National, through Luxon and Willis, is talking a lot about "social investment". This was the magical tool Bill English talked a lot about.
It sounds very good at press conferences and pre-budget meetings, conveying a sense of compassionate conservatism, but in reality nothing actually transpires from it in terms of concrete action.
True, also Imagine what the super fund would be worth had Muldoon and the National party not made the worst economic decision in NZ history and scrapped it.
I have no idea how these people are held up as good economic managers when they just butcher long term economic stability for short term growth.
True, also Imagine what the super fund would be worth had Muldoon and the National party not made the worst economic decision in NZ history and scrapped it.
I don't agree. It was a burden on both workers and employers – at least kiwisaver is voluntary – and the larger employer contributions would probably have impacted on wages. And there were also other problems. Latecomers and non working wives would have needed top ups. Whatever one thinks of Muldoon his National Super seems preferable.
It would have changed my future massively, while my kiwisaver is healthy after 13 years, I've been working full time in nz for 32 years,I'd love to know what the stash would have looked like if muldoon had fucked off.
The party launched an independent investigation into Tana nearly two months ago, which still has yet to report back. While Davidson said the investigation had to be left to its own processes, Swarbrick was vocally frustrated about the delays on Tuesday. In the meantime, the party has removed Tana from its website. An archived version of the Greens’ site shows this change was made at least as early as April 16.
Newsroom understands the Greens will finalise a reshuffle later this week, now that Hernandez has been sworn in. But it’s also difficult for the party to feel like this new-look caucus will look the same for any serious length of time when Tana’s future is still unknown. She currently holds the oceans and fisheries role, which is increasingly relevant amid the Government’s extended policy programme for fisheries, rolling back ocean conservation rules and expanding aquaculture. She is also the party’s media and communications spokesperson, which has been a hot topic in recent months.
Perhaps the independent investigation is up against privacy law? Hard to get facts on employee exploitation if the law deems it private enterprise, huh? Capitalism's exploitation of employees has been part of normalcy for centuries. In theory a Green capitalist could do better, but only if authentic. Meanwhile a reshuffle ought to at least produce a semi-plausible allocation of duties.
Shaw’s portfolios of climate change, finance, public service and regulation are all high-profile and ambitious MPs will be eager to gain one in the coming reshuffle. Swarbrick is likely to pick up the climate job, having made her desire for it clear during her co-leadership bid. She is also understood to be picking up Shaw’s failed member’s bill, on entrenching the right to a sustainable environment within the Bill of Rights Act, making her the face of the party’s environmental wing.
Swarbrick or Genter are both obvious choices for the finance role, as they are detail-oriented and self-described policy wonks. Genter, however, is unlikely to end up with it, as it could be seen as rewarding her poor behaviour. This is backed up by the fact Swarbrick has held both climate and finance roles in an acting capacity, according to the Greens’ website.
The thing to keep in mind is repositioning to take advantage of any sudden govt collapse: the team needs to seem ready to re-enter govt on the basis of competence. Rewarding Genter for inept public relations seems a bad start in this direction – better to use someone else who can cope with the pressure.
She has established a pattern of bad behaviour via four different people: one Nat minister and one councillor (both male) and two of her constituents (both female). All four have featured in multiple media reports recently. You don't need death by a thousand cuts to do the damage, you just need a persistent pattern that folks notice.
The arm-grab struck me as an extremely dodgy political tactic. It wasn't reported as an assault: the shopkeeper commented on how unusual the behaviour was though. Perhaps the Greens will go with the JAG arm-grab as their favoured new method of impressing voters. Not deterring her would send the message that they hope it'll trend on social media as the latest form of left-wing activism…
Wow Dennis you are really buying in to this MSM beat up. Just to repeat my posts from yesterday:
1. "Don't believe everything you read. Van der Kaay writes for the so-called "Democracy Project" run by Bryce Edwards.
Edwards has for many years consistently criticized parties from the Left while acting as an apologist for the Right.
The Greens have had 3 unfortunate events.
Shoplifting by a sick and clinically depressed member. She has been sent packing-dealt with.
The as yet unproven migrant exploitation accusation. Under investigation so perhaps best to hold fire on this, but if found true is a bad look and she too will be sent packing.
JAG's crossing the floor and shouting at Doocey (after the lies he yelled provoked her) which is under investigation, and the accusation that she yelled at an anti-cycleway zealot who it turns out, according to posts on TS, is a bit nasty. JAG has an excellent (and to my knowledge unblemished) record for the Greens over many years, both inside and outside parliament.
Kaay’s article is not worth a hill of beans."
2. "Come off it gsays. Genter has been in parliament 13 years behaving, to my knowledge, impeccably.
Then she gets het up because Doocey yells lies at her (completely ignoring the real spending facts on roading) so she crosses the aisle to show him the actual numbers in the report.
In an obvious, coordinated and probably made-up hit National drags up a witness to another episode where a passionate JAG meets an anti-cycleway (code for National/ACT voter) person who claims (unproven, no witnesses) she too was yelled at by JAG. Note: Nobody would offer to video a meeting where they were yelling at a constituent.
It was a very dumb thing to do to cross the aisle and JAG should get a sanction from the privileges committee for this-presumably they will take into account the previous 13 years of not doing this. Note: apparently crossing the aisle is not against the rules.
I don't see the relevance of Doocey's mental history (you are clutching at straws here). If you are fit to be in parliament you are fit to be part of the rough and tumble. In this case he bears some of the blame by yelling obvious lies in the first place. Maybe this will teach him to stick to yelling the truth."
3. "gsays-I didn't gloss over anything. The Kerekere bullying happened well over a year ago which is not anywhere close to the period I am commenting on above in relation to Kaay's biased article.
I commented on the three relatively current events that the MSM media seems to be trying to portray as a pattern, where nothing could be further from the truth.
If we are to start going back a couple of years there are National MP misdemeanors as long as my arm."
My understanding is that Bryce Edwards is highly regarded by all sides in the political debate.
It is also interesting that the owners of any business in Wellington that have had a disagreement with the current mayor or Green Party mp face bullying from random people online. This suggests to me that there are a number of toxic people on the left. We should have nothing to do with this type of behaviour.
David-there have been plenty of posts on TS over the years criticising Edwards' negative stance towards the Left in his writing and in his appearances on The Panel, Checkpoint, Morning Report etc.
I am sure he is held in high regard by members of the current government for this reason.
Incidentally my description of migrant exploitation as “a bad look” is, on reflection poor. I should have said “unacceptable behaviour”.
Or they harangued an MP buying flowers for a dying friend and were triumphalist about her bloc losing the government benches. Or when the MP was out in public not in an official capacity.
It’s a bit like asking Destiny church about the gay marriage advocates.
Edwards is a stooge whose stuff and his mates stuff happily appears on The Platform and whose use of the university emblem I find interesting at best.
And let’s not be too harsh on Matt Doocey- being completely wrong about say giving landlords money making rents go down or how many beds at $1.9 million a prison will have or if something is funded or not is ministerial under Luxon.
He's published in the Herald, his university has the Democracy Project with people like Adams and his compendium of the week in politics includes right wing commentator quotes and links.
He would have to be very very good to rise above the associations …
A former Alliance guy who repudiates anything Jim Anderton might have campaigned for reflexively, unless it can be used to castigate current left wing politicians for being too focused on identity issues as well social justice.
Does that accurately describe the current Labour Party?
Dentistry eventually, last manifesto so all bets are off.
Only problem for Dr Bryce is that doesn’t pay well, so further we will go. The angry occupation at parliament mixed with aggressive online misogyny for Dame Jacinda Ardern was pretty similar to what Sir John Key struggled through, according to Dr. Bryce. That plays well on the Platform. Where they’ve removed themselves from Press Council oversight, so they can…?
James-I think the Greens will undertake an honest appraisal of JAG's behaviour in the house.
She will get a verdict "don't do it again" and a slap on the wrist.
Personally I applaud her passion-she had had enough of being told that the last 6 years had been under a patently hopeless and economically illiterate government, where in fact that is what we have now.
He was once a Green man … but not now that the next generation are in charge … these days everyone – especially women are so young and know not how to behave …
They are cynical; that is, they tend to put the worse construction on everything. Further, their experience makes them distrustful and therefore suspicious of evil. Consequently they neither love warmly nor hate bitterly….They are small-minded, because they have been humbled by life: their desires are set upon nothing more exalted or unusual than what will help them to keep alive. They are not generous, because money is one of the things they must have….They are cowardly, and are always anticipating danger; unlike that of the young, who are warm-blooded, their temperament is chilly…"
What is this, Kiwblog style, ganging up on a woman MP moment?
FACT CHECK
The Johnston Street shop is in the Wellington Central electorate, they approached the then Auckland based list MP in Midland Park about a letter the MP sent to Lester Mayor of Wellington 5 years earlier (this while Genter was Associate Minister of Transport – a position they did not hold at the later time). Google up on Reddit if you want a commentary about stuff the MSM do not publish.
An arm grab is not a political tactic, it is a reaction to having her time in a park disturbed.
Have the police ever prosecuted an arm grab as an assault?
PERSPECTIVE
If you think it was wrong for Genter to approach the City Councillor while he was engaged otherwise, what about the Johnston shopowner disturbing a list MP in a park and the flower shopowner doing it to the MP when she pops in to buy flowers on visiting the hospital nearby? Nick R covered the interface with other members of the public (former customers).
Genter has said she will no longer engage with angry people, but will just walk away. More generally MP's should just hand out a card when living their personal lives. After all list MP's are not experts in conflict de-escalation but advocates for their party policies and on becoming an electorate MP have to determine how to manage being available to offer assistance to constituents in a safe way.
She's going to have a quiet life then in this electorate at the moment.
'Genter has said she will no longer engage with angry people, but will just walk away. '
Very clear she is inexperienced at what happens in electorate offices
People in the electorate just don't pop by to say 'hi, well done and how are you?'
They go there usually because they often feel they cannot get any further following the process and need a spanner thrown into the works to disrupt it, to have the problem defined differently etc. You can get tears to laughter and everything between including anger, in an electorate office.
So why the focus on 'Genter has said she will no longer engage with angry people, but will just walk away. '
She will get angry people in her electorate offices, how does the de-escalation differ here from out and about. Seems a bit of a strange distinction. It sounds more that she does not want to talk about or be exposed to thinking that is not similar to her own. That actually won't work if she is to be a welcoming and competent MP adept at handling issues of concern when in an office or out and about.
Because it was what she said – as to being approached by angry people while she is not at work as MP.
An MP can ask those who get angry in the office to leave. And there are others about.
It sounds more that she does not want to talk about or be exposed to thinking that is not similar to her own.
Being willing to be hassled in public when out and about in their personal life is not a required part of the job. And being exposed to different opinion is a known when becoming a politician.
Being approached by people while out and about is a known fact of life for all MPs. Many take pains to keep some private time that does not involve being out and about publically. MPs who frequent popular local areas so-called 'privately' where MPs usually are keen to be seen such as markets, galas, walking down popular local streets etc have only themselves to blame if a naughty member of a public approaches them. Especially if said member of the public is annoyed.
I been with MPs who have been approached by people while they are at concerts, films, theatre, sports, even after funerals, at tangi Most are happy with a brief chat and a card with the electorate secs name/phone number on it to arrange an appt, I have been with MPs when they have had an impromptu 'clinic' at a restaurant private table/place & once in a sports club rooms as they were so concerned at what they were hearing/worried about their constituent.
The MP I was with usually got the person's name and contact details and sometimes, once back at the office, would phone, email, write a letter acknowledging the contact and reiterating the contact details.
"Hard to get facts on employee exploitation if the law deems it private enterprise, huh?
Not at all. If the allegations go to migrant exploitation, then my understanding is they go to potential criminal activity under the Immigration Act. There is no-where to hide in that case. I'm not a Green Party supporter, but I am prepared to accept the investigation may be constrained by factors well beyond their control.
Darleen Tana no longer appears on the Green Party website so they may have already made a decision regarding her. However James Shaw still appears so maybe not yet updated.
The NZ Initiative with Johnson at the wheel while colluding with the Minister of Ed, has succeeded in running the NZ education "reform."
Laura Walters outlines how the capture came about:
While there was no suggestion of any wrongdoing by Johnston or the NZI – in fact, one educator who spoke to Newsroom suggested they were just “making hay while the sun shines” – many voiced concern at the outsized or disproportionate influence one man, one think tank, and one ideology was having on the direction of Aotearoa’s education system…..
“The current over-reach of a small group of researchers at the expense of the wider professional and academic field is cause for concern,” Aotearoa Educators Collective spokesperson Maurie Abraham said in a statement, following Stanford’s education priorities announcement.
Atlas Network holds up the sky so that capitalism can reign.
If it did not do this the people might have human dominion, sustain the earth as a habitat for life and build a society not driven by personal greed along the golden brick road to their multi-million dollar weekend "bach".
While only a few can share in the dream of being one of the well to do elite – offering a change to the way children read provides the sort of hope that just maybe one of the children of the common folk might win the hunger games – and sing long enough to see off the snakepit (the hissing of the losers, such as the once champion knights of the realm and now cellar dwellers).
Sounds reasonable but it didn't work out in practice last time and I suspect it won't again. In fact it turned into a witch-hunt against people who, through no fault of their own, had been flung on the scrap heap during a time when job opportunities were scarce.
Remember the woman, Christine Rankin with the very short, low-cut dresses that left nothing to the imagination? Are they going to drag her out of retirement to do their dirty work again? (sarc)
As a former qualified Public Servant who was amongst those cast out back then, I received a letter demanding I attend a seminar on:
"How to dress and look smart for a job interview."
They received a reply which left them in no doubt my feelings on the subject – at least as it applied to me. I heard no more from them and never attended the seminar. 👿
Those who have lost employment should get 6 months to sort their job search out themselves (and register for temp work – use different ones for different work categories).
After 6 months, a processing (including notification of training providers available) for transfer to the Work Broker (stuff like industry apprenticeship and or work experience opportunities etc – they are the ones in contact with employers).
The W and I requirements are about initiating the unemployed into an accountability regime. Doing it to laid off PS workers is obnoxious and is presumably supposed to usher in a reign of fear among those still employed in the PS.
National wants the unemployed to run the treadmill of W and I oversight of their job search – all while the pool of the unemployed grows – this ensures employers have more power relative to their existing workers (wages suppressed while rents rise will cause a run on food banks of the like we have not seen – back in the 1990's people fled to Oz to escape it).
My remembrance of the formation of Work and Income back in Oct 1 1998 was the requirements of the unemployed to go to Job Clubs run by external providers (religious groups who wanted those on welfare to bend their knee to Jesus).
Having to attend that seminar would make sense only if you were laid off for being scruffy – which itself would be an insufficient reason for the layoff. So they were clowns obviously, probably with an inbuilt bias towards thinking that unemployed people have only themselves to blame.
Bang on AB. Their ignorance was astounding. Despite the government "restructuring the work force” (that was the description of the day), they assumed the unemployed were rough living layabouts who wanted to live off the welfare teat for the rest of their lives.
I was actually looking after my elderly mother who was in her 90s, but that didn't stop them sending a surveillance team to our address to check out the situation. I was one of many people who had that experience. It was humiliating and insulting.
Tonight [8 May 2024] on The Panel, Wallace Chapman and panellists Chris Finlayson and Dr Ella Henry discuss the Government saving on school lunch programmes and potentially dropping election day voter enrolment. https://www.rnz.co.nz/audio/player?audio_id=2018937563
It’s been wonderful to watch ACT leader enact a principle in education that should be extended.
The government should use its size to buy things, including money, in bulk at a considerably cheaper rate in order to provide a more inexpensive service for New Zealanders, particularly those in its poorer communities.
Or water infrastructure! Imagine, using the mass of large water districts being able to attract world class water infrastructure specialists and get discounts on hardware!
""As someone who makes kids' lunchboxes every day, I wouldn't be able to fill my kids' lunchboxes with good quality healthy food for $3 a day," Labour leader Chris Hipkins said. ".
Really? Who actually believes that Hipkins carries out this activity every day? Do the children even live with him all the time?
I am left wondering how one can centralise the bulk buying of sandwiches and distribute them fresh around the country each day.
And the cheapest canned fruit is that which comes with sugar in water – and is not a food I would want children to consume. It is the fruit version of the salt and sugar ladden canned food that is also a danger to health (what next noodles with salt and another dodgy additive).
Have had experience of Nelson Hospital food over these past few months which is trucked from Christchurch – over 400kms. It is inedible, including the sandwiches.
If Seymour is worried about uneaten/wasted food now, he's going to get a shock. Or maybe that's the plan – make it inedible so they can cancel the whole program.
Please ask St David what makes sushi ‘ woke’? Is it the way tuna and salmon is sometimes race-mixed in the same $5 set? We need this important list of woke foods so we don’t accidentally feed them to our children!
We need to ask St David are St. Pierre’s sushi, which features stores in 14 Kiwi cities or the many smaller family owned sushi stores woke? Does this mean ACT will boycott them too?
Is all Asian food woke? Or for example are jandals woke? That’s Japanese sandals btw. Are noodles okay? How about rice without vinegar? Is it still woke if it’s in a rice pudding? What about the same fish, but in a casserole?
Kumara has to be woke right? Surely we must only eat sweet potato in the ACT party? A Maori name and staple of around a 1000 years?
We can’t risk wokeness seeping into our food and so into our bodies and being! Please ask St David and find out!
Labor-intensive industries like making sandwiches have limited economies of scale. Therefore the savings that enable the $3 cost must in part come from selecting less labour-intensive options such as packaged and tinned food.
These offerings will be less appealing to kids than things made fresh, hot and locally, even if the numbers suggest that they are roughly nutritionally equivalent.
That's the point of course: make them unappealing, drive up waste, point at the waste, shake your head in dismay that such "dumb stuff" was ever done in the first place, cancel the whole scheme, then announce mission accomplished. For some people, malice is more satisfying if it's stretched out a bit.
Schools that offered hot lunches as opposed to cold lunches also saw little to no leftover meals. Sandwiches and cold lunches were frequently mentioned as being wasted.
“Older kids will eat most kai like hot cooked meals; rice/curry and other hot meats and pasta, whereas the juniors are a little pickier and will eat anything processed or on bread. Like fried tenders, macaroni, sandwiches. With the Juniors, at least half of the less processed kai doesn’t get eaten.”
My local Area School, roll of 220, age 5 to 18, has very a successful lunch program supplied by one of our local cafes.
The owners have 2 children at the school, age 6 and 8 so they know what children will eat.
The favourite meal is sushi !!! followed by butter chicken, and bolognaise with orzo !!! rather than spaghetti to make it easier to eat. All very woke items in a small rural town in the South Island.
Any unused meals are donated to local needy families so there is very little waste.
The cafe in conjunction with the school, have sessions where a class will help prepare and serve the meal of the day. The cafe is a short walk from the school so the meals are delivered by trolley.
This has morphed into a Masterchef competition over the school holidays as part of Boredom Busters. Some of the winning recipes have become part of the school lunch menu.
"Some o'f it just really isn't nice and I've often looked at it myself and thought, yuck!" Ollie's indifference towards the school lunches is not unique, with large amounts of food waste allegedly being thrown out each day across the region.
Intermediate student, Naki, said his Northland school had been receiving school lunches for around a year and a half. He claimed the lunches were hit and miss, with students often complaining about lunches being 'gross, stale, soggy, dry and tasting yuck'.
Schools that offered hot lunches as opposed to cold lunches also saw little to no leftover meals. Sandwiches and cold lunches were frequently mentioned as being wasted.
The wastage was less than in overseas programmes and thus quickly effective. Did Treasury note that?
Given the greater number of Maori in the schools receiving the food I'll call the no evidence of benefiting akonga Maori line wildly misleading and a quote taken out of reasonable context.
The Herald quote demonstrates their disposition to use right wing talking points as headlines.
"The wastage was less than in overseas programmes and thus quickly effective. "
Based on 2 examples. Your reference above also included this:
However, another contractor argued that 4.5% still represented quite a lot of money. “I would say 2-3% of waste is reasonably acceptable,” they said. “I believe if you gave [the school lunches contracts] to the right people, that percentage would come down. It could probably get down to 2%.”
No, the result of a survey of schools is not an anectdote.
In comparison to countries who have been doing it longer, New Zealand’s school lunches programme seems decades ahead when it comes to progress on waste.
A case study on Japan’s school lunch programme, which was established in 1954, found its food waste at a “relatively low” level of 6.9% by 2015. That same year the United States’ National School Lunch Programme, created in 1946, reported 30% of its food was wasted.
The source of the “quotes”.
Staff from more than 50 schools around the country responded to our social media questions about waste.
Thirty of the responses said no meals were left over by the end of the day. For many of those schools, most or all meals were taken at lunch time and any leftovers were taken home by students.
Ten of the responses said there were dozens of leftovers which were then donated to charities, foodbanks or local pātaka (food pantries) in the community.
Eleven of the responses said they were concerned about waste levels. All 11 were using external contractors.
You are referring to a survey. Of 50 schools, out of around 2,500. And there is no data reported about the % of waste, just commentary.
And again your 'overseas programs' data is 2 countries.
The evidence from NZ's program is that we have considerable waste that the government seemed to not even be concerned to measure. This new program delivers more lunches at less cost.
How many days a week would he have to make kids' lunchboxes in order to have a fair idea that $3/day is a stretch? Can this determination be made only if you do it every day?
Chippie claims that he makes his kids lunches every day though. Isn't it amazing that he does such a thing? Frankly I think his story is b**s intended to make him look like a man of the people.
I don't know what Hipkins meant as his statement is capable of two interpretations. One, which seems more likely, is that he 'every day' makes a lunch box for kids. Every day, of course, would exclude holidays, weekends and I would suggest actually means 'most days' as even the best of us did not make our kids' lunch boxes every day.
"As someone who makes kids' lunchboxes every day, I wouldn't be able to fill my kids' lunchboxes with good quality healthy food for $3 a day," Labour leader Chris Hipkins said.
However, it could mean this. "When I put myself in the position of someone who makes kid's lunch boxes every day, I wouldn't be able to fill my kids' lunchboxes with good quality healthy food for $3 a day."
I've just costed my lunch. 4 slices bread, 1 banana, 2 slices cheese, peanut butter, 1 feijoa. About $2.50. But, I didn't include delivery costs, packaging or labour. I didn't include a cup of tea and what would a slice of feijoa cake be worth?
Good point, aj. The profit for me was a cheap, home-made lunch.
I didn't mention the pie I had for morning tea, though, after a walk with friends. The pie was non-woke except for the filling which had decidedly woke Italian truffle cheese. Woke is tasty as well as tasteful, after all.
I have eaten school lunches in Japan on occasions where the parents made a small contribution and the children and teachers ate together. Good food, with an emphasis on variety and calorific intake.
Mrs Mac1 has eaten in French schools where subsidised school lunches were made by professional chefs, served at tables from platters with full dining etiquette, green beans often, a meat and other vegetables, banana and yoghurt for dessert.
A nation and people are defined by their culture. Part of that is food, manners, sharing, table companionship. New Zealand is still growing ours with new immigration. Our small town has restaurants and food outlets that are French, Italian, Brazilian, Pasifika, Thai, Turkish, Indian, Mexican, Chinese, Cambodian, Japanese, Argentinian, plus fast foods in American and English styles.
Very woke. Very tasty. Very much part of who we are, as a community, diverse and interesting……..
Yes. Every day. Imagine that. Even weekends, when his kids don't even go to school. Even Christmas day.
To address your point in a manner less commensurate with the stupidity of how you appraised Hipkins' statement, however: no, I shouldn't find it particularly amazing if Hipkins made his children's lunches daily.
I do believe alwyn has spammed the same thing 3 times now. Not how a discussion goes.
More aggressive and nasty tin ear behaviour. I know that parents are there to have fixed needs so that they can be forced into high childcare costs, high housing costs and high medicine costs, but it’s the glee at others misfortune that is particularly a turn off. I’m sure Chippy never intended his marriage to finish, but it did and I’m sure he’s doing his best, along with the other households across the country in similar situations.
You should bloody pull your head in and listen to what Winston said on the matter.
Remember the woman, Christine Rankin with the very short, low-cut dresses that left nothing to the imagination? Are they going to drag her out of retirement to do their dirty work again?
It is so misogynistic to constantly and solely blame Christine Rankin for that period, let alone fall into the idiot SSC criticism of her appearance, when it was George Hickton who introduced all the types of things like seminars post his dodgy work previously at the employment service. It has never been clear to me why he gets off scot free and she gets all the flack. Just another way in which women are treated so much worse than men.
There's really good archival history about what went on during this time when I was a much, much younger advocate. Sometimes it is worth reminding ourselves of all those involved – politicians as well……..
Back in the day, Canon Bob Lowe had a bit of a reputation as an after dinner speaker – he liked good food, wine and women – and this was his way of affording it all.
He once wrote of the 1990's era in one of his newspaper columns.
SCENE
Unemployed single men who liked women but were poor and under a tough W and I regime (and they had religious groups operating as agents).
Then the application of the market rents for state houses and a lot of older single women – some former, some current solo mothers – needing boarders to stay in the better quality state houses.
Also at the time there was a fear of home invasions by unemployed men looking to steal stuff because the low UB income.
He wrote a column about being about being a man who liked seeing naked women on the street (he was using the example of Jezebel – out the Samaria palace window – defenestration – to be eaten by dogs in the street. Homeless women and men without wives).
He then posed as hearing a hiss on his ear (law of guilt religion joke) – being warned that he fit a profile of interest to the police. A man who did not belong in the neighbourhood with the better state houses.
An Auckland magazine also had a short story about a Michael Collins on the run and looking to hide in the basement of an older woman – gimme shelter).
Thus in those times – short skirts big hearings (dobbing in solo mothers) (and profiling watch on their entrapment of unemployed single men looking for shelter – or vice versa if the single man owned a home).
So the topic is nutrition. And the cost of fresh local produce. And a low wage, high cost economy. And the speed National moved to make it worse. No fair pay agreements. No discounts on fresh produce.
Still, keep up your nasty, nasty instincts. It’s doing wonders for Chippy’s polls. He does nothing and they get better by comparison that he’s never celebrated sacking journalists or questioning someone’s parenting skills or their personal relationships.
Matiu Rata reads comics redux. Give them cigarettes before fruit, huh.
The comment you are replying to was not about nutrition. It was about the appropriateness of commenting on a political leaders own comments about his family.
No, it was clearly about the cost of nutrition that Hipkins was speaking about.
He was making a point about the cost of nutrition and that he knew about it because he had personal experience.
Look, if you’re worried because Chippy knows what a block of cheese costs and what a starting police salary is, don’t fail reading comprehension also.
Or do, because as I mentioned above the combination of obsessive behaviour, malevolent glee and a lack of knowledge or interest in the issue at hand and the way it will change people’s lives is driving the current polling across a multitude of sectors.
You replied to my comment. Which had nothing to do with ‘nutrition’. If you want to comment about the broader discussion of lunches in schools, reply to one of those comments.
Those who have been following the cycle ways spinoff to the JAG story will be interested that this lack of meaningful consultation/allegations of predetermination is not shared only by the people of the southern suburbs.
This is in relation to consultation on the Wellington City Long Term Plan.
There comes a time when busy and committed people say 'stop, I cannot be bothered going any further.'
It is easy to see how to alleviate the cycnicism about WCC consultation.
A back to basics approach on consultation is to go about it with an open mind and be prepared to change one's mind or compromise. I have looked at the precis of many of the submissions to the WCC prepared by consultants experienced in this. I see few problems with this competent work.
The problems seem to arise at Council level. The councillors block vote in a party political way as if they are unaware that if they keep affirming a party line despite a weight of consultation, they may come close to or are acting in a pre-determined manner. We have about 5 'thoughtful' councillors but of course they are in the minority.
Hence my long held view that there is no place for party political parties in local government. Although there have been other times when quasi national political parties have held sway the councillors themselves seemed to act for their constituents and the city itself rather than following some nationally determined agenda.
The 'whipping' to stymie the thought that goes to making the city bright,vibrant and working has seen puzzling line-ups. The most recent example of this was the support for a 'welfare' bailout for Reading/Warner Brothers of $36m including from Geordie Rogers, the youngest councillor from a heavily student-oriented area of Wellington.
I don't know but bailing out 'da man'/big business was the furtherest thing on my mind when that age, too busy against Vietnam, Women's issues and the Springbok tours I guess. To be honest it would be the furtherest thing on my mind to support 'da man'/big business or the Reading welfare fund these many years later.
Of an even bigger concern is the damaging effect that this can/will/does have on the general state of democracy. The immediate concern is that even fewer people will vote in local elections, and there's bugger-all buffer there as it is.
In the same way that residents are giving up on the consultation process, it's becoming more likely they'll give up voting as well. Which makes complete sense really- since our elected representatives refuse outright to represent us, then why bother anymore?
I admit to being very tempted not to vote for the first time in my life, such is my cynicism, anger and despondency in general. Although I'm seriously considering voting for someone on the Right, in an attempt to vote out my ward councillor and the mayor. For me to vote RW, that's how bad the feeling here is.
Yet it is so solvable with goodwill and paying attention to the basics of consultation. It does not need to be this way and to cause this distrust. Of course with us in our communities and feeling that we are the only ones this is happening to it was an amazing feeling to read that Wadestown had chosen to fight back. Brooklyn too I understand.
Though if people don't point out the folly of what they are doing they (WCC) will then say they have a mandate to do it…..we can see how mandates so-called have been twisted with this Coalition.
Your feeling about voting right or not voting at all mirrors the split second thought that flashed through my mind that it might not be a bad thing to have Simeon Brown put a Commissioner in to take over from a lame dog council.
I don’t think it would be a good thing (but don’t really know) but it is a fair old mess on many fronts at the moment.
Isn't it a bit unfair to hang all the responsibility for this state of affairs on one's elected representatives? I don't follow such issues very closely (lack of time), but I get the distinct impression that it's council bureaucrats who make many of the real decisions, and that councillors who try to interfere with their cosy little arrangements are often likely to be met with non-cooperation, obstruction and downright hostility.
we have this statement with regard to the student protests and encampments in support of the Palestinian struggles in Gaza:
“We kind of just think these things that are happening, across college campuses especially, are like a sideshow — no, they are the show,” Karp said during his rant. “Because if we lose the intellectual debate, you will not be able to deploy any army in the west, ever.”
Which of course would threaten the existence Palantir and the ability of Karp and the many like him to maintain their status as billionaires.
This turning of the narrative also found expression in conversation between Mitt Romney and Anthony Blinken.
After bemoaning Israel’s lack of success at “PR” regarding its Gaza assault, Romney just came right out and said that this was “why there was such overwhelming support for us to shut down potentially TikTok or other entities of that nature” — with “us” meaning himself and his fellow lawmakers on Capitol Hill.
Not to mention of course the new definitions of anti-semitism now enshrined in law that equate criticism of Israel with criminal behaviour in the land of the free (sarc). (Also the UK, France and Germany)
And of course,
That’s why when Romney and Blinken are talking to each other about why people are so upset at Israel, it never even occurs to them to discuss how Israel’s public image is being hurt by its own actions, or to suggest that it could improve that image by simply ceasing to behave in a monstrous way. All they talk about is “the narrative” of what Israel is doing, and how people having the ability to share ideas and information with each other online makes that narrative harder to control.
The battleground has now been identified. The future of the Palestinian struggle is now centered on the US student population.
I like to think that J R R Tolkien would be horrified at having one of his LOTR names associated with and besmirched by this kind of activity. The idea of having to trademark it to prevent such misuse, or even the need for it, would never have occurred to him. Pity.
Here’s the low down-super cringy boomer coolness! For ideas that are equally. ‘Trackless trams’ are bendy buses that don’t carry enough people and still need a corridor. Flying foxes and sky cubes! I really begin to hate these people. Apparition will be next. Same principles of thought required.
Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: My top six things to note around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the week to July 27 were:1. The Minister for Ford Rangers strikes againTransport Minister Simeon Brown was again the busiest of the Cabinet ministers this week, announcing an ...
You got a fast carAnd I want a ticket to anywhereMaybe we make a dealMaybe together we can get somewhereAny place is betterYesterday’s newsletter, Trust In Me, on the report of abuse in state care, and by religious organisations, between 1950 and 2019, coupled with the hypocrisy of Christopher Luxon ...
New Zealand is again having to reconcile conflicting pressures from its military and its trade interests. Should we join Pillar Two of AUKUS and risk compromising our markets in China? For a century after New Zealand was founded in 1840, its external security arrangements and external economics arrangements were aligned. ...
The ‘50 Shades of Green’ farmers’ protest in 2019 was heavy on climate change denial, but five years on, scepticism and criticism about the idea that pine forests can save us is growing across the board. File photo: Lynn GrievesonTL;DR: Here’s the top six news items of note in climate ...
This morning the sky was bright.The birds, in their usual joyous bliss. Nature doesn’t seem to feel the heat of what might angst humans.Their calls are clear and beautiful.Just some random thoughts:MāoriPaul Goldsmith has announced his government will roll back the judiciary’s rulings on Māori Customary Marine Title, which recognises ...
In 2003, the Court of Appeal delivered its decision in Ngati Apa v Attorney-General, ruling that Māori customary title over the foreshore and seabed had not been universally extinguished, and that the Māori Land Court could determine claims and confirm title if the facts supported it. This kicked off the ...
Earlier this week at Parliament, Labour leader Chris Hipkins was applauded for saying that the response to the final report of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care had to be “bigger than politics.” True, but the fine words, apologies and “we hear you” messages will soon ring ...
TL;DR: In news breaking this morning:The Ministry of Education is cutting $2 billion from its school building programme so the National-ACT-NZ First Coalition Government has enough money to deliver tax cuts; The Government has quietly lowered its child poverty reduction targets to make them easier to achieve;Te Whatu Ora-Health NZ’s ...
Kia ora. These are some stories that caught our eye this week – as always, feel free to share yours in the comments. Our header image this week (via Eke Panuku) shows the planned upgrade for the Karanga Plaza Tidal Swimming Steps. The week in Greater Auckland On ...
1. What's not to love about the way the Harris campaign is turning things around?a. Nothingb. Love all of itc. God what a reliefd. Not that it will be by any means easye. All of the above 2. Documents released by the Ministry of Health show Associate Health Minister Casey ...
Trust in me in all you doHave the faith I have in youLove will see us through, if only you trust in meWhy don't you, you trust me?In a week that saw the release of the 3,000 page Abuse in Care report Christopher Luxon was being asked about Boot Camps. ...
TL;DR: The podcast above of the weekly ‘hoon’ webinar for paying subscribers last night features co-hosts and talking about the Royal Commission Inquiry into Abuse in Carereport released this week, and with:The Kākā’s climate correspondent on a UN push to not recognise carbon offset markets and ...
TL;DR: As of 6:00 am on Friday, July 26, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:Transport: Simeon Brown announced$802.9 million in funding for 18 new trains on the Wairarapa and Manawatū rail lines, which ...
The northern expressway extension from Warkworth to Whangarei is likely to require radical changes to legislation if it is going to be built within the foreseeable future. The Government’s powers to purchase land, the planning process and current restrictions on road tolling are all going to need to be changed ...
Text within this block will maintain its original spacing when publishedFirst they came for the doctors But I was confused by the numbers and costs So I didn't speak up Then they came for our police and nurses And I didn't think we could afford those costs anyway So I ...
Photo by Joshua J. Cotten on UnsplashWe’re back again after our mid-winter break. We’re still with the ‘new’ day of the week (Thursday rather than Friday) when we have our ‘hoon’ webinar with paying subscribers to The Kākā for an hour at 5 pm.Jump on this link on YouTube Livestream ...
Notes: This is a free article. Abuse in Care themes are mentioned. Video is at the bottom.BackgroundYesterday’s report into Abuse in Care revealed that at least 1 in 3 of all who went through state and faith based care were abused - often horrifically. At least, because not all survivors ...
Luxon speaks in Parliament yesterday about the Abuse in Care report. Photo: Hagen Hopkins/Getty ImagesTL;DR: The top six things I’ve noted around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy today are:PM Christopher Luxon said yesterday in tabling the Abuse in Carereport in Parliament he wanted to ‘do the ...
About a decade ago I worked with a bloke called Steve. He was the grizzled veteran coder, a few years older than me, who knew where the bodies were buried - code wise. Despite his best efforts to be approachable and friendly he could be kind of gruff, through to ...
Some of the recent announcements from the government have reminded us of posts we’ve written in the past. Here’s one from early 2020. There were plenty of reactions to the government’s infrastructure announcement a few weeks ago which saw them fund a bunch of big roading projects. One of ...
TL;DR: My pick of the top six links elsewhere around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day or so to 7:00 am on Thursday, July 25 are:News: Why Electric Kiwi is closing to new customers - and why it matters RNZ’s Susan EdmundsScoop: Government drops ...
Hi,I felt a small wet tongue snaking through one of the holes in my Crocs. It explored my big toe, darting down one side, then the other. “He’s looking for some toe cheese,” said the woman next to me, words that still haunt me to this day.Growing up in New ...
Yesterday I happily quoted the Prime Minister without fact-checking him and sure enough, it turns out his numbers were all to hell. It’s not four kg of Royal Commission report, it’s fourteen.My friend and one-time colleague-in-comms Hazel Phillips gently alerted me to my error almost as soon as I’d hit ...
TL;DR: As of 6:00 am on Thursday, July 25, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day were:The Abuse in Care Royal Commission of Inquirypublished its final report yesterday.PM Christopher Luxon and The Minister responsible for ...
The Official Information Act has always been a battle between requesters seeking information, and governments seeking to control it. Information is power, so Ministers and government agencies want to manage what is released and when, for their own convenience, and legality and democracy be damned. Their most recent tactic for ...
TL;DR: The top six things I’ve noted around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy today are:Transport and Energy Minister Simeon Brown is accelerating plans to spend at least $10 billion through Public Private Partnerships (PPPs) to extend State Highway One as a four-lane ‘Expressway’ from Warkworth to Whangarei ...
I live my life (woo-ooh-ooh)With no control in my destinyYea-yeah, yea-yeah (woo-ooh-ooh)I can bleed when I want to bleedSo come on, come on (woo-ooh-ooh)You can bleed when you want to bleedYea-yeah, come on (woo-ooh-ooh)Everybody bleed when they want to bleedCome on and bleedGovernments face tough challenges. Selling unpopular decisions to ...
Please note:To skip directly to the- parliamentary footage in the video, scroll to 1:21 To skip to audio please click on the headphone iconon the left hand side of the screenThis video / audio section is under development. ...
Given the crackdown on wasteful government spending, it behooves me to point to a high profile example of spending by the Luxon government that looks like a big, fat waste of time and money. I’m talking about the deployment of NZDF personnel to support the US-led coalition in the Red ...
TL;DR: My pick of the top six links elsewhere around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day or so to 7:40 am on Wednesday, July 24 are:Deep Dive: Chipping away at the housing crisis, including my comments RNZ/Newsroom’s The DetailNews: Government softens on asset sales, ...
As I reported about the city centre, Auckland’s rail network is also going through a difficult and disruptive period which is rapidly approaching a culmination, this will result in a significant upgrade to the whole network. Hallelujah. Also like the city centre this is an upgrade predicated on the City ...
Today, a 4 kilogram report will be delivered to Parliament. We know this is what the report of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in State and Faith-based Care weighs, because our Prime Minister told us so.Some reporter had blindsided him by asking a question about something done by ...
TL;DR: As of 7:00 am on Wednesday, July 24, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:Beehive:Transport Minister Simeon Brownannounced plans to use PPPs to fund, build and run a four-lane expressway between Auckland ...
NewstalkZB host Mike Hosking, who can usually be relied on to give Prime Minister Christopher Luxon an easy run, did not do so yesterday when he interviewed him about the HealthNZ deficit. Luxon is trying to use a deficit reported last year by HealthNZ as yet another example of the ...
Back in January a StatsNZ employee gave a speech at Rātana on behalf of tangata whenua in which he insulted and criticised the government. The speech clearly violated the principle of a neutral public service, and StatsNZ started an investigation. Part of that was getting an external consultant to examine ...
Renting for life: Shared ownership initiatives are unlikely to slow the slide in home ownership by much. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The top six things I’ve noted around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy today are:A Deloittereport for Westpac has projected Aotearoa’s home-ownership rate will ...
You're broken down and tiredOf living life on a merry go roundAnd you can't find the fighterBut I see it in you so we gonna walk it outAnd move mountainsWe gonna walk it outAnd move mountainsAnd I'll rise upI'll rise like the dayI'll rise upI'll rise unafraidI'll rise upAnd I'll ...
There’s been a change in Myers Park. Down the steps from St. Kevin’s Arcade, past the grassy slopes, the children’s playground, the benches and that goat statue, there has been a transformation. The underpass for Mayoral Drive has gone from a barren, grey, concrete tunnel, to a place that thrums ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections Global society may have finally slammed on the brakes for climate-warming pollution released by human fossil fuel combustion. According to the Carbon Monitor Project, the total global climate pollution released between February and May 2024 declined slightly from the amount released during the same ...
TL;DR: My pick of the top six links elsewhere around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day or so to 7:00 am on Tuesday, July 23 are:Deep Dive: Penlink: where tolling rhetoric meets reality BusinessDesk-$$$’sOliver LewisScoop:Te Pūkenga plans for regional polytechs leak out ...
TL;DR: As of 6:00 am on Tuesday, July 23, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:Health: Shane Reti announcedthe Board of Te Whatu Ora-Health New Zealand was being replaced with Commissioner Lester Levy ...
Health NZ warned the Government at the end of March that it was running over Budget. But the reasons it gave were very different to those offered by the Prime Minister yesterday. Prime Minister Christopher Luxon blamed the “botched merger” of the 20 District Health Boards (DHBs) to create Health ...
Long ReadKey Summary: Although National increased the health budget by $1.4 billion in May, they used an old funding model to project health system costs, and never bothered to update their pre-election numbers. They were told during the Health Select Committees earlier in the year their budget amount was deficient, ...
As a momentous, historic weekend in US politics unfolded, analysts and commentators grasped for precedents and comparisons to help explain the significance and power of the choice Joe Biden had made. The 46th president had swept the Democratic party’s primaries but just over 100 days from the election had chosen ...
TL;DR: I’m casting around for new ideas and ways of thinking about Aotearoa’s political economy to find a few solutions to our cascading and self-reinforcing housing, poverty and climate crises.Associate Professor runs an online masters degree in the economics of sustainability at Torrens University in Australia and is organising ...
The Finance and Expenditure Committee has reported back on National's Local Government (Water Services Preliminary Arrangements) Bill. The bill sets up water for privatisation, and was introduced under urgency, then rammed through select committee with no time even for local councils to make a proper submission. Naturally, national's select committee ...
Some years ago, I bought a book at Dunedin’s Regent Booksale for $1.50. As one does. Vandrad the Viking (1898), by J. Storer Clouston, is an obscure book these days – I cannot find a proper online review – but soon it was sitting on my shelf, gathering dust alongside ...
History is not on the side of the centre-left, when Democratic presidents fall behind in the polls and choose not to run for re-election. On both previous occasions in the past 75 years (Harry Truman in 1952, Lyndon Johnson in 1968) the Democrats proceeded to then lose the White House ...
This is a free articleCoverageThis morning, US President Joe Biden announced his withdrawal from the Presidential race. And that is genuinely newsworthy. Thanks for your service, President Biden, and all the best to you and yours.However, the media in New Zealand, particularly the 1News nightly bulletin, has been breathlessly covering ...
A homeless person’s camp beside a blocked-off slipped damage walkway in Freeman’s Bay: we are chasing our tail on our worsening and inter-related housing, poverty and climate crises. Photo: Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The top six things I’ve noted around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy ...
What has happened to it all?Crazy, some'd sayWhere is the life that I recognise?(Gone away)But I won't cry for yesterdayThere's an ordinary worldSomehow I have to findAnd as I try to make my wayTo the ordinary worldYesterday morning began as many others - what to write about today? I began ...
TL;DR: My pick of the top six links elsewhere around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day or so to 7:00 am on Monday, July 22 are:Today’s Must Read: Father and son live in a tent, and have done for four years, in a million ...
TL;DR: As of 7:00 am on Monday, July 22, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:US President Joe Biden announced via X this morning he would not stand for a second term.Multinational professional services firm ...
A listing of 32 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, July 14, 2024 thru Sat, July 20, 2024. Story of the week As reflected by preponderance of coverage, our Story of the Week is Project 2025. Until now traveling ...
This weekend, a friend pointed out someone who said they’d like to read my posts, but didn’t want to pay. And my first reaction was sympathy.I’ve already told folks that if they can’t comfortably subscribe, and would like to read, I’d be happy to offer free subscriptions. I don’t want ...
National: The Party of ‘Law and Order’ IntroductionThis weekend, the Government formally kicked off one of their flagship policy programs: a military style boot camp that New Zealand has experimented with over the past 50 years. Cartoon credit: Guy BodyIt’s very popular with the National Party’s Law and Orderimage, ...
Day one of the solo leg of my long journey home begins with my favourite sound: footfalls in an empty street. 5.00 am and it’s already light and already too warm, almost.If I can make the train that leaves Budapest later this hour I could be in Belgrade by nightfall; ...
Do you remember Y2K, the threat that hung over humanity in the closing days of the twentieth century? Horror scenarios of planes falling from the sky, electronic payments failing and ATMs refusing to dispense cash. As for your VCR following instructions and recording your favourite show - forget about it.All ...
Climate Change Minister Simon Watts being questioned by The Kākā’s Bernard Hickey.TL;DR: My top six things to note around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the week to July 20 were:1. A strategy that fails Zero Carbon Act & Paris targetsThe National-ACT-NZ First Coalition Government finally unveiled ...
Summary:As New Zealand loses at least 12 leaders in the public service space of health, climate, and pharmaceuticals, this month alone, directly in response to the Government’s policies and budget choices, what lies ahead may be darker than it appears. Tui examines some of those departures and draws a long ...
The Minister of Housing’s ambition is to reduce markedly the ratio of house prices to household incomes. If his strategy works it would transform the housing market, dramatically changing the prospects of housing as an investment.Leaving aside the Minister’s metaphor of ‘flooding the market’ I do not see how the ...
As previously noted, my historical fantasy piece, set in the fifth-century Mediterranean, was accepted for a Pirate Horror anthology, only for the anthology to later fall through. But in a good bit of news, it turned out that the story could indeed be re-marketed as sword and sorcery. As of ...
An employee of tobacco company Philip Morris International demonstrates a heated tobacco device. Photo: Getty ImagesTL;DR: The top six things I’ve noted around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy on Friday, July 19 are:At a time when the Coalition Government is cutting spending on health, infrastructure, education, housing ...
TL;DR: My pick of the top six links elsewhere around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day or so to 8:30 am on Friday, July 19 are:Scoop: NZ First Minister Casey Costello orders 50% cut to excise tax on heated tobacco products. The minister has ...
Kia ora, it’s time for another Friday roundup, in which we pull together some of the links and stories that caught our eye this week. Feel free to add more in the comments! Our header image this week shows a foggy day in Auckland town, captured by Patrick Reynolds. ...
TL;DR : Here’s the top six items climate news for Aotearoa this week, as selected by Bernard Hickey and The Kākā’s climate correspondent Cathrine Dyer. A discussion recorded yesterday is in the video above and the audio of that sent onto the podcast feed.The Government released its draft Emissions Reduction ...
Save some money, get rich and old, bring it back to Tobacco Road.Bring that dynamite and a crane, blow it up, start all over again.Roll up. Roll up. Or tailor made, if you prefer...Whether you’re selling ciggies, digging for gold, catching dolphins in your nets, or encouraging folks to flutter ...
Waiting In The Wings:For truly, if Trump is America’s un-assassinated Caesar, then J.D. Vance is America’s Octavian, the Republic’s youthful undertaker – and its first Emperor.DONALD TRUMP’S SELECTION of James D. Vance as his running-mate bodes ill for the American republic. A fervent supporter of Viktor Orban, the “illiberal” prime ...
TL;DR: As of 6:00 am on Friday, July 19, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:The PSAannounced the Employment Relations Authority (ERA) had ruled in the PSA’s favour in its case against the Ministry ...
Te Rangi e tu nei (The sky above us) Te Papa e takoto nei (The land beneath us) Tatou katoa te hunga ora (To us all the living) Tena koutou katoa (Greetings) ...
A late change to charter school legislation will cheat educators out of fair pay and negotiating power proving charter schools are just a vehicle to make profit out of our education system. ...
In 2004 te iwi Māori rallied against the Crown’s attempt to confiscate our coastlines and moana with the Foreshore and Seabed Act. This led to the largest hīkoi of a generation and the birth of Te Pāti Māori. 20 years later, history is repeating itself. Today the government has announced ...
It has been five and a half years since the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care was established to investigate the abuse of children, young people, and vulnerable adults within state and faith-based institutions. Yesterday, the final report - Whanaketia through pain and trauma, from darkness to light ...
The Green Party is calling on the Government to take action off the back of the International Court of Justice ruling on Israel’s illegal occupation of Palestine. ...
On Friday the International Court of Justice reaffirmed what Palestinian’s have been telling us for decades: that the occupation and colonisation of Palestinian lands by Israel is illegal and must end immediately. They also called for reparations for Palestinian’s who have lived under Israeli occupation since it began in 1967. ...
Labour calls on the Government to act after the International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruled that Israel’s occupation of Palestinian Territories is illegal. ...
The 53.7 percent rise in benefit sanctions over the last year is more proof of this Government’s disdain for our communities most in need of support. ...
Aotearoa could be a country where every child grows up feeling safe, loved and with a sense of belonging in their whānau and community. But for some of our children, this is far from reality. Instead, they are trapped in a maze of intergenerational harm that they can’t escape on ...
Te Pāti Māori are calling for David Seymour to resign as Associate Health Minister in response to his call for Pharmac to ignore the Treaty of Waitangi. “This announcement is just another example of the government’s anti-Tiriti, anti-Māori agenda.” Said Co-leader and spokesperson for health, Debbie Ngarewa-Packer. “Seymour thinks it ...
The soaring price of renting is driving the rise of inflation in this country - with latest figures from Stats NZ showing rents are up 4.8 per cent on average while annual inflation is at 3.3 per cent. ...
National’s Emissions Reduction Plan will take New Zealand further from the economy we need to ensure the next generation has a stable climate and secure livelihoods. ...
Following consultation with named parties and thorough consideration of privacy interests, the Green Party is in a position to release the Executive Summary of the final report from the independent investigation into Darleen Tana. ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon should be asking serious questions of his Minister for Resources Shane Jones now it’s been revealed he misled the public about a dinner with mining companies that he didn’t declare and said wasn’t pre-arranged. ...
Te Pāti Māori have submitted to the Justice Select Committee against the Sentencing (Reinstating Three Strikes) Amendment Bill. The bill will further entrench racism in our justice system and fails to focus on rehabilitation. “Reinstating Three Strikes will empower a systematically racist system and exacerbate the overrepresentation of Māori in ...
The Transport and Infrastructure Committee is set to make a determination on the Residential Tenancies Amendment (RTA) Bill in the coming weeks. “This legislation will give landlords the power to kick our whānau out onto the street for no reason” said Housing spokesperson, Mariameno Kapa-Kingi. “Their solution to the housing ...
“National’s campaign was about tackling crime and the best they can do is a two-year long Ministerial Advisory Group,” Labour justice spokesperson Duncan Webb said. ...
“There are more examples of charter schools failing their students than there are success stories. The coalition Government is driving to dismantle our public school system and instead promote a privatised, competitive structure that puts profits before kids,” Jan Tinetti said. ...
“This government is choosing to deliberately mislead and withhold information, keeping our people in the dark about this government’s agenda and the future of our mokopuna,” said co-leader and spokesperson for Health, Debbie Ngarewa-Packer. The call comes after the demand from the Chief Ombudsman that Associate Minister of Health, Casey ...
“Today’s climate announcement by Simon Watts makes clear the National Government is simply paying lip service to meeting its climate change targets,” Megan Woods said. ...
National is choosing to make life harder for workers by taking away the rights our communities have fought hard for. Here's how they’re taking workers backwards. ...
Australia, Canada and New Zealand today issued the following statement on the need for an urgent ceasefire in Gaza and the risk of expanded conflict between Hizballah and Israel. The situation in Gaza is catastrophic. The human suffering is unacceptable. It cannot continue. We remain unequivocal in our condemnation of ...
Attorney-General Judith Collins today reminded all State and faith-based institutions of their legal obligation to preserve records relevant to the safety and wellbeing of those in its care. “The Abuse in Care Inquiry’s report has found cases where records of the most vulnerable people in State and faith‑based institutions were ...
Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden says the Government’s online safety website for children and young people has reached one million page views. “It is great to see so many young people and their families accessing the site Keep It Real Online to learn how to stay safe online, and manage ...
Tēnā tātou katoa, Ngā mihi te rangi, ngā mihi te whenua, ngā mihi ki a koutou, kia ora mai koutou. Thank you for the opportunity to be here and the invitation to speak at this 50th anniversary conference. I acknowledge all those who have gone before us and paved the ...
New Zealand’s payroll providers have successfully prepared to ensure 3.5 million individuals will, from Wednesday next week, be able to keep more of what they earn each pay, says Finance Minister Nicola Willis and Revenue Minister Simon Watts. “The Government's tax policy changes are legally effective from Wednesday. Delivering this tax ...
An experimental vineyard which will help futureproof the wine sector has been opened in Blenheim by Associate Regional Development Minister Mark Patterson. The covered vineyard, based at the New Zealand Wine Centre – Te Pokapū Wāina o Aotearoa, enables controlled environmental conditions. “The research that will be produced at the Experimental ...
The Coalition Government has confirmed the indicative regional breakdown of North Island Weather Event (NIWE) funding for state highway recovery projects funded through Budget 2024, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Regions in the North Island suffered extensive and devastating damage from Cyclone Gabrielle and the 2023 Auckland Anniversary Floods, and ...
Indonesia’s Foreign Minister, Retno Marsudi, will visit New Zealand next week, Foreign Minister Winston Peters has announced. “Indonesia is important to New Zealand’s security and economic interests and is our closest South East Asian neighbour,” says Mr Peters, who is currently in Laos to engage with South East Asian partners. ...
He aha te kai a te rangatira? He kōrero, he kōrero, he kōrero. The government has reaffirmed its commitment to supporting the aspirations of Ngāti Maniapoto, Minister for Māori Development Tama Potaka says. “My thanks to Te Nehenehenui Trust – Ngāti Maniapoto for bringing their important kōrero to a ministerial ...
Transport Minister Simeon Brown has thanked outgoing Chair of the Civil Aviation Authority, Janice Fredric, for her service to the board.“I have received Ms Fredric’s resignation from the role of Chair of the Civil Aviation Authority,” Mr Brown says.“On behalf of the Government, I want to thank Ms Fredric for ...
The Government is proposing legislation to overturn a Court of Appeal decision and amend the Marine and Coastal Area Act in order to restore Parliament’s test for Customary Marine Title, Treaty Negotiations Minister Paul Goldsmith says. “Section 58 required an applicant group to prove they have exclusively used and occupied ...
Regulation Minister David Seymour says that opposition parties have united in bad faith, opposing what they claim are ‘dangerous changes’ to the Early Childhood Education sector, despite no changes even being proposed yet. “Issues with affordability and availability of early childhood education, and the complexity of its regulation, has led ...
After receiving more than 740 submissions in the first 20 days, Regulation Minister David Seymour is asking the Ministry for Regulation to extend engagement on the early childhood education regulation review by an extra two weeks. “The level of interest has been very high, and from the conversations I’ve been ...
The Coalition Government is investing $802.9 million into the Wairarapa and Manawatū rail lines as part of a funding agreement with the NZ Transport Agency (NZTA), KiwiRail, and the Greater Wellington and Horizons Regional Councils to deliver more reliable services for commuters in the lower North Island, Transport Minister Simeon ...
Local Government Minister Simeon Brown has announced his intention to appoint a Crown Manager to both Hawke’s Bay Regional and Wairoa District Councils to speed up the delivery of flood protection work in Wairoa."Recent severe weather events in Wairoa this year, combined with damage from Cyclone Gabrielle in 2023 have ...
Mr Speaker, this is a day that many New Zealanders who were abused in State care never thought would come. It’s the day that this Parliament accepts, with deep sorrow and regret, the Report of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care. At the heart of this report are the ...
For the first time, the Government is formally acknowledging some children and young people at Lake Alice Psychiatric Hospital experienced torture. The final report of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in State and Faith-based Care “Whanaketia – through pain and trauma, from darkness to light,” was tabled in Parliament ...
The Government has acknowledged the nearly 2,400 courageous survivors who shared their experiences during the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Historical Abuse in State and Faith-Based Care. The final report from the largest and most complex public inquiry ever held in New Zealand, the Royal Commission Inquiry “Whanaketia – through ...
With a week to go before hard-working New Zealanders see personal income tax relief for the first time in fourteen years, 513,000 people have used the Budget tax calculator to see how much they will benefit, says Finance Minister Nicola Willis. “Tax relief is long overdue. From next Wednesday, personal income ...
Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Brooke van Velden says a bill that has passed its first reading will improve parental leave settings and give non-biological parents more flexibility as primary carer for their child. The Regulatory Systems Amendment Bill (No3), passed its first reading this morning. “It includes a change ...
Two Bills designed to improve regulation and make it easier to do business have passed their first reading in Parliament, says Economic Development Minister Melissa Lee. The Regulatory Systems (Economic Development) Amendment Bill and Regulatory Systems (Immigration and Workforce) Amendment Bill make key changes to legislation administered by the Ministry ...
New legislation paves the way for greater competition in sectors such as banking and electricity, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly says. “Competitive markets boost productivity, create employment opportunities and lift living standards. To support competition, we need good quality regulation but, unfortunately, a recent OECD report ranked New ...
Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden says lotteries for charitable purposes, such as those run by the Heart Foundation, Coastguard NZ, and local hospices, will soon be allowed to operate online permanently. “Under current laws, these fundraising lotteries are only allowed to operate online until October 2024, after which ...
The Coalition Government is accelerating work on the new four-lane expressway between Auckland and Whangārei as part of its Roads of National Significance programme, with an accelerated delivery model to deliver this project faster and more efficiently, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “For too long, the lack of resilient transport connections ...
Sir Don McKinnon will travel to Viet Nam this week as a Special Envoy of the Government, Foreign Minister Winston Peters has announced. “It is important that the Government give due recognition to the significant contributions that General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong made to New Zealand-Viet Nam relations,” Mr ...
Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden says newly appointed Commissioner, Grant Illingworth KC, will help deliver the report for the first phase of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into COVID-19 Lessons, due on 28 November 2024. “I am pleased to announce that Mr Illingworth will commence his appointment as ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters travels to Laos this week to participate in a series of Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)-led Ministerial meetings in Vientiane. “ASEAN plays an important role in supporting a peaceful, stable and prosperous Indo-Pacific,” Mr Peters says. “This will be our third visit to ...
Construction of a new mental health facility at Te Nikau Grey Hospital in Greymouth is today one step closer, Mental Health Minister Matt Doocey says. “This $27 million facility shows this Government is delivering on its promise to boost mental health care and improve front line services,” Mr Doocey says. ...
New Zealand is committing nearly $50 million to a package supporting sustainable Pacific fisheries development over the next four years, Foreign Minister Winston Peters and Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones announced today. “This support consisting of a range of initiatives demonstrates New Zealand’s commitment to assisting our Pacific partners ...
Associate Education Minister David Seymour says proposed changes to the Education and Training Amendment Bill will ensure charter schools have more flexibility to negotiate employment agreements and are equipped with the right teaching resources. “Cabinet has agreed to progress an amendment which means unions will not be able to initiate ...
In response to serious concerns around oversight, overspend and a significant deterioration in financial outlook, the Board of Health New Zealand will be replaced with a Commissioner, Health Minister Dr Shane Reti announced today. “The previous government’s botched health reforms have created significant financial challenges at Health NZ that, without ...
Minister for Space and Science, Innovation and Technology Judith Collins will travel to Adelaide tomorrow for space and science engagements, including speaking at the Australian Space Forum. While there she will also have meetings and visits with a focus on space, biotechnology and innovation. “New Zealand has a thriving space ...
Climate Change Minister Simon Watts will travel to China on Saturday to attend the Ministerial on Climate Action meeting held in Wuhan. “Attending the Ministerial on Climate Action is an opportunity to advocate for New Zealand climate priorities and engage with our key partners on climate action,” Mr Watts says. ...
Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones is travelling to the Solomon Islands tomorrow for meetings with his counterparts from around the Pacific supporting collective management of the region’s fisheries. The 23rd Pacific Islands Forum Fisheries Committee and the 5th Regional Fisheries Ministers’ Meeting in Honiara from 23 to 26 July ...
The Government today launched the Military Style Academy Pilot at Te Au rere a te Tonga Youth Justice residence in Palmerston North, an important part of the Government’s plan to crackdown on youth crime and getting youth offenders back on track, Minister for Children, Karen Chhour said today. “On the ...
The Government has welcomed news the NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) has begun work to replace nine priority bridges across the country to ensure our state highway network remains resilient, reliable, and efficient for road users, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says.“Increasing productivity and economic growth is a key priority for the ...
Acting Prime Minister David Seymour has been in contact throughout the evening with senior officials who have coordinated a whole of government response to the global IT outage and can provide an update. The Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet has designated the National Emergency Management Agency as the ...
New Zealand and Japan will continue to step up their shared engagement with the Pacific, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says. “New Zealand and Japan have a strong, shared interest in a free, open and stable Pacific Islands region,” Mr Peters says. “We are pleased to be finding more ways ...
New developments in the heart of North Island forestry country will reinvigorate their communities and boost economic development, Regional Development Minister Shane Jones says. Mr Jones visited Kaingaroa and Kawerau in Bay of Plenty today to open a landmark community centre in the former and a new connecting road in ...
President Adeang, fellow Ministers, honourable Diet Member Horii, Ambassadors, distinguished guests. Minasama, konnichiwa, and good afternoon, everyone. Distinguished guests, it’s a pleasure to be here with you today to talk about New Zealand’s foreign policy reset, the reasons for it, the values that underpin it, and how it ...
This month marks two years since the most powerful telescope ever built sent its first pictures back to earth. From its lofty vantage point, beyond the moon in orbit around the sun, the James Webb Space Telescope was tuned to observe the first stars and galaxies being born soon after ...
Comment: After Climate Change Minister Simon Watts’ preview several weeks ago, I had some optimism about the Government’s emissions reduction plan. Now I’ve read the discussion document, that hope has been dashed. How can the Government propose a plan that wants to take New Zealand taxpayers’ hard-earned money, and spend ...
Christopher Luxon: hurdles The little man from National jumps hurdles in his sleep. He’s quite good at it in his dreams and even though the reality doesn’t quite match up you have to give him credit for getting up every morning and crashing into the very first hurdle of the ...
Comment: It was a good two hours into the conversation when Tyrone Marks raised the most basic of questions when I first spoke to him in 2017. “They didn’t explain the things they did to me. They never told me why. And they still haven’t. There’s no explanation for it. ...
Last summer when Matairangi burned, Ginny and Tom stood at the window of their lounge, watching kākā shoot skyward from the burning trees. From the distance, they looked to Ginny like pages torn from books and thrown into a bonfire. It was Tom, voice tight, who told her it was ...
Opinion: The Canadian short story writer Alice Munro – winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2013 – died in May at the age of 92. Her work was about “the damage people inflict on one another in the name of love”, Deborah Treisman wrote in the New Yorker. ...
Madeleine Chapman rounds out Death Week on The Spinoff with a final recommendation. You can read all of our Death Week coverage here. Nothing forces you to reflect on your life and relationships quite like proximity to death. For those whose nearest and dearest have died, there are reasonably obvious ...
Whitney Greene takes us through her life in television, including the TV character she’d like to plan a funeral for and her cow lung catastrophe on The Traitors NZ. “If the phone rings, I have to answer it,” Whitney Greene from The Traitors NZ warns as we begin our My ...
Maddie Ballard reviews the debut essay collection of Pōneke writer Flora Feltham.In ‘The Raw Material’, the longest essay in Flora Feltham’s dazzling debut collection, the author heads out for a run after hours of weaving and sees the world turn to textile. “Pounding along the Parade, I saw the ...
Andy Christiansen, one half of the experimental rock-pop duo TRiPS, shares the tunes inspiring the band’s perfect weekend and new release. “Good speakers, good food, good music, no distractions”: that’s all you need to enjoy the psychedelic stylings of TRiPS, a new band formed by Fly My Pretties’ Barnaby Weir ...
Celebrating our quadrennial opportunity to become experts in a bunch of sports we never normally watch.The games of the XXXIII Olympiad are upon us. Paris will host this year’s showcase of sporting and athletic prowess, which means some late-night and early-morning viewing for us in Aotearoa.But what sports ...
The photograph is striking and beautiful, but also disturbing – a reminder that my love for John was often entangled in shame.The Sunday Essay is made possible thanks to the support of Creative New Zealand.In the spring of 1980, in Dunedin, shortly before his death, someone took a photograph ...
Get to know Babushka, our latest Dog of the Month. This feature was offered as a reward during our What’s Eating Aotearoa PledgeMe campaign. Thank you to Babu’s humans, Jo and Isabel, for their support. Dog name: Babushka (Babu for short) Age: 2Breed: Border Collie X poodleIf rescued, ...
Pacific Media Watch A Lebanese photojournalist who was severely wounded during an Israeli air strike in south Lebanon carried the Olympic torch in Paris this week in honour of her peers who have been wounded and killed in the field — especially in Gaza and Lebanon. Christina Assi of Agence ...
The first report in a five-part web series focused on the 15th Triennial Conference of Pacific Women taking place in the Marshall Islands this week.SPECIAL REPORT:By Netani Rika in Majuro Women continue to fight for justice 70 years after the first nuclear tests by the United States caused ...
Christopher Luxon has joined with Australia and Canada's leaders in voicing support for US President Joe Biden's ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra The 2022 election brought the “teal wave” into parliament. The next election will test whether teals, who occupy what were Liberal seats, and other independents can maintain their momentum. Joining us on the Podcast ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ian Musgrave, Senior lecturer in Pharmacology, University of Adelaide Pixavri/Shutterstock A major Federal Court class action has been dismissed this week after Justice Michael Lee ruled there was not enough evidence to prove the weedkiller Roundup causes cancer. Plaintiff Kelvin ...
In The Week in Politics: politicians have to decide what to do about child abuse, Health NZ is booked in for major surgery and Darleen Tana returns. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Clare Corbould, Associate Professor, Contemporary Histories Research Group, Deakin University Mainstream media are surprisingly muted at the prospect of the world’s most powerful nation being led for the first time by a woman – specifically a woman of colour, Vice President Kamala ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Rebecca Bennett, PhD Student, Associate Research Fellow, Deakin University Last week, a drone delivery company called Wing (owned by Google’s parent company, Alphabet) started operating in Melbourne. Some 250,000 residents in parts of the city’s eastern suburbs can now order food from ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jonathan Foo, Lecturer, Physiotherapy, Monash University pikselstock/Shutterstock In the next 40 years in Australia, it’s predicted the number of Australians aged 65 and over will more than double, while the number of people aged 85 and over will more than triple. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Katrina Grant, Research Associate, Power Institute for Arts and Visual Culture, University of Sydney Jonas Åkerström’s 1790 work, Session of the Accademia dell’Arcadia on August 17 1788.Nationalmuseum/Cecilia Heisser Ever wondered whether you’d have a better chance at winning an Olympic gold ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Alexandra Jones, Program Lead, Food Governance, George Institute for Global Health wavebreakmedia/Shutterstock On Thursday, Australian and New Zealand food ministers at state, federal and national levels met to thrash out what’s next for health star ratings on packaged foods. Now, after ...
The Abuse in Care report found many Pacific survivors lost their connections to their culture and language, resulting in trauma that has been carried from generation to generation. ...
In the regulatory review, ECC intends to suggest that ERO focus on curriculum delivery reviews rather than the Ministry, because it’s not efficient or effective to have two agencies with radically different approaches climbing over each other. ...
Te Rūnanga Nui o Ngā Kura Kaupapa Māori invites the current government to work in partnership with them to develop a pathway forward, including the development of a parallel pathway and meaningful policy and strategy for Kura Kaupapa Māori ...
If you haven’t started watching yet, Tara Ward begs you to reconsider. This is an excerpt from our weekly pop culture newsletter Rec Room. Sign up here. In the world of New Zealand reality television, we have many gems in our crown. There’s the delicious second season of the Celebrity Treasure ...
A new poem by Fiona Kidman. The clothes of the dead I did not keep my mother’s furry red beret for long nor the stringy scarves that adorned the necks of my aunts, although I have kept tag ends of gold, the rings and trinkets they wore, the brooches no ...
The government’s announcement that it will re-open the foreshore and seabed controversy by changing the rules on recognising centuries-old Māori customary title for a third time goes against the rule of law and New Zealand values,” Mr Tipa says. ...
The only published and available best-selling indie book chart in New Zealand is the top 10 sales list recorded every week at Unity Books’ stores in High St, Auckland, and Willis St, Wellington.AUCKLAND1 Lioness by Emily Perkins (Bloomsbury, $25) Roarrrr! Perkins’ brilliant, award-winning, Marian-Keyes anointed, darkly funny, long ...
The 2004 Act vested ownership of the foreshore and seabed in the Crown, extinguishing any Māori claims to ownership and causing widespread outrage and protests among Māori communities. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Antje Deckert, Associate Professor (Criminology), Auckland University of Technology Getty Images Despite the connection between institutional harm and gang membership made clear in this week’s mammoth royal commission abuse-in care report, the government seems unlikely to soften its “get tough on ...
From Lewis Clareburt in the swimming to the start of the rowing – the first seven days of Paris 2024 promise to be big for New Zealand. There are few events that bring the country together quite like an Olympic Games. Nothing quite matches the excitement of getting up in ...
Groundbreaking local science just showed up in the most surprising of places: the season finale of The Kardashians. In the season five finale of The Kardashians last night, several members of the family gathered together in one of their signature empty, cream-coloured rooms to hear test results that had been ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Amin Saikal, Emeritus professor of Middle Eastern and Central Asian Studies, Australian National University The Middle East is on the brink of a possibly devastating regional war, with hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah reaching an extremely dangerous level. Washington has engaged in ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Laura Elizabeth Eades, Rheumatologist, Monash University Lupus is an inflammatory autoimmune illness, where the body’s immune system mistakenly attacks itself. Lupus can affect virtually any part of the body, although it most commonly affects the skin, joints and kidneys. The symptoms ...
A law firm that specialises in working with survivors of abuse in State care is disappointed that the Government fails to recognise that its boot camps can be directly compared to previous boot camps from the 1990s and 2000s. ...
Dying is a natural part of life, like updating your Wof or seeing your hairdresser, but without the word-of-mouth recs that help guarantee a good service. What if we changed that? Dying Reviews received by The Spinoff have had the names of organisations redacted while Hospice NZ collects further data. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jonti Horner, Professor (Astrophysics), University of Southern Queensland Mike Lewinski/Flickr, CC BY On any clear night, if you gaze skywards long enough, chances are you’ll see a meteor streaking through the sky. Some nights, however, are better than others. At ...
Despite having no bars or other designated spaces for lesbians, Auckland boasts a small but mighty lesbian museum. So how did it get here? The past 18 months has brought increasing hostility towards the queer community across Aotearoa. Kellie-Jay Keen-Minshull’s anti-trans rally in Tamaki Makaurau last March led to a ...
Poneke Antifascist Coalition has invited Wellingtonians to stand in solidarity with the Kanak people at 12pm today outside the French Embassy in Wellington. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Peter Layton, Visiting Fellow, Strategic Studies, Griffith University Drones are the signature technology of the Ukraine war. A few miniature aircraft designs were used in the war’s early days, but an incredible array of drones have now evolved. There are different types, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Mark Slee, Associate Professor, Clinical Academic Neurologist, Flinders University Francisco Gonzelez/Unsplash Migraine is many things, but one thing it’s not is “just a headache”. “Migraine” comes from the Greek word “hemicrania”, referring to the common experience of migraine being predominantly ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Lee White, Senior Lecturer and Horizon Fellow, School of Social and Political Sciences, University of Sydney Australia was slow to introduce minimum building standards for energy efficiency. The Nationwide House Energy Rating Scheme (NatHERS) only came into force in 2003. Older homes ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Steven Sherwood, Professor of Atmospheric Sciences, Climate Change Research Centre, UNSW Sydney The past century of human-induced warming has increased rainfall variability over 75% of the Earth’s land area – particularly over Australia, Europe and eastern North America, new research shows. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Tony Heynen, Program Coordinator, Sustainable Energy, The University of Queensland A temporary stadium in the Champ-de-Mars, ParisEkaterina Pokrovsky/Shutterstock As Paris prepares to host the Olympic and Paralympic Games, the sustainability of the event is coming under scrutiny. The organisers have promoted ...
A night of karaoke and community in a pub that feels like a memory. You’d barely even notice it, unless you knew to look. Tucked away behind a liquor store on busy Constable Street is the capital’s last great pub. Newtown Sports Bar is an emblem of the pub culture ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ian Wright, Professor in Marine Geology, University of Canterbury Louise Corcoran/Getty Images The decline in the number of doctoral candidates at New Zealand universities is a worrying sign for the country’s effort to build a knowledge-based economy. Aotearoa New Zealand’s ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Laurie Berg, Associate Professor, University of Technology Sydney defotoberg/Shutterstock Migrant worker exploitation is entrenched in workplaces across Australia. Tragically, a deep fear of immigration consequences means most unlawful employer conduct goes unreported. On Wednesday, however, the government officially launched a ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Vaughan Cruickshank, Senior Lecturer in Health and Physical Education, University of Tasmania Paris is about to host its third summer Olympics. While we don’t yet know what the legacy of this year’s games will be, let’s take the opportunity to reflect on ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Hugh Breakey, Deputy Director, Institute for Ethics, Governance & Law, Griffith University In the wake of the assassination attempt on former US President Donald Trump, there were calls from bothsides of US politics, as well as internationally, to reduce the brutal, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Keith Rathbone, Senior Lecturer, Modern European History and Sports History, Macquarie University Two high-profile assaults on Australians in Paris have raised concerns about security ahead of the Olympic Games. On Saturday evening, a young woman was allegedly sexually assaulted by a ...
Dying is inevitable and, so it seems, is it costing a lot, writes Stewart Sowman-Lund in today’s extract from The Bulletin. To receive The Bulletin in full each weekday, sign up here.The cost of dying ...
The government took Joyce Harris's first baby and sent her off to a girls' home. Half a century on - and out of oceans of hurt - it asked her to be a mother figure. ...
It’s the deadliest fictional town in the country, but which death has been the most bonkers? Alex Casey looks back at 10 seasons of The Brokenwood Mysteries to find out. Warning: The following ranking story contains famous New Zealand actors appearing to be dead (not alive). The Spinoff has been ...
Water cremation is the biggest thing to happen to the death industry in the last 100 years. Alex Casey meets the people trying to bring it to Aotearoa. Through a set of mirrored doors down the industrial end of Christchurch’s St Asaph Street, death is getting a new lease on ...
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Steve Albini has died.
Fantastic audio engineer who always got a great drum sound. Dave Grohl never sounded better than on In Utero.
Lucky enough to see Shellac play at The Kings Arms. A delayed but incredible show.
Too young.
https://pitchfork.com/news/steve-albini-storied-producer-and-icon-of-the-rock-underground-dies-at-61/
"Nicola Willis rules out austerity Budget"
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/political/516357/darkest-before-the-dawn-nicola-willis-rules-out-austerity-budget
Well..thats good news for her kids. The movies and icecream still be coming…
National, through Luxon and Willis, is talking a lot about "social investment". This was the magical tool Bill English talked a lot about.
It sounds very good at press conferences and pre-budget meetings, conveying a sense of compassionate conservatism, but in reality nothing actually transpires from it in terms of concrete action.
Of course that Nat "social investment" is mainly targeting specific groups. Their "social network", aka landlords, business people, etc; ….
The rest of us….belts tightened
Social Investment = providing another opportunity for rich people to extract wealth from everyone else. Usually.
If Bill English had placed money into the Cullen-Robertson Fund (now over $70B), it would have now been worth over $100B.
His decision not to to invest, cost us at least $10B and that is net of debt cost.
That said, there was the option of a 1% surcharge on employee and employer into the Fund to finance it without debt, or use of a budget surplus.
A bit late now, given it is/was a generational tool to afford the 2030-2050 cost of super to the taxpayer.
It now has two purposes
2030-2050 generate revenue for the government and if (and where) possible do so in way that contributes to our infrastructure needs.
True, also Imagine what the super fund would be worth had Muldoon and the National party not made the worst economic decision in NZ history and scrapped it.
I have no idea how these people are held up as good economic managers when they just butcher long term economic stability for short term growth.
True, also Imagine what the super fund would be worth had Muldoon and the National party not made the worst economic decision in NZ history and scrapped it.
I don't agree. It was a burden on both workers and employers – at least kiwisaver is voluntary – and the larger employer contributions would probably have impacted on wages. And there were also other problems. Latecomers and non working wives would have needed top ups. Whatever one thinks of Muldoon his National Super seems preferable.
It would have changed my future massively, while my kiwisaver is healthy after 13 years, I've been working full time in nz for 32 years,I'd love to know what the stash would have looked like if muldoon had fucked off.
Still no sign of the strong Opposition we were promised… https://newsroom.co.nz/2024/05/08/persistent-green-party-scandals-delay-caucus-reset/
Perhaps the independent investigation is up against privacy law? Hard to get facts on employee exploitation if the law deems it private enterprise, huh? Capitalism's exploitation of employees has been part of normalcy for centuries. In theory a Green capitalist could do better, but only if authentic. Meanwhile a reshuffle ought to at least produce a semi-plausible allocation of duties.
The thing to keep in mind is repositioning to take advantage of any sudden govt collapse: the team needs to seem ready to re-enter govt on the basis of competence. Rewarding Genter for inept public relations seems a bad start in this direction – better to use someone else who can cope with the pressure.
we don't know what the pressure is in this case.
Dennis-Genter has had 13 impressive years in parliament. One dumb act, carried out under provocation, does not alter this track record.
Read my TS posts yesterday.
She has established a pattern of bad behaviour via four different people: one Nat minister and one councillor (both male) and two of her constituents (both female). All four have featured in multiple media reports recently. You don't need death by a thousand cuts to do the damage, you just need a persistent pattern that folks notice.
The arm-grab struck me as an extremely dodgy political tactic. It wasn't reported as an assault: the shopkeeper commented on how unusual the behaviour was though. Perhaps the Greens will go with the JAG arm-grab as their favoured new method of impressing voters. Not deterring her would send the message that they hope it'll trend on social media as the latest form of left-wing activism…
Wow Dennis you are really buying in to this MSM beat up. Just to repeat my posts from yesterday:
1. "Don't believe everything you read. Van der Kaay writes for the so-called "Democracy Project" run by Bryce Edwards.
Edwards has for many years consistently criticized parties from the Left while acting as an apologist for the Right.
The Greens have had 3 unfortunate events.
Kaay’s article is not worth a hill of beans."
2. "Come off it gsays. Genter has been in parliament 13 years behaving, to my knowledge, impeccably.
Then she gets het up because Doocey yells lies at her (completely ignoring the real spending facts on roading) so she crosses the aisle to show him the actual numbers in the report.
In an obvious, coordinated and probably made-up hit National drags up a witness to another episode where a passionate JAG meets an anti-cycleway (code for National/ACT voter) person who claims (unproven, no witnesses) she too was yelled at by JAG. Note: Nobody would offer to video a meeting where they were yelling at a constituent.
It was a very dumb thing to do to cross the aisle and JAG should get a sanction from the privileges committee for this-presumably they will take into account the previous 13 years of not doing this. Note: apparently crossing the aisle is not against the rules.
I don't see the relevance of Doocey's mental history (you are clutching at straws here). If you are fit to be in parliament you are fit to be part of the rough and tumble. In this case he bears some of the blame by yelling obvious lies in the first place. Maybe this will teach him to stick to yelling the truth."
3. "gsays-I didn't gloss over anything. The Kerekere bullying happened well over a year ago which is not anywhere close to the period I am commenting on above in relation to Kaay's biased article.
I commented on the three relatively current events that the MSM media seems to be trying to portray as a pattern, where nothing could be further from the truth.
If we are to start going back a couple of years there are National MP misdemeanors as long as my arm."
My understanding is that Bryce Edwards is highly regarded by all sides in the political debate.
It is also interesting that the owners of any business in Wellington that have had a disagreement with the current mayor or Green Party mp face bullying from random people online. This suggests to me that there are a number of toxic people on the left. We should have nothing to do with this type of behaviour.
David-there have been plenty of posts on TS over the years criticising Edwards' negative stance towards the Left in his writing and in his appearances on The Panel, Checkpoint, Morning Report etc.
I am sure he is held in high regard by members of the current government for this reason.
Incidentally my description of migrant exploitation as “a bad look” is, on reflection poor. I should have said “unacceptable behaviour”.
Disagreement is perfectly acceptable and should be welcomed. Unless you have a tendency towards being an authoritarian…
Bryce has been a joke for years.
Complaints upheld …
Complaint about RNZ use of Bryce Edwards article upheld « The Standard
And past forecasts so wrong he should not be taken seriously by anyone.
We are in a period of great political volatility – the New Zealand election is far from decided | Bryce Edwards | The Guardian
Todd Muller’s beige persona might not be a bad thing in the battle against Jacinda Ardern | Bryce Edwards | The Guardian
and many more examples, if you care to read up on them.
Or they harangued an MP buying flowers for a dying friend and were triumphalist about her bloc losing the government benches. Or when the MP was out in public not in an official capacity.
It’s a bit like asking Destiny church about the gay marriage advocates.
Edwards is a stooge whose stuff and his mates stuff happily appears on The Platform and whose use of the university emblem I find interesting at best.
And let’s not be too harsh on Matt Doocey- being completely wrong about say giving landlords money making rents go down or how many beds at $1.9 million a prison will have or if something is funded or not is ministerial under Luxon.
I think he's good.
He's published in the Herald, his university has the Democracy Project with people like Adams and his compendium of the week in politics includes right wing commentator quotes and links.
He would have to be very very good to rise above the associations …
A former Alliance guy who repudiates anything Jim Anderton might have campaigned for reflexively, unless it can be used to castigate current left wing politicians for being too focused on identity issues as well social justice.
Does that accurately describe the current Labour Party?
Dentistry eventually, last manifesto so all bets are off.
Only problem for Dr Bryce is that doesn’t pay well, so further we will go. The angry occupation at parliament mixed with aggressive online misogyny for Dame Jacinda Ardern was pretty similar to what Sir John Key struggled through, according to Dr. Bryce. That plays well on the Platform. Where they’ve removed themselves from Press Council oversight, so they can…?
Are you suggesting the Green Party leadership is buying into the "MSM beat up" as well through initiating an internal disciplinary process.
Or do you think you might be out on a limb here in downplaying behaviour which we on the left at least, don't tolerate?
James-I think the Greens will undertake an honest appraisal of JAG's behaviour in the house.
She will get a verdict "don't do it again" and a slap on the wrist.
Personally I applaud her passion-she had had enough of being told that the last 6 years had been under a patently hopeless and economically illiterate government, where in fact that is what we have now.
What might Dennis be up to – maybe he's thinking of doing a![wink wink](https://cdn2.thestandard.org.nz/wp-content/plugins/ark-wysiwyg-comment-editor/ckeditor/plugins/smiley/images/wink_smile.png)
runnerTrotterHe was once a Green man … but not now that the next generation are in charge … these days everyone – especially women are so young and know not how to behave …
https://www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/comments/a4vnuv/old_generations_complain_about_the_next_one_since/
Trotter on the left, Du Fresne and Plunkett on the right.
What is this, Kiwblog style, ganging up on a woman MP moment?
FACT CHECK
The Johnston Street shop is in the Wellington Central electorate, they approached the then Auckland based list MP in Midland Park about a letter the MP sent to Lester Mayor of Wellington 5 years earlier (this while Genter was Associate Minister of Transport – a position they did not hold at the later time). Google up on Reddit if you want a commentary about stuff the MSM do not publish.
An arm grab is not a political tactic, it is a reaction to having her time in a park disturbed.
Have the police ever prosecuted an arm grab as an assault?
PERSPECTIVE
If you think it was wrong for Genter to approach the City Councillor while he was engaged otherwise, what about the Johnston shopowner disturbing a list MP in a park and the flower shopowner doing it to the MP when she pops in to buy flowers on visiting the hospital nearby? Nick R covered the interface with other members of the public (former customers).
Genter has said she will no longer engage with angry people, but will just walk away. More generally MP's should just hand out a card when living their personal lives. After all list MP's are not experts in conflict de-escalation but advocates for their party policies and on becoming an electorate MP have to determine how to manage being available to offer assistance to constituents in a safe way.
Good facts there SPC-thanks for that.
Of course the reasons for the concerted attacks on Genter and the Greens are:
She's going to have a quiet life then in this electorate at the moment.
Very clear she is inexperienced at what happens in electorate offices
People in the electorate just don't pop by to say 'hi, well done and how are you?'
They go there usually because they often feel they cannot get any further following the process and need a spanner thrown into the works to disrupt it, to have the problem defined differently etc. You can get tears to laughter and everything between including anger, in an electorate office.
She would have already met people in the electorate office. No problems as far as anyone knows.
People go to have a situation dealt with, not to argue policies. Though they can provide feedback as to impact of policy.
The presence of others and the focus on being in the workplace provides it’s own discipline.
So why the focus on 'Genter has said she will no longer engage with angry people, but will just walk away. '
She will get angry people in her electorate offices, how does the de-escalation differ here from out and about. Seems a bit of a strange distinction. It sounds more that she does not want to talk about or be exposed to thinking that is not similar to her own. That actually won't work if she is to be a welcoming and competent MP adept at handling issues of concern when in an office or out and about.
Because it was what she said – as to being approached by angry people while she is not at work as MP.
An MP can ask those who get angry in the office to leave. And there are others about.
Being willing to be hassled in public when out and about in their personal life is not a required part of the job. And being exposed to different opinion is a known when becoming a politician.
Being approached by people while out and about is a known fact of life for all MPs. Many take pains to keep some private time that does not involve being out and about publically. MPs who frequent popular local areas so-called 'privately' where MPs usually are keen to be seen such as markets, galas, walking down popular local streets etc have only themselves to blame if a naughty member of a public approaches them. Especially if said member of the public is annoyed.
I been with MPs who have been approached by people while they are at concerts, films, theatre, sports, even after funerals, at tangi Most are happy with a brief chat and a card with the electorate secs name/phone number on it to arrange an appt, I have been with MPs when they have had an impromptu 'clinic' at a restaurant private table/place & once in a sports club rooms as they were so concerned at what they were hearing/worried about their constituent.
The MP I was with usually got the person's name and contact details and sometimes, once back at the office, would phone, email, write a letter acknowledging the contact and reiterating the contact details.
"Hard to get facts on employee exploitation if the law deems it private enterprise, huh?
Not at all. If the allegations go to migrant exploitation, then my understanding is they go to potential criminal activity under the Immigration Act. There is no-where to hide in that case. I'm not a Green Party supporter, but I am prepared to accept the investigation may be constrained by factors well beyond their control.
If the allegations are true, so not on brand …
Darleen Tana no longer appears on the Green Party website so they may have already made a decision regarding her. However James Shaw still appears so maybe not yet updated.
The NZ Initiative with Johnson at the wheel while colluding with the Minister of Ed, has succeeded in running the NZ education "reform."
Laura Walters outlines how the capture came about:
https://newsroom.co.nz/2024/05/08/meet-the-man-behind-the-governments-education-policy/?utm_source=Newsroom&utm_campaign=4346ab0c8e-Daily_Briefing+09.05.2024&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_71de5c4b35-4346ab0c8e-95522477&mc_cid=4346ab0c8e&mc_eid=88a3081e75
Atlas Network holds up the sky so that capitalism can reign.
If it did not do this the people might have human dominion, sustain the earth as a habitat for life and build a society not driven by personal greed along the golden brick road to their multi-million dollar weekend "bach".
While only a few can share in the dream of being one of the well to do elite – offering a change to the way children read provides the sort of hope that just maybe one of the children of the common folk might win the hunger games – and sing long enough to see off the snakepit (the hissing of the losers, such as the once champion knights of the realm and now cellar dwellers).
So, they're trying the old 1990s trick again:
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/political/516371/government-to-introduce-compulsory-work-seminar-for-job-seeking-beneficiaries
Sounds reasonable but it didn't work out in practice last time and I suspect it won't again. In fact it turned into a witch-hunt against people who, through no fault of their own, had been flung on the scrap heap during a time when job opportunities were scarce.
Remember the woman, Christine Rankin with the very short, low-cut dresses that left nothing to the imagination? Are they going to drag her out of retirement to do their dirty work again? (sarc)
As a former qualified Public Servant who was amongst those cast out back then, I received a letter demanding I attend a seminar on:
"How to dress and look smart for a job interview."
They received a reply which left them in no doubt my feelings on the subject – at least as it applied to me. I heard no more from them and never attended the seminar. 👿
Those who have lost employment should get 6 months to sort their job search out themselves (and register for temp work – use different ones for different work categories).
After 6 months, a processing (including notification of training providers available) for transfer to the Work Broker (stuff like industry apprenticeship and or work experience opportunities etc – they are the ones in contact with employers).
The W and I requirements are about initiating the unemployed into an accountability regime. Doing it to laid off PS workers is obnoxious and is presumably supposed to usher in a reign of fear among those still employed in the PS.
National wants the unemployed to run the treadmill of W and I oversight of their job search – all while the pool of the unemployed grows – this ensures employers have more power relative to their existing workers (wages suppressed while rents rise will cause a run on food banks of the like we have not seen – back in the 1990's people fled to Oz to escape it).
My remembrance of the formation of Work and Income back in Oct 1 1998 was the requirements of the unemployed to go to Job Clubs run by external providers (religious groups who wanted those on welfare to bend their knee to Jesus).
Having to attend that seminar would make sense only if you were laid off for being scruffy – which itself would be an insufficient reason for the layoff. So they were clowns obviously, probably with an inbuilt bias towards thinking that unemployed people have only themselves to blame.
Bang on AB. Their ignorance was astounding. Despite the government "restructuring the work force” (that was the description of the day), they assumed the unemployed were rough living layabouts who wanted to live off the welfare teat for the rest of their lives.
I was actually looking after my elderly mother who was in her 90s, but that didn't stop them sending a surveillance team to our address to check out the situation. I was one of many people who had that experience. It was humiliating and insulting.
How long is that seminar, and will (unwoke no-frills) food be laid on for the laid off?
Hmm, ‘Seymour says’ could be a fun game for the well-heeled.
Seymour Says is a children’s game for three or more players.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simon_Says
The NZ public school system is where woke foods go to die!
It’s been wonderful to watch ACT leader enact a principle in education that should be extended.
The government should use its size to buy things, including money, in bulk at a considerably cheaper rate in order to provide a more inexpensive service for New Zealanders, particularly those in its poorer communities.
Imagine this principle in housing!
Or water infrastructure! Imagine, using the mass of large water districts being able to attract world class water infrastructure specialists and get discounts on hardware!
""As someone who makes kids' lunchboxes every day, I wouldn't be able to fill my kids' lunchboxes with good quality healthy food for $3 a day," Labour leader Chris Hipkins said. ".
Really? Who actually believes that Hipkins carries out this activity every day? Do the children even live with him all the time?
https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/politics/2024/05/students-to-receive-sandwiches-and-fruit-under-overhauled-school-lunches-programme-not-woke-sushi-david-seymour.html
I wonder how many pieces of sushi you get from an average sizes woke?
Is egg sushi woke? How about sausage meat sushi? Is the vinegar woke or the rice? How about if it isn’t served by sn Asian person?
Does that mean the 14 cities with St Pierre’s are infected hives of villainous wokeness?
I am left wondering how one can centralise the bulk buying of sandwiches and distribute them fresh around the country each day.
And the cheapest canned fruit is that which comes with sugar in water – and is not a food I would want children to consume. It is the fruit version of the salt and sugar ladden canned food that is also a danger to health (what next noodles with salt and another dodgy additive).
ACT reinvents the 1970s NZ Railways lunch of hard cheese and crackers. And a good mug of black tea with sugar…now to reinvent railways too…
I am left wondering how one can centralise the bulk buying of sandwiches and distribute them fresh around the country each day.
I suspect in the same way that cafe's across the country order packaged sandwiches and serve them fresh.
Supply and distribution would be local – as the current system is
Yes, but the 'buying' or ordering sounds like it's going to be through a central portal.
Have had experience of Nelson Hospital food over these past few months which is trucked from Christchurch – over 400kms. It is inedible, including the sandwiches.
If Seymour is worried about uneaten/wasted food now, he's going to get a shock. Or maybe that's the plan – make it inedible so they can cancel the whole program.
Government is damn inconvenient. It’s much better to spin a few fables, lip synch the classics and go to a think tank for lunch. No skimping there!
Please ask St David what makes sushi ‘ woke’? Is it the way tuna and salmon is sometimes race-mixed in the same $5 set? We need this important list of woke foods so we don’t accidentally feed them to our children!
We need to ask St David are St. Pierre’s sushi, which features stores in 14 Kiwi cities or the many smaller family owned sushi stores woke? Does this mean ACT will boycott them too?
Is all Asian food woke? Or for example are jandals woke? That’s Japanese sandals btw. Are noodles okay? How about rice without vinegar? Is it still woke if it’s in a rice pudding? What about the same fish, but in a casserole?
Kumara has to be woke right? Surely we must only eat sweet potato in the ACT party? A Maori name and staple of around a 1000 years?
We can’t risk wokeness seeping into our food and so into our bodies and being! Please ask St David and find out!
"Who actually believes that Hipkins carries out this activity every day?"
Maybe it just means Chris Hipkins doesn't understand economies of scale?
No, the issue would be getting supply without retail mark up.
Or do you know of a machine that makes sandwiches?
It's the mark-up where some of the economies of scale are made.
Labor-intensive industries like making sandwiches have limited economies of scale. Therefore the savings that enable the $3 cost must in part come from selecting less labour-intensive options such as packaged and tinned food.
These offerings will be less appealing to kids than things made fresh, hot and locally, even if the numbers suggest that they are roughly nutritionally equivalent.
That's the point of course: make them unappealing, drive up waste, point at the waste, shake your head in dismay that such "dumb stuff" was ever done in the first place, cancel the whole scheme, then announce mission accomplished. For some people, malice is more satisfying if it's stretched out a bit.
"These offerings will be less appealing to kids than things made fresh, hot and locally,"
Do you have any evidence for that?
"make them unappealing, drive up waste"
You mean more unappealing and more waste than the old scheme? Seems unlikely.
https://www.1news.co.nz/2024/05/07/when-it-comes-to-free-school-lunches-how-much-waste-can-we-live-with/
It’s like the government based its decisions contrary to the evidence.
My local Area School, roll of 220, age 5 to 18, has very a successful lunch program supplied by one of our local cafes.
The owners have 2 children at the school, age 6 and 8 so they know what children will eat.
The favourite meal is sushi !!! followed by butter chicken, and bolognaise with orzo !!! rather than spaghetti to make it easier to eat. All very woke items in a small rural town in the South Island.
Any unused meals are donated to local needy families so there is very little waste.
The cafe in conjunction with the school, have sessions where a class will help prepare and serve the meal of the day. The cafe is a short walk from the school so the meals are delivered by trolley.
This has morphed into a Masterchef competition over the school holidays as part of Boredom Busters. Some of the winning recipes have become part of the school lunch menu.
Those are anecdotes, like these:
"Some o'f it just really isn't nice and I've often looked at it myself and thought, yuck!" Ollie's indifference towards the school lunches is not unique, with large amounts of food waste allegedly being thrown out each day across the region.
Intermediate student, Naki, said his Northland school had been receiving school lunches for around a year and a half. He claimed the lunches were hit and miss, with students often complaining about lunches being 'gross, stale, soggy, dry and tasting yuck'.
'Large amounts of food waste' thanks to lunches in schools programme – NZ Herald
As to evidence, Treasury provided that last year. They found:
1. As many as 10,000 lunches a day are left over.
2. that there was no evidence of impacting attendance or benefiting ākonga Māori
https://thestandard.org.nz/daily-review-08-05-2024/#comment-1999130
This is no anectdote.
The wastage was less than in overseas programmes and thus quickly effective. Did Treasury note that?
Given the greater number of Maori in the schools receiving the food I'll call the no evidence of benefiting akonga Maori line wildly misleading and a quote taken out of reasonable context.
The Herald quote demonstrates their disposition to use right wing talking points as headlines.
That is an anecdote.
"The wastage was less than in overseas programmes and thus quickly effective. "
Based on 2 examples. Your reference above also included this:
However, another contractor argued that 4.5% still represented quite a lot of money. “I would say 2-3% of waste is reasonably acceptable,” they said. “I believe if you gave [the school lunches contracts] to the right people, that percentage would come down. It could probably get down to 2%.”
Perhaps if the previous government had cared enough to measure the waste themselves (Government out to lunch on school sammie count | Waikato Times) the result might have been better.
No, the result of a survey of schools is not an anectdote.
The source of the “quotes”.
You are referring to a survey. Of 50 schools, out of around 2,500. And there is no data reported about the % of waste, just commentary.
And again your 'overseas programs' data is 2 countries.
The evidence from NZ's program is that we have considerable waste that the government seemed to not even be concerned to measure. This new program delivers more lunches at less cost.
How many days a week would he have to make kids' lunchboxes in order to have a fair idea that $3/day is a stretch? Can this determination be made only if you do it every day?
I wouldn't know how many days it would take.
Chippie claims that he makes his kids lunches every day though. Isn't it amazing that he does such a thing? Frankly I think his story is b**s intended to make him look like a man of the people.
I don't know what Hipkins meant as his statement is capable of two interpretations. One, which seems more likely, is that he 'every day' makes a lunch box for kids. Every day, of course, would exclude holidays, weekends and I would suggest actually means 'most days' as even the best of us did not make our kids' lunch boxes every day.
"As someone who makes kids' lunchboxes every day, I wouldn't be able to fill my kids' lunchboxes with good quality healthy food for $3 a day," Labour leader Chris Hipkins said.
However, it could mean this. "When I put myself in the position of someone who makes kid's lunch boxes every day, I wouldn't be able to fill my kids' lunchboxes with good quality healthy food for $3 a day."
I've just costed my lunch. 4 slices bread, 1 banana, 2 slices cheese, peanut butter, 1 feijoa. About $2.50. But, I didn't include delivery costs, packaging or labour. I didn't include a cup of tea and what would a slice of feijoa cake be worth?
Shared parenting – his turn with the kids.
Profit.
Good point, aj. The profit for me was a cheap, home-made lunch.
I didn't mention the pie I had for morning tea, though, after a walk with friends. The pie was non-woke except for the filling which had decidedly woke Italian truffle cheese. Woke is tasty as well as tasteful, after all.
I have eaten school lunches in Japan on occasions where the parents made a small contribution and the children and teachers ate together. Good food, with an emphasis on variety and calorific intake.
Mrs Mac1 has eaten in French schools where subsidised school lunches were made by professional chefs, served at tables from platters with full dining etiquette, green beans often, a meat and other vegetables, banana and yoghurt for dessert.
A nation and people are defined by their culture. Part of that is food, manners, sharing, table companionship. New Zealand is still growing ours with new immigration. Our small town has restaurants and food outlets that are French, Italian, Brazilian, Pasifika, Thai, Turkish, Indian, Mexican, Chinese, Cambodian, Japanese, Argentinian, plus fast foods in American and English styles.
Very woke. Very tasty. Very much part of who we are, as a community, diverse and interesting……..
Yes. Every day. Imagine that. Even weekends, when his kids don't even go to school. Even Christmas day.
To address your point in a manner less commensurate with the stupidity of how you appraised Hipkins' statement, however: no, I shouldn't find it particularly amazing if Hipkins made his children's lunches daily.
You’re repeating yourself.
It’s a sign. Should get it checked you know.
I do believe alwyn has spammed the same thing 3 times now. Not how a discussion goes.
More aggressive and nasty tin ear behaviour. I know that parents are there to have fixed needs so that they can be forced into high childcare costs, high housing costs and high medicine costs, but it’s the glee at others misfortune that is particularly a turn off. I’m sure Chippy never intended his marriage to finish, but it did and I’m sure he’s doing his best, along with the other households across the country in similar situations.
You should bloody pull your head in and listen to what Winston said on the matter.
Remember the woman, Christine Rankin with the very short, low-cut dresses that left nothing to the imagination? Are they going to drag her out of retirement to do their dirty work again?
It is so misogynistic to constantly and solely blame Christine Rankin for that period, let alone fall into the idiot SSC criticism of her appearance, when it was George Hickton who introduced all the types of things like seminars post his dodgy work previously at the employment service. It has never been clear to me why he gets off scot free and she gets all the flack. Just another way in which women are treated so much worse than men.
There's really good archival history about what went on during this time when I was a much, much younger advocate. Sometimes it is worth reminding ourselves of all those involved – politicians as well……..
Class war – it never changes.
http://www.jobsletter.org.nz/jblindex.htm
Back in the day, Canon Bob Lowe had a bit of a reputation as an after dinner speaker – he liked good food, wine and women – and this was his way of affording it all.
He once wrote of the 1990's era in one of his newspaper columns.
SCENE
Unemployed single men who liked women but were poor and under a tough W and I regime (and they had religious groups operating as agents).
Then the application of the market rents for state houses and a lot of older single women – some former, some current solo mothers – needing boarders to stay in the better quality state houses.
Also at the time there was a fear of home invasions by unemployed men looking to steal stuff because the low UB income.
He wrote a column about being about being a man who liked seeing naked women on the street (he was using the example of Jezebel – out the Samaria palace window – defenestration – to be eaten by dogs in the street. Homeless women and men without wives).
He then posed as hearing a hiss on his ear (law of guilt religion joke) – being warned that he fit a profile of interest to the police. A man who did not belong in the neighbourhood with the better state houses.
An Auckland magazine also had a short story about a Michael Collins on the run and looking to hide in the basement of an older woman – gimme shelter).
Thus in those times – short skirts big hearings (dobbing in solo mothers) (and profiling watch on their entrapment of unemployed single men looking for shelter – or vice versa if the single man owned a home).
CR was of the time, and its culture.
Dear Alwyn.
With regard to your completely inappropriate comment on Chris Hipkins and his children.
You should be ashamed of yourself.
His life outside of Parliament is none of your business and it was out of line.
Just stop it.
You are a twit.
Except that Chris Hipkins introduced his children into the conversation when he said "As someone who makes kids' lunchboxes every day, I wouldn't be able to fill my kids' lunchboxes with good quality healthy food for $3 a day," Students to receive sandwiches and fruit under overhauled school lunches programme, not 'woke' sushi – David Seymour | Newshub
Willis' efforts to wean kids off Tip Top are admirably healthy – wishing her well![smiley smiley](https://cdn2.thestandard.org.nz/wp-content/plugins/ark-wysiwyg-comment-editor/ckeditor/plugins/smiley/images/regular_smile.png)
I’m not sure what Willis’s children have to do with this?
What do Willis' “children have to do with this“? That depends. If "this" refers to the free food in schools programme, then probably very little.
Well lunches in schools is what this is about, right? Not tip top & DVD's?
This thread kicked off (@9) with Ffloyd's response to alwyn's comments at @7, and @7.5.1 which contained this insight:
Cutting to the chase, frankly I think that Willis' story ("And kids, this means…") is b**s intended to make her look like a woman of the people.
https://thestandard.org.nz/this-is-what-happens-when-you-give-landlords-a-big-tax-cut-1/#comment-1993392
Ah. I thought it kicked off at https://thestandard.org.nz/open-mike-09-05-2024/#comment-1999191! All good.
In the lower cost Oz, the guesstimate is $4.
https://news.flinders.edu.au/blog/2022/08/16/parents-back-introduction-of-school-meals-in-australia/
So the topic is nutrition. And the cost of fresh local produce. And a low wage, high cost economy. And the speed National moved to make it worse. No fair pay agreements. No discounts on fresh produce.
Still, keep up your nasty, nasty instincts. It’s doing wonders for Chippy’s polls. He does nothing and they get better by comparison that he’s never celebrated sacking journalists or questioning someone’s parenting skills or their personal relationships.
Matiu Rata reads comics redux. Give them cigarettes before fruit, huh.
The comment you are replying to was not about nutrition. It was about the appropriateness of commenting on a political leaders own comments about his family.
No, it was clearly about the cost of nutrition that Hipkins was speaking about.
He was making a point about the cost of nutrition and that he knew about it because he had personal experience.
Look, if you’re worried because Chippy knows what a block of cheese costs and what a starting police salary is, don’t fail reading comprehension also.
Or do, because as I mentioned above the combination of obsessive behaviour, malevolent glee and a lack of knowledge or interest in the issue at hand and the way it will change people’s lives is driving the current polling across a multitude of sectors.
You replied to my comment. Which had nothing to do with ‘nutrition’. If you want to comment about the broader discussion of lunches in schools, reply to one of those comments.
As Traveller has pointed out, it was Hipkins who mentioned the children. It was also Hipkin's claim I was talking about, not his children activities.
Those who have been following the cycle ways spinoff to the JAG story will be interested that this lack of meaningful consultation/allegations of predetermination is not shared only by the people of the southern suburbs.
https://www.thepost.co.nz/nz-news/350267619/residents-boycott-council-consultation-saying-outcomes-pre-determined?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTAAAR0DuSlGP9CKYHkeRS3AO9_hRng5HxebPuCgASEliKy3Faj83q0HJnHWxig_aem_AcOMvLqCdZswTDl3BDRusyp8QFriSig43AvziBILFIVBTDDGuzVdUIOu8FRJnhGcKxiADe5yz9PevxQRsVS5V59t
This is in relation to consultation on the Wellington City Long Term Plan.
There comes a time when busy and committed people say 'stop, I cannot be bothered going any further.'
It is easy to see how to alleviate the cycnicism about WCC consultation.
A back to basics approach on consultation is to go about it with an open mind and be prepared to change one's mind or compromise. I have looked at the precis of many of the submissions to the WCC prepared by consultants experienced in this. I see few problems with this competent work.
The problems seem to arise at Council level. The councillors block vote in a party political way as if they are unaware that if they keep affirming a party line despite a weight of consultation, they may come close to or are acting in a pre-determined manner. We have about 5 'thoughtful' councillors but of course they are in the minority.
Hence my long held view that there is no place for party political parties in local government. Although there have been other times when quasi national political parties have held sway the councillors themselves seemed to act for their constituents and the city itself rather than following some nationally determined agenda.
The 'whipping' to stymie the thought that goes to making the city bright,vibrant and working has seen puzzling line-ups. The most recent example of this was the support for a 'welfare' bailout for Reading/Warner Brothers of $36m including from Geordie Rogers, the youngest councillor from a heavily student-oriented area of Wellington.
I don't know but bailing out 'da man'/big business was the furtherest thing on my mind when that age, too busy against Vietnam, Women's issues and the Springbok tours I guess. To be honest it would be the furtherest thing on my mind to support 'da man'/big business or the Reading welfare fund these many years later.
Of an even bigger concern is the damaging effect that this can/will/does have on the general state of democracy. The immediate concern is that even fewer people will vote in local elections, and there's bugger-all buffer there as it is.
In the same way that residents are giving up on the consultation process, it's becoming more likely they'll give up voting as well. Which makes complete sense really- since our elected representatives refuse outright to represent us, then why bother anymore?
I admit to being very tempted not to vote for the first time in my life, such is my cynicism, anger and despondency in general. Although I'm seriously considering voting for someone on the Right, in an attempt to vote out my ward councillor and the mayor. For me to vote RW, that's how bad the feeling here is.
Yes Kay. My feelings exactly.
Yet it is so solvable with goodwill and paying attention to the basics of consultation. It does not need to be this way and to cause this distrust. Of course with us in our communities and feeling that we are the only ones this is happening to it was an amazing feeling to read that Wadestown had chosen to fight back. Brooklyn too I understand.
Though if people don't point out the folly of what they are doing they (WCC) will then say they have a mandate to do it…..we can see how mandates so-called have been twisted with this Coalition.
Your feeling about voting right or not voting at all mirrors the split second thought that flashed through my mind that it might not be a bad thing to have Simeon Brown put a Commissioner in to take over from a lame dog council.
I don’t think it would be a good thing (but don’t really know) but it is a fair old mess on many fronts at the moment.
Isn't it a bit unfair to hang all the responsibility for this state of affairs on one's elected representatives? I don't follow such issues very closely (lack of time), but I get the distinct impression that it's council bureaucrats who make many of the real decisions, and that councillors who try to interfere with their cosy little arrangements are often likely to be met with non-cooperation, obstruction and downright hostility.
From the billionaire CEO of Palantir which
Alex Karp, who
we have this statement with regard to the student protests and encampments in support of the Palestinian struggles in Gaza:
Which of course would threaten the existence Palantir and the ability of Karp and the many like him to maintain their status as billionaires.
This turning of the narrative also found expression in conversation between Mitt Romney and Anthony Blinken.
Not to mention of course the new definitions of anti-semitism now enshrined in law that equate criticism of Israel with criminal behaviour in the land of the free (sarc). (Also the UK, France and Germany)
And of course,
The battleground has now been identified. The future of the Palestinian struggle is now centered on the US student population.
https://www.caitlinjohnst.one/p/empire-managers-explain-why-this
The anthem has been written and video produced. Its a stunner!
https://twitter.com/macklemore/status/1787616471738368099
I like to think that J R R Tolkien would be horrified at having one of his LOTR names associated with and besmirched by this kind of activity. The idea of having to trademark it to prevent such misuse, or even the need for it, would never have occurred to him. Pity.
Here’s the low down-super cringy boomer coolness! For ideas that are equally. ‘Trackless trams’ are bendy buses that don’t carry enough people and still need a corridor. Flying foxes and sky cubes! I really begin to hate these people. Apparition will be next. Same principles of thought required.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/nz-news/350270865/auckland-council-receives-ideas-trackless-trams-urban-cable-car-resolve-transport