Now how would you know that?
My snide remarks to James are simply based on the fact that IMHO his main intention in coming here is to bait and try and show how clever he is – all egotistically driven. Probably not too dissimilar from your own reasons. THey’re certainly not intended to try and engage in debate.
Now, tell me something about this ‘Grinder’ thing. Maaaate! does it do anything for testosterone levels?
As Maria Muldaur once said – it ain’t the meat its the motion. I guess you fail on both counts in her mind.
I tried to reply to @ Nakiman – whoar – you know that man from the Naki.
I couldn’t understand since IMHO your intention in coming to TS is primarily to bait and show how bloody c;lever you think you are – similar reasons to the MAN from the Naki. Sure as shit it isn’t to engage in a debate.
But there ya go.
Chelsea Manning FFS – surely he could have tackled something more relevant if his intentions were genuine – I dunno – maybe the Kim Hill/Annette King interview this morning. Whoar Man!!!! there is grist in there he could have used to show us all how big his penis actually is.
Thank Christ I kept to Highway 4 last nite and evaded your neck of the woods.
Otherwise I could have been classed as a Highway 3 deviate.
But please @ Naki, tell me more about this “Ginder’ thing. Does it resolve the male mid-life crisis symptoms?: Increase the size of your dick or testosterone levels?; Make you a better husband to the woify?; or better still, Does it mean James and yourself become more ‘self-aware’ and all those nancy-boy type of things that might allow yourself to get over yourself?
PLEASE!!!! Tell me about Grinder. Someone just told me it was a dating site for bloody homos and married blokes on the ‘down-low’.
May I say @ solkta how utterly gorgeous I think you are.
It is possible I am a dickhead as well but that’s for me to know and you to ponder
(END OF STORY!!!!! Yea! I win you lose!)
But could you tell me about this ‘Grinder’ thing maybe?
Hi Solkta, None of my business but the “he” I think OnceWasTim was referring to was James, as in, “he” could have chosen a different topic to engage us in and I may be wrong also with the later comment to James but I read it as sarcasm and as a nancy-boy homo myself, I think he was just teasing Naki man and James about Grindr and certainly achieved a pearl clutching from James. If I’m wrong I’ll be the first to line up and give OnceWasTim a good spanking.
It is certainly a terrible piece of england so you might be right. Very strange to be replying to somebody and referring to them as “he” instead of “you”. Even more confusing as he had been speaking of the knackered one.
@RBO. I believe Tim was talking to James about Naki Man who was the HE in question. Therefore acceptable usage both for the political and syntactical police. You are right about Tim baiting James. Anyone who has watched and appreciated his style for a while will realise that he uses his own position on the spectrum (I believe he might have batted for your team on occasion) to take the mick out of himself and his target simultaneously. At times this can be confusing but when it works it does so beautifully.
I see from the paper today that there is a project called Down the Wire to make life better for helicopter pilots. We don;’t want any of them striking wires when they are flying, but particularly now with the prospect of more droughts and fires that need their attendance and skill. It’s hard enough coping with it all without having to cope with electricity lines along their flight lines. So good for getting alternatives going.
And another case of a victim of violent crime having to avoid meeting the perpetrator. He/she might be out of prison but the victim is not free to live and move where she wants. There is a notification system but why should there be the need? Keep violent people away from society. Give them a limited life in okay conditions, and limit their own violence on each other. Why should we all become potential victims. Their rate of recidivism is probably high, even if later in life.
That’s not anger cinny- labour’s ideological CGT was the wish National were waiting for. It’s the single biggest thing that could cost them the election.
He’s very happy that labour are handling this so badly
So while the government who haven’t decided anything yet (but are paying Cullen to sing CGT praises) dither and do nothing – they are losing the debate with the public.
I would never rely on the random conversations I have with people as an indication of what the majority of kiwis think. Would you? Suspect a significant number of people already have an entrenched view,particularly the ones with a vested interest in not having a CGT, eg Amy, Simon, mr poor me I own 80 rentals a la the herald article.
Have there been any polls to show that since the report came out there has been an increase in opposition to the cgt. That would show labour is losing the argument. Otherwise there isn’t any real evidence that labour is losing the argument.
Sounds like Simon was doing a fabulous job on the Nation according to cinny……ha ha ha ha
Simon is giving Labour a great opportunity to listen and understand how best to respond to Simon’s hysterical chicken little prophesising on CGT.
When Labour finally come out with a set of policies on CGT, all of which will address Simon’s hysterical rants, people may very well end up saying “good golly, this isn’t so bad after all”
Simon may very well take the credit in forcing the govt to provide a halfway point, but people don’t listen to him anyway so won’t have much effect for him.
Simons got nothing concrete to criticise. As long as he keeps yammering on about what the dastardly evils of CGT might bring, Labour can continue to artfully respond to such falsities in their eventual policy document.
Simon should shut up and criticise something worth criticising. Like Labours lack of genuine commitment to addressing the cost of living in NZ.
A variety of people is who to talk to about it, not just those in ones social circle, workplace, suburb, income bracket etc etc.
Put in a submission, encourage other people to do so as well, I’m going to.
Tax Working Group welcomes submissions on future of tax
“Submissions open today for those wanting to share their thoughts straight away and on March 14 an updated website will be launched along with a background paper that will provide more assistance. ”
OK James, I had you pegged as someone of intelligence, but you keep denying me that view by your constant undying loyalty and borderline sycophancy in terms of the National Party.
1. The government has done nothing yet but has clearly signalled a time frame in which they will, so your criticism on that front is valueless.
2. Michael Cullen is on a retainer so that he, as the chairman of the task force and therefore intimately knowledgeable about the report, is able to answer queries and provide detail.
3. You intimate that Cullen is there merely to sing praises for the CGT, which is only a small segment of the total report, and is being discussed and largely vilified in a hugely disproportionate way in comparison to other aspects of the report. That is not his job, and that is not what he is doing.
4. You say that the government is losing the debate, which is a hugely subjective statement with no evidence apparent.
The only thing you say here is that Simon is doing his job. He is, but not in the way you think.
“2. Michael Cullen is on a retainer so that he, as the chairman of the task force and therefore intimately knowledgeable about the report, is able to answer queries and provide detail.”
Not a memo – a subjective comment by a journalist on Newshub . . . Newshub FFS. The wonderfully rational and objective employer of Richardson and Garner.
Oh . . . BTW, did you read the link? I read yours.
One of the possible reasons you think soimon’s doing such a great job. Other possible reasons being: avoiding public transport, avoiding cheaper supermarkets, avoiding rougher bars, and avoiding poor people.
Bridges (and you, his unpaid PR flack) wants to misrepresent the commission’s work, hoping to ride into power on a tide of outrage. It’s certainly the only emotion that would move people to vote for him.
But outrage is not appropriate to a a representative and consultative process, the commission invites public input and discussion, which will culminate in legislation in the usual way.
Scaremonger all you want, you only expose your fundamentally undemocratic preferences.
Far-ka-nora!!!
That interview was pure entertainment Cinny. Or it would be if he wasn’t so serious about what he says. And he calls Cullen sly!
I don’t know . . . the worry is about the sheeple who will swallow that as gospel. He may well get enough boss thinkers to carry his party. That’s a scenario I can’t bear thinking about.
Simon does not like Michael Cullen, and Cinny I think many people hold a wee warm spot for Cullen because they have watched their Kiwisaver grow.
They know it was the Gnats who cut the starter in half, lowered the savings amount and were “tricky” and without that interference savers would have bigger balances.
Simon ‘no bridges’ has not got much to recommend his word, compared to Michael.
OPINION: Hi, Simon Bridges here. Hitting new taxes for six! I am literally Martin Guptill!
Hey, but I just wanted to talk about those kids who are going to go truant from school next week because they say not enough’s being done about climate change.
That piece was beautifully written. Hehehehee. Cheers for the link.
If simon thinks the kid’s aren’t serious about climate change then he is sorely mistaken.
His attitude and that of his party re the protest is going to fuel even more kids to act and adults to come out in support of those kids.
Most kids and teens know and care more about climate change than any other global or political issue. It’s a constant topic in schools.
And here I was thinking there are teachers in simons family, maybe they haven’t filled him in about the focus schools put on climate change and the awareness created as a result.
Did someone mention “thick”….that old National poodle Audrey over at the mornings fish wrap had this to say:
“It is time for Ardern to look across the aisle for support on pay transparency measures from Paula Bennett, Amy Adams and Judith Collins to work on some more advances in the interests of improving women’s lives…..”
If there were ever three women across the aisle who are more inclined to ruin women’s lives dear old Audrey could not have picked them better.
Kat noticed she said that labour didn’t give national any credit for the Bartlett pay equity bill. My understanding is that National fought it every step of the way and that Audrey knows this
Ankerrawshark you are correct, typically National only went so far with the Pay Equity Bill then inserted a “Paula Bennett pull up the ladder” clause. Audrey doesn’t like mentioning betrayal and National in the same sentence.
“He has lived an otherwise blameless life,” said Judge T. S. Ellis as he sentenced Paul Manafort to just 47 months in prison on Thursday.
In an otherwise blameless life, Paul Manafort lobbied on behalf of the tobacco industry and wangled millions in tax breaks for corporations.
In an otherwise blameless life, he helped Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos bolster his image in Washington after he assassinated his primary political opponent.
[…]
In an otherwise blameless life, he acted with impunity, as if the laws never applied to him. When presented with a chance to show remorse to the court, he couldn’t find that sentiment within his being. And with Ellis’s featherweight punishment, which deviated sharply downward from the sentencing guidelines, Manafort managed to bring his life’s project to a strange completion. He had devoted his career to normalizing corruption in Washington. By the time he was caught, his extraordinary avarice had become so commonplace that not even a federal judge could blame him for it.
In his latest post entitled “Why we need to tax landlords”, idiot-savant attempts to make the case for imposing a capital gains tax on landlords by quoting from a Herald article by Keith Ng. However the original article has some flaws.
Ng points out, probably correctly, that interest of $456,000 has been deducted entirely from the rental income when it probably should be deductible against the capital cost of the property. I have long believed that interest should be either non deductible, which would mean that landlord would be paying a respectable amount of tax on the rental income while having to meet the interest costs from his own pocket, or, alternatively, subject to an interest “claw back” up to the amount of any capital gain when the property is sold.
Also, if neither of those above options seems acceptable, Ng should recognise that tax on the interest is being paid by the bank, so the landlord is in effect paying that tax indirectly in any case, given that he receives no material benefit from interest payments.
They hated it because it gave every decent earning man and women an excellent chance.
If The Trolls demand Simon Bridges attack CGT and Stop the Kiwi saver, National will die a miserable death. The public have seen exactly What Mr Key and Mr English have done to our highly valued Kiwi Saver. All for the Trolls.
The Trolls will be skinned alive. By their own wealthy mongrels.
The Nats couldn’t possibly come up with such ingrained and accepted norms as WFF and Kiwisaver – they are ideologically opposed to policies with social benefit, and you’ve sometimes got to wonder whether they are ideologically opposed to any form of social thinking.
They put up with WFF and Kiwisaver because as you rightly point out they would spend decades out of government were they to abolish them.
They made a good effort to damage Kiwisaver out of spite for people wanting to save. Numbers dropped and people stopped enrolling their kids, but it is so popular that the Nats failed at that too. They can’t even get spite right!
Given your comments about National reducing the benefits of KiwiSaver by reducing the government top up from $1 per $1 invested up to $1,040 per year, down to 50 cents & then taxing the employer contribution, you would then agree that KiwiSaver should be exempt from capital gains tax ? As this too is further damaging KiwiSaver balances ?
Kiwi Saver should be exempt because it is a savings program, not a speculative sale of an asset.
CGT is to be applied to the profit made when selling an asset, Kiwi Saver only makes money because you are saving and your boss is helping you to do so as is the government. You can’t sell the Kiwi saver during its live time, you have to wait till you are 65 until you can access is. or maybe via hardship if you are actively dying, or buying your first house, and even then you are not receiving the full amount.
So essentially two different ways to make money, speculative selling for profit, or putting your pennies in a savings accounts – btw these pennies already got hit with income tax when you made them. And as you stated you already pay income tax on the interest you receive.
I feel I have to repost this because the episode appears to have sneaked under the radar. I had a think about it this morning and Prebble clearly had in mind a separation of the nation in his example. This is called apartheid. Prebble seems to believe that if you take brown people out of the education system then our place in the world will be something to be proud of.
Think that over for a sec…
Appalling comments from Prebble. Quite staggering that this thinking still exists in this country.
Secondary school teacher Melanie Webber, who was at the meeting, said Prebble seemed to infer people “should be more concerned about maintaining the success of the 80 per cent than concerned about the 20 per cent who are failing”.
She said she felt the comments were “racist”.
Webber raised the issue with Prebble at the end of the night and he took “extreme umbrage”, she said.
“He thrust his chest up against mine, started jabbing my face […] just absolutely lost [the] plot.”
She said she was asked to leave by ACT Party leader David Seymour, who organised the event.
Now, I’m constantly told by RWNJs that the left are guilty of wanting to shut down anyone who doesn’t agree with them but it seems they don’t practice what they preach.
Shame on David Seymour for promoting such naked racism. The swift demise of ACT and all its supporters can’t come quick enough.
You don’t think asking for brown students achievements to be excluded is racist?
Just a minute. I imagine you’re taking the Wayne defence, which is to say that the he only meant it figuratively.
South Auckland voters will have heard this loud and clear and if Simon Bridges doesn’t come out and condemn those words, National are in for a real kick in the balls next year.
RP has ‘memberships’ … gained through performing certain actions and tasks…politics such as you refer to…well documented…damaging…long term…
Prebble did not osmosis the ideology…it was a job opportunity… a contract which he accepted…planned turncoat against party and country…
One must harbor certain ‘beliefs’ to be offered the chance to gain ‘membership’…
That he is paraded while having clear mental health issues and in a late stage of life…serves to highlight the sinister nature of the ‘dominant ideology’…he is still under contract…
This is a sign of fightback. We WILL get OUR water back from the exploiters external AND internal.
“A crowd of at least 2000 protesters took to the streets of Christchurch to oppose a water bottling company shipping billions of litres of water overseas.”
I notice that you delight in repeating, ad nauseam , all the words you claim to find offensive, James. You’ve done it so often that I believe you are doing it on purpose in order to offend and that you derive pleasure from your offensive behaviour. I reckon you’re … odd.
A blog site agitator… bottom feeding on negativity…creating negativity…revelling in negativity…
Pretending to care about language used by others…simultaneously taking a pious stance…while lauding his piousness over those who do not share a passion for propagating the words…of bottom feeders…
James. You often claim that by not railing against something, a person is supporting it.
Yesterday, Muttonbird called you out, in regard Michael Jackson;
“By not taking a stand against Michael Jackson, both he and you are enabling child molesters.
Your definition.”
I thought Muttonbird elegantly skewered your silly behaviour, but it seems you missed the moment, so I’ve posted it here for your benefit. I don’t claim you intend to enable child molesters, but you’ve not been thinking very deeply, it’s clear.
Fair question. I pointed out that he has been found not guilty of being a child molester and that calling him such based off a tv show and not a court of law was wrong.
Do you think we should take stands against others who have been found not guilty?
I’d just be more inclined to believe your sincerity if you didn’t also take every opportunity to recycle and remind people of vicious slanders against someone simply because of their relationship with a left wing politician.
Appreciate you agreeing. But you will be hard to find two examples of what you say I do at every opportunity. And the one you can find I was using it as an example of how rumours can be very wrong.
You’re correct, it is not o.k. I’d moderate it, and I probably can, but I’m waiting for feedback from LPrent.
Let me ask you this, James: do you feel that you play any role at all when standards slip here on TS and you happen to be in the thick of it? Or do you see yourself as an innocent bystander who happens to be in the wrong ‘place’ at the wrong time? This is a genuine question.
Pretty easy. In this case it was said by once was Tim in reply to naki man.
While I was in the convo – I was hardly being rude or insulting- it’s there for you to read. I’d say I was targeted as opposed to being in the think of it.
And yes – genuine answer, I think we all have a role to call out obviously homophobic or racist comments.
What amazes me is how people are happy to overlook it if it’s said to someone they don’t like or disagree with.
In short if I used the term “gook or Nancy boy” most commenters would be over me like a rash and shouting from the roof tops. But most (not all) are happy to let it slide if their “mate” says it.
I think prevention is better than cure. In other words, better to try and slow down things before they get out of hand and beyond the point of no return at which you’re usually the first at calling out the act and perpetrator. And I do feel you do it with a certain glee too. Fair?
Can I humbly suggest that people involved in this thread go back and read OWT’s ‘offending’ comment closely and take the time to unpack it. Those who do may also care to read my reply to Red Blooded One a little further down thread from that.
Anyone with moderately good reading comprehension skills will soon get the gist of where OWT was coming from and as usual he got a beautiful bit of pearl clutching from James who’s been turning that into a bit of an art form lately. Very funny really because it’s usually something lefties get accused of.
PS. It should also be noted that Naki Man was the first to go down that path by suggesting that OWT had lost his way and should be on Grindr instead.
There has been no cross pollination between left and right ideas while you’ve been rehearsing emotional and edgy replys but that’s the point isn’t muh ninja.
I can’t work out whether you’re ingenuous or just a tad simple James. Either way you’re really not worth too much of my ever so valuable time. Suffice to say that one man can tell another that he is (or has) a large dick without being in any way homophobic. I offer this information in the spirit of providing a public service announcement. For future reference to help you remember the general principle involved you may care to commit this old saying to memory. “Circumstances alter cases, just as noses alter faces”.
It would be good Grant if your reasoned comment about James was the last one made on this blog to him. He wastes so much time, and makes everyone look fools while he runs rings round the leftie commenters.
Whether he is paid to do this or not, he is an idle talentless person at providing information and reasoned points about how we are going to face climate change now or soon. We haven’t time to waste with him – what is everyone thinking to let him use up our precious time on RW ploys. He is heartless and makes us look hopeless.
I have seen it many times here on TS the patterns that develop over time. People respond in a predictable manner to other commenters rather than to the comments. Hard to break that habit once established and any chance of self-moderation is gone out of the window before dawn break.
One of the patterns is that of the ‘pyromaniac ‘who lights a fire, makes sure it gets enough fuel, and when it has grown into a full blaze that is unstoppable they ring 111 for more action.
(2019 Australian federal election – Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2019_Australian_federal_election
The election will be called following the dissolution or expiry of the 45th Parliament as elected at the 2016 double dissolution federal election. The next election must be held by 18 May 2019 for half of the Senate and on or before 2 November 2019 for the House of Representatives and Territory Senators.)
The Trolls are unable to accept the consequences of their statements and actions.
National are looking dreadfully bedraggled. Because the Trolls are accusing everyone – except National Followers – of ” being sick and unhinged.”
I suppose Simon Bridges and David Farrar have advised The Trolls to announce that every Person who is not A National follower is Quote: “Sick and Unhinged”.
Some of James‘ twenty-two comments on today’s OM are very funny, in the same way that the opposition National party’s recent anti-KiwiBuild BBQ ad was very funny.
James, 22 out of 93 comments just isn’t enough – you can do better, and we love the laughs.
This feeble attempt at reverse psychology may backfire, but it’s worth a try – nothing else has worked.
When we find any good practical thing our pollies are doing, even if small, we should remember it and post it here on the blog. Don’t let it escape – trap it, handle the fragile delicate thing, observe it and tell us about it.
Bridges is one wonderful puppet. I went looking for puppet examples – here are some things from Youtube to provide light relief for a moment,
A mix of UK pollies quoting what their daddies were doing in the last war
and they are not putting up with things over there any more!
Quite good to see the different styles and the different parties support
for their speaker/s.
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jjluqIEmRXc
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National's Finance Minister once met a poor person.A scornful interview with National's finance guru who knows next to nothing about economics or people.There might have been something a bit familiar if that was the headline I’d gone with today. It would of course have been in tribute to the article ...
Rob MacCulloch writes – Throughout the pandemic, the new Vice-Chancellor-of-Otago-University-on-$629,000 per annum-Can-you-believe-it-and-Former-Finance-Minister Grant Robertson repeated the mantra over and over that he saved “lives and livelihoods”.As we update how this claim is faring over the course of time, the facts are increasingly speaking differently. NZ ...
Chris Trotter writes – IT’S A COMMONPLACE of political speeches, especially those delivered in acknowledgement of electoral victory: “We’ll govern for all New Zealanders.” On the face of it, the pledge is a strange one. Why would any political leader govern in ways that advantaged the huge ...
Bryce Edwards writes – The list of former National Party Ministers being given plum and important roles got longer this week with the appointment of former Deputy Prime Minister Paula Bennett as the chair of Pharmac. The Christopher Luxon-led Government has now made key appointments to Bill ...
TL;DR: These are the six things that stood out to me in news and commentary on Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy at 10:06am on Wednesday, May 1:The Lead: Business confidence fell across the board in April, falling in some areas to levels last seen during the lockdowns because of a collapse in ...
Over the past 36 hours, Christopher Luxon has been dong his best to portray the centre-right’s plummeting poll numbers as a mark of virtue. Allegedly, the negative verdicts are the result of hard economic times, and of a government bravely set out on a perilous rescue mission from which not ...
Auckland Transport have started rolling out new HOP card readers around the network and over the next three months, all of them on buses, at train stations and ferry wharves will be replaced. The change itself is not that remarkable, with the new readers looking similar to what is already ...
Completed reads for April: The Difference Engine, by William Gibson and Bruce Sterling Carnival of Saints, by George Herman The Snow Spider, by Jenny Nimmo Emlyn’s Moon, by Jenny Nimmo The Chestnut Soldier, by Jenny Nimmo Death Comes As the End, by Agatha Christie Lord of the Flies, by ...
On February 14, 2023 we announced our Rebuttal Update Project. This included an ask for feedback about the added "At a glance" section in the updated basic rebuttal versions. This weekly blog post series highlights this new section of one of the updated basic rebuttal versions and serves as a ...
Have a story to share about St Paul’s, but today just picturesPopular novels written at this desk by a young man who managed to bootstrap himself out of father’s imprisonment and his own young life in a workhouse Read more ...
The list of former National Party Ministers being given plum and important roles got longer this week with the appointment of former Deputy Prime Minister Paula Bennett as the chair of Pharmac. The Christopher Luxon-led Government has now made key appointments to Bill English, Simon Bridges, Steven Joyce, Roger Sowry, ...
Newsroom has a story today about National's (fortunately failed) effort to disestablish the newly-created Inspector-General of Defence. The creation of this agency was the key recommendation of the Inquiry into Operation Burnham, and a vital means of restoring credibility and social licence to an agency which had been caught lying ...
Holding On To The Present:The moment a political movement arises that attacks the whole idea of social progress, and announces its intention to wind back the hands of History’s clock, then democracy, along with its unwritten rules, is in mortal danger.IT’S A COMMONPLACE of political speeches, especially those delivered in ...
Stuck In The Middle With You:As Christopher Luxon feels the hot breath of Act’s and NZ First’s extremists on the back of his neck and, as he reckons with the damage their policies are already inflicting upon a country he’s described as “fragile”, is there not some merit in reaching out ...
The unpopular coalition government is currently rushing to repeal section 7AA of the Oranga Tamariki Act. The clause is Oranga Tamariki's Treaty clause, and was inserted after its systematic stealing of Māori children became a public scandal and resulted in physical resistance to further abductions. The clause created clear obligations ...
Buzz from the Beehive The government’s official website – which Point of Order monitors daily – not for the first time has nothing much to say today about political happenings that are grabbing media headlines. It makes no mention of the latest 1News-Verian poll, for example. This shows National down ...
It Takes A Train To Cry:Surely, there is nothing lonelier in all this world than the long wail of a distant steam locomotive on a cold Winter’s night.AS A CHILD, I would lie awake in my grandfather’s house and listen to the traffic. The big wooden house was only a ...
Packing A Punch: The election of the present government, including in its ranks politicians dedicated to reasserting the rights of the legislature in shaping and determining the future of Māori and Pakeha in New Zealand, should have alerted the judiciary – including its anomalous appendage, the Waitangi Tribunal – that its ...
Dead Woman Walking: New Zealand’s media industry had been moving steadily towards disaster for all the years Melissa Lee had been National’s media and communications policy spokesperson, and yet, when the crisis finally broke, on her watch, she had nothing intelligent to offer. Christopher Luxon is a patient man - but he’s not ...
Chris Trotter writes – New Zealand politics is remarkably easy-going: dangerously so, one might even say. With the notable exception of John Key’s flat ruling-out of the NZ First Party in 2008, all parties capable of clearing MMP’s five-percent threshold, or winning one or more electorate seats, tend ...
Bryce Edwards writes – Polling shows that Wellington Mayor Tory Whanau has the lowest approval rating of any mayor in the country. Siting at -12 per cent, the proportion of constituents who disapprove of her performance outweighs those who give her the thumbs up. This negative rating is ...
Luxon will no doubt put a brave face on it, but there is no escaping the pressure this latest poll will put on him and the government. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: These are the six things that stood out to me in news and commentary on Aotearoa-NZ’s political ...
This is a re-post from The Climate Brink by Andrew Dessler In the wake of any unusual weather event, someone inevitably asks, “Did climate change cause this?” In the most literal sense, that answer is almost always no. Climate change is never the sole cause of hurricanes, heat waves, droughts, or ...
Something odd happened yesterday, and I’d love to know if there’s more to it. If there was something which preempted what happened, or if it was simply a throwaway line in response to a journalist.Yesterday David Seymour was asked at a press conference what the process would be if the ...
Hi,From time to time, I want to bring Webworm into the real world. We did it last year with the Jurassic Park event in New Zealand — which was a lot of fun!And so on Saturday May 11th, in Los Angeles, I am hosting a lil’ Webworm pop-up! I’ve been ...
Education Minister Erica Standford yesterday unveiled a fundamental reform of the way our school pupils are taught. She would not exactly say so, but she is all but dismantling the so-called “inquiry” “feel good” method of teaching, which has ruled in our classrooms since a major review of the New ...
Exactly where are we seriously going with this government and its policies? That is, apart from following what may as well be a Truss-Lite approach on the purported economic “plan“, and Victorian-era regression when it comes to social policy.Oh it’ll work this time of course, we’re basically assured, “the ...
Hey Uncle Dave, When the Poms joined the EEC, I wasn't one of those defeatists who said, Well, that’s it for the dairy job. And I was right, eh? The Chinese can’t get enough of our milk powder and eventually, the Poms came to their senses and backed up the ute ...
Polling shows that Wellington Mayor Tory Whanau has the lowest approval rating of any mayor in the country. Siting at -12 per cent, the proportion of constituents who disapprove of her performance outweighs those who give her the thumbs up. This negative rating is higher than for any other mayor ...
Buzz from the Beehive Pharmac has been given a financial transfusion and a new chair to oversee its spending in the pharmaceutical business. Associate Health Minister David Seymour described the funding for Pharmac as “its largest ever budget of $6.294 billion over four years, fixing a $1.774 billion fiscal cliff”. ...
Bryce Edwards writes – Many criticisms are being made of the Government’s Fast Track Approvals Bill, including by this writer. But as with everything in politics, every story has two sides, and both deserve attention. It’s important to understand what the Government is trying to achieve and its ...
TL;DR: Here’s my top 10 ‘pick ‘n’ mix of links to news, analysis and opinion articles as of 10:10am on Monday, April 29:Scoop: The children's ward at Rotorua Hospital will be missing a third of its beds as winter hits because Te Whatu Ora halted an upgrade partway through to ...
span class=”dropcap”>As hideous as David Seymour can be, it is worth keeping in mind occasionally that there are even worse political figures (and regimes) out there. Iran for instance, is about to execute the country’s leading hip hop musician Toomaj Salehi, for writing and performing raps that “corrupt” the nation’s ...
Yesterday marked 10 years since the first electric train carried passengers in Auckland so it’s a good time to look back at it and the impact it has had. A brief history The first proposals for rail electrification in Auckland came in the 1920’s alongside the plans for earlier ...
Right now, in Aotearoa-NZ, our ‘animal spirits’ are darkening towards a winter of discontent, thanks at least partly to a chorus of negative comments and actions from the Government Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: These are the six things that stood out to me in news and commentary on ...
You make people evil to punish the paststuck inside a sequel with a rotating castThe following photos haven’t been generated with AI, or modified in any way. They are flesh and blood, human beings. On the left is Galatea Young, a young mum, and her daughter Fiadh who has Angelman ...
The Government is again adding to New Zealand’s growing unemployment, this time cutting jobs at the agencies responsible for urban development and growing much needed housing stock. ...
With Minister Karen Chhour indicating in the House today that she either doesn’t know or care about the frontline cuts she’s making to Oranga Tamariki, we risk seeing more and more of our children falling through the cracks. ...
The Labour Party is saddened to learn of the death of Sir Robert Martin, a globally renowned disability advocate who led the way for disability rights both in New Zealand and internationally. ...
Labour is calling for the Government to urgently rethink its coalition commitment to restart live animal exports, Labour animal welfare spokesperson Rachel Boyack said. ...
Today’s Financial Stability Report has once again highlighted that poverty and deep inequality are political choices - and this Government is choosing to make them worse. ...
The Green Party is calling on the Government to do more for our households in most need as unemployment rises and the cost of living crisis endures. ...
Unemployment is on the rise and it’s only going to get worse under this Government, Labour finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds said. Stats NZ figures show the unemployment rate grew to 4.3 percent in the March quarter from 4 percent in the December quarter. “This is the second rise in unemployment ...
The New Zealand Labour Party welcomes the entering into force of the European Union and New Zealand free trade agreement. This agreement opens the door for a huge increase in trade opportunities with a market of 450 million people who are high value discerning consumers of New Zealand goods and ...
The National-led Government continues its fiscal jiggery pokery with its Pharmac announcement today, Labour Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall says. “The government has increased Pharmac funding but conceded it will only make minimal increases in access to medicine”, said Ayesha Verrall “This is far from the bold promises made to fund ...
This afternoon’s interim Waitangi Tribunal report must be taken seriously as it affects our most vulnerable children, Labour children’s spokesperson Willow-Jean Prime. ...
Te Pāti Māori are demanding the New Zealand Government support an international independent investigation into mass graves that have been uncovered at two hospitals on the Gaza strip, following weeks of assault by Israeli troops. Among the 392 bodies that have been recovered, are children and elderly civilians. Many of ...
Our two-tiered system for veterans’ support is out of step with our closest partners, and all parties in Parliament should work together to fix it, Labour veterans’ affairs spokesperson Greg O’Connor said. ...
Stripping two Ministers of their portfolios just six months into the job shows Christopher Luxon’s management style is lacking, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said. ...
Tonight’s court decision to overturn the summons of the Children’s Minister has enabled the Crown to continue making decisions about Māori without evidence, says Te Pāti Māori spokesperson for Children, Mariameno Kapa-Kingi. “The judicial system has this evening told the nation that this government can do whatever they want when ...
It appears Nicola Willis is about to pull the rug out from under the feet of local communities still dealing with the aftermath of last year’s severe weather, and local councils relying on funding to build back from these disasters. ...
The Government is making short-sighted changes to the Resource Management Act (RMA) that will take away environmental protection in favour of short-term profits, Labour’s environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said today. ...
Labour welcomes the release of the report into the North Island weather events and looks forward to working with the Government to ensure that New Zealand is as prepared as it can be for the next natural disaster. ...
The Labour Party has called for the New Zealand Government to recognise Palestine, as a material step towards progressing the two-State solution needed to achieve a lasting peace in the region. ...
Some of our country’s most important work, stopping the sexual exploitation of children and violent extremism could go along with staff on the frontline at ports and airports. ...
The Government’s Fast Track Approvals Bill will give projects such as new coal mines a ‘get out of jail free’ card to wreak havoc on the environment, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said today. ...
The government's decision to reintroduce Three Strikes is a destructive and ineffective piece of law-making that will only exacerbate an inherently biased and racist criminal justice system, said Te Pāti Māori Justice Spokesperson, Tākuta Ferris, today. During the time Three Strikes was in place in Aotearoa, Māori and Pasifika received ...
Cuts to frontline hospital staff are not only a broken election promise, it shows the reckless tax cuts have well and truly hit the frontline of the health system, says Labour Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall. ...
The Green Party has joined the call for public submissions on the fast-track legislation to be extended after the Ombudsman forced the Government to release the list of organisations invited to apply just hours before submissions close. ...
New Zealand’s good work at reducing climate emissions for three years in a row will be undone by the National government’s lack of ambition and scrapping programmes that were making a difference, Labour Party climate spokesperson Megan Woods said today. ...
More essential jobs could be on the chopping block, this time Ministry of Education staff on the school lunches team are set to find out whether they're in line to lose their jobs. ...
Te Pāti Māori is disgusted at the confirmation that hundreds are set to lose their jobs at Oranga Tamariki, and the disestablishment of the Treaty Response Unit. “This act of absolute carelessness and out of touch decision making is committing tamariki to state abuse.” Said Te Pāti Māori Oranga Tamariki ...
The Government is trying to bring in a law that will allow Ministers to cut corners and kill off native species, Labour environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said. ...
Cancelling urgently needed new Cook Strait ferries and hiking the cost of public transport for many Kiwis so that National can announce the prospect of another tunnel for Wellington is not making good choices, Labour Transport Spokesperson Tangi Utikere said. ...
A laundry list of additional costs for Tāmaki Makarau Auckland shows the Minister for the city is not delivering for the people who live there, says Labour Auckland Issues spokesperson Shanan Halbert. ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters discussed the need for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, and enhanced cooperation in the Pacific with German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock during her first official visit to New Zealand today. "New Zealand and Germany enjoy shared interests and values, including the rule of law, democracy, respect for the international system ...
The Minister Responsible for RMA Reform, Chris Bishop today released his decision on four recommendations referred to him by the Western Bay of Plenty District Council, opening the door to housing growth in the area. The Council’s Plan Change 92 allows more homes to be built in existing and new ...
Thank you, John McKinnon and the New Zealand China Council for the invitation to speak to you today. Thank you too, all members of the China Council. Your effort has played an essential role in helping to build, shape, and grow a balanced and resilient relationship between our two ...
The Government is modernising insurance law to better protect Kiwis and provide security in the event of a disaster, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly announced today. “These reforms are long overdue. New Zealand’s insurance law is complicated and dated, some of which is more than 100 years old. ...
The coalition Government is refreshing its approach to supporting pay equity claims as time-limited funding for the Pay Equity Taskforce comes to an end, Public Service Minister Nicola Willis says. “Three years ago, the then-government introduced changes to the Equal Pay Act to support pay equity bargaining. The changes were ...
Structured literacy will change the way New Zealand children learn to read - improving achievement and setting students up for success, Education Minister Erica Stanford says. “Being able to read and write is a fundamental life skill that too many young people are missing out on. Recent data shows that ...
Trade Minister Todd McClay says Canada’s refusal to comply in full with a CPTPP trade dispute ruling in our favour over dairy trade is cynical and New Zealand has no intention of backing down. Mr McClay said he has asked for urgent legal advice in respect of our ‘next move’ ...
The rights of our children and young people will be enhanced by changes the coalition Government will make to strengthen oversight of the Oranga Tamariki system, including restoring a single Children’s Commissioner. “The Government is committed to delivering better public services that care for our most at-risk young people and ...
The Government is making it easier for minor changes to be made to a building consent so building a home is easier and more affordable, Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk says. “The coalition Government is focused on making it easier and cheaper to build homes so we can ...
New Zealand lost a true legend when internationally renowned disability advocate Sir Robert Martin (KNZM) passed away at his home in Whanganui last night, Disabilities Issues Minister Louise Upston says. “Our Government’s thoughts are with his wife Lynda, family and community, those he has worked with, the disability community in ...
Good evening – Before discussing the challenges and opportunities facing New Zealand’s foreign policy, we’d like to first acknowledge the New Zealand Institute of International Affairs. You have contributed to debates about New Zealand foreign policy over a long period of time, and we thank you for hosting us. ...
From today, passengers travelling internationally from Auckland Airport will be able to keep laptops and liquids in their carry-on bags for security screening thanks to new technology, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Creating a more efficient and seamless travel experience is important for holidaymakers and businesses, enabling faster movement through ...
People with an interest in the health of Northland’s marine ecosystems are invited to a public meeting to discuss how to deal with kina barrens, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. Mr Jones will lead the discussion, which will take place on Friday, 10 May, at Awanui Hotel in ...
Kiwi exporters are $100 million better off today with the NZ EU FTA entering into force says Trade Minister Todd McClay. “This is all part of our plan to grow the economy. New Zealand's prosperity depends on international trade, making up 60 per cent of the country’s total economic activity. ...
There are heartening signs that the extractive sector is once again becoming an attractive prospect for investors and a source of economic prosperity for New Zealand, Resources Minister Shane Jones says. “The beginnings of a resurgence in extractive industries are apparent in media reports of the sector in the past ...
The return of the historic Ō-Rākau battle site to the descendants of those who fought there moved one step closer today with the first reading of Te Pire mō Ō-Rākau, Te Pae o Maumahara / The Ō-Rākau Remembrance Bill. The Bill will entrust the 9.7-hectare battle site, five kilometres west ...
Energy Minister Simeon Brown has announced 25 new high-speed EV charging hubs along key routes between major urban centres and outlined the Government’s plan to supercharge New Zealand’s EV infrastructure. The hubs will each have several chargers and be capable of charging at least four – and up to 10 ...
The coalition Government will not proceed with the previous Government’s plans to regulate residential property managers, Housing Minister Chris Bishop says. “I have written to the Chairperson of the Social Services and Community Committee to inform him that the Government does not intend to support the Residential Property Managers Bill ...
The Government has announced an independent review into the disability support system funded by the Ministry of Disabled People – Whaikaha. Disability Issues Minister Louise Upston says the review will look at what can be done to strengthen the long-term sustainability of Disability Support Services to provide disabled people and ...
Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith has attended the Universal Periodic Review in Geneva and outlined the Government’s plan to restore law and order. “Speaking to the United Nations Human Rights Council provided us with an opportunity to present New Zealand’s human rights progress, priorities, and challenges, while responding to issues and ...
The Government and Rotorua Lakes Council are committed to working closely together to end the use of contracted emergency housing motels in Rotorua. Associate Minister of Housing (Social Housing) Tama Potaka says the Government remains committed to ending the long-term use of contracted emergency housing motels in Rotorua by the ...
Trade Minister Todd McClay heads overseas today for high-level trade talks in the Gulf region, and a key OECD meeting in Paris. Mr McClay will travel to Riyadh to meet with counterparts from Saudi Arabia and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). “New Zealand’s goods and services exports to the Gulf region ...
Education Minister Erica Stanford has outlined six education priorities to deliver a world-leading education system that sets Kiwi kids up for future success. “I’m putting ambition, achievement and outcomes at the heart of our education system. I want every child to be inspired and engaged in their learning so they ...
The new NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) App is a secure ‘one stop shop’ to provide the services drivers need, Transport Minister Simeon Brown and Digitising Government Minister Judith Collins say. “The NZTA App will enable an easier way for Kiwis to pay for Vehicle Registration and Road User Charges (RUC). ...
Whānau with tamariki growing up in emergency housing motels will be prioritised for social housing starting this week, says Associate Housing Minister Tama Potaka. “Giving these whānau a better opportunity to build healthy stable lives for themselves and future generations is an essential part of the Government’s goal of reducing ...
Racing Minister Winston Peters has paid tribute to an icon of the industry with the recent passing of Dave O’Sullivan (OBE). “Our sympathies are with the O’Sullivan family with the sad news of Dave O’Sullivan’s recent passing,” Mr Peters says. “His contribution to racing, initially as a jockey and then ...
Assalaamu alaikum, greetings to you all. Eid Mubarak, everyone! I want to extend my warmest wishes to you and everyone celebrating this joyous occasion. It is a pleasure to be here. I have enjoyed Eid celebrations at Parliament before, but this is my first time joining you as the Minister ...
Associate Health Minister David Seymour has announced Pharmac’s largest ever budget of $6.294 billion over four years, fixing a $1.774 billion fiscal cliff. “Access to medicines is a crucial part of many Kiwis’ lives. We’ve committed to a budget allocation of $1.774 billion over four years so Kiwis are ...
Hon Paula Bennett has been appointed as member and chair of the Pharmac board, Associate Health Minister David Seymour announced today. "Pharmac is a critical part of New Zealand's health system and plays a significant role in ensuring that Kiwis have the best possible access to medicines,” says Mr Seymour. ...
Hundreds of New Zealand families affected by Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) will benefit from a new Government focus on prevention and treatment, says Health Minister Dr Shane Reti. “We know FASD is a leading cause of preventable intellectual and neurodevelopmental disability in New Zealand,” Dr Reti says. “Every day, ...
Regional Development Minister Shane Jones today attended the official opening of Kaikohe’s new $14.7 million sports complex. “The completion of the Kaikohe Multi Sports Complex is a fantastic achievement for the Far North,” Mr Jones says. “This facility not only fulfils a long-held dream for local athletes, but also creates ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters’ engagements in Türkiye this week underlined the importance of diplomacy to meet growing global challenges. “Returning to the Gallipoli Peninsula to represent New Zealand at Anzac commemorations was a sombre reminder of the critical importance of diplomacy for de-escalating conflicts and easing tensions,” Mr Peters ...
Ambassador Millar, Burgemeester, Vandepitte, Excellencies, military representatives, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen – good morning and welcome to this sacred Anzac Day dawn service. It is an honour to be here on behalf of the Government and people of New Zealand at Buttes New British Cemetery, Polygon Wood – a deeply ...
Distinguished guests - It is an honour to return once again to this site which, as the resting place for so many of our war-dead, has become a sacred place for generations of New Zealanders. Our presence here and at the other special spaces of Gallipoli is made ...
Mai ia tawhiti pamamao, te moana nui a Kiwa, kua tae whakaiti mai matou, ki to koutou papa whenua. No koutou te tapuwae, no matou te tapuwae, kua honoa pumautia. Ko nga toa kua hinga nei, o te Waipounamu, o te Ika a Maui, he okioki tahi me o ...
Paul Goldsmith will take on responsibility for the Media and Communications portfolio, while Louise Upston will pick up the Disability Issues portfolio, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon announced today. “Our Government is relentlessly focused on getting New Zealand back on track. As issues change in prominence, I plan to adjust Ministerial ...
Recreational catch limits will be reduced in areas of Fiordland and the Chatham Islands to help keep those fisheries healthy and sustainable, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. The lower recreational daily catch limits for a range of finfish and shellfish species caught in the Fiordland Marine Area and ...
Energy Minister Simeon Brown has welcomed an important milestone in New Zealand’s hydrogen future, with the opening of the country’s first network of hydrogen refuelling stations in Wiri. “I want to congratulate the team at Hiringa Energy and its partners K one W one (K1W1), Mitsui & Co New Zealand ...
The coalition Government is delivering on its commitment to improve resource management laws and give greater certainty to consent applicants, with a Bill to amend the Resource Management Act (RMA) expected to be introduced to Parliament next month. RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop has today outlined the first RMA Amendment ...
Overseas models for regulating the oil and gas sector, including their decommissioning regimes, are being carefully scrutinised as a potential template for New Zealand’s own sector, Resources Minister Shane Jones says. The Coalition Government is focused on rebuilding investor confidence in New Zealand’s energy sector as it looks to strengthen ...
Asia Pacific Report The prosecutor’s office at the International Criminal Court (ICC) has appealed for an end to what it calls intimidation of its staff, saying such threats could constitute an offence against the “administration of justice” by the world’s permanent war crimes court. The Hague-based office of ICC Prosecutor ...
By Patrick Decloitre, RNZ Pacific correspondent French Pacific desk A women’s union in New Caledonia has staged a sit-in protest this week to support senior Kanak indigenous journalist Thérèse Waia, who works for public broadcaster Nouvelle-Calédonie la Première, after a smear attack by critics. The peaceful demonstration was held on ...
New Zealand Food Safety is monitoring overseas recalls of Indian packaged spice products manufactured by MDH and Everest due to concerns over a cancer-causing pesticide. ...
By Stephen Wright and Stefan Armbruster of BenarNews Fiji’s ranking in a global press freedom index has jumped into the top tier of countries with free or mostly free media after its government last year repealed a draconian law that threatened journalists with prison for doing their jobs. Fiji’s improvement ...
We might be in Invercargill but all anyone can talk about is Gore. Specifically, Salford Street. That’s where three-year-old Lachlan Jones lived, south of the centre of town, between the A&P Showgrounds and the Mataura River. Roughly 1.2 km away from the single level home he lived in with his ...
MONDAY I lined up the latest round of civil servants from city hall against the wall, and signalled for the firing squad to drop their rifles. I stepped up onto a wooden crate to look at the office workers in the eye. But that didn’t feel right, so I found ...
Keen hiker and second-year MSc student Liam Hewson wears two hats when he’s in the great outdoors. “The scientist in me appreciates nature and goes, ‘Oh, there’s that thing and there’s another thing,’ but then the tramper and the outdoorsy person in me thinks, ‘Cool bush.’” Born and bred in ...
After a long and illustrious career as a goal kicker, Dan Carter’s favourite way to unwind is… kicking goals. Why can’t he get enough of it? And what it’s like to watch him do it for an hour straight? A semicircle of people wielding cameras and phones has formed in ...
Dame Susan Devoy takes us through her life in television, including late night ER debriefs, her proudest CTI moment and the show she watches in secret. Quite aside from her four world champion squash titles, Dame Susan Devoy will likely go down in history as one of the best Celebrity ...
Hera Lindsay Bird reveals the best places in Ōtepoti to score more for your apocalypse-prep book hoard.Sometimes I get the feeling I’ve been killed in a car crash, and this second half of my life is just the brain unspooling itself, like one of those episodes of a hospital ...
ThreeNow’s new murder mystery series takes us on a dark, damp journey into the Australian wilderness.This is an excerpt from our weekly pop culture newsletter Rec Room. Sign up here. High Country is ThreeNow’s new Australian eight-part crime drama, set in a remote part of the Victorian highlands. It tells ...
Introducing a new way to read The Spinoff every weekend. After nearly 10 years of being an online magazine, we’re finally embracing the weekend liftout. Despite our best efforts to convince you otherwise, writers and editors at The Spinoff don’t work weekend. It is through the sheer power of technology ...
Tip one: let yourself be nurtured by this big old man. Tip two: don’t ask him to adopt you. So, you’ve arrived at your first session with a new therapist. He tells you to make yourself comfortable and you opt for the tweed armchair, hoping it makes you look like ...
I didn’t know books could open you back up; that there were books that stayed with you, where reading was like a chemical event. I knew nothing.The Sunday Essay is made possible thanks to the support of Creative New Zealand.Not too long ago, I was listening to the American ...
Former Olympic swimmer James Magnussen has already started training for the Enhanced games, though says he won’t start taking performance enhancing substances until about nine months out from the competition. The Australian world champion was the first athlete to be announced by Enhanced, but he says the organisation has had ...
Everyone thinks he’s dead. Every day they expect his body to be washed up along the coast. Most likely up Karitane way, the way the tide’s running. But nobody’ll be too surprised if his body’s never found. Even in death he wouldn’t have wished for such attention. He would have ...
Council members voted 21 to 4 in favour of Ahluwalia returning to the Laucala campus following a much-awaited meeting in Vanuatu this week. It comes as USP and its two unions — the Association of the University of the South Pacific Staff (AUSPS) and the Administration and Support Staff Union ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Nicola Henry, Professor & Australian Research Council Future Fellow, Social and Global Studies Centre, RMIT University Shutterstock Following an emergency meeting of the National Cabinet this week, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has announced a raft of measures to tackle the problem ...
Analysis - A poll showing the opposition is more popular than the government raises questions, politicians go through their 'trial by pay rise' and a Green MP loses her cool in the debating chamber. ...
The entire stretch of Tokomaru Bay on the East Coast will be subject to a joint customary marine title for two hapū, and extending up to four miles out to sea. A High Court judge has found the two groups, who during the case settled a dispute over boundaries for ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By James Hall, Lecturer, Media & Cultural Studies, Edith Cowan University A longstanding feud between TikTok and Universal Music Group seems to have finally reached an end, with both parties signing a deal that will see Universal-backed music returned to the social media ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Siobhan O’Dean, Postdoctoral Research Associate, The Matilda Centre for Research in Mental Health and Substance Use, University of Sydney After several highly publicised alleged murders of women in Australia, the Albanese government this week pledged more than A$925 million over five years ...
Political parties have now fully disclosed the donations they received last year - with National getting more than double the cash of any other party. ...
A Pacific regionalism expert has called out New Zealand's Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters for withholding information from the public on AUKUS military pact. ...
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https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/world/2019/03/chelsea-manning-jailed-again-due-to-contempt-of-court.html
Chelsea Manning back in jail. It will be good when her Wikileaks friend joins her.
My what a big penis you have @James
I think you are on the wrong site Tim, this isn’t grinder.
Now how would you know that?
My snide remarks to James are simply based on the fact that IMHO his main intention in coming here is to bait and try and show how clever he is – all egotistically driven. Probably not too dissimilar from your own reasons. THey’re certainly not intended to try and engage in debate.
Now, tell me something about this ‘Grinder’ thing. Maaaate! does it do anything for testosterone levels?
Not really, but I guess its all comparitive.
As Maria Muldaur once said – it ain’t the meat its the motion. I guess you fail on both counts in her mind.
I tried to reply to @ Nakiman – whoar – you know that man from the Naki.
I couldn’t understand since IMHO your intention in coming to TS is primarily to bait and show how bloody c;lever you think you are – similar reasons to the MAN from the Naki. Sure as shit it isn’t to engage in a debate.
But there ya go.
Chelsea Manning FFS – surely he could have tackled something more relevant if his intentions were genuine – I dunno – maybe the Kim Hill/Annette King interview this morning. Whoar Man!!!! there is grist in there he could have used to show us all how big his penis actually is.
Thank Christ I kept to Highway 4 last nite and evaded your neck of the woods.
Otherwise I could have been classed as a Highway 3 deviate.
But please @ Naki, tell me more about this “Ginder’ thing. Does it resolve the male mid-life crisis symptoms?: Increase the size of your dick or testosterone levels?; Make you a better husband to the woify?; or better still, Does it mean James and yourself become more ‘self-aware’ and all those nancy-boy type of things that might allow yourself to get over yourself?
PLEASE!!!! Tell me about Grinder. Someone just told me it was a dating site for bloody homos and married blokes on the ‘down-low’.
Chelsea Manning FFS – surely he
That comment puts you well and truly in the dickhead column yourself.
May I say @ solkta how utterly gorgeous I think you are.
It is possible I am a dickhead as well but that’s for me to know and you to ponder
(END OF STORY!!!!! Yea! I win you lose!)
But could you tell me about this ‘Grinder’ thing maybe?
Hi Solkta, None of my business but the “he” I think OnceWasTim was referring to was James, as in, “he” could have chosen a different topic to engage us in and I may be wrong also with the later comment to James but I read it as sarcasm and as a nancy-boy homo myself, I think he was just teasing Naki man and James about Grindr and certainly achieved a pearl clutching from James. If I’m wrong I’ll be the first to line up and give OnceWasTim a good spanking.
It is certainly a terrible piece of england so you might be right. Very strange to be replying to somebody and referring to them as “he” instead of “you”. Even more confusing as he had been speaking of the knackered one.
@RBO. I believe Tim was talking to James about Naki Man who was the HE in question. Therefore acceptable usage both for the political and syntactical police. You are right about Tim baiting James. Anyone who has watched and appreciated his style for a while will realise that he uses his own position on the spectrum (I believe he might have batted for your team on occasion) to take the mick out of himself and his target simultaneously. At times this can be confusing but when it works it does so beautifully.
“and all those nancy-boy type of things”
Your hateful homophobic comments are disgusting.
What is happening with the standard that this kind of thing is seen as acceptable to some.
+1 James, totally agree.
Still no sign of Sir Ray Avery’s lifesaving pods to save a million babies.
Some people have donated thousands.
Last year he said the deadline was February,just gone.
The factory in Chennai India was supposed to be all go.
What sort of ‘dark Knight’ do we have here?
https://www.tvnz.co.nz/one-news/new-zealand/sir-ray-avery-asking-publics-forgiveness-promises-lifepod-incubators-their-way?variant=tb_v_1
I see from the paper today that there is a project called Down the Wire to make life better for helicopter pilots. We don;’t want any of them striking wires when they are flying, but particularly now with the prospect of more droughts and fires that need their attendance and skill. It’s hard enough coping with it all without having to cope with electricity lines along their flight lines. So good for getting alternatives going.
Un-notified unrecorded electric fence feeds are the problem.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/farming/97469147/chopper-pilot-died-because-unused-wires-were-not-removed–coroner
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/78523638/fatal-whanganui-helicopter-crash-charges-withdrawn
And another case of a victim of violent crime having to avoid meeting the perpetrator. He/she might be out of prison but the victim is not free to live and move where she wants. There is a notification system but why should there be the need? Keep violent people away from society. Give them a limited life in okay conditions, and limit their own violence on each other. Why should we all become potential victims. Their rate of recidivism is probably high, even if later in life.
simons on ‘The Nation’, trying to preach fear re the CGT. He’s an angry little man.
https://www.threenow.co.nz/live-tv-guide/three
That’s not anger cinny- labour’s ideological CGT was the wish National were waiting for. It’s the single biggest thing that could cost them the election.
He’s very happy that labour are handling this so badly
Yeah he’s real happy lol – you are the goofiest gnat cheerleaderless yet – keep up the good work.
Hiya James, simons done a wonderful job of making me giggle this morning.
Describing the CGT as hairy chested. Closed fist near on banging on the table. Blaming journalists for his failing ratings.
Crack up 🙂
Meanwhile, it’s a report of a working group, nothing has been proposed by the govt.
So while the government who haven’t decided anything yet (but are paying Cullen to sing CGT praises) dither and do nothing – they are losing the debate with the public.
Simon is exactly doing his job.
Not sure there is any evidence labour are losing the cgt debate James
Are you quoting Hoskins again hahahaha what a fool
You you can’t see where I’m getting that from – best you get outside and talk to people.
James where are you getting that from?
I would never rely on the random conversations I have with people as an indication of what the majority of kiwis think. Would you? Suspect a significant number of people already have an entrenched view,particularly the ones with a vested interest in not having a CGT, eg Amy, Simon, mr poor me I own 80 rentals a la the herald article.
Have there been any polls to show that since the report came out there has been an increase in opposition to the cgt. That would show labour is losing the argument. Otherwise there isn’t any real evidence that labour is losing the argument.
Sounds like Simon was doing a fabulous job on the Nation according to cinny……ha ha ha ha
Simon is giving Labour a great opportunity to listen and understand how best to respond to Simon’s hysterical chicken little prophesising on CGT.
When Labour finally come out with a set of policies on CGT, all of which will address Simon’s hysterical rants, people may very well end up saying “good golly, this isn’t so bad after all”
Simon may very well take the credit in forcing the govt to provide a halfway point, but people don’t listen to him anyway so won’t have much effect for him.
Simons got nothing concrete to criticise. As long as he keeps yammering on about what the dastardly evils of CGT might bring, Labour can continue to artfully respond to such falsities in their eventual policy document.
Simon should shut up and criticise something worth criticising. Like Labours lack of genuine commitment to addressing the cost of living in NZ.
A variety of people is who to talk to about it, not just those in ones social circle, workplace, suburb, income bracket etc etc.
Put in a submission, encourage other people to do so as well, I’m going to.
Tax Working Group welcomes submissions on future of tax
“Submissions open today for those wanting to share their thoughts straight away and on March 14 an updated website will be launched along with a background paper that will provide more assistance. ”
https://taxworkinggroup.govt.nz/resources/tax-working-group-welcomes-submissions-future-tax
Edit.. Am back to working fulltime and with no kids this weekend, it’s power tool time, doing some renovations 🙂 Enjoy your day out there everyone.
OK James, I had you pegged as someone of intelligence, but you keep denying me that view by your constant undying loyalty and borderline sycophancy in terms of the National Party.
1. The government has done nothing yet but has clearly signalled a time frame in which they will, so your criticism on that front is valueless.
2. Michael Cullen is on a retainer so that he, as the chairman of the task force and therefore intimately knowledgeable about the report, is able to answer queries and provide detail.
3. You intimate that Cullen is there merely to sing praises for the CGT, which is only a small segment of the total report, and is being discussed and largely vilified in a hugely disproportionate way in comparison to other aspects of the report. That is not his job, and that is not what he is doing.
4. You say that the government is losing the debate, which is a hugely subjective statement with no evidence apparent.
The only thing you say here is that Simon is doing his job. He is, but not in the way you think.
BTW check out this link –
https://socialistaotearoa.org.nz/taxing-the-richardson-not-enough/
“2. Michael Cullen is on a retainer so that he, as the chairman of the task force and therefore intimately knowledgeable about the report, is able to answer queries and provide detail.”
Cullen is a political appointment
You may missed the memo.
https://www.google.co.nz/amp/s/www.newshub.co.nz/home/politics/2019/03/sir-michael-cullen-s-job-to-correct-simon-bridges-inaccurate-hypotheticals-kris-faafoi.amp.html
Not a memo – a subjective comment by a journalist on Newshub . . . Newshub FFS. The wonderfully rational and objective employer of Richardson and Garner.
Oh . . . BTW, did you read the link? I read yours.
I choose never to read a link that starts with socialistanything
One of the possible reasons you think soimon’s doing such a great job. Other possible reasons being: avoiding public transport, avoiding cheaper supermarkets, avoiding rougher bars, and avoiding poor people.
Ok. I will admit I avoid public transport completely.
As for avoiding rougher bars – only an idiot would seek them out.
the beer’s cheap.
Some of them do an ok meal, too. You’d be surprised.
simons daily rate is more than Cullens, and Cullen only charges for a few days a month, where as for simon it’s every single day.
In which case, one begins to wonder just why Cullen has come up with so many many more ideas than simon.
Actually, what are simons ideas and plans re tax? Probably the same old narrative key used to spin.
Nothing new, yet simon get’s paid more than Cullen, how does that work?
I think you are getting confused.
The ideas are not his – the are the committees. And a lot (as a %age) of the committee disagree with them.
Also the committee has done its job – this is now a political appointment.
By no means – it’s public education.
Bridges (and you, his unpaid PR flack) wants to misrepresent the commission’s work, hoping to ride into power on a tide of outrage. It’s certainly the only emotion that would move people to vote for him.
But outrage is not appropriate to a a representative and consultative process, the commission invites public input and discussion, which will culminate in legislation in the usual way.
Scaremonger all you want, you only expose your fundamentally undemocratic preferences.
If it’s public education why won’t they hire the committee member who disagreed so both arguments can be made for balanced education?
Why don’t we get them all back then? 😆
That would cost a lot.
He’s jolly funny to watch. Very energetic. A bit like a Thunderbirds puppet operated by someone with Parkinson’s.
IKR 🙂 He’s very animated with both his words and actions. Super funny
The link is up now for the full interview
https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/shows/2019/03/sir-michael-cullen-caught-out-simon-bridges-claims.html
Thanks for the link Cinny
Ha ha ha ha ha #lets keep Simon
He almost said a new word ‘biodesertification’. Truly a genius among hobbits.
The interviewer had a tell when she was trying to conceal a mental eye roll, she breathed in sharply.
Far-ka-nora!!!
That interview was pure entertainment Cinny. Or it would be if he wasn’t so serious about what he says. And he calls Cullen sly!
I don’t know . . . the worry is about the sheeple who will swallow that as gospel. He may well get enough boss thinkers to carry his party. That’s a scenario I can’t bear thinking about.
Yeah. Simon proposing a CGT, on the family home. Otherwise it is “unfair to farmers”. LOL. “The gift that keeps on giving”.
Simon does not like Michael Cullen, and Cinny I think many people hold a wee warm spot for Cullen because they have watched their Kiwisaver grow.
They know it was the Gnats who cut the starter in half, lowered the savings amount and were “tricky” and without that interference savers would have bigger balances.
Simon ‘no bridges’ has not got much to recommend his word, compared to Michael.
And yet several of the working group agree with Simon (and the tax experts at that).
Funny old world huh.
I am glad you are enjoying the fruits of capitalism Patricia with your kiwisaver growing
Oh god Cinny….I just watched that! Ewwwww….(I knew there was a good reason I don’t watch telly anymore)
Echoes of….
ROFL !!!!!!!!!
Stuff nails it.
OPINION: Hi, Simon Bridges here. Hitting new taxes for six! I am literally Martin Guptill!
Hey, but I just wanted to talk about those kids who are going to go truant from school next week because they say not enough’s being done about climate change.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/opinion/111135142/stay-at-school-kids-weve-got-it-covered
That piece was beautifully written. Hehehehee. Cheers for the link.
If simon thinks the kid’s aren’t serious about climate change then he is sorely mistaken.
His attitude and that of his party re the protest is going to fuel even more kids to act and adults to come out in support of those kids.
Most kids and teens know and care more about climate change than any other global or political issue. It’s a constant topic in schools.
And here I was thinking there are teachers in simons family, maybe they haven’t filled him in about the focus schools put on climate change and the awareness created as a result.
Pilot scheme for hearing rape cases in NZ. I think this sounds a promising path to better law here.
http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL1903/S00043/gordon-campbell-on-the-handling-of-sexual-assault-complaints.htm
We knew Simon was a bit thick but boy what a crack up.
It sure was Patricia, watched it again on the plus one, lmao 🙂
Emma Jolliff was trying really hard not to laugh at Simon during the interview.
Did someone mention “thick”….that old National poodle Audrey over at the mornings fish wrap had this to say:
“It is time for Ardern to look across the aisle for support on pay transparency measures from Paula Bennett, Amy Adams and Judith Collins to work on some more advances in the interests of improving women’s lives…..”
If there were ever three women across the aisle who are more inclined to ruin women’s lives dear old Audrey could not have picked them better.
Kat noticed she said that labour didn’t give national any credit for the Bartlett pay equity bill. My understanding is that National fought it every step of the way and that Audrey knows this
Ankerrawshark you are correct, typically National only went so far with the Pay Equity Bill then inserted a “Paula Bennett pull up the ladder” clause. Audrey doesn’t like mentioning betrayal and National in the same sentence.
Look what happened last time a woman from a rural Canterbury farming background who had the Selywn electorate held the Finance role.
Manafort’s otherwise blameless life.
“He has lived an otherwise blameless life,” said Judge T. S. Ellis as he sentenced Paul Manafort to just 47 months in prison on Thursday.
In an otherwise blameless life, Paul Manafort lobbied on behalf of the tobacco industry and wangled millions in tax breaks for corporations.
In an otherwise blameless life, he helped Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos bolster his image in Washington after he assassinated his primary political opponent.
[…]
In an otherwise blameless life, he acted with impunity, as if the laws never applied to him. When presented with a chance to show remorse to the court, he couldn’t find that sentiment within his being. And with Ellis’s featherweight punishment, which deviated sharply downward from the sentencing guidelines, Manafort managed to bring his life’s project to a strange completion. He had devoted his career to normalizing corruption in Washington. By the time he was caught, his extraordinary avarice had become so commonplace that not even a federal judge could blame him for it.
https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2019/03/paul-manaforts-otherwise-blamess-life-crime/584419/
In his latest post entitled “Why we need to tax landlords”, idiot-savant attempts to make the case for imposing a capital gains tax on landlords by quoting from a Herald article by Keith Ng. However the original article has some flaws.
Ng points out, probably correctly, that interest of $456,000 has been deducted entirely from the rental income when it probably should be deductible against the capital cost of the property. I have long believed that interest should be either non deductible, which would mean that landlord would be paying a respectable amount of tax on the rental income while having to meet the interest costs from his own pocket, or, alternatively, subject to an interest “claw back” up to the amount of any capital gain when the property is sold.
Also, if neither of those above options seems acceptable, Ng should recognise that tax on the interest is being paid by the bank, so the landlord is in effect paying that tax indirectly in any case, given that he receives no material benefit from interest payments.
The Trolls wanted the Kiwi Saver stopped.
They hated it because it gave every decent earning man and women an excellent chance.
If The Trolls demand Simon Bridges attack CGT and Stop the Kiwi saver, National will die a miserable death. The public have seen exactly What Mr Key and Mr English have done to our highly valued Kiwi Saver. All for the Trolls.
The Trolls will be skinned alive. By their own wealthy mongrels.
“The Trolls will be skinned alive. By their own wealthy mongrels.”
you are sounding more and more unhinged. Seek help.
The Nats couldn’t possibly come up with such ingrained and accepted norms as WFF and Kiwisaver – they are ideologically opposed to policies with social benefit, and you’ve sometimes got to wonder whether they are ideologically opposed to any form of social thinking.
They put up with WFF and Kiwisaver because as you rightly point out they would spend decades out of government were they to abolish them.
They made a good effort to damage Kiwisaver out of spite for people wanting to save. Numbers dropped and people stopped enrolling their kids, but it is so popular that the Nats failed at that too. They can’t even get spite right!
Muttonbird
Given your comments about National reducing the benefits of KiwiSaver by reducing the government top up from $1 per $1 invested up to $1,040 per year, down to 50 cents & then taxing the employer contribution, you would then agree that KiwiSaver should be exempt from capital gains tax ? As this too is further damaging KiwiSaver balances ?
Kiwi Saver should be exempt because it is a savings program, not a speculative sale of an asset.
CGT is to be applied to the profit made when selling an asset, Kiwi Saver only makes money because you are saving and your boss is helping you to do so as is the government. You can’t sell the Kiwi saver during its live time, you have to wait till you are 65 until you can access is. or maybe via hardship if you are actively dying, or buying your first house, and even then you are not receiving the full amount.
So essentially two different ways to make money, speculative selling for profit, or putting your pennies in a savings accounts – btw these pennies already got hit with income tax when you made them. And as you stated you already pay income tax on the interest you receive.
You know your KiwiSaver fund invest in assets specifically to sell them at a higher price later right ?
I feel I have to repost this because the episode appears to have sneaked under the radar. I had a think about it this morning and Prebble clearly had in mind a separation of the nation in his example. This is called apartheid. Prebble seems to believe that if you take brown people out of the education system then our place in the world will be something to be proud of.
Think that over for a sec…
– Muttonbird
Great to have these debates in public.
From reading the full piece neither Prebble nor Seymour were promoting or saying anything racist.
You don’t think asking for brown students achievements to be excluded is racist?
Just a minute. I imagine you’re taking the Wayne defence, which is to say that the he only meant it figuratively.
South Auckland voters will have heard this loud and clear and if Simon Bridges doesn’t come out and condemn those words, National are in for a real kick in the balls next year.
Great to have these debates in public.
From reading the full piece neither Prebble nor Seymour were promoting or saying anything racist.
Fair enough. This is why National is tanking.
Given you being happy to overlook the racist comments the other day because it suited you – I can only assume you are an expert on the matter.
Undoubtedly, the comment has racist overtones…but Prebbles comment is more sinister in nature…IMO…
‘Human junk’…to be discarded…left behind…undereducated…disabled…poor…untermensch…
Pebbles comment delves far beneath the level of pure racism…my interpretation…
Agree One Two. There is a baseline of blind prejudice there. I don’t think he was born with it. It is learned through his politics.
Agree, MB..
RP has ‘memberships’ … gained through performing certain actions and tasks…politics such as you refer to…well documented…damaging…long term…
Prebble did not osmosis the ideology…it was a job opportunity… a contract which he accepted…planned turncoat against party and country…
One must harbor certain ‘beliefs’ to be offered the chance to gain ‘membership’…
That he is paraded while having clear mental health issues and in a late stage of life…serves to highlight the sinister nature of the ‘dominant ideology’…he is still under contract…
His words, are sinister
Yes!!!
This is a sign of fightback. We WILL get OUR water back from the exploiters external AND internal.
“A crowd of at least 2000 protesters took to the streets of Christchurch to oppose a water bottling company shipping billions of litres of water overseas.”
https://i.stuff.co.nz/the-press/news/111156847/water-protest-in-chch-attracts-thousands
I notice a lot more disgusting terminology coming into the standard of late.
From the gooks and faggot comments the other day (which resulted in a ban) to the “Nancy boy” comments by Once was Tim in this thread.
Whilst this is a place for robust debate – there is no need for this kind of hate speech.
Lets wind this back at?
I notice that you delight in repeating, ad nauseam , all the words you claim to find offensive, James. You’ve done it so often that I believe you are doing it on purpose in order to offend and that you derive pleasure from your offensive behaviour. I reckon you’re … odd.
And I reckon you seem fine with others using that kind of language. I don’t see you calling others out on it – ever.
A blog site agitator… bottom feeding on negativity…creating negativity…revelling in negativity…
Pretending to care about language used by others…simultaneously taking a pious stance…while lauding his piousness over those who do not share a passion for propagating the words…of bottom feeders…
Oh look – my favourite stalker is back.
So you ok with people being called “Nancy boys”?
Come on – it’s an easy yes/no question.
James. You often claim that by not railing against something, a person is supporting it.
Yesterday, Muttonbird called you out, in regard Michael Jackson;
“By not taking a stand against Michael Jackson, both he and you are enabling child molesters.
Your definition.”
I thought Muttonbird elegantly skewered your silly behaviour, but it seems you missed the moment, so I’ve posted it here for your benefit. I don’t claim you intend to enable child molesters, but you’ve not been thinking very deeply, it’s clear.
Fair question. I pointed out that he has been found not guilty of being a child molester and that calling him such based off a tv show and not a court of law was wrong.
Do you think we should take stands against others who have been found not guilty?
You’re not being a virtue signalling white knight snofwake again are you jimby?
Coincidentally, you’re always in the thick of it …
Once was Tim needs to own his homophobic comments. Just because they were pointing at “righties” doesn’t make it ok?
I agree.
I’d just be more inclined to believe your sincerity if you didn’t also take every opportunity to recycle and remind people of vicious slanders against someone simply because of their relationship with a left wing politician.
Appreciate you agreeing. But you will be hard to find two examples of what you say I do at every opportunity. And the one you can find I was using it as an example of how rumours can be very wrong.
I have just read once were Tim’s comments at the top of this thread and I agree with James, they are homophobic. Not ok. Please stop
You’re correct, it is not o.k. I’d moderate it, and I probably can, but I’m waiting for feedback from LPrent.
Let me ask you this, James: do you feel that you play any role at all when standards slip here on TS and you happen to be in the thick of it? Or do you see yourself as an innocent bystander who happens to be in the wrong ‘place’ at the wrong time? This is a genuine question.
Fair question.
Pretty easy. In this case it was said by once was Tim in reply to naki man.
While I was in the convo – I was hardly being rude or insulting- it’s there for you to read. I’d say I was targeted as opposed to being in the think of it.
And yes – genuine answer, I think we all have a role to call out obviously homophobic or racist comments.
What amazes me is how people are happy to overlook it if it’s said to someone they don’t like or disagree with.
In short if I used the term “gook or Nancy boy” most commenters would be over me like a rash and shouting from the roof tops. But most (not all) are happy to let it slide if their “mate” says it.
I think prevention is better than cure. In other words, better to try and slow down things before they get out of hand and beyond the point of no return at which you’re usually the first at calling out the act and perpetrator. And I do feel you do it with a certain glee too. Fair?
“If I use the term…”
You just did. You regularly do. You remain impervious to recognising the behaviour. Odd.
Can I humbly suggest that people involved in this thread go back and read OWT’s ‘offending’ comment closely and take the time to unpack it. Those who do may also care to read my reply to Red Blooded One a little further down thread from that.
Anyone with moderately good reading comprehension skills will soon get the gist of where OWT was coming from and as usual he got a beautiful bit of pearl clutching from James who’s been turning that into a bit of an art form lately. Very funny really because it’s usually something lefties get accused of.
PS. It should also be noted that Naki Man was the first to go down that path by suggesting that OWT had lost his way and should be on Grindr instead.
Ok. Shall we start with the opening statement?
“My what a big penis you have @James”
Perhaps this is the root of the homophobic comments ?
If he didn’t start with personal abuse like this – the discussion would have been a lot better.
There has been no cross pollination between left and right ideas while you’ve been rehearsing emotional and edgy replys but that’s the point isn’t muh ninja.
I can’t work out whether you’re ingenuous or just a tad simple James. Either way you’re really not worth too much of my ever so valuable time. Suffice to say that one man can tell another that he is (or has) a large dick without being in any way homophobic. I offer this information in the spirit of providing a public service announcement. For future reference to help you remember the general principle involved you may care to commit this old saying to memory. “Circumstances alter cases, just as noses alter faces”.
It would be good Grant if your reasoned comment about James was the last one made on this blog to him. He wastes so much time, and makes everyone look fools while he runs rings round the leftie commenters.
Whether he is paid to do this or not, he is an idle talentless person at providing information and reasoned points about how we are going to face climate change now or soon. We haven’t time to waste with him – what is everyone thinking to let him use up our precious time on RW ploys. He is heartless and makes us look hopeless.
I have seen it many times here on TS the patterns that develop over time. People respond in a predictable manner to other commenters rather than to the comments. Hard to break that habit once established and any chance of self-moderation is gone out of the window before dawn break.
One of the patterns is that of the ‘pyromaniac ‘who lights a fire, makes sure it gets enough fuel, and when it has grown into a full blaze that is unstoppable they ring 111 for more action.
French Government Data Indicates Cell Phones Expose Consumers To Radiation Levels Higher Than Manufacturers Claim
Volkswagon also lied about pollution of their vehicles…
SAR regulatory ‘limits’ are completely inadequate, and I’ll address that separately…
Unlikely to have been covered in NZ media…
I dislike the way that Radionz has set the Prime Minister’s face beside the jihad twerp as if they were partners. It is not appropriate and if Peter Wilson chose to set it up like that I think it shows a lack of taste and respect for our PM.
https://www.radionz.co.nz/news/on-the-inside/384282/week-in-politics-cold-shoulder-for-the-kiwi-jihadi
Do you always display such respect for the pms office irrespective of person who holds that office or simply for PMs you approve of
Dame Annette King High Commissioner to Australia. A job which will get her a lot of thanks from NZs if she continues to push our barrow with those people in government and perhaps she will achieve what others have not.
https://www.radionz.co.nz/news/national/384333/progress-on-pathway-to-citizenship-for-nzers-in-aus-stalled-dame-annette
(2019 Australian federal election – Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2019_Australian_federal_election
The election will be called following the dissolution or expiry of the 45th Parliament as elected at the 2016 double dissolution federal election. The next election must be held by 18 May 2019 for half of the Senate and on or before 2 November 2019 for the House of Representatives and Territory Senators.)
I think she will be very good at the job. If anyone can make it happen – it’s her.
“The Trolls are finding it hard”
The Trolls are unable to accept the consequences of their statements and actions.
National are looking dreadfully bedraggled. Because the Trolls are accusing everyone – except National Followers – of ” being sick and unhinged.”
I suppose Simon Bridges and David Farrar have advised The Trolls to announce that every Person who is not A National follower is Quote: “Sick and Unhinged”.
Not a good look really.
I don’t think anyone is accusing “everyone except national followers” as sick and unhinged.
Although some observers are making comments that make them specifically seem as such.
Interesting if this is accurate
https://mobile.twitter.com/jameslast831/status/1103828256686452736
UMR has national ahead of labour.
Since umr do polling for labour – I’m sure this will make them wind back even more on their cgt nonsense.
Winning the internet for all time.
https://twitter.com/WAForeskins/status/1103511805597491200
Some of James‘ twenty-two comments on today’s OM are very funny, in the same way that the opposition National party’s recent anti-KiwiBuild BBQ ad was very funny.
James, 22 out of 93 comments just isn’t enough – you can do better, and we love the laughs.
This feeble attempt at reverse psychology may backfire, but it’s worth a try – nothing else has worked.
It’s call engaging in debate.
But – hey – good job on the counting.
“good job on the counting” – James, you are easily impressed!
James, your “engaging in debate” claim is a bold one.
In the spirit of genuine debate, can you explain how your ‘engaging in debate’ justification is consistent with:
“I choose never to read a link that starts with socialistanything” – James @1.51 pm
To be honest, your ‘engagement’ seems highly selective (prejudged, even), and your justification consequently weak.
Spot on DMK
When we find any good practical thing our pollies are doing, even if small, we should remember it and post it here on the blog. Don’t let it escape – trap it, handle the fragile delicate thing, observe it and tell us about it.
Bridges is one wonderful puppet. I went looking for puppet examples – here are some things from Youtube to provide light relief for a moment,
Example from recent past on the Brexit controversy
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PKxsJDIm2Dk
John Cleese leaving Britain for a break from it all (puppet-free)
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bteXcJAEKgY
A mix of UK pollies quoting what their daddies were doing in the last war
and they are not putting up with things over there any more!
Quite good to see the different styles and the different parties support
for their speaker/s.
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jjluqIEmRXc
Spitting Images – old but interesting
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ErLcr1AkFfU