you have the 2017 budget tax cuts, which will be substantial
etc
What I am indicating is that this government understands the secret to politics in New Zealand right now is real estate and roading. The momentum that they have built and encouraged through incredibly low Reserve Bank targets will see Auckland, Christchurch, and Queenstown-Lakes take the economic lead as the rest of the economy remains at 2% growth.
The stories that the Opposition break have to be even bigger than this.
That was how good Kelvin’s hit was. The loss of momentum is a serious loss.
These guys are fully geared for a fourth term, and the momentum of the economy is with them.
Do you honestly believe the Christmas island crims episode was a win for Labour?
In terms content it was neutral overall.
In terms of MSM coverage, and underlining Key’s incompetence, huge win.
That’s a useful summary of forthcoming announcements, thanks Ad.
How much of this is residential housing?
That’s another whole list.
“Start of Ruataniwha Dam construction, third quarter 2016”
Pffft. How are those investment partners going?
The CHB Council has all but guaranteed that this dam will go ahead buy buying up water rights to provide drinking water for their constituents… that they currently get for free.
The fact that the Mayor and several councillors will benefit directly from the commencement of this project is probably the worst conflict of interest I have ever seen.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/hawkes-bay-today/news/article.cfm?c_id=1503462&objectid=11544383
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/hawkes-bay-today/news/article.cfm?c_id=1503462&objectid=11546675
Coming to a space near you from a right wing that equates laying concrete with growth?? Really last century isn’t it.
It ain’t pretty.
Now we’ll see how good Kelvin Davis is (or if he can be leader) now that he has a real challenge on his hands
Jacinda Ardern is a lightweight dolly bird that couldn’t handle Paula Bennett and Nikki Kay and as such shouldn’t be considered as a viable option for leader of Labour and now Kelvin Davis has a real chance to show what hes got
Things have gotten interesting again
Labour has a Leader, Puckish R. This is just another bit of bs-waving by Nats for which you are the mouthpiece.
Yes well a leader that can’t convince an electorate to vote for him either but more importantly I’m looking forward to Davis vs Collins, we’ll see if Davis has what it takes
Collins appointment is to take the heat of Key and have some more drivel for talk back radio so that real issues don’t come up.
Hard to believe they can find someone less honest than Key to make him look better, but they have!
Collins is a patsy to take the heat off other issues – like the Natz destroying our democracy and TPP.
What better distraction than 2nd hand car dealer promoter/Kauri swamp marketer/minister of Police/corrections Collins to distract!
We are starting to make Malaysia look good!
“can’t convince an electorate to vote for him”
1990 just called, it wants its political strategies back.
Remind me again how many elections Labour have been in power for since the advent of MMP versus how many National have been in
Dark ages often lasted for hundreds of years – National malgovernance only feels like a series of dark eternities.
In case you were wondering of the seven elections held under MMP National have won power in four and Labour have won power in three and since National is likely to regain power in 2017 it’ll be 2020 before Labours back in power
But hey you keep on the good fight
NB if Davis had lost to Hone, Hone and Laila would have both got into Parliament.
And the resulting calculation on Labour Party numbers would have meant that Andrew Little would have missed out.
I’ll leave it up to you to decide whether that would have been a good thing or not
@CV
+100
Instead we have Labourites like Nash who advocates “maintaining our principles’ is a ludicrous proposition.”
http://thedailyblog.co.nz/2015/10/31/tdb-guest-blog-project-stuart-nash-the-most-pressing-issue-in-nz-right-now/
Good to think about that also in the context of bought lobbyists for the oil industry.
https://berniesanders.com/people-before-polluters/
Labourites like Nash……
“Our supporters have the same impact when they squabble, bitch and back-stab on so-called ‘left-friendly’ sites like The Standard (a dreadful 21st century bastardisation of a once proud Labour broadsheet)”
Oh dear.
I see that USA are being sued under NAFTA because the USA law requiring the labelling of the origin of meat contravenes the agreement.
+100 Tautoko Mangō Mata
TPP does not benefit citizens of any country, only giant agrochemical multi nationals who will benefit from relaxed food standards and consumer choice to ram toxic intensive and un proven food with poor animal welfare standards onto unwitting consumers plates.
Very interesting video about how TTIP (and likewise TPP) will destroy small and medium farmers (i.e. like NZ farmers), introduce Genetically modified foods, introduce chlorinated meat washing techniques and USA agricultural intensive farming practises around the world with these ‘free trade’ agreements.
It is not only NZ farms being bought up by agribusiness and foreign investors it is also happening in Europe. Soon as well as being tenants in our own country we will also be able to afford the ‘raw food’ materials of our country as they will be exported using mega supply chains to other countries to be processed.
The video also has a lot of useful statistics like how 70% of the worlds fresh water is used in agribusiness and 52% of emissions are from agribusiness as to get that massive scale petrol is used to ship around the world.
While we like to think NZ is an exporter so TPP will ‘help’ farmers it appears that most mega agribusiness like Montanso and investment companies buying up land for food are most likely to use NZ as a banana republic, and use their own migrant labour, offshore productions and supply chains to export the food cutting out the middle men (Kiwis) and using sophisticated tax laws to pay the minimum of taxes while getting the maximum of corporate welfare.
It is already happening, TPP just means governments will not be able to stop it as they can be sued.
Request: Please do not upset TRP today.
Te Reo Putake is in a very grumpy mood and lashing out at all and sundry. She/He is very very very sensitive to any hint that Robertson and King had a major say in the cabinet selection. TRP is also very very very sensitive to Claire Trevett’s story that King promised her Rongotai seat to Little on condition that he publically humiliate Cunliffe.
te reo putake…
7 December 2015 at 10:40 pm
Chooky, I have a life. I’ve been out, as it happens, and even if I wasn’t, I answer if and when when I fucken well feel like it, not according to your agenda. Bill’s comments are full of shit. The shadow cabinet was chosen by Little as is his right.
I never said what Bill claimed I did, and what he claimed about caucus selecting the shadow cabinet was wrong in fact anyway and the that’s the end of that story.
Bill fucked up out of ignorance. What’s your excuse?
Put it down to being a white middle male
Everyone else blames these factors (race, age, gender) whenever a white middle male does something so may as well join in the fun.
Why do you keep repeating this bullshit, Northsider?
Trevett’s story did not do what you claim yet you keep repeating your lies, and your obsession with Robertson is getting to the pathological stage.
I am not a fan of the way TRP reacts to criticism, but your continuous attempts to enter into long, pointless and ill-informed attacks on Labour in a desperate attempt to get him to respond makes me suspicious of your real motives.
1. Trevett says Annette will surrender Rongotai to Andrew Little. No one disputed this. Trevett has shown she is being fed excellent intelligence throughput this process.
2. All are saying the ABC’s have seen the Cunliffe supporters in the Caucus demoted, relative to Robertson supporter, and Cunliffe himself humiliated.
3. The insulting positiong of Cunliffe had nothing to do with his work rate, ability or behaviour since Little took over.
4. Cunliffe strongly supported Little in the Leadership battle and actually held-off standing down until it was coinfirmed little was elected. So Cunliffe was done to for other reasons that Little was unable to resist.
5. Trevett says there was no room for a “charachter like Cunliffe” . That was code for saying the ABCers wanted Cunliffe fully out this time. Little had no personal or performance related reason to want Cunliffe out.
6. That does mean that the Rongotai seat and Cunliffe were part of the one conversation.
Karen, do not impune my motive. I have not impuned yours. We are all Labour.
Okay Northsider, I’ll take your word that you are not a right wing troll trying to create dissent, but it sure was starting to look like it. And by the way my politics are somewhat to the left of both Labour and the Green Party, but I have supported both electorally and financially .
As to your points:
1. Trevett did not say “Annette will surrender Rongotai to Andrew Little.” She said it was a possibility, which it obviously is. Anybody can see that. Your assumption that Trevett is getting leaked information is based on a misunderstanding of the work of political journalists.
2. A number of Cunliffe supporters have been promoted. This has been pointed out to you before.
3. I was also disappointed with Cunliffe’s demotion, but I do not know what his work rate has been like over recent months compared to others and neither do you.
4. Cunliffe stood down when Little decided to stand, not when Little was elected.
5. I like Cunliffe and supported his leadership, but there is no question he is a decisive figure. I suspect Little has asked for Cunliffe to work with him to see how well he works with others. I know Little wanted caucus members to work together on projects and perhaps Cunliffe found that difficult. I do not know – I am just guessing.
6.Sorry, your conclusion does not follow at all.
The ones who have clearly switched away from Cunliffe to support the ABCs have been promoted.
Cunliffe’s demotion has nothing to do with his work rate, his ability, his experience of his ability to work with others.
It has everything to do with the Robertson crowd and the right wingers in caucus wanting Cunliffe as a future leadership threat permanently gone.
+100 CV…from what I have heard Cunliffe is very good to work with and work for…so what the hell is going on?!
…the rank and file Labour members voted for David Cunliffe!…that should be enough to earn him a top place in Cabinet …if the management was good
….and a high place for Mania Mahuta who brought in the Maori seats, when Labour was losing most others ….except for TTT which was won by Kelvin Davis against Hone Harawira
….and we all know Lusk was involved in TTT…he says so himself and there is suggestion of payment of the Maori voters in TTT
http://www.radionz.co.nz/national/programmes/mediawatch/audio/201779410/dirty-politics-players-back-in-the-frame
….” Duncan Garner also revealed supporters of Labour’s Napier MP Stewart Nash paid Simon Lusk to canvas the option of a new political party, and that Simon Lusk had told him Labour MP Phil Twyford would be his next target.
Simon Lusk also claimed on Story he had been instrumental in unseating Mana Party co-leader Hone Harawira in the last election. Unnamed “businessmen” had paid thousands for that, he said. And in conversation with his co-host last Monday, Duncan Garner said money had been paid to get Maori electors to vote in Te Tai Tokerau.
Was political operative Simon Lusk really paying people on behalf of clients to influence an election? Disappointingly, no more was said about this claim.The following day, Duncan Garner posted a statement from Simon Lusk on the websites of TV3’s Story and Radio Live. In it, Simon Lusk said:
Iwi now have extensive databases of members who they can easily mobilise. Assembling a team of 50 or 100 iwi members to get out the vote is straightforward, legal and effective if it is possible to raise some koha.
He added that “if you’re not paying for votes or offering anything in exchange for a vote, or treating,” it is not against the law. But that statement didn’t answer key questions: How much was paid? By whom? And for what purpose? “…
( Questions need to be asked and answered about what is going on in the Labour Party)
Why do you keep repeating that nonsense Chooky? Why would you believe anything Garner and Lusk (in particular) says? and you’re dreaming re: “new party”
Go and talk with Ngāpuhi, you will find Lusk had nothing to do with Hone losing his seat, it was partnering up with Dotcom that did. I got told Hone lost all credibility when he showed he needed a “white man” (their words) to win.
David Cunliffe is still very much a target by msm, and didn’t he tell John Campbell post election/leadership that he didn’t know if he would be staying on for the 2017 election? Personally I wouldn’t want to see him go, but “IF” he did, I would respect his decision, and you do not know of the talks Cunliffe and Little would have had prior to the reshuffle, which I am sure David Cunliffe was well aware of before the announcement.
That’s just your opinion CV and you have provided no evidence to back up your theories.
You obviously loathe Robertson and you and your small band of supporters are trying desperately to get people to believe your conspiracy theories. To what end I have no idea, but I personally am disappointed that you have decided to undertake this campaign as I used to find your comments on NZ politics worth reading. No longer.
+100 Karen.
Cheers, Karen, a couple of points well made. I do tend to lash out when people claim I’ve said things I haven’t and it’s a fault, I know. But that and excessive modesty are pretty much my only character defects as far as I can tell 😉
And to te reo putake – people are different, react in different ways, I – personally – find what you have to say refreshing and to the point. So I always read your opinions.
Cheers, Jenny, much appreciated. It’s one of the strengths of the Standard that there are many so many great contributors, yourself included. We have the liveliest, most educated comments of any NZ blog, by quite some distance.
Ah – another Bill. Okay. Back to what I was doing before reading that. 😉
What’s the bet the GCSB has started survelliance of SAFE on the grounds that it is an organisation threatening New Zealand’s economic well-being.
@ E p surveillance started? It has probably been on going the whole time!
What else is the increased 8 million to be spent on, (apart from undermining the political and activist opposition to this corrupt government and their spin doctors)!
Do you see know irony in what you are saying.
The gcsb might learn something about spying from safe.
Theres a court case coming soon in Dunedin [deleted]
[lprent: I believe that it is also subject to court suppression orders. I’d strongly suggest that if you want to comment here and you don’t think that you can use the name, then you don’t make the detail of the cases obvious either. Otherwise you should state is there is a suppression order and what its limits are. There are multiple levels from simple name suppression through to blanket suppression that will even make mentioning that a suppression order has been made subject to contempt of court. If you can’t state them, then I’m liable, and quite liable to simply kick you off the site for a year or two to make sure I don’t have waste time moderating you.
But really, the courts operational rules on suppression simply don’t work in an online world. I’m forever having to find out about suppression orders to just know what to moderate. It is a bit of a nuisance that the courts run under a stupid secrecy model and don’t supply us with lists of what is and what isn’t suppressed. ]
Apologies.
It turns out Zuckerbergs $45bn ‘donation’ wasn’t a proper gift at all. It has just been “stuffed into a for-profit limited liability company, rather than a foundation, which means that you don’t have to tell everybody exactly what you’re up to, and you’re allowed to make money from poorer people who are making money, do a bit of political lobbying, take some money back, support your very own pet causes, change the world however you fancy and feel just like God: all-powerful and adored.”
‘I was suspicious of the Zuckerbergs’ $45bn donation – and I was right to be”
Michele Hanson
http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2015/dec/07/suspicious-zuckerbergs-45bn-donation-facebook-gift
It makes him a great Superpac, if he could be persuaded towards the Democrats.
I’ve just been reading about early photographer Nikola Persheid (or Perscheid). He was a good photographer and worked at his studio with many who became as well-known as him on their own. He developed a special camera suitable for portraits that was used internationally. He worked in many different places, after ‘developing’ his trade by being an itinerant photographer. But was not able to make a good living, although his work was high quality and well considered. The competitive self-reliant world can be very hard on individuals who are acting as entrepreneurs breaking into new fields. He came to a sad end. He deserved better.
Wikipedia
Towards the end of the 1920s, Perscheid had severe financial problems. In autumn 1929 he had to sub-rent his apartment to be able to pay his own rent. Shortly afterwards, he suffered a stroke, and was hospitalized in spring of 1930.
While he was at the hospital, his belongings, including his cameras and photographic plates, but also all his furniture were auctioned off to pay his debts. Two weeks after the auction, on 12 May 1930,[6] Perscheid died at the Charité hospital in Berlin.
So he died and I can’t find where he was buried, probably in a pauper’s grave. We need to keep our social welfare so that people of note, who have been of note, or who never achieved a note can be treated fairly and kindly.
lprent
I was browsing on TS and went to scroll up and the blog vanished to a white screen headed Gone and then something about the address had gone with no further addres and to remove all references to it from my computer. I closed down and immediately requested TS again and it came on no trouble.
Also it has been very slow loading at times lately. Just letting you know.
Interesting. That usually indicates that a TCP connection has been forcibly disconnected from the server side. I will have a look at the page load time profile.
I get the “gone page” when shifting from page to page on occasion. Being a hick I just put it down to rural network stuff.
Can confirm very slow loading… we’re talking of minutes not seconds. I can also report something similar to gws’s experience – a vanishing TS only to return upon a fresh loading.
Ummm. Can’t see much myself. But I’ll have a look when I get home in about an hour. Been having an issue with some stray apache2 processes.
2 six shooters a horse and some chewing tabbacee is how you deal with Apaches
Yes, several times in last couple of days the site wouldn’t open or browser couldn’t find it. But it’s fine today.
Same experience last few days.
Bernie Sanders has released his official plan to fight climate change, and it’s very good:
https://berniesanders.com/people-before-polluters/
This is excellent (Bernie Sanders’ Climate Change Plan). Thanks for the link. A very good reference.
@ michael +100
If only our opposition could put together real policies and detailed plans that actually say exactly what they will do when they get into power and why.
This should be compulsory reading for the opposition in NZ on how to write up policy and not just on climate change!
(in particular Labour)
i.e. You need to actually have something real, rather than airy fairy words to get people to believe in a party and the words within the policy have to actually make sense and have a detailed action plan.
How serendipitous for the UK government and others going to war against the daesh that ‘The Guardian’ has now obtained blueprints on the planned state building of the self appointed caliphate. Now they can say they are at war with an almost state, which lends a smear of credibility and a veneer of legality to the bombing of, well…let’s face it, it’s just ‘people on the ground’ – men, boys, women, girls, old people, babies….
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/dec/07/leaked-isis-document-reveals-plan-building-state-syria
I’m not so sure this is a good idea.
The New Zealand Wars were pretty complicated affairs but my pakeha forebears would’ve probably been among, or supported, the European settlers who killed Maori & stole and confiscated their land all around New Zealand. I have the feeling a New Zealand Wars Day would provoke a lot of mutual hostility rather than be treated as a respectful remembrance day.
Any thoughts anyone?
Grindlebottom – Isn’t it about time that NZers learned what went on during the Land Wars, and why ?
Its not taught in schools as far as I can make out – it wasn’t taught in my day, and it wasn’t taught to my sons – and we’ve had to find out for ourselves.
And it might make some Pakeha realise just why Maori continue to raise grievances which go back decades.
This is a commemmoration whose time has come – but of course ShonKey won’t have a bar of it.
National has done at least as good a job – if not a better job – of settling Treaty grievances in the last few years.
Only because it dovetails in with National’s privatisation ideology.
The treaty settlement process is the biggest privatisation programme in this country’s history, transfering billions of dollars to public assets and cash to tribal elites while single Maori mothers sleep in their cars with their newborn babies.
And dont get me started about conservation land.
I agree NZ history including the Land Wars should be taught in our schools Jenny. I’m surprised it still isn’t. I’d rather see that done than establish a New Zealand Land Wars commemoration day. Just maintaining Waitangi Day is a better idea.
I think this is good, if we had a better understanding of the colonisation of this country and its effects I think it would put us a few steps further down the road of a progressive country. It’s an opportunity for compassion from pakeha. These are the most important events that have happened in NZ’s modern history yet they’re largely forgotten, shame on us. We do history so poorly.
The histories of those battles are very interesting in themselves, and if kids and adults knew what took place in their own town or city they might respect those places more, instead of doing stupid shit like building suburbia over them.
The Swiss referendum on Sovereign Money
Time to change the conventional wisdom but the rich won’t like it.
“On November 20, the World Trade Organization (WTO) declared that dolphin-safe labels on cans of tuna are a barrier to trade that place the U.S. in violation of its treaty obligations. The U.S. must stop offering “dolphin-safe” labels or face punitive sanctions from Mexico. Analysts expect the government to cave.
The case is a classic example of what globalization critics have warned of for years: that “free trade” agreements allow foreign corporations to force the repeal of laws that interfere with their profits, thereby gutting protections for consumers, workers and the environment. Observers warn that the soon-to-be implemented Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) contains the exact same provisions, and that more such forced repeals are soon to come.”
http://investmentwatchblog.com/dolphin-safe-food-labeling-declared-illegal-by-globalist-trade-organization-here-comes-the-global-censorship-of-food-labeling/
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/politics/news/article.cfm?c_id=280&objectid=11557628
Hopefully it’ll be a better rifle then what the guys and girls have now but whether its exactly whats needed only time will tell but its interesting switching from bullpup to conventional layout
Shows up on Wikipedia as two main users – British Armed Forces and New Zealand Army.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lewis_Machine_and_Tool_Company
Still leaves us open to supply problems when the shit hits the fan which it will, IMO, in the near future. The only solution to which being to make the weapons that our defence forces need in NZ from NZ resources.
In other words, the NZ government should build the factories and do the R&D to produce them here. I guestimate that we could do it with a mere 10,000 people employed most of which would be in R&D.
And, no, I don’t think it should be done by the private sector as I don’t think that the production of weapons should be done for profit at all.
I see that Key now decides who he answers questions to in question time in the House. In today’s session Andrew Little wished to put a question to the “Honourable John Key”. Andrew questioned Carter at the start of the session and wondered why he, listed as question 5 was now listed as putting the question to another Minister. Carter said under the speaker’s rules bla bla bla he was allowed to do this. Andrew then came back with another question to the speaker that he wished to ask the house to make the decision as he particularly wished to ask the PM the question – Carter said to stop wasting his time as it would ultimately come back to he, Carter to make the decision again anyway. When question 5 came up Andrew rose to his feet and said in not so many words to forget it that he was withdrawing the question.
So now Key decides who he wishes to answer to with probably pesky questions. How much more is this government going to be allowed to get away with when sitting in the House? They are not even subtle any more and must think we all are a pack of dumb nuts and can get away with it because we will just lie down and put up with this shit. A revolution anyone???
Interesting.
Probably no great loss though, it’s pretty pointless asking Key anything if you want a genuine answer.
After the dead cat rapists & ‘molesterers’ [sic] fiasco, it occurred to me that the combined opposition should just stop directing questions to the prime minister as he can’t be relied upon to answer without abusiveness.
Who needs to put up with that when they’re just trying to do their job?
Added bonus – being ignored would probably drive the attention seeking Key mad.
You are so right, he is on the back foot always and defensive as well as abusive. A sign of lacking intelligence, where he obviously is berefit of knowledge and so deflects with either dead cats or blatant refusal to answer questions which will put him on the spot. God what an awful man he is. I wonder if other women see him in the same light. We are supposed to have the ability to be intuitive to suss out creeps but still he hangs in there. He didn’t do it for me from the first time he came on the scene and he is getting worse by the day.
Interesting thought ,imagine if they just completely ignored key and directed all their questions at Collins instead.
It would’nt take key long to start jumping up and down like a little boy going what about me.
Why do terrorists attack public health workers?
San Bernardino mass murderers Syed Farook and Tashfeen Malik deliberately targeted public health workers. —News.
Targeting public health workers. These people are beneath contempt, surely. Where could they have got such a fiendish idea?
What kind of monstrous fanatics….
https://theintercept.com/2015/11/06/u-s-journalists-who-instantly-exonerated-their-government-of-the-kunduz-hospital-attack-declaring-it-an-accident/
….would deliberately….
http://www.internationalist.org/fallujarape0412.html
….target hospitals…..
https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2014/08/mounting-evidence-deliberate-attacks-gaza-health-workers-israeli-army/
….and ambulances?
http://www.imemc.org/article/73185
+100 Morrissey – it really is a mystery to many….
Bride of Jihadi: the Reckoning.
Interesting OAB. From the article…
numbers are on the rise
From what to what? To where?
Big Kurdish population in NZ. Just saying that perhaps the SIS, like other better funded “intelligence” “organisations”, may not be the best source nor judge of character.
I want to see their workings, because their word ain’t worth shit.
Well, yeah, numbers could’ve gone up from one or two to three. And it reads like anybody travelling back to their homeland is now suspect. But this bit was also interesting.
…The committee was told of 24 hour surveillance on some but a lack of evidence to charge them, despite concerns they were accessing radicalised material and talking about committing attacks.
I’m happy for surveillance to quietly continue OAB.
I want to see their workings, because their word ain’t worth shit.
Yeah, so do I but good luck to us with that. That’d be never no matter who in power.
I’m happy for surveillance to quietly continue..
Yes, I am too. But I would like to point out to Ms Kitteridge that if someone is NOT going out to work and happily married and raising kids… , it doesn’t follow they are therefore NOT an average person.
“A lot of them seem to be people who may have other problems in their life,” Kitteridge said.
I expect they made “bad choices”, because otherwise people might notice that right wing “economic” policies increase terrorism.
Run by people who if overseas experience is anything to go by, will prey upon vulnerable members of the community to manufacture cases they can bring to court.
Surveillance isn’t “quiet”, Grindlebottom. It’s all-pervasive. It guards you while you sleep.
Those who sacrifice privacy on the altar of security deserve neither. Where have I heard that before? The key to these issues is trust and cameraderie, not fear and panty-sniffing.
PS: watch the video. The phrase “Jihadi Brides” plopped out of the Right Honourable John Key, Prime Minister’s mouth. Kitteridge didn’t verify it. Funnily enough, the headline implies that the things that plop out of the Prime Minister’s mouth are accurate.
Yeah I know, I did, but that’s our crappy media: you know how they often cite a quote from Key as the headline when it later becomes obvious it was inaccurate or misleading.
That article keeps growing. Every time I look at it the information has increased.
It works the same way in any country.
Professor flips out after student yawns loudly in class
If someone yawns during the class you’re teaching, you can laugh it off and say something like “Sorry to wake you up.” Alternatively, there’s the option of going nuclear…
PROFESSOR FLIPS OUT OVER YAWN!
How much is the military paying Springsteen to play at its “Stand Up for Heroes” event?
It was recently revealed that the reason those tedious yet disturbing military displays before American sports events are not done because the people who own NFL, NBA and MLB franchises are super-patriotic, but because the Pentagon pays them millions of dollars to wave huge flags and have jet-fighters fly over the stadia before the action begins.
Presumably the Obama cultist Bruce Springsteen is receiving a fair whack to play this event….
http://www.billboard.com/articles/news/6786057/bruce-springsteen-river-album-entirety-live