More obfuscatory waffle from McIvor nee Woodham on a Sunday.
“The commemorations at Waitangi involve coming together to share a special day with ritual, good food, fun and a few good stoushes – just like any other family get together, really, isn’t it?”.
I for one would be very interested in knowing what her [and others’] remuneration is for these opinions.
I read fb posts that and are not only longer but have far less bias. There are tweets out there that contain more considered opinion and do so in greater depth.
I repeat what I wrote earlier
With Stuff and The Herald being the principal sources of daily news for the majority of kiwis, what hope does the public have of informed debate this election?
When Antonis Kantas, a deputy in the Defense Ministry here, spoke up against the purchase of expensive German-made tanks in 2001, a representative of the tank’s manufacturer stopped by his office to leave a satchel on his sofa. It contained 600,000 euros, about $814,000. Other arms manufacturers eager to make deals came by, too, some guiding him through the ins and outs of international banking and then paying him off with deposits to his overseas accounts.
At the time, Mr. Kantas, a wiry former military officer, did not actually have the authority to decide much of anything on his own. But corruption was so rampant inside the Greek equivalent of the Pentagon that even a man of his relatively modest rank, he testified recently, was able to amass nearly $19 million in just five years on the job.
“Key’s trip to Australia underscored the success of his Government in knocking the books back into shape after years of belt tightening – earning Key accolades from Abbott as an inspiration and a mentor. ”
W T F ???
knocking the books back into shape ?
There are not enough words in the dictionary to adequately explain how flawed that statement is.
With Stuff and The Herald being the principal sources of daily news for the majority of kiwis, what hope does the public have of informed debate this election?
“knocking the books back into shape ?” That’s garbage!!
This from the National Party:
“The level of public debt in New Zealand was $8 billion when National came into office in 2008. It’s now $53 billion, and it’s forecast to rise to $72 billion in 2016. Without selling minority shares in five companies, it would rise to $78 billion. Our total investment liabilities, which cover both public and private liabilities, are $150 billion – one of the worst in the world because of the high levels of private debt in New Zealand.
Like every household in New Zealand, we know how important it is to live within our means by budgeting carefully and deciding on our priorities.” http://www.national.org.nz/mixed-ownership.”
An another complete and utter lie by the Nact’s because nobody has any idea whatsoever about the value of assets that are owned by New Zealander’s offshore. Some have local tax implications but many do not and no data is collected about the capital sums involved. And of course even when they should be disclosed they may not be.
So private assets owned offshore should be offset against private debt
Yep, good times ahead for NZ and you can put the down to the brilliance of John Key and his National government.
50%+ at the next election is pretty much a certainty, especially after the idiocy of the best start debacle and then topped off with the racist bizarre ramblings of Labour party candidate Deborah Russell.
The tory shit sprayer seems to have turbo boost turned way down today if that is the best BM can offer.
The brilliance of John Phillip ShonKey was certainly on show in Australia last week, he showed ’em. Sick really, National exacerbates the conditions that cause kiwi flight to Australia then the PM grovels for a few miserable concessions for the refugees from slashed and burnt and under supported NZ industry.
There is a stumbling uncertainty in your spin today BM,
Could it be the earworm of truth has eaten into your addled brainstem
Is it singing an aria of enlightenment down into the ideological oubliette you call on for ideas
Could it be there is a consciousness in there after all
Trying to escape into the light
There is a haunting desperation in your words
A present lack of conviction giving you away
Have you finally realised that despite your lies
Your propaganda
Your hatred
You cannot put food on your table as easily as you once did
Are you hurting BM? Are you feeling the pinch a little?
Would it help you to know that hundreds of thousands of kiwis are beginning the same transformative process and are also grappling with that heart rending moment of truth
They too are acknowledging that manure makes a lousy Amuse-bouche
“Would it help you to know that hundreds of thousands of kiwis are beginning the same transformative process and are also grappling with that heart rending moment of truth”
Good grief. BM is hyperbolic, obviously. But do you folk ever get out? I do. All around the country from the deep south to the Bay of Islands.
The country is PUMPING. Bars and eating places are packed. The shopping malls are heaving. Every hospitality venue I went to in Westland was staffed by European travellers – I mean hundreds of them – because of a shortage of domestic labour.
OK lets look at some empirics. 63.5% of those in the last RM survey said the country is “heading in the right direction”. That is 10% points up since DC took over as Labour Party leader.
As far as I can find, it is currently the highest rating of this type in the WORLD. (This survey is used all over the OECD).
So keep up your class warfare. You sound like a bunch of story boards from the 1950s my father used to tell me about. I guess you have always been around but now you congregte at The Standard.
For sure there’s a few people struggling but there always will be.
Generally though most people aren’t which is why Labour’s getting no traction with the tales of woe they’re trying to push out into the media.
Labour needs to ditch the negative shit and actually demonstrate why they’d be a better government than National.
And by better government I don’t mean take money off one group of people and give it to another group who unsurprisingly represents their core voters.
I want to see how they’re going to make the pie bigger so every ones better off, if they can’t demonstrate that they should just get the fuck out of the way.
Bumptious Midden.
More propaganda from 5 eyes.
Broken promises is all we’ve had from your Nactional coalition
1 year out of 5 of growth.
Child poverty increasing.
Middle classes paying taxes while the rich pay nothing .
Higher real unemployment.
Bene bullying and bashing.
Real good paying jobs nowhere to be found except in Auckland and ChCh where living costs are sky rocketing because of Nactional party promoting property bubble speculation.
Serial liar and fraudster
The middle classes don,t agree with your pathetic propaganda.TV3 poll
As they are getting squeezed into the working poor classes as you fully know that’s your job at 5 eyes to con Enough middle class voters into believing your BS.
Fuck offf 5 eyed fuckwit.
I listened to this. It was the greatest load of crap. That academic from Colorado stringing together platitudes about the evils of “neoliberalism”. Notice that Cunliffe doesn’t talk much about “neoliberalism” on the hustings. That is because the punters buying boats and ipads won’t have a fucking clue what he is talking about. And he aint stupid.
There is no alternative to promoting efficient markets and trade liberalisation. Cunliffe knows that. And if Labour wins that is what you will get, with some token “embroidery” on the great fabric of neoliberal policy (to paraphrase the great Paul Keating).
No future government will change the pillars of New Zealand economic policy. There is no alternative.
[lprent: I auto-spam overworked phrases when I get irritated with them from all sides. Be advised that I frequently ban the morons who make them when they cause me too much work. It is usually safer to use the actual names unless your phrase is new becasue I will only correct a few times. Assess the risk. ]
Your comment re turn left at Kawakawa is very pertinent.
So why cannot Ngapuhi get their act together, as it would be for the benefit of those effective outcasts to the west of Kawakawa. Or will it ?
All that is happening now is a fight between certain families as who is going to be rich and control and be the beneficiary of the $600,000,000, and who is going to remain poor.
What about all the peoples of Ngapuhi ?
They do not appear to matter.
There are bugger all jobs in some towns up north so these people have two choices, either be long term unemployed or get a job in another town and move. Would you really want your kids to grow up in a shit hole where they will struggle to get a job? Lots of people move for work its just a matter of getting off your arse.
The District mayor moved. He moved the council facilities from Kaikohe to Kerikeri so he’d be closer to his developer mates as they cut down the remaining forest.
Opua’s pumping too. Pumping raw sewerage from NAct yachts into the estuary and making the oysters unfit for human consumption. Out past Kerikeri is pumping as well. Pumping MacMansions into kiwi habitat, all with the connivance of the District Council.
Auckland shopping malls are heaving? Yeah, sure. I was back recently and was amazed at how empty they were, despite everything being on sale. But then I doubt if I visit the same places SSLands does, because I actually have family and friends in Aotearoa, whereas he’s just an Aussie tourist. Or at most, a researcher for Crosby Textor.
This is the same OECD where our wages are rated against each other despite the fact most of them have tax free allowances built in and we don’t? that OECD ?
The same OECD which somehow forgets to highlight the skyrocketing % of debt-per-capita that NZ has suffered since National took office?
and as for “European travellers” in the workplace,
It is not for lack of kiwis wanting to work. It is because of the choices made by the business owners. Often explained to customers as a move made on their behalf to make their touristy guests feel more comfortable. In reality it is just cheaper than kiwi labour. These places, usually scenic in nature, or hub related, are filled with staff on short term contract deals, largely cash and/or barter based [some pay + tourist services + accommodation] where, if most of the details were actually known to you, you would be ranting against just as strongly. Let’s just say that hospitality is no different than banking, there is always some creative book keeping involved.
Look at the explosion of Chinese tourism into NZ. Whole networks with barely a kiwi on the staff anywhere. From the minute they get off the plane to the day they depart. I guess that is because of dole bludging no hopers with no interest in working? Nothing to do with the decisions of the business owners. You know, the market gods you have so much faith in.
srylands, I think I have mentioned this to you before but I have spent the majority of my working life in hospitality all over NZ , so don’t even try to talk about your vast expertise on that topic. Customers, as a rule, know jack about the hospitality industry. Recent discussion around bar restrictions and closing hours show how little thought is given to the workers in those industries. The fact that hospo staff might want a social life too, seems beyond most people’s consideration.
Consideration, that is an interesting term in relation to the unemployed.
Take this past week, where after sending off a dozen job hunt emails (with no reply of course), doing a bit of TS PPP time, finalising a business plan for a new venture that should lead to self-employment, (fingers crossed) hanging a new exhibition, overseeing the final OSH planning for an Organics Education weekend, being invited to present a new series of bone carvings to be exhibited during Matariki, negotiating the plans for a bookcase/screen for a local cafe and helping a friend get checked into a psych ward, I get called in to WINZ to spend 90 minutes explaining why I have not yet found a job and I should really fill in some boxes on a piece of paper that will help me find a career path. WTF!!!. Oh yeah it’s all those dole bludgers fault and their unwillingness to work.
Back to you though, and your expertise. I say you know little to nothing about hospitality. The same as I know very little about moving around numbers representing money earned by other people using software programmes built by other people whilst I write meaningless reports to be read by someone maybe, all the while sitting in a chair someone else made, in an office others built, drinking coffee grown and produced by someone else. What is it you contribute again?
-a week ago I thought I had the strength to ignore the idiots,
but just when you think you got out, they pull you back in 🙂
excuse the rant folks, i know what the report card reads – must try harder
Your paragraph about your week is both a damning indictment of Bennett’s welfare reforms and a brilliant argument for the UBI. Even without the UBI I read your story and think about all the ways that WINZ could support you to be continuing with all the amazing things you are doing, instead of putting soul-destroying obstacles in your way.
I agree re tourism/hospo jobs. Friends I’ve got living in tourist towns tell similar stories, and it’s crap to say there is a shortage of kiwi labour. As well as the wages, there is the issue of the casual nature of the work. Travellers or visitors here on work visas but who are really here for a working holiday are happy to work 20 hours one week, 5 hours the next and to be let go at no notice. Those who are permanent with high rents, kids to feed etc can’t manage with those conditions.
The other troubling thing about the current immigration/visa/work policy is that we are creating the same problems that the UK has majorly ie ‘foreigners taking our jobs’, with the potential for the bigotry to increase substantially.
I was remiss in not mentioning that the few staff I interact with at WINZ are trying hard to help. They are doing what they can, but the current environment they operate under has tied their hands. They know the work is not out there.
They simply do not have the autonomy they used to. Their entire operational framework is now all about following whatever ‘meet this target’ law is sent down from central office. I hate seeing the difficulties the WINZ front lines are facing. The WINZ front line staff are dealing with some of this country’s greatest troubles, in impossibly difficult circumstances and doing so in a thankless, largely misunderstood and often threatening environment.
In the late 80’s/early 90’s when it looked like Japan was going to overwhelm the New Zealand tourist sector, we faced a similar dilemma. Japanese tourists were paying for their fares in Japan, staying in mainly accommodation controlled by Japanese shareholders, so tariffs were paid in Japan, shopping in Japanese run shops, run by Japanese operators, whose staff were paid in accounts held in Japan. Very little money at the time was actually following into the New Zealand economy.
SSLands, you forgot a little in your elongated rant,(presumably generated by this mornings major alcohol hangover),
The country is PUMPING, a large proportion of the flow from the pump being generated by the ongoing splurge of house price inflation and all the major banks attaching credit cards to the billions in private household mortgages those banks hold,
The Reserve Bank is set to start raising the cash rate this year by probably a full % point by the years end which will probably translate to a 2-3% rise in floating bank rates immediately and a similar effect on fixed mortgages as they become liable for renewal,
The abrupt halt rising interest rates will cause in the sugar rush of credit card spending will crash ‘growth’ in the final quarter of 2014/first quarter of 2015, (timed to suit the National Government re-election aspirations) and ‘growth’ will contract by 1-1.5% resulting in another 20,000 unemployed…
It is the ‘high’ (rather it is a dazed and confused state) that little twerps get from the delusional view that working for the top wealthy 0.01% Club is the same as being in that Club.
It requires a high level of ability to believe false information, swallowing hook, line and sinker all lies propagated by a self-serving small minded and hostile bunch of ‘people’ (if you can refer to them as that – creatures? thingummies?) and requires strict obedience to that bunch of ‘people’. It requires a high degree of disconnection from oneself and ones fellow people, a lack of self awareness and an ability to lie to oneself and one’s family, friends and compatriots.
It leads to an ability to act against ones own and one’s communities greatest interests – all in the name of the delusional belief that all this obedience somehow puts one in The Club, when really all you have become is a hollowed out approximation of a human and more closely resemble a human club (as in thing you hit others over the head with).
They are talking about the current account. Its not that hard to follow. Abbott is under huge pressure to do the same as National have. Don’t you like hearing what a great job National are doing.
I expect Fairfax Media to write propaganda supporting a government that benefits the wealthy over the poor and foreign corporate interests over the civil rights of NZ citizens.
So hearing from them ‘what a great job National are doing’ is predictable.
After all, their largest shareholder, with a stake of approximately 14.9% is Gina Rinehart, the wealthiest person in Australia.
NI guess naki you believe greed is good and share the same sociopathic ideals as srylands.
Dull.
I guess if there were also charts for black or Latino men over 20 that showed ‘Labor Force Participation’ at 72% or more, then the inverted commas might make sense. And, if further charts for white women and black and Latino women showed similar participation rates, then the inverted commas might even seem a tad justified. But only within the sphere of economic participation.
And only a tad, because, you know, wage rates, security of employment, and job position would also have to be taken into account.
Then, if we looked at more general indicators of privilege and discrimination and found that white men were subjected to the same systemic racism and sexism etc…then yeah, then the inverted commas would be justified. In fact, the term should rightly be dropped from the sentence/statement at that point.
But since that isn’t the case, your inverted commas only serve to diminish the point that even systemically privileged white men are getting the squeeze. Sometimes Tat, deliberately projecting your blind spot goes beyond the cynical dismissing of important oppressions, y’know?
I think the point though is that structural advantages have not counted for much in the face of factors like offshoring of production and the financialisation of the economy. It’s a complicated picture because of all the different changes over that period, so not easy to make comparisons (another instance where ‘facts’ on their own are inadequate).
Labour force participation for women is higher than in the 1950s because of feminism and economic changes. Partly because the population is ageing, many women work in aged care industries. And upheaval in the economy means fewer adult children live near their parents, thus more need for social services.
I don’t know whether women in the aged care industry are better off now, where they are clearly exploited, than say 50 years ago, when they might have cared for the elderly and disabled in their family/whanau/community, and not received remuneration, but their partner earned sufficient income to support a family.
I think the point though is that structural advantages have not counted for much…
That overall economic opportunities may not be the same as in previous decades has absolutely no impact on how systemic disdvantage plays out. If people belonging to a generally privileged group are suffering more, then what do you reckon the situation is for those in generally disadvantaged groups? Are you suggesting that they might be in a relatively better position than before!?
Oh shit, finally the white dudes are suffering after everyone else has been screwed to breaking point, call a fucking waaaaaaaaahmbulance.
Like Bill said, the funny thing is how you’re diminishing your own point – about how everyone is getting hurt by the current economic situation, and how this is demonstrated by the fact that the most privileged groups in society are also getting screwed – because you just can’t handle the fact that sometimes progressive politics isn’t about directly benefiting you.
This from Genesis last year when I questioned a 13% price rise. For the following to be true either each of the costs have increased by at least 13% or some have increased by much more.
Genesis, owned wholly by us and yet lies and gouges.
Tuesday, June 11, 2013 2:21 PM
Good Afternoon Steve
Thank you for your email.
I understand price increases are concerning. We have not increased prices since April 2012 in your area. We have chosen during that time not to pass on any increased costs; however, we are unable to do that again this year and have had to pass those on to you.
The new electricity prices reflect increases in:
• transmission and distribution costs
• costs associated with servicing customers
• the expected future cost of wholesale energy
• our margins to maintain a reasonable return
• EC (Electricity Commission) Levies
Genesis Energy is confident that after recent increases it will continue to provide competitive prices to consumers in Christchurch. Customers can be confident that Genesis Energy is doing everything possible to manage its costs appropriately. A number of business improvement and cost efficiency programmes are underway throughout our generation and retailing business.
Our promise to our customers is to provide you with one of the most reliable energy sources in New Zealand and our focus is on customer service.
When the wholesale price for electricity is artificially inflated and [unethically manipulated] of course the retail side of the equation will also be flawed. Why do you have so much trouble admitting accepting or even understanding that the main issue with electricity pricing is the market driven hunt for profit at the point of production and not simply the ticket clipping that occurs along the way.
Mainly because when I worked at Meridian I learned the prices where tendered for by the various electricity retailers; that’s just competition and makes sense because the retailers had a reasonable idea of their expected usage. So the tender included a demand and price offer. A Canadian company called Transalta (for memory) went broke because they failed to make the tender deadline in 2000 and were charged a retail rate by Meridian production.
My observation is clear; a 13% price increase I believe cannot be justified by the response I was provided. If Genesis had simply stated “we want more profit” I would believe that; I am personally very intolerant of any fabrications of the truth. The intention of my post was to inform others of probable price gauging by Genesis. Mind you it’s got to make their shares more attractive.
What about the fact the successful tender is the second highest bid and not the lowest bid?
You know the exact opposite of what they do when they want something built!
Does that compute in your brain at all when trying to spin the scale of the rort that is electricity production in New Zealand?
I received the same price hike of 13% with their latest fixed term offer that makes the rise 18.98%
I am yet to see MSM come out with decent journalistic coverage of the effects of Key-Nationals assets sales.
This is exactly why power providers need to be regulated.
The new electricity prices reflect increases in:
• transmission and distribution costs
• costs associated with servicing customers
• the expected future cost of wholesale energy
• our margins to maintain a reasonable return
• EC (Electricity Commission) Levies
This point needs studying:
• our margins to maintain a reasonable return
This from the electricity company is a small number of words with a big meaning and effect.
I was thinking that in a low inflation environment with static wages, these companies can find a case to give customers for raising their prices, by continually getting their assets revalued which is likely to be up or they wouldn’t follow the practice, and then applying the set percentage that they expect to receive back. And 10% has been bandied about, though tht seems quite high on non-risk investments. So obviously if something that was valued at $1 million is revalued at $1.5 million but the same set percentage is applied, the return on assets is going to provide a higher amount. This then must be sadly, passed on to the consumer as necessary and explained away as resulting from rising costs.
This when viewed objectively, reminds me very much of the faux concern that unions involved with the ferries expressed every time they went on strike for more money at times of most demand, holidays etc.
It’s just an entity squeezing the public for more money to them, for little or no extra services or infrastructure. Greedy unions or corporates, same attitudes, from different perspectives, result same to consumers, pay more to us. A bit of unpacking of the background to some of the supposedly rational behaviours in the production of goods and services is called for.
Shame about the ‘greedy unions’ part of your comment. Obvious point is that the unions gain nothing from negotiations – the members do. I take your point about tactics sometimes being woefully thought out though and effects of strike action hitting the wrong target. (in the case of ferries, customers rather than than solely the bosses pocket)
Serial liar and fraudster
No New zealander calls Westland westland you are full of shit.
The Kiwis are all in Australia getting decent wages.
Hundreds of foriegners bullshit again .
You have no eye deer.
5 eyed fuckwit sryland.
How ridiculous is SSLands triumphalism given the speciousness of the poll enquiry as to “direction”.
The poll question is undeniably suspect –
“[GENERALLY] speaking, do you [FEEL] that [THINGS] in New Zealand are heading in the right direction ?…………..or would you [SAY] [THINGS] are [SERIOUSLY] heading in the wrong direction ?”
For a start the question lacks definitional bounds – what does [THINGS] mean ?
Secondly, the first alternative only minimally tests the respondent. It is a more or less enquiry as to the respondent’s general senses, which senses may be based on superb objective knowledge, or rank subjective ignorance. There is plenty of wiggle room.
In contrast the second alternative tests the respondent considerably more. The respondent is required to mentally address specifics, viz. matter/s which the respondent can honourably define to him/herself, in his/her knowledge, as tending to a direction [SERIOUSLY] wrong, not just wrong, but [SERIOUSLY] wrong. There is the heightened test.
Of course the intellectually dishonest blowhard SSLands will dismiss my point but that would be to say that ALL those who responded with “generally, right direction” see no wrong in child poverty for example. So really, this right direction/wrong direction business says little. It is specious.
What is significant is that Mr 62% is now Mr 39% and falling. A “dislikeability” factor is operative. Don’t forget, we have KDC and “Liar Liar” yet to come. Triumphalise on and good luck in your travels through the pumping malls and bars of the nation, old goat you.
Here are two good radio docos. The first on Income inequality –
and amongst others featuring Max Rushbrooke, is well worth a listen. And gives interesting ‘insight’ into how Phil O’Reilly, and various economists, can explain our economy ad being as satisfctory and understandable as a ball getting balanced on a seal’s nose. Myself I feel they are dissembling. What do you think?
was on Sunday 9/Feb/2014 at 8.15 am and is to be repeated on Radionz on Monday 10 February at 7.30pm
and Wednesday at 12.30 a.m. http://www.radionz.co.nz/national/programmes/insight
Insight – Sunday 9 February 2014, with Philippa Tolley
NZ Radio Awards 2013: winner of the Best Documentary or Feature Programme & co-winner of Best Daily or Weekly series under an Hour Duration
Insight for 9 February 2014 – Does Rich -Poor Divide Matter? ( 27′ 13″ )
Penny Mackay investigates whether a big income gap really matters. Share Download: Ogg | MP3
gap rich poor Once one of the most equal nations in the world, during the 80s and 90s New Zealand’s income gap widened faster than any other developed country.
Equality advocates say that is too wide and is responsible for social problems including high rates of mental illness, teenage pregnancy, violence and incarceration.
Others say obsessing about a “gap” is a distraction from tackling poverty itself.
Penny Mackay considers both arguments and some of the offered solutions.
Coming Up on Insight
8:12 am Sunday 16 February: Insight: Education Solving Society’s Ills?
Education spotlight shannon school The three main political parties, National, Labour and the Greens, started the year with major education announcements.
Their attention put the early childhood and school sectors in the political spotlight.
But are they beginning to expect too much from education?
Radio New Zealand’s Education Correspondent, John Gerritsen investigates how much social and economic change the education sector can deliver, and how schools are coping with the demands being placed upon them.
Shows the arrogance and partisan politics within the upper levels of iwi, nothing new there.
Watch the nact bundle a settlement through,full of holes, like alot of their urgency measures, then trumpet what legends they are for sorting it out.
This will leave the subsequent claims bought about by the holes another govts issue to sort out. Par for the course really but then shonkey likes golf.
So Andarko have found water at the bottom of the ocean.
But what kind of water?
Presumably it was fossil water disconnected from the main ocean for millions of years.
How old is it?
Are there any extremophile lifeforms in it, or is it sterile?
Is it water left over from the time when the submarine continent that surrounds New Zealand was above the surface?
Is it fresh water?
Andarko may not be interested in any of these questions but others might?
By showing no interest at all in such questions Andarko show themselves to be the scientific Philistines, heedlessly ploughing their way through the natural and human world without any thought to some of the greatest mysteries and wonders of the natural world. Their only interest is money.
The sooner we rid ourselves of these invading marauders from our shores the better.
You may find yourself living in a shotgun shack
You may find yourself in another part of the world
You may find yourself behind the wheel of a large automobile
You may find yourself in a beautiful house with a beautiful wife
You may ask yourself, well, how did I get here?…
There is water at the bottom of the ocean
Remove the water, carry the water
Remove the water from the bottom of the ocean
Letting the days go by, let the water hold me down
Letting the days go by, water flowing underground
Into the blue again, after the money’s gone
Once in a lifetime, water flowing underground
Into the blue again, into silent water
Under the rocks and stones, there is water underground
Letting the days go by, into silent water
Once in a lifetime, water flowing underground
You may ask yourself, what is that beautiful house?
You may ask yourself, where does that highway lead to?
You may ask yourself, am I right, am I wrong?
You may say to yourself, my god, what have I done?
Same as it ever was, same as it ever was, same as it ever was, same as it ever was
Same as it ever was, same as it ever was, same as it ever was, same as it ever was
Time isn’t holding us, time isn’t after us
Time isn’t holding us, time doesn’t hold you back
Time isn’t holding us, time isn’t after us
Time isn’t holding us…
Letting the days go by, letting the days go by, letting the days go by, once in a lifetime (?)
Letting the days go by, letting the days go by, letting the days go by, once in a lifetime
Hopefully Our Munsta of tha Arts and Kulcha will be listening to RNZ today – Essshhpeshlee “tha…Artson Sunny” – I mean listen from start to finish and ‘especially’ the unedited portion.
If he did/has, I imagine he’ll be weighing up eggseklee where his peshuns loi.
I suspect he’ll go with the bitter ole Queen option. Yesssiree John – you’re gorgeous, I love you, I offer my undying leeeeeerv!
There goes one lonely funeral
I had a look at a No Minister post about Kiwis in Australia and didn’t find much reliable information there. So I thought I would find a bit out about this immigration business in Oz.
It seems that nearly anyone can get a SCV (Special Category Visa).
But that has limited benefits to you which don’t change the longer you are in the country. Fact Sheet 17 has much information.
The SCV – It allows a New Zealand citizen to remain indefinitely and live, work or study in Australia lawfully as long as that person remains a New Zealand citizen.
The SCV is not a permanent visa and visa holders do not have the same rights and benefits as Australian citizens or Australian permanent residents……
Changes introduced on 26 February 2001
A new bilateral social security arrangement between Australia and New Zealand was announced on 26 February 2001. This agreement sets out arrangements for payment of age pension, disability support pension and carer payment to New Zealand citizens in Australia.
It also recognised the right of each country to determine access to social security benefits not covered by the agreement, and to set related residence and citizenship rules according to the respective country’s national legislative and policy frameworks. In line with that principle Australia introduced a number of supplementary changes.
As a result, the Social Security Act 1991 requires New Zealand citizens who arrived in Australia after 26 February 2001 to apply for and be granted an Australian permanent visa to access certain social security payments (including income support payments) that are not covered by the bilateral agreement.
To support this requirement, changes were also made to citizenship and migration legislation to require New Zealand citizens to become permanent visa holders if they want to obtain Australian citizenship or sponsor their family members for a permanent visa.
When can you apply for a permanent visa?
You can apply for a permanent visa after you have:
lived for two years in a Specified Regional Area and worked, including being self-employed, for one year in these same areas.
See: Specified Regional Areas, or
obtained sponsorship under the Regional Sponsored Migration Scheme.
Which permanent visas can you apply for?
You can apply for any permanent visa in Australia, however the Skilled – Regional (Residence) visa (subclass 887) is specifically designed for holders of a provisional skilled visa who want to apply for permanent residency.
See: Skilled – Regional (Residence) Visa (Subclass 887)
The Regional Sponsored Migration Scheme visa (subclass 857) has reduced eligibility requirements for holders of a Skilled – Regional Sponsored (Provisional) visa (subclasses 475 and 487) or a Skilled – Independent Regional (Provisional) visa (subclass 495).
See: Concessions for the Regional Sponsored Migration Scheme Visa (Subclass 857)
It appears that if you want to get Citizenship status you can only apply after having got a PermanentVisa.
It seems possible that you could have dual status if the NZ Government allows this.
Since 1 Sept 1994 any NZer arriving in Australia is automatically issued a Subclass 444 or “Special Category” Visa. The SCV allows a NZer to live and work in Australia indefinitely without needing any other sort of work or residency visa. It is not permanent; it can be revoked; you lose it by leaving Australia and you are issued a new one if you re-enter Australia.
The SCV makes the holder ineligible for almost all Australian government welfare and financial assistance. If you’re a NZer on an SCV you can not get unemployment assistance if you lose your job, you’re not eligible for payments under the National Disability Insurance Scheme, you can not (presently) get a student loan or allowance, if your house gets burned down or washed away you are not entitled to the emergency financial assistance that your Australian neighbour gets, etc etc. If you become a burden on the Australian taxpayer (eg by going to jail) you will be put on a one-way flight to NZ upon release. A child born in Australia to parents who are NZers on SCVs does not receive Australian citizenship and is “stateless” unless the parents apply for and are granted NZ citizenship for the child by birth. A NZer on an SCV is basically a long-term guest with obligations (pay tax, obey the law) but with very few of the rights of a resident or citizen.
Getting official Australian residency is hard. People are literally dying to get in to Australia.
NZers on SCVs are considered no different from other immigrants where applications for permanent residency are concerned. It makes no difference that you’re already in Australia and working; if you want to become a permanent resident you have to meet the same immigration criteria as any other foreign immigrant. You must have qualifications and work in a field that Australia considers desirable (i.e. be on the “Skilled Occupations” list), be under 45 years of age, and (depending on the specific visa you’re applying for) be sponsored by your employer or be moving to a “Regional Area” where Australia needs more people in certain professions.
There are approximately 600,000 NZers in Australia and many of them are placed in great hardship by the situation described above. I’m sure that many of those 600,000 are eligible to vote in NZ elections and would look favourably on the NZ government that helped them.
– you can only apply for Australian citizenship if you have spent two years in Australia with permanent resident status.
– it is possible to have dual Australian and New Zealand citizenship.
Trivia:
– NZers who were on SCVs when the current law took effect in Feb 2001 were allowed to apply directly for citizenship if they’d been physically present in Australia for more than 12 months of the 24 months to Feb 2001. Thus Russell Crowe, who lived in Australia but was in the northern hemisphere filming first Gladiator then A Beautiful Mind during that time, did not qualify and had his Australian citizenship application rejected. And since he’s over 45 and in a nonessential profession (“actor”) he can not become a permanent resident.
As long as these kiwi ‘guest workers’ are in Australia, paying tax to that govt, they are not paying tax to the NZ govt who ultimately will have to pick up the tab when they return to New Zealand.
The point is that most will not be able to retire in Australia and will almost certainly be returning to NZ and become immediately eligible for Super.
Here is also an interesting point. Of the 850,000 odd New Zealanders who did not vote in the last election – how many would be included in this 620,000 living in Australia under this SCV?
Twenty five years ago we should’ve, could’ve, would’ve…..but never did a thing…
Four former state-owned companies employed most of the Tuzla population. The contracts agreed to at the time of government sell-off stipulated that the new private owners were to advance investment in the companies, according to Deutsche Welle.
Instead, the new owners sold the assets and halted payment to workers, leading to bankruptcy filings between 2000 and 2008. Sead Causevic, local leader in Tuzla, directed blame at the court system, saying upset workers turned to the law years ago, yet they were ignored.
Causevic told Bosnian state TV that the “rip-off privatization” had occurred before he took office. He called the factory workers’ demands legitimate, Deutsche Welle reported.
“It was our government that sold state assets for peanuts and left the people without pensions, jobs or health insurance,” Hana Obradovic, an unemployed graduate from Sarajevo, told Reuters.
SSLands, i realize this is only an indication but if i was in the ACT camp i wouldn’t want to be wasting money on shonky quasi-gambling websites able to manipulated with a used 20 dollar note,(you are going to need all the spare coin you have got to pay your fair share of tax as assessed by the incoming Labour/Green Government),
Heres a few of today’s ‘predictions’ of note, National 42%, Labour 33.2%, Green 9.5 %, Internet Party 14.2%,
Ha ha ha obviously someone like you, with a massive alcohol hangover forgot to put a . in the right place for the internet party, just goes to show how badly run that site is and how stupid you are to waste money on it…
Yep and someone has sold a thousand shares at .38c so it will not move for a while. It also shows that someone with a bit of money is trying to give the impression that Labour’s chances are not good. And someone has also listed a thousand National PM shares at .62c so it is obviously someone trying to manipulate things.
An ex-KGB spy has been let off a drink driving charge because it would limit him travelling overseas.
Yep, that of consultant to spy agencies. One wonders why, in this digital age, he would have to travel at all – oh, wait, it’s to help ensure that he’s not spied upon by those same spy agencies.
Thing is, career should never be a reason to discharge a criminal conviction. All we really see when people’s convictions are discharged because of career is rich people being treated differently from everyone else.
I disagree – the “career” thing is actually a clause that stops a punishment being unduly harsh. Fair enough.
That having been said, twice the limit is pretty pissed and highly dangerous, so I’d be tending towards “fuck off, you could have killed someone” rather than discharge.
When a truck driver gets pulled up driving drunk he loses his license and his job. There’s no way he’s going to be let off because it’ll ruin his career. This guy’s likely to lose everything whereas the ex-KGB agent would probably still be able to maintain his career and his income although maybe somewhat reduced or he could just get a job at the GCSB. So, what does unduly harsh actually mean?
theoretically it’s based on the individual circumstances of the case interpreted via precedent.
I agree, in this case the decision seems … odd, but the principle is sound (and indeed essential). The problem as you point out is the unequal treatment of poor people compared to the rich.
Yes, the poor are treated differently because they can’t afford lawyers which is a problem but that’s not the problem here – the problem is that it’s an excuse that shouldn’t exist. As Murray Olsen points out it should be applied to every single case as it limits peoples career choices. Essentially, this legal defense means that people should automatically get off criminal charges.
BTW, there’s plenty of All Blacks that have got off assault for exactly the same reason.
8 Principles of sentencing or otherwise dealing with offenders
In sentencing or otherwise dealing with an offender the court—
(a) must take into account the gravity of the offending in the particular case, including the degree of culpability of the offender; and
(b) must take into account the seriousness of the type of offence in comparison with other types of offences, as indicated by the maximum penalties prescribed for the offences; and
(c) must impose the maximum penalty prescribed for the offence if the offending is within the most serious of cases for which that penalty is prescribed, unless circumstances relating to the offender make that inappropriate; and
(d) must impose a penalty near to the maximum prescribed for the offence if the offending is near to the most serious of cases for which that penalty is prescribed, unless circumstances relating to the offender make that inappropriate; and
(e) must take into account the general desirability of consistency with appropriate sentencing levels and other means of dealing with offenders in respect of similar offenders committing similar offences in similar circumstances; and
(f) must take into account any information provided to the court concerning the effect of the offending on the victim; and
(g) must impose the least restrictive outcome that is appropriate in the circumstances, in accordance with the hierarchy of sentences and orders set out in section 10A; and
(h) must take into account any particular circumstances of the offender that mean that a sentence or other means of dealing with the offender that would otherwise be appropriate would, in the particular instance, be disproportionately severe; and
(i) must take into account the offender’s personal, family, whanau, community, and cultural background in imposing a sentence or other means of dealing with the offender with a partly or wholly rehabilitative purpose; and
(j) must take into account any outcomes of restorative justice processes that have occurred, or that the court is satisfied are likely to occur, in relation to the particular case (including, without limitation, anything referred to in section 10).
[my boldface]
I think we both agree that in this case that particular section was interpreted in an overly-lenient manner, probably because the drunk driver wore a suit to work. But should a truckie driving just over the limit on a scooter wearing a batman costume be convicted for drink-driving? I’m not so sure. Twice the legal limit in the truck? Yes.
I agree. The law should apply equally. A temporarily unemployed person may lose potential career opportunities if convicted, so why shouldn’t an employed person lose real ones?
I just love it when you have the gall to lecture another party on gerrymanders, Mike.
Still forgetting about your pledge card theft in 2005 huh. Convenient.
He who lives in the glassiest of houses shouldn’t throw too many stones, me thinks.
[lprent: Off topic. Deliberate diversion. Moved to OpenMike. Repeat that tactic again and I’ll ban you until after the election. You have over-used that tactic in the past (and it is so 2008) ]
MMP = manipulation by:
Winston, Sue Bradford, Steve Chadwick, I won’t bother with the rest of List Mps
[lprent: Off-topic. Looks like a deliberate diversion because it didn’t deal with anything in the post. Repeat if you want to pick up a ban. Moved to OpenMike. ]
Feels weird not being around a computer all weekend and doing so much driving..
Spent much of yesterday at Music for Matua at the winery in north-west Auckland. Some late tickets came for TS. So I used them. Pleasant environs. Music worth listening to. Good pinot and bratwurst hot dogs. Liked the limit of 800 tickets and that each ticket was allowed up to 3 kids free (parents/guardian). There were a *lot* of kids there amusing themselves away from the adults (but in view of).
Reminded me of staff picnics at Wenderholm in the 60s. I might post some pictures for next weekend..
Today I drove to Rotorua and back on a long holiday weekend (did anyone not take Friday off?). Would only ever do that for family. In this case my mother is in hospital because a wound wasn’t healing – maybe requires a skin graft. She was in fine shape apart from having a drip and dislike of the hospital bed.
Was avoiding SH27 because of the boats in single lanes coming in from the Tauranga roads. Always jams badly. Slow slow traffic through Cambridge and Huntly on the way back. Avoided Hamilton using State Highway 1B… Otherwise traffic was good. The upgrades Labour put into SH1 past huntly are very effective.
I say good on Australians for pressurising their supermarkets to support local producers.
If we had a decent socialist government here we would have the government, not a couple of supermarkets chains, advancing the cause of buy one’s own country’s produce…and a lot more.
So let’s not just boycott Countdown,,
What about all foreign owned corporations hauling their obscene profits off shore.
Start with the Australian Banks
Then foreign owned insurance companies, chain stores, energy companies….
A true socialist government would take these national resources back and regain control of the country from foreign financial interests.
They would then bring Douglas and his crew to trial for treason.
What a load of crap. Trade liberalisation is the route to prosperity. There is no alternative. And thankfully we will not be getting a your choice of government.
Nope, all that brings about is a few getting exponentially richer while everyone else gets poorer – exactly as we’ve seen over the last thirty years in NZ and around the world. It also brings about financial meltdown as the GFC proved once again.
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The Coalition Government is set to cut red tape in the building and construction sector in an effort to allow more houses to be built, including prefabricated houses. The changes will enable the mass factory production of "high quality" buildings, slash the likely number of building inspections for factory produced ...
Since coming into Government, we’ve worked hard to tackle homelessness and make sure everyone has a warm, dry home. And today, on World Homeless Day, we want to report back and update you on our progress so far. ...
New Zealand First leader Winston Peters has hit back at National Party leader Simon Bridges who criticized the Coalition Government’s approach to crime, and said that the latter isn't credible in his attack on the Government over gang recruitment. "We've got as massive drug problem in this country. It is ...
New Zealand Mānuka honey exporters have welcomed an initiative by the Coalition Government to help secure the term “mānuka honey” to be used exclusively by Kiwi exporters, ensuring that our multimillion-dollar industry is protected. Regional Economic Development Minister Shane Jones had recently announced that a Provincial Growth Funding of $5.7 ...
Political commentator Mike Hosking has labelled New Zealand First leader Winston Peters as “the voice of reason in a government soft on drugs”, for the Party’s stance on drug testing at music festivals. “If common sense is worth a vote, Winston Peters is quids in,” Mr Hosking said. The Labour ...
Parliamentary Under-Secretary for Regional Economic Development Fletcher Tabuteau has announced Provincial Growth Funding to ensure work opportunities in Turangi and Whanganui, through its skills and employment programme, Te Ara Mahi. A fund of $500,000 will go to Rafting NZ in Turangi for a 16-week river guide training course to train ...
Treasury has shown that the Coalition Government has a $7.5 billion surplus, which is $4 billion higher than what was expected in the 2019 Budget unveiled last May. It is also $2 billion higher than the actual surplus unveiled this time last year, and at a size that has not ...
Official Information Act figures released to NZME show there were 350 assaults on officers in the year to the end of June, 79 more than the year before. The increase in attacks have sparked calls for more legal protection for first responders to be enacted. The assaults included officers being ...
“Nobody wants to see babies uplifted”, this was the pronouncement of Minister for Children Hon. Tracey Martin as her department, Oranga Tamariki, faces multiple inquiries into the number of babies being taken from their families. “But a baby can die with a single punch, “the Minister continued. “So sometimes, Oranga ...
We're making progress on tackling the long-term challenges: from homelessness, to strengthening border security, to bringing banking back New Zealand's small towns. ...
Associate Transport Minister Shane Jones has backed the ambitious plan to move Auckland’s port to Northport, at Whangarei harbour, which he says will be the “King Kong of infrastructure”. The plan is part of the recommendations of a six-person independent working group, which has recommended the Ports of Auckland be ...
A six-member independent working group selected the option of moving Auckland’s port to Northport, in Whangarei, ahead of other options. In what could be New Zealand’s most ambitious infrastructure project yet, a major expansion of the Marsden Point port could happen within 15 years. The project, officially called the “Upper ...
The final Electricity Price Review recommended prohibiting prompt payment discounts but allowing “reasonable” late fees. The findings of this review was welcomed by the Coalition Government, but they hope companies will follow through with its recommendations without regulations needed to be passed. Meridian Energy had already stopped prompt payment discounts, ...
Fletcher Tabuteau, Parliamentary Under-Secretary for Regional Economic Development The Provincial Growth Fund (PGF)through its skills and employment programme, Te Ara Mahi,will invest nearly $600,000 to ensure work opportunities for locals in Turangia and Whanganui, Parliamentary Under Secretary for Regional Economic Development Fletcher Tabuteau announced today. “I’m pleased to announce the PGF ...
An export-led economy is one of New Zealand First’s key principles, and our commitment to achieving this is shown by the continuing skyrocketing demand for our beef and sheep meat exports. Beef + Lamb New Zealand's New Season Outlook 2019-20 report forecasts beef, lamb and mutton prices to lift from ...
Regional Economic Development Minister Shane Jones announced today in Gisborne an investment of $17.27m into bringing “world-leading” food-growing technology and the creation of more than 100 new jobs in the East Coast city. The funding comes from the Provincial Growth Fund, and included a $15 million loan to LeaderBrand, a ...
Hon Shane Jones, Minister for Regional Economic Development More than 100 people in Tairāwhiti’s Tolaga Bay will benefit from two employment initiatives supported by the Provincial Growth Fund, Regional Economic Development Minister Shane Jones and Employment Minister Willie Jackson announced today. “Tolaga Bay is an incredibly tight-knit community, but one in ...
Hon Shane Jones, Minister for Regional Economic Development The Provincial Growth Fund (PGF) is supporting Gisborne business Leaderbrand to produce salad vegetables year round and create more jobs in the Tairāwhiti region, Regional Economic Development Minister Shane Jones announced today. “Our support for Leaderbrand will help them build large greenhouses ...
“Nobody wants to see babies uplifted”, this was the pronouncement of Minister for Children Hon. Tracey Martin as her department, Oranga Tamariki, faces multiple inquiries into the number of babies being taken from their families. “But a baby can die with a single punch, “the Minister continued. “So sometimes, Oranga ...
Regional Economic Development Minister Shane Jones has praised the promise by New Zealand’s biggest banks not to close any provincial branches while the Coalition Government trials regional banking hubs across the country. The Minister said the announce was the “first sign of hope for regional communities”, many of which have ...
Rt Hon Winston Peters, New Zealand First Leader New Zealand First is proud to have delivered an upgrade of the SuperGold Card website and a new smartphone app, which will help unlock the full benefits of the SuperGold Card for 750,000 New Zealand seniors.Party Leader Rt Hon Winston Peters, ...
Delivering a key election campaign promise, New Zealand First is proud to have accomplished a long overdue upgrade of the SuperGold Card today. At an event in Auckland, New Zealand First leader Winston Peters joined Minister for Seniors Hon. Tracey Martin in unveiling the new website and smartphone app which ...
Another busy week, from speaking with world leaders on the world stage about climate change, to equipping our school leavers with everything they need to get ahead in life. ...
At 1.30pm tomorrow, hundreds of thousands of Kiwis will join about 65 million people around the globe in ShakeOut, the world’s biggest earthquake drill. The annual drill is to remind people of the right action to take during an earthquake which is to Drop, Cover, Hold, and to practise their ...
Kiwis are benefiting from higher wage growth and low inflation under the Coalition Government. Stats NZ data out today shows the rise in the cost of living remains low, as annual Consumers Price Index (CPI) inflation fell to 1.5% in September from 1.7% in June. “The low inflation comes as ...
New Zealand’s economic strength and resilience has been recognised in a major update on the state of the global economy. The IMF’s latest World Economic Outlook released overnight shows a reduced global growth forecast over the next two years as issues like the US-China trade war and Brexit take hold. ...
Justice Minister Andrew Little has today introduced a new Bill to prevent terrorism and support the de-radicalisation of New Zealanders returning from overseas. The Terrorism Suppression (Control Orders) Bill gives the New Zealand Police the ability to apply to the High Court to impose control orders on New Zealanders who ...
A Bill that proposes targeted changes to simplify the processes for Māori land owners when engaging with the Māori Land Court has had its First Reading today. “The approach taken by the Government is to ensure that the protection of Māori land remains a priority as we seek to improve ...
Let me first thank all the new unionists and members in the room. There is nothing more important to improving people’s working lives than people making the decision to care, to get on board and help, to take up the reins and get involved. Congratulations to you. You bring the ...
Minister of Defence Ron Mark has signed a certificate exempting the activity of engine testing at Whenuapai Airbase from the Resource Management Act 1991. The Act gives the Minister of Defence the power to exempt activities for the purposes of national security. The certificate will mean the recent Environment Court ...
Finance Minister Grant Robertson has announced New Zealand will join the Coalition of Finance Ministers for Climate Action while attending APEC meetings in Chile. The objective of the 39 member Coalition is to share information and promote action to tackle climate change. It was formed in April this year, in ...
Ladies and gentlemen, NZCTU President Richard Wagstaff, members of respective unions – thank you for the invitation to speak to you today. This might be preaching to the choir, but the importance of trade unions in New Zealand’s historical arch is difficult to understate. And it is my belief that ...
"Let’s start by acknowledging that it has been a huge year. " Police Association Annual Conference James Cook Grand Chancellor Hotel Wellington Nau mai, haere mai. Tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou, ka nui te mihi, ki a koutou katoa. President of the Police Association, Chris Cahill; Members of the Association and ...
Minister of Foreign Affairs Winston Peters and Minister of Defence Ron Mark have announced the New Zealand Government’s decision to again deploy a Royal New Zealand Air Force P-3K2 (P-3) maritime patrol aircraft to support the implementation of United Nations Security Council (UNSC) resolutions imposing sanctions against North Korea. New ...
Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters says New Zealand continues to have serious concerns for peace and stability in north-east Syria. “Recent reports that hundreds of ISIS-affiliated families have fled from a camp are deeply concerning from a humanitarian and security perspective”, Mr Peters says. “While we acknowledge Turkey’s domestic security ...
Biosecurity Minister Damien O’Connor is warning travelling Kiwis to be vigilant as the high-season for the crop-eating brown marmorated stink bug (BMSB) is under way. “We’re on high alert to stop BMSB arriving in NZ. The high season runs until April 30 and we’ve strengthened our measures to stop stink ...
The Government is moving swiftly to change the law to improve the welfare and pastoral care of students living in university halls of residence and other tertiary hostels. Cabinet has agreed to several changes, including creating a new mandatory Code of Practice that sets out the duty of pastoral care ...
The Minister for Conservation Eugenie Sage has launched a new comprehensive trapping guide for community trappers to help them protect our native birds, plants and other wildlife, at Zealandia in Wellington today. ‘A practical guide to trapping’, has been developed by the Department of Conservation (DOC), and was launched during ...
Associate Health Minister Julie Anne Genter welcomes PHARMAC’s move to improve access to long-acting reversible contraception (LARCs). PHARMAC has today announced it will fund the full cost of Mirena and Jaydess for anyone seeking long term contraception, lifting previous restrictions on access to Mirena. “I welcome women having greater choices ...
The Government has approved the next stage of a major redevelopment of Taranaki Base Hospital, which will deliver new and improved facilities for patients. Health Minister Dr David Clark has announced details of a $300 million dollar project to build a new East Wing at the New Plymouth hospital. It ...
Extra funding will allow Rural Support Trusts to help farming families, says Minister for Rural Communities and Agriculture Damien O’Connor. “I know that rural families are worried about some of the challenges facing them, including the ongoing uncertainty created by the Mycoplasma bovis outbreak. “Those concerns sit alongside ongoing worries ...
Thank you for the opportunity to be here to present certificates to the 16 graduates who have completed a beekeeping course delivered by the Howard League. Let us start by acknowledging Auckland Prison’s Deputy Prison Director Tom Sherlock, and Acting Assistant Regional Commissioner of Corrections Northern Region Scott Walker - ...
Finance Minister Grant Robertson leaves this weekend to attend the APEC Finance Ministers meeting in Santiago, Chile. Discussions between APEC Finance Ministers at the meeting will include the effects of the current global economic uncertainty, risks for APEC economies and sustainable development of the region. While at APEC Grant Robertson ...
The Minister for Pacific Peoples Aupito William Sio says for Pacific people, language can be a source of strength. It can help ground us and give us confidence. When we speak them, our languages provide us with an immediate and intimate access to our identity and our story - and ...
The Coalition Government has announced an action plan to improve the wellbeing of disabled New Zealanders by addressing inequalities in play, active recreation and sport. The initiative includes training to develop a workforce that understands the needs of children and young people with a range of impairments, advocacy for fit ...
The construction sector is being freed up to allow more homes to be built more quickly as the Government cuts through some of the red tape of the Building Act. “Every New Zealander deserves a warm, dry, safe home and old inefficiencies in the Building Act make building slow and ...
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has welcomed further details on the Prince of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall’s visit to New Zealand next month. Their Royal Highnesses will visit New Zealand from 17-23 November – their third joint visit to New Zealand and first in four years. They arrive in Auckland ...
Minister of State for Trade and Export Growth and Minister of Agriculture, Damien O’Connor, heads to Thailand today to attend the final Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) Ministerial meeting, as negotiations enter their final stages. “The RCEP Agreement would anchor New Zealand in a regional agreement that covers 16 countries, ...
Pacific young people living in the Hawke’s Bay, Southland and Otago regions will have access to support services that have proved successful in helping young people find new earning and learning opportunities. “Tupu Aotearoa is about changing Pacific young peoples’ lives. Our young people are talented, they are smart, they ...
Introduction As the Minister for ACC I thank you all for the work that you do supporting New Zealanders in their literally most vulnerable moments. From those who hold people’s lives in their hands, to the people who research technique, technology and trends, your work is highly valued. A special ...
Notes prepared for speeches in Christchurch – Wednesday 9 October 2019 Today’s topic, “trends and opportunities for the New Zealand economy,” is certainly one getting a great deal of commentary at the moment. Looking across the media landscape lately you’ll notice we aren’t the only ones having this discussion. There ...
Minister of Health Dr David Clark and Associate Minister of Health Peeni Henare say this year’s World Mental Health Day theme is a reminder of why the Government’s work on mental health is so important. “This year the World Federation for Mental Health has made suicide prevention the main theme ...
Associate Arts, Culture and Heritage Minister Carmel Sepuloni will represent the government at Australia’s Meeting of Cultural Ministers in Adelaide this week. “This year’s meeting is special because New Zealand is expected to become an International Member of the Meeting of Cultural Ministers at this Australian forum,” Carmel Sepuloni said. “The meeting is an opportunity to ...
The Greater Christchurch Claims Resolution Service has resolved 608 insurance and EQC claims in its first year in operation, Minister Megan Woods has announced. The government service, which celebrates its first birthday today, provides a one stop shop to help Cantabrians still battling to get their homes repaired or rebuilt ...
Today’s topic, “trends and opportunities for the New Zealand economy,” is certainly one getting a great deal of commentary at the moment. Looking across the media landscape lately you’ll notice we aren’t the only ones having this discussion. There has been an increasing amount of attention paid to the outlook ...
The Government is acting swiftly to strengthen NZTA’s regulatory role following a review into the Transport Agency, and Ministry of Transport’s performance as its monitor, Transport Minister Phil Twyford said today. An independent review by Martin Jenkins has found NZTA failed to properly regulate the transport sector under the previous ...
The Netherlands and New Zealand have a long-standing and close relationship based on many shared interests and values. We value the rule of law, our democracies, and multilateralism. And we value our environment – at home and globally. Right now there are major global challenges in all of these areas – ...
The Government is putting right a decade’s worth of underpayment to nurses, doctors and other health workers, says Health Minister Dr David Clark. Initial sampling of District Health Boards payroll records has found that around $550-$650 million is owed to DHB staff to comply with the Holidays Act. It’s expected ...
A strong surplus and low debt show the economy is performing well, and means the Government is in a good position to meet the challenges of global economic uncertainty. “The surplus and low levels of debt show the economy is in good shape. This allows the Government to spend more ...
New applications from mining company OceanaGold to purchase land in Waihi for new tailings ponds associated with its gold mines have been approved. Minister of Finance Grant Robertson and Associate Minister of Finance David Parker considered the applications under the Overseas Investment Act. Earlier this year, applications from OceanaGold to ...
New Zealanders in Tūranganui-a-Kiwa / Poverty Bay will witness Māori, Pākehā and Pacific voyaging traditions come together today as the Tuia 250 Voyage flotilla assembles for the first time, Māori Crown Relations: Te Arawhiti Minister Kelvin Davis says. “Tuia 250 is a national commemoration and an opportunity for honest conversations ...
Minister for Trade and Export Growth David Parker leaves tomorrow for Dubai, London and Berlin for a series of meetings to advance New Zealand’s trade interests. In Dubai he will visit New Zealand’s Pavilion at Expo 2020 where construction is underway. There he will meet Minister of State for International Cooperation, Her ...
Confirmation that PHARMAC will fund two new cancer drugs is further evidence of the good progress the Government is making to improve the treatment of New Zealand’s leading cause of death, Health Minister David Clark says. From 1 December PHARMAC will fund alectinib (Alecensa) for ALK positive advanced non-small cell ...
Olympic sailors Blair Tuke and Peter Burling are throwing their weight behind a campaign encouraging New Zealander consumers and businesses to reduce their plastic pollution. ...
National Party leader Simon Bridges says his MP Agnes Loheni let him know she'd be contesting the candidacy for Botany, adding it's a "free world". ...
Think you’ve got your KiwiSaver sorted? Try Kōura’s ‘robo-advice’ questionnaire and you might be surprised.If a person who looks like they know about finance asks you whether your appetite for risk is low, medium or high, what do you say? The problem is most Kiwis don’t understand what the question ...
The Social Services and Community Committee is seeking submissions on the Rates Rebate (Statutory Declarations) Amendment Bill. This bill aims to improve the process of applying for rates rebates. It proposes: • Removing the requirement to make a statutory ...
The Māori Affairs Committee is calling for submissions on the Te Ture Whenua Maori (Succession, Dispute Resolution, and Related Matters) Amendment Bill. ...
The New Zealand Police have been used as a political pawn which is stretching their resources and seriously affecting their ability to address the real causes of crime, such as gang related supply of illicit drugs. ...
Alex Casey yarns to Karen O’Leary, early childhood teacher by day and star of Wellington Paranormal and What We Do in The Shadows by night. Two of the funniest moments in New Zealand television last year were entirely fence-based. First up there was Agni on The Block NZ, who packed a ...
NZ Police wish to clarify that cartridges filled with steel or lead shot are not prohibited. They may still be used under the Arms (Prohibited Ammunition) Order 2019 as shotgun cartridges are specifically excluded from the prohibition order. ...
NZ Police wish to clarify that cartridges filled with steel or lead shot are not prohibited. They may still be used under the Arms (Prohibited Ammunition) Order 2019 as shotgun cartridges are specifically excluded from the prohibition order. ...
Josie Adams is in tonight’s episode of Have You Been Paying Attention. Specifically, she is in the audience.When you watch Have You Been Paying Attention? tonight, please consider the bladders of audience members watching it live. They offer beverages, but my God it’s a dangerous offer. As I found out ...
Despite comments from Auckland City Council CCOs Board Chairs re pay and performance bonuses for top managers—Herald Newspaper Tuesday Oct 15th--there is very little evidence that says high pay and bonuses improve the performance of a company. Most ...
By Michael Andrew Pacific diplomats, academics and youth leaders will gather in Auckland this week to discuss security, economic development and other pressing issues shaping the region’s future. Pacific Futures will be held on October 18 and will feature speakers from across the region, including Samoa’s Deputy Prime Minister ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Susan Hutchinson, PhD Candidate, Australian National University It has been more than two years since “clearance operations” by Myanmar’s security forces, the Tatmadaw, forced more than 700,000 Rohingya across the border to neighbouring Bangladesh. During this time, the UN Security Council has ...
Fast food company Restaurant Brands has made a smaller half year profit largely because of accounting changes as it prepares to invest heavily in the launch of Taco Bell in New Zealand. ...
Pacific Media Centre Newsdesk Papua New Guinea police have issued a warrant for the arrest of former Prime Minister Peter O’Neill. According to EMTV News, the Waigana district court issued the warrant which was based on evidence previously compiled by police investigators. Acting Police Commissioner David Manning said he ...
Patient Voice Aotearoa welcomes the comments made by the Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters on ‘The Project’ on Friday last week. Peters stated “Right now…we know we are not spending nearly enough on pharmaceuticals and first world drugs…the ...
The New Zealand Taxpayers’ Union is calling on outgoing Porirua Mayor Mike Tana to repay money clocked up on his ratepayer-funded fuel card for personal travel. The Ernst and Young report released yesterday reveals that, within less than three ...
We review the entire country and culture of New Zealand, one thing at a time. Today, a new hole-in-the-wall eatery in Auckland dedicated to New Zealand’s favourite snack.Cheese On Toast has unsavoury connotations for a lot of New Zealand music fans, but now you can wash that bad taste out ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Md Arif Hasan, PhD candidate, Victoria University of Wellington CC BY-NDClimate Explained is a collaboration between The Conversation, Stuff and the New Zealand Science Media Centre to answer your questions about climate change.If you have a question you’d like an expert ...
There’s an innovation renaissance brewing in post-earthquake Christchurch as multicultural entrepreneurship replaces the old boys’ network. This required a new name, writes Steven Moe.An unusual name that evokes images from Harry Potter is fine by the Ministry of Awesome, because it immediately sets it apart. Founded in the aftermath of ...
Child Poverty Action Group (CPAG) and Ngā Tāngata Microfinance endorse the Salvation Army’s call for tougher regulations on debt collectors and mechanisms to provide forgiveness or waivers for debts to private lenders and Government that are "effectively ...
Cotton On members are currently negotiating a new Collective Agreement with their employer, but despite the company’s repeated claims that they will provide “a pathway to the living wage”, a “people first focus” and a “commitment to ...
Today the Wellington Howard League releases the results of its fourth annual Wellington Howard League prison survey. The survey suggests a variation in the conditions experienced across prisons in New Zealand and an overall decline in most aspects surveyed. This ...
Some people go for a run to let off steam after work, while others try their hand at ballroom dancing or hit up a pub quiz. And some, as Greta Yeoman discovers, throw sharp objects at walls. She gives it a go.An uncoordinated, anxious journalist with terrible aim is probably ...
A move by Australia's financial regulator could be enough to turn the big banks' threat to ditch New Zealand into a reality - or at least see them charge customers more. ...
A staffing survey carried out by the senior doctors’ union, the Association of Salaried Medical Specialists, has found a gaping shortfall of hospital specialists at the Northland DHB. ...
Iain Lees-Galloway has defended granting residency to a man with multiple drink-driving convictions saying the person had been in the country for 20 years and had kept out of trouble for a long time. ...
Editor’s Note: Here below is a list of the main issues currently under discussion in New Zealand and links to media coverage.New Zealand Parliament Buildings, Wellington, New Zealand.Today’s content by Dr Bryce Edwards.Industrial relations Luke Malpass (Stuff): Winston Peters holds the keys to new union laws. Will ...
Yes we fully support Minister of transport plan to use special speed cameras finally catching all speeding trucks, and other vehicles on our narrow single lane roads that are not fit to use as a speedway by any vehicle. ...
This afternoon Fish & Game posted a public statement responding to my email to supporters this morning – specifically rejecting our claim that steel shot is now deemed "enhanced penetration ammunition" and therefore possession of ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Mandie Shean, Lecturer, School of Education, Edith Cowan University Two-thirds of young people experience levels of exam stress that mental health organisation ReachOut describes as “worrying”. Research shows high levels of exam stress can interfere with attention and reduce working memory, leading ...
The National Party's outrage that the Immigration Minister granted residency to a protected person and recidivist drink driver, entitling them to the same benefits as New Zealanders, has backfired. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jennifer Beckett, Lecturer in Media and Communications, University of Melbourne Reports of Facebook moderators’ appalling working conditions have been making headlines worldwide. Workers say they are burning out as they moderate vast flows of violent content under pressure, with vague, ever-changing guidelines. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kate Lycett, Senior Research Officer, Deakin University; Honorary Fellow, The University of Melbourne, Murdoch Children’s Research Institute Three simple factors can predict whether a child is likely to be overweight or obese by the time they reach adolescence: the child’s body mass ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Adrian Marshall, Lecturer, Landscape Architecture and Urban Ecology, University of Melbourne You may mock the national anthem by singing “Our land abounds in nature strips” but what you might not know is how true that is. In Melbourne, for example, more than ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Keith Rathbone, Lecturer, Modern European History and Sports History, Macquarie University It’s unlikely Daryl Morey, general manager of the Houston Rockets basketball team, realised he’d be sparking an international diplomatic incident when, on October 4, he tweeted the following Stand with Hong ...
Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Pressure on government from unions, mosque attack victim widows turned down for residency, and another Nat eyes safe Botany seat nomination.Pressure is being put on the government to deliver on one of their major promises to the union movement, reports the NZ ...
It’s the end of an era at Three as MAFS NZ and Guy Williams’ new show canceled and 7 Days cut to bone, writes Duncan Greive.A trio of shows which have been amongst Three’s most important local productions are either being canceled or severely cut back, as the channel’s agonising ...
'Joker' expects viewers not only to understand its cruelty, but to understand the justified violence of a white man when the protests of black men and women in the US are regularly met with condemnation, vilification and exclusion. ...
She runs the women's Aussie Rules and netball programmes at one of Australia's oldest sports clubs, so why is Jane Woodlands-Thompson sitting on the Silver Ferns bench? ...
As someone with a severe chronic illness, Hannah McGowan has a vested interest in getting to the bottom of what cannabis can and can’t do for her health. The reality, she discovers, is complicated.Woo [colloq.]: Mystical, supernatural or pseudo-scientific beliefs not backed up by evidence. I crave a well informed, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra The last PM shock jock Alan Jones slapped down was Jacinda Ardern. His language was particularly offensive, advertisers deserted his program and he apologised to New Zealand’s leader. But at least Ardern didn’t have to ...
By Michael Andrew and Sri Krishnamurthi The true story of one of the Pacific’s great waka builders and sailor has been captured in a stirring and visually gripping documentary. Loimata: The Sweetest Tears follows the final years of Ema Siope, a Samoan born kiwi who endured a tumultuous past ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Benjamin Cowie, Director, WHO Collaborating Centre for Viral Hepatitis, The Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity Around one-third of Australians living with hepatitis C have been cured in the last four years. Hepatitis means inflammation of the liver. Hepatitis C is ...
New Zealand Prime Minister, Jacinda Ardern. Image AsiaPacificReport.nz/RNZ.Commentators across the political spectrum seem to agree – the Labour-led Government’s popularity is being damaged by its failure to deliver in Jacinda Ardern’s self-proclaimed “Year of Delivery”. Instead, the delivery of bad news to Labour and the Government has come in ...
Internet Service Providers have cautiously greeted the news that the Government is exploring an internet filter for violent extremist and terrorist content. ...
Editor’s Note: Here below is a list of the main issues currently under discussion in New Zealand and links to media coverage.New Zealand Parliament Buildings, Wellington, New Zealand.Today’s content by Dr Bryce Edwards.Polls Richard Harman (Politik): Ardern now dependent on Peters Sam Sachdeva (Newsroom): Ardern still standing, but ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Greg Austin, Professor UNSW Canberra Cyber, UNSW This is part of a new series looking at the national security challenges facing Australia, how our leaders are responding to them and how these measures are impacting society. Read other stories in the series ...
Researchers from Lincoln University are investigating how to use nanotechnology in agriculture to increase productivity and reduce environmental impact. ...
The increased presence of anti-trans and white supremacist stickers around the University of Auckland campus is proof that inaction is enabling hate groups, write Anisha Sankar and Max Whitehurst.Anisha Sankar is a Chennai-born, Te Awakairangi-raised, South Indian Tamil studying at the University of Auckland. Max Whitehurst is a transgender Pākehā ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Alexander Gillespie, Professor of Law, University of Waikato Following the Christchurch mosque shootings, the New Zealand government’s first response was to ban the firearms the alleged gunman had used to murder 51 people. Seven months later, the second tranche of this process ...
The nine members for the next three year term of the Independent Māori Statutory Board (IMSB) for Auckland have been appointed by the statutory Selection Body. Their appointments begin on 1 November 2019 and continue to 31 October 2022. Mana Whenua ...
Open mike 09/02/2014 
The government has decided that someone has done Something Bad. But despite their belief, there seems to be no evidence that they have actually broken the law. So the government's solution is to pass a retrospective law allowing them to be punished anyway, on a lower standard of proof. If ...3 hours ago
Climate Explained is a collaboration between The Conversation, Stuff and the New Zealand Science Media Centre to answer your questions about climate change. If you have a question you’d like an expert to answer, please send it to climate.change@stuff.co.nz There is a lot of discussion on the benefits of ...6 hours ago
I came across this song quite by accident. If it isn't one of Greta Thunberg's favourites - it should be.Video courtesy of YouTube.This post is exclusive to Bowalley Road. ...7 hours ago
Thanks to a report from the Acting Inspector General of Intelligence and Security following a complaint by Nicky Hager, we have come to find out that the SIS illegally spied on Mr. Hager on behalf of the NZDF after publication of Hager’s 2011 book, Other People’s Wars. The NZDF justified ...1 day ago
COMMON MISCONCEPTIONS ABOUT GLOBAL WARMING MYTH 1: Global temperatures are rising at a rapid, unprecedented rate. FACT: The HadCRUT3 surface temperature index, produced by the Hadley Centre of the UK Met Office and the Climate Research Unit of the University of East Anglia, shows warming to 1878, cooling to 1911, ...1 day ago
The Royal Commission on abuse in care is very significant for the disability community. For many decades last century, thousands of disabled children, and adults who managed to survive, were locked away from families and communities. This was not for anything they had done, but for the perceived threat their ...1 day ago
More than double the number of people who will vote in this year’s local body elections have tried marijuana or urinated somewhere they shouldn’t have. As local elections look set for the lowest turnout in decades, with many regions falling well short of 40%, the Government is exploring a number ...5 days ago
“There can be no such thing as kaupapa Māori political parties or politics in Aotearoa” (Willie Jackson, Labour Party (2017). Māori TV, General/List Election Special) I begin with that claim because at the time, I was confounded at first that it fell out of Willie Jackson’s mouth, and then ...6 days ago
https://mailchi.mp/7d9133add053/closing-the-gap-october-2019-newsletter ...6 days ago
For some reasons, my post about the mystery message from inside the Downing Street bunker seemed to catch people's attention. Quite a lot of hits from NZ (unsurprisingly) and the USA (a bit more puzzlingly, but hi there, USAians!!) and 76 views from the Ukraine.I've celebrated my Ukrainian readers in ...7 days ago
Foreign Minister Winston Peters is predicting a hard Brexit for the United Kingdom, as he believes British Prime Minister Boris Johnson won’t be able to negotiate terms before the October 30 deadline. The Minister, who was one of the first to publicly come out and predict British voters would leave ...2 hours ago
We want every New Zealander to be happy, safe, and healthy. To do this, we need to support strong, safe communities, and a robust and efficient health system. ...1 day ago
At 1.30pm tomorrow, hundreds of thousands of Kiwis will join about 65 million people around the globe in ShakeOut, the world’s biggest earthquake drill. The annual drill is to remind people of the right action to take during an earthquake which is to Drop, Cover, Hold, and to practise their ...3 hours ago
An ambitious target for new officers seems to have turned into a cynical redefinition - how will police take the news? ...17 mins ago
Olympic sailors Blair Tuke and Peter Burling are throwing their weight behind a campaign encouraging New Zealander consumers and businesses to reduce their plastic pollution. ...31 mins ago
National Party leader Simon Bridges says his MP Agnes Loheni let him know she'd be contesting the candidacy for Botany, adding it's a "free world". ...41 mins ago
Think you’ve got your KiwiSaver sorted? Try Kōura’s ‘robo-advice’ questionnaire and you might be surprised.If a person who looks like they know about finance asks you whether your appetite for risk is low, medium or high, what do you say? The problem is most Kiwis don’t understand what the question ...57 mins ago
The Social Services and Community Committee is seeking submissions on the Rates Rebate (Statutory Declarations) Amendment Bill. This bill aims to improve the process of applying for rates rebates. It proposes: • Removing the requirement to make a statutory ...1 hour ago
By Michael Andrew Pacific diplomats, academics and youth leaders will gather in Auckland this week to discuss security, economic development and other pressing issues shaping the region’s future. Pacific Futures will be held on October 18 and will feature speakers from across the region, including Samoa’s Deputy Prime Minister ...3 hours ago
Fast food company Restaurant Brands has made a smaller half year profit largely because of accounting changes as it prepares to invest heavily in the launch of Taco Bell in New Zealand. ...4 hours ago
Higher household costs helped to push consumer prices higher in the past three months, beating expectations. ...4 hours ago
Just talking about how good things will be if given the chance no longer cuts the electoral mustard. ...4 hours ago
In the 1980s, 78 percent of New Zealanders owned the home they lived in. Fast forward to today, and that's dropped to just 55 percent. ...4 hours ago
Principals nervously wait for the final outcomes of the biggest education system review in 30 years. ...5 hours ago
Dairy prices rose slightly in the latest global auction overnight. ...8 hours ago
New Zealand's light is still glowing bright on the international investment stage despite a pause of caution from investors this year. ...8 hours ago
A move by Australia's financial regulator could be enough to turn the big banks' threat to ditch New Zealand into a reality - or at least see them charge customers more. ...8 hours ago
Zhang Jun looks at how China can move beyond imitating its more developed counterparts to leading the world in innovation. ...13 hours ago
After two bad polls, Jacinda Ardern was greeted by a friendly crowd of unionists - but one eager for faster and greater progress. ...13 hours ago
'Joker' expects viewers not only to understand its cruelty, but to understand the justified violence of a white man when the protests of black men and women in the US are regularly met with condemnation, vilification and exclusion. ...13 hours ago
She runs the women's Aussie Rules and netball programmes at one of Australia's oldest sports clubs, so why is Jane Woodlands-Thompson sitting on the Silver Ferns bench? ...13 hours ago
Is the Government going soft on its so-called Electric Vehicles pledge? The University of Auckland's Basil Sharp doesn't think so. ...13 hours ago
A preview of the public lecture to be given at the National Library in Wellington this week by distinguished playwright Dean Parker. ...13 hours ago
Volunteer drug testers must tip-toe around a legal grey area to be able to spell out the risks of drug-taking to festival-goers. ...13 hours ago
Internet Service Providers have cautiously greeted the news that the Government is exploring an internet filter for violent extremist and terrorist content. ...23 hours ago
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Researchers from Lincoln University are investigating how to use nanotechnology in agriculture to increase productivity and reduce environmental impact. ...1 day ago
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/kerre-mcivor-on-new-zealand/news/article.cfm?c_id=1502870&objectid=11198649
More obfuscatory waffle from McIvor nee Woodham on a Sunday.
“The commemorations at Waitangi involve coming together to share a special day with ritual, good food, fun and a few good stoushes – just like any other family get together, really, isn’t it?”.
Some columnists should simply write, “As a paid up member of the NACT Party, I tow the following party line …………………………” But that would be too obvious.
I for one would be very interested in knowing what her [and others’] remuneration is for these opinions.
I read fb posts that and are not only longer but have far less bias. There are tweets out there that contain more considered opinion and do so in greater depth.
I repeat what I wrote earlier
With Stuff and The Herald being the principal sources of daily news for the majority of kiwis, what hope does the public have of informed debate this election?
Another example of the dregs that the Herald employs to sell its corporate lies.
The favourite bogeyman of the left – “corporate” = bad.
The Herald is a terrible newspaper. That is nothing new. However, it has a distinct left bias.
zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
As if arms dealers had any integrity anyway.
When Antonis Kantas, a deputy in the Defense Ministry here, spoke up against the purchase of expensive German-made tanks in 2001, a representative of the tank’s manufacturer stopped by his office to leave a satchel on his sofa. It contained 600,000 euros, about $814,000. Other arms manufacturers eager to make deals came by, too, some guiding him through the ins and outs of international banking and then paying him off with deposits to his overseas accounts.
At the time, Mr. Kantas, a wiry former military officer, did not actually have the authority to decide much of anything on his own. But corruption was so rampant inside the Greek equivalent of the Pentagon that even a man of his relatively modest rank, he testified recently, was able to amass nearly $19 million in just five years on the job.
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/08/world/europe/so-many-bribes-a-greek-official-cant-recall-all.html?hpw&rref=world&_r=0
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/9701077/Kiwis-guest-workers-in-Australia-Key
“Key’s trip to Australia underscored the success of his Government in knocking the books back into shape after years of belt tightening – earning Key accolades from Abbott as an inspiration and a mentor. ”
W T F ???
knocking the books back into shape ?
There are not enough words in the dictionary to adequately explain how flawed that statement is.
With Stuff and The Herald being the principal sources of daily news for the majority of kiwis, what hope does the public have of informed debate this election?
“knocking the books back into shape ?” That’s garbage!!
This from the National Party:
“The level of public debt in New Zealand was $8 billion when National came into office in 2008. It’s now $53 billion, and it’s forecast to rise to $72 billion in 2016. Without selling minority shares in five companies, it would rise to $78 billion. Our total investment liabilities, which cover both public and private liabilities, are $150 billion – one of the worst in the world because of the high levels of private debt in New Zealand.
Like every household in New Zealand, we know how important it is to live within our means by budgeting carefully and deciding on our priorities.”
http://www.national.org.nz/mixed-ownership.”
An another complete and utter lie by the Nact’s because nobody has any idea whatsoever about the value of assets that are owned by New Zealander’s offshore. Some have local tax implications but many do not and no data is collected about the capital sums involved. And of course even when they should be disclosed they may not be.
So private assets owned offshore should be offset against private debt
Yep, good times ahead for NZ and you can put the down to the brilliance of John Key and his National government.
50%+ at the next election is pretty much a certainty, especially after the idiocy of the best start debacle and then topped off with the racist bizarre ramblings of Labour party candidate Deborah Russell.
Two real clangers and we’re only in February.
The tory shit sprayer seems to have turbo boost turned way down today if that is the best BM can offer.
The brilliance of John Phillip ShonKey was certainly on show in Australia last week, he showed ’em. Sick really, National exacerbates the conditions that cause kiwi flight to Australia then the PM grovels for a few miserable concessions for the refugees from slashed and burnt and under supported NZ industry.
Key-National are their own worst enermy BM. Benefit bashing, dealing to the youth, poor and everyone else who didn’t turned out to vote last time.
Voting is going to be in this year thanks to JK & Co, it’s going to be a white wash!
There is a stumbling uncertainty in your spin today BM,
Could it be the earworm of truth has eaten into your addled brainstem
Is it singing an aria of enlightenment down into the ideological oubliette you call on for ideas
Could it be there is a consciousness in there after all
Trying to escape into the light
There is a haunting desperation in your words
A present lack of conviction giving you away
Have you finally realised that despite your lies
Your propaganda
Your hatred
You cannot put food on your table as easily as you once did
Are you hurting BM? Are you feeling the pinch a little?
Would it help you to know that hundreds of thousands of kiwis are beginning the same transformative process and are also grappling with that heart rending moment of truth
They too are acknowledging that manure makes a lousy Amuse-bouche
“Would it help you to know that hundreds of thousands of kiwis are beginning the same transformative process and are also grappling with that heart rending moment of truth”
Good grief. BM is hyperbolic, obviously. But do you folk ever get out? I do. All around the country from the deep south to the Bay of Islands.
The country is PUMPING. Bars and eating places are packed. The shopping malls are heaving. Every hospitality venue I went to in Westland was staffed by European travellers – I mean hundreds of them – because of a shortage of domestic labour.
OK lets look at some empirics. 63.5% of those in the last RM survey said the country is “heading in the right direction”. That is 10% points up since DC took over as Labour Party leader.
As far as I can find, it is currently the highest rating of this type in the WORLD. (This survey is used all over the OECD).
http://www.roymorgan.com/morganpoll/new-zealand/nz-government-confidence
So keep up your class warfare. You sound like a bunch of story boards from the 1950s my father used to tell me about. I guess you have always been around but now you congregte at The Standard.
This.
For sure there’s a few people struggling but there always will be.
Generally though most people aren’t which is why Labour’s getting no traction with the tales of woe they’re trying to push out into the media.
Labour needs to ditch the negative shit and actually demonstrate why they’d be a better government than National.
And by better government I don’t mean take money off one group of people and give it to another group who unsurprisingly represents their core voters.
I want to see how they’re going to make the pie bigger so every ones better off, if they can’t demonstrate that they should just get the fuck out of the way.
Bumptious Midden.
More propaganda from 5 eyes.
Broken promises is all we’ve had from your Nactional coalition
1 year out of 5 of growth.
Child poverty increasing.
Middle classes paying taxes while the rich pay nothing .
Higher real unemployment.
Bene bullying and bashing.
Real good paying jobs nowhere to be found except in Auckland and ChCh where living costs are sky rocketing because of Nactional party promoting property bubble speculation.
Serial liar and fraudster
The middle classes don,t agree with your pathetic propaganda.TV3 poll
As they are getting squeezed into the working poor classes as you fully know that’s your job at 5 eyes to con Enough middle class voters into believing your BS.
Fuck offf 5 eyed fuckwit.
“..from the deep south to the Bay of Islands…”
..maybe next time you head to the bay of islands..mr soury-lands..
..maybe you should turn left @ kawakawa..
..and go and experience the east/west divide/gulf that is the north..
..go spend half a day in kaikohe..a half a day in kaitaia..
..go take the ‘pumping’-pulse of those places..eh..?
..go see the grinding miseries that define poverty like we have..
..and yes..greedy tory-prick class-warriors like yrslf..have..in yr own words..
..’always been around’..
..and you..are one of them..
..as you sit in a cafe in ‘pumping’-russell…
..you couldn’t care fucken less that a few short miles away..
..over on ‘the other’ side of the north..
..there are children with third world diseases of/from poverty..
..and lots of them..
..(and this all part of your handiwork..eh..?..
..the manifestation of yr ‘beliefs’/prescriptions for society.)..
..but you don’t fucken care about that..do you..?
..’cos you are..and always have been ..
..a slimy uncaring fucken tory-toad..
..eh..?
..phillip ure..
RNZ this morning 11.30.
The conservative right manurfacturing uncertaity.
i’m with pandora..
..i have 35 different genre/themed streams up and running..
..and on shuffle…
(currently listening to ‘bugs henderson’..’it’s my own fault..baby’..(johnny winterish blues..)
..what was that ‘uncertainty’ being ‘manufactured’..?
phillip ure..
followed by ‘blister in the sun’..violent femmes..
..mmm!!!..tasty..!
..then ‘nine hundred miles’..by barbara dane..
..i love shuffle..!
..then ‘crossroads’..by cream..live..
phillip ure..
Here is the RNZ recording for this (Counterpoint section).
It was very interesting nd worth listening to.
http://www.radionz.co.nz/national/programmes/sunday/audio/2585086/wayne-brittenden's-counterpoint-for-9-february-2014
Cheers, V.
Brittenden’s always worth the listen. Nice overview of the neo-liberal corruption of western soc dem parties.
Particularly liked: “social darwinism = the survival of the fattest”
I listened to this. It was the greatest load of crap. That academic from Colorado stringing together platitudes about the evils of “neoliberalism”. Notice that Cunliffe doesn’t talk much about “neoliberalism” on the hustings. That is because the punters buying boats and ipads won’t have a fucking clue what he is talking about. And he aint stupid.
There is no alternative to promoting efficient markets and trade liberalisation. Cunliffe knows that. And if Labour wins that is what you will get, with some token “embroidery” on the great fabric of neoliberal policy (to paraphrase the great Paul Keating).
No future government will change the pillars of New Zealand economic policy. There is no alternative.
[lprent: I auto-spam overworked phrases when I get irritated with them from all sides. Be advised that I frequently ban the morons who make them when they cause me too much work. It is usually safer to use the actual names unless your phrase is new becasue I will only correct a few times. Assess the risk. ]
Philip
Your comment re turn left at Kawakawa is very pertinent.
So why cannot Ngapuhi get their act together, as it would be for the benefit of those effective outcasts to the west of Kawakawa. Or will it ?
All that is happening now is a fight between certain families as who is going to be rich and control and be the beneficiary of the $600,000,000, and who is going to remain poor.
What about all the peoples of Ngapuhi ?
They do not appear to matter.
There are bugger all jobs in some towns up north so these people have two choices, either be long term unemployed or get a job in another town and move. Would you really want your kids to grow up in a shit hole where they will struggle to get a job? Lots of people move for work its just a matter of getting off your arse.
so..just de-populate the north..?
..that’s the naki-solution..?
..what a simple/simplistic world you live in..eh..?..
..a typical mono-brain..
..have you met soury-lands yet..?
..maybe if you both got together you could get a faux-stereo-brain thing happening..
..eh..?..
..with a bit of luck..?
..phillip ure..
The District mayor moved. He moved the council facilities from Kaikohe to Kerikeri so he’d be closer to his developer mates as they cut down the remaining forest.
Opua’s pumping too. Pumping raw sewerage from NAct yachts into the estuary and making the oysters unfit for human consumption. Out past Kerikeri is pumping as well. Pumping MacMansions into kiwi habitat, all with the connivance of the District Council.
Auckland shopping malls are heaving? Yeah, sure. I was back recently and was amazed at how empty they were, despite everything being on sale. But then I doubt if I visit the same places SSLands does, because I actually have family and friends in Aotearoa, whereas he’s just an Aussie tourist. Or at most, a researcher for Crosby Textor.
This is the same OECD where our wages are rated against each other despite the fact most of them have tax free allowances built in and we don’t? that OECD ?
The same OECD which somehow forgets to highlight the skyrocketing % of debt-per-capita that NZ has suffered since National took office?
and as for “European travellers” in the workplace,
It is not for lack of kiwis wanting to work. It is because of the choices made by the business owners. Often explained to customers as a move made on their behalf to make their touristy guests feel more comfortable. In reality it is just cheaper than kiwi labour. These places, usually scenic in nature, or hub related, are filled with staff on short term contract deals, largely cash and/or barter based [some pay + tourist services + accommodation] where, if most of the details were actually known to you, you would be ranting against just as strongly. Let’s just say that hospitality is no different than banking, there is always some creative book keeping involved.
Look at the explosion of Chinese tourism into NZ. Whole networks with barely a kiwi on the staff anywhere. From the minute they get off the plane to the day they depart. I guess that is because of dole bludging no hopers with no interest in working? Nothing to do with the decisions of the business owners. You know, the market gods you have so much faith in.
srylands, I think I have mentioned this to you before but I have spent the majority of my working life in hospitality all over NZ , so don’t even try to talk about your vast expertise on that topic. Customers, as a rule, know jack about the hospitality industry. Recent discussion around bar restrictions and closing hours show how little thought is given to the workers in those industries. The fact that hospo staff might want a social life too, seems beyond most people’s consideration.
Consideration, that is an interesting term in relation to the unemployed.
Take this past week, where after sending off a dozen job hunt emails (with no reply of course), doing a bit of TS PPP time, finalising a business plan for a new venture that should lead to self-employment, (fingers crossed) hanging a new exhibition, overseeing the final OSH planning for an Organics Education weekend, being invited to present a new series of bone carvings to be exhibited during Matariki, negotiating the plans for a bookcase/screen for a local cafe and helping a friend get checked into a psych ward, I get called in to WINZ to spend 90 minutes explaining why I have not yet found a job and I should really fill in some boxes on a piece of paper that will help me find a career path. WTF!!!. Oh yeah it’s all those dole bludgers fault and their unwillingness to work.
Back to you though, and your expertise. I say you know little to nothing about hospitality. The same as I know very little about moving around numbers representing money earned by other people using software programmes built by other people whilst I write meaningless reports to be read by someone maybe, all the while sitting in a chair someone else made, in an office others built, drinking coffee grown and produced by someone else. What is it you contribute again?
-a week ago I thought I had the strength to ignore the idiots,
but just when you think you got out, they pull you back in 🙂
excuse the rant folks, i know what the report card reads – must try harder
Bloody good rant freedom.
Your paragraph about your week is both a damning indictment of Bennett’s welfare reforms and a brilliant argument for the UBI. Even without the UBI I read your story and think about all the ways that WINZ could support you to be continuing with all the amazing things you are doing, instead of putting soul-destroying obstacles in your way.
I agree re tourism/hospo jobs. Friends I’ve got living in tourist towns tell similar stories, and it’s crap to say there is a shortage of kiwi labour. As well as the wages, there is the issue of the casual nature of the work. Travellers or visitors here on work visas but who are really here for a working holiday are happy to work 20 hours one week, 5 hours the next and to be let go at no notice. Those who are permanent with high rents, kids to feed etc can’t manage with those conditions.
The other troubling thing about the current immigration/visa/work policy is that we are creating the same problems that the UK has majorly ie ‘foreigners taking our jobs’, with the potential for the bigotry to increase substantially.
I was remiss in not mentioning that the few staff I interact with at WINZ are trying hard to help. They are doing what they can, but the current environment they operate under has tied their hands. They know the work is not out there.
They simply do not have the autonomy they used to. Their entire operational framework is now all about following whatever ‘meet this target’ law is sent down from central office. I hate seeing the difficulties the WINZ front lines are facing. The WINZ front line staff are dealing with some of this country’s greatest troubles, in impossibly difficult circumstances and doing so in a thankless, largely misunderstood and often threatening environment.
Excuse it?
Rant on
and kia kaha
In the late 80’s/early 90’s when it looked like Japan was going to overwhelm the New Zealand tourist sector, we faced a similar dilemma. Japanese tourists were paying for their fares in Japan, staying in mainly accommodation controlled by Japanese shareholders, so tariffs were paid in Japan, shopping in Japanese run shops, run by Japanese operators, whose staff were paid in accounts held in Japan. Very little money at the time was actually following into the New Zealand economy.
Serialiar
5 eyed fuckwit
Your ideology is taking us back to dickensian days.
How much does 5 eyes pay you.
Mcguffin.
SSLands, you forgot a little in your elongated rant,(presumably generated by this mornings major alcohol hangover),
The country is PUMPING, a large proportion of the flow from the pump being generated by the ongoing splurge of house price inflation and all the major banks attaching credit cards to the billions in private household mortgages those banks hold,
The Reserve Bank is set to start raising the cash rate this year by probably a full % point by the years end which will probably translate to a 2-3% rise in floating bank rates immediately and a similar effect on fixed mortgages as they become liable for renewal,
The abrupt halt rising interest rates will cause in the sugar rush of credit card spending will crash ‘growth’ in the final quarter of 2014/first quarter of 2015, (timed to suit the National Government re-election aspirations) and ‘growth’ will contract by 1-1.5% resulting in another 20,000 unemployed…
Then don’t come here.
Talk to your mates at the sewer.
Shit BM what you taking and can I have some?
@ David H
It is the ‘high’ (rather it is a dazed and confused state) that little twerps get from the delusional view that working for the top wealthy 0.01% Club is the same as being in that Club.
It requires a high level of ability to believe false information, swallowing hook, line and sinker all lies propagated by a self-serving small minded and hostile bunch of ‘people’ (if you can refer to them as that – creatures? thingummies?) and requires strict obedience to that bunch of ‘people’. It requires a high degree of disconnection from oneself and ones fellow people, a lack of self awareness and an ability to lie to oneself and one’s family, friends and compatriots.
It leads to an ability to act against ones own and one’s communities greatest interests – all in the name of the delusional belief that all this obedience somehow puts one in The Club, when really all you have become is a hollowed out approximation of a human and more closely resemble a human club (as in thing you hit others over the head with).
Do you really want what BM is on?
Hmmm on second thoughts, maybe i’ll just keep my little foibles, and BM can just stew in his delusions.
Phew… Thank’s Blue Leopard, saved me from a mindset worse than death.
You should be grateful to Key. If Ab bott sees Key as a mentor then we should not have to wait too long before Australia is completely stuffed
They are talking about the current account. Its not that hard to follow. Abbott is under huge pressure to do the same as National have. Don’t you like hearing what a great job National are doing.
I expect Fairfax Media to write propaganda supporting a government that benefits the wealthy over the poor and foreign corporate interests over the civil rights of NZ citizens.
So hearing from them ‘what a great job National are doing’ is predictable.
After all, their largest shareholder, with a stake of approximately 14.9% is Gina Rinehart, the wealthiest person in Australia.
NI guess naki you believe greed is good and share the same sociopathic ideals as srylands.
Dull.
Are you talking about all the wealthy people that have been earning a small fortune working for Gina Rinehart in the mining industry in Australia?
Dear Genesis Energy,
Thank you for the offer of a 2 year fixed term contract.
Your offer of a price increase amounting to a 5.98 % rise per month was hotly debated in our house hold.
However rather than be locked in for 2 years we have decided to tell you to fuck off and we will be closing our account preferring to shop elsewhere.
Please feel free to disclose to potential
investors how many former loyal customer have done the same.
Regards
Mr Ha Ha
http://whoar.co.nz/2014/how-lapdog-journalism-led-to-the-financial-crisis-comment-and-how-our-business-media-of-the-time-manymost-still-there-pontificatingneo-lib-apologising-away-both-sucked-and-blew/
(excerpt..)
(ed:..and here in new zealand..the business-media were also a shocker..
..dutifully/unthinkingly reprinting the corporate-handouts/messages they were fed..
..and what compounds/(ed) this..
..is/was their willful(?) ignoring of the ever-growing warning-chorus internationally..
..with perhaps a nadir reached for them when they dutifully reprinted the absolute horse-shit/bullshit from treasury..
..just prior to the 2008 election..
..that what became known as the ‘great financial crisis’..
would be ‘all over early in the new year’..
of 2009..(!)..)
(cont..)
phillip ure..
US ‘privileged’ white male labor force participation rate continues to collapse.
50 year drop accelerating.
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2014-02-07/white-men-still-cant-work
I guess if there were also charts for black or Latino men over 20 that showed ‘Labor Force Participation’ at 72% or more, then the inverted commas might make sense. And, if further charts for white women and black and Latino women showed similar participation rates, then the inverted commas might even seem a tad justified. But only within the sphere of economic participation.
And only a tad, because, you know, wage rates, security of employment, and job position would also have to be taken into account.
Then, if we looked at more general indicators of privilege and discrimination and found that white men were subjected to the same systemic racism and sexism etc…then yeah, then the inverted commas would be justified. In fact, the term should rightly be dropped from the sentence/statement at that point.
But since that isn’t the case, your inverted commas only serve to diminish the point that even systemically privileged white men are getting the squeeze. Sometimes Tat, deliberately projecting your blind spot goes beyond the cynical dismissing of important oppressions, y’know?
I think the point though is that structural advantages have not counted for much in the face of factors like offshoring of production and the financialisation of the economy. It’s a complicated picture because of all the different changes over that period, so not easy to make comparisons (another instance where ‘facts’ on their own are inadequate).
Labour force participation for women is higher than in the 1950s because of feminism and economic changes. Partly because the population is ageing, many women work in aged care industries. And upheaval in the economy means fewer adult children live near their parents, thus more need for social services.
I don’t know whether women in the aged care industry are better off now, where they are clearly exploited, than say 50 years ago, when they might have cared for the elderly and disabled in their family/whanau/community, and not received remuneration, but their partner earned sufficient income to support a family.
That overall economic opportunities may not be the same as in previous decades has absolutely no impact on how systemic disdvantage plays out. If people belonging to a generally privileged group are suffering more, then what do you reckon the situation is for those in generally disadvantaged groups? Are you suggesting that they might be in a relatively better position than before!?
Oh shit, finally the white dudes are suffering after everyone else has been screwed to breaking point, call a fucking waaaaaaaaahmbulance.
Like Bill said, the funny thing is how you’re diminishing your own point – about how everyone is getting hurt by the current economic situation, and how this is demonstrated by the fact that the most privileged groups in society are also getting screwed – because you just can’t handle the fact that sometimes progressive politics isn’t about directly benefiting you.
This from Genesis last year when I questioned a 13% price rise. For the following to be true either each of the costs have increased by at least 13% or some have increased by much more.
Genesis, owned wholly by us and yet lies and gouges.
Tuesday, June 11, 2013 2:21 PM
Good Afternoon Steve
Thank you for your email.
I understand price increases are concerning. We have not increased prices since April 2012 in your area. We have chosen during that time not to pass on any increased costs; however, we are unable to do that again this year and have had to pass those on to you.
The new electricity prices reflect increases in:
• transmission and distribution costs
• costs associated with servicing customers
• the expected future cost of wholesale energy
• our margins to maintain a reasonable return
• EC (Electricity Commission) Levies
Genesis Energy is confident that after recent increases it will continue to provide competitive prices to consumers in Christchurch. Customers can be confident that Genesis Energy is doing everything possible to manage its costs appropriately. A number of business improvement and cost efficiency programmes are underway throughout our generation and retailing business.
Our promise to our customers is to provide you with one of the most reliable energy sources in New Zealand and our focus is on customer service.
Enjoy your day.
Regards
Raewyn
Customer Services Representative – Administration Genesis Energy
Phone: 0800 300 400
Contact Us : 8.00am-8.00pm Monday to Friday
Email: info@genesisenergy.co.nz
Web: http://www.genesisenergy.co.nz
Dear Steve
When the wholesale price for electricity is artificially inflated and [unethically manipulated] of course the retail side of the equation will also be flawed. Why do you have so much trouble admitting accepting or even understanding that the main issue with electricity pricing is the market driven hunt for profit at the point of production and not simply the ticket clipping that occurs along the way.
Hello freedom
Mainly because when I worked at Meridian I learned the prices where tendered for by the various electricity retailers; that’s just competition and makes sense because the retailers had a reasonable idea of their expected usage. So the tender included a demand and price offer. A Canadian company called Transalta (for memory) went broke because they failed to make the tender deadline in 2000 and were charged a retail rate by Meridian production.
My observation is clear; a 13% price increase I believe cannot be justified by the response I was provided. If Genesis had simply stated “we want more profit” I would believe that; I am personally very intolerant of any fabrications of the truth. The intention of my post was to inform others of probable price gauging by Genesis. Mind you it’s got to make their shares more attractive.
What about the fact the successful tender is the second highest bid and not the lowest bid?
You know the exact opposite of what they do when they want something built!
Does that compute in your brain at all when trying to spin the scale of the rort that is electricity production in New Zealand?
thought not
I received the same price hike of 13% with their latest fixed term offer that makes the rise 18.98%
I am yet to see MSM come out with decent journalistic coverage of the effects of Key-Nationals assets sales.
This is exactly why power providers need to be regulated.
.
This from Steve James at 7.
The new electricity prices reflect increases in:
• transmission and distribution costs
• costs associated with servicing customers
• the expected future cost of wholesale energy
• our margins to maintain a reasonable return
• EC (Electricity Commission) Levies
This point needs studying:
This from the electricity company is a small number of words with a big meaning and effect.
I was thinking that in a low inflation environment with static wages, these companies can find a case to give customers for raising their prices, by continually getting their assets revalued which is likely to be up or they wouldn’t follow the practice, and then applying the set percentage that they expect to receive back. And 10% has been bandied about, though tht seems quite high on non-risk investments. So obviously if something that was valued at $1 million is revalued at $1.5 million but the same set percentage is applied, the return on assets is going to provide a higher amount. This then must be sadly, passed on to the consumer as necessary and explained away as resulting from rising costs.
This when viewed objectively, reminds me very much of the faux concern that unions involved with the ferries expressed every time they went on strike for more money at times of most demand, holidays etc.
It’s just an entity squeezing the public for more money to them, for little or no extra services or infrastructure. Greedy unions or corporates, same attitudes, from different perspectives, result same to consumers, pay more to us. A bit of unpacking of the background to some of the supposedly rational behaviours in the production of goods and services is called for.
Shame about the ‘greedy unions’ part of your comment. Obvious point is that the unions gain nothing from negotiations – the members do. I take your point about tactics sometimes being woefully thought out though and effects of strike action hitting the wrong target. (in the case of ferries, customers rather than than solely the bosses pocket)
Serial liar and fraudster
No New zealander calls Westland westland you are full of shit.
The Kiwis are all in Australia getting decent wages.
Hundreds of foriegners bullshit again .
You have no eye deer.
5 eyed fuckwit sryland.
How ridiculous is SSLands triumphalism given the speciousness of the poll enquiry as to “direction”.
The poll question is undeniably suspect –
“[GENERALLY] speaking, do you [FEEL] that [THINGS] in New Zealand are heading in the right direction ?…………..or would you [SAY] [THINGS] are [SERIOUSLY] heading in the wrong direction ?”
For a start the question lacks definitional bounds – what does [THINGS] mean ?
Secondly, the first alternative only minimally tests the respondent. It is a more or less enquiry as to the respondent’s general senses, which senses may be based on superb objective knowledge, or rank subjective ignorance. There is plenty of wiggle room.
In contrast the second alternative tests the respondent considerably more. The respondent is required to mentally address specifics, viz. matter/s which the respondent can honourably define to him/herself, in his/her knowledge, as tending to a direction [SERIOUSLY] wrong, not just wrong, but [SERIOUSLY] wrong. There is the heightened test.
Of course the intellectually dishonest blowhard SSLands will dismiss my point but that would be to say that ALL those who responded with “generally, right direction” see no wrong in child poverty for example. So really, this right direction/wrong direction business says little. It is specious.
What is significant is that Mr 62% is now Mr 39% and falling. A “dislikeability” factor is operative. Don’t forget, we have KDC and “Liar Liar” yet to come. Triumphalise on and good luck in your travels through the pumping malls and bars of the nation, old goat you.
No New zealander calls Westland westland you are full of shit.
Wtf
Here are two good radio docos.
The first on Income inequality –
and amongst others featuring Max Rushbrooke, is well worth a listen. And gives interesting ‘insight’ into how Phil O’Reilly, and various economists, can explain our economy ad being as satisfctory and understandable as a ball getting balanced on a seal’s nose. Myself I feel they are dissembling. What do you think?
was on Sunday 9/Feb/2014 at 8.15 am and is to be repeated on Radionz on Monday 10 February at 7.30pm
and Wednesday at 12.30 a.m.
http://www.radionz.co.nz/national/programmes/insight
Insight – Sunday 9 February 2014, with Philippa Tolley
NZ Radio Awards 2013: winner of the Best Documentary or Feature Programme & co-winner of Best Daily or Weekly series under an Hour Duration
Insight for 9 February 2014 – Does Rich -Poor Divide Matter? ( 27′ 13″ )
Penny Mackay investigates whether a big income gap really matters. Share Download: Ogg | MP3
gap rich poor Once one of the most equal nations in the world, during the 80s and 90s New Zealand’s income gap widened faster than any other developed country.
Equality advocates say that is too wide and is responsible for social problems including high rates of mental illness, teenage pregnancy, violence and incarceration.
Others say obsessing about a “gap” is a distraction from tackling poverty itself.
Penny Mackay considers both arguments and some of the offered solutions.
Coming Up on Insight
8:12 am Sunday 16 February: Insight: Education Solving Society’s Ills?
Education spotlight shannon school The three main political parties, National, Labour and the Greens, started the year with major education announcements.
Their attention put the early childhood and school sectors in the political spotlight.
But are they beginning to expect too much from education?
Radio New Zealand’s Education Correspondent, John Gerritsen investigates how much social and economic change the education sector can deliver, and how schools are coping with the demands being placed upon them.
Matt McCarten brilliant today on Iwi fatcats. It’s here:
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/politics/news/article.cfm?c_id=280&objectid=11198636
Excellent, balanced and objective piece by McCarten BG.
Shows the arrogance and partisan politics within the upper levels of iwi, nothing new there.
Watch the nact bundle a settlement through,full of holes, like alot of their urgency measures, then trumpet what legends they are for sorting it out.
This will leave the subsequent claims bought about by the holes another govts issue to sort out. Par for the course really but then shonkey likes golf.
“Nothing new here”.
Agree tc but Cunliffe needs to exploit.
Can’t wait to hear McCarten’s opinion on tax evasion.
Well done greywarbler.
need a laff..?
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/02/08/bill-maher-seniors-obamacare-sex-penis-pumps_n_4751627.html
“..70 is the new ’69’..”
phillip ure..
Thanks Phillip I’d seen just the news rules part of that before, but the whole segment is just classic.
So Andarko have found water at the bottom of the ocean.
But what kind of water?
Presumably it was fossil water disconnected from the main ocean for millions of years.
How old is it?
Are there any extremophile lifeforms in it, or is it sterile?
Is it water left over from the time when the submarine continent that surrounds New Zealand was above the surface?
Is it fresh water?
Andarko may not be interested in any of these questions but others might?
By showing no interest at all in such questions Andarko show themselves to be the scientific Philistines, heedlessly ploughing their way through the natural and human world without any thought to some of the greatest mysteries and wonders of the natural world. Their only interest is money.
The sooner we rid ourselves of these invading marauders from our shores the better.
http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL1401/S00063/deep-sea-drilling-the-spirit-of-mururoa.htm
Colin Craig and the US Tea Party- what is the latter, and how similar are they?
http://www.gaynz.com/articles/publish/31/printer_14572.php
The teapartiers are populist loons short of a clue, the evangelicals scare the living daylights out of me.
http://www.thenation.com/article/177823/how-us-evangelicals-fueled-rise-russias-pro-family-right?page=full
http://www.politicalresearch.org/livelys-lies-a-profile-of-scott-lively/
Hopefully Our Munsta of tha Arts and Kulcha will be listening to RNZ today – Essshhpeshlee “tha…Artson Sunny” – I mean listen from start to finish and ‘especially’ the unedited portion.
If he did/has, I imagine he’ll be weighing up eggseklee where his peshuns loi.
I suspect he’ll go with the bitter ole Queen option. Yesssiree John – you’re gorgeous, I love you, I offer my undying leeeeeerv!
There goes one lonely funeral
Chris Finlayson …. it was never going to be “Standing Romm Only”
I had a look at a No Minister post about Kiwis in Australia and didn’t find much reliable information there. So I thought I would find a bit out about this immigration business in Oz.
It seems that nearly anyone can get a SCV (Special Category Visa).
But that has limited benefits to you which don’t change the longer you are in the country. Fact Sheet 17 has much information.
The SCV – It allows a New Zealand citizen to remain indefinitely and live, work or study in Australia lawfully as long as that person remains a New Zealand citizen.
The SCV is not a permanent visa and visa holders do not have the same rights and benefits as Australian citizens or Australian permanent residents……
Changes introduced on 26 February 2001
A new bilateral social security arrangement between Australia and New Zealand was announced on 26 February 2001. This agreement sets out arrangements for payment of age pension, disability support pension and carer payment to New Zealand citizens in Australia.
It also recognised the right of each country to determine access to social security benefits not covered by the agreement, and to set related residence and citizenship rules according to the respective country’s national legislative and policy frameworks. In line with that principle Australia introduced a number of supplementary changes.
As a result, the Social Security Act 1991 requires New Zealand citizens who arrived in Australia after 26 February 2001 to apply for and be granted an Australian permanent visa to access certain social security payments (including income support payments) that are not covered by the bilateral agreement.
To support this requirement, changes were also made to citizenship and migration legislation to require New Zealand citizens to become permanent visa holders if they want to obtain Australian citizenship or sponsor their family members for a permanent visa.
If you want to ensure some standing you get a Permanent Visa (Residency).
http://www.immi.gov.au/skilled/general-skilled-migration/sir.htm
When can you apply for a permanent visa?
You can apply for a permanent visa after you have:
lived for two years in a Specified Regional Area and worked, including being self-employed, for one year in these same areas.
See: Specified Regional Areas, or
obtained sponsorship under the Regional Sponsored Migration Scheme.
Which permanent visas can you apply for?
You can apply for any permanent visa in Australia, however the Skilled – Regional (Residence) visa (subclass 887) is specifically designed for holders of a provisional skilled visa who want to apply for permanent residency.
See: Skilled – Regional (Residence) Visa (Subclass 887)
The Regional Sponsored Migration Scheme visa (subclass 857) has reduced eligibility requirements for holders of a Skilled – Regional Sponsored (Provisional) visa (subclasses 475 and 487) or a Skilled – Independent Regional (Provisional) visa (subclass 495).
See: Concessions for the Regional Sponsored Migration Scheme Visa (Subclass 857)
It appears that if you want to get Citizenship status you can only apply after having got a PermanentVisa.
It seems possible that you could have dual status if the NZ Government allows this.
Since 1 Sept 1994 any NZer arriving in Australia is automatically issued a Subclass 444 or “Special Category” Visa. The SCV allows a NZer to live and work in Australia indefinitely without needing any other sort of work or residency visa. It is not permanent; it can be revoked; you lose it by leaving Australia and you are issued a new one if you re-enter Australia.
The SCV makes the holder ineligible for almost all Australian government welfare and financial assistance. If you’re a NZer on an SCV you can not get unemployment assistance if you lose your job, you’re not eligible for payments under the National Disability Insurance Scheme, you can not (presently) get a student loan or allowance, if your house gets burned down or washed away you are not entitled to the emergency financial assistance that your Australian neighbour gets, etc etc. If you become a burden on the Australian taxpayer (eg by going to jail) you will be put on a one-way flight to NZ upon release. A child born in Australia to parents who are NZers on SCVs does not receive Australian citizenship and is “stateless” unless the parents apply for and are granted NZ citizenship for the child by birth. A NZer on an SCV is basically a long-term guest with obligations (pay tax, obey the law) but with very few of the rights of a resident or citizen.
Getting official Australian residency is hard. People are literally dying to get in to Australia.
NZers on SCVs are considered no different from other immigrants where applications for permanent residency are concerned. It makes no difference that you’re already in Australia and working; if you want to become a permanent resident you have to meet the same immigration criteria as any other foreign immigrant. You must have qualifications and work in a field that Australia considers desirable (i.e. be on the “Skilled Occupations” list), be under 45 years of age, and (depending on the specific visa you’re applying for) be sponsored by your employer or be moving to a “Regional Area” where Australia needs more people in certain professions.
There are approximately 600,000 NZers in Australia and many of them are placed in great hardship by the situation described above. I’m sure that many of those 600,000 are eligible to vote in NZ elections and would look favourably on the NZ government that helped them.
To specifically reply to a couple of gw’s points:
– you can only apply for Australian citizenship if you have spent two years in Australia with permanent resident status.
– it is possible to have dual Australian and New Zealand citizenship.
Trivia:
– NZers who were on SCVs when the current law took effect in Feb 2001 were allowed to apply directly for citizenship if they’d been physically present in Australia for more than 12 months of the 24 months to Feb 2001. Thus Russell Crowe, who lived in Australia but was in the northern hemisphere filming first Gladiator then A Beautiful Mind during that time, did not qualify and had his Australian citizenship application rejected. And since he’s over 45 and in a nonessential profession (“actor”) he can not become a permanent resident.
And here’s the nub that everyone is ignoring.
As long as these kiwi ‘guest workers’ are in Australia, paying tax to that govt, they are not paying tax to the NZ govt who ultimately will have to pick up the tab when they return to New Zealand.
The point is that most will not be able to retire in Australia and will almost certainly be returning to NZ and become immediately eligible for Super.
Here is also an interesting point. Of the 850,000 odd New Zealanders who did not vote in the last election – how many would be included in this 620,000 living in Australia under this SCV?
Twenty five years ago we should’ve, could’ve, would’ve…..but never did a thing…
Four former state-owned companies employed most of the Tuzla population. The contracts agreed to at the time of government sell-off stipulated that the new private owners were to advance investment in the companies, according to Deutsche Welle.
Instead, the new owners sold the assets and halted payment to workers, leading to bankruptcy filings between 2000 and 2008. Sead Causevic, local leader in Tuzla, directed blame at the court system, saying upset workers turned to the law years ago, yet they were ignored.
Causevic told Bosnian state TV that the “rip-off privatization” had occurred before he took office. He called the factory workers’ demands legitimate, Deutsche Welle reported.
“It was our government that sold state assets for peanuts and left the people without pensions, jobs or health insurance,” Hana Obradovic, an unemployed graduate from Sarajevo, told Reuters.
http://america.aljazeera.com/articles/2014/2/7/bosnia-privatizationprotestsspreadtoothercities.html
http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/europe/bosnia-privatization-protests-reach-other-cities/2014/02/06/4907df00-8f65-11e3-878e-d76656564a01_story.html
Ipredict’s stock “There will be a Labour Prime Minister after the 2014 General Election” has just hit a 12 months low this afternoon.
I realise this is simply one indicator, but if I was in camp Labour this would have me a little concerned.
Last Trade Price: $0.3747
https://www.ipredict.co.nz/app.php?do=contract_detail&contract=PM.2014.LABOUR
Put your mansion on Key, literally, you fucking idiot.
SSLands, having nothing else of note to spray about has now become a whore touting for ipredict…
SSLands, i realize this is only an indication but if i was in the ACT camp i wouldn’t want to be wasting money on shonky quasi-gambling websites able to manipulated with a used 20 dollar note,(you are going to need all the spare coin you have got to pay your fair share of tax as assessed by the incoming Labour/Green Government),
Heres a few of today’s ‘predictions’ of note, National 42%, Labour 33.2%, Green 9.5 %, Internet Party 14.2%,
Ha ha ha obviously someone like you, with a massive alcohol hangover forgot to put a . in the right place for the internet party, just goes to show how badly run that site is and how stupid you are to waste money on it…
Yep and someone has sold a thousand shares at .38c so it will not move for a while. It also shows that someone with a bit of money is trying to give the impression that Labour’s chances are not good. And someone has also listed a thousand National PM shares at .62c so it is obviously someone trying to manipulate things.
In direct contradiction to that,
NZ First to use balance of power to support Labour-led Government: $0.32
NZ First to use balance of power to support National-led Government $0.24.
If I were in camp Australia-based Objectivist shill this would have me a little concerned.
Lolz, OAB, the wet dreamers will be over there as soon as they read your comment to manipulate that one as well…
Still here?
Man let off drink driving charge because of career
But what career do I hear you ask?
Yep, that of consultant to spy agencies. One wonders why, in this digital age, he would have to travel at all – oh, wait, it’s to help ensure that he’s not spied upon by those same spy agencies.
Thing is, career should never be a reason to discharge a criminal conviction. All we really see when people’s convictions are discharged because of career is rich people being treated differently from everyone else.
The law should apply equally.
I disagree – the “career” thing is actually a clause that stops a punishment being unduly harsh. Fair enough.
That having been said, twice the limit is pretty pissed and highly dangerous, so I’d be tending towards “fuck off, you could have killed someone” rather than discharge.
When a truck driver gets pulled up driving drunk he loses his license and his job. There’s no way he’s going to be let off because it’ll ruin his career. This guy’s likely to lose everything whereas the ex-KGB agent would probably still be able to maintain his career and his income although maybe somewhat reduced or he could just get a job at the GCSB. So, what does unduly harsh actually mean?
theoretically it’s based on the individual circumstances of the case interpreted via precedent.
I agree, in this case the decision seems … odd, but the principle is sound (and indeed essential). The problem as you point out is the unequal treatment of poor people compared to the rich.
Yes, the poor are treated differently because they can’t afford lawyers which is a problem but that’s not the problem here – the problem is that it’s an excuse that shouldn’t exist. As Murray Olsen points out it should be applied to every single case as it limits peoples career choices. Essentially, this legal defense means that people should automatically get off criminal charges.
BTW, there’s plenty of All Blacks that have got off assault for exactly the same reason.
I believe that the relevant section is this:
[my boldface]
I think we both agree that in this case that particular section was interpreted in an overly-lenient manner, probably because the drunk driver wore a suit to work. But should a truckie driving just over the limit on a scooter wearing a batman costume be convicted for drink-driving? I’m not so sure. Twice the legal limit in the truck? Yes.
And what immigration category did he fit into?
I agree. The law should apply equally. A temporarily unemployed person may lose potential career opportunities if convicted, so why shouldn’t an employed person lose real ones?
I just love it when you have the gall to lecture another party on gerrymanders, Mike.
Still forgetting about your pledge card theft in 2005 huh. Convenient.
He who lives in the glassiest of houses shouldn’t throw too many stones, me thinks.
[lprent: Off topic. Deliberate diversion. Moved to OpenMike. Repeat that tactic again and I’ll ban you until after the election. You have over-used that tactic in the past (and it is so 2008) ]
MMP = manipulation by:
Winston, Sue Bradford, Steve Chadwick, I won’t bother with the rest of List Mps
[lprent: Off-topic. Looks like a deliberate diversion because it didn’t deal with anything in the post. Repeat if you want to pick up a ban. Moved to OpenMike. ]
Feels weird not being around a computer all weekend and doing so much driving..
Spent much of yesterday at Music for Matua at the winery in north-west Auckland. Some late tickets came for TS. So I used them. Pleasant environs. Music worth listening to. Good pinot and bratwurst hot dogs. Liked the limit of 800 tickets and that each ticket was allowed up to 3 kids free (parents/guardian). There were a *lot* of kids there amusing themselves away from the adults (but in view of).
Reminded me of staff picnics at Wenderholm in the 60s. I might post some pictures for next weekend..
Today I drove to Rotorua and back on a long holiday weekend (did anyone not take Friday off?). Would only ever do that for family. In this case my mother is in hospital because a wound wasn’t healing – maybe requires a skin graft. She was in fine shape apart from having a drip and dislike of the hospital bed.
Was avoiding SH27 because of the boats in single lanes coming in from the Tauranga roads. Always jams badly. Slow slow traffic through Cambridge and Huntly on the way back. Avoided Hamilton using State Highway 1B… Otherwise traffic was good. The upgrades Labour put into SH1 past huntly are very effective.
Not a bad weekend.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/business/industries/9701076/Social-media-calls-for-supermarket-boycott
I say good on Australians for pressurising their supermarkets to support local producers.
If we had a decent socialist government here we would have the government, not a couple of supermarkets chains, advancing the cause of buy one’s own country’s produce…and a lot more.
So let’s not just boycott Countdown,,
What about all foreign owned corporations hauling their obscene profits off shore.
Start with the Australian Banks
Then foreign owned insurance companies, chain stores, energy companies….
A true socialist government would take these national resources back and regain control of the country from foreign financial interests.
They would then bring Douglas and his crew to trial for treason.
What a load of crap. Trade liberalisation is the route to prosperity. There is no alternative. And thankfully we will not be getting a your choice of government.
zzzzzzzzzzzz
Nope, all that brings about is a few getting exponentially richer while everyone else gets poorer – exactly as we’ve seen over the last thirty years in NZ and around the world. It also brings about financial meltdown as the GFC proved once again.
Notice the tired old line spewed out ‘there is no alternative.’
Yep. These RWNJs are getting desperate as the failure and the corruption that their policies engenders becomes more and more obvious as time goes by..
These folk have betrayed the people of New Zealand.