Professor Greg Newbold says “white collar criminals do more damage to society than the gangs” ?
Yep I would agree as it is the Asian gangs bringing in the methamphetamine into NZ and distributing through our traditional gangs like the Mongrel Mob & the Head Hunters ?
The profits are then normally washed through the real estate and construction sector ?
Yes they do, but white collar crime seems to be legal aka how many of the business roundtable became rich by buying up cheap government assets sold off, how many people are profiting from current assets sell offs and government construction contracts.
Making the criminal legal is why we have so many lawyers per capita in this country, even more than the UK!
If you want to screw over people in this country but don’t have the connections to government as per above, no problem, it’s so easy. Just set up a company and then ‘go bankrupt’ owing millions and make poorer people bankrupt and then set up another company and start again… Lucky their are so many bankruptcy lawyers and big 5 who can help the government on behalf of the tax payer paying them big bucks
… this is not just the big guys people, anyone can do it, even one tradie I had the misfortune to encounter had been bankrupted 4 times leaving big debts, by Price Waterhouse the last one and was even trading under the same name, so was not obvious it was a different company! I rang PWC liquidator and asked why is he still allowed to be in business, and they said, that the public had to lay another complaint… I mean 5 times should be pretty obvious that that person should be in jail, not still on the scene. The liquidators even let him keep his van so he could continue with the poor business practices. It was unbelievable.
If he was simply a tradie, chances are he was being taken to the cleaners by the scoundrels he was subbing to – in recognition of that, state departments can be quite lenient with such people. I know – been there, done that!
IT IS difficult to overstate the scale of the damage caused by so-called white-collar crime.
If white-collar crime formed part of the backdrop to our banking collapse, then it follows that every citizen of the State is a victim of such crime by way of increased taxes, loss of national sovereignty, wide-ranging youth unemployment, restricted services and life opportunities, and so on.
Even leaving banking aside, tax evasion and the flouting of the law in such areas as the environment, health and safety, planning, competition and the running of companies, strains public resources, endangers people’s health, reduces the quality of the built environment, puts businesses at risk and rips off consumers on an ongoing basis.
White collar crimes costs an estimated $600-750 billion dollars in America or roughly 5% of GDP. This massive cost is more than all other crimes combined. Let me repeat that. White collar crime does more damage to society than all forms of stealing and violence combined. Contrary to the common perception, the most dangerous criminal is not a youth in a hoody, but a middle aged man in a suit. The biggest hot spots for crime are not the ghettoes, but the financial districts. It is not in council estates, but commercial offices that most criminals spend their time.
There’s actually quite a lot of research out there showing the same thing going back decades. I’ll leave you with this quote:
Because of the huge sums of money involved, on a strictly financial level corporate crime dwarfs all conventional property offences. Indeed, a single act of corporate crime in a nation can cause more financial damage than all conventional crime in that nation for an entire year, combined (White & Habibis 2005, p. 130). A study in the 1980s showed that “for every dollar taken by conventional crime, about 40 dollars were stolen by criminals wearing suits and ties” (Newbold 2000, p. 44). Money taken from the individual also causes indirect, but very real, damage to people surrounding the victims; “for every person injured by the collapse of a company, ten others – wives, children, creditors and their families – are seriously affected by it” (Charles Sturt, cited in Newbold 2000, p. 45). It also harms economies in general, which affects most everyone in a society (Newbold 2000, p. 45).
And yet despite all that the politicians focus on the minor stuff. Probably because they get their donations and careers from the white collar criminals.
That Irish TImes link didn’t seem to work for me. The other two didn’t describe a comparison of the direct and indirect costs of different kinds of crime, for example between “white collar” and “all others”. A link within the second citation simply went “error 404”.
It’s fine to claim that in a financial crime affects not just the specific person who is damaged, but that is true of most other crimes as well.
I would fully agree that financial crime is under-reported and under-policed in New Zealand. And I would agree that the rich afford better lawyers to get away with it more often, because that is what I have seen.
For an academic of good experience, Greg Newbold needs to be a whole bunch more precise about his claims. I also don’t mind academics having a strong class filter on their claims, so long as they back themselves up.
White collar frauds and economic crime costs the country billions of dollars each year, government officials have concluded.
Minister for the Serious Fraud Office Anne Tolley said many Ministries had been working for two years on a “Cost of Economic Crime” report that was due to be presented to cabinet soon.
Newbold was in Pare in the ’70s or ’80s, got sent down for drugs IIRC. I read his book, don’t remember much of it now except to recall it wasn’t a bad read.
I’m not sure I could agree with the statement. IMO the serious damage is done by those who tend to be above the law.
“The Big Huey”.
And since then, it’s become more and more about punishment, and less about any type of rehabilitation.
Even the Honorable Don McKinnon was into rehab in those days assisting with prison debating teams, etc.
Now its got so bad, we see NGOs having to do even more basic things (such as with literacy and numeracy) which SHOULD be an inherent part of the system
There are two journo commentators not to be missed:
David Slack “Slack at the Back” (SST) and Steve Braunais. Both of them brilliant.
I agree about Winston. I hope he shows his coalition partners how to handle the crap coming out of the mouths of their opponents – not just sit there like numpties and take it.
Propagandists Not Journalists
Exhibit 1: The ghoulish ISABEL KIRSHNER of the New York Times
“Jihad Abu Jamous, 30, from Bani Suheila, a village near Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip, set off for the border in a taxi with his wife, Ghadir, and their four children. He didn’t come back. His widow said he had moved toward the fence and was shot in the head. It was not clear whether he was throwing stones at the time.”
New York Times, “After Gaza Clash, Israel and Palestinians Fight With Videos and Words” April 1, 2018
Morrissey…….when the power elites throughout the world collude with the settler colonial project in Palestine, as they have done since 1948, this is an example of how war crimes are rationalised through the corporate media. Killing unarmed protesters and clearly identified medics helping the injured, as has been happening in the last month in the Gaza Strip, are now accepted as the price of allowing the criminal Netanyahu and his far right government in Israel to grab more and more Palestinian land and deny the basic human rights of the lawful owners. Our government need to be making clear and strong statements about this ongoing genocide, and keep repeating it.
“Being stupid is not a crime”
True, and we’re all fortunate that’s the case.
Encouraging other people to be stupid for the purpose of making a profit oneself isn’t a crime either.
So criminality isn’t always the best test of whether something is right or not.
Neither have many on the right Ad.
One of the more outspoken commentators on the stupidity of Lotto is Don Brash. He has always said it is stupid.
For example
“I haven’t bought a Lotto ticket, ever. I think most of those gambling activities are really a very regressive form of taxation. They are particularly hard on low-income people, who cherish the myth that they’ll have all their financial woes fixed if they can just win Lotto.” http://www.stuff.co.nz/business/money/9161761/Brash-and-the-art-of-parsimony
I guess that will lead to people who don’t like Brash running out to get their ticket for tonight’s draw. If Don is against it they will want to show that they disagree with him.
Don is right of course as the odds against winning anything much are ridiculous. That doesn’t stop me buying a ticket whenever it goes over $20 million though. I know the odds but I get some pleasure from the dream.
They are particularly hard on low-income people, who cherish the myth that they’ll have all their financial woes fixed if they can just win Lotto.
This is actually wrong. IMO, for most low income people buying lotto is the only hope that they have. It’s why lotto sales tend to go up in a recession.
That is certainly a spectacularly quick change of heart.
At 12.19pm you think
“Lotteries are simply ripping people off”.
Then by 12.26pm you propose
“This is actually wrong. IMO, for most low income people buying lotto is the only hope that they have”.
I am not surprised of course. As I said in my comment
” If Don is against it they will want to show that they disagree with him.”
You, discovering what Don thinks, have immediately flipped your opinion so that you can now take the opposite view to him.
Sad really. Still I suppose you manage to rationalise this in the deep turgid recesses of your mind.
The only sad thing is your habit of misinterpreting comments to suit yourself.
Draco had no change of heart that I can see. Lotteries ripping people off is not contradictory to Lotteries being a poor but only source of hope to the poor because employment offers even less hope…
Putting your thoughts into other people’s words by selective quoting is a sad activity. You need a better pastime, alwyn.
” that I can see”.
That’s nice dear.
Of course you don’t see anything. As the saying goes
“There are none so blind as those who will not see”.
That is, of course, a selective quote. It was selected because it describes you perfectly.
As expected – total failure to counter the explanation of why Draco had had no change of heart. Instead, shallow, insulting sophistry.
Alwyn, you really do need a healthier pastime.
That’s an average annual net profit of nearly $40,000 per year..
That’s on an outlay of $126 per week. Which I know is more than most people can afford or are willing to outlay, but if you want to profit you have to spend as much as you can possibly afford. I’m not on a high income but I don’t have a family to worry about and I’m confident enough to spend that much each week even sometimes going 4 weeks or more without winning a cent.
It’s working so far. I could now play $126 per week for the next 20 years win nothing at all every week for the entire 20 years and would break even. So I look at it as I’m playing for the next 20 years for free.
Sorry Adam – too many (ex)English or Language teachers amongst us for that to have gone unnoticed. Had I disagreed, I would be more likely to comment, or more likely, just spell the word correctly when replying.
Good of you to point out ‘forlorn’ – a word with sad connotations that best describes the plight of the poor. (Sorry – relatively poor, for those righties who pretend that everyone has a fair chance…)
State houses were then seen as a stop-gap measure, to tide the tenants over until they found a place of their own.
Talk about re-writing history. They were not built to be merely a stop-gap measure at all. They were long term family homes where successive generations could bring up their children in a safe and stable environment. It’s true some were able to eventually buy their own homes but many more stayed in those homes for the rest of their lives.
Soper is either super ignorant or is redefining the truth to fit a certain political bias for the benefit of those who don’t know their history.
Edit: in fact most of the article is a ‘redefining of the truth’. Most of the tenants were – and I suspect still are – normal stable individuals.
It was hasty read. Missed that bit. Does that mean he reads The Standard? That’s good to know. I’ll be use every opportunity to ridicule the ignorant piece of
Anne. The Standard is widely read by political journalists, political scientists, PR people, and politicians ex and current alike, don’t you worry about that!
This is why it’s important to get your thoughts down here with links whenever you are able and whenever the injustice of the right wing rears it’s ugly head. To make a comment both adds to the voice of social consciousness, and makes a record of your opinion.
It does make a difference, and contributes to the necessary counter argument to corporate media. I’m talking Hooten, Trevett, Soper, etc.
“The Standard is widely read by political journalists, political scientists, PR people, and politicians ex and current alike, don’t you worry about that!”
I didn’t realise it. Never mind, I’m not changing my style to satisfy a bunch of mealy mouthed, self entitled, arrogant journos… turned PR acolytes for greedy, even more self entitled, ignorant Nat politicos and their sycophantic support base of trolls and nitwits. 😉
I don’t think you need to worry about too many politicians and journalists reading the standard Anne .. and if they are it’ll mostly be for the laughs.
I bet ms is. His posts are always rational and well thought through.
Btw, I forgot to finish the last sentence @6.1. I. 1. I was trying to think of a really shitty descriptive word that was appropriate for a ‘family friendly’ blog like TS, then got sidetracked. 😈
Exactly. Total bullshit to say they werent ‘homes for life’
Up till the deregulation of the banking sector in the 80s, vast majority of working families werent eligible for a home mortgage as the money was rationed by the banks ( mainly saving banks) – none of this borrowing overseas to fund local residential mortgages.
You had to be a well established customer to boot and quite substantial deposit ( saved with the bank of course) to show your ability to repay.
+1. I think he’s beginning to find out that his days are numbered and the erratic personal attacks on politicians for the purposes of his own headlines are not going to carry him far into him retirement.
Watch his young, young wife Heather Duplicity-Allen drop him when his political access finally runs out.
Also, a lot of State houses were used for Public Servants on transfer. In the early 1970’s a friend of mine and his family were moved from Welllington to Auckland with the Labour Department (as it was then). They got a state house in GI as part of the transfer package.
The only certain ‘unintended consequence’ I can see is that the complicity of the middle classes in creating our class based dystopia has come back to bite them.
Whatever the original intention on state houses various things seemed to have gone wrong.
Firstly thinking selling them off was a good idea.
Secondly whoever is getting them seems to be pretty arbitrary – had friends who were migrants got a state house in mission bay, and were on $100,000k… couldn’t believe it because even then 20 years ago, it was considered hard to get into a state house and they were not hiding their wages or anything. Then they were allowed to buy the state house at a 10% discount. (Which they didn’t, as they had already left the country after gaining residency in the UK, but left behind their parents in the state house, because they had to be resident for approx 5 years to get citizenship).
Thirdly, if they have tenants who are P heads in there, there has to be another place to put them once they are evicted, you would think some sort of drug rehab might be a good idea and then some sort of supervised housing for them and their family.
Fourthly – we need to have real measures to get rid of P, not scams like MethCon.
Fifthly we need real jobs for people to work in, if we have a plethora of jobs that need government assistance to top up wages in the service industry for example and all over wages in real terms not going up while the cost of living is soaring, is that a win for this country????
Sixly, we need to decide are we continuing in our low wage economy and driving out our educated youth by having them compete for jobs with people trying to gain residency. Then look at do we want to sully our NZ degrees with some of the questionable courses being put out there…
The state housing stock is so out of proportion when it comes to homes per capita. I think it is at a 1949 figure.
This is the fault of the government in the last 20 years. Immigration in the last decade has not helped the situation, it is not an immigrants fault.
Non residents and those who have not been resident for 3 years have had an entitlement to purchase an existing home. There is more than enough land in NZ to do a new build.
Instead homes are having to be built because non residents and those having residency for less than 3 years were able to compete against NZ citizens and committed residents for an existing home.
When it comes to student numbers the rental situation is temporary.
What does the government need to do to accelerate building affordable homes for people who are fully committed to the country?
1937 was a vintage year for building homes and many more
glorious years followed. NZ can do it again.
“It’s certainly a change from their attitude over the past three years when 300 state house tenants were shown the door for methamphetamine-related transgressions, ironically the same number of curious people who traipsed through the first state house in Wellington way back in 1937 after the Prime Minister of the time Mickey Savage struggled through the door with a dining table”
I had a few thoughts; that he’s been reading The Standard so much he’s unconsciously typed Mickey Savage instead of Michael Joseph Savage.. or is he having a sly dig at one the authors here. Was it deliberate or accidental?
He is just doing that fau familiarity thing commentors do when they are implying a close insider knowledge, whilst simultaneously serving a backhander to the object of commentary. (“Struggle” suggestive of not being used to manual labour, instead of a humble action taken by a great man).
Just an example of where our county is at. Yesterday a friend of mine was walking along Queen ST in Auckland. The All blacks were at the ASB Bank as some sort of promotion, meanwhile at the intersection of that road, a homeless man?? was being worked on by paramedics… is that really the brighter future that we were all promised, big winners and quite a lot of big losers?
According to some boffhead on Country Life on RNZ this morning, nitrogen pollution is caused by those naughty nitrogen fixing plants clover and gorse.
Wanker
Listen to the link.
He posits that legumes are a cause of nitrogen pollution.
He’s not referring top any scientific report that supports that.
Note that he does not suggest any other cause of Nitrogen pollution, like extreme stocking rates, or the application of nitrogen to the soil.
If legumes are a cause of pollution these days, why was Nitrogen pollution not a problem 80 years ago when clover was first widely used a a pasture plant?
So what science are you referring to that you suggest suits my bias?
What is my bias?
Yeah, those fucking scientists what the fuck would they know ?.
Much better to pull to pull uninformed ignorance out of your arse than go by researched facts any day.
If its good enough for the Donald its good enough for you,eh.
Methinks the sciencey type got his mucking furds wuddled due to the stress of trying to sound casual under pressure.
WE all know what he was trying to say…so go easy, eh?
It was a very good piece about an excellent environmental initiative involving refugees from Lincoln.
Well the actual clip would be nice, rather than some fucker selectively quoting some other fucker’s selective quotes and paraphrasing of what the original fucker said.
Reminds me of the time I read a book chapter that argued with a four page peer reviewed article about one guy’s single sentence in a two page opinion piece in a trade advertising magazine. Mountains out of molehills.
Don’t get me wrong, Stewart’s pretty good at laying into the entire partisanship hypocrisy.
But you know these youtube vids: someone tags it as “A eviscerates/pwns/demolishes B”, and it turns out that A said something either not very convincing or merely not completely praiseworthy of B, if anything at all. And those moments of your life are now gone.
As is usual the DomPost has an article applauding Martinborough getting rid of plastic bags in Supermarkets.
The Dom does this in a paper that is home delivered wrapped in not one but two plastic bags. Each of them is made of much thicker plastic than a shopping bag. They are also not usable as bin liners which is what I do with my grocery bags.
Thus they campaign for scrapping multi use bags while they use multiple single use bags to deliver their paper each day.
They are as hypocritical as their local MP. Just like Grant they want one law for themselves and another for everyone else. Not the same law of course. In Grant’s case it is selling access to the Minister of Finance. I think I should start saving up the Dom wrapping plastic and deliver it back to them, dropping it on the floor of their office foyer, once a week.
Anyone willing to join in?
I will only be doing it for a couple more weeks though. The only reason I am getting the paper is that they are giving it away free and that only lasts a month.
“Write them a letter”?
What on earth do you think that is going to accomplish? You surely don’t believe that they would publish it. It would be dumped straight into the rubbish bin and I would simply have wasted the cost of the stamp.
No, returning the plastic to the paper will force them to do something about it. Even if that is only sweeping it up and dumping it. If a number of people did the same thing they might stop creating the rubbish in the first place. It would mean they had to put the paper in the letterbox, at least on wet days, but so what?
It’s become a bit of a thing in the UK. Shoppers unwrapping all the stuff they’ve bought at the supermarket and leaving the mountains of plastic behind in the trolleys. https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-bristol-43559636
But there is alwyn taking his usual arrogant and ‘superior’ attitude; deliberately misunderstanding the sarcastic nature of Gabby’s instruction (do you really need a sarc tag every time, alwyn?) and then flooding the Ethernet with more garbage. Alwyn – you need a healthier pastime.
In the meantime I continue to be amazed at your claimed ability to determine what other people mean by their comments.
I am also appalled by your stalking of me on this site. I really am not interested in the sick obsessions you appear to indulge in and the insane comments you make about me.
Get over it you old drunk. It does you no good to exhibit such perverted jealousy of your superiors.
… a great idea! “I think I should start saving up the Dom wrapping plastic and deliver it back to them, dropping it on the floor of their office foyer, once a week.
Anyone willing to join in?”
REALLY we read this
Especially given todays environment, with Fonterra’s PR advertising campaign to show the +ve side of farming and the M.Bovis issue and the threat to our economy. https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/farming/104382640/waikato-councils-take-hard-line-on-truckies-illegally-dumping-stock-effluent
Others are also worried effluent discarded on roads could hinder efforts to stop Mycoplasma bovis from spreading in the region.
But a spokesperson from stock transportation firm Waitoa Haulage said there weren’t enough effluent dumping stations, not only in the Matamata-Piako district but throughout New Zealand
“We have been promised more (dumping stations) time and time again, but they were never delivered.”
Not a behaviour to gain support of the masses
“An email from Bishop Joseph said the rest of the money would be put in a a separate account, not to be released without his permission, according to reports.”
Not being big on religion I don’t know why they’d do this but, on the face of it, its certainly not a good look
If you’re doing business with a religious son-of-a-bitch, get it in writing. His word isn’t worth shit. Not with the good lord telling him how to fuck you on the deal.
“when the polls close in Northcote”.
At the same time as every other Parliamentary election in New Zealand.
7:00 pm.
If you live there and haven’t voted you really will have to get your skates on.
Yeah, I had a lot of time for PM, too. Frequently disagreed, often agreed, and if he got the wrong end of something he owned it. The ban was a damn shame.
It was only when one of their got sinbinned that the All Blacks got three tries in fast order.
For at least the first two thirds of the game the packs were about even, and for the first half the territory was pretty even. Last thirty minutes was a disaster.
Finally good to see Auckland’s public transport system actually work well for once; the trains actually worked on time, and most of the City’s buses were pressed into service. It worked.
It’s well time the All Blacks lost, for the good of the game, and Dunedin would be the right place to see it happen.
The All BLacks have not been in the national interest for quite some time, it has all jumped the shark somewhat and become delusional. In these increasingly unsecure times, NZ rugby has become a increasing security liability, estranging traditional relations among other things.
But there is no sensible oversight for such things in modern New Zealand.
Well, Commentators both agreed that the Yellow card was unjustified. The unjustified Yellow card (especially when Sam Cane did more to earn one later on, but nothing happened) changed the course of the game by upsetting the near-balance.
Tonight’s win was more a cause for guilt than rejoicing.
NZ has to be careful. NZ is the biggest country in the world where rugby is the main winter sport. Most other countries – Rugby needs to work bloody hard to even make itself significant.
Many others around the world still believe France was robbed in the last World Cup final.
Tonight’s game did NZ and Rugby NO GOOD AT ALL.
But this comment is for those silly enough to care.
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New Zealand now has the fourth most depressed construction sector in the world behind China, Qatar and Hong Kong. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: These are the six things that stood out to me in news and commentary on Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy at 8:46am on Thursday, May 2:The Lead: ...
Hi,I am just going to state something very obvious: American police are fucking crazy.That was a photo gracing the New York Times this morning, showing New York City police “entering Columbia University last night after receiving a request from the school.”Apparently in America, protesting the deaths of tens of thousands ...
Winston Peters’ much anticipated foreign policy speech last night was a work of two halves. Much of it was a standard “boilerplate” Foreign Ministry overview of the state of the world. There was some hardening up of rhetoric with talk of “benign” becoming “malign” and old truths giving way to ...
Graham Adams assesses the fallout of the Cass Review — The press release last Thursday from the UN Special Rapporteur on violence against women and girls didn’t make the mainstream news in New Zealand but it really should have. The startling title of Reem Alsalem’s statement — “Implementation of ‘Cass ...
This open-for-business, under-new-management cliché-pockmarked government of Christopher Luxon is not the thing of beauty he imagines it to be. It is not the powerful expression of the will of the people that he asserts it to be. It is not a soaring eagle, it is a malodorous vulture. This newest poll should make ...
The latest labour market statistics, showing a rise in unemployment. There are now 134,000 unemployed - 14,000 more than when the National government took office. Which is I guess what happens when the Reserve Bank causes a recession in an effort to Keep Wages Low. The previous government saw a ...
Three opinion polls have been released in the last two days, all showing that the new government is failing to hold their popular support. The usual honeymoon experienced during the first year of a first term government is entirely absent. The political mood is still gloomy and discontented, mainly due ...
National's Finance Minister once met a poor person.A scornful interview with National's finance guru who knows next to nothing about economics or people.There might have been something a bit familiar if that was the headline I’d gone with today. It would of course have been in tribute to the article ...
Rob MacCulloch writes – Throughout the pandemic, the new Vice-Chancellor-of-Otago-University-on-$629,000 per annum-Can-you-believe-it-and-Former-Finance-Minister Grant Robertson repeated the mantra over and over that he saved “lives and livelihoods”.As we update how this claim is faring over the course of time, the facts are increasingly speaking differently. NZ ...
Chris Trotter writes – IT’S A COMMONPLACE of political speeches, especially those delivered in acknowledgement of electoral victory: “We’ll govern for all New Zealanders.” On the face of it, the pledge is a strange one. Why would any political leader govern in ways that advantaged the huge ...
Bryce Edwards writes – The list of former National Party Ministers being given plum and important roles got longer this week with the appointment of former Deputy Prime Minister Paula Bennett as the chair of Pharmac. The Christopher Luxon-led Government has now made key appointments to Bill ...
TL;DR: These are the six things that stood out to me in news and commentary on Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy at 10:06am on Wednesday, May 1:The Lead: Business confidence fell across the board in April, falling in some areas to levels last seen during the lockdowns because of a collapse in ...
Over the past 36 hours, Christopher Luxon has been dong his best to portray the centre-right’s plummeting poll numbers as a mark of virtue. Allegedly, the negative verdicts are the result of hard economic times, and of a government bravely set out on a perilous rescue mission from which not ...
Auckland Transport have started rolling out new HOP card readers around the network and over the next three months, all of them on buses, at train stations and ferry wharves will be replaced. The change itself is not that remarkable, with the new readers looking similar to what is already ...
Completed reads for April: The Difference Engine, by William Gibson and Bruce Sterling Carnival of Saints, by George Herman The Snow Spider, by Jenny Nimmo Emlyn’s Moon, by Jenny Nimmo The Chestnut Soldier, by Jenny Nimmo Death Comes As the End, by Agatha Christie Lord of the Flies, by ...
On February 14, 2023 we announced our Rebuttal Update Project. This included an ask for feedback about the added "At a glance" section in the updated basic rebuttal versions. This weekly blog post series highlights this new section of one of the updated basic rebuttal versions and serves as a ...
Have a story to share about St Paul’s, but today just picturesPopular novels written at this desk by a young man who managed to bootstrap himself out of father’s imprisonment and his own young life in a workhouse Read more ...
The list of former National Party Ministers being given plum and important roles got longer this week with the appointment of former Deputy Prime Minister Paula Bennett as the chair of Pharmac. The Christopher Luxon-led Government has now made key appointments to Bill English, Simon Bridges, Steven Joyce, Roger Sowry, ...
Newsroom has a story today about National's (fortunately failed) effort to disestablish the newly-created Inspector-General of Defence. The creation of this agency was the key recommendation of the Inquiry into Operation Burnham, and a vital means of restoring credibility and social licence to an agency which had been caught lying ...
Holding On To The Present:The moment a political movement arises that attacks the whole idea of social progress, and announces its intention to wind back the hands of History’s clock, then democracy, along with its unwritten rules, is in mortal danger.IT’S A COMMONPLACE of political speeches, especially those delivered in ...
Stuck In The Middle With You:As Christopher Luxon feels the hot breath of Act’s and NZ First’s extremists on the back of his neck and, as he reckons with the damage their policies are already inflicting upon a country he’s described as “fragile”, is there not some merit in reaching out ...
The unpopular coalition government is currently rushing to repeal section 7AA of the Oranga Tamariki Act. The clause is Oranga Tamariki's Treaty clause, and was inserted after its systematic stealing of Māori children became a public scandal and resulted in physical resistance to further abductions. The clause created clear obligations ...
Buzz from the Beehive The government’s official website – which Point of Order monitors daily – not for the first time has nothing much to say today about political happenings that are grabbing media headlines. It makes no mention of the latest 1News-Verian poll, for example. This shows National down ...
It Takes A Train To Cry:Surely, there is nothing lonelier in all this world than the long wail of a distant steam locomotive on a cold Winter’s night.AS A CHILD, I would lie awake in my grandfather’s house and listen to the traffic. The big wooden house was only a ...
Packing A Punch: The election of the present government, including in its ranks politicians dedicated to reasserting the rights of the legislature in shaping and determining the future of Māori and Pakeha in New Zealand, should have alerted the judiciary – including its anomalous appendage, the Waitangi Tribunal – that its ...
Dead Woman Walking: New Zealand’s media industry had been moving steadily towards disaster for all the years Melissa Lee had been National’s media and communications policy spokesperson, and yet, when the crisis finally broke, on her watch, she had nothing intelligent to offer. Christopher Luxon is a patient man - but he’s not ...
Chris Trotter writes – New Zealand politics is remarkably easy-going: dangerously so, one might even say. With the notable exception of John Key’s flat ruling-out of the NZ First Party in 2008, all parties capable of clearing MMP’s five-percent threshold, or winning one or more electorate seats, tend ...
Bryce Edwards writes – Polling shows that Wellington Mayor Tory Whanau has the lowest approval rating of any mayor in the country. Siting at -12 per cent, the proportion of constituents who disapprove of her performance outweighs those who give her the thumbs up. This negative rating is ...
Luxon will no doubt put a brave face on it, but there is no escaping the pressure this latest poll will put on him and the government. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: These are the six things that stood out to me in news and commentary on Aotearoa-NZ’s political ...
This is a re-post from The Climate Brink by Andrew Dessler In the wake of any unusual weather event, someone inevitably asks, “Did climate change cause this?” In the most literal sense, that answer is almost always no. Climate change is never the sole cause of hurricanes, heat waves, droughts, or ...
Something odd happened yesterday, and I’d love to know if there’s more to it. If there was something which preempted what happened, or if it was simply a throwaway line in response to a journalist.Yesterday David Seymour was asked at a press conference what the process would be if the ...
Hi,From time to time, I want to bring Webworm into the real world. We did it last year with the Jurassic Park event in New Zealand — which was a lot of fun!And so on Saturday May 11th, in Los Angeles, I am hosting a lil’ Webworm pop-up! I’ve been ...
Education Minister Erica Standford yesterday unveiled a fundamental reform of the way our school pupils are taught. She would not exactly say so, but she is all but dismantling the so-called “inquiry” “feel good” method of teaching, which has ruled in our classrooms since a major review of the New ...
Exactly where are we seriously going with this government and its policies? That is, apart from following what may as well be a Truss-Lite approach on the purported economic “plan“, and Victorian-era regression when it comes to social policy.Oh it’ll work this time of course, we’re basically assured, “the ...
Hey Uncle Dave, When the Poms joined the EEC, I wasn't one of those defeatists who said, Well, that’s it for the dairy job. And I was right, eh? The Chinese can’t get enough of our milk powder and eventually, the Poms came to their senses and backed up the ute ...
Polling shows that Wellington Mayor Tory Whanau has the lowest approval rating of any mayor in the country. Siting at -12 per cent, the proportion of constituents who disapprove of her performance outweighs those who give her the thumbs up. This negative rating is higher than for any other mayor ...
Buzz from the Beehive Pharmac has been given a financial transfusion and a new chair to oversee its spending in the pharmaceutical business. Associate Health Minister David Seymour described the funding for Pharmac as “its largest ever budget of $6.294 billion over four years, fixing a $1.774 billion fiscal cliff”. ...
Bryce Edwards writes – Many criticisms are being made of the Government’s Fast Track Approvals Bill, including by this writer. But as with everything in politics, every story has two sides, and both deserve attention. It’s important to understand what the Government is trying to achieve and its ...
TL;DR: Here’s my top 10 ‘pick ‘n’ mix of links to news, analysis and opinion articles as of 10:10am on Monday, April 29:Scoop: The children's ward at Rotorua Hospital will be missing a third of its beds as winter hits because Te Whatu Ora halted an upgrade partway through to ...
span class=”dropcap”>As hideous as David Seymour can be, it is worth keeping in mind occasionally that there are even worse political figures (and regimes) out there. Iran for instance, is about to execute the country’s leading hip hop musician Toomaj Salehi, for writing and performing raps that “corrupt” the nation’s ...
Yesterday marked 10 years since the first electric train carried passengers in Auckland so it’s a good time to look back at it and the impact it has had. A brief history The first proposals for rail electrification in Auckland came in the 1920’s alongside the plans for earlier ...
The Government is again adding to New Zealand’s growing unemployment, this time cutting jobs at the agencies responsible for urban development and growing much needed housing stock. ...
With Minister Karen Chhour indicating in the House today that she either doesn’t know or care about the frontline cuts she’s making to Oranga Tamariki, we risk seeing more and more of our children falling through the cracks. ...
The Labour Party is saddened to learn of the death of Sir Robert Martin, a globally renowned disability advocate who led the way for disability rights both in New Zealand and internationally. ...
Labour is calling for the Government to urgently rethink its coalition commitment to restart live animal exports, Labour animal welfare spokesperson Rachel Boyack said. ...
Today’s Financial Stability Report has once again highlighted that poverty and deep inequality are political choices - and this Government is choosing to make them worse. ...
The Green Party is calling on the Government to do more for our households in most need as unemployment rises and the cost of living crisis endures. ...
Unemployment is on the rise and it’s only going to get worse under this Government, Labour finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds said. Stats NZ figures show the unemployment rate grew to 4.3 percent in the March quarter from 4 percent in the December quarter. “This is the second rise in unemployment ...
The New Zealand Labour Party welcomes the entering into force of the European Union and New Zealand free trade agreement. This agreement opens the door for a huge increase in trade opportunities with a market of 450 million people who are high value discerning consumers of New Zealand goods and ...
The National-led Government continues its fiscal jiggery pokery with its Pharmac announcement today, Labour Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall says. “The government has increased Pharmac funding but conceded it will only make minimal increases in access to medicine”, said Ayesha Verrall “This is far from the bold promises made to fund ...
This afternoon’s interim Waitangi Tribunal report must be taken seriously as it affects our most vulnerable children, Labour children’s spokesperson Willow-Jean Prime. ...
Te Pāti Māori are demanding the New Zealand Government support an international independent investigation into mass graves that have been uncovered at two hospitals on the Gaza strip, following weeks of assault by Israeli troops. Among the 392 bodies that have been recovered, are children and elderly civilians. Many of ...
Our two-tiered system for veterans’ support is out of step with our closest partners, and all parties in Parliament should work together to fix it, Labour veterans’ affairs spokesperson Greg O’Connor said. ...
Stripping two Ministers of their portfolios just six months into the job shows Christopher Luxon’s management style is lacking, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said. ...
Tonight’s court decision to overturn the summons of the Children’s Minister has enabled the Crown to continue making decisions about Māori without evidence, says Te Pāti Māori spokesperson for Children, Mariameno Kapa-Kingi. “The judicial system has this evening told the nation that this government can do whatever they want when ...
It appears Nicola Willis is about to pull the rug out from under the feet of local communities still dealing with the aftermath of last year’s severe weather, and local councils relying on funding to build back from these disasters. ...
The Government is making short-sighted changes to the Resource Management Act (RMA) that will take away environmental protection in favour of short-term profits, Labour’s environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said today. ...
Labour welcomes the release of the report into the North Island weather events and looks forward to working with the Government to ensure that New Zealand is as prepared as it can be for the next natural disaster. ...
The Labour Party has called for the New Zealand Government to recognise Palestine, as a material step towards progressing the two-State solution needed to achieve a lasting peace in the region. ...
Some of our country’s most important work, stopping the sexual exploitation of children and violent extremism could go along with staff on the frontline at ports and airports. ...
The Government’s Fast Track Approvals Bill will give projects such as new coal mines a ‘get out of jail free’ card to wreak havoc on the environment, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said today. ...
The government's decision to reintroduce Three Strikes is a destructive and ineffective piece of law-making that will only exacerbate an inherently biased and racist criminal justice system, said Te Pāti Māori Justice Spokesperson, Tākuta Ferris, today. During the time Three Strikes was in place in Aotearoa, Māori and Pasifika received ...
Cuts to frontline hospital staff are not only a broken election promise, it shows the reckless tax cuts have well and truly hit the frontline of the health system, says Labour Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall. ...
The Green Party has joined the call for public submissions on the fast-track legislation to be extended after the Ombudsman forced the Government to release the list of organisations invited to apply just hours before submissions close. ...
New Zealand’s good work at reducing climate emissions for three years in a row will be undone by the National government’s lack of ambition and scrapping programmes that were making a difference, Labour Party climate spokesperson Megan Woods said today. ...
More essential jobs could be on the chopping block, this time Ministry of Education staff on the school lunches team are set to find out whether they're in line to lose their jobs. ...
Te Pāti Māori is disgusted at the confirmation that hundreds are set to lose their jobs at Oranga Tamariki, and the disestablishment of the Treaty Response Unit. “This act of absolute carelessness and out of touch decision making is committing tamariki to state abuse.” Said Te Pāti Māori Oranga Tamariki ...
The Government is trying to bring in a law that will allow Ministers to cut corners and kill off native species, Labour environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said. ...
Cancelling urgently needed new Cook Strait ferries and hiking the cost of public transport for many Kiwis so that National can announce the prospect of another tunnel for Wellington is not making good choices, Labour Transport Spokesperson Tangi Utikere said. ...
The Government has delivered on its election promise to provide a financially sustainable model for Auckland under its Local Water Done Well plan. The plan, which has been unanimously endorsed by Auckland Council’s Governing Body, will see Aucklanders avoid the previously projected 25.8 per cent water rates increases while retaining ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters discussed the need for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, and enhanced cooperation in the Pacific with German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock during her first official visit to New Zealand today. "New Zealand and Germany enjoy shared interests and values, including the rule of law, democracy, respect for the international system ...
The Minister Responsible for RMA Reform, Chris Bishop today released his decision on four recommendations referred to him by the Western Bay of Plenty District Council, opening the door to housing growth in the area. The Council’s Plan Change 92 allows more homes to be built in existing and new ...
Thank you, John McKinnon and the New Zealand China Council for the invitation to speak to you today. Thank you too, all members of the China Council. Your effort has played an essential role in helping to build, shape, and grow a balanced and resilient relationship between our two ...
The Government is modernising insurance law to better protect Kiwis and provide security in the event of a disaster, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly announced today. “These reforms are long overdue. New Zealand’s insurance law is complicated and dated, some of which is more than 100 years old. ...
The coalition Government is refreshing its approach to supporting pay equity claims as time-limited funding for the Pay Equity Taskforce comes to an end, Public Service Minister Nicola Willis says. “Three years ago, the then-government introduced changes to the Equal Pay Act to support pay equity bargaining. The changes were ...
Structured literacy will change the way New Zealand children learn to read - improving achievement and setting students up for success, Education Minister Erica Stanford says. “Being able to read and write is a fundamental life skill that too many young people are missing out on. Recent data shows that ...
Trade Minister Todd McClay says Canada’s refusal to comply in full with a CPTPP trade dispute ruling in our favour over dairy trade is cynical and New Zealand has no intention of backing down. Mr McClay said he has asked for urgent legal advice in respect of our ‘next move’ ...
The rights of our children and young people will be enhanced by changes the coalition Government will make to strengthen oversight of the Oranga Tamariki system, including restoring a single Children’s Commissioner. “The Government is committed to delivering better public services that care for our most at-risk young people and ...
The Government is making it easier for minor changes to be made to a building consent so building a home is easier and more affordable, Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk says. “The coalition Government is focused on making it easier and cheaper to build homes so we can ...
New Zealand lost a true legend when internationally renowned disability advocate Sir Robert Martin (KNZM) passed away at his home in Whanganui last night, Disabilities Issues Minister Louise Upston says. “Our Government’s thoughts are with his wife Lynda, family and community, those he has worked with, the disability community in ...
Good evening – Before discussing the challenges and opportunities facing New Zealand’s foreign policy, we’d like to first acknowledge the New Zealand Institute of International Affairs. You have contributed to debates about New Zealand foreign policy over a long period of time, and we thank you for hosting us. ...
From today, passengers travelling internationally from Auckland Airport will be able to keep laptops and liquids in their carry-on bags for security screening thanks to new technology, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Creating a more efficient and seamless travel experience is important for holidaymakers and businesses, enabling faster movement through ...
People with an interest in the health of Northland’s marine ecosystems are invited to a public meeting to discuss how to deal with kina barrens, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. Mr Jones will lead the discussion, which will take place on Friday, 10 May, at Awanui Hotel in ...
Kiwi exporters are $100 million better off today with the NZ EU FTA entering into force says Trade Minister Todd McClay. “This is all part of our plan to grow the economy. New Zealand's prosperity depends on international trade, making up 60 per cent of the country’s total economic activity. ...
There are heartening signs that the extractive sector is once again becoming an attractive prospect for investors and a source of economic prosperity for New Zealand, Resources Minister Shane Jones says. “The beginnings of a resurgence in extractive industries are apparent in media reports of the sector in the past ...
The return of the historic Ō-Rākau battle site to the descendants of those who fought there moved one step closer today with the first reading of Te Pire mō Ō-Rākau, Te Pae o Maumahara / The Ō-Rākau Remembrance Bill. The Bill will entrust the 9.7-hectare battle site, five kilometres west ...
Energy Minister Simeon Brown has announced 25 new high-speed EV charging hubs along key routes between major urban centres and outlined the Government’s plan to supercharge New Zealand’s EV infrastructure. The hubs will each have several chargers and be capable of charging at least four – and up to 10 ...
The coalition Government will not proceed with the previous Government’s plans to regulate residential property managers, Housing Minister Chris Bishop says. “I have written to the Chairperson of the Social Services and Community Committee to inform him that the Government does not intend to support the Residential Property Managers Bill ...
The Government has announced an independent review into the disability support system funded by the Ministry of Disabled People – Whaikaha. Disability Issues Minister Louise Upston says the review will look at what can be done to strengthen the long-term sustainability of Disability Support Services to provide disabled people and ...
Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith has attended the Universal Periodic Review in Geneva and outlined the Government’s plan to restore law and order. “Speaking to the United Nations Human Rights Council provided us with an opportunity to present New Zealand’s human rights progress, priorities, and challenges, while responding to issues and ...
The Government and Rotorua Lakes Council are committed to working closely together to end the use of contracted emergency housing motels in Rotorua. Associate Minister of Housing (Social Housing) Tama Potaka says the Government remains committed to ending the long-term use of contracted emergency housing motels in Rotorua by the ...
Trade Minister Todd McClay heads overseas today for high-level trade talks in the Gulf region, and a key OECD meeting in Paris. Mr McClay will travel to Riyadh to meet with counterparts from Saudi Arabia and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). “New Zealand’s goods and services exports to the Gulf region ...
Education Minister Erica Stanford has outlined six education priorities to deliver a world-leading education system that sets Kiwi kids up for future success. “I’m putting ambition, achievement and outcomes at the heart of our education system. I want every child to be inspired and engaged in their learning so they ...
The new NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) App is a secure ‘one stop shop’ to provide the services drivers need, Transport Minister Simeon Brown and Digitising Government Minister Judith Collins say. “The NZTA App will enable an easier way for Kiwis to pay for Vehicle Registration and Road User Charges (RUC). ...
Whānau with tamariki growing up in emergency housing motels will be prioritised for social housing starting this week, says Associate Housing Minister Tama Potaka. “Giving these whānau a better opportunity to build healthy stable lives for themselves and future generations is an essential part of the Government’s goal of reducing ...
Racing Minister Winston Peters has paid tribute to an icon of the industry with the recent passing of Dave O’Sullivan (OBE). “Our sympathies are with the O’Sullivan family with the sad news of Dave O’Sullivan’s recent passing,” Mr Peters says. “His contribution to racing, initially as a jockey and then ...
Assalaamu alaikum, greetings to you all. Eid Mubarak, everyone! I want to extend my warmest wishes to you and everyone celebrating this joyous occasion. It is a pleasure to be here. I have enjoyed Eid celebrations at Parliament before, but this is my first time joining you as the Minister ...
Associate Health Minister David Seymour has announced Pharmac’s largest ever budget of $6.294 billion over four years, fixing a $1.774 billion fiscal cliff. “Access to medicines is a crucial part of many Kiwis’ lives. We’ve committed to a budget allocation of $1.774 billion over four years so Kiwis are ...
Hon Paula Bennett has been appointed as member and chair of the Pharmac board, Associate Health Minister David Seymour announced today. "Pharmac is a critical part of New Zealand's health system and plays a significant role in ensuring that Kiwis have the best possible access to medicines,” says Mr Seymour. ...
Hundreds of New Zealand families affected by Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) will benefit from a new Government focus on prevention and treatment, says Health Minister Dr Shane Reti. “We know FASD is a leading cause of preventable intellectual and neurodevelopmental disability in New Zealand,” Dr Reti says. “Every day, ...
Regional Development Minister Shane Jones today attended the official opening of Kaikohe’s new $14.7 million sports complex. “The completion of the Kaikohe Multi Sports Complex is a fantastic achievement for the Far North,” Mr Jones says. “This facility not only fulfils a long-held dream for local athletes, but also creates ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters’ engagements in Türkiye this week underlined the importance of diplomacy to meet growing global challenges. “Returning to the Gallipoli Peninsula to represent New Zealand at Anzac commemorations was a sombre reminder of the critical importance of diplomacy for de-escalating conflicts and easing tensions,” Mr Peters ...
Ambassador Millar, Burgemeester, Vandepitte, Excellencies, military representatives, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen – good morning and welcome to this sacred Anzac Day dawn service. It is an honour to be here on behalf of the Government and people of New Zealand at Buttes New British Cemetery, Polygon Wood – a deeply ...
Distinguished guests - It is an honour to return once again to this site which, as the resting place for so many of our war-dead, has become a sacred place for generations of New Zealanders. Our presence here and at the other special spaces of Gallipoli is made ...
Mai ia tawhiti pamamao, te moana nui a Kiwa, kua tae whakaiti mai matou, ki to koutou papa whenua. No koutou te tapuwae, no matou te tapuwae, kua honoa pumautia. Ko nga toa kua hinga nei, o te Waipounamu, o te Ika a Maui, he okioki tahi me o ...
Paul Goldsmith will take on responsibility for the Media and Communications portfolio, while Louise Upston will pick up the Disability Issues portfolio, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon announced today. “Our Government is relentlessly focused on getting New Zealand back on track. As issues change in prominence, I plan to adjust Ministerial ...
Recreational catch limits will be reduced in areas of Fiordland and the Chatham Islands to help keep those fisheries healthy and sustainable, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. The lower recreational daily catch limits for a range of finfish and shellfish species caught in the Fiordland Marine Area and ...
Energy Minister Simeon Brown has welcomed an important milestone in New Zealand’s hydrogen future, with the opening of the country’s first network of hydrogen refuelling stations in Wiri. “I want to congratulate the team at Hiringa Energy and its partners K one W one (K1W1), Mitsui & Co New Zealand ...
The coalition Government is delivering on its commitment to improve resource management laws and give greater certainty to consent applicants, with a Bill to amend the Resource Management Act (RMA) expected to be introduced to Parliament next month. RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop has today outlined the first RMA Amendment ...
RNZ News A group of academic staff at New Zealand’s largest university have expressed concern at the administration’s move to block a protest encampment that was planned to take place on campus calling for support for the rights of Palestinians. This week, the University of Auckland warned that while it ...
Genterwocky After a hard days marching, Sir Doocey calls in at the Village Tavern For a pint of ale and a pork pie. The grim villagers stare at him. “Do not be travelling on the forest road,” warns a crusty old beak. “And why is that, antique peasant?” Grins Sir ...
Political conferences after a party returns to power are usually a chance for some healthy, even unhealthy backslapping. Yet National Party president Sylvia Wood’s address to its mainland representatives on Saturday hardly contained the unalloyed delight that one might have expected following National’s escape from the wilderness of opposition. Yes, ...
Comment: Almost half the world is voting in national elections this year and artificial intelligence is the elephant in the room. There are genuine fears AI-generated or AI-edited deepfakes will potentially manipulate election outcomes not just in the US and UK, but critically in countries such as India. For that ...
Ahead of the reality franchise’s return to New Zealand, allow us to introduce the eight brides and grooms. Chuck on a veil and tie back your man bun, because it’s time to say “I do” to a new season of Married at First Sight NZ. The reality TV “social experiment” ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Andrew Norton, Professor in the Practice of Higher Education Policy, Australian National University Every year on June 1, student debt in Australia is indexed to inflation. In 2023, high inflation pushed the indexation rate to 7.1%, the highest since 1990. This ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra Changes in the May 14 budget will cut the student debt of more than three million people, wiping more than $3 billion from what people owe. The government will cap the HELP indexation rate ...
Asia Pacific Report The prosecutor’s office at the International Criminal Court (ICC) has appealed for an end to what it calls intimidation of its staff, saying such threats could constitute an offence against the “administration of justice” by the world’s permanent war crimes court. The Hague-based office of ICC Prosecutor ...
By Patrick Decloitre, RNZ Pacific correspondent French Pacific desk A women’s union in New Caledonia has staged a sit-in protest this week to support senior Kanak indigenous journalist Thérèse Waia, who works for public broadcaster Nouvelle-Calédonie la Première, after a smear attack by critics. The peaceful demonstration was held on ...
New Zealand Food Safety is monitoring overseas recalls of Indian packaged spice products manufactured by MDH and Everest due to concerns over a cancer-causing pesticide. ...
By Stephen Wright and Stefan Armbruster of BenarNews Fiji’s ranking in a global press freedom index has jumped into the top tier of countries with free or mostly free media after its government last year repealed a draconian law that threatened journalists with prison for doing their jobs. Fiji’s improvement ...
We might be in Invercargill but all anyone can talk about is Gore. Specifically, Salford Street. That’s where three-year-old Lachlan Jones lived, south of the centre of town, between the A&P Showgrounds and the Mataura River. Roughly 1.2 km away from the single level home he lived in with his ...
MONDAY I lined up the latest round of civil servants from city hall against the wall, and signalled for the firing squad to drop their rifles. I stepped up onto a wooden crate to look at the office workers in the eye. But that didn’t feel right, so I found ...
Keen hiker and second-year MSc student Liam Hewson wears two hats when he’s in the great outdoors. “The scientist in me appreciates nature and goes, ‘Oh, there’s that thing and there’s another thing,’ but then the tramper and the outdoorsy person in me thinks, ‘Cool bush.’” Born and bred in ...
After a long and illustrious career as a goal kicker, Dan Carter’s favourite way to unwind is… kicking goals. Why can’t he get enough of it? And what it’s like to watch him do it for an hour straight? A semicircle of people wielding cameras and phones has formed in ...
Dame Susan Devoy takes us through her life in television, including late night ER debriefs, her proudest CTI moment and the show she watches in secret. Quite aside from her four world champion squash titles, Dame Susan Devoy will likely go down in history as one of the best Celebrity ...
Hera Lindsay Bird reveals the best places in Ōtepoti to score more for your apocalypse-prep book hoard.Sometimes I get the feeling I’ve been killed in a car crash, and this second half of my life is just the brain unspooling itself, like one of those episodes of a hospital ...
ThreeNow’s new murder mystery series takes us on a dark, damp journey into the Australian wilderness.This is an excerpt from our weekly pop culture newsletter Rec Room. Sign up here. High Country is ThreeNow’s new Australian eight-part crime drama, set in a remote part of the Victorian highlands. It tells ...
Introducing a new way to read The Spinoff every weekend. After nearly 10 years of being an online magazine, we’re finally embracing the weekend liftout. Despite our best efforts to convince you otherwise, writers and editors at The Spinoff don’t work weekend. It is through the sheer power of technology ...
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Professor Greg Newbold says “white collar criminals do more damage to society than the gangs” ?
Yep I would agree as it is the Asian gangs bringing in the methamphetamine into NZ and distributing through our traditional gangs like the Mongrel Mob & the Head Hunters ?
The profits are then normally washed through the real estate and construction sector ?
Yes they do, but white collar crime seems to be legal aka how many of the business roundtable became rich by buying up cheap government assets sold off, how many people are profiting from current assets sell offs and government construction contracts.
Making the criminal legal is why we have so many lawyers per capita in this country, even more than the UK!
If you want to screw over people in this country but don’t have the connections to government as per above, no problem, it’s so easy. Just set up a company and then ‘go bankrupt’ owing millions and make poorer people bankrupt and then set up another company and start again… Lucky their are so many bankruptcy lawyers and big 5 who can help the government on behalf of the tax payer paying them big bucks
… this is not just the big guys people, anyone can do it, even one tradie I had the misfortune to encounter had been bankrupted 4 times leaving big debts, by Price Waterhouse the last one and was even trading under the same name, so was not obvious it was a different company! I rang PWC liquidator and asked why is he still allowed to be in business, and they said, that the public had to lay another complaint… I mean 5 times should be pretty obvious that that person should be in jail, not still on the scene. The liquidators even let him keep his van so he could continue with the poor business practices. It was unbelievable.
If he was simply a tradie, chances are he was being taken to the cleaners by the scoundrels he was subbing to – in recognition of that, state departments can be quite lenient with such people. I know – been there, done that!
What evidence does he provide for this claim?
‘White-collar crime does a lot more damage than conventional crime’
The Other Kind Of Crime
There’s actually quite a lot of research out there showing the same thing going back decades. I’ll leave you with this quote:
And yet despite all that the politicians focus on the minor stuff. Probably because they get their donations and careers from the white collar criminals.
That Irish TImes link didn’t seem to work for me. The other two didn’t describe a comparison of the direct and indirect costs of different kinds of crime, for example between “white collar” and “all others”. A link within the second citation simply went “error 404”.
It’s fine to claim that in a financial crime affects not just the specific person who is damaged, but that is true of most other crimes as well.
I would fully agree that financial crime is under-reported and under-policed in New Zealand. And I would agree that the rich afford better lawyers to get away with it more often, because that is what I have seen.
For an academic of good experience, Greg Newbold needs to be a whole bunch more precise about his claims. I also don’t mind academics having a strong class filter on their claims, so long as they back themselves up.
So, the person who’s researched this for decades and written books on it needs to be more precise while being interviewed by a journalist?
http://www.stuff.co.nz/business/industries/8291073/Economic-crime-costs-NZ-billions-each-year
https://www.radionz.co.nz/news/national/257185/economic-crime-costs-up-to-$9-point-4bn
Unfortunately this article only lists the cost of retail crime at $1.2 billion. But that does seem to indicate that he’s right.
Newbold was in Pare in the ’70s or ’80s, got sent down for drugs IIRC. I read his book, don’t remember much of it now except to recall it wasn’t a bad read.
I’m not sure I could agree with the statement. IMO the serious damage is done by those who tend to be above the law.
Yes. The white-collar criminals.
“The Big Huey”.
And since then, it’s become more and more about punishment, and less about any type of rehabilitation.
Even the Honorable Don McKinnon was into rehab in those days assisting with prison debating teams, etc.
Now its got so bad, we see NGOs having to do even more basic things (such as with literacy and numeracy) which SHOULD be an inherent part of the system
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=12066912
Braunias at his best.
Personally I’ll be quite pleased if Winston gives some in the cabinet and government a bloody good tool up.
There are two journo commentators not to be missed:
David Slack “Slack at the Back” (SST) and Steve Braunais. Both of them brilliant.
I agree about Winston. I hope he shows his coalition partners how to handle the crap coming out of the mouths of their opponents – not just sit there like numpties and take it.
Person status for our natural landmarks (I guess that includes aquifers). What a brilliant idea.
https://i.stuff.co.nz/travel/kiwi-traveller/104553006/why-more-of-new-zealands-natural-treasures-need-person-status
Propagandists Not Journalists
Exhibit 1: The ghoulish ISABEL KIRSHNER of the New York Times
http://normanfinkelstein.com/2018/06/08/is-isabel-kershner-saying-its-okay-to-shoot-him-in-the-head-if-he-was-throwing-a-stone/
Propagandists Not Journalists is compiled by Hector Stoop and presented by Morrissey Breen, for Daisycutter Sports, Inc.
Morrissey…….when the power elites throughout the world collude with the settler colonial project in Palestine, as they have done since 1948, this is an example of how war crimes are rationalised through the corporate media. Killing unarmed protesters and clearly identified medics helping the injured, as has been happening in the last month in the Gaza Strip, are now accepted as the price of allowing the criminal Netanyahu and his far right government in Israel to grab more and more Palestinian land and deny the basic human rights of the lawful owners. Our government need to be making clear and strong statements about this ongoing genocide, and keep repeating it.
Holy crap…someone called Christina won €90,000,000 through Lottoland.
That’s a record for online gambling.
And how much has Lottoland won from the suckers who “play” on it?
Being stupid is not a crime.
Being lucky and a sucker is just an occasional joy for the rest.
“Being stupid is not a crime”
True, and we’re all fortunate that’s the case.
Encouraging other people to be stupid for the purpose of making a profit oneself isn’t a crime either.
So criminality isn’t always the best test of whether something is right or not.
Just because it’s legal doesn’t mean that it’s right.
This, of course, is why the RWNJs like deregulation. It makes immoral actions legal.
Worst defence of the vulgarity of lotteries ever…
Joy is not built on the vain hope of breaking out of poverty.
The left has never understood the pleasure of vice.
All they can see is the need to exercise power.
Calling BS on that one. What power, moreover the lack of it. Good God man, what waffle is that?
If you think that the fallon hope with lottery is a pleasure vice, your understanding of what makes up a pleasure vice, is soft.
edit: Who is this left you speak of?
Neither have many on the right Ad.
One of the more outspoken commentators on the stupidity of Lotto is Don Brash. He has always said it is stupid.
For example
“I haven’t bought a Lotto ticket, ever. I think most of those gambling activities are really a very regressive form of taxation. They are particularly hard on low-income people, who cherish the myth that they’ll have all their financial woes fixed if they can just win Lotto.”
http://www.stuff.co.nz/business/money/9161761/Brash-and-the-art-of-parsimony
I guess that will lead to people who don’t like Brash running out to get their ticket for tonight’s draw. If Don is against it they will want to show that they disagree with him.
Don is right of course as the odds against winning anything much are ridiculous. That doesn’t stop me buying a ticket whenever it goes over $20 million though. I know the odds but I get some pleasure from the dream.
This is actually wrong. IMO, for most low income people buying lotto is the only hope that they have. It’s why lotto sales tend to go up in a recession.
Employment sure as hell doesn’t work.
BS
I’m about to have a beer. This is a vice that I enjoy.
Lotteries are simply ripping people off.
That is certainly a spectacularly quick change of heart.
At 12.19pm you think
“Lotteries are simply ripping people off”.
Then by 12.26pm you propose
“This is actually wrong. IMO, for most low income people buying lotto is the only hope that they have”.
I am not surprised of course. As I said in my comment
” If Don is against it they will want to show that they disagree with him.”
You, discovering what Don thinks, have immediately flipped your opinion so that you can now take the opposite view to him.
Sad really. Still I suppose you manage to rationalise this in the deep turgid recesses of your mind.
The only sad thing is your habit of misinterpreting comments to suit yourself.
Draco had no change of heart that I can see. Lotteries ripping people off is not contradictory to Lotteries being a poor but only source of hope to the poor because employment offers even less hope…
Putting your thoughts into other people’s words by selective quoting is a sad activity. You need a better pastime, alwyn.
” that I can see”.
That’s nice dear.
Of course you don’t see anything. As the saying goes
“There are none so blind as those who will not see”.
That is, of course, a selective quote. It was selected because it describes you perfectly.
As expected – total failure to counter the explanation of why Draco had had no change of heart. Instead, shallow, insulting sophistry.
Alwyn, you really do need a healthier pastime.
Ah, a RWNJ misrepresenting me – what a surprise.
You really are a bad liar.
Not necessarily a vain hope if you play it right.
My annual net winnings from playing lotto over the last 4 years: (Have played for longer than that but started doing it properly 4 years ago)
2015 – $32,624
2016 – $23,910
2017 – $51,300
2018 – $26,337 (so far)
That’s an average annual net profit of nearly $40,000 per year..
That’s on an outlay of $126 per week. Which I know is more than most people can afford or are willing to outlay, but if you want to profit you have to spend as much as you can possibly afford. I’m not on a high income but I don’t have a family to worry about and I’m confident enough to spend that much each week even sometimes going 4 weeks or more without winning a cent.
It’s working so far. I could now play $126 per week for the next 20 years win nothing at all every week for the entire 20 years and would break even. So I look at it as I’m playing for the next 20 years for free.
The great majority of people don’t have $126 of disposable income a week to spend.
Let alone spending weeks going with losing that $126.
So you think you might just be an outlier on that one? And if you look I said a fallon hope, which no one spotted.
When I should have said – forlorn hope. Not a vain hope, forlorn.
Sorry Adam – too many (ex)English or Language teachers amongst us for that to have gone unnoticed. Had I disagreed, I would be more likely to comment, or more likely, just spell the word correctly when replying.
Good of you to point out ‘forlorn’ – a word with sad connotations that best describes the plight of the poor. (Sorry – relatively poor, for those righties who pretend that everyone has a fair chance…)
You must have a system?
A.
I am sure he will sell the system to you if you are silly enough to believe him.
Games within games….?
“Barry Soper: Why David Seymour has a point about state housing ”
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=12066506
(There’s a clue in that article for anyone interested)
If you you’re referring to the line;
State houses were then seen as a stop-gap measure, to tide the tenants over until they found a place of their own.
Talk about re-writing history. They were not built to be merely a stop-gap measure at all. They were long term family homes where successive generations could bring up their children in a safe and stable environment. It’s true some were able to eventually buy their own homes but many more stayed in those homes for the rest of their lives.
Soper is either super ignorant or is redefining the truth to fit a certain political bias for the benefit of those who don’t know their history.
Edit: in fact most of the article is a ‘redefining of the truth’. Most of the tenants were – and I suspect still are – normal stable individuals.
It was his dig at The Standard Anne. (Who was Prime Minister in 1937?)
It was hasty read. Missed that bit. Does that mean he reads The Standard? That’s good to know. I’ll be use every opportunity to ridicule the ignorant piece of
Anne. The Standard is widely read by political journalists, political scientists, PR people, and politicians ex and current alike, don’t you worry about that!
This is why it’s important to get your thoughts down here with links whenever you are able and whenever the injustice of the right wing rears it’s ugly head. To make a comment both adds to the voice of social consciousness, and makes a record of your opinion.
It does make a difference, and contributes to the necessary counter argument to corporate media. I’m talking Hooten, Trevett, Soper, etc.
“The Standard is widely read by political journalists, political scientists, PR people, and politicians ex and current alike, don’t you worry about that!”
😆
I didn’t realise it. Never mind, I’m not changing my style to satisfy a bunch of mealy mouthed, self entitled, arrogant journos… turned PR acolytes for greedy, even more self entitled, ignorant Nat politicos and their sycophantic support base of trolls and nitwits. 😉
I don’t think you need to worry about too many politicians and journalists reading the standard Anne .. and if they are it’ll mostly be for the laughs.
That was my take on it Anne, some big egos in the political scene and perhaps an author here is getting up a few noses.
I bet ms is. His posts are always rational and well thought through.
Btw, I forgot to finish the last sentence @6.1. I. 1. I was trying to think of a really shitty descriptive word that was appropriate for a ‘family friendly’ blog like TS, then got sidetracked. 😈
Exactly. Total bullshit to say they werent ‘homes for life’
Up till the deregulation of the banking sector in the 80s, vast majority of working families werent eligible for a home mortgage as the money was rationed by the banks ( mainly saving banks) – none of this borrowing overseas to fund local residential mortgages.
You had to be a well established customer to boot and quite substantial deposit ( saved with the bank of course) to show your ability to repay.
Soper is just a bitter, twisted clapped-out old journo in the early stages of Dementia.
+1. I think he’s beginning to find out that his days are numbered and the erratic personal attacks on politicians for the purposes of his own headlines are not going to carry him far into him retirement.
Watch his young, young wife Heather Duplicity-Allen drop him when his political access finally runs out.
Yeah I take issue with the “stop gap measure”. John Key was raised in a State house.
People mistakenly believe that this means they were on the bones of their arses. ACTUALLY the state house was offered as a reward for success.
If our media would do research and shit this would have been made clear long ago.
Also, a lot of State houses were used for Public Servants on transfer. In the early 1970’s a friend of mine and his family were moved from Welllington to Auckland with the Labour Department (as it was then). They got a state house in GI as part of the transfer package.
Unfortunately Soper has been diagnosed with a condition where he struggles with the truth and reality, the condition has worsened in recent years.
Liarbouritis?
You spelled it wrong. Its Liarbilityitis.
Mycoplasma bias.
Soper made a huge blooper some months back when he suggested it was the maori seats ‘ which won it for labour’
hes been a political commentator for decades and doesnt know how MMP works ( If labour won no maori seats they would just get 7 extra list seats)
The only certain ‘unintended consequence’ I can see is that the complicity of the middle classes in creating our class based dystopia has come back to bite them.
Click to Edit –
Whatever the original intention on state houses various things seemed to have gone wrong.
Firstly thinking selling them off was a good idea.
Secondly whoever is getting them seems to be pretty arbitrary – had friends who were migrants got a state house in mission bay, and were on $100,000k… couldn’t believe it because even then 20 years ago, it was considered hard to get into a state house and they were not hiding their wages or anything. Then they were allowed to buy the state house at a 10% discount. (Which they didn’t, as they had already left the country after gaining residency in the UK, but left behind their parents in the state house, because they had to be resident for approx 5 years to get citizenship).
Thirdly, if they have tenants who are P heads in there, there has to be another place to put them once they are evicted, you would think some sort of drug rehab might be a good idea and then some sort of supervised housing for them and their family.
Fourthly – we need to have real measures to get rid of P, not scams like MethCon.
Fifthly we need real jobs for people to work in, if we have a plethora of jobs that need government assistance to top up wages in the service industry for example and all over wages in real terms not going up while the cost of living is soaring, is that a win for this country????
Sixly, we need to decide are we continuing in our low wage economy and driving out our educated youth by having them compete for jobs with people trying to gain residency. Then look at do we want to sully our NZ degrees with some of the questionable courses being put out there…
bloody imgrints.
The state housing stock is so out of proportion when it comes to homes per capita. I think it is at a 1949 figure.
This is the fault of the government in the last 20 years. Immigration in the last decade has not helped the situation, it is not an immigrants fault.
Non residents and those who have not been resident for 3 years have had an entitlement to purchase an existing home. There is more than enough land in NZ to do a new build.
Instead homes are having to be built because non residents and those having residency for less than 3 years were able to compete against NZ citizens and committed residents for an existing home.
When it comes to student numbers the rental situation is temporary.
What does the government need to do to accelerate building affordable homes for people who are fully committed to the country?
1937 was a vintage year for building homes and many more
glorious years followed. NZ can do it again.
He got paid to write that?
The clue was in this paragraph here;
“It’s certainly a change from their attitude over the past three years when 300 state house tenants were shown the door for methamphetamine-related transgressions, ironically the same number of curious people who traipsed through the first state house in Wellington way back in 1937 after the Prime Minister of the time Mickey Savage struggled through the door with a dining table”
I had a few thoughts; that he’s been reading The Standard so much he’s unconsciously typed Mickey Savage instead of Michael Joseph Savage.. or is he having a sly dig at one the authors here. Was it deliberate or accidental?
He is just doing that fau familiarity thing commentors do when they are implying a close insider knowledge, whilst simultaneously serving a backhander to the object of commentary. (“Struggle” suggestive of not being used to manual labour, instead of a humble action taken by a great man).
Clue solved. Author is a pompous ass.
The Big Lie in Soper’s article:
The first state house was rented for almost 15 years then purchased by its first tenant, then sold back to the state thirty years after that when the tenants/oweners died. It also went to a council employee, a tram driver, because in those days regular workers deserved a decent home.
Soper is trying to paint a home for life as a temporary stop-gap. Rewriting history.
Death of Canadian man living in 24-hour coffee shop sparks housing outcry
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/jun/07/canada-death-homeless-man-tim-hortons-vancouver
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/mar/08/vancouver-declares-5-of-homes-empty-and-liable-for-new-tax
Just an example of where our county is at. Yesterday a friend of mine was walking along Queen ST in Auckland. The All blacks were at the ASB Bank as some sort of promotion, meanwhile at the intersection of that road, a homeless man?? was being worked on by paramedics… is that really the brighter future that we were all promised, big winners and quite a lot of big losers?
Yes it was.
BREAKING
Deep rooted legumes cause pollution
According to some boffhead on Country Life on RNZ this morning, nitrogen pollution is caused by those naughty nitrogen fixing plants clover and gorse.
Wanker
http://www.radionz.co.nz/audio/player?audio_id=2018648442
Fun fact… cannabis loves nitrogen.
I wonder if dairy was scrapped for medicinal marijuana, just how fast the land and water would be re-balanced…hmmmmm
So you only accept science that’s suits your bias?
Listen to the link.
He posits that legumes are a cause of nitrogen pollution.
He’s not referring top any scientific report that supports that.
Note that he does not suggest any other cause of Nitrogen pollution, like extreme stocking rates, or the application of nitrogen to the soil.
If legumes are a cause of pollution these days, why was Nitrogen pollution not a problem 80 years ago when clover was first widely used a a pasture plant?
So what science are you referring to that you suggest suits my bias?
What is my bias?
Yeah, those fucking scientists what the fuck would they know ?.
Much better to pull to pull uninformed ignorance out of your arse than go by researched facts any day.
If its good enough for the Donald its good enough for you,eh.
Methinks the sciencey type got his mucking furds wuddled due to the stress of trying to sound casual under pressure.
WE all know what he was trying to say…so go easy, eh?
It was a very good piece about an excellent environmental initiative involving refugees from Lincoln.
Recommended.
What do you think he was trying to say?
I wonder if John Stewart will come to little old NZ on his new comedy tour?
p.s. – Stewart calls BS on Russia hysteria.
Well the actual clip would be nice, rather than some fucker selectively quoting some other fucker’s selective quotes and paraphrasing of what the original fucker said.
Reminds me of the time I read a book chapter that argued with a four page peer reviewed article about one guy’s single sentence in a two page opinion piece in a trade advertising magazine. Mountains out of molehills.
You going to have to wait for the comedy central special.
Don’t get me wrong, Stewart’s pretty good at laying into the entire partisanship hypocrisy.
But you know these youtube vids: someone tags it as “A eviscerates/pwns/demolishes B”, and it turns out that A said something either not very convincing or merely not completely praiseworthy of B, if anything at all. And those moments of your life are now gone.
As is usual the DomPost has an article applauding Martinborough getting rid of plastic bags in Supermarkets.
The Dom does this in a paper that is home delivered wrapped in not one but two plastic bags. Each of them is made of much thicker plastic than a shopping bag. They are also not usable as bin liners which is what I do with my grocery bags.
Thus they campaign for scrapping multi use bags while they use multiple single use bags to deliver their paper each day.
They are as hypocritical as their local MP. Just like Grant they want one law for themselves and another for everyone else. Not the same law of course. In Grant’s case it is selling access to the Minister of Finance. I think I should start saving up the Dom wrapping plastic and deliver it back to them, dropping it on the floor of their office foyer, once a week.
Anyone willing to join in?
I will only be doing it for a couple more weeks though. The only reason I am getting the paper is that they are giving it away free and that only lasts a month.
Write them a letter wally.
“Write them a letter”?
What on earth do you think that is going to accomplish? You surely don’t believe that they would publish it. It would be dumped straight into the rubbish bin and I would simply have wasted the cost of the stamp.
No, returning the plastic to the paper will force them to do something about it. Even if that is only sweeping it up and dumping it. If a number of people did the same thing they might stop creating the rubbish in the first place. It would mean they had to put the paper in the letterbox, at least on wet days, but so what?
It’s become a bit of a thing in the UK. Shoppers unwrapping all the stuff they’ve bought at the supermarket and leaving the mountains of plastic behind in the trolleys.
https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-bristol-43559636
But there is alwyn taking his usual arrogant and ‘superior’ attitude; deliberately misunderstanding the sarcastic nature of Gabby’s instruction (do you really need a sarc tag every time, alwyn?) and then flooding the Ethernet with more garbage. Alwyn – you need a healthier pastime.
You claim to be, or at least to have been, a teacher.
I suppose this is the sort of “healthier pastime” you indulge in?
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/104319596/mum-losing-hope-of-hearing-from-teen-who-skipped-the-country-with-her-former-teacher
In the meantime I continue to be amazed at your claimed ability to determine what other people mean by their comments.
I am also appalled by your stalking of me on this site. I really am not interested in the sick obsessions you appear to indulge in and the insane comments you make about me.
Get over it you old drunk. It does you no good to exhibit such perverted jealousy of your superiors.
Another load of malevolent, wishful waffle. Appallingly unconvincing, sorry.
… a great idea! “I think I should start saving up the Dom wrapping plastic and deliver it back to them, dropping it on the floor of their office foyer, once a week.
Anyone willing to join in?”
REALLY we read this
Especially given todays environment, with Fonterra’s PR advertising campaign to show the +ve side of farming and the M.Bovis issue and the threat to our economy.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/farming/104382640/waikato-councils-take-hard-line-on-truckies-illegally-dumping-stock-effluent
Others are also worried effluent discarded on roads could hinder efforts to stop Mycoplasma bovis from spreading in the region.
But a spokesperson from stock transportation firm Waitoa Haulage said there weren’t enough effluent dumping stations, not only in the Matamata-Piako district but throughout New Zealand
“We have been promised more (dumping stations) time and time again, but they were never delivered.”
Not a behaviour to gain support of the masses
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/104584553/church-withholds-60000-raised-to-help-poisoned-waikato-family
“An email from Bishop Joseph said the rest of the money would be put in a a separate account, not to be released without his permission, according to reports.”
Not being big on religion I don’t know why they’d do this but, on the face of it, its certainly not a good look
Frank Zappa.
Be good to hear the bishop’s story.
William Burroughs I believe
Ah yes, Words Of Advice For Young People. Thanks for the reminder 🙂
/like
That’s the one, with these dudes
https://youtu.be/hD9pJzZ1XGI
Some of the churches here in NZ have not been particularly community orientated enough said.
Anyone know when the polls close in Northcote? Who of any significance will be rushing to the Birkenhead booths at this time of night?
“when the polls close in Northcote”.
At the same time as every other Parliamentary election in New Zealand.
7:00 pm.
If you live there and haven’t voted you really will have to get your skates on.
Most days I still come on here and scan the recent comments for the crass logo…
Which one is that, then?
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/9/93/The_Crass_logo.png/220px-The_Crass_logo.png
who uses that, here?
Psycho Milt. Wow seems to be a fan.
Ah, true.
Yeah, I had a lot of time for PM, too. Frequently disagreed, often agreed, and if he got the wrong end of something he owned it. The ban was a damn shame.
+1 In reply to McFlock at 17.1.1.1
Thought I pressed reply, but got a new number.
Bit sorry for the French team tonight.
It was only when one of their got sinbinned that the All Blacks got three tries in fast order.
For at least the first two thirds of the game the packs were about even, and for the first half the territory was pretty even. Last thirty minutes was a disaster.
Finally good to see Auckland’s public transport system actually work well for once; the trains actually worked on time, and most of the City’s buses were pressed into service. It worked.
It’s well time the All Blacks lost, for the good of the game, and Dunedin would be the right place to see it happen.
“It’s well time the All Blacks lost, for the good of the game, and Dunedin would be the right place to see it happen.”
No it would not, the ABs should only lose when the opposition play better, such as not that long ago
http://www.theguardian.com/sport/live/2017/oct/21/australia-v-new-zealand-third-bledisloe-cup-test-live
The All BLacks have not been in the national interest for quite some time, it has all jumped the shark somewhat and become delusional. In these increasingly unsecure times, NZ rugby has become a increasing security liability, estranging traditional relations among other things.
But there is no sensible oversight for such things in modern New Zealand.
Well, Commentators both agreed that the Yellow card was unjustified. The unjustified Yellow card (especially when Sam Cane did more to earn one later on, but nothing happened) changed the course of the game by upsetting the near-balance.
Tonight’s win was more a cause for guilt than rejoicing.
NZ has to be careful. NZ is the biggest country in the world where rugby is the main winter sport. Most other countries – Rugby needs to work bloody hard to even make itself significant.
Many others around the world still believe France was robbed in the last World Cup final.
Tonight’s game did NZ and Rugby NO GOOD AT ALL.
But this comment is for those silly enough to care.
Some music Eco Maori listen to back in the day link below
https://youtu.be/VlXcF0WwFT
Ka kite ano