No rush to become a Republic, lots to sort out regarding the “Crown” and enduring colonial fall out affecting this country’s working class–Māori and Tauiwi alike.
For some time Charles acted for the Queen as the GG does here.
Given the GG acts on behalf of the Crown and performs the same role as Charles will in the UK, why not give them the title Crown Governor?
PS Charles 111 will be defender of faith, whereas his mother was defender of the faith – a subtle change (there is already a ministry of faith in the UK and a minster of faith to recognise the multi-cultural nation they are today).
I was replying to a post with the use of Charles “111” and so typed those numbers in – OK I could have borrowed the Latin numeral form from online for King Charles III.
Using the Latin numerals is common – eg Queen Elizabeth II. And no one presumes she has her own cricket team.
Technically that would mean directly electing the PM/President as in France and USA (and the person choosing their cabinet), which can separate the head of state (and cabinet appointees) from having a majority in parliament.
Nations such as Ireland have separate elections for President as head of state and the PM as head of government comes from the parliamentary election result.
That is a constitional convention in those countries.
Not set in concrete.
In fact, should a "Democracy" have a head of State?
Surely in an actual Democracy, not our pretend one, "The people are Soveriegn"?
Or. Should we bow to reality, and just appoint whoever is the Chairman of the Aussie bank that currently makes the most profit in NZ, and stop pretending?
The point of the head of state, separate from government. is to represent the interests of the peoples sovereignty – as to constitutional practice, so as to be a check on authoritarianism.
The pertinent thing is to define the role in those terms, the UK is somewhat constrained by the Crown tradition of calling the people subjects (of the authority).
''Everyone six months of bickering later: "Let's stick with Charles III"
If we are lucky, most New Zealanders will come to that conclusion.` If we are unlucky, most New Zealanders will believe we are mature enough to become a republic. The Queens death couldn't have come at a more inopportune time for the affairs of both Britain and New Zealand.
Yep – so many other problems on our plate that nobody has any appetite for wrangling over constitutional arrangements. It'd make 3 Waters look like a love-fest.
Yes, can't speak for Shanreagh … but I certainly started drinking heavily after reading Robert's outrageous “zee” comment. Two shandys down & now on to my third sarsaparilla.
Would love to know what you are on about. But never mind.
Zee is a US abomination Zeds unite! Long live the Zeds
Could even go Charge of the Light brigade crazy like
Zeds to the left of them
zeds to the right of them
Zeds in front of them
Volleyed and thundered;
Written at with shot and shell,
Boldly they wrote and well,
Into the jaws of spell
Into the mouth of hell
Rode the six zeddred.
No one under 80 can remember another monarch. All sorts of stuff will change, letterheads, money, all sorts of stuff.
A chap on the radio just made the mindblowing observation that the Queen’s first PM (Winston Churchill) was born in 1874. Her last, Liz Truss, was born 101 years later in 1975. She really spanned the era from the age of Empire to Brexit Britain.
Elizabeth II was an exemplar of another age – a person who put service above her individuality. It was a sense of service informed by her deep religiousity and patriotism and good on her for that.
Elizabeth II was Queen, and the Queen was her, there was no seperation. A superhuman effort of repression of the id in the service of a role and of an institution in the service of her country.
Imagine the panic in the drug dealing world if you said all cash notes must be changed over to one with Charlie's head on it in 6 months or it's rendered obsolete!!
I scrolled down the Herald to see 'Mike Hosking sobs on air' as the news broke.
At a symbolic moment a totally symbolic reaction. A person without an iota of empathy, a person who leads a horde representative of no empathy and understanding of the human condition and the lives and struggles of ordinary people, wallowing.
That is quite revolting. A evil man devoid of compassion who makes his living by denigrating those below him and making the lives of others a misery. To elevate and employ his own emotion for further gain while spending his entire life abusing people for showing theirs is obscene.
Wouldn't Liz Truss have to resign the prime ministership and be re-appointed by King Charles, albeit that it would probably be a mere formality? And what about our own GG and PM?
Presumably when they met it was noted that there was an Elizabeth to carry on, but that the new/next monarch would be expected to be on the throne for longer than her own time at No 10.
I guess the Queen knew what women are, and thus decided that Liz Truss was better then the alternative. In the meantime Keir Starmer is about as exiting as warmed up omlette from yesterday. Sadly so.
however dear Liz Truss is going to work and thanks to Boris signing of on fracking licenses on his last day i guess Britain is going to invest in their own energy creation. After all, those electronic gadgets and items driven by electricity need to be charged with something and compost is not doing it.
Energy bills will be frozen at £2,500 for TWO YEARS: Liz Truss unveils 'extraordinary' £150bn plan to counter Putin and subsidise household costs while businesses get 'equivalent' support for six months – as she backs fracking and using North Sea reserves
Liz Truss is set to ease the pain of energy bills for households by freezing them at a typical level of £2,500
New PM insisted that failing to take action on the scale of the Covid response would damage the economy
But Ms Truss also warned that major changes are needed to shore up Britain's long-term energy supplies
The freezing of the prices is not gonna do much for the very poor and poor, but for a first day announcement this is not bad for a tory. Lets see what Keir Starmer proposes.
In saying that Englands issue is not the R/U war, it is the fact that they sell electricity to Europe for profit and thus shorten the supply to their citizens.
don't know about funny, but the Brits have some hard reckoning coming and the symbolism of the death of the Queen, committed to public service, and the rise of the PM, committed to the death cult, is poignant and timely.
It was more likely that even though she was the highest paid beneficiary in the UK, if not the world, the daunting prospect of the cost of having to warm the Royal Apartments at Buck House over the coming winter, or moving to the granny flat in California with Harry and Meghan.
He's been the butt of endless derision and jokes yet he's a very intelligent and thoughtful person.
He was made the scapegoat over the Diana fiasco yet he had been just as wronged as Diana was. And now the ugly side of the English personna are doing it again to Meghan Markle and Harry.
I don't know if you ever read any of the so-called 'black spider memos', letters he wrote to ministers as a concerned and well-informed citizen. They were poorly received, but were anything but an abuse of sovereign power. Ministers really don't like suggestions of what to do, perhaps because what they choose to do is often poorly thought out.
I hope that the Queen finds peace in what ever is after life. That she be united with her late husband, her parents, her ancestor. That she rests in peace and that peace be with her family.
It was the Virgin Mary's presumed birthday on September 8 (double edged born into the world then years later leaving this world for another place).
Background
The date was chosen because it was of Virgo and before the Jewish time of Tabernacles (harvest gatherings at David's city). A 20 year old women leaving Egypt was counted in that census (in Egyptian the name means beloved, in Hebrew bitter herbs – used to flavour lamb) and a 20 year old women would go the place of her family origin for the harvest gathering. This to honour the Qum (means to to raise up – the tent set up on exodus journey).
The detail is that the Jewish calendar begins Oct 7 3761BCE and in 7BCE Oct 7 was the 14th day of the month – the harvest festival began on Oct 8th.
Also, a big victory for the Ukraine is in the offing.
They telegraphed an offensive in Kherson, drew all Russia's remaining reserves west of the Dniepr then cut them off by destroying the bridges and launching an offensive there before delivering the surpise blow at Kharkiv. Maskirovka indeed. If this is indeed what happens, it will be a studied and storied victory.
The Russian army has been routed near Kharkiv, Ukrainian forces have advanced up to 100km and are currently fighting outside Kupiansk. This is big deal since it cuts off the main supply route to the Russian army concentration in the Izyum salient and traps them on the wrong side of the Oskil river. They'll almost certainly have to retreat across the Oskil river all the way back east to the next supply hub at Svatove – and they'll most likely have to leave all their heavy equipment behind. Basically, it potentially signals the end of the Russian army in the Ukraine.
In the Kherson salient 20,000 Russians are effectively cut off – again, they'll be forced to retreat or surrender in the next few weeks leaving all their equipment behind.
If this turns into a complete Russia rout then even the re-conquest of the Crimea by the Ukraine comes into play.
Russia is now at an inflexion point. Either they consider ending the war or face total defeat or they use nuclear weapons to try and restore the situation.
Typical misplaced sympathy from the fake left. The guys that bought over the last three years still own a house, something which an increasing number of people were never going to be able to do.
look i bought a house real cheap – very cheap as essentially uninhabitalbe at the time – we fixed a lot. that house is now double in value. On the counts of nothing actually for what its worth.
However i do not 'own' the house, the bank does. I own the mortgage. 🙂 And hte poor saps who bought at inflated rates over the last few years for all the wrong reasons are going to be stuck in mortgages that are not worth the paper they are printed on. Even if they manage to sell they are still on the hook for the rest of hte mortgage.
But then, i guess its their own fault for believing government – all will be well, banks – here have a cheap entry rate, the estate agents – houses will never loose value, etc. Sucks to be them, right?
A the kindness of the real left towards its young and old in this country is just always astonishing. So kind, so very very kind.
Btw, did you know that many people can lose houses that they paid for because they can no longer serve the rates that are based on GV? Did you know that the government collects a huge amount of GST on these inflated rates? LOL. How secure are you my dear in your house or rental?
It's your jaw-dropping lack of self-awareness that gets me every single bloody time.
But then, this does appear to be very much the Woke modus operandi … accuse others of your own core, defining characteristic. Not surprising that recent research in psychology has emphasised machiavellianism (along with the other Dark Triad traits) as core components of the authoritarian Woke personality.
If the super wealthy have any social utility at all, it is to push the envelope and exploring the limits of what is possible. With all the latest and best of medical science at her disposal. I was expecting HRH to live to at least 100.
A broken heart and loneliness can not be cured by any medicine. Never mind what her bout with covid did to her body. But it was clear for anyone to see that the joy of life left her when she buried her husband.
She is going in her role as NZ's PM. NZ is a member of the Commonwealth and there would be n expectation she would be there. She's not going over to gate crash the event.
Does this mean, in your view, she should pay for her official cars and pay rent for her office and for living in Premier House?
‘More than minor’: Planned dairy farm complex faces strong opposition
Southland District Council resource management planner Alexandra Smith has recommended the application for the proposed development near Lake Te Anau be declined and submissions have been made public ahead of a hearing on the matter at the end of this month.
The Department of Conservation and mana whenua are among those who have opposed the application.
"Environment Southland has defended its consent to the dairy development as an environmental improvement.
Integrated catchment management general manager Paul Hulse said the site had been used for "a number of years" to graze stock over winter on crop or pasture.
"It was assessed that the addition of a wintering barn will mitigate the potential for nutrient and sediment losses to water, as compared to the stock wintering outside.
"The consent they now have restricts the discharge of effluent to a maximum area of 150ha and depth of discharge to 5mm in order to mitigate the potential for leaching or run-off of contaminants to freshwater."
Mr Hulse said the location had a mix of soil types, some of which were free draining.
However, Environment Southland determined the effects on the environment did not meet that threshold for public notification.'
(From above link)
That is, as maybe…However this was also in my Link…
In recommending the proposal be declined, Ms Smith said the dairy-barn complex would have the "largest footprint proposed in the Southland region".
The scale of the proposed winter barn complex — more than 14 times greater than what the rules permit — meant it could not integrate with the landscape.
It would add to existing effects of the business already adversely affecting the landscape, and earthworks from the proposed construction could also contaminate waterways and harm the nearby Waiau River ecosystem.
"I am of the view that the proposal will result in adverse effects on the environment that are more than minor," Ms Smith said.
I know some are a wee bit sad Queenie's carked it but as a descendant of people who suffered because of the British aristocracy's penchant for violence, subjugation and theft, I couldn't give a rats.
The first Charles lost his head (deservedly so), the second presided over the most licentious court in British history (and that's saying something) – so how will the third f*wit go?
I think he will go quite well. He will never be as popular as the Queen, but he was way ahead of his time. We laughed at him for his weird beliefs regarding organics and regenerative agriculture and environmental issues. Now those issues are mainstream. We even have a political party based on those issues and the use of pronouns. Although I think the latter is something the new king will have to be brought up to speed on.
she was an interesting women and lived an interesting life. Fwiw, i know few people who two days before they die still work a full day of work. She did.
''Fwiw, i know few people who two days before they die still work a full day of work. She did.''
I know none. In the NZ context, Dr Golan Haami, the first Maori to graduate from the Otago Medical School, was helping his patients while on his death bed in hospital. Pity this guy was a Maori, otherwise he would've been a well known Kiwi.
Leader of the Labour Party since 1965 and prime minister since late 1972, ‘Big Norm’ died suddenly at the age of 51. He was the fifth New Zealand prime minister to die in office.
Kirk had faced a number of health issues during 1974 but maintained a punishing work schedule.
I remember his death well. I was watching Steve Rickards, 'On The Mat', wrestling programme when that programme was interrupted to announce Kirk's death. That would have been on a Saturday if I remember correctly. A nurse who was on duty later recounted she had a funny intuition all was not right with Kirk, so she went to his room, but he had passed on.
Speaking to Open Justice, the girls – who have automatic name suppression – have described the lasting impact of the rapes and sexual violation they suffered at the hands of Jayden Meyer, who was 16 at the time of the offending.
"Life doesn't prepare you for the horrors others' actions can inflict. Nor does it prepare you for the mental strain 16 months through the courts can cause," said one of the girls on behalf of the five victims. "This boy's actions have caused a lifetime of trauma and hurt."
"Many have expressed that nine months isn't a suitable punishment against the 10 charges he's been convicted of. Considering, in our view, a lack of acknowledgement shown by both the offender and his family, justice doesn't feel as though it has been served in this case."
snip
yesterday afternoon more than 100 people gathered in Hamilton and at least 500 at Mt Maunganui's Mount Drury reserve in support of the victims – and to voice their concerns at the sentence.
Students Amy Griffiths and Grace Hunt said they believed the sentence was a "slap in the face".
"It's truly terrifying how you can rape underage children and get … a nine-month home detention sentence," Hunt said.
"It's scary, it's really terrifying.
"Rape culture is pretty prominent among young people, you hear people's experiences all the time. It's time to take a stand."
snip
According to district court documents recently obtained by Open Justice, all five victims were aged 15 at the time of the offending.
In one instance the sex was initially consensual but Meyer raped the girl when she refused to be with him for a second time that night. On another occasion, he filmed the rape of another unconsenting girl. A third rape happened while his victim was asleep in bed.
In the most graphic of the attacks, Meyer raped a teen in a bush after they had been at a party. The fifth girl was sexually violated.
I hope that these young ones will be better adults then the one that sentenced that guy to the trauma of 9 month Home D.
Yes I find it unbelievable that sentence of home D. As has been pointed out to me, we do not know all the details, but IMO that judge needs a rocket up her (unless judges have been ordered to reduce prison numbers).
I hope due to the public outcry, they at least release more details and justify to the public why the home D was allowed.
What would you do with Meyer? Put him in an adult prison for 10 years, or 20? Would you want to live next door to him when he gets out after that? Maybe shut him up for life – happy to pay the taxes to fund all the extra prisons and staff are you? So maybe it's best (i.e. cheaper and final) to take him behind a bush and shoot him then – are you up for that?
You offer no answers and you have no answers. Your sympathy for the young women concerned appears to be entirely bogus and opportunistic. You are sh*t-stirring and using the 'soft on crime' slogan in order to help get the Nats elected. Contemptible.
in fact i would lock him up for five life sentences. One for each girl.
But he will be allowed out in 9 month, and chances are he will continue to rape.
BTW, What would you do with a serial rapist that at 16 years of age has already raped 4 girls and assaulted a fifth girl? Give him 9 month home D or even less? maybe a pat on the shoulder? Give him a candy bar? Tell the girls to shut up?
And have a good look at the youngsters protesting this injustice. And ask yourself if these young ones are going to be national voters or what ever party is still valid when they come of age because of that injustice?
Think. Seriously Think.
Yes I'm happy to pay more taxes to keep him in a juvenile prison and keep him off the streets else we get the re-offending like in the story of Mohamed in Stockburn in 18.1 above. He cant re-offend while behind bars.
I guess in your view my thinking is flawed as I believe in a justice system for the victims (not what's best for the offenders).
Just like this dude here should have not been released on parole.
While on parole he had 14 special conditions including remaining at his property between 9pm and 6am daily, to attend psychological, alcohol and drug assessments as well as not possessing, using or consuming alcohol or other drugs unless prescribed by a health professional.
The conditions were to last six months following this release.
In releasing Brider, the board assessed him as a high risk of violent offending and a moderately high risk of sexual offending.
“It is trite that most offenders pose a risk,” The board decision said. “The test is whether that risk is undue…” “While there is risk, it is the board’s view that the risk is not undue.”
His statutory release date for the rape was February 4, 2022.
he got out, bought his tools of the trade and killed.
Brider broke in after midnight.
Bonilla-Herrera had an app on her phone that recorded noise made during night. It recorded the start of her attack.
She says, “excuse me” before Brider told her to “shut up” and threatened to cut her throat.
A struggle ensued.
During the next 10 minutes, Brider continued to threaten to kill her, and bound her using a bedsheet and masking tape. Several punches could be heard.
She begged him not to kill her.
Brider then took her into the lounge, where the struggle continued.
She tried to run from him, but was stabbed several times, including in the chest.
She suffered 51 separate injuries. She died by the door. Brider returned home, showered and disposed of items used in murder.
i am all for prisons being emptied of non violent people who did some stupid shit in their life and chances are will never re-offend. But violent men and women should be treated differently.
Jimmy, it seems both of us would like the same thing. We both want a suitable sentence for a serious crime.
The difference is that I am willing to trust that the judge has ruled according to the evidence and the principles of sentencing that judges follow whereas you condemn the judge (who you say is a woman which would in my eyes more predispose towards a tougher sentence for a crime like multiple rape) and demand to see the justification after proferring your condemnation.
… (unless judges have been ordered to reduce prison numbers).
Again, you show your profound ignorance of the NZ judicial system and the independence of the judiciary even though others have already explained this to you.
Enlighten us who could, would and should order the judges to reduce prison numbers. How does this work in NZ?
Robertson releases response to Infrastructure recommendations and says government will spend 61.5 billion$ on infrastructure, over the next 5 years.
The foremost problem to a large tome full of words,is that we have no money.The second part of the problem is we are in a high interest rate regime,with significant constraints on supply (as Europe closes industry that will be needed for infrastructure)
Finance is the problem,along with using european energy models to provide capital guidance for say pumped hydro (wait to consumers get a big hit to provide capital servicing charges)
The news that next Tuesday Parliament will adjourn for a whole week has just made me a little more republican. A day of tributes, fine. Pay respect, make the speeches, then adjourn for the day.
But putting everything on hold for a week is excessive. Most people got up and went to work this morning.
I think we would be charged by our off-shore friends and allies as showing disrespect to the late Queen. I think its is just the debating chamber shenanigans is it not?
Well, it's not a hereditary position to hold until death, at least in a democratic republic. So it doesn't happen often, they are usually ex-heads in retirement and when they die – yes, it is mostly BAU.
Presidents overseas are basically in two categories: majorly political, like USA and France) and minor (more ceremonial, like Germany and Ireland).
If NZ became a republic I'm pretty certain we'd choose the latter, leaving real power in Parliament. We'd still have a Gov-Gen in all but name. Nobody's advocating the American system, AFAIK.
No, I don't have examples from overseas because when the German/Irish Presidents die we don't notice, which is kind of the point.
Not British/NZ monarchs, obviously. But that's the thing – we don't notice what we don't notice. Many European monarchies are more low key than the Windsor soap opera, and better for it.
Hume argued quite succinctly for the strengths of a constitutional monarchy,and the stability that it provided during the change of governments.
"It is well known, that every government must come to a period, and that death is unavoidable to the political, as well as to the animal body. But, as one kind of death may be preferable to another, it may be inquired, whether it be more desirable for the British constitution to terminate in a popular government, or in an absolute monarchy? Here, I would frankly declare, that though liberty be preferable to slavery, in almost every case; yet I should rather wish to see an absolute monarch than a republic in this island. For let us consider what kind of republic we have reason to expect. The question is not concerning any fine imaginary republic of which a man forms a plan in his closet. There is no doubt but a popular government may be imagined more perfect than an absolute monarchy, or even than our present constitution. But what reason have we to expect that any such government will ever be established in Great Britain, upon the dissolution of our monarchy? If any single person acquire power enough to take our constitution to pieces, and put it up anew, he is really an absolute monarch; and we have already had an instance of this kind, sufficient to convince us, that such a person will never resign his power, or establish any free government. Matters, therefore, must be trusted to their natural progress and operation; and the House of Commons, according to its present constitution, must be the only legislature in such a popular government. The inconveniences attending such a situation of affairs present themselves by thousands. If the House of Commons, in such a case, ever dissolve itself, which is not to be expected, we may look for a civil war every election. If it continue itself, we shall suffer all the tyranny of a faction subdivided into new factions. And, as such a violent government cannot long subsist, we shall at last, after many convulsions and civil wars, find repose in absolute monarchy, which it would have been happier for us to have established peaceably from the beginning. Absolute monarchy, therefore, is the easiest death, the true Euthanasia of the British constitution.
"Thus if we have more reason to be jealous of monarchy, because the danger is more imminent from that quarter; we have also reason to be more jealous of popular government, because that danger is more terrible. This may teach us a lesson of moderation in all our political controversies."
Hair and scalp clinics around the world are overwhelmed with patients suffering hair damage after a severe outbreak of forelock tugging sweeps the globe.
Negative yesterday, negative today. Negative all year, according to one departing reader telling me I’ve grown strident and predictable. Fair enough. If it’s any help, every time I go to write about a certain topic that begins with C and ends with arrrrs, I do brace myself and ask: Again? Are ...
Bryce Edwards writes – It’s been a tumultuous time in politics in recent months, as the new National-led Government has driven through its “First 100 Day programme”. During this period there’s been a handful of opinion polls, which overall just show a minimal amount of flux in public support ...
Inspirational: The Family of Man is a glorious hymn to human equality, but, more than that, it is a clarion call to human freedom. Because equality, unleavened by liberty, is a broken piano, an unstrung harp; upon which the songs of fraternity will never be played.“Somebody must have been telling lies about ...
Tax Lawyer Barbara Edmonds vs Emperor Justinian I- Nolo Contendere: False historical explanations of pivotal events are very far from being inconsequential.WHEN BARBARA EDMONDS made reference to the Roman Empire, my ears pricked up. It is, lamentably, very rare to hear a politician admit to any kind of familiarity ...
It’s been a tumultuous time in politics in recent months, as the new National-led Government has driven through its “First 100 Day programme”. During this period there’s been a handful of opinion polls, which overall just show a minimal amount of flux in public support for the various parties in ...
Buzz from the Beehive Housing Minister Chris Bishop delivered news – packed with the ingredients to enflame political passions – worthy of supplanting Winston Peters in headline writers’ priorities. He popped up at the post-Cabinet press conference to promise a crackdown on unruly and antisocial state housing tenants. His ...
Ele Ludemann writes – The Reserve Bank is advertising for a Diversity, Equity and Inclusion advisor. The Bank has one mandate – to keep inflation between one and three percent. It has failed in that and is only slowly getting inflation back down to the upper limit. Will it ...
Last week former National Party leader Simon Bridges was appointed by the Government as the new chair of the New Zealand Transport Agency Waka Kotahi (NZTA). You can read about the appointment in Thomas Coughlan’s article, Simon Bridges to become chair of NZ Transport Agency Waka KotahiThe fact that a ...
Bryce Edwards writes – Last week former National Party leader Simon Bridges was appointed by the Government as the new chair of the New Zealand Transport Agency Waka Kotahi (NZTA). You can read about the appointment in Thomas Coughlan’s article, Simon Bridges to become chair of NZ Transport Agency ...
TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read: Gavin Jacobson talks to Thomas Piketty 10 years on from Capital in the 21st CenturyThe SalvoLocal scoop: Green MP’s business being investigated over migrant exploitation claims StuffSteve KilgallonLocal deep-dive: The commercial contractors making money from School ...
It’s a home - but Kāinga Ora tenants accused of “abusing the privilege” may lose it. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The Government announced a crackdown on Kāinga Ora tenants who were unruly and/or behind on their rent, with Housing Minister Chris Bishop saying a place in a state ...
This is a guest post by Connor Sharp of Surface Light Rail Light rail in Auckland: A way forward sooner than you think With the coup de grâce of Auckland Light Rail (ALR) earlier this year, and the shift of the government’s priorities to roads, roads, and more roads, it ...
Note: As a paid-up Webworm member, I’ve recorded this Webworm as a mini-podcast for you as well. Some of you said you liked this option - so I aim to provide it when I get a chance to record! Read more ...
TL;DR: In my ‘six-stack’ of substacks at 6.06pm on Monday, March 18:IKEA is accused of planting big forests in New Zealand to green-wash; REDD-MonitorA City for People takes a well-deserved victory lap over Wellington’s pro-YIMBY District Plan votes; A City for PeopleSteven Anastasiou takes a close look at the sticky ...
Buzz from the Beehive Here’s hoping for a lively post-cabinet press conference when the PM and – perhaps – some of his ministers tell us what was discussed at their meeting today. Until then, Point of Order has precious little Beehive news to report after its latest monitoring of the ...
David Farrar writes – We now have almost all 2023 data in, which has allowed me to update my annual table of how labour went against its promises. This is basically their final report card. The promiseThe result Build 100,000 affordable homes over 10 ...
I’m a bit worried that I’ve started a previous newsletter with the words “just when you think they couldn’t get any worse…” Seems lately that I could begin pretty much every issue with that opening. Such is the nature of our coalition government that they seem to be outdoing each ...
Geoffrey Miller writes – Timing is everything. And from China’s perspective, this week’s visit by its foreign minister to New Zealand could be coming at just the right moment. The visit by Wang Yi to Wellington will be his first since 2017. Anniversaries are important to Beijing. ...
Depictions of Islam in Western popular culture have rarely been positive, even before 9/11. Five years on from the mosque shootings, this is one of the cultural headwinds that the Muslim community has to battle against. Whatever messages of tolerance and inclusion are offered in daylight, much of our culture ...
Last week Transport Minster Simeon Brown and Mayor Wayne Brown opened the new Auckland Rail Operations Centre. The new train control centre will see teams from KiwiRail, Auckland Transport and Auckland One Rail working more closely together to improve train services across the city. The Auckland Rail Operations Centre in ...
Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Retiring former Labour Finance Minister Grant Robertson said in an exit interview with Q+A yesterday the Government can and should sustain more debt to invest in infrastructure for future generations. Elsewhere in the news in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy at 6:36am: Read more ...
Timing is everything. And from China’s perspective, this week’s visit by its foreign minister to New Zealand could be coming at just the right moment. The visit by Wang Yi to Wellington will be his first since 2017. Anniversaries are important to Beijing. It is more than just a happy ...
TL;DR: The key events to watch in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy in the week to March 18 include:China’s Foreign Minister visiting Wellington today;A post-cabinet news conference this afternoon; the resumption of Parliament on Tuesday for two weeks before Easter;retiring former Labour Finance Minister Grant Robertson gives his valedictory speech in Parliament; ...
New Zealand First Leader Winston Peters’s state-of-the-nation speech on Sunday was really a state-of-Winston-First speech. He barely mentioned any of the Government’s key policies and could not even wholly endorse its signature income tax cuts. Instead, he rehearsed all of his complaints about the Ardern Government, including an extraordinary claim ...
A listing of 35 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, March 10, 2024 thru Sat, March 16, 2024. Story of the week This week we'll give you a little glimpse into how we collect links to share and ...
A listing of 35 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, March 10, 2024 thru Sat, March 16, 2024. Story of the week This week we'll give you a little glimpse into how we collect links to share and ...
“I’ve been internalising a really complicated situation in my head.”When they kept telling us we should wait until we get to know him, were they taking the piss? Was it a case of, if you think this is bad, wait till you get to know the real Christopher, after the ...
Happy fourth anniversary, Pandemic That Upended Bloody Everything. I have been observing it by enjoying my second bout of COVID. It’s 5.30 on Sunday morning and only now are lights turning back on for me.Allow me to copy and paste what I told reader Sara yesterday:Depleted, fogged and crappy. Resting, ...
Happy fourth anniversary, Pandemic That Upended Bloody Everything. I have been observing it by enjoying my second bout of COVID. It’s 5.30 on Sunday morning and only now are lights turning back on for me.Allow me to copy and paste what I told reader Sara yesterday:Depleted, fogged and crappy. Resting, ...
Happy fourth anniversary, Pandemic That Upended Bloody Everything. I have been observing it by enjoying my second bout of COVID. It’s 5.30 on Sunday morning and only now are lights turning back on for me.Allow me to copy and paste what I told reader Sara yesterday:Depleted, fogged and crappy. Resting, ...
.“$10 and a target that bleeds” - Bleeding Targets for Under $10!.Thanks for reading Frankly Speaking ! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.This government appears hell-bent on either scrapping life-saving legislation or reintroducing things that - frustrated critics insist - will be dangerous and likely ...
“It hardly strikes me as fair to criticise a government for doing exactly what it said it was going to do. For actually keeping its promises.”THUNDER WAS PLAYING TAG with lightning flashes amongst the distant peaks. Its rolling cadences interrupted by the here-I-come-here-I-go Doppler effect of the occasional passing car. ...
Subversive & Disruptive Technologies: Just as happened with that other great regulator of the masses, the Medieval Church, the advent of a new and hard-to-control technology – the Internet – is weakening the ties that bind. Then, and now, those who enjoy a monopoly on the dissemination of lies, cannot and will ...
Been Here Before: To find the precedents for what this Coalition Government is proposing, it is necessary to return to the “glory days” of Muldoonism.THE COALITION GOVERNMENT has celebrated its first 100 days in office by checking-off the last of its listed commitments. It remains, however, an angry government. It ...
Bob Edlin writes – And what is the world watching today…? The email newsletter from Associated Press which landed in our mailbox early this morning advised: In the news today: The father of a school shooter has been found guilty of involuntary manslaughter; prosecutors in Trump’s hush-money case ...
Bryce Edwards writes – Is another Green MP on their way out? And are the Greens severely tarnished by another integrity scandal? For the second time in three months, the Green Party has secretly suspended an MP over integrity issues. Mystery is surrounding the party’s decision to ...
For the last few years, the Green Party has been the party that has managed to avoid the plague of multiple scandals that have beleaguered other political parties. It appears that their luck has run out with a second scandal which, unfortunately for them, coincided with Golraz Ghahraman, the focus ...
TL;DR: The six newsey things that stood out to me as of 6:46am on Saturday, March 16.Andy Foster has accidentally allowed a Labour/Green amendment to cut road user chargers for plug-in hybrid vehicles, which the Government might accept; NZ HeraldThomas CoughlanSimeon Brown has rejected a plea from Westport ...
What seemed a booming success a couple of years ago has collapsed into fraud convictions.I looked at the crash of FTX (short for ‘Futures Exchange’) in November 2022 to see whether it would impact on the financial system as a whole. Fortunately there was barely a ripple, probably because it ...
Anybody following the situation in Ukraine and Russia would probably have been amused by a recent Tweet on X NATO seems to be putting in an awful lot of effort to influence what is, at least according to them, a sham election in an autocracy.When do the Ukrainians go to ...
TL;DR:Shaun Baker on Wynyard Quarter's transformation. Magdalene Taylor on the problem with smart phones. How private equity are now all over reinsurance. Dylan Cleaver on rugby and CTE. Emily Atkin on ‘Big Meat’ looking like ‘Big Oil’.Bernard’s six-stack of substacks at 6pm on March 15Photo by Jeppe Hove Jensen ...
Buzz from the Beehive Finance Minister Nicola Willis had plenty to say when addressing the Auckland Business Chamber on the economic growth that (she tells us) is flagging more than we thought. But the government intends to put new life into it: We want our country to be a ...
The Transport and Infrastructure Committee has reported back on the Road User Charges (Light Electric RUC Vehicles) Amendment Bill, basicly rubberstamping it. While there was widespread support among submitters for the principle that EV and PHEV drivers should pay their fair share for the roads, they also overwhelmingly disagreed with ...
Peter Dunne writes – This week’s government bailout – the fifth in the last eighteen months – of the financially troubled Ruapehu Alpine Lifts company would have pleased many in the central North Island ski industry. The government’s stated rationale for the $7 million funding was that it ...
See if you can spot the difference. An Iranian born female MP from a progressive party is accused of serial shoplifting. Her name is leaked to the media, which goes into a pack frenzy even before the Police launch an … Continue reading → ...
Ele Ludemann writes – The government is omitting general Treaty references from legislation : The growth of Treaty of Waitangi clauses in legislation caused so much worry that a special oversight group was set up by the last Government in a bid to get greater coherence in the public service on Treaty ...
What was that judge thinking?Peter Williams writes – That Golriz Ghahraman and District Court Judge Maria Pecotic were once lawyer colleagues is incontrovertible. There is published evidence that they took at least one case to the Court of Appeal together. There was a report on ...
TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read:Climate Scorpion – the sting is in the tail. Introducing planetary solvency. A paper via the University of Exeter’s Institute and Faculty of Actuaries.Local scoop:Kāinga Ora starts pulling out of its Auckland projects and selling land RNZ ...
Wellington’s massively upzoned District Plan adds the opportunity for tens of thousands of new homes not just in the central city (such as these Webb St new builds) but also close to the CBD and public transport links. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Wellington gave itself the chance of ...
It’s Friday and we’re halfway through March Madness. Here’s some of the things that caught our attention this week. This Week in Greater Auckland On Monday Matt asked how we can get better event trains and an option for grade separating Morningside Dr. On Tuesday Matt looked into ...
Something you might not know about me is that I’m quite a stubborn person. No, really. I don’t much care for criticism I think’s unfair or that I disagree with. Few of us do I suppose.Back when I was a drinker I’d sometimes respond defensively, even angrily. There are things ...
Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The five things that mattered in Aotearoa’s political economy that we wrote and spoke about via The Kākā and elsewhere for paying subscribers in the last week included:PM Christopher Luxon said the reversal of interest deductibility for landlords was done to help renters, who ...
It was not so much the Labour Party but really the Chris Hipkins party yesterday at Labour’s caucus retreat in Martinborough. The former Prime Minister was more or less consistent on wealth tax, which he was at best equivocal about, and social insurance, which he was not willing to revisit. ...
Buzz from the BeehiveThe text reproduced above appears on a page which records all the media statements and speeches posted on the government’s official website by Melissa Lee as Minister of Media and Communications and/or by Jenny Marcroft, her Parliamentary Under-secretary. It can be quickly analysed ...
For forty years, Robert Muldoon has been a dirty word in our politics. His style of government was so repulsive and authoritarian that the backlash to it helped set and entrench our constitutional norms. His pig-headedness over forcing through Think Big eventually gave us the RMA, with its participation and ...
Bryce Edwards writes – Is the new government reducing tax on rental properties to benefit landlords or to cut the cost of rents? That’s the big question this week, after Associate Finance Minister David Seymour announced on Sunday that the Government would be reversing the Labour Government’s removal ...
Saudi Arabia is rarely far from the international spotlight. The war in Gaza has brought new scrutiny to Saudi plans to normalise relations with Israel, while the fifth anniversary of the controversial killing of Jamal Khashoggi was marked shortly before the war began on October 7. And as the home ...
Questions need to be asked on both sides of the worldPeter Williams writes – The NRL Judiciary hands down an eight week suspension to Sydney Roosters forward Spencer Leniu , an Auckland-born Samoan, after he calls Ezra Mam, Sydney-orn but of Aboriginal and Torres Strait ...
Ele Ludemann writes – Contrary to what many headlines and news stories are saying, residential landlords are not getting a tax break. The government is simply restoring to them the tax deductibility of interest they had until the previous government removed it. There is no logical reason ...
I can't remember when it was goodMoments of happiness in bloomMaybe I just misunderstoodAll of the love we left behindWatching our flashbacks intertwineMemories I will never findIn spite of whatever you becomeForget that reckless thing turned onI think our lives have just begunI think our lives have just begunDoes anyone ...
Michael Bassett writes – At first reading, a front-page story in the New Zealand Herald on 13 March was bizarre. A group of severely intellectually limited teenagers, with little understanding of the law, have been pleading to the Justice Select Committee not to pass a bill dealing with ram ...
How much political capital is Christopher Luxon willing to burn through in order to deliver his $2.9 billion gift to landlords? Evidently, Luxon is: (a) unable to cost the policy accurately. As Anna Burns-Francis pointed out to him on Breakfast TV, the original ”rock solid” $2.1 billion cost he was ...
TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read:Jonathon Porritt calling bullshit in his own blog post on mainstream climate science as ‘The New Denialism’.Local scoop:The Wellington City Council’s list of proposed changes to the IHP recommendations to be debated later today was leaked this ...
TL;DR:Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said yesterday tenants should be grateful for the reinstatement of interest deductibility because landlords would pass on their lower tax costs in the form of lower rents. That would be true if landlords were regulated monopolies such as Transpower or Auckland Airport1, but they’re not, ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Tom Toro Tom Toro is a cartoonist and author. He has published over 200 cartoons in The New Yorker since 2010. His cartoons appear in Playboy, the Paris Review, the New York Times, American Bystander, and elsewhere. Related: What 10 EV lovers ...
The business section of the NZ Herald is full of opinion. Among the more opinionated of all is the ex-Minister of Transport, ex-Minister of Railways, ex MP for Auckland Central (1975-93, Labour), Wellington Central (1996-99, ACT, then list-2005), ex-leader of the ACT Party, uncle to actor Antonia, the veritable granddaddy ...
Hi,Just quickly — I’m blown away by the stories you’ve shared with me over the last week since I put out the ‘Gary’ podcast, where I told you about the time my friend’s flatmate killed the neighbour.And you keep telling me stories — in the comments section, and in my ...
The first season of Rings of Power was not awful. It was thoroughly underwhelming, yes, and left a lingering sense of disappointment, but it was more expensive mediocrity than catastrophe. I wrote at length about the series as it came out (see the Review section of the blog, and go ...
Buzz from the Beehive Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Brooke van Velden told Auckland Business Chamber members they were the first audience to hear her priorities as a minister in a government committed to cutting red tape and regulations. She brandished her liberalising credentials, saying Flexible labour markets are the ...
Chris Trotter writes – TO UNDERSTAND WHY NEWSHUB FAILED, it is necessary to understand how TVNZ changed. Up until 1989, the state broadcaster had been funded by a broadcasting licence fee, collected from every citizen in possession of a television set, supplemented by a relatively modest (compared ...
Bob Edlin writes – The Māori Party has been busy issuing a mix of warnings and threats as its expresses its opposition to interest deductibility for landlords and the plans of seabed miners. It remains to be seen whether they follow the example of indigenous litigants in Australia, ...
Every year, in the Budget, Parliament forks out money to government agencies to do certain things. And every year, as part of the annual review cycle, those agencies are meant to report on whether they have done the things Parliament gave them that money for. Agencies which consistently fail to ...
Mike Grimshaw writes – Recent events in American universities point to an underlying crisis of coherent thinking, an issue that increasingly affects the progressive left across the Western world. This of course is nothing new as anyone who can either remember or has read of the late ...
The Government has accepted Labour’s change to the Road User Charge (RUC) discount for hybrid vehicles, meaning there will still be some incentive for people to buy greener vehicles. ...
Kicking the most vulnerable people out of state housing and pushing them towards homelessness will result in a proliferation of poverty and trauma across our most vulnerable communities. ...
Te Pāti Māori co-leader and MP for Waiariki, Rawiri Waititi has penned a letter asking MPs to support his members bill to remove GST from all food. The bill is expected to go through its first reading in parliament this Wednesday. “I’m calling on all political parties to support my ...
This year is about getting real with Kiwis and discussing the tough issues, as the National Government exacerbates inequality and divides New Zealand, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said ...
The Government adding Significant Natural Areas (SNAs) to its already roaring environmental policy bonfire is an assault on the future of wildlife that makes Aotearoa unique. ...
After 12 years of fighting to protect our moana we are finding ourselves back at square one and back at court. Today, the Environmental Protection Agency is sitting in Hawera to reconsider an application from Trans-Tasman Resources to dig up 50 million tonnes of the seabed in South Taranaki. This ...
Minister Shane Jones’ decision to step away from a seabed mining project is evidence of the murky waters surrounding the Government’s fast-track legislation. ...
The growth of Treaty of Waitangi clauses in legislation caused so much worry that a special oversight group was set up by the last government in a bid to get greater coherence in the publicservice on Treaty matters. When ministers first considered the need for tighter oversight in 2021, there ...
The growth of Treaty of Waitangi clauses in legislation caused so much worry that a special oversight group was set up by the last government in a bid to get greater coherence in the publicservice on Treaty matters. When ministers first considered the need for tighter oversight in 2021, there ...
The Coalition Government’s miscalculation saga continues as it has forgotten an eyewatering $90 million gap in its interest deductibility cost figures, say Labour Finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds and Revenue Spokesperson Deborah Russell. ...
He Pou a Rangi Climate Change Commission has today released advice that says if the Government doesn’t act now New Zealand is at risk of not meeting its climate goals. ...
The Coalition Government has today confirmed it is abandoning first home buyers who are struggling to get ahead, says Labour Finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds. ...
The New Zealand public voted for a change in direction at the 2023 general election and that is exactly what this coalition government has been delivering in its first 100 days. There was an immediate focus on the economy, easing the cost of living, cracking down on law and order ...
The Government has left the health system as an afterthought, announcing half-baked targets at the last minute of their 100-day plan, says Labour Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall. ...
Kiwis are still waiting for their promised cost of living support after 100 days of a National Government that is taking us backwards, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said today. ...
The National Government has spent its first 100 days stopping, cutting and reversing. They have scrapped stuff for stuff for the sake of it, without putting up any solutions of their own – and it’s hardworking New Zealanders who will pay for it. ...
100 days of National taking NZ backwardsThe National Government has spent its first 100 days stopping, cutting and reversing. They have scrapped stuff for stuff for the sake of it, without putting up any solutions of their own – and it’s hardworking New Zealanders who will pay for it. ...
The Government must commit to funding free and healthy school lunches, as thousands of people sign the petition to keep them, education spokesperson Jan Tinetti says. ...
If the Government was serious about moving families into public housing, they would build more houses so there is actually somewhere for people to go. ...
The free and healthy school lunches programme feeds our kids, helps them to learn, and saves families money – but it is at risk under this Government, education spokesperson Jan Tinetti said. ...
The Government’s proposed changes to Firearms Prohibition Orders (FPO) add almost nothing new and are merely an attempt to distract from its plans to loosen gun laws, police spokesperson Ginny Andersen and justice spokesperson Dr Duncan Webb said. ...
The great Victorian era English politician Lord Macauley stood in the British House of Parliament and said, "The gallery in which the reporters sit has become a fourth estate of the realm".He understood and outlined even way back then, the significant role and influence media have in a democracy. ...
The government’s attack on Māori health this week is committing tangata-whenua to a premature death, says Te Pāti Māori. “The government have begun their onslaught on Māori health with the abolishment of the Māori Health Authority and smokefree laws in the same day” said health spokesperson and co-leader, Debbie Ngarewa-Packer. ...
New Zealand’s social workers are qualified, experienced, and more representative of the communities they serve, Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston says. “I want to acknowledge and applaud New Zealand’s social workers for the hard work they do, providing invaluable support for our most vulnerable. “To coincide with World ...
Cabinet has agreed to a reduced road user charge (RUC) rate for plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs), Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. Owners of PHEVs will be eligible for a reduced rate of $38 per 1,000km once all light electric vehicles (EVs) move into the RUC system from 1 April. ...
Minister of Agriculture and Trade, Todd McClay, says that today’s opening of Riverland Foods manufacturing plant in Christchurch is a great example of how trade access to overseas markets creates jobs in New Zealand. Speaking at the official opening of this state-of-the-art pet food factory the Minister noted that exports ...
Minister of Foreign Affairs Winston Peters met with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Wellington today. “It was a pleasure to host Foreign Minister Wang Yi during his first official visit to New Zealand since 2017. Our discussions were wide-ranging and enabled engagement on many facets of New Zealand’s relationship with China, including trade, ...
Kāinga Ora – Homes & Communities has been instructed to end the Sustaining Tenancies Framework and take stronger measures against persistent antisocial behaviour by tenants, says Housing Minister Chris Bishop. “Earlier today Finance Minister Nicola Willis and I sent an interim Letter of Expectations to the Board of Kāinga Ora. ...
Tēna koutou katoa. Greetings everyone. Thank you to the Auckland Chamber of Commerce and the Honourable Simon Bridges for hosting this address today. I acknowledge the business leaders in this room, the leaders and governors, the employers, the entrepreneurs, the investors, and the wealth creators. The coalition Government shares your ...
Minister Winston Peters completed the final leg of his visit to South and South East Asia in Singapore today, where he focused on enhancing one of New Zealand’s indispensable strategic partnerships. “Singapore is our most important defence partner in South East Asia, our fourth-largest trading partner and a ...
Minister of Internal Affairs and Workplace Relations and Safety, Hon. Brooke van Velden, will travel to the Republic of Korea to represent New Zealand at the Third Summit for Democracy on 18 March. The summit, hosted by the Republic of Korea, was first convened by the United States in 2021, ...
ICNZ Speech 7 March 2024, Auckland Acknowledgements and opening Mōrena, ngā mihi nui. Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Nor Whanganui aho. Good morning, it’s a privilege to be here to open the ICNZ annual conference, thank you to Mark for the Mihi Whakatau My thanks to Tim Grafton for inviting me ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Lead Coordination Minister Judith Collins have expressed their deepest sympathy on the five-year anniversary of the Christchurch terror attacks. “March 15, 2019, was a day when families, communities and the country came together both in sorrow and solidarity,” Mr Luxon says. “Today we pay our respects to the 51 shuhada ...
Speech for Financial Advice NZ Conference 5 March 2024 Acknowledgements and opening Morena, Nga Mihi Nui. Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Nor Whanganui aho. Thanks Nate for your Mihi Whakatau Good morning. It’s a pleasure to formally open your conference this morning. What a lovely day in Wellington, What a great ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters held discussions in Jakarta today about the future of relations between New Zealand and South East Asia’s most populous country. “We are in Jakarta so early in our new government’s term to reflect the huge importance we place on our relationship with Indonesia and South ...
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Winston Peters has announced that the Foreign Minister of China, Wang Yi, will visit New Zealand next week. “We look forward to re-engaging with Foreign Minister Wang Yi and discussing the full breadth of the bilateral relationship, which is one of New Zealand’s ...
Transport Minister Simeon Brown has today opened the new Auckland Rail Operations Centre, which will bring together KiwiRail, Auckland Transport, and Auckland One Rail to improve service reliability for Aucklanders. “The recent train disruptions in Auckland have highlighted how important it is KiwiRail and Auckland’s rail agencies work together to ...
The Government is proud to support the 10th edition of Crankworx Rotorua as the Crankworx World Tour returns to Rotorua from 16-24 March 2024, says Minister for Economic Development Melissa Lee. “Over the past 10 years as Crankworx Rotorua has grown, so too have the economic and social benefits that ...
Legislation implementing coalition Government tax commitments and addressing long-standing tax anomalies will be progressed in Parliament next week, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. The legislation is contained in an Amendment Paper to the Taxation (Annual Rates for 2023–24, Multinational Tax, and Remedial Matters) Bill issued today. “The Amendment Paper represents ...
Associate Environment Minister Andrew Hoggard has today announced that the Government has agreed to suspend the requirement for councils to comply with the Significant Natural Areas (SNA) provisions of the National Policy Statement for Indigenous Biodiversity for three years, while it replaces the Resource Management Act (RMA).“As it stands, SNAs ...
Agriculture Minister Todd McClay has classified the drought conditions in the Marlborough, Tasman, and Nelson districts as a medium-scale adverse event, acknowledging the challenging conditions facing farmers and growers in the district. “Parts of Marlborough, Tasman, and Nelson districts are in the grip of an intense dry spell. I know ...
The Government is helping farmers eradicate the significant impact of facial eczema (FE) in pastoral animals, Agriculture Minister Todd McClay announced. “A $20 million partnership jointly funded by Beef + Lamb NZ, the Government, and the primary sector will save farmers an estimated NZD$332 million per year, and aims to ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has completed a successful visit to India, saying it was an important step in taking the relationship between the two countries to the next level. “We have laid a strong foundation for the Coalition Government’s priority of enhancing New Zealand-India relations to generate significant future benefit for both countries,” says Mr Peters, ...
Cabinet has agreed to provide $7 million to ensure the 2024 ski season can go ahead on the Whakapapa ski field in the central North Island but has told the operator Ruapehu Alpine Lifts it is the last financial support it will receive from taxpayers. Cabinet also agreed to provide ...
Health Minister Dr Shane Reti says the launch of a new mobile breast screening unit in Counties Manukau reinforces the coalition Government’s commitment to drive better cancer services for all New Zealanders. Speaking at the launch of the new mobile clinic, Dr Reti says it’s a great example of taking ...
Health Minister Dr Shane Reti says the launch of a new mobile breast screening unit in Counties Manukau reinforces the coalition Government’s commitment to drive better cancer services for all New Zealanders. Speaking at the launch of the new mobile clinic, Dr Reti says it’s a great example of taking ...
Unlocking economic growth and land for housing are critical elements of the Government’s plan for our transport network, and planned upgrades to State Highway 29 (SH29) near Tauriko will deliver strongly on those priorities, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “The SH29 upgrades near Tauriko will improve safety at the intersections ...
Unlocking economic growth and land for housing are critical elements of the Government’s plan for our transport network, and planned upgrades to State Highway 29 (SH29) near Tauriko will deliver strongly on those priorities, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “The SH29 upgrades near Tauriko will improve safety at the intersections ...
Lower fruit and vegetable prices are welcome news for New Zealanders who have been doing it tough at the supermarket, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. Stats NZ reported today the price of fruit and vegetables has dropped 9.3 percent in the 12 months to February 2024. “Lower fruit and vege ...
Tēnā koutou katoa and greetings to you all. Chair, I am honoured to address the sixty-eighth session of the Commission on the Status of Women. I acknowledge the many crises impacting the rights of women and girls. Heightened global tensions, war, climate related and humanitarian disasters, and price inflation all ...
Tēnā koutou katoa and greetings to you all. Chair, I am honoured to address the 68th session of the Commission on the Status of Women. I acknowledge the many crises impacting the rights of women and girls. Heightened global tensions, war, climate related and humanitarian disasters, and price inflation all ...
The coalition Government is supporting farmers to enhance land management practices by investing $3.3 million in locally led catchment groups, Agriculture Minister Todd McClay announced. “Farmers and growers deliver significant prosperity for New Zealand and it’s vital their ongoing efforts to improve land management practices and water quality are supported,” ...
Good evening everyone and thank you for that lovely introduction. Thank you also to the Honourable Simon Bridges for the invitation to address your members. Since being sworn in, this coalition Government has hit the ground running with our 100-day plan, delivering the changes that New Zealanders expect of us. ...
Recommendations from the Climate Change Commission for New Zealand on the Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) auction and unit limit settings for the next five years have been tabled in Parliament, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. “The Commission provides advice on the ETS annually. This is the third time the ...
The coalition Government is beginning its fight to lower building costs and reduce red tape by exempting minor building work from paying the building levy, says Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk. “Currently, any building project worth $20,444 including GST or more is subject to the building levy which is ...
Proposed changes to tax legislation to prevent the over-taxation of low-earning trusts are welcome, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. The changes have been recommended by Parliament’s Finance and Expenditure Committee following consideration of submissions on the Taxation (Annual Rates for 2023–24, Multinational Tax, and Remedial Matters) Bill. “One of the ...
Assalaamu alaikum. السَّلَام عليكم In light of the holy month of Ramadan, I want to extend my warmest wishes to our Muslim community in New Zealand. Ramadan is a time for spiritual reflection, renewed devotion, perseverance, generosity, and forgiveness. It’s a time to strengthen our bonds and appreciate the diversity ...
Former Transport Minister and CEO of the Auckland Business Chamber Hon Simon Bridges has been appointed as the new Board Chair of the New Zealand Transport Agency (NZTA) for a three-year term, Transport Minister Simeon Brown announced today. “Simon brings extensive experience and knowledge in transport policy and governance to the role. He will ...
Good morning all, it is a pleasure to be here as Minister of Science, Innovation and Technology. It is fantastic to see how connected and collaborative the life science and biotechnology industry is here in New Zealand. I would like to thank BioTechNZ and NZTech for the invitation to address ...
Regional Development Minister Shane Jones says he is looking forward to the day when three key water projects in Northland are up and running, unlocking the full potential of land in the region. Mr Jones attended a community event at the site of the Otawere reservoir near Kerikeri on Friday. ...
Associate Finance Minister David Seymour has today announced that the Government has agreed to restore deductibility for mortgage interest on residential investment properties. “Help is on the way for landlords and renters alike. The Government’s restoration of interest deductibility will ease pressure on rents and simplify the tax code,” says ...
Sport and Recreation Minister Chris Bishop will travel to Switzerland today to attend an Executive Committee meeting and Symposium of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA). Mr Bishop will then travel on to London where he will attend a series of meetings in his capacity as Infrastructure Minister. “New Zealanders believe ...
This year’s Pacific Language Weeks celebrate regional unity and the contribution of Pacific communities to New Zealand culture, says Minister for Pacific Peoples Dr Shane Reti. Dr Reti announced dates for the 2024 Pacific Language Weeks during a visit to the Pasifika festival in Auckland today and says there’s so ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Tim Curran, Associate Professor of Ecology, Lincoln University, New Zealand Getty Images/Gerald Corsi In the latest move to reform environmental laws in New Zealand, the coalition government has introduced a bill to fast-track consenting processes for projects deemed to ...
Uber has argued it does not have as much control over drivers as the unions suggest, and wants a judgment ruling that drivers are employees and not contractors set aside and sent back to the Employment Court. The 2022 ruling followed a three-week hearing in which four drivers sought to ...
What can and can’t be purchased by disabled people or their carers has been slashed in an effort by the Ministry of Disabled People Whaikaha to save money. The purchasing guidelines, a set of rules that sets out what can be purchased using the various streams of Government disability funding, ...
The Treasury has published today a new Analytical Note by Tod Wright and Hien Nguyen, Fiscal incidence in New Zealand: The effects of taxes and benefits on household incomes in tax year 2018/19 . Analyses of the distributional impact of taxation and government ...
The Treasury has published today a new Analytical Note by Cory Davis, Boston Hart and Benjamin Stubbing, Household cost-of-living impacts from the Emissions Trading Scheme and using transfers to mitigate regressive outcomes . This Analytical Note ...
A coalition of public transport and climate organisations, united as ‘Transport for All’, is actively opposing the government’s transport proposals. The draft Government Policy Statement (GPS) includes plans for higher fares for public transport, ...
Greater Wellington is inviting feedback on proposed changes to its Revenue and Financing Policy. The Revenue and Financing Policy covers the Council’s various sources of funding, and how the cost of services is shared across the region. This includes ...
Labour has conceded it could have done more to deal with disruptive state housing tenants while in government but says the current coalition is going too far. ...
The band has asked their record label to issue a cease and desist to stop the NZ First leader using their 1997 hit to support his ‘misguided political views’. “I get knocked down, but I get up again,” blared through the speakers on Sunday as Winston Peters took the stage ...
By Lydia Lewis, RNZ Pacific journalist Food rationing is underway in remote areas in Papua New Guinea’s Highlands following torrential rain and flash flooding. More than 20 people have been reported dead in Chimbu Province. In nearby Enga Province, the centre of last month’s massacre, a 15-year-old boy has been ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Andrew Hughes, Lecturer, Research School of Management, Australian National University After months of debate and intrigue, the AFL’s 19th and newest team, the Tasmania Devils, finally launched its jumper, logo and colours in Devonport this week. The Devils will wear green, ...
Brannavan Gnanalingam reviews the debut novel by Saraid de Silva.One of the most baffling things for children who move to a new country is what their parents’ (or grandparents’) lives were like prior to moving – for kids in particular, they’re too busy trying to fit in in their ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Stephen Gaunson, Associate Professor in Cinema Studies, RMIT University Narelle Portanier/Binge “If you don’t know who your mob are, you don’t know who you are,” Detective Andrea “Andie” Whitford (played by Leah Purcell) is told early into the new crime ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Elise Klein, Associate professor, Australian National University It’s commonly accepted that women do the vast majority of caregiving in Australian society. But less appreciated is that Indigenous women do larger amounts of unpaid care than any other group. Working with the Aboriginal ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Adrian Beaumont, Election Analyst (Psephologist) at The Conversation; and Honorary Associate, School of Mathematics and Statistics, The University of Melbourne Joe Biden and Donald Trump have both secured their parties’ nominations for the November 5 United States general election by winning a ...
Comment: There has been a striking contrast in trans-Tasman interest about Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi’s visit to New Zealand and Australia. While the Australian press has been full of articles about the visit – including his curious decision to meet with former prime minister and China booster Paul Keating ...
After years of pressuring banks and other institutions to stop investing in fossil fuels, climate campaigners are making some progress. So how does divestment work?For years, climate activists have been pushing banks and other big institutions to divest from fossil fuels. New research from climate advocacy group 350 Aotearoa ...
For Boba, Ethan and Ashley, K-pop is a place to belong, a way to express themselves, and a bridge to connect with others. The three young Polynesians are part of a K-pop fan community in Tāmaki Makaurau. It’s one of many that have sprung up worldwide as K-pop has gone ...
For Boba, Ethan and Ashley, K-pop is a place to belong, a way to express themselves, and a bridge to connect with others. This one-off documentary presents three intimate portraits of young Polynesians who are pulled into a Korean cultural phenomenon. K-POLYS is directed by Litia Tuiburelevu, Produced by Hex ...
There’s ample evidence demonstrating free school lunch programmes provide wide benefits across schools, households and communities according to public health researchers. ACT Minister David Seymour wants to reduce the spending on Aotearoa New Zealand’s ...
By Wata Shaw in Suva Fiji is facing an exodus of Fijians as many are leaving for overseas seeking employment and education and others are migrating, says Opposition MP Viliame Naupoto. Speaking in Parliament, he said: “His Excellency’s speech (Ratu Wiliame Katonivere) comes after a little over one year of ...
The Taxpayers’ Union is welcoming comments from Christopher Luxon this morning recommitting to ‘no new taxes’ as part of Budget 2024. “Mr Luxon’s refusal at the Post-Cabinet press conference yesterday to repeat the ‘no new taxes’ promise ...
SAFE is urgently calling on the Environment Committee to reject the Government’s Fast-Track Approvals Bill, and is urging New Zealanders to rally behind the call. The proposed Bill, currently under consideration with the Environment select committee, ...
Teammates who spend all their time picking fights with spectators are only helpful for the other team, writes Madeleine Chapman. Anyone who has ever played a team sport competitively, particularly as a child and particularly, for some reason, basketball, will know that there’s a lot of politics involved. While there ...
The long-running Wellington music festival is too focused on the Jim Beam-ness and not enough on the Homegrown-ness.There is something about Homegrown that’s difficult to place. A barely perceptible-ness. Like feeling a ghost is watching you from the corner of the room but when you look, there’s nothing there. ...
The latest Ipsos New Zealand Issues Monitor reveals that fewer New Zealanders believe crime / law and order is one of the top issues facing our country. In 2018, Ipsos New Zealand started tracking the key issues facing New Zealand. In this wave ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kate Griffiths, Deputy Program Director, Budgets and Government, Grattan Institute Australia’s political donations rules are woefully inadequate, but donations reform is finally on the agenda. The federal government has signalled its interest in reform and will soon begin briefing MPs on its ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Mark Patrick Taylor, Chief Environmental Scientist, EPA Victoria; Honorary Professor, School of Natural Sciences, Macquarie University Naiyana Somchitkaeo/Shutterstock A recent study published in the prestigious New England Journal of Medicine has linked microplastics with risk to human health. The study ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Albert Van Dijk, Professor, Water and Landscape Dynamics, Fenner School of Environment & Society, Australian National University Global climate records were shattered in 2023, from air and sea temperatures to sea-level rise and sea-ice extent. Scores of countries recorded their hottest year ...
As part of our series exploring how New Zealanders live and our relationship with money, a teacher explains why he and his partner are in frugal mode – and how they’re making it work. Gender: Male Age: 35Ethnicity: Pākehā Role: I am an intermediate school teacher and my partner is ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sarah Bendall, Senior Lecturer, Institute for Humanities and Social Sciences, Australian Catholic University Binge Mary & George, the new British television drama series, depicts the real-life story of Mary Villiers and her son George, and their social climbing at the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jason Nassios, Associate Professor, Centre of Policy Studies, Victoria University This article is part of The Conversation’s series examining the housing crisis. Read the other articles in the series here. Australian state and federal governments spend money in many ways to ...
The finance minister is denying that there’s a $5.6b shortfall in paying for the government’s campaign promises, including tax cuts. At his post-cabinet press conference yesterday, the PM refused to rule out new taxes to pay for the cuts, writes Anna Rawhiti-Connell in this excerpt from The Bulletin, The Spinoff’s ...
Kāinga Ora tenants abused by their neighbours are doubting the government's crackdown on disruptive tenants will make a difference on their behaviour. ...
Kāinga Ora is New Zealand’s biggest residential landlord, housing more than 180,000 vulnerable people in more than 67,000 properties. Yesterday the government announced a crackdown on its tenants who fall behind on rent. One longtime Kāinga Ora tenant shares her experience.For 18 years I lived in a 1960s standalone ...
Why does this myth persist, and what’s the real reason our skin is suffering?It’s one of the biggest international grievances New Zealanders hold, up there with the sinking of the Rainbow Warrior and 1981’s underarm incident. We’re quick to tell international travellers that the world’s pollution led to the ...
Opinion: We are fast approaching a fundamental change in prisons. As the number of people on custodial remand looks set to overtake the number of sentenced prisoners, the main function of prisons in New Zealand may become incarcerating un-sentenced people who may not be guilty of offending. We have already ...
A huge seven months lies in store for the White Ferns, beginning this week with the visit of England and culminating with the T20 World Cup in Bangladesh in September and October. Starting on Tuesday in Dunedin, the world ranked No. 2 visitors will play five T20s and three ODIs, ...
Opinion: In a move that has shocked road safety advocates across the country, the new Minister of Transport, Simeon Brown, is poised to abandon the previous government’s speed limit reduction policy, particularly around schools. Even more alarmingly, he wants school speed limits to be variable rather than full-time, arguing ...
Auckland Council is opposing a fast-track development backed by Sir John Kirwan and Spark NZ, because it doesn’t meet stringent new climate adaptation requirements The post Surf-data centre faces new 3.8C climate warming rules appeared first on Newsroom. ...
When the Criminal Proceeds (Recovery) Act was introduced in 2009 it was firmly targeted at gangs and drugs. The legislation means police no longer need a conviction to seize assets that criminals can’t prove were paid for legitimately, as long as their alleged offences are punishable by more than a ...
Loading…(function(i,s,o,g,r,a,m){var ql=document.querySelectorAll('A[quiz],DIV[quiz],A[data-quiz],DIV[data-quiz]'); if(ql){if(ql.length){for(var k=0;k<ql.length;k++){ql[k].id='quiz-embed-'+k;ql[k].href="javascript:var i=document.getElementById('quiz-embed-"+k+"');try{qz.startQuiz(i)}catch(e){i.start=1;i.style.cursor='wait';i.style.opacity='0.5'};void(0);"}}};i['QP']=r;i[r]=i[r]||function(){(i[r].q=i[r].q||[]).push(arguments)},i[r].l=1*new Date();a=s.createElement(o),m=s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];a.async=1;a.src=g;m.parentNode.insertBefore(a,m)})(window,document,'script','https://take.quiz-maker.com/3012/CDN/quiz-embed-v1.js','qp'); Got a good quiz question?Send Newsroom your questions. The post Newsroom daily quiz, Tuesday 19 March appeared first on Newsroom. ...
Bob’s relationship with certain members of Lincoln’s academic staff continued to deteriorate in the 1990s. Others supported him publicly, though articles such as Roland Clark’s 1993 piece in Growing Today cannot have pleased the university management. Clark wrote that Bob was selling onions from the Biological Husbandry Unit to a ...
SailGP’s races feature in-your-face action, with agile, hydro-foiling catamarans tacking and jibing for the title over several days. However, public comments ahead of the global series’ return to New Zealand have left this past year’s controversy in the shadows, as a key appointment attracts criticism from dolphin advocates. A year ...
The letters, which were published last week, were addressed to Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) Chairperson Megawati Sukarnoputri, National Democrat Party (NasDem) Chairperson Surya Paloh, National Awakening Party (PKB) Chairperson Muhaimin Iskandar, Justice and Prosperity Party (PKS) President Ahmad Syaikhu and United Development Party (PPP) Chairperson Muhammad Mardiono. In ...
Evicting more people from state housing is ignorant to the consequences of poverty, the Greens say, but the Housing Minister says it's a privilege that can be taken away if abused. ...
Evicting more people from state housing is ignorant to the consequences of poverty, the Greens say, but the Housing Minister says it's a privilege that can be taken away if abused. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Emerald L King, Lecturer in Humanities, University of Tasmania IMDB Between Netflix’s 2023 live-action version of One Piece, and its latest take on Avatar: The Last Airbender, fans are once again asking: why are live-action anime adaptations so tricky to ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Emerald L King, Lecturer in Humanities, University of Tasmania IMDB Between Netflix’s 2023 live-action version of One Piece, and its latest take on Avatar: The Last Airbender, fans are once again asking: why are live-action anime adaptations so tricky to ...
The government says it still intends to deliver tax cuts by July, but will not lock them in until they have got them past their coalition partners. ...
Kiingi Tuheitia Pootatau Te Wherowhero VII has hosted members of the Green Party Caucus at Tuurangawaewae Marae in Ngaaruawahia. The audience follows the King’s Hui-aa-Motu on 20 January, where more than 10,000 people gathered to discuss national ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Dr Rachael Potter, Research Associate and Lecturer in Work and Organisational Psychology, University of South Australia Ground Picture/Shutterstock Pregnant women and workers with children are often unfairly treated by their bosses and colleagues, despite laws to protect against workplace discrimination ...
Reacting to Prime Minister Christopher Luxon’s refusal to rule out introducing new taxes at the budget, Taxpayers’ Union Campaigns Manager, Connor Molloy, said: “Today’s refusal to rule out new taxes suggests the Government is nothing more ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Stephen Duckett, Honorary Enterprise Professor, School of Population and Global Health, and Department of General Practice and Primary Care, The University of Melbourne Aila Images/Shutterstock Aged-care workers will receive a significant pay increase after the Fair Work Commission ruled they ...
He’s bringing ‘Sophie’ back, yeah. Goodshirt’s ‘Sophie’ music video is one of the most instantly recognisable New Zealand music videos of all time. Featuring a woman listening to the song on headphones while her entire house is burgled behind her, the video won the New Zealand music award for Best ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By John Blaxland, Professor, Strategic and Defence Studies Centre, Australian National University A year ago, the AUKUS agreement was formally announced between Australian and UK Prime Ministers Anthony Albanese and Rishi Sunak and US President Joe Biden. The agreement mapped out the “optimal ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Andreas Helwig, Associate Professor, Electro-Mechanical Engineering, University of Southern Queensland SmartS/Shutterstock Steam locomotives clattering along railway tracks. Paddle steamers churning down the Murray. Dreadnought battleships powered by steam engines. Many of us think the age of steam has ended. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Carrie Leonetti, Associate Professor of Law, University of Auckland, Waipapa Taumata Rau Victims who experience family violence in Aotearoa New Zealand are treated differently, depending on which part of the justice system they turn to for help. But a new member’s bill ...
Well it will be odd hearing the English crowd at Twickenham singing "God save the King" in November.
Irish eyes smiling
https://twitter.com/dublincelticfan/status/1567967099368411137
Damn those Fenians and their infernal machines!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yqrAPOZxgzU
Raise you a Lemmy Kilmister…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qa1wdUkeuvE
No rush to become a Republic, lots to sort out regarding the “Crown” and enduring colonial fall out affecting this country’s working class–Māori and Tauiwi alike.
I will restrain myself from linking to "Royalty" by The Exploited
Trump you all with this one…perfect…
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/PSdxFccfgNI
A majority of New Zealanders: "Let us become a republic"
Grey Lynn socialists: "Great idea! Let's elect president Helen Clark!"
National Party members: "If we must, appointing Sir Graeme Hart is the way to go!"
Rural NZ: "Screw you all, let’s annoint Richie McCaw by popular proclaimation as president!"
Maori: "Bloody Pakeha, surely the Maori King is the logical choice!"
Everyone six months of bickering later: "Let's stick with Charles III"
For some time Charles acted for the Queen as the GG does here.
Given the GG acts on behalf of the Crown and performs the same role as Charles will in the UK, why not give them the title Crown Governor?
PS Charles 111 will be defender of faith, whereas his mother was defender of the faith – a subtle change (there is already a ministry of faith in the UK and a minster of faith to recognise the multi-cultural nation they are today).
Charles, the one hundred and eleventh?
I was replying to a post with the use of Charles “111” and so typed those numbers in – OK I could have borrowed the Latin numeral form from online for King Charles III.
Using the Latin numerals is common – eg Queen Elizabeth II. And no one presumes she has her own cricket team.
Roman numerals. Elizabeth II Regina.
An emergency callout waiting to happen..
Why have anyone?
After all our "Head of State is a strictly ceremonial position with no legal power"!
Or as the Aussies found out, the residual power to overturn an elected Government, is an undemocratic colonial relic.
Technically that would mean directly electing the PM/President as in France and USA (and the person choosing their cabinet), which can separate the head of state (and cabinet appointees) from having a majority in parliament.
Nations such as Ireland have separate elections for President as head of state and the PM as head of government comes from the parliamentary election result.
That is a constitional convention in those countries.
Not set in concrete.
In fact, should a "Democracy" have a head of State?
Surely in an actual Democracy, not our pretend one, "The people are Soveriegn"?
Or. Should we bow to reality, and just appoint whoever is the Chairman of the Aussie bank that currently makes the most profit in NZ, and stop pretending?
The point of the head of state, separate from government. is to represent the interests of the peoples sovereignty – as to constitutional practice, so as to be a check on authoritarianism.
The pertinent thing is to define the role in those terms, the UK is somewhat constrained by the Crown tradition of calling the people subjects (of the authority).
Q. Why have anyone?
A. Sanctuary @ 3.
''Everyone six months of bickering later: "Let's stick with Charles III"
If we are lucky, most New Zealanders will come to that conclusion.` If we are unlucky, most New Zealanders will believe we are mature enough to become a republic. The Queens death couldn't have come at a more inopportune time for the affairs of both Britain and New Zealand.
Beautifully said Sanctuary @ 3
Yep – so many other problems on our plate that nobody has any appetite for wrangling over constitutional arrangements. It'd make 3 Waters look like a love-fest.
Are eye pee el eye zee
Are eye pee el eye zed
fify
But you broke the rhyme, Brigid…
Shanreagh and Swordy will be pissed to read that. Hard. 🤙🤘🤙
Yes, can't speak for Shanreagh … but I certainly started drinking heavily after reading Robert's outrageous “zee” comment. Two shandys down & now on to my third sarsaparilla.
?????
Would love to know what you are on about. But never mind.
Zee is a US abomination Zeds unite! Long live the Zeds
Could even go Charge of the Light brigade crazy like
Zeds to the left of them
zeds to the right of them
Zeds in front of them
Volleyed and thundered;
Written at with shot and shell,
Boldly they wrote and well,
Into the jaws of spell
Into the mouth of hell
Rode the six zeddred.
Woah, chill out duuuuudes. That would be totally awesome.
Zed's dead, baby. Zed's dead.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5lL1ypndnWA
Mr Guyton ripping out a brain teaser
Looking forward to a UK royal cabal cut down to about the same size as that of Sweden.
A slimmed down team of King and Consort, Duke and Duchess of Cambridge plus kids, Princess Royal Anne. Say 5.
And no taxpayer subsidy at all, apart from maybe Met security.
Baby steps to abolition.
What about the corgis? Will they be taken out and shot?
Whoa, does this mean all our money will change?
It is pretty strange.
No one under 80 can remember another monarch. All sorts of stuff will change, letterheads, money, all sorts of stuff.
A chap on the radio just made the mindblowing observation that the Queen’s first PM (Winston Churchill) was born in 1874. Her last, Liz Truss, was born 101 years later in 1975. She really spanned the era from the age of Empire to Brexit Britain.
Elizabeth II was an exemplar of another age – a person who put service above her individuality. It was a sense of service informed by her deep religiousity and patriotism and good on her for that.
Elizabeth II was Queen, and the Queen was her, there was no seperation. A superhuman effort of repression of the id in the service of a role and of an institution in the service of her country.
Imagine the panic in the drug dealing world if you said all cash notes must be changed over to one with Charlie's head on it in 6 months or it's rendered obsolete!!
https://www.interest.co.nz/currencies/117555/rbnz-says-itll-be-several-years-money-featuring-king-charles-iii-will-be
I scrolled down the Herald to see 'Mike Hosking sobs on air' as the news broke.
At a symbolic moment a totally symbolic reaction. A person without an iota of empathy, a person who leads a horde representative of no empathy and understanding of the human condition and the lives and struggles of ordinary people, wallowing.
I thought the same thing, what a fucking idiot.
That is quite revolting. A evil man devoid of compassion who makes his living by denigrating those below him and making the lives of others a misery. To elevate and employ his own emotion for further gain while spending his entire life abusing people for showing theirs is obscene.
Shows how emotionally insecure he really is. Hosking = pratt!
"Mike Hosking sob,,,"
FIFY
I think he might have sobbed with more true emotion…when sir Key quit : )
Bereft and benighted.
Funniest headline?
"Queen loses will to live after meeting Liz Truss".
Truss already wreaking havoc on her first day. Didn’t muck about, the journey to President Truss begins.
Wouldn't Liz Truss have to resign the prime ministership and be re-appointed by King Charles, albeit that it would probably be a mere formality? And what about our own GG and PM?
Presumably when they met it was noted that there was an Elizabeth to carry on, but that the new/next monarch would be expected to be on the throne for longer than her own time at No 10.
Womans Weekly staff suspended for not wearing mourning colours.
Anointing her finished the Queen off.
In the fullness of time the cartoonists……
I guess the Queen knew what women are, and thus decided that Liz Truss was better then the alternative. In the meantime Keir Starmer is about as exiting as warmed up omlette from yesterday. Sadly so.
however dear Liz Truss is going to work and thanks to Boris signing of on fracking licenses on his last day i guess Britain is going to invest in their own energy creation. After all, those electronic gadgets and items driven by electricity need to be charged with something and compost is not doing it.
Trigger alert, this is from the Daily Fail.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11193045/Energy-bills-frozen-2-500-TWO-YEARS-says-Truss.html
The freezing of the prices is not gonna do much for the very poor and poor, but for a first day announcement this is not bad for a tory. Lets see what Keir Starmer proposes.
In saying that Englands issue is not the R/U war, it is the fact that they sell electricity to Europe for profit and thus shorten the supply to their citizens.
don't know about funny, but the Brits have some hard reckoning coming and the symbolism of the death of the Queen, committed to public service, and the rise of the PM, committed to the death cult, is poignant and timely.
That was my first thought this morning too Robert but I wasn't game enough to say it.
It was more likely that even though she was the highest paid beneficiary in the UK, if not the world, the daunting prospect of the cost of having to warm the Royal Apartments at Buck House over the coming winter, or moving to the granny flat in California with Harry and Meghan.
To soon, even for a loather of the royal system
What an extraordinary life of service.
RIP Queen Elizabeth.
Thank you higherstandard.
There are occasions where dignity should supersede politics.
The Queen was a remarkable woman.
King Charles at 73 will find the role a burden.
Other issues will have their time.
I like Charles – hope he does well.
He's been the butt of endless derision and jokes yet he's a very intelligent and thoughtful person.
He was made the scapegoat over the Diana fiasco yet he had been just as wronged as Diana was. And now the ugly side of the English personna are doing it again to Meghan Markle and Harry.
It must have broken the late Queen’s heart.
I don't know if you ever read any of the so-called 'black spider memos', letters he wrote to ministers as a concerned and well-informed citizen. They were poorly received, but were anything but an abuse of sovereign power. Ministers really don't like suggestions of what to do, perhaps because what they choose to do is often poorly thought out.
True Stuart.
I hope that the Queen finds peace in what ever is after life. That she be united with her late husband, her parents, her ancestor. That she rests in peace and that peace be with her family.
beautifully said Sabine.
Sad to hear the news. She was an incredible women.
RIP Elizabeth 11
It was the Virgin Mary's presumed birthday on September 8 (double edged born into the world then years later leaving this world for another place).
Background
The date was chosen because it was of Virgo and before the Jewish time of Tabernacles (harvest gatherings at David's city). A 20 year old women leaving Egypt was counted in that census (in Egyptian the name means beloved, in Hebrew bitter herbs – used to flavour lamb) and a 20 year old women would go the place of her family origin for the harvest gathering. This to honour the Qum (means to to raise up – the tent set up on exodus journey).
The detail is that the Jewish calendar begins Oct 7 3761BCE and in 7BCE Oct 7 was the 14th day of the month – the harvest festival began on Oct 8th.
The Queen and a life of observed service.
That was really nice story telling there. Thanks for that!
Also, a big victory for the Ukraine is in the offing.
They telegraphed an offensive in Kherson, drew all Russia's remaining reserves west of the Dniepr then cut them off by destroying the bridges and launching an offensive there before delivering the surpise blow at Kharkiv. Maskirovka indeed. If this is indeed what happens, it will be a studied and storied victory.
The Russian army has been routed near Kharkiv, Ukrainian forces have advanced up to 100km and are currently fighting outside Kupiansk. This is big deal since it cuts off the main supply route to the Russian army concentration in the Izyum salient and traps them on the wrong side of the Oskil river. They'll almost certainly have to retreat across the Oskil river all the way back east to the next supply hub at Svatove – and they'll most likely have to leave all their heavy equipment behind. Basically, it potentially signals the end of the Russian army in the Ukraine.
In the Kherson salient 20,000 Russians are effectively cut off – again, they'll be forced to retreat or surrender in the next few weeks leaving all their equipment behind.
If this turns into a complete Russia rout then even the re-conquest of the Crimea by the Ukraine comes into play.
Russia is now at an inflexion point. Either they consider ending the war or face total defeat or they use nuclear weapons to try and restore the situation.
If this turns into a complete Russia rout then even the re-conquest of the Crimea by the Ukraine comes into play.
If the Russians lose Crimea the oil regions around the Caspian Sea will be in danger. Would another 'barbarossa' be launched, this time by NATO?
The Ukrainians have never indicated any desire to seize Russian territory.
It is hard to see Putin surviving a major rout of his army, his successor will be able to negotiate a ceasefire that satisfies the Americans.
He will just send generals into involuntary internal exile if he continues to follow the Russian Imperial tradition.
Otherwise there is always the Stalin model…
Blaming the performance of generals is usually the default behaviour for the strategic failures of the despots.
The Ukrainians have never indicated any desire to seize Russian territory.
The Ukranians have made no secret of their desire to win back Crimea, which course is Russian territory.
A rout may be the fastest way to end the war.
If Russian morale breaks, and it is not stellar, further casualties will be greatly reduced.
Ukraine have consistently outplayed their notional strength. Perhaps some of them would like to coach the ABs.
"Either they consider ending the war or face total defeat or they use nuclear weapons to try and restore the situation."
The exact same situation Nixon faced in Vietnam.
Luckily for us the US chose the former not the latter.
After the liberation of Kherson, the liberation of Mariupol could not be far behind.
https://www.facebook.com/events/760369788582157/760369801915489/?active_tab=about
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YaPMr4urwDE
Here's what is wrong with NZ and other Western countries, the headline:
Surely it should read, "it'll get better before it gets worse".
This is what we voted for in 2017. Celebrate it, nitwits.
https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/money/2022/09/national-house-prices-plunge-expert-warns-it-ll-get-worse-before-it-gets-better.html
Yeah National…party.
Considering that many houses doubled in GV in the last two years the prices can fall quite a bit and not make any dent.
I feel for the guys that bought over the last three years. They are stuffed.
Typical misplaced sympathy from the fake left. The guys that bought over the last three years still own a house, something which an increasing number of people were never going to be able to do.
Where is your sympathy for them?
look i bought a house real cheap – very cheap as essentially uninhabitalbe at the time – we fixed a lot. that house is now double in value. On the counts of nothing actually for what its worth.
However i do not 'own' the house, the bank does. I own the mortgage. 🙂 And hte poor saps who bought at inflated rates over the last few years for all the wrong reasons are going to be stuck in mortgages that are not worth the paper they are printed on. Even if they manage to sell they are still on the hook for the rest of hte mortgage.
But then, i guess its their own fault for believing government – all will be well, banks – here have a cheap entry rate, the estate agents – houses will never loose value, etc. Sucks to be them, right?
A the kindness of the real left towards its young and old in this country is just always astonishing. So kind, so very very kind.
Btw, did you know that many people can lose houses that they paid for because they can no longer serve the rates that are based on GV? Did you know that the government collects a huge amount of GST on these inflated rates? LOL. How secure are you my dear in your house or rental?
.
It's your jaw-dropping lack of self-awareness that gets me every single bloody time.
But then, this does appear to be very much the Woke modus operandi … accuse others of your own core, defining characteristic. Not surprising that recent research in psychology has emphasised machiavellianism (along with the other Dark Triad traits) as core components of the authoritarian Woke personality.
Read this in a Jordan Peterson book, did you?
This is what we voted for in 2017. Celebrate it, nitwits.
I don't think any of us voted for 'faulty headlines' in 2017.
Agreed Mutton….but a 5.5% drop in house prices is hardly a "plunge". Prices need to come down at least 30%, and that would be good news.
If you buy a home to live in, it has more than monetary value.
Those who see houses as a stepping stone to wealth are half the problem.
Those who buy rentals and turn them into Air B&B are lowering long term rentals available. Those who build for that purpose… ok.
Those who spruik to the young with a sprat (money back) to catch a mackerel (expensive mortgage) are todays Highway Robbers. imo.
Time to seriously consider what we'll call out head of state when we renounce the monarchy.
President is undeniably (and as it happens) deliberately dull.
Naturally governor, chancellor, premiere, chairman, etc and all the monarchic titles are too loaded.
A Māori title is the natural next step to further our unique identity, but what?
oooh, yes, good idea! Public needs a good definition of head of state and the role. A conversation about Te Tiriti.
Rawiri from TMP called the Queen "Ariki" this morning on RNZ. That's as good as any, so far, even if it's a bit broad.
not sure the connotations of chief are right though.
Ariki-nui, perhaps?
A Māori title is the natural next step to further our unique identity, but what?
Rangatira?
Rangitira, oh fuck yes please do .
The added bonus of how crazy it would drive rednecks.
(RBNZ) Governor
Exposing the far limits of medical science.
If the super wealthy have any social utility at all, it is to push the envelope and exploring the limits of what is possible. With all the latest and best of medical science at her disposal. I was expecting HRH to live to at least 100.
Disappointing.
A broken heart and loneliness can not be cured by any medicine. Never mind what her bout with covid did to her body. But it was clear for anyone to see that the joy of life left her when she buried her husband.
As John Paul Getty, once the richest man in the world, said, "Money doesn't buy happiness, it buys you a comfortable standard of misery".
May the death of this sad autocrat be the death of autocracy around the world, including here.
May our government not waste one cent of public money commemorating the death of HRH.
I hear the PM is off to to the UK for the HRHQEII funeral
I hope she is paying her own air fare.
Why?
She is going in her role as NZ's PM. NZ is a member of the Commonwealth and there would be n expectation she would be there. She's not going over to gate crash the event.
Does this mean, in your view, she should pay for her official cars and pay rent for her office and for living in Premier House?
Well, thats certainly changed the situation somewhat !
"Environment Southland has defended its consent to the dairy development as an environmental improvement.
Integrated catchment management general manager Paul Hulse said the site had been used for "a number of years" to graze stock over winter on crop or pasture.
"It was assessed that the addition of a wintering barn will mitigate the potential for nutrient and sediment losses to water, as compared to the stock wintering outside.
"The consent they now have restricts the discharge of effluent to a maximum area of 150ha and depth of discharge to 5mm in order to mitigate the potential for leaching or run-off of contaminants to freshwater."
Mr Hulse said the location had a mix of soil types, some of which were free draining.
However, Environment Southland determined the effects on the environment did not meet that threshold for public notification.'
(From above link)
That is, as maybe…However this was also in my Link…
I know some are a wee bit sad Queenie's carked it but as a descendant of people who suffered because of the British aristocracy's penchant for violence, subjugation and theft, I couldn't give a rats.
Good on ya.
And spare us King Charles III.
The first Charles lost his head (deservedly so), the second presided over the most licentious court in British history (and that's saying something) – so how will the third f*wit go?
Time we became a republic!
The bar is low.
duplicitous and delusional
– Samuel Gardiner
Restless he rolls from whore to whore
A merry monarch, scandalous and poor
– John Wilmot
Oh, God. I'll just live inside your trousers or something. It would be much easier!
– Himself
I think he will go quite well. He will never be as popular as the Queen, but he was way ahead of his time. We laughed at him for his weird beliefs regarding organics and regenerative agriculture and environmental issues. Now those issues are mainstream. We even have a political party based on those issues and the use of pronouns. Although I think the latter is something the new king will have to be brought up to speed on.
https://twitter.com/wekatweets/status/1567995443401101312
https://twitter.com/wekatweets/status/1568002561067876352
My favority story is when she drove some Saudi dude around in the car herself. lol
https://www.vox.com/2015/1/23/7877243/king-abdullah-queen-drive
and being a mechanic during ww2
https://www.insider.com/photos-queen-elizabeth-mechanic-world-war-ii-2020-4
she was an interesting women and lived an interesting life. Fwiw, i know few people who two days before they die still work a full day of work. She did.
Not to mention hosting Syrian dictator Basha Assad the only Middle East ruler to ever to overnight at Buckingham Palace.
You know this guy.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eQni3qn6GIU&t=3s
I get your drift. Just as we have close economic ties with China.
''Fwiw, i know few people who two days before they die still work a full day of work. She did.''
I know none. In the NZ context, Dr Golan Haami, the first Maori to graduate from the Otago Medical School, was helping his patients while on his death bed in hospital. Pity this guy was a Maori, otherwise he would've been a well known Kiwi.
https://nzhistory.govt.nz/death-of-norman-kirk
I remember his death well. I was watching Steve Rickards, 'On The Mat', wrestling programme when that programme was interrupted to announce Kirk's death. That would have been on a Saturday if I remember correctly. A nurse who was on duty later recounted she had a funny intuition all was not right with Kirk, so she went to his room, but he had passed on.
Yup, it was a Saturday.
Good on the young ones.
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/victims-of-rapist-jayden-meyer-speak-as-hundreds-take-to-the-street-in-protest/M5USSVGFB2SUPUGHFZBTTA5DX4/
I hope that these young ones will be better adults then the one that sentenced that guy to the trauma of 9 month Home D.
Yes I find it unbelievable that sentence of home D. As has been pointed out to me, we do not know all the details, but IMO that judge needs a rocket up her (unless judges have been ordered to reduce prison numbers).
I hope due to the public outcry, they at least release more details and justify to the public why the home D was allowed.
What next? this bloke gets home D?
Sockburn fatal stabbing: Zakariye Mohamed Hussein admits street murder; shocking past revealed – NZ Herald
Everyone gets home d.
What would you do with Meyer? Put him in an adult prison for 10 years, or 20? Would you want to live next door to him when he gets out after that? Maybe shut him up for life – happy to pay the taxes to fund all the extra prisons and staff are you? So maybe it's best (i.e. cheaper and final) to take him behind a bush and shoot him then – are you up for that?
You offer no answers and you have no answers. Your sympathy for the young women concerned appears to be entirely bogus and opportunistic. You are sh*t-stirring and using the 'soft on crime' slogan in order to help get the Nats elected. Contemptible.
Yes, i would lock him up for life.
in fact i would lock him up for five life sentences. One for each girl.
But he will be allowed out in 9 month, and chances are he will continue to rape.
BTW, What would you do with a serial rapist that at 16 years of age has already raped 4 girls and assaulted a fifth girl? Give him 9 month home D or even less? maybe a pat on the shoulder? Give him a candy bar? Tell the girls to shut up?
And have a good look at the youngsters protesting this injustice. And ask yourself if these young ones are going to be national voters or what ever party is still valid when they come of age because of that injustice?
Think. Seriously Think.
AB will be happy that Meyer will vote for his team.
Yes I'm happy to pay more taxes to keep him in a juvenile prison and keep him off the streets else we get the re-offending like in the story of Mohamed in Stockburn in 18.1 above. He cant re-offend while behind bars.
I guess in your view my thinking is flawed as I believe in a justice system for the victims (not what's best for the offenders).
Just like this dude here should have not been released on parole.
he got out, bought his tools of the trade and killed.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/crime/129806897/man-who-murdered-christchurch-neighbour-was-on-parole-for-brutal-rape
i am all for prisons being emptied of non violent people who did some stupid shit in their life and chances are will never re-offend. But violent men and women should be treated differently.
Yep 9 months home D is fine with me as long as it is accompanied with castration
Jimmy, it seems both of us would like the same thing. We both want a suitable sentence for a serious crime.
The difference is that I am willing to trust that the judge has ruled according to the evidence and the principles of sentencing that judges follow whereas you condemn the judge (who you say is a woman which would in my eyes more predispose towards a tougher sentence for a crime like multiple rape) and demand to see the justification after proferring your condemnation.
I just found this as a guide to why judges sentence as they do. https://www.lawteacher.net/lecture-notes/principles-of-sentencing.php
Again, you show your profound ignorance of the NZ judicial system and the independence of the judiciary even though others have already explained this to you.
Enlighten us who could, would and should order the judges to reduce prison numbers. How does this work in NZ?
Luxon's broken promise …
He said the report on Sam Uffindell would be done by a QC. It's taken so long that it is now impossible for that to happen. Resign!
Now to be completed by a KFC, and kept secret like the colonel's spices. Take away justice, indeed….. a salt and sauce and taste that won''t go away.
Hmm that bloke Sharma seems to have gone quiet – has reality caught up with the press on that one?
Its just the news cycle.
Like every scandal it lasts a week or 2 at most
Another one in the series of the Greens were right all along.
”The climate crisis has driven the world to the brink of multiple “disastrous” tipping points, according to a major study.
It shows five dangerous tipping points may already have been passed due to the 1.1C of global heating caused by humanity to date.”
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/sep/08/world-on-brink-five-climate-tipping-points-study-finds?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other
Mindboggling that we are not acting.
How New Zealanders greet each other
'I am not a royalist. But….'
Friday dump.
Robertson releases response to Infrastructure recommendations and says government will spend 61.5 billion$ on infrastructure, over the next 5 years.
The foremost problem to a large tome full of words,is that we have no money.The second part of the problem is we are in a high interest rate regime,with significant constraints on supply (as Europe closes industry that will be needed for infrastructure)
https://www.treasury.govt.nz/sites/default/files/2022-09/govt-response-nz-infrastructure-strategy-sep22.pdf
I'll have a look over the weekend.
They don't have the ability to reconcile:
– 8 years to the 100% renewables goal
– New RMA that doesn't accelerate major energy projects
– Too few skilled workers
– Very very thin capital base
– Few Tier 1 companies prepared to take a punt on NZ
They are writing cheques with their mouth that their ass can't cash.
About right.
Finance is the problem,along with using european energy models to provide capital guidance for say pumped hydro (wait to consumers get a big hit to provide capital servicing charges)
I wonder if there was the traditional call of "The Queen is dead – long live the King!".
But seriously, I was no particular lover of the British monarchy but did respect her late majesty – she kept working and doing her duty to the end.
However I think that republican aspirations, which have been on hold out of respect for her majesty, will now gather momentum now that she has passed.
The news that next Tuesday Parliament will adjourn for a whole week has just made me a little more republican. A day of tributes, fine. Pay respect, make the speeches, then adjourn for the day.
But putting everything on hold for a week is excessive. Most people got up and went to work this morning.
I think we would be charged by our off-shore friends and allies as showing disrespect to the late Queen. I think its is just the debating chamber shenanigans is it not?
Also PM, and other MPs, will be out of country attending the funeral and other proceedings.
What do you think happens when a Head of a Republic dies? BAU?
Usually the tanks surround the TV station.
I assume you mean drones Zooming in on YouTube HQ.
Well, it's not a hereditary position to hold until death, at least in a democratic republic. So it doesn't happen often, they are usually ex-heads in retirement and when they die – yes, it is mostly BAU.
Really? Have you got any examples, from overseas, obviously?
Monarchs don’t die very often either, do they?
Presidents overseas are basically in two categories: majorly political, like USA and France) and minor (more ceremonial, like Germany and Ireland).
If NZ became a republic I'm pretty certain we'd choose the latter, leaving real power in Parliament. We'd still have a Gov-Gen in all but name. Nobody's advocating the American system, AFAIK.
No, I don't have examples from overseas because when the German/Irish Presidents die we don't notice, which is kind of the point.
Your right, when Hindenburg died we barely noticed
Monarchs don’t die very often either, do they?
Not British/NZ monarchs, obviously. But that's the thing – we don't notice what we don't notice. Many European monarchies are more low key than the Windsor soap opera, and better for it.
Hume argued quite succinctly for the strengths of a constitutional monarchy,and the stability that it provided during the change of governments.
From Huxley (1879)
https://www.gutenberg.org/files/18819/18819-h/18819-h.htm
I am saddened and torn my lawnmower died today too.
Hair and scalp clinics around the world are overwhelmed with patients suffering hair damage after a severe outbreak of forelock tugging sweeps the globe.