once more DC is made to look a fool because of certain donations….mr pressland has made a cluster …. of this and nobody seems to notice…to say u can,t believe msn as an excuse is very very weak…at least change yr name poor old Mickey Savage will be rolling in his grave
the right fm
Your message is coming over rather messily… some static, disjointed. Try joined up sentences next time and full spelling, try using predictive function if yu’re calling from your phone. Yr comment comes over half baked.
[lprent: It was. I nearly ditched it as spam. But there was a teeny bit of logic in there. They’re on probation. ]
xox
Oh dear Our police have brokenthe law. Police bully boy and racers and passengers. Its not the poor folk and children of Operation 7, victimised now. Who is next? Heads within police should roll on this shocking episode of unveiled,unbridled exercise of power. The police minister and commissioner should be fronting the media and interrogated. I have lost a lot of respect for the ‘force’ in recent years. I fear for poor and the rich. But hey… it’s not Queensland yet…is it?
6 hours at a police road block for some young drivers in Christchurch who planned, they said, to have a procession to commemorate the earthquake. Kept waiting by riot police under some sort of arrest for so long that one woman had to pee in a bottle. While police went through checking procedures. Harrassment that increases ill will.
Police are setting up road blocks round the country checking up on citizens who may have done something that police check for on their computers, and to fund this invasive, intrusive hold-up by highway men and women, they also check if citizens have done the dastardly deed of not renewing something by the set time, or have some defect to pounce on. Nothing has happened, nothing bad has been done, but you receive police scrutiny for some minor infraction. And wofs and registration for instance, are just safety routines that are set and should be kept to but can be forgotten or temporarily unaffordable. People shouldn’t be treated like hardened criminals and precious policing money and time shouldn’t be spent on this project of preventing crime by having Dragnet and showing police are ‘on the job’.
Watch out all, in the USA a mother was taken from her vehicle and two young children and jailed overnight for not wearing seat belts, and worse, additionally she objected to the overbearing manner of the police ‘officiouser’. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atwater_v._Lago_Vista
Similar could happen in NZ if it hasn’t already – I heard someone, probably on Jim Mora, say in a satisfied tone that it is good that police are being pro-active to prevent crime. That sort of smug attitude goes with a willingness to deny respect and human rights to all except those who have got to a ‘top’ bracket and then sneer at the rest.
It is quite scary the tightening of the screws by government and its minions on ordinary citizens as if the lords and ladies above are ruling the peasants. It is not collaborative government for a well organised and run happy society, it is a mean-minded hostile punitive approach by people who hold themselves in charge of the country over, not beside, their fellow citizens.
Agree that the police have learnt nothing about detaining people unlawfully (Urewera raid). The cop who is incharge of the operation/incident needs to make sure that the police are not breaking the law.
Parliament this week has been a disgrace. Our supposed House of Representatives has been more of a melee of mongrel misfits in a house of reprehensible behaviour.
If the sort of behaviour we frequently witness in Parliament and in the political arena was practised in councils, boardrooms, committees, bars and school playgrounds they would be seen as dysfunctional and it would be condemned.
It’s bullying, dirty destructive behaviour that wouldn’t be acceptable in most parts of our society. New Zealand’s leaders should be setting a good example but they are doing the opposite.
I agree Carter is a terrible speaker whose partial judgements allow National MPs to get away with appalling behaviour – not least the Prime Minister.
Compare for just a second Mr George the actions of the Green Party with those of your beloved National Party.
Your comment would have had some credibility if you left out the nonsensical accusation.
I’ve always supported the usually much better example Greens set in Parliament and in general political behaviour. Maori Party are also excluded from appalling behaviour too, as are some MPs from other parties.
Most of the responsibility for turning voters off politics and off voting by setting appalling examples are the two big parties, National and Labour. It makes a nonsense of supposedly trying to appeal to the 800,000 non-voters.
Hey PB, please explain how the two biggest parties are going to increase their vote when they keep pissing voters off with poor behaviour. Especially getting votes from people who are already pissed off and don’t vote any more or never voted.
That’s Labour’s election results so far this century. The problem isn’t relative to small parties, which should be obvious. It’s relative to previous results. Will the same old negative politics and vague policies suddenly be liked by the increasing number of non-voters?
A. You are currently banned. I’d really prefer not to double the ban up again. So I have added you to spam.
B. The results for the previous decades for Labour were
1978 40.4%
1981 39.0%
1984 43.0%
1987 48.0%
1990 35.1%
1993 34.7%
1996 28.16%
1999 38.74%
So what are you trying to prove?
That you didn’t take much notice of politics prior to 2002?
That political parties major or otherwise tend to have a cycle?
That if you cherry pick your start and end periods in a statistical trend you can make the results look like anything you want to prove (a fact beloved of the nutter fringe)?
That Labour parties get better votes after they have gone on to the parliamentary benches? And worse after they leave them?
You have problems thinking things through when it falls outside your prejudices?
Actually don’t bother answering those. You’d be unlikely to be coherent.
” when they keep pissing voters off with poor behaviour ”
cite?
What makes you think it is the ‘poor behaviour’ that is pissing off voters?
Given there are parties that don’t engage in this behaviour, if that behaviour was really the problem then those parties would be picking up those votes.
Again, behaviour is far from the only reason, you have to also generally agree with the party’s policy mix, but it’s a significant factor. Many people vote based on personality and trust.
Yes, Carter yesterday abandoned his usual practice around points of order and sat back and allowed Gerry Fuck Brownlee to have the floor, who under the guise of a point of order, gave a short political attack speech against Labour and the Greens.
And Carter just let it happen. And when Gerry was finished, Carter woke up and mumbled ‘Order, where was I? Hmm, I’m a bit hungry’
And when Winston raised a point of order to complain about this disgrace, Carter lied and said he had stood Gerry down as soon as he strayed from making a valid point of order.
Just blatantly, openly lied. About something that had just happened.
Now if you don’t usually watch/listen to parliament, it might not seem like a big deal. But anyone familiar with Speaker Carter’s usual practice – of cutting off points of order as soon as he thinks he has the gist of them – will have recognised this for what it was.
Yeah. Pretty much how it went down. Key’s government have made a mockery of parliament in the way they abuse question time: avoiding asking questions, constantly attacking the opposition as a diversion from the questions, Key playing stand-up comedian rather than show some statesmanship…..
Hon Gerry Brownlee: I raise a point of order, Mr Speaker. We are not going to oppose the leave, but I would point out that yesterday the House gave the opportunity to Mr Robertson to table some documents. Upon inspection, those documents were not as he described. It would only be reasonable that he—
I think poor Mr. Speaker was too busy thinking very hard indeed to remember to shut Brownlee up, thinking so hard, in fact, that time stood still while Brownlee yammered on and the cogs started turning…
Moral outrage. Pete George will clean up. Commonsense will prevail with his guidance.
From Michael Marien’s 1970 Handy Guide Pete I think, would be a Rabid Rightist with view of Domination by pointy-headed pseudo-intellectuals and Proposal – to throw briefcases into [Wellington Harbour], Restore common sense.
There were some official visitors from Australia in the gallery on Wednesday.
I actually watched question time on Wednesday and noticed a change in Key when the Collins topic was not part of a question; Key behaved closer to his chronological age. Key saw the over stepping with Collins, he needs to take a good hard look at himself.
Would sending the PM a dummy/infant pacifier to use during question time help?
Fairfax report a stoush between Damien O’Connor and Nick Smith over irrigation.
Labour policy would replace the Crown Irrigation Fund with a yet-to-be-calculated resource rental on fresh water to contribute to water management, science and investment in water schemes…
Labour still had to work through the details, but he [O’Connor] felt there was growing acceptance that a levy for research, monitoring, management and investment in water storage was a fair approach to a public resource being made available to the private sector.
South Island irrigation: a festering offal heap of National Party croneyism and corruption due to be flushed away in September.
Still, if only we could all just learn to get along, eh?
except it aint flushing away is it… it is seeping, rotting and steadily compromising most all drinking water supplies.
this entire issue just confounds me in the way in which …
one, the farmers simply continue to drop the rubbish from their business in the public estate and think it is somehow ok, if not laudable.
two, the farmers simply continue to drop cow shit into other people’s water supplies and think it is somehow ok, if not laudable.
three, the farmers simply continue to take everything they can (it is like a greedy gold rush) from the public, and even when other people are already using those resources, to add to their wallets and think it is somehow ok, if not laudable.
the farmers need to wake up to reality and stop exhibiting the ugly greedy side of human beings.
may sound like farmer-bashing but it is deserved imo. someone prove me wrong – please.
The simple policy would be – to restart the Rural Bank.
Refinance your farm’s debt at much lower interest rates and costs than the Aussie banks BUT you have to sign up to far stricter environmental and operational standards.
IMO 10%-20% of dairy farms are causing almost the majority of the problems, along with Regional Council enforcement that’s who you target and how.
ASB has rural banking with a floating base rate of 4.50%. You can only borrow $200,000 though and it’s meant to be used to fund environmental compliance initiatives.
However I digress…why give the farmers cheaper loans just because they’re doing nothing about reducing their pollution? The solution would be to limit the number of cows allowed per hectare, control the amount of irrigation, ensure there is riparian planting through various farmer funded initiatives, implement proper independent testing of waterways, enforce a strict penalty system with larger fines for non-compliance and require all farms to have a waste reducing facility in place before they’re allowed to operate.
Giving farmers even more handouts won’t fix the problem Colonial Viper.
The entire approach is arse-about. It should be such that the onus is on the farmer to prove that they will not be dumping the rubbish from their business n the public estate (I cannot dump the rubbish from my business in the public estate), and that they will not be affecting certain absolute base-lines around the environment.
Why do they resist this and try doing the opposite?
If all those things I mentioned were “already being done” Colonial Viper there wouldn’t be an issue with most of our waterways being polluted.
Your so-called solution would just give farmers more money, which might help slightly in some instances for farmers who are cash strapped and environmentally aware. Being that these types of farmers are few and far between, it isn’t really a workable solution is it? All you’re really saying is; “here’s some more money for polluting our water”.
You might not be aware that farmers keep their incomes low for tax purposes. If the compliance costs for stricter environmental and operational standards are more than the savings from lower interest rates, then farmers simply won’t bother. Because of the amount of pollution and the size of the problem, compliance costs will in most cases be higher than any savings from lower interest rates.
So I’m afraid you’re wrong Colonial Viper. Giving the farmers even more of a handout without proper oversight is not the answer. Instead, farmers should fund their own businesses so they comply with bona fide environmental standards. That’s how most businesses operate and I see no reason why farming should be different.
The farmers have made themselves the dominant business in NZ at the expense of all NZs except those supplying them, their peripheral businesses.
Therefore we have to work on making them do what they should, and offer them cheap science innovations that will help solve their other problems so carrot and stick, ie better fodder, grass types. Measurements of nutrients in different strains, and suitable soils for them. Advice on measures used by farmers in dry-prone areas of the world that have to be incorporated into our farming methods. Allowance for growing trees on or suitable vegetation on slip prone land. Just really active work getting alongside farmers both dairy, restricting, and other encouraging suitable crops animals in appropriate sites.
Controls on stocking are needed, making sure that water is not tradeable also. Making sure they pay more for water when there is plenty naturally, so building a fund to assist during droughts, and this will help balance the overstocking. Some ideas.
And Jackal is making good points. Income – that business of minimising it. The way to go smart to keep tax low, but not a good measure if one wants to understand monetary benefit to the farmers for their hard work. Some of them say their whole family lives on the same as a townie on a benefit, when more is being asked for. They don’t tell their whole story of tax advantages and side benefits from personal use of land and farm machinery and vehicles.
Did you see the one about the government choosing which subjects to report on in the new environmental reporting legislation?
We need this legislation because – oh noes – NZ is one of the few developed countries that doesn’t have mandatory reporting on the state of the environment. We haven’t reported since, like… 2008.
Yes miravox I did. This governments approach to the environment when it comes to irrigation is simply colonial.
It is bad for our children and their children and thereafter.
That is kind of what I was referring to above re being confounded over these attitudes and approaches to their neighbours, the environment, and our children. It is simply baffling. What is it? What brings them to act in these ways?
Ha ha I’ve never been banned luv – now you with you’re bizarre paedo fixation have been canned by the mods although knowing you canning is probably one of your less foul peccadilloes
Politically Gelded
Healthy Democracy where light is shone on ShonKey dealings is far better than any other system.
Ie Dunnys pathetic sythetic cannibis corruption his son taking taxpayer funds to make a career out of destroying young ones lives!
Simon Buckingham over at TDB has an interesting addition to the Nit-bashing stunt by Paula Bennett shown on TV last night.
Apparently a disabled toilet was removed and a hairdressers sink plumbed in so that the PR event could take place. (Of course, it can be justified that the sink is now available for nit-removal of students – but one sink is scarcely going to deliver for hundreds of students. And it is the continual combing rather than the washing that is effective)
Cynic in me saw this as unspoken “poor bashing” again.
Implication: They need the unspent $1 million (WTF?) from the Food for Schools programme because they are unwilling or unable to effectively address nits in their children. Our local decile 10 school has regular outbreaks – all those parents who spend hundreds on products at the local chemist may be easily aggrieved that “no-one” is helping them out. (And adding in that reference to the Food for Schools programme (unnecessarily) just reinforces that reminder that they can’t even feed their own children.)
I always think of the phrase with malice aforethought when I see pictures of Paula Bennett and read accompanying articles.
National: when in trouble Distract’, the deeper the hole around Collins/Williamson is dug the more outlandish the ”announcements” from Paula Benefit have become,
Last week it was ”crumbs off the table” in the form of added spending on budget advice for beneficiaries, along with ”a plan” to involve the BNZ in the provision of no interest loans to beneficiaries,
This week its kutu treatment in one of the poorest schools in the country, Paula has taken ”on-board” the criticism that She has been wheeled out continually every time National are in trouble with yet another piece of ”Bash a Bene” knee-jerking and has changed tack in an attempt to portray the face of National as ”Pash a Bene”,
The underlying message probably missed by most is that Benefit rates are so low that even the basic health issues of kids reliant upon benefits cannot be met…
Yeah, ffloyd and Molly. I was also rather frowny brow when TV3 mentioned the nit programme was being funded via the unspent one mil left over from the food in schools programme. Um, pretty sure we still have lots of very hungry kids whose circumstances haven’t changed.
So hungry that now days we need sponsors for children in our own “first world” country:
Always inwardly cringe when I see KidsCan involved with something.
I remember looking them up on the Charities register when they first started to see how the money was spent. A lot of the charity spending seemed to be on a private KidsCan Promotional company, which took away transparency, and seemed to deliver very little considering the income. But I must admit, I haven’t checked back since.
I’m also a bit wary of charities that decide a specific “fix” for all to solve endemic problems. Raincoats and shoes. Don’t know if it is a generational thing, but most students seem to get wet rather than use raincoats nowadays – be they decile one or ten. But what if you already have a raincoat and shoes – do you get another and then have an embarassment of riches – or do you not qualify as worth assistance?
Was watching the Rusty Radiator awards yesterday, and this musing about external agencies finding a simple fix reminds me of one of their links Blending Out Poverty
And yeah, a single sink isn’t going to do squat, dealing with nits requires a lot of stuff at home as well, better off having schools provide a nit kit for families with top ups on nit cream when it’s needed. But why go with a solution that actually works when you can go with a half-arsed PR friendly one?
At our local decile 9 school the mothers of some charming 8year old girls complained bitterly about their little dears getting re-infected with nits. They went to the paper. Caused a storm when they blamed the Maori kids in the school. The answer on careful investigation? All the little girls in question went to the same ballet class at which their lessons required them getting close and personal. They were reinfecting each other. Hard luck Mums.
I do hope the outcome was discussed with said Mums and a recommendation they apologise for blaming “the Maori kids” was forthcoming. I boil up with anger every time I hear of this type of behaviour from racist pakeha parents.
Yes, because gods forbid anyone point out power imbalances and how some of the least powerful groups are systematically stigmatised and marginalised, while others benefit from resulting privilege.
Which was the disadvantaged group in this case, and how was the disadvantaged group stigmatised and marginalised by the system? Because officials clearly ignored the prejudiced noise from some pakeha parents and went on to track down the real source of cross-infection (the ballet class).
The system in this case was the wider social system – the discourse by and for the better off that stigmastise (low income, or assumed low income) Maori. The legal system is a more discrete system that connects with the wider social discourse. In this case, following the rule of law, contradicted the cultural assumptions of the ballet club parents.
Point out cultural problems in the discourse of wider society by all means, but IMO the only way to effect change in a lasting and meaningful way is through the goal of economic liberation of the oppressed classes.
And to me it seems like the part of the system related to officialdom performed perfectly equitably in this case.
karol “Yes, because gods forbid anyone point out power imbalances and how some of the least powerful groups are systematically stigmatised and marginalised, while others benefit from resulting privilege.”
Is that what Anne was doing in said assumption ?
Prior to ianmac kindly providing further details below (together with attendant blondphobia, which I personally resent), there was no way of knowing whether the ballet classes included her assumptees, or possibly other balleters such as these people …. http://www.stuff.co.nz/world/asia/10026723/North-Korea-sinks-to-a-new-low
vto, you know perfectly well there is a section of out society – mainly pakeha – who are deeply prejudiced against Maori. That’s all ianmac and I were pointing out with our comments.
I don’t like it and nor do a very large section of NZ society.
Anne, just a bit further if you don’t mind. This mini-thread may be a very picky-nits point but it actually highlights human’s actions and reactions in this area. People do not like being pigeon-holed due to their physical make-up such as race, gender, hair colour or car they drive (I like red fords). It goes to simple bigotry. This is what has happened here though isn’t it? Haven’t you jumped the gun and exposed the very human condition that most all of us exhibit form time to time?
Bill Jeffries, despite being convicted by 3 Courts?, will not apologize to investors who got taken for 100’s of millions of dollars ”because He doesn’t believe He did anything wrong”,
Source: RadioNZ National News,
These people are the exemplar of what is wrong with our society, the ”thieving rich” get the kid glove treatment form the Courts while the ”unwashed poor” occupy the jail cells for crimes 1% of the monetary value of the privileged,
Mandatory minimum jail time needs be the sentence option for financial criminals of Jeffries stature…
Bill Jeffries and his ilk would be probably speaking the truth when they say “I didn’t do anything wrong” either because they don’t know the difference between right and wrong, or they are constitutionally incapable of seeing anything clearly in reality and not with some self-advantaging gloss on it. Or they were incompetent and truly didn’t know, or they were lazy and thought it was a sweet deal using their names and faces to give the finance firm some gravitas and took the money but not the time to check if everything was right, because that would have shown lack of belief in their compatriots in the business, or because none of the other directors did and they didn’t want to be party poppers.
A good number of reasons to look at the bloodlines of directors, check their teeth and their fetlocks, their trainers and their connections before betting on them.
Happy to take the fee for being a director, but not sure what the job entailed and not willing to take responsibility for the part they played in ruining a person’s investment.
Jeffries raised there being a risk with finance companies, a good directror would have managed the company to minimise the risk and have acted when the company was in financial trouble.
If this man could not access money then he would have received a harsher sentence, jail. Poor people get treated differently than rich people. Disgusting.
Yeah, because cannabis growers use EFTPOS for payment and have a regular habit of stashing their earnings in traceable, IRD visible bank accounts instead of multiple hidden cash stashes. Pfffft.
Most successful drug dealers would use a legitimate business to wash some of their money. Police estimate that Macdonald made $98,000 from the operation, but they’re notorious at overestimating to justify their funding. With electricity of approximately $629 per cycle, Macdonald was a pretty small time grower.
In my experience from the distance past, police figures would be anything from 3 to 10 times the real ones. They love to take the retail price for a gram of something and multiply it by 1000 to get the wholesale price per kilo. I remember several cases where lawyers advised against disputing the amount at sentencing, on the basis that “You don’t want to make it look like you’re heavily involved in the business”.
VTO, lets correct that slightly
Money buys a legal result.
You are not dealing with a Justice system. You are dealing with the Law system.
Justice is an absent concept.
I’m not sure whether anyone else reads the once-august political newsletter “transtasman”. I seem to remember it being quite good around 2002, but it appears to have descended to base partisanship (and beyond).
They’ve outdone themselves today. In an article entitled Tweets, Trolls And Partisanship, they complain that political players have too much of a role in influencing Ministers. I agree in principle, but would have chosen a different target. From the column:
“Voices of unreason are now more prominent in politics. Not for the first or last time, the online world has much to do with this. “Trolls and bottom feeders” is how John Key described Twitter this week, presumably not long before having another chat with Whale Oil blogger Cameron Slater.
Over on the Left, the Standard blog is mostly written – pseudonymously – by Labour and Green Party staffers. This is also one of the blogs Key looks at, he revealed, and it must be a comfort to know the folk who spew out the kind of ignorance and bitter bile found there are advising his political opponents.”
Perhaps the editor should visit Mr Slater’s blog if he/she (I suspect he) is interested in ignorance and bitter bile…
But they aren’t finished there. They also weigh in on Maurice Williamson and Judith Collins, but not in the way you’d expect:
“What has surprised the Govt has been not so much the intensity of the Opposition parties’ attacks but how feral the mainstream media turned in pillorying the errant Ministers.”
I’d agree that the mainstream media has taken umbrage at being attacked and has chosen to retaliate (perhaps with too much glee), but if you’re seeing feral in the actions of the media, but not elsewhere, you might want to check your myopia.
Perhaps I shouldn’t read these things on a Monday morning… if nothing else, it gets the juices flowing.
“Over on the Left, the Standard blog is mostly written – pseudonymously – by Labour and Green Party staffers”
In order for the whole article to be taken seriously, that needs some backing up. Going by the people that have written here lately, there is micky savage (who is up front about his Labour involvement) and karol (who has no party affiliations at all). Lynn is a Labour party member, but as far as I can tell has no current official involvement. Stephanie Rogers likewise appears to have no official involvement with either party. Nor does Bill. Mike Smith’s involvement with Labour is upfront. I don’t know about Bunji or Geoff. Ben Clark is a Labour man, but doesn’t write here enough to be considered “most”.
That leaves the Notices and Features login, which are predominantly reprints of posts from offsite. If there are GP staffers with access to that I’d like to know why more GP focussed posts aren’t being published 😉
So to say that the standard is written mostly “by Labour and Green Party staffers” strikes me as odd. Looks like the person writing that doesn’t actually read here that much. Or is relying on beltway perspectives that don’t match the rest of the world.
Beyond that, I have no idea what ‘transtasman’ is, or who writes it, so am missing the context of your points sorry.
It just seems weird that a broadcaster got the boot because of what he asked an anonymous caller, while the soft-porn bus ad is there for all to see.
WTF??!!
John Drinnan @NZHerald can’t tell the difference between grossly inappropriate questions to a victim of an orchestrated rape group and a gratuitous TV show ad featuring a paid member of the cast.
Jerry Brownlie is calling for no more about Cabinet Clubs (National Radio) because it is getting out of hand. Really? The whole question of party funding should be in the arena and Cabinet Club should be exposed.
There is a perception that the National CC is a means of buying access and the potential for corruption. Trevor did not accuse Woodhouse of receiving money. He asked if money was paid (to the Nat Party) for the 1 on 1 meeting. Well. Was there?
“Former Building and Construction Minister Maurice Williamson lobbied Immigration Minister Michael Woodhouse about rule changes for wealthy foreign investors sought by businessman and National Party donor Donghua Liu, Mr Woodhouse has confirmed……..
Mr Key has denied offering support for the the new investor category, and, when asked about the letters in March, said: “Interest groups can interpret the Prime Minister’s interest in a conversation as having shown support for an idea, but that is a matter of interpretation.”
And Mr Liu is not in Williamson’s Electorate. Funny that.
Interest groups can interpret the Prime Minister’s interest in a conversation as having shown support for an idea, but that is a matter of interpretation.”
Only if you want to seem to be giving support while being able to claim the opposite.
Yes DTB. Remember how Mr Key says what his audience want to hear? Interest groups can interpret the Prime Minister’s interest in a conversation as having shown support for an idea, but that is a matter of interpretation.”
He may have a problem when cosmetic testing on animals come up for discussion. To animal lovers he says only tests on animals can used for people/medical research. Oops. To the women who use makeup he will say…?
Just heard this on Radio Live but I can’t find a link for it anywhere on the net – NZ deficit has risen and the net debt now is $67B – and the tax intake is again lower than expected.
Sheesh, these tax cuts for the rich have really worked, eh?
The next Canada? Rich mainland Chinese push New Zealand migration to 11-year high
The top draw for Chinese families was the “beautiful environment, good weather and living standard”, he said.
New Zealand has been wooing wealthy Chinese after Canada, a top destination, restricted its immigrant visa scheme after it was overloaded by mainlanders seeking citizenship. New Zealand Prime Minister John Key recently said he wanted mainland and Hong Kong investors to spend money not on land, but on fixed assets, manufacturing or real estate projects like hotels.
New Zealand’s “Investor Plus” policy allows those who invest NZ$10 million (HK$53.1 million) over a three-year period to gain residency. Applicants are not required to have English- language skills or business experience.
A less expensive option, the “Investor” category, allows residency for those who invest NZ$1.5 million over four years, but who must also speak English.
Lobbyists for a relaxation in policy say New Zealand is missing out on a large pool of investors: those who have between NZ$1.5 million and NZ$10 million, but who have no English skills. “New Zealand’s investor immigration programme is relatively difficult as it sets a high bar,” said Victor Lum, vice-president of the Beijing-based immigration consultancy Well Trend United Consulting.
One of the biggest obstacles for Chinese investors was how to get money out of the mainland given strict rules on capital outflows, Lum said. “Previously, applicants would contact friends and relatives to help,” he said.
Lum cited a new Bank of China service that allowed citizens to transfer more than the annual limit of 50,000 yuan (HK$62,700). Under one option, clients can transfer between 2 million yuan and 10 million yuan, Lum said. Under another, the amounts are from HK$2.4 million to HK$50 million. The bank does some vetting to ensure the money was legally earned.
On corruption and the National Party NACT….Louisa Wall in support of Penny Bright’s dogged anti- corruption campaign :
“In December last year we rated in the top ten of the least corrupt countries according to Transparency International, in its Global Corruption Barometer. At the time the lead researcher, Finn Heinrich stated “Corruption hurts the poor most”.
What a difference a year makes! During this year the extent of the practices of this Government have come to light in a way that raises serious questions about the level of corruption our Government has reached.”
Hope that doesn’t mean that programs like Morning Report gets shunted into a commercial radio type approach. After all it is Election Year and Mr Thompson was appointed by National man Chairman Richard Griffin.
John Drinnan wrote: More changes are likely at Radio New Zealand this month, with chief executive Paul Thompson expected to target the news operation……
Thompson’s revamp is expected to include a shake-up of the Auckland newsroom and studios. Staff have been told management wants the news operation to be more proactive and break more stories. It is understood the board of governors blames a tired culture at the broadcaster.” http://www.nzherald.co.nz/opinion/news/article.cfm?c_id=466&objectid=11251996
Herald heading spinning as ever for the government.
“Budget surplus on track as tax-take improves”
Hidden details
We are more in debt as a country.
Personal tax is not raising enough because the government reduced tax ion the wealthy.
“Core tax revenue was 1.8 percent below forecast at $44.49 billion,
Personal income tax was 1.8 percent below forecast at $20.93 billion
That led to more net debt than forecast at $61.18 billion, or 27.6 percent of gross domestic product,”
The Granny also has right now as top headline “LVR rules may be scrapped” when in fact they are to be kept in place till later in the year and and economist on RNZ just said “clearly they [Reserve Bank] are happy with how things are going.”
The Radionz news said that the tax take was less than expected by the Gummint. Again.
What’s the Herald like for loo paper for the long drop? Does the ink run so they can’t be held to account for their fabrications. Perhaps they should cut out the middleman and print it directly on to the unbleached stuff and sell it as environmentally sound seeing as none of their news is.
Not one who personally indulges in criminal activity – but it doesn’t take a criminal mind to work out that the Herald publishing this story about the return of $90,000 unclaimed cash to the cleaner that discovered it – has very helpfully provided the full name and photo of said cleaner.
Now if that was “my money” which for some reason (perhaps criminal?) – I did not want to retrieve from the police, – I now know who to go to for a delayed retrieval AND what he looks like. They already know where he works – Channel Nine building in Sydney.
The first beehive crumbled and Cunliffe made a dig about it being a National-led government.
The second beehive was more successful – almost perfect – and Cunliffe said it was a Labour-led government but one 4-year-old quickly crushed that dream, jumping all over it.
Even the kids know Labour in power are a bad idea 🙂
why doesnt puckish roog speak for himself instead of adding links all the time? It shows a very weak intellect using other peoples words all the time and not being able to frame a cogent comment in person.
Where does he wear his Judith fetish and what form does that take? The mind boggles. Is it a lock of blonde hair tied ceremoniously with a loveknot? onto a neck collar with golden studs or perhaps on a long choke chain so that it hangs near his heart?
Are we going to have a Friday slot for the weekend doings? Like Judith Collins I feel the need for some gardening time, a change of scene and subject. (Ooh that change of subject isn’t going well.)
Te Notional Party takes some hits and Petty Georgeous comes over all sanctimonious and pearl clutching about ‘standards’. Like he gives a fuck. Disingenuous prattler !
Things are still quietly moving toward a Mana/Internet Party alliance, with Mana Party Prez, Annette Sykes hosting Kim Dotcom at the Te Arawa Kapa Haka festival on the weekend,
Hone has also given a ‘heads up’ that Annette will be making an announcement of some import on the weekend,
Source: Online Herald,
i am sure both Hone and Dotcom will be well pleased with the results of the last two Roy Morgan polls which have the Mana Party polling 1% and Internet 1.5%, so talk of an alliance between the two seems to have upset a few ‘activists’ while lifting electoral support for both Parties,
Labour and the Green Parties will also be pleased that at the same time as Mana/Internet gained more traction their respective share of the vote also rose in the Roy Morgan,
Internet have also released their initial enviroment policy, the most notable part of this being a 100% renewable’s supply of the countries electricity by 2025,
Up my tree and out on a limb could i see a Mana/Internet alliance pulling 5% of the Party vote off of the fence in September, yep!!!, with the ensuing media speculation and some savvy advertising,(the kapa haka at Rotorua this weekend might give both a great idea in the vein of both leaders appearing through a parting haka to say their piece), i think a Mana/Internet alliance will go really close to crossing 5% which would provide the iwituararo to a left leaning Labour/Green Government…
…not by taking votes from committed Greens or Labour or Winnie …but by attracting the non voters and the undecided voters as well as young waivering Nacts
You knows what? Human beings are so incredibly prejudicial. And consistent. Posted some stuff up-thread re that. But today I experienced it again and in a common and strong manner. It goes like this…. I have some height. My height I have used to further various causes from time to time. Today at an important interaction it was used again. People like height in people. They react to it positively. Which is to the detriment to those of lesser height. It is a very solid and dependable factor used in daily business and personal interactions.
I can follow your dogmatic statements, but also apparent is your inability to listen – hell – even consider what is being said. You seem to have a knee-jerk reaction to any suggestion of privilege.
A few months ago I watched A Class Divided, the documentary from years ago in the US where the 3rd grade teacher divided the class strictly by eye colour. And prejudice – as you say – developed over something intrinsically unimportant.
But it did exist – because of associated privilege. And failure to recognise privilege means that spoken or not, it tends to continue. Follow up reading included Peggy McIntoshes <a href=”http://www.isr.umich.edu/home/diversity/resources/white-privilege.pdf>White Privilege:
Unpacking the Invisible Backpack.
Only five pages and worth a read – particular the checklist.
No. That was the title of the document I linked to. The checklist on privilege from recollection, just refers to it from the perspective of the privileged (in whatever capacity) person.
If you are that pedantic – I was talking about eye colour.
But once again – you are proving impossible to converse with on this matter.
Aw c’mon VTO. You know damned fine that ‘height’ isn’t the problem, it’s the fact that ‘height’ becomes the measure of normality to the extent that wee short fuckers then get socially, systemically and personally harangued, stygmatised and discriminated against. And then, sometimes, along comes some blithely and blissfully ignorant person of ‘height’ compounding it by complaining that nasty wee fuckers are biting his ankles and how he’s a victim, yes?
University of Canterbury Geographer Dr Heather Purdie said she has been monitoring Fox Glacier since 2005 and was increasingly concerned about the impact that climate-driven glacier retreat would have on glacier tourism and regions reliant on glacier-related products.
…
“The termini of the Fox and Franz Josef Glaciers are drawing increasingly close to their previous minimum which, coupled with thinning, indicates that retreat will continue for the near future.”
I suppose that you techies out there will be up with the latest moves in the USA on this net neutrality but this woman Vi Hart is passionate about it and explains it well – here’s a choice –
I think about whether the Minister for Tourism has any sentiment on this:
NZ’s glacial mass tourism industry possibly under danger
College of Canterbury Geographer Dr Heather Purdie said she has been observing Fox Glacier since 2005 and was progressively worried about the effect that atmosphere driven ice sheet retreat might have on icy mass tourism and districts dependent on ice sheet related items.
…
“The ends of the Fox and Franz Josef Glaciers are attracting progressively near their past least which, coupled with diminishing, demonstrates that withdraw will proceed for the not so distant future
College of Canterbury Geographer Dr Heather Purdie said she has been observing Fox Glacier since 2005 and was progressively worried about the effect that atmosphere driven ice sheet retreat might have on icy mass tourism and districts dependent on ice sheet related items.
Assessing the systemic destruction of our environment in terms of detriment to the profitability of capitalist industries is a sad and narrow way of looking at things.
National's Finance Minister once met a poor person.A scornful interview with National's finance guru who knows next to nothing about economics or people.There might have been something a bit familiar if that was the headline I’d gone with today. It would of course have been in tribute to the article ...
Rob MacCulloch writes – Throughout the pandemic, the new Vice-Chancellor-of-Otago-University-on-$629,000 per annum-Can-you-believe-it-and-Former-Finance-Minister Grant Robertson repeated the mantra over and over that he saved “lives and livelihoods”.As we update how this claim is faring over the course of time, the facts are increasingly speaking differently. NZ ...
Chris Trotter writes – IT’S A COMMONPLACE of political speeches, especially those delivered in acknowledgement of electoral victory: “We’ll govern for all New Zealanders.” On the face of it, the pledge is a strange one. Why would any political leader govern in ways that advantaged the huge ...
Bryce Edwards writes – The list of former National Party Ministers being given plum and important roles got longer this week with the appointment of former Deputy Prime Minister Paula Bennett as the chair of Pharmac. The Christopher Luxon-led Government has now made key appointments to Bill ...
TL;DR: These are the six things that stood out to me in news and commentary on Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy at 10:06am on Wednesday, May 1:The Lead: Business confidence fell across the board in April, falling in some areas to levels last seen during the lockdowns because of a collapse in ...
Over the past 36 hours, Christopher Luxon has been dong his best to portray the centre-right’s plummeting poll numbers as a mark of virtue. Allegedly, the negative verdicts are the result of hard economic times, and of a government bravely set out on a perilous rescue mission from which not ...
Auckland Transport have started rolling out new HOP card readers around the network and over the next three months, all of them on buses, at train stations and ferry wharves will be replaced. The change itself is not that remarkable, with the new readers looking similar to what is already ...
Completed reads for April: The Difference Engine, by William Gibson and Bruce Sterling Carnival of Saints, by George Herman The Snow Spider, by Jenny Nimmo Emlyn’s Moon, by Jenny Nimmo The Chestnut Soldier, by Jenny Nimmo Death Comes As the End, by Agatha Christie Lord of the Flies, by ...
On February 14, 2023 we announced our Rebuttal Update Project. This included an ask for feedback about the added "At a glance" section in the updated basic rebuttal versions. This weekly blog post series highlights this new section of one of the updated basic rebuttal versions and serves as a ...
Have a story to share about St Paul’s, but today just picturesPopular novels written at this desk by a young man who managed to bootstrap himself out of father’s imprisonment and his own young life in a workhouse Read more ...
The list of former National Party Ministers being given plum and important roles got longer this week with the appointment of former Deputy Prime Minister Paula Bennett as the chair of Pharmac. The Christopher Luxon-led Government has now made key appointments to Bill English, Simon Bridges, Steven Joyce, Roger Sowry, ...
Newsroom has a story today about National's (fortunately failed) effort to disestablish the newly-created Inspector-General of Defence. The creation of this agency was the key recommendation of the Inquiry into Operation Burnham, and a vital means of restoring credibility and social licence to an agency which had been caught lying ...
Holding On To The Present:The moment a political movement arises that attacks the whole idea of social progress, and announces its intention to wind back the hands of History’s clock, then democracy, along with its unwritten rules, is in mortal danger.IT’S A COMMONPLACE of political speeches, especially those delivered in ...
Stuck In The Middle With You:As Christopher Luxon feels the hot breath of Act’s and NZ First’s extremists on the back of his neck and, as he reckons with the damage their policies are already inflicting upon a country he’s described as “fragile”, is there not some merit in reaching out ...
The unpopular coalition government is currently rushing to repeal section 7AA of the Oranga Tamariki Act. The clause is Oranga Tamariki's Treaty clause, and was inserted after its systematic stealing of Māori children became a public scandal and resulted in physical resistance to further abductions. The clause created clear obligations ...
Buzz from the Beehive The government’s official website – which Point of Order monitors daily – not for the first time has nothing much to say today about political happenings that are grabbing media headlines. It makes no mention of the latest 1News-Verian poll, for example. This shows National down ...
It Takes A Train To Cry:Surely, there is nothing lonelier in all this world than the long wail of a distant steam locomotive on a cold Winter’s night.AS A CHILD, I would lie awake in my grandfather’s house and listen to the traffic. The big wooden house was only a ...
Packing A Punch: The election of the present government, including in its ranks politicians dedicated to reasserting the rights of the legislature in shaping and determining the future of Māori and Pakeha in New Zealand, should have alerted the judiciary – including its anomalous appendage, the Waitangi Tribunal – that its ...
Dead Woman Walking: New Zealand’s media industry had been moving steadily towards disaster for all the years Melissa Lee had been National’s media and communications policy spokesperson, and yet, when the crisis finally broke, on her watch, she had nothing intelligent to offer. Christopher Luxon is a patient man - but he’s not ...
Chris Trotter writes – New Zealand politics is remarkably easy-going: dangerously so, one might even say. With the notable exception of John Key’s flat ruling-out of the NZ First Party in 2008, all parties capable of clearing MMP’s five-percent threshold, or winning one or more electorate seats, tend ...
Bryce Edwards writes – Polling shows that Wellington Mayor Tory Whanau has the lowest approval rating of any mayor in the country. Siting at -12 per cent, the proportion of constituents who disapprove of her performance outweighs those who give her the thumbs up. This negative rating is ...
Luxon will no doubt put a brave face on it, but there is no escaping the pressure this latest poll will put on him and the government. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: These are the six things that stood out to me in news and commentary on Aotearoa-NZ’s political ...
This is a re-post from The Climate Brink by Andrew Dessler In the wake of any unusual weather event, someone inevitably asks, “Did climate change cause this?” In the most literal sense, that answer is almost always no. Climate change is never the sole cause of hurricanes, heat waves, droughts, or ...
Something odd happened yesterday, and I’d love to know if there’s more to it. If there was something which preempted what happened, or if it was simply a throwaway line in response to a journalist.Yesterday David Seymour was asked at a press conference what the process would be if the ...
Hi,From time to time, I want to bring Webworm into the real world. We did it last year with the Jurassic Park event in New Zealand — which was a lot of fun!And so on Saturday May 11th, in Los Angeles, I am hosting a lil’ Webworm pop-up! I’ve been ...
Education Minister Erica Standford yesterday unveiled a fundamental reform of the way our school pupils are taught. She would not exactly say so, but she is all but dismantling the so-called “inquiry” “feel good” method of teaching, which has ruled in our classrooms since a major review of the New ...
Exactly where are we seriously going with this government and its policies? That is, apart from following what may as well be a Truss-Lite approach on the purported economic “plan“, and Victorian-era regression when it comes to social policy.Oh it’ll work this time of course, we’re basically assured, “the ...
Hey Uncle Dave, When the Poms joined the EEC, I wasn't one of those defeatists who said, Well, that’s it for the dairy job. And I was right, eh? The Chinese can’t get enough of our milk powder and eventually, the Poms came to their senses and backed up the ute ...
Polling shows that Wellington Mayor Tory Whanau has the lowest approval rating of any mayor in the country. Siting at -12 per cent, the proportion of constituents who disapprove of her performance outweighs those who give her the thumbs up. This negative rating is higher than for any other mayor ...
Buzz from the Beehive Pharmac has been given a financial transfusion and a new chair to oversee its spending in the pharmaceutical business. Associate Health Minister David Seymour described the funding for Pharmac as “its largest ever budget of $6.294 billion over four years, fixing a $1.774 billion fiscal cliff”. ...
Bryce Edwards writes – Many criticisms are being made of the Government’s Fast Track Approvals Bill, including by this writer. But as with everything in politics, every story has two sides, and both deserve attention. It’s important to understand what the Government is trying to achieve and its ...
TL;DR: Here’s my top 10 ‘pick ‘n’ mix of links to news, analysis and opinion articles as of 10:10am on Monday, April 29:Scoop: The children's ward at Rotorua Hospital will be missing a third of its beds as winter hits because Te Whatu Ora halted an upgrade partway through to ...
span class=”dropcap”>As hideous as David Seymour can be, it is worth keeping in mind occasionally that there are even worse political figures (and regimes) out there. Iran for instance, is about to execute the country’s leading hip hop musician Toomaj Salehi, for writing and performing raps that “corrupt” the nation’s ...
Yesterday marked 10 years since the first electric train carried passengers in Auckland so it’s a good time to look back at it and the impact it has had. A brief history The first proposals for rail electrification in Auckland came in the 1920’s alongside the plans for earlier ...
Right now, in Aotearoa-NZ, our ‘animal spirits’ are darkening towards a winter of discontent, thanks at least partly to a chorus of negative comments and actions from the Government Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: These are the six things that stood out to me in news and commentary on ...
You make people evil to punish the paststuck inside a sequel with a rotating castThe following photos haven’t been generated with AI, or modified in any way. They are flesh and blood, human beings. On the left is Galatea Young, a young mum, and her daughter Fiadh who has Angelman ...
April has been a quiet month at A Phuulish Fellow. I have had an exceptionally good reading month, and a decently productive writing month – for original fiction, anyway – but not much has caught my eye that suggested a blog article. It has been vaguely frustrating, to be honest. ...
A listing of 31 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, April 21, 2024 thru Sat, April 27, 2024. Story of the week Anthropogenic climate change may be the ultimate shaggy dog story— but with a twist, because here ...
Hi,I spent about a year on Webworm reporting on an abusive megachurch called Arise, and it made me want to stab my eyes out with a fork.I don’t regret that reporting in 2022 and 2023 — I am proud of it — but it made me angry.Over three main stories ...
The new Victoria University Vice-Chancellor decided to have a forum at the university about free speech and academic freedom as it is obviously a topical issue, and the Government is looking at legislating some carrots or sticks for universities to uphold their obligations under the Education and Training Act. They ...
Do you remember when Melania Trump got caught out using a speech that sounded awfully like one Michelle Obama had given? Uncannily so.Well it turns out that Abraham Lincoln is to Winston Peters as Michelle was to Melania. With the ANZAC speech Uncle Winston gave at Gallipoli having much in ...
She was born 25 years ago today in North Shore hospital. Her eyes were closed tightly shut, her mouth was silently moving. The whole theatre was all quiet intensity as they marked her a 2 on the APGAR test. A one-minute eternity later, she was an 8. The universe was ...
Skeptical Science is partnering with Gigafact to produce fact briefs — bite-sized fact checks of trending claims. This fact brief was written by Sue Bin Park in collaboration with members from our Skeptical Science team. You can submit claims you think need checking via the tipline. Is Antarctica gaining land ice? ...
Images of US students (and others) protesting and setting up tent cities on US university campuses have been broadcast world wide and clearly demonstrate the growing rifts in US society caused by US policy toward Israel and Israel’s prosecution of … Continue reading → ...
Barrie Saunders writes – Dear Paul As the new Minister of Media and Communications, you will be inundated with heaps of free advice and special pleading, all in the national interest of course. For what it’s worth here is my assessment: Traditional broadcasting free to air content through ...
Many criticisms are being made of the Government’s Fast Track Approvals Bill, including by this writer. But as with everything in politics, every story has two sides, and both deserve attention. It’s important to understand what the Government is trying to achieve and its arguments for such a bold reform. ...
Peter Dunne writes – The great nineteenth British Prime Minister, William Gladstone, once observed that “the first essential for a Prime Minister is to be a good butcher.” When a later British Prime Minister, Harold Macmillan, sacked a third of his Cabinet in July 1962, in what became ...
Ele Ludemann writes – New Zealanders had the OECD’s second highest tax increase last year: New Zealanders faced the second-biggest tax raises in the developed world last year, the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) says. The intergovernmental agency said the average change in personal income tax ...
We all know something’s not right with our elections. The spread of misinformation, people being targeted with soundbites and emotional triggers that ignore the facts, even the truth, and influence their votes.The use of technology to produce deep fakes. How can you tell if something is real or not? Can ...
This video includes conclusions of the creator climate scientist Dr. Simon Clark. It is presented to our readers as an informed perspective. Please see video description for references (if any). This year you will be lied to! Simon Clark helps prebunk some misleading statements you'll hear about climate. The video includes ...
It is all very well cutting the backrooms of public agencies but it may compromise the frontlines. One of the frustrations of the Productivity Commission’s 2017 review of universities is that while it observed that their non-academic staff were increasing faster than their academic staff, it did not bother to ...
Buzz from the Beehive Two speeches delivered by Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters at Anzac Day ceremonies in Turkey are the only new posts on the government’s official website since the PM announced his Cabinet shake-up. In one of the speeches, Peters stated the obvious: we live in a troubled ...
1. Which of these would you not expect to read in The Waikato Invader?a. Luxon is here to do business, don’t you worry about thatb. Mr KPI expects results, and you better believe itc. This decisive man of action is getting me all hot and excitedd. Melissa Lee is how ...
…it has a restricted jurisdiction which must not be abused: it is not an inquisitionNOTE – this article was published before the High Court ruled that Karen Chhour does not have to appear before the Waitangi Tribunal Gary Judd writes – The High Court ...
Lindsay Mitchell writes – One of reasons Oranga Tamariki exists is to prevent child neglect. But could the organisation itself be guilty of the same?Oranga Tamariki’s statistics show a decrease in the number and age of children in care. “There are less children ...
David Farrar writes: Graeme Edgeler wrote in 2017: In the first five years after three strikes came into effect 5248 offenders received a ‘first strike’ (that is, a “stage-1 conviction” under the three strikes sentencing regime), and 68 offenders received a ‘second strike’. In the five years prior to ...
Bryce Edwards writes – Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has surprised everyone with his ruthlessness in sacking two of his ministers from their crucial portfolios. Removing ministers for poor performance after only five months in the job just doesn’t normally happen in politics. That’s refreshing and will be extremely ...
TL;DR: These are the six things that stood out to me in news and commentary on Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy in the two days to 6:06am on Thursday, April 25:Politics: PM Christopher Luxon has set up a dual standard for ministerial competence by demoting two National Cabinet ministers while leaving also-struggling ...
Hi,Today I mainly want to share some of your thoughts about the recent piece I wrote about success and failure, and the forces that seemingly guide our lives. But first, a quick bit of housekeeping: I am doing a Webworm popup in Los Angeles on Saturday May 11 at 2pm. ...
It is hard to see what Melissa Lee might have done to “save” the media. National went into the election with no public media policy and appears not to have developed one subsequently. Lee claimed that she had prepared a policy paper before the election but it had been decided ...
Open access notablesIce acceleration and rotation in the Greenland Ice Sheet interior in recent decades, Løkkegaard et al., Communications Earth & Environment:In the past two decades, mass loss from the Greenland ice sheet has accelerated, partly due to the speedup of glaciers. However, uncertainty in speed derived from satellite products ...
Buzz from the Beehive A statement from Children’s Minister Karen Chhour – yet to be posted on the Government’s official website – arrived in Point of Order’s email in-tray last night. It welcomes the High Court ruling on whether the Waitangi Tribunal can demand she appear before it. It does ...
Mr Bombastic:Ironically, the media the academic experts wanted is, in many ways, the media they got. In place of the tyrannical editors of yesteryear, advancing without fear or favour the interests of the ruling class; the New Zealand news media of today boasts a troop of enlightened journalists dedicated to ...
It's hard times try to make a livingYou wake up every morning in the unforgivingOut there somewhere in the cityThere's people living lives without mercy or pityI feel good, yeah I'm feeling fineI feel better then I have for the longest timeI think these pills have been good for meI ...
In 1974, the US Supreme Court issued its decision in United States v. Nixon, finding that the President was not a King, but was subject to the law and was required to turn over the evidence of his wrongdoing to the courts. It was a landmark decision for the rule ...
Every day now just seems to bring in more fresh meat for the grinder.In their relentlessly ideological drive to cut back on the “excessive bloat” (as they see it) of the previous Labour-led government, on the mountains of evidence accumulated in such a short period of time do not ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Megan Valére SosouMarket gardening site of the Itchèléré de Itagui agricultural cooperative in Dassa-Zoumè (Image credit: Megan Valère Sossou) For the residents of Dassa-Zoumè, a city in the West African country of Benin, choosing between drinking water and having enough ...
Buzz from the Beehive Melissa Lee – as may be discerned from the screenshot above – has not been demoted for doing something seriously wrong as Minister of ...
Morning in London Mother hugs beloved daughter outside the converted shoe factory in which she is living.Afternoon in London Travelling writer takes himself and his wrist down to A&E, just to be sure. Read more ...
Mike Grimshaw writes – The recent announcement of the University Advisory Group, chaired by Sir Peter Gluckman, makes very clear where the Government’s focus and priorities lie. The remit of the Advisory Group is that Group members will consider challenges and opportunities for improvement in the university sector including: ...
Eric Crampton writes – The Reserve Bank of New Zealand desperately wants to find reasons to have workstreams in climate change. It makes little sense. They’ve run another stress test on the banks looking to see if they could find a prudential regulation case. They couldn’t. They ...
Unemployment is on the rise and it’s only going to get worse under this Government, Labour finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds said. Stats NZ figures show the unemployment rate grew to 4.3 percent in the March quarter from 4 percent in the December quarter. “This is the second rise in unemployment ...
This afternoon’s interim Waitangi Tribunal report must be taken seriously as it affects our most vulnerable children, Labour children’s spokesperson Willow-Jean Prime. ...
Te Pāti Māori are demanding the New Zealand Government support an international independent investigation into mass graves that have been uncovered at two hospitals on the Gaza strip, following weeks of assault by Israeli troops. Among the 392 bodies that have been recovered, are children and elderly civilians. Many of ...
Our two-tiered system for veterans’ support is out of step with our closest partners, and all parties in Parliament should work together to fix it, Labour veterans’ affairs spokesperson Greg O’Connor said. ...
Stripping two Ministers of their portfolios just six months into the job shows Christopher Luxon’s management style is lacking, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said. ...
Tonight’s court decision to overturn the summons of the Children’s Minister has enabled the Crown to continue making decisions about Māori without evidence, says Te Pāti Māori spokesperson for Children, Mariameno Kapa-Kingi. “The judicial system has this evening told the nation that this government can do whatever they want when ...
It appears Nicola Willis is about to pull the rug out from under the feet of local communities still dealing with the aftermath of last year’s severe weather, and local councils relying on funding to build back from these disasters. ...
The Government is making short-sighted changes to the Resource Management Act (RMA) that will take away environmental protection in favour of short-term profits, Labour’s environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said today. ...
Labour welcomes the release of the report into the North Island weather events and looks forward to working with the Government to ensure that New Zealand is as prepared as it can be for the next natural disaster. ...
The Labour Party has called for the New Zealand Government to recognise Palestine, as a material step towards progressing the two-State solution needed to achieve a lasting peace in the region. ...
Some of our country’s most important work, stopping the sexual exploitation of children and violent extremism could go along with staff on the frontline at ports and airports. ...
The Government’s Fast Track Approvals Bill will give projects such as new coal mines a ‘get out of jail free’ card to wreak havoc on the environment, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said today. ...
The government's decision to reintroduce Three Strikes is a destructive and ineffective piece of law-making that will only exacerbate an inherently biased and racist criminal justice system, said Te Pāti Māori Justice Spokesperson, Tākuta Ferris, today. During the time Three Strikes was in place in Aotearoa, Māori and Pasifika received ...
Cuts to frontline hospital staff are not only a broken election promise, it shows the reckless tax cuts have well and truly hit the frontline of the health system, says Labour Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall. ...
The Green Party has joined the call for public submissions on the fast-track legislation to be extended after the Ombudsman forced the Government to release the list of organisations invited to apply just hours before submissions close. ...
New Zealand’s good work at reducing climate emissions for three years in a row will be undone by the National government’s lack of ambition and scrapping programmes that were making a difference, Labour Party climate spokesperson Megan Woods said today. ...
More essential jobs could be on the chopping block, this time Ministry of Education staff on the school lunches team are set to find out whether they're in line to lose their jobs. ...
Te Pāti Māori is disgusted at the confirmation that hundreds are set to lose their jobs at Oranga Tamariki, and the disestablishment of the Treaty Response Unit. “This act of absolute carelessness and out of touch decision making is committing tamariki to state abuse.” Said Te Pāti Māori Oranga Tamariki ...
The Government is trying to bring in a law that will allow Ministers to cut corners and kill off native species, Labour environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said. ...
Cancelling urgently needed new Cook Strait ferries and hiking the cost of public transport for many Kiwis so that National can announce the prospect of another tunnel for Wellington is not making good choices, Labour Transport Spokesperson Tangi Utikere said. ...
A laundry list of additional costs for Tāmaki Makarau Auckland shows the Minister for the city is not delivering for the people who live there, says Labour Auckland Issues spokesperson Shanan Halbert. ...
Te Pāti Māori co-leader Rawiri Waititi, and Mema Paremata mō Tāmaki-Makaurau, Takutai Tarsh Kemp, will travel to the Gold Coast to strengthen ties with Māori in Australia next week (15-21 April). The visit, in the lead-up to the 9th Australian National Kapa haka Festival, will be an opportunity for both ...
The Green Party has today launched a step-by-step guide to help New Zealanders make their voice heard on the Government’s democracy dodging and anti-environment fast track legislation. ...
The National Government’s proposed changes to the Residential Tenancies Act will mean tenants can be turfed from their homes by landlords with little notice, Labour housing spokesperson Kieran McAnulty said. ...
Green Party co-leader Marama Davidson is calling on all parties to support a common-sense change that’s great for the planet and great for consumers after her member’s bill was drawn from the ballot today. ...
People with an interest in the health of Northland’s marine ecosystems are invited to a public meeting to discuss how to deal with kina barrens, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. Mr Jones will lead the discussion, which will take place on Friday, 10 May, at Awanui Hotel in ...
Kiwi exporters are $100 million better off today with the NZ EU FTA entering into force says Trade Minister Todd McClay. “This is all part of our plan to grow the economy. New Zealand's prosperity depends on international trade, making up 60 per cent of the country’s total economic activity. ...
There are heartening signs that the extractive sector is once again becoming an attractive prospect for investors and a source of economic prosperity for New Zealand, Resources Minister Shane Jones says. “The beginnings of a resurgence in extractive industries are apparent in media reports of the sector in the past ...
The return of the historic Ō-Rākau battle site to the descendants of those who fought there moved one step closer today with the first reading of Te Pire mō Ō-Rākau, Te Pae o Maumahara / The Ō-Rākau Remembrance Bill. The Bill will entrust the 9.7-hectare battle site, five kilometres west ...
Energy Minister Simeon Brown has announced 25 new high-speed EV charging hubs along key routes between major urban centres and outlined the Government’s plan to supercharge New Zealand’s EV infrastructure. The hubs will each have several chargers and be capable of charging at least four – and up to 10 ...
The coalition Government will not proceed with the previous Government’s plans to regulate residential property managers, Housing Minister Chris Bishop says. “I have written to the Chairperson of the Social Services and Community Committee to inform him that the Government does not intend to support the Residential Property Managers Bill ...
The Government has announced an independent review into the disability support system funded by the Ministry of Disabled People – Whaikaha. Disability Issues Minister Louise Upston says the review will look at what can be done to strengthen the long-term sustainability of Disability Support Services to provide disabled people and ...
Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith has attended the Universal Periodic Review in Geneva and outlined the Government’s plan to restore law and order. “Speaking to the United Nations Human Rights Council provided us with an opportunity to present New Zealand’s human rights progress, priorities, and challenges, while responding to issues and ...
The Government and Rotorua Lakes Council are committed to working closely together to end the use of contracted emergency housing motels in Rotorua. Associate Minister of Housing (Social Housing) Tama Potaka says the Government remains committed to ending the long-term use of contracted emergency housing motels in Rotorua by the ...
Trade Minister Todd McClay heads overseas today for high-level trade talks in the Gulf region, and a key OECD meeting in Paris. Mr McClay will travel to Riyadh to meet with counterparts from Saudi Arabia and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). “New Zealand’s goods and services exports to the Gulf region ...
Education Minister Erica Stanford has outlined six education priorities to deliver a world-leading education system that sets Kiwi kids up for future success. “I’m putting ambition, achievement and outcomes at the heart of our education system. I want every child to be inspired and engaged in their learning so they ...
The new NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) App is a secure ‘one stop shop’ to provide the services drivers need, Transport Minister Simeon Brown and Digitising Government Minister Judith Collins say. “The NZTA App will enable an easier way for Kiwis to pay for Vehicle Registration and Road User Charges (RUC). ...
Whānau with tamariki growing up in emergency housing motels will be prioritised for social housing starting this week, says Associate Housing Minister Tama Potaka. “Giving these whānau a better opportunity to build healthy stable lives for themselves and future generations is an essential part of the Government’s goal of reducing ...
Racing Minister Winston Peters has paid tribute to an icon of the industry with the recent passing of Dave O’Sullivan (OBE). “Our sympathies are with the O’Sullivan family with the sad news of Dave O’Sullivan’s recent passing,” Mr Peters says. “His contribution to racing, initially as a jockey and then ...
Assalaamu alaikum, greetings to you all. Eid Mubarak, everyone! I want to extend my warmest wishes to you and everyone celebrating this joyous occasion. It is a pleasure to be here. I have enjoyed Eid celebrations at Parliament before, but this is my first time joining you as the Minister ...
Associate Health Minister David Seymour has announced Pharmac’s largest ever budget of $6.294 billion over four years, fixing a $1.774 billion fiscal cliff. “Access to medicines is a crucial part of many Kiwis’ lives. We’ve committed to a budget allocation of $1.774 billion over four years so Kiwis are ...
Hon Paula Bennett has been appointed as member and chair of the Pharmac board, Associate Health Minister David Seymour announced today. "Pharmac is a critical part of New Zealand's health system and plays a significant role in ensuring that Kiwis have the best possible access to medicines,” says Mr Seymour. ...
Hundreds of New Zealand families affected by Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) will benefit from a new Government focus on prevention and treatment, says Health Minister Dr Shane Reti. “We know FASD is a leading cause of preventable intellectual and neurodevelopmental disability in New Zealand,” Dr Reti says. “Every day, ...
Regional Development Minister Shane Jones today attended the official opening of Kaikohe’s new $14.7 million sports complex. “The completion of the Kaikohe Multi Sports Complex is a fantastic achievement for the Far North,” Mr Jones says. “This facility not only fulfils a long-held dream for local athletes, but also creates ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters’ engagements in Türkiye this week underlined the importance of diplomacy to meet growing global challenges. “Returning to the Gallipoli Peninsula to represent New Zealand at Anzac commemorations was a sombre reminder of the critical importance of diplomacy for de-escalating conflicts and easing tensions,” Mr Peters ...
Ambassador Millar, Burgemeester, Vandepitte, Excellencies, military representatives, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen – good morning and welcome to this sacred Anzac Day dawn service. It is an honour to be here on behalf of the Government and people of New Zealand at Buttes New British Cemetery, Polygon Wood – a deeply ...
Distinguished guests - It is an honour to return once again to this site which, as the resting place for so many of our war-dead, has become a sacred place for generations of New Zealanders. Our presence here and at the other special spaces of Gallipoli is made ...
Mai ia tawhiti pamamao, te moana nui a Kiwa, kua tae whakaiti mai matou, ki to koutou papa whenua. No koutou te tapuwae, no matou te tapuwae, kua honoa pumautia. Ko nga toa kua hinga nei, o te Waipounamu, o te Ika a Maui, he okioki tahi me o ...
Paul Goldsmith will take on responsibility for the Media and Communications portfolio, while Louise Upston will pick up the Disability Issues portfolio, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon announced today. “Our Government is relentlessly focused on getting New Zealand back on track. As issues change in prominence, I plan to adjust Ministerial ...
Recreational catch limits will be reduced in areas of Fiordland and the Chatham Islands to help keep those fisheries healthy and sustainable, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. The lower recreational daily catch limits for a range of finfish and shellfish species caught in the Fiordland Marine Area and ...
Energy Minister Simeon Brown has welcomed an important milestone in New Zealand’s hydrogen future, with the opening of the country’s first network of hydrogen refuelling stations in Wiri. “I want to congratulate the team at Hiringa Energy and its partners K one W one (K1W1), Mitsui & Co New Zealand ...
The coalition Government is delivering on its commitment to improve resource management laws and give greater certainty to consent applicants, with a Bill to amend the Resource Management Act (RMA) expected to be introduced to Parliament next month. RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop has today outlined the first RMA Amendment ...
Overseas models for regulating the oil and gas sector, including their decommissioning regimes, are being carefully scrutinised as a potential template for New Zealand’s own sector, Resources Minister Shane Jones says. The Coalition Government is focused on rebuilding investor confidence in New Zealand’s energy sector as it looks to strengthen ...
Emergency Management and Recovery Minister Mark Mitchell has today released the Report of the Government Inquiry into the response to the North Island Severe Weather Events. “The report shows that New Zealand’s emergency management system is not fit-for-purpose and there are some significant gaps we need to address,” Mr Mitchell ...
Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith is today travelling to Europe where he’ll update the United Nations Human Rights Council on the Government’s work to restore law and order. “Attending the Universal Periodic Review in Geneva provides us with an opportunity to present New Zealand’s human rights progress, priorities, and challenges, while ...
Associate Agriculture Minister, Mark Patterson, formally reopened the world’s largest wool processing facility today in Awatoto, Napier, following a $50 million rebuild and refurbishment project. “The reopening of this facility will significantly lift the economic opportunities available to New Zealand’s wool sector, which already accounts for 20 per cent of ...
Hon Andrew Bayly, Minister for Small Business and Manufacturing At the Southland Otago Regional Engineering Collective (SOREC) Summit, 18 April, Dunedin Ngā mihi nui, Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Ko Whanganui aho Good Afternoon and thank you for inviting me to open your summit today. I am delighted ...
The Government is delivering on its commitment to bring back the Three Strikes legislation, Associate Justice Minister Nicole McKee announced today. “Our Government is committed to restoring law and order and enforcing appropriate consequences on criminals. We are making it clear that repeat serious violent or sexual offending is not ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has today announced four new diplomatic appointments for New Zealand’s overseas missions. “Our diplomats have a vital role in maintaining and protecting New Zealand’s interests around the world,” Mr Peters says. “I am pleased to announce the appointment of these senior diplomats from the ...
New Zealand is contributing NZ$7 million to support communities affected by severe food insecurity and other urgent humanitarian needs in Ethiopia and Somalia, Foreign Minister Rt Hon Winston Peters announced today. “Over 21 million people are in need of humanitarian assistance across Ethiopia, with a further 6.9 million people ...
Minister for Arts, Culture and Heritage Paul Goldsmith is congratulating Mataaho Collective for winning the Golden Lion for best participant in the main exhibition at the Venice Biennale. "Congratulations to the Mataaho Collective for winning one of the world's most prestigious art prizes at the Venice Biennale. “It is good ...
The Government is reforming financial services to improve access to home loans and other lending, and strengthen customer protections, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly and Housing Minister Chris Bishop announced today. “Our coalition Government is committed to rebuilding the economy and making life simpler by cutting red tape. We are ...
“China remains a strong commercial opportunity for Kiwi exporters as Chinese businesses and consumers continue to value our high-quality safe produce,” Trade and Agriculture Minister Todd McClay says. Mr McClay has returned to New Zealand following visits to Beijing, Harbin and Shanghai where he met ministers, governors and mayors and engaged in trade and agricultural events with the New ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has completed a successful trip to Singapore, Thailand and the Philippines, deepening relationships and capitalising on opportunities. Mr Luxon was accompanied by a business delegation and says the choice of countries represents the priority the New Zealand Government places on South East Asia, and our relationships in ...
New Zealand is demonstrating its commitment to reducing global greenhouse emissions, and supporting clean energy transition in South East Asia, through a contribution of NZ$41 million (US$25 million) in climate finance to the Asian Development Bank (ADB)-led Energy Transition Mechanism (ETM). Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Climate Change Minister Simon Watts announced ...
Asia Pacific Report Ngāti Kahungunu in Aotearoa New Zealand’s Hawkes Bay region has become the first indigenous Māori iwi (tribe) to sign a resolution calling for a “ceasefire in Palestine”, reports Te Ao Māori News. Reporter Te Aniwaniwa Paterson talked to Te Otāne Huata, who has been organising peace rallies ...
By Dale Luma in Port Moresby “We want grants and not concessional loans,” is the crisp message from Papua New Guinea businesses directly affected by the Black Wednesday looting four months ago. The businesses, which lost millions after the January 10 rioting and looting, say they need grants as part ...
Happy May Day. Join a union. Q: What’s worse than a staff break room where the only place to sit and have a cup of tea is on a teetering stack of old pornography magazines? A: Your boss replacing the magazine stacks with chairs that are “heartily encrusted with ...
By Koroi Hawkins, RNZ Pacific editor Former opposition leader Matthew Wale has been announced as the second prime ministerial candidate ahead of the election in Solomon Islands tomorrow. He will face off against former foreign affairs minister Jeremiah Manele, who was announced by the Coalition for National Unity and Transformation ...
We get but one birthday a year – why not make it last as long as possible by scheduling as many meals with friends and family as you can? This is an excerpt from our weekly food newsletter, The Boil Up. How do you celebrate your birthday? Do you celebrate at ...
A Koi Tū discussion paper released today proposes sweeping changes to New Zealand’s media industry. The principal’s key author, Gavin Ellis, explains how journalists have a key role to play in making others value their role in society. This is an abridged version of a piece first published on knightlyviews.com ...
The Government’s spending cuts are again targeting support for Māori with proposed reform of the agency charged with advising on Māori wellbeing and development. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ian Douglas, Honorary Senior Lecturer, UNSW Aviation., UNSW Sydney The history of budget jet airlines in Australia is a long road littered with broken dreams. New entrants have consistently struggled to get a foothold. Low-cost carrier Bonza has just become the industry’s ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Rosalind Dixon, Director, Gilbert + Tobin Centre of Public Law, UNSW Sydney Australia is finally having a sustained conversation about violence against women and what we can do about it. It is more than time. Australian women and girls continue to experience ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Stephen Duckett, Honorary Enterprise Professor, School of Population and Global Health, and Department of General Practice and Primary Care, The University of Melbourne stockfour/Shutterstock Preliminary bulk billing data released this week shows a 2.1% rise in bulk billing up to March. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Samantha Schulz, Senior Lecturer, University of Adelaide Australia is once again grappling with how we can stop gendered violence in our country. Protests over the weekend show there is enormous community anger over the number of women who are dying and National ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Peter Martin, Visiting Fellow, Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University AnastasiaDudka/Shutterstock What if the government was doing everything it could to stop thieves making off with our money, except the one thing that could really work? That’s how it ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Erin Harrington, Senior Lecturer in English and Cultural Studies, University of Canterbury The Conversation It seems to be a time of old favourites. This month our experts have recommended two new seasons – the second season of Alone Australia (although ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jonti Horner, Professor (Astrophysics), University of Southern Queensland A bright Eta Aquariid meteor photobombed this photo of comet C/2020 F8 (SWAN) in May 2020.Jonti Horner Meteors – commonly known as shooting stars – can be seen on any night of the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Tim Flannery, Honorary fellow, The University of Melbourne Shutterstock Current concentrations of carbon dioxide (CO₂) in Earth’s atmosphere are unprecedented in human history. But CO₂ levels today, and those that might occur in coming decades, did occur millions of years ago. ...
Winston Peters has been keen to dismiss speculation on our involvement in Aukus but will give a speech tonight on the direction of our foreign policy, writes Anna Rawhiti-Connell in this excerpt from The Bulletin, The Spinoff’s morning news round-up. To receive The Bulletin in full each weekday, sign up here. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Patrick Usmar, Lecturer in Critical Media Literacies, Auckland University of Technology Getty Images With the coalition government’s ban of student mobile phones in New Zealand schools coming into effect this week, reaction has ranged from the sceptical (kids will just get ...
Hospitals around the country are not allowed to make a single hiring decision without the approval of Te Whatu Ora's head office, including for cleaners and administration staff. ...
A new report on protecting journalism and democracy in New Zealand recommends a levy be charged on global platforms like Facebook and Google to fund media firms undertaking public interest reporting. It also calls for the reinstatement of a powerful Broadcasting Commission to distribute public funding for journalism and other ...
On International Workers' Day, also known as May Day, the New Zealand Council of Trade Unions Te Kauae Kaimahi and the wider union movement are celebrating the proud history of the labour movement during a tough time for working people. ...
From bills to beards, a walk through the former Green co-leader’s time in politics. After close to a decade in politics, James Shaw is preparing to bid farewell to parliament. Tonight will see the former minister deliver his valedictory address, certain to be a speech filled with Shaw’s trademark wit ...
Two months ago, MPs unanimously voted to give themselves a week off in Efeso Collins’ honour. On Tuesday, most were too busy to give even an hour of their time. The day Fa’anānā Efeso Collins died, parliament felt different. In a building that operates at a breakneck pace, everyone stopped ...
India’s election involves hundreds of millions of people and is a months-long affair. Here’s how voting works and what’s at stake.The biggest-ever election in world history started on April 19, with more than 10% of the world’s population eligible to vote. Elections in India, the world’s most populous country ...
“I had just come off the end of a major robbery case which I had been working on for six months when I got a call on the afternoon of September 1, 1992, that some remains had been found at a building site in Devonport, so I drove over with ...
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Comment: Journalists are very good at telling other people’s stories, but they fall well short when writing about their own profession. Perhaps that is why it is so undervalued. Every successive poll on the public’s attitude toward journalism is more alarming than the last. In the last month we have ...
Opinion: A young Māori woman and her Pacific partner arrive at their local hospital by ambulance. She has gone into labour at just under 24 weeks, but the couple haven’t recognised the symptoms – and don’t know the risks of premature birth for their baby. By the time they arrive, ...
Behind closed doors, NZ First will be arguing fiercely against any watering down of the ministerial decision-making powers in the Bill The post Bishop backtracks after fast-track backlash appeared first on Newsroom. ...
Emotional scenes played out in the Invercargill courthouse on the first two days of the coronial inquest into the death of Gore toddler Lachlan Jones, in which the boy’s mother was accused of disposing of her son’s body. The second season of Newsroom’s award-nominated podcast The Boy in the Water ...
Opinion: The impression from the carpark is very inviting. The area is well fenced but barred so there is easy visibility of loved ones. Inside, the spaces are welcoming and clean and staff are friendly and clearly comfortable. I am greeted by ‘Kim’. She has worked here for three years, ...
After the Christchurch earthquake, the then-national civil defence boss compared his experience to “putting a team on the rugby field who have never ever played together before”. Now, eight years later – and following a damning inquiry into the emergency response of cyclones Gabrielle, Hale and the Auckland anniversary weekend floods – ...
Asia Pacific Report A Pacific civil society alliance has condemned French neocolonial policies in Kanaky New Caledonia, saying Paris is set on “maintaining the status quo” and denying the indigenous Kanak people their inalienable right to self-determination. The Pacific Regional Non-Governmental Organisations (PRNGOs) Alliance, representing some 15 groups, said in ...
Koi Tū New Zealand cannot sit back and see the collapse of its Fourth Estate, the director of Koi Tū: The Centre for Informed Futures, Sir Peter Gluckman, says in the foreword of a paper published today. The paper, “If not journalists, then who?” paints a picture of an industry ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra Foreign investment proposals with implications for Australia’s strategic or economic security will face tougher scrutiny, under a policy overhaul to be announced by Treasurer Jim Chalmers on Wednesday. At the same time, the government ...
A Waitangi Tribunal inquiry report has warned government that a repeal of Section 7AA of the Oranga Tamariki Act could cause harm to children in care. ...
The Treasury has published today three new papers covering government consumption multipliers, automatic stabilisers and the impacts of global shocks on New Zealand’s economy. ...
Asia Pacific Report The Pacific state of Hawai’i’s House of Representatives has joined the state’s Senate in calling for a ceasefire in Israel’s war on Gaza, becoming the first state to pass such a resolution, reports Hawaii News Now. In March, the Senate passed a ceasefire resolution with a 24–1 ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Christopher Ferrie, A/Prof, UTS Chancellor’s Postdoctoral Research and ARC DECRA Fellow, University of Technology Sydney PsiQuantum The Australian government has announced a pledge of approximately A$940 million (US$617 million) to PsiQuantum, a quantum computing start-up company based in Silicon Valley. Half ...
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SPECIAL REPORT:By Eugene Doyle He is the most popular Palestinian leader alive today — and yet few people in the West even know his name. Absolutely no one in Gaza or the West Bank does not know him. That difference speaks volumes about who dominates the media narrative that ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Will McCallum, PhD Candidate – School of Communication and Creative Arts, Deakin University Earlier this year, Opposition Leader Peter Dutton accused Prime Minister Anthony Albanese of not supporting Operation Sovereign Borders – the military-led border security operation that has “closed Australia’s borders ...
By Melyne Baroi in Port Moresby A Papua New Guinea MP, Peter Isoaimo, who had been ousted by the National Court in an alleged bribery case, has been reinstated by the Supreme Court on appeal. A three-member Supreme Court bench found that the National Court had erred in finding that ...
Publisher Chris Holdaway reflects on the unique project of collecting the work of the late, terrific poet Schaeffer Lemalu. One of the nice things you can do as a truly independent publisher is to make the books that writers want to make, whatever they happen to be. That’s how I’ve ...
Those profiled in the stamp series served on overseas deployments from 1995 onwards, and all have been awarded theNew Zealand Operational Service Medal. ...
Last night’s dismal poll result for the coalition government shows the limits of trying to govern as an opposition, argues Joel MacManus. There’s a quote from the American political activist Barbara Deming: “Vengeance is not the point; change is. But the trouble is that in most people’s minds, the thought ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Shireen Morris, Associate Professor and Director of the Radical Centre Reform Lab at Macquarie University Law School, Macquarie University Leonid Andronov/Shutterstock Foreign interference in Australian democracy poses a growing risk to our national sovereignty. It refers to coercive, corrupt or ...
A defendant charged by the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) has pleaded guilty to four charges of obtaining by deception in relation to a mortgage fraud scheme. Sentencing has been scheduled for 14 August 2024. ...
What to say when pesky journalists ask gotcha questions like ‘can you name a single book you’ve ever read?’ and ‘did you read it, or did you just see the movie?’This week, Act Party arts spokesperson Todd Stephenson foolishly agreed to an interview with Newsroom’s Steve Braunias regarding his ...
Explainer - What will a ban on cellphones in schools achieve? Can students use them during lunch breaks? And what happens if you need to contact your child? ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jodi Rowley, Curator, Amphibian & Reptile Conservation Biology, Australian Museum, UNSW Sydney Jodi Rowley, CC BY-NC-ND In winter 2021, Australia’s frogs started dropping dead. People began posting images of dead frogs on social media. Unable to travel to investigate the deaths ...
In the year ended March 2024, 0.4 percent of home transfers were to people who didn’t hold New Zealand citizenship or a resident visa, according to figures released by Stats NZ today. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Wasay Majid, Research Assistant , University of Auckland, Waipapa Taumata Rau New Zealand’s accommodation supplement scheme is facing scrutiny, with Social Development Minister Louise Upston recently saying “there is merit in considering whether the current settings are fair and sustainable long-term”. The ...
By Koroi Hawkins, RNZ Pacific editor The first prime ministerial candidate has been announced in Solomon Islands and it is not Manasseh Sogavare. The man of the hour is Jeremiah Manele, the MP for Hograno/Kia/Havulei constituency in Isabel Province, who served as minister of foreign affairs in the last government. ...
Protesting the removal of bins by leaving piles of your dog’s shit for others to deal with doesn’t make you a hero – it’s precious and entitled behaviour. You haven’t truly lived until you’ve stood on the shoreline of Auckland’s Cheltenham beach, desperately trying to scoop increasingly liquid dog shit ...
Analysis - Christopher Luxon will be alert to the factors driving the dire polling, but won't be waving the white flag just yet, RNZ political editor Jo Moir writes. ...
Writer, teacher and academic Vincent O’Sullivan died on Sunday 28 April. Here we gather tributes from friends, colleagues, and students who remember his extraordinary contributions. I went down to the garage tonight. There was a bird shrieking out in the bush, in the dark, maybe a kākā. Miraculously, through the ...
once more DC is made to look a fool because of certain donations….mr pressland has made a cluster …. of this and nobody seems to notice…to say u can,t believe msn as an excuse is very very weak…at least change yr name poor old Mickey Savage will be rolling in his grave
🙄
The right demonstrate their fear with applause.
🙄
Person leaves comment on the internet, yet can’t leave a link that explains just wtf they’re talking about [insert $irony here].
And you need more caffeine, for incoherent you art.
the right fm
Your message is coming over rather messily… some static, disjointed. Try joined up sentences next time and full spelling, try using predictive function if yu’re calling from your phone. Yr comment comes over half baked.
[lprent: It was. I nearly ditched it as spam. But there was a teeny bit of logic in there. They’re on probation. ]
xox
Oh dear Our police have brokenthe law. Police bully boy and racers and passengers. Its not the poor folk and children of Operation 7, victimised now. Who is next? Heads within police should roll on this shocking episode of unveiled,unbridled exercise of power. The police minister and commissioner should be fronting the media and interrogated. I have lost a lot of respect for the ‘force’ in recent years. I fear for poor and the rich. But hey… it’s not Queensland yet…is it?
6 hours at a police road block for some young drivers in Christchurch who planned, they said, to have a procession to commemorate the earthquake. Kept waiting by riot police under some sort of arrest for so long that one woman had to pee in a bottle. While police went through checking procedures. Harrassment that increases ill will.
Police are setting up road blocks round the country checking up on citizens who may have done something that police check for on their computers, and to fund this invasive, intrusive hold-up by highway men and women, they also check if citizens have done the dastardly deed of not renewing something by the set time, or have some defect to pounce on. Nothing has happened, nothing bad has been done, but you receive police scrutiny for some minor infraction. And wofs and registration for instance, are just safety routines that are set and should be kept to but can be forgotten or temporarily unaffordable. People shouldn’t be treated like hardened criminals and precious policing money and time shouldn’t be spent on this project of preventing crime by having Dragnet and showing police are ‘on the job’.
Watch out all, in the USA a mother was taken from her vehicle and two young children and jailed overnight for not wearing seat belts, and worse, additionally she objected to the overbearing manner of the police ‘officiouser’.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atwater_v._Lago_Vista
Similar could happen in NZ if it hasn’t already – I heard someone, probably on Jim Mora, say in a satisfied tone that it is good that police are being pro-active to prevent crime. That sort of smug attitude goes with a willingness to deny respect and human rights to all except those who have got to a ‘top’ bracket and then sneer at the rest.
It is quite scary the tightening of the screws by government and its minions on ordinary citizens as if the lords and ladies above are ruling the peasants. It is not collaborative government for a well organised and run happy society, it is a mean-minded hostile punitive approach by people who hold themselves in charge of the country over, not beside, their fellow citizens.
Agree that the police have learnt nothing about detaining people unlawfully (Urewera raid). The cop who is incharge of the operation/incident needs to make sure that the police are not breaking the law.
“Police do not up hold the law by breaking it.”
Parliament this week has been a disgrace. Our supposed House of Representatives has been more of a melee of mongrel misfits in a house of reprehensible behaviour.
If the sort of behaviour we frequently witness in Parliament and in the political arena was practised in councils, boardrooms, committees, bars and school playgrounds they would be seen as dysfunctional and it would be condemned.
It’s bullying, dirty destructive behaviour that wouldn’t be acceptable in most parts of our society. New Zealand’s leaders should be setting a good example but they are doing the opposite.
It’s a Parliamentary disgrace.
🙄
🙄 🙄 is Petty talking of our Prime Minister being told to pull His head in or be ejected from the House, what a disgrace…
I agree Carter is a terrible speaker whose partial judgements allow National MPs to get away with appalling behaviour – not least the Prime Minister.
Compare for just a second Mr George the actions of the Green Party with those of your beloved National Party.
Your comment would have had some credibility if you left out the nonsensical accusation.
I’ve always supported the usually much better example Greens set in Parliament and in general political behaviour. Maori Party are also excluded from appalling behaviour too, as are some MPs from other parties.
Most of the responsibility for turning voters off politics and off voting by setting appalling examples are the two big parties, National and Labour. It makes a nonsense of supposedly trying to appeal to the 800,000 non-voters.
🙄 🙄 ,Yes Petty we note you making a nonsense of yourself every day here at the Standard…
the daily ‘fret’..?
..and you still haven’t told us.. ‘
..if you have a photocopier in yr office..
😆
DNFTT, he just wants links to his blog.
PG’s got to get his google rank up somehow.
ha ha, it is probably a xerox
Definitely a xerox 🙂
” It makes a nonsense of supposedly trying to appeal to the 800,000 non-voters.”
Hey Pete, please to be explaining how the two biggest parties have less appeal than the better behaved small parties.
Silly question, presumably deliberate.
Hey PB, please explain how the two biggest parties are going to increase their vote when they keep pissing voters off with poor behaviour. Especially getting votes from people who are already pissed off and don’t vote any more or never voted.
PB just neatly exposed your shite “thinking”. Everyone can see you wriggling, unelectable. Sad. 😆
I’m not trying to be elected. Stupid suggestion. And as usual an empty diss.
2002 838,219 41.26%
2005 935,319 41.10%
2008 796,880 33.99%
2011 614,937 27.48%
That’s Labour’s election results so far this century. The problem isn’t relative to small parties, which should be obvious. It’s relative to previous results. Will the same old negative politics and vague policies suddenly be liked by the increasing number of non-voters?
🙄
PB’s point stands – you know nothing 😀
PS: I’m a Green voter. What have their results been this century, moran?
A. You are currently banned. I’d really prefer not to double the ban up again. So I have added you to spam.
B. The results for the previous decades for Labour were
1978 40.4%
1981 39.0%
1984 43.0%
1987 48.0%
1990 35.1%
1993 34.7%
1996 28.16%
1999 38.74%
So what are you trying to prove?
Actually don’t bother answering those. You’d be unlikely to be coherent.
” when they keep pissing voters off with poor behaviour ”
cite?
What makes you think it is the ‘poor behaviour’ that is pissing off voters?
Given there are parties that don’t engage in this behaviour, if that behaviour was really the problem then those parties would be picking up those votes.
You know nothing Pete.
There’s a variety of reasons why different people choose twho to vote for or not to vote.
“if that behaviour was really the problem then those parties would be picking up those votes”
Greens are regarded as much better behaved than the major parties.
2002 142,250 7.00%
2005 120,521 5.30%
2008 157,613 6.72%
2011 247,372 11.06%
Again, behaviour is far from the only reason, you have to also generally agree with the party’s policy mix, but it’s a significant factor. Many people vote based on personality and trust.
Jesus wept man.
“There’s a variety of reasons why different people choose twho to vote for or not to vote.
”
Correct. So there goes your argument.
Now show us UF’s votes. They are all about your whatever the hell it is you keep going on about it.
Best fit for whatever it is, is UF. How they doin?
“the nonsensical accusation.”
which is what exactly pete?
🙄 🙄 🙄 🙄 🙄 🙄 🙄 🙄 🙄 🙄 🙄 🙄 🙄 🙄 🙄 🙄 🙄 🙄 🙄 🙄 🙄 🙄 🙄 🙄 🙄 🙄 🙄 🙄 🙄 🙄 🙄 🙄 🙄 🙄 🙄 🙄 🙄 🙄 🙄 🙄 🙄 🙄 🙄 🙄 🙄 🙄 🙄 🙄 🙄 🙄 🙄 🙄 🙄 🙄 🙄
Dontcha know people, robust, vocal debate around a serious issue is a totes bad thing.
Yes, Carter yesterday abandoned his usual practice around points of order and sat back and allowed Gerry Fuck Brownlee to have the floor, who under the guise of a point of order, gave a short political attack speech against Labour and the Greens.
And Carter just let it happen. And when Gerry was finished, Carter woke up and mumbled ‘Order, where was I? Hmm, I’m a bit hungry’
And when Winston raised a point of order to complain about this disgrace, Carter lied and said he had stood Gerry down as soon as he strayed from making a valid point of order.
Just blatantly, openly lied. About something that had just happened.
Now if you don’t usually watch/listen to parliament, it might not seem like a big deal. But anyone familiar with Speaker Carter’s usual practice – of cutting off points of order as soon as he thinks he has the gist of them – will have recognised this for what it was.
A disgrace.
Yeah. Pretty much how it went down. Key’s government have made a mockery of parliament in the way they abuse question time: avoiding asking questions, constantly attacking the opposition as a diversion from the questions, Key playing stand-up comedian rather than show some statesmanship…..
Why doesn’t parliament have a neutral ref?
Because the public haven’t forced them to get one yet.
Until then, how about a Green ref?
Pretty much everyone agrees they’re the only party that takes parliament seriously and doesn’t play games with process.
“The conscience of Parliament”, they call them.
So why not let let them run it?
If the will existed to let the Greens run it, the proposal that a neutral body do the job would get a lot more traction.
If there’s going top be a change why not make it a change to neutral?
I don’t know if the Greens would be keen on losing one of their MPs to the role. I don’t see any suitable candidates there either.
“Why doesn’t parliament have a neutral ref?”
I think this should be seriously pushed. Even the best of Speakers (past) have problems with their association with one side of the House.
How would it work?
How could a non-mp chair parliament?
Who would be suitable?
How would they be accountable?
felix + 1..
..i couldn’t believe that brownlee speech..
..i’m surprised the speaker didn’t have his hands tucked under his chin..
..as he watched on..
when hes not smiling and suppressing a laugh.
lockwood proved you could rise above party allegiance and do the right thing, like exercise highest ethical standards even
Yes. Carter does smirk at the NAct barbs and jokes at the opposition expense.
Felix, are you referring to:
I can’t find the point of order from Winston…
More likely here.
And here
Thanks Karol.
Ah, found it.
I think poor Mr. Speaker was too busy thinking very hard indeed to remember to shut Brownlee up, thinking so hard, in fact, that time stood still while Brownlee yammered on and the cogs started turning…
??? 😕
Moral outrage. Pete George will clean up. Commonsense will prevail with his guidance.
From Michael Marien’s 1970 Handy Guide Pete I think, would be a Rabid Rightist with view of Domination by pointy-headed pseudo-intellectuals and Proposal – to throw briefcases into [Wellington Harbour], Restore common sense.
🙄 PG
There were some official visitors from Australia in the gallery on Wednesday.
I actually watched question time on Wednesday and noticed a change in Key when the Collins topic was not part of a question; Key behaved closer to his chronological age. Key saw the over stepping with Collins, he needs to take a good hard look at himself.
Would sending the PM a dummy/infant pacifier to use during question time help?
Fairfax report a stoush between Damien O’Connor and Nick Smith over irrigation.
South Island irrigation: a festering offal heap of National Party croneyism and corruption due to be flushed away in September.
Still, if only we could all just learn to get along, eh?
except it aint flushing away is it… it is seeping, rotting and steadily compromising most all drinking water supplies.
this entire issue just confounds me in the way in which …
one, the farmers simply continue to drop the rubbish from their business in the public estate and think it is somehow ok, if not laudable.
two, the farmers simply continue to drop cow shit into other people’s water supplies and think it is somehow ok, if not laudable.
three, the farmers simply continue to take everything they can (it is like a greedy gold rush) from the public, and even when other people are already using those resources, to add to their wallets and think it is somehow ok, if not laudable.
the farmers need to wake up to reality and stop exhibiting the ugly greedy side of human beings.
may sound like farmer-bashing but it is deserved imo. someone prove me wrong – please.
The simple policy would be – to restart the Rural Bank.
Refinance your farm’s debt at much lower interest rates and costs than the Aussie banks BUT you have to sign up to far stricter environmental and operational standards.
IMO 10%-20% of dairy farms are causing almost the majority of the problems, along with Regional Council enforcement that’s who you target and how.
ASB has rural banking with a floating base rate of 4.50%. You can only borrow $200,000 though and it’s meant to be used to fund environmental compliance initiatives.
However I digress…why give the farmers cheaper loans just because they’re doing nothing about reducing their pollution? The solution would be to limit the number of cows allowed per hectare, control the amount of irrigation, ensure there is riparian planting through various farmer funded initiatives, implement proper independent testing of waterways, enforce a strict penalty system with larger fines for non-compliance and require all farms to have a waste reducing facility in place before they’re allowed to operate.
Giving farmers even more handouts won’t fix the problem Colonial Viper.
I agree.
The entire approach is arse-about. It should be such that the onus is on the farmer to prove that they will not be dumping the rubbish from their business n the public estate (I cannot dump the rubbish from my business in the public estate), and that they will not be affecting certain absolute base-lines around the environment.
Why do they resist this and try doing the opposite?
I proposed a politically viable solution, you proposed one which is already being done and but is no where enough.
So be it.
If all those things I mentioned were “already being done” Colonial Viper there wouldn’t be an issue with most of our waterways being polluted.
Your so-called solution would just give farmers more money, which might help slightly in some instances for farmers who are cash strapped and environmentally aware. Being that these types of farmers are few and far between, it isn’t really a workable solution is it? All you’re really saying is; “here’s some more money for polluting our water”.
You might not be aware that farmers keep their incomes low for tax purposes. If the compliance costs for stricter environmental and operational standards are more than the savings from lower interest rates, then farmers simply won’t bother. Because of the amount of pollution and the size of the problem, compliance costs will in most cases be higher than any savings from lower interest rates.
So I’m afraid you’re wrong Colonial Viper. Giving the farmers even more of a handout without proper oversight is not the answer. Instead, farmers should fund their own businesses so they comply with bona fide environmental standards. That’s how most businesses operate and I see no reason why farming should be different.
+1
The farmers have made themselves the dominant business in NZ at the expense of all NZs except those supplying them, their peripheral businesses.
Therefore we have to work on making them do what they should, and offer them cheap science innovations that will help solve their other problems so carrot and stick, ie better fodder, grass types. Measurements of nutrients in different strains, and suitable soils for them. Advice on measures used by farmers in dry-prone areas of the world that have to be incorporated into our farming methods. Allowance for growing trees on or suitable vegetation on slip prone land. Just really active work getting alongside farmers both dairy, restricting, and other encouraging suitable crops animals in appropriate sites.
Controls on stocking are needed, making sure that water is not tradeable also. Making sure they pay more for water when there is plenty naturally, so building a fund to assist during droughts, and this will help balance the overstocking. Some ideas.
And Jackal is making good points. Income – that business of minimising it. The way to go smart to keep tax low, but not a good measure if one wants to understand monetary benefit to the farmers for their hard work. Some of them say their whole family lives on the same as a townie on a benefit, when more is being asked for. They don’t tell their whole story of tax advantages and side benefits from personal use of land and farm machinery and vehicles.
Nationalise fresh water?
Did you see the one about the government choosing which subjects to report on in the new environmental reporting legislation?
We need this legislation because – oh noes – NZ is one of the few developed countries that doesn’t have mandatory reporting on the state of the environment. We haven’t reported since, like… 2008.
Yes miravox I did. This governments approach to the environment when it comes to irrigation is simply colonial.
It is bad for our children and their children and thereafter.
That is kind of what I was referring to above re being confounded over these attitudes and approaches to their neighbours, the environment, and our children. It is simply baffling. What is it? What brings them to act in these ways?
“It is simply baffling. What is it? What brings them to act in these ways?”
Simple really. It’s they way they value everything.
+1111
Over on The Daily Blog: the horror photograph of the year!
( WARNING : obscene content. )
http://thedailyblog.co.nz/2014/05/09/the-first-rule-of-cabinet-club-is-trolls-and-bottom-feeders-get-in-free/
Oh noes an old photo of the PM and the two most popular political bloggers in NZ
Oh no. All three bottom feeders in one place!
How are DPF and the PM bottom feeders ?
The PM isn’t a bottom feeder. He’s a tr*ll.
Whale and Penguin feed off the stuff even the tr*ll is ashamed to say in public.
🙄 🙄 please oh please send us a better class of ”wing-nut”…
Yeah. The tr0ll above is the lowest of the low. As I recall he was banned for some really really creepy disgusting shit last time.
Ha ha I’ve never been banned luv – now you with you’re bizarre paedo fixation have been canned by the mods although knowing you canning is probably one of your less foul peccadilloes
how is it that you can spell “paedo” but “caning” is beyond you?
Now I have Watties in my brain…
You’ll never know, doc.
You’ll never know.
Politically Gelded
Healthy Democracy where light is shone on ShonKey dealings is far better than any other system.
Ie Dunnys pathetic sythetic cannibis corruption his son taking taxpayer funds to make a career out of destroying young ones lives!
Simon Buckingham over at TDB has an interesting addition to the Nit-bashing stunt by Paula Bennett shown on TV last night.
Apparently a disabled toilet was removed and a hairdressers sink plumbed in so that the PR event could take place. (Of course, it can be justified that the sink is now available for nit-removal of students – but one sink is scarcely going to deliver for hundreds of students. And it is the continual combing rather than the washing that is effective)
Cynic in me saw this as unspoken “poor bashing” again.
Implication: They need the unspent $1 million (WTF?) from the Food for Schools programme because they are unwilling or unable to effectively address nits in their children. Our local decile 10 school has regular outbreaks – all those parents who spend hundreds on products at the local chemist may be easily aggrieved that “no-one” is helping them out. (And adding in that reference to the Food for Schools programme (unnecessarily) just reinforces that reminder that they can’t even feed their own children.)
I always think of the phrase with malice aforethought when I see pictures of Paula Bennett and read accompanying articles.
National: when in trouble Distract’, the deeper the hole around Collins/Williamson is dug the more outlandish the ”announcements” from Paula Benefit have become,
Last week it was ”crumbs off the table” in the form of added spending on budget advice for beneficiaries, along with ”a plan” to involve the BNZ in the provision of no interest loans to beneficiaries,
This week its kutu treatment in one of the poorest schools in the country, Paula has taken ”on-board” the criticism that She has been wheeled out continually every time National are in trouble with yet another piece of ”Bash a Bene” knee-jerking and has changed tack in an attempt to portray the face of National as ”Pash a Bene”,
The underlying message probably missed by most is that Benefit rates are so low that even the basic health issues of kids reliant upon benefits cannot be met…
Pretty sure she said that the million dollars to be used was “LEFT OVER” from Food for Schools! Leftovers? Have the children all stopped eating?
Yeah, ffloyd and Molly. I was also rather frowny brow when TV3 mentioned the nit programme was being funded via the unspent one mil left over from the food in schools programme. Um, pretty sure we still have lots of very hungry kids whose circumstances haven’t changed.
So hungry that now days we need sponsors for children in our own “first world” country:
http://www.kidscan.org.nz/how-to-help/support-a-new-zealand-child
Shameful.
Always inwardly cringe when I see KidsCan involved with something.
I remember looking them up on the Charities register when they first started to see how the money was spent. A lot of the charity spending seemed to be on a private KidsCan Promotional company, which took away transparency, and seemed to deliver very little considering the income. But I must admit, I haven’t checked back since.
I’m also a bit wary of charities that decide a specific “fix” for all to solve endemic problems. Raincoats and shoes. Don’t know if it is a generational thing, but most students seem to get wet rather than use raincoats nowadays – be they decile one or ten. But what if you already have a raincoat and shoes – do you get another and then have an embarassment of riches – or do you not qualify as worth assistance?
Was watching the Rusty Radiator awards yesterday, and this musing about external agencies finding a simple fix reminds me of one of their links Blending Out Poverty
(Also, worthwhile to have a look at the Golden Radiator award winners too)
Missed that angle :/
And yeah, a single sink isn’t going to do squat, dealing with nits requires a lot of stuff at home as well, better off having schools provide a nit kit for families with top ups on nit cream when it’s needed. But why go with a solution that actually works when you can go with a half-arsed PR friendly one?
At our local decile 9 school the mothers of some charming 8year old girls complained bitterly about their little dears getting re-infected with nits. They went to the paper. Caused a storm when they blamed the Maori kids in the school. The answer on careful investigation? All the little girls in question went to the same ballet class at which their lessons required them getting close and personal. They were reinfecting each other. Hard luck Mums.
I do hope the outcome was discussed with said Mums and a recommendation they apologise for blaming “the Maori kids” was forthcoming. I boil up with anger every time I hear of this type of behaviour from racist pakeha parents.
Anne. Really. Your assumption that it was pakeha reflects a similar attitude to the one you boil to anger over.
The wording of ianmac’s comment makes it a fair bet they were pakeha vto. You’re being a nit-picker.
Perhaps. But knee-jerk reactionaries mouthing at certain other ethnicities, genders and ages similarly get my blood to boil point.
Yes, because gods forbid anyone point out power imbalances and how some of the least powerful groups are systematically stigmatised and marginalised, while others benefit from resulting privilege.
Which was the disadvantaged group in this case, and how was the disadvantaged group stigmatised and marginalised by the system? Because officials clearly ignored the prejudiced noise from some pakeha parents and went on to track down the real source of cross-infection (the ballet class).
The system in this case was the wider social system – the discourse by and for the better off that stigmastise (low income, or assumed low income) Maori. The legal system is a more discrete system that connects with the wider social discourse. In this case, following the rule of law, contradicted the cultural assumptions of the ballet club parents.
Point out cultural problems in the discourse of wider society by all means, but IMO the only way to effect change in a lasting and meaningful way is through the goal of economic liberation of the oppressed classes.
And to me it seems like the part of the system related to officialdom performed perfectly equitably in this case.
I’m all for that as it will destroy capitalism.
Of course its also impossible to do because we need community to live and prosper.
karol “Yes, because gods forbid anyone point out power imbalances and how some of the least powerful groups are systematically stigmatised and marginalised, while others benefit from resulting privilege.”
Is that what Anne was doing in said assumption ?
Prior to ianmac kindly providing further details below (together with attendant blondphobia, which I personally resent), there was no way of knowing whether the ballet classes included her assumptees, or possibly other balleters such as these people …. http://www.stuff.co.nz/world/asia/10026723/North-Korea-sinks-to-a-new-low
What was Anne doing and on what basis Karol?
Oh dear…
I was just gently being a bit of a tease with my nit-picker comment vto. Nothing more. Should’ve added a 🙂 or 😛 face?
I understand your particular point there Anne, but it is beside the point is it not..
I would be interested in a genuine answer given the genuine point made re pakeha.
The mothers were very pakeha with very blond daughters from well off homes.
sheesh, blond bigotry as well.
the way it goes
the way it goes
vto, you know perfectly well there is a section of out society – mainly pakeha – who are deeply prejudiced against Maori. That’s all ianmac and I were pointing out with our comments.
I don’t like it and nor do a very large section of NZ society.
Anne, do you know that there are pakeha who are not blond?
What does blond have to do with it?
Anne, just a bit further if you don’t mind. This mini-thread may be a very picky-nits point but it actually highlights human’s actions and reactions in this area. People do not like being pigeon-holed due to their physical make-up such as race, gender, hair colour or car they drive (I like red fords). It goes to simple bigotry. This is what has happened here though isn’t it? Haven’t you jumped the gun and exposed the very human condition that most all of us exhibit form time to time?
I don’t think she did. The original post only made sense if the parents were pakeha. I’m not sure what you’re exhibiting, vto.
Bill Jeffries, despite being convicted by 3 Courts?, will not apologize to investors who got taken for 100’s of millions of dollars ”because He doesn’t believe He did anything wrong”,
Source: RadioNZ National News,
These people are the exemplar of what is wrong with our society, the ”thieving rich” get the kid glove treatment form the Courts while the ”unwashed poor” occupy the jail cells for crimes 1% of the monetary value of the privileged,
Mandatory minimum jail time needs be the sentence option for financial criminals of Jeffries stature…
Bill Jeffries and his ilk would be probably speaking the truth when they say “I didn’t do anything wrong” either because they don’t know the difference between right and wrong, or they are constitutionally incapable of seeing anything clearly in reality and not with some self-advantaging gloss on it. Or they were incompetent and truly didn’t know, or they were lazy and thought it was a sweet deal using their names and faces to give the finance firm some gravitas and took the money but not the time to check if everything was right, because that would have shown lack of belief in their compatriots in the business, or because none of the other directors did and they didn’t want to be party poppers.
A good number of reasons to look at the bloodlines of directors, check their teeth and their fetlocks, their trainers and their connections before betting on them.
Happy to take the fee for being a director, but not sure what the job entailed and not willing to take responsibility for the part they played in ruining a person’s investment.
Jeffries raised there being a risk with finance companies, a good directror would have managed the company to minimise the risk and have acted when the company was in financial trouble.
Proof perfect that money buys justice.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/crime/10025785/Mums-credit-card-rescues-cannabis-grower
If this man could not access money then he would have received a harsher sentence, jail. Poor people get treated differently than rich people. Disgusting.
Money buys justice in NZ
Money buys justice in NZ
Money buys justice in NZ
Money buys justice in NZ
Money buys justice in NZ
Money buys justice in NZ
” Macdonald admitted his cannabis growing had been “rather successful”. “
You would think that success would have enabled him to avoid needing his Mum to bail him out to pay the $5,000 fine.
Almost as though the crown had seized his assets and frozen his bank account or something. At least he has a job.
Yeah, because cannabis growers use EFTPOS for payment and have a regular habit of stashing their earnings in traceable, IRD visible bank accounts instead of multiple hidden cash stashes. Pfffft.
I stand corrected 😳
Most successful drug dealers would use a legitimate business to wash some of their money. Police estimate that Macdonald made $98,000 from the operation, but they’re notorious at overestimating to justify their funding. With electricity of approximately $629 per cycle, Macdonald was a pretty small time grower.
In my experience from the distance past, police figures would be anything from 3 to 10 times the real ones. They love to take the retail price for a gram of something and multiply it by 1000 to get the wholesale price per kilo. I remember several cases where lawyers advised against disputing the amount at sentencing, on the basis that “You don’t want to make it look like you’re heavily involved in the business”.
VTO, lets correct that slightly
Money buys a legal result.
You are not dealing with a Justice system. You are dealing with the Law system.
Justice is an absent concept.
just ice
Will this privatisation of public space never end? And by selling prime Auckland land to Rinehart or an Aussie Rinehart wannabe?
Yeah it’s bizarre that they are even considering it.
I guess the council are pretty cool about private security guards making the call on who to kick out of the private – oops- public space.
Where do I get to tell the council not to sell our land?
I’m not sure whether anyone else reads the once-august political newsletter “transtasman”. I seem to remember it being quite good around 2002, but it appears to have descended to base partisanship (and beyond).
They’ve outdone themselves today. In an article entitled Tweets, Trolls And Partisanship, they complain that political players have too much of a role in influencing Ministers. I agree in principle, but would have chosen a different target. From the column:
“Voices of unreason are now more prominent in politics. Not for the first or last time, the online world has much to do with this. “Trolls and bottom feeders” is how John Key described Twitter this week, presumably not long before having another chat with Whale Oil blogger Cameron Slater.
Over on the Left, the Standard blog is mostly written – pseudonymously – by Labour and Green Party staffers. This is also one of the blogs Key looks at, he revealed, and it must be a comfort to know the folk who spew out the kind of ignorance and bitter bile found there are advising his political opponents.”
Perhaps the editor should visit Mr Slater’s blog if he/she (I suspect he) is interested in ignorance and bitter bile…
But they aren’t finished there. They also weigh in on Maurice Williamson and Judith Collins, but not in the way you’d expect:
“What has surprised the Govt has been not so much the intensity of the Opposition parties’ attacks but how feral the mainstream media turned in pillorying the errant Ministers.”
I’d agree that the mainstream media has taken umbrage at being attacked and has chosen to retaliate (perhaps with too much glee), but if you’re seeing feral in the actions of the media, but not elsewhere, you might want to check your myopia.
Perhaps I shouldn’t read these things on a Monday morning… if nothing else, it gets the juices flowing.
“Over on the Left, the Standard blog is mostly written – pseudonymously – by Labour and Green Party staffers”
In order for the whole article to be taken seriously, that needs some backing up. Going by the people that have written here lately, there is micky savage (who is up front about his Labour involvement) and karol (who has no party affiliations at all). Lynn is a Labour party member, but as far as I can tell has no current official involvement. Stephanie Rogers likewise appears to have no official involvement with either party. Nor does Bill. Mike Smith’s involvement with Labour is upfront. I don’t know about Bunji or Geoff. Ben Clark is a Labour man, but doesn’t write here enough to be considered “most”.
That leaves the Notices and Features login, which are predominantly reprints of posts from offsite. If there are GP staffers with access to that I’d like to know why more GP focussed posts aren’t being published 😉
So to say that the standard is written mostly “by Labour and Green Party staffers” strikes me as odd. Looks like the person writing that doesn’t actually read here that much. Or is relying on beltway perspectives that don’t match the rest of the world.
Beyond that, I have no idea what ‘transtasman’ is, or who writes it, so am missing the context of your points sorry.
Oh it’s very clear that they aren’t interested in balance, or truth, but perhaps it’s not as influentual as I thought.
http://transtasman.co.nz/home/
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/opinion/news/article.cfm?c_id=466&objectid=11251996
WTF??!!
John Drinnan @NZHerald can’t tell the difference between grossly inappropriate questions to a victim of an orchestrated rape group and a gratuitous TV show ad featuring a paid member of the cast.
Jerry Brownlie is calling for no more about Cabinet Clubs (National Radio) because it is getting out of hand. Really? The whole question of party funding should be in the arena and Cabinet Club should be exposed.
There is a perception that the National CC is a means of buying access and the potential for corruption. Trevor did not accuse Woodhouse of receiving money. He asked if money was paid (to the Nat Party) for the 1 on 1 meeting. Well. Was there?
“Former Building and Construction Minister Maurice Williamson lobbied Immigration Minister Michael Woodhouse about rule changes for wealthy foreign investors sought by businessman and National Party donor Donghua Liu, Mr Woodhouse has confirmed……..
Mr Key has denied offering support for the the new investor category, and, when asked about the letters in March, said: “Interest groups can interpret the Prime Minister’s interest in a conversation as having shown support for an idea, but that is a matter of interpretation.”
And Mr Liu is not in Williamson’s Electorate. Funny that.
No wonder Jerry is calling time out.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/politics/news/article.cfm?c_id=280&objectid=11252031
Only if you want to seem to be giving support while being able to claim the opposite.
Yes DTB. Remember how Mr Key says what his audience want to hear?
Interest groups can interpret the Prime Minister’s interest in a conversation as having shown support for an idea, but that is a matter of interpretation.”
He may have a problem when cosmetic testing on animals come up for discussion. To animal lovers he says only tests on animals can used for people/medical research. Oops. To the women who use makeup he will say…?
Just heard this on Radio Live but I can’t find a link for it anywhere on the net – NZ deficit has risen and the net debt now is $67B – and the tax intake is again lower than expected.
Sheesh, these tax cuts for the rich have really worked, eh?
https://twitter.com/economicsNZ/status/464570684426170368/photo/1
The next Canada? Rich mainland Chinese push New Zealand migration to 11-year high
http://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1495757/next-canada-rich-mainland-chinese-push-new-zealand-migration-11-year-high
Ah, yes, opening up our borders to even more corrupt rich people will do us wonders
/sarc.
On corruption and the National Party NACT….Louisa Wall in support of Penny Bright’s dogged anti- corruption campaign :
“In December last year we rated in the top ten of the least corrupt countries according to Transparency International, in its Global Corruption Barometer. At the time the lead researcher, Finn Heinrich stated “Corruption hurts the poor most”.
What a difference a year makes! During this year the extent of the practices of this Government have come to light in a way that raises serious questions about the level of corruption our Government has reached.”
‘When Does Corruption Start Damaging National?’
http://thedailyblog.co.nz/2014/05/08/when-does-corruption-start-damaging-national/
Hope that doesn’t mean that programs like Morning Report gets shunted into a commercial radio type approach. After all it is Election Year and Mr Thompson was appointed by National man Chairman Richard Griffin.
John Drinnan wrote:
More changes are likely at Radio New Zealand this month, with chief executive Paul Thompson expected to target the news operation……
Thompson’s revamp is expected to include a shake-up of the Auckland newsroom and studios. Staff have been told management wants the news operation to be more proactive and break more stories. It is understood the board of governors blames a tired culture at the broadcaster.”
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/opinion/news/article.cfm?c_id=466&objectid=11251996
Too late, that’s all spin and BS for cleaning out any further obstacles for compliant govt friendly poodles like Gluon and mates.
easy if you move op’s to akl and disestablish the welly roles.
If I see john keys greasy dial drooling all over the TVNZ news tonight I think I will upchuck!
lol…i sympathise
Herald heading spinning as ever for the government.
“Budget surplus on track as tax-take improves”
Hidden details
We are more in debt as a country.
Personal tax is not raising enough because the government reduced tax ion the wealthy.
“Core tax revenue was 1.8 percent below forecast at $44.49 billion,
Personal income tax was 1.8 percent below forecast at $20.93 billion
That led to more net debt than forecast at $61.18 billion, or 27.6 percent of gross domestic product,”
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=11252278
Yep Paul reporting so slanted.
The Granny also has right now as top headline “LVR rules may be scrapped” when in fact they are to be kept in place till later in the year and and economist on RNZ just said “clearly they [Reserve Bank] are happy with how things are going.”
The Radionz news said that the tax take was less than expected by the Gummint. Again.
What’s the Herald like for loo paper for the long drop? Does the ink run so they can’t be held to account for their fabrications. Perhaps they should cut out the middleman and print it directly on to the unbleached stuff and sell it as environmentally sound seeing as none of their news is.
Not one who personally indulges in criminal activity – but it doesn’t take a criminal mind to work out that the Herald publishing this story about the return of $90,000 unclaimed cash to the cleaner that discovered it – has very helpfully provided the full name and photo of said cleaner.
Now if that was “my money” which for some reason (perhaps criminal?) – I did not want to retrieve from the police, – I now know who to go to for a delayed retrieval AND what he looks like. They already know where he works – Channel Nine building in Sydney.
Oh dear. Said cleaner might have to spend the money on changing his identity.
I see there is a plague of nits at the moment in NZ. I saw paula beenit on the teevee last night and I thought it was a plague of nitwits!
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/10025744/Kids-hand-out-playground-punishment-to-Cunliffe
The first beehive crumbled and Cunliffe made a dig about it being a National-led government.
The second beehive was more successful – almost perfect – and Cunliffe said it was a Labour-led government but one 4-year-old quickly crushed that dream, jumping all over it.
Even the kids know Labour in power are a bad idea 🙂
Take it from an ece teacher – kids are only likely to do that to someone they like and trust
I will absolutely take the word of an ece teacher when it comes to spinning something positive for Cunliffe 🙂
Don’t worry I wasn’t seriously suggesting the kids really cared about Cunliffe and what he was saying
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/10025703/Long-time-tenant-fears-a-forced-move
Time to move on so some young family can make similar memories of their own
why doesnt puckish roog speak for himself instead of adding links all the time? It shows a very weak intellect using other peoples words all the time and not being able to frame a cogent comment in person.
I guess because when I read this particular gem:
“I saw paula beenit on the teevee last night and I thought it was a plague of nitwits!”
I realised I’d never be able match the cutting wit and humour so I won’t even bother to try
the fact that you cant even be arsed these days is obvious – whats more disturbing is the fact that you seem to have a bromance going with whale oil
cmon PR – its sad – even pete george manages to say more of substance than you
That’s pretty harsh: you don’t have to wade through acres of bland nothing to find a stunted notion with PR, he wears his Judith fetish with pride.
Its not a fetish, its completely normal
Where does he wear his Judith fetish and what form does that take? The mind boggles. Is it a lock of blonde hair tied ceremoniously with a loveknot? onto a neck collar with golden studs or perhaps on a long choke chain so that it hangs near his heart?
Can’t spend as much time as I’d like on here, you know work and all so I got to post when I can
Muppets
http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA1405/S00162/low-tax-take-high-spending-leaves-books-in-the-red.htm
Are we going to have a Friday slot for the weekend doings? Like Judith Collins I feel the need for some gardening time, a change of scene and subject. (Ooh that change of subject isn’t going well.)
Te Notional Party takes some hits and Petty Georgeous comes over all sanctimonious and pearl clutching about ‘standards’. Like he gives a fuck. Disingenuous prattler !
Public Films will be distributing free money tomorrow in Papakura, right under the nose of Judith Collins, symbol of the corruption of NZ capitalism:
http://readingthemaps.blogspot.co.nz/2014/05/stashing-cash.html
http://readingthemaps.blogspot.co.nz/2014/05/looking-for-targets.html
Things are still quietly moving toward a Mana/Internet Party alliance, with Mana Party Prez, Annette Sykes hosting Kim Dotcom at the Te Arawa Kapa Haka festival on the weekend,
Hone has also given a ‘heads up’ that Annette will be making an announcement of some import on the weekend,
Source: Online Herald,
i am sure both Hone and Dotcom will be well pleased with the results of the last two Roy Morgan polls which have the Mana Party polling 1% and Internet 1.5%, so talk of an alliance between the two seems to have upset a few ‘activists’ while lifting electoral support for both Parties,
Labour and the Green Parties will also be pleased that at the same time as Mana/Internet gained more traction their respective share of the vote also rose in the Roy Morgan,
Internet have also released their initial enviroment policy, the most notable part of this being a 100% renewable’s supply of the countries electricity by 2025,
Up my tree and out on a limb could i see a Mana/Internet alliance pulling 5% of the Party vote off of the fence in September, yep!!!, with the ensuing media speculation and some savvy advertising,(the kapa haka at Rotorua this weekend might give both a great idea in the vein of both leaders appearing through a parting haka to say their piece), i think a Mana/Internet alliance will go really close to crossing 5% which would provide the iwituararo to a left leaning Labour/Green Government…
very interesting bad12….and I hope it happens!
…not by taking votes from committed Greens or Labour or Winnie …but by attracting the non voters and the undecided voters as well as young waivering Nacts
You knows what? Human beings are so incredibly prejudicial. And consistent. Posted some stuff up-thread re that. But today I experienced it again and in a common and strong manner. It goes like this…. I have some height. My height I have used to further various causes from time to time. Today at an important interaction it was used again. People like height in people. They react to it positively. Which is to the detriment to those of lesser height. It is a very solid and dependable factor used in daily business and personal interactions.
People prejudices. What is to be done about it?
Evidence-based policy.
We can’t stop your height/wealth/skin/hair/clothing making an impression on the impressionable, but we can strangle its effect on policy development.
I can follow your dogmatic statements, but also apparent is your inability to listen – hell – even consider what is being said. You seem to have a knee-jerk reaction to any suggestion of privilege.
A few months ago I watched A Class Divided, the documentary from years ago in the US where the 3rd grade teacher divided the class strictly by eye colour. And prejudice – as you say – developed over something intrinsically unimportant.
But it did exist – because of associated privilege. And failure to recognise privilege means that spoken or not, it tends to continue. Follow up reading included Peggy McIntoshes <a href=”http://www.isr.umich.edu/home/diversity/resources/white-privilege.pdf>White Privilege:
Unpacking the Invisible Backpack.
Only five pages and worth a read – particular the checklist.
… White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Backpack …
colour had nothing to do with it, it was all height
Now you’ve completely lost me… I guess, as intended.
I was talking about height prejudice and you assumed white privilege. ? no .?
No. That was the title of the document I linked to. The checklist on privilege from recollection, just refers to it from the perspective of the privileged (in whatever capacity) person.
If you are that pedantic – I was talking about eye colour.
But once again – you are proving impossible to converse with on this matter.
I don’t think so, you just rush to conclusion
Aw c’mon VTO. You know damned fine that ‘height’ isn’t the problem, it’s the fact that ‘height’ becomes the measure of normality to the extent that wee short fuckers then get socially, systemically and personally harangued, stygmatised and discriminated against. And then, sometimes, along comes some blithely and blissfully ignorant person of ‘height’ compounding it by complaining that nasty wee fuckers are biting his ankles and how he’s a victim, yes?
exactly in part
Micky Savage, Sid Holland, “Kiwi Keith”, Lange, “Rob” – all shorter than most of the people around them.
Govt accused of swapping Chch rebuild for surplus
Translation: The government is concerned that the facts will get out and so has ordered a totally biased review of the independent review.
But report not till after the Budget DTB.
it looks like a mana/internet party deal will be announced tomorrow…
I wonder if the Minister for Tourism has any opinion on this:
NZ’s glacier tourism industry potentially under threat
he’s not minister for theenvironment, so it’s not his problem. Glaciers are just muddy ice cubes, anyway… /sarc
“Glaciers are just muddy ice cubes, anyway”
And even if Dr Purdie argued that glaciers were more than muddy ice cubes Key could get a lawyer to argue differently…
it means it will not be as cold when walking to the terminuses
I suppose that you techies out there will be up with the latest moves in the USA on this net neutrality but this woman Vi Hart is passionate about it and explains it well – here’s a choice –
http://vihart.com/net-neutrality-in-the-us-now-what/
http://boingboing.net/2014/05/07/vi-hart-explains-net-neutralit.html
http://www.tubefilter.com/2014/05/07/vi-hart-net-neutrality-video/
I think about whether the Minister for Tourism has any sentiment on this:
NZ’s glacial mass tourism industry possibly under danger
College of Canterbury Geographer Dr Heather Purdie said she has been observing Fox Glacier since 2005 and was progressively worried about the effect that atmosphere driven ice sheet retreat might have on icy mass tourism and districts dependent on ice sheet related items.
…
“The ends of the Fox and Franz Josef Glaciers are attracting progressively near their past least which, coupled with diminishing, demonstrates that withdraw will proceed for the not so distant future
Assessing the systemic destruction of our environment in terms of detriment to the profitability of capitalist industries is a sad and narrow way of looking at things.
Great news! Whale oil wins best blog at Canon media awards. Well deserved.
Farce upon farce