I’d suggest to the Greens (and others) that they’ll get more support if, rather than playing rich against poor,, they argued on the merits of a Capital Gains Tax rationally rather than pandering to envy emotion.
SS, go chomp on some nuts. Your moaning is no more effectual than a spoilt child who knew only of Automatic Dishwashers being told they must now use soap and water in the kitchen sink.
Languaging in Right Wing terms of envy and greed now?
Maybe you don’t think that the massive wealth and income inequity this country suffers from should be a factor in the discussions around a CGT but you would be wrong.
Why ? If you take the article at face value it suggests he votes for policies not because he belongs to a tribe who votes for the same team regardless of how crap they are.
Well, friends of mine reckoned that the moment they realised the 4th labour government was irretrievably sold to the dark side was when the ODT started editorialising in favour of it…
I am sure Collins and Bennett will love reading this,
” It’s a handy way of reaching out to women who would be otherwise put off by the bolshier characters in the party such as Judith Collins and Paula Bennett.”
Does Andrea Vance know that the Pm’s wife is not actually a Member of Parliament? On that note,
is Bronagh actually a member of the Party at all?
The article in Woman’s Day was sickly sweet – the Bronagh (rhymes with Mona in case you didn’t know – are Woman’s Day readers that tick?) and John show had nearly as many pictures of the smiling assasin, cooking, ironing and being a new age man – as if!
Seriously, the charm offensive needs nailing, we cannot have another three years of this won by virtue of Woman’s Day et. al.
Ratigan, a finance talking head, Eliot Spitzer the former Wall street sheriff who like Dominic Strauss Kahn was caught with his pants down and thrown out of his job just before he planned to march down Wall street with his posse to start cleaning the town up and comedian Sherrod Small play a game of credit rating theatre.
This is how John Key made his money.
Watch this little video and spread it around and while your at it here is Max Keiser about the Greek collapse and Professor Michael Hudson tells you why John Key with his huge financial interest in BoA has a vested interest in keeping the corrupt banking system going and that means the looting of every Nation in the world and that includes New Zealand
It’s pretty obvious the US is going to have to default or hyper-inflate their currency to get out of the mess they’re in. The only question is when that’s going to happen.
Such are the screaming headlines from a huge paid advertisement by the ACT Party in the New Zealand Herald today.
Typically such advertisements cost thousands of dollars.
Well well, for a party that claims to have the economic answers for the country, it is very telling that ACT choose to run their electoral campaign on an emotive race issue.
The real message of this advertising campaign is that we at ACT have no answers but we will give you a scape goat instead.
We cynically hope to divert all your disillusionment with the economy onto Maori, while the banksters and financiers who wrecked the economy and who gave us the money for this sick racist electoral campaign, are left alone, to continue quietly plundering the economy and the country.
Both Goff and Key fronted up to a question session with Family First. According to the Herald in “Goff, Key reveal core beliefs” on the moral issues that concerned Mr McCoskrie, they were “surprisingly akin”.
On euthanasia Mr Key said:
… he voted for the first reading of a private member’s bill to legalise it in 2003 and would vote for a bill to go to a select committee if it came up again.
Mr Goff said:
that when his mother was terminally ill three years ago, stopped eating and wanted to die, the family refused to let her.
“She lived for three months, but those three months were entirely without quality and all of us now wonder whether we did the right thing,” he said.
“It’s a hard question. I think we should keep discussing it. I would want to have the choice.”
Being closely involved with an extended death can be harrowing for the person who dies and their family. There has to be a better way, in limited situations, where comfort and dignity are given much more priority than archaic law.
I particularly liked the comments, especially No 3, but the info in No 2 disappointed me for two reasons;
One – if the Chinese agreement includes them being treated to ‘national’ equality are all profits kept in New Zealand and used in New Zealand for New Zealanders? Is the money being spent on rail coaches (being built in China, at the expense of our economy and our workers’ employment) staying in New Zealand and the Chinese spending that money in New Zealand for New Zealanders? Obviously not, but that is what ‘national equality’ should be about.
Surely when a country’s workers are unemployed that must take precedence over impersonal and greedy business transactions. The Dunedin debacle where workers lost their jobs and this New Zealand government led by America’s men Key and his PR man Joyce rejected its own people’s welfare was a reprehensible decision made purely for profit over people.
Tenders never have to be about the cheapest price, so Key/Joyce had an opt out choice.
Two – If the Chinese do not allow ownership in their land/assets then that is not ‘national’ equality of treatment if we are selling ours to them and this government, via Bill -in denial- English’s visit to China with the knowledge that the Chinese government have $6 billion put aside to buy our assets, is preparing to sell us off. They’ve already spent over $6 million on preparation work for something there is no mandate for, not to mention cooking their budget books with the $6 billion from asset sales. Key’s behaviour in signing off on English’s un-mandated budget is outrageous.
This NActMU government is allowing China to take us over; they have the money, we will have less because we will have less dividends coming in because they will soon own all our productive assets if NActMU gets in on 26 November. There is no way we can compete with global low wages, and nor should we; hopefully we have more respect for our workers.
So with low wages which would rightfully never be lower than China’s, no productive assets, no dividends, a widening gulf between rich and poor for income and health (both emotional and physical) New Zealand will become the fifth rate country this fifth rate government wants it to be, ripe for takeover and plundering by the American-driven Trans Pacific Partnership Agreement and any New Zealander who thinks that is a good result is scum.
In the 2008 election the scum content of New Zealand was higher than the egalitarian reasoning of the thinking Kiwi. Pre-election 2008 there was more than enough evidence that National was lying in its intentions; dead fish – swallow… I do hope that situation reverses on 26 November and I can be a proud New Zealander once again.
Scum = greedy and selfish aggrandisement at the expense of all our children’s futures, for the benefit of the few. Not to mention stupidity in the majority of these NActMU voters imagining the ‘few’ will invite them in to enjoy the plunder.
Probably a little bit off the point, but there will be a time when the Chinese will put away their chequebooks and use bombs and machine guns instead.
The NACToids and their pro-Chinese quislings supporters, such as Hooten and Shipley may become part of a Vichy government here, but us plebs wont be so lucky..
Probably a little bit off the point, but there will be a time when the Chinese will put away their chequebooks and use bombs and machine guns instead.
Not quite.
The Chinese don’t like to use bombs and guns directly on a foreign populace. What they sometimes do is install (or help keep in power) a rump government and supply them with the money and weapons needed to tame their own people.
When Eddie of The Standard described the Maori Party leadership as ‘kupapa’, was he insulting Sharples and Turia, or nineteenth century rangatira like Waka Nene? Is it historically appropriate and politically useful to use the word ‘kupapa’ in a derogatory way?
New Zealand war heroes in their 90s ended up paying to attend commemorations in Europe while the taxpayer funded the Defence Minister’s luxury travel, personal assistant and top hotels.
The treatment of the veterans on the 70th anniversary of the Battle of Crete shocked observers, who had expected to see them treated as the centrepiece of the New Zealand contingent.
Defence Minister Wayne Mapp spent more than $26,000 on flights and top hotels for himself and a secretary, in luxurious suites overlooking the Bay of Chania.
But New Zealand’s war heroes were forced to pay out of their own pockets, arrange their own itineraries and stay in modest accommodation, with just $2000 Government support – less than a return airfare.
Australian veterans were flown over by their Government and cared for by provided doctors. They stayed at the same upmarket lodgings as Australia’s defence and government officials.
Crete veteran Malcolm Coughlan said he had travelled on his own savings, and the Government grant only covered about 15 per cent of his expenses.
…
The Australian party had arranged everything for its veterans and their families to attend, and at ceremonies Australian officials stood behind the old troops, he said.
“All the focus was clearly on the veterans. Meanwhile, it seemed like the New Zealand top brass and minister were sitting safely in their seats and the New Zealand veterans had to make do.”
…
He said the attitude of Australian officials towards their veterans was “whatever they want, our pleasure to provide”.
“With New Zealanders there was just no recognition – no deference paid them for what they went through.”
…
Country Calendar tonight, so inspirational – 60yo Maori woman single handedly running a northland farm. Has more understanding of the issues with our agriculturual industry than the entire fed farmers/National govt rolled together..
She just made an interesting comment on modern grasses – it won’t re-seed itself, so if it dies off in a drought you have to sow more seed (ie buy more) or weeds will be all that comes back.
Today, the Act Party ran a racist and divisive advertisement in the New Zealand Herald. The advertisement is headed Fed up with pandering to Maori radicals? Act’s assumptions are completely ludicrous to anybody with half a brain…
Ian we lost you when you held up The Standard as the be ll and end all of sane and rational logic when it comes to running internet commenting policy.
and
When The Standard authors make themselves public will be about the same time that we will. So far there are only two of the prepared to own their hate filled posts under their own names, and those two generally are more mild since they started using their own names.
I didn’t realise I was associating (albeit electronically) with such nasty people!
They are rather lost in the past. In no particular order..
lprent = Lynn Prentice
Mike Smith
Ben Clark
Anthony Robins = r0b
rocky = Rochelle Rees
I guess that they are too stupid to make the jump from a pseudonym to a real name. But personally I couldn’t care less if it is a pseudonym or a real name, and neither does the law. It is really only if you want to pursue extra-legal attacks that it becomes an issue.
I don’t think you can escape the reality that real names have more credibility.
If you post under a real name you remove most speculation about associations and motives. I acknowledge there can be good reasons for using a pseudonym, especially for commenters.
But I think your chances of being taken seriously as a blog poster are enhanced considerably by being open and transparent about your identity. Especially in politics.
You have weird ideas on why people blog. At least you do from the view of someone who has participated in online discussion for most of my life through BBS’es to usenet and now to blogs.
I don’t care one way or the other for other people’s opinion of how I or others write. Most people around blogging are not writing for effect – they are writing to express themselves on topics that they feel are important about why they feel they are important. This can be anything from politics to cars. Readers can take from it what they will and comment on it how they know or feel. The interactions and conflicts of commentary are just fun. But isn’t hard to find blogs with excellent posts and no comments or readers where people are writing for them for the sheer joy of expression.
Sure it has a wider influence, as do the comments. But personalities and knowlege express regardless of if it is on arbitrary label or another. Someone’s name is just an arbitrary label, and has very little to do with who they are.
So as I said, wanting to know who someone is in real life is pretty much a sign of someone who doesn’t understand the world of blogging / usenet / bbs. People who insist on it in my opinion usually have online symptoms of being a bully, or a gossip, or a narcissist.
Of course there is an exception to that generalization. Journalists have this creed of real names – largely as far as I can see for litigation reasons. So people with aspirations towards being a journalist or something similar tend to assume that bloggers should be the same. But that is simply a pile of hogwash.
I think the strengths of journalism and blogging are best combined, it’s become a mega media mix. Both have to keep adapting to a rapidly changing medium.
It’s possible your long history of blogging clouds your view of how the wider world may see it. Most people probably don’t care about identities if they are prattling and entertaining themselves.
But when it comes to politics most people want openness and honesty, things badly and sadly lacking in politics.
Some parties may prefer to keep things undercover, that won’t improve public perceptions of deviousness and deceit.
Well this site isn’t run by a party. Most political parties have problems finding their arse with any hands when it comes to online presences. Quite simply the only reason that kiwiblog and the standard got so dominant in the political debate online is because the parties were so late and incompetent. Frogblog is pretty good, but for a party that is off the mainstream. Red Alert is a bit constrained. The Nats and Act are just pathetic.
That is much the same as internationally.
But I suspect that you simply don’t understand the social dynamics of online. But just look around at what works. The social experiment has been in full swing for decades and what you think theoretically is a lot less interesting than just observing happens in practice.
The journos have their own blogs. Look at something like pundit or the comments off nzherald. They have this one basic trait – they tend towards the boring, and people don’t argue with each other enough to shake anything loose. The social dynamic doesn’t work.
The blogs that have very high participation rates all allow pseudonyms in the comments – which is where most of the writing goes. Some blogs have authors who use pseudonyms, some do not, and some have pseudonyms where the identities are also known. It does not appear to make any difference apart from people like yourself who try to use it as a hammer.
Perhaps you should look at online as is rather than blathering on about how you’d like it to be – ie being a critic. if you want to try something different then just do it and see how well it works – that is the way that the net tests theories.
I’m not disputing the need to allow anonymous posts, that’s essential. I’m talking about the blog posters. What are the three most viewed political blogs? Kiwiblog, The Standard and The Dim-Post?
How many of those operate under the blogger’s name? The “theories” have already been tested.
Each blog can obviously do things however it likes. I only expressed my opinion that I think posts with an identifiable author usually have more credibility. I don’t think that’s blathering on.
Read open parachute listings you are a little short, and you missed public address
But out of the three ones you’ve mentioned. My rough count says… There are four authors using their own names – three of them here. Three using pseudonyms with known names (like myself) attached – two here. Remainder (all here as the other two sites are effectively single person blogs) are pseudonyms only
So what exactly are you waffling about? How you are unobservant?
Quite simply what you are blathering about is simply your opinion. A not very well informed opinion, one that doesn’t have anything to back it up, and one that clearly has never exercised their brain to think about what is going on at a social level.
It is an opinion you’re putting up against that of someone who has been studying and participating in the type of social media we’re discussing for decades, and who is helping to run a successful example.
The tens of thousands of readers and commentators on this site have been voting with their fingers. They’re using what they read and discuss here out in the communities where politics actually happens. The journo’s come here to read and pick up ideas – but they are merely doing their job. The site isn’t run for them, they are just parasitical on it.
The participants, authors, commentators, and readers come here to just have fun playing with ideas and words.
And meanwhile you’re busy touting some theoretical model of how such social media should operate. You’re as pathetic as that polsci lecturer from Canterbury that John Drinnan was quoting. Understanding why people participate in these sites is really the key to them. And the people who participate really don’t give a crap if a author or a commentator is a name or a pseudonym. It is a meaningless distinction if they cannot contribute, and they certainly cannot contribute if they trade on their name because the usual reason to do it is to shut down debate.
Those few who have an anal reaction of the sphincter clenching when they deal with pseudonyms can always find somewhere boring that doesn’t offend them. Basically they are almost by definition too boring to be around people who like to argue because they always want to appeal to some kind of ‘authority’ which really doesn’t exist. If they were any good then they’d just point to supporting material and convince others.
Had to come back to this – got called away. I was insufficiently sarcastic in the first draft.
“But when it comes to politics most people want openness and honesty, things badly and sadly lacking in politics.’
Most people have know idea what they really want SS, they’re just following the crowd and the latest fashions, until we start practicing what we preach, there will be no openness in politics, expecting our poly’s to do what we have no intention of doing ourselves is a bit rich, don’t you think.
The individual generally sees little advantage in openness and honesty, instead we copyright and patent still, until people come to understand, that our poly’s are just a projection of ourselves, following the crowd, while doing whatever is popular (fashion) to stay in power. Little will change until it is forced upon us.
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 ...
Rob MacCullough writes – Pundits from the left and the right are arguing that National’s Fast Track Bill that is designed to speed up infrastructure decisions could end up becoming mired in a cesspool of corruption. Political commentator ...
Looking at the headlines this morning it’s hard to feel anything other than pessimistic about the future of humanity.Note that I’m not speaking about the future of mankind, but the survival of our humanity. The values that we believe in seem to be ebbing away, by the day.Perhaps every generation ...
Swabbing mixed breed baby chicks to test for avian influenzaUh oh. Bird flu – often deadly to humans – is not only being transmitted from infected birds to dairy cows, but is now travelling between dairy cows. As of last Friday, Bloomberg News reports, there were 32 American dairy herds ...
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 ...
What is it with the mining industry? Its not enough for them to pillage the earth - they apparently can't even be bothered getting resource consent to do so: The proponent behind a major mine near the Clutha River had already been undertaking activity in the area without a ...
Photo # 1 I am a huge fan of Singapore’s approach to housing, as described here two years ago by copying and pasting from The ConversationWhat Singapore has that Australia does not is a public housing developer, the Housing Development Board, which puts new dwellings on public and reclaimed land, ...
Buzz from the Beehive Reactions to news of the government’s readiness to make urgent changes to “the resource management system” through a Bill to amend the Resource Management Act (RMA) suggest a balanced approach is being taken. The Taxpayers’ Union says the proposed changes don’t go far enough. Greenpeace says ...
I’m starting to wonder if Anna Burns-Francis might be the best political interviewer we’ve got. That might sound unlikely to you, it came as a bit of a surprise to me.Jack Tame can be excellent, but has some pretty average days. I like Rebecca Wright on Newshub, she asks good ...
Chris Trotter writes – Willie Jackson is said to be planning a “media summit” to discuss “the state of the media and how to protect Fourth Estate Journalism”. Not only does the Editor of The Daily Blog, Martyn Bradbury, think this is a good idea, but he has also ...
Graeme Edgeler writes – This morning [April 21], the Wellington High Court is hearing a judicial review brought by Hon. Karen Chhour, the Minister for Children, against a decision of the Waitangi Tribunal. This is unusual, judicial reviews are much more likely to brought against ministers, rather than ...
Both of Parliament’s watchdogs have now ripped into the Government’s Fast-track Approvals Bill. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāMy pick of the six newsey things to know from Aotearoa’s political economy and beyond on the morning of Tuesday, April 23 are:The Lead: The Auditor General,John Ryan, has joined the ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Sarah SpengemanPeople wait to board an electric bus in Pune, India. (Image credit: courtesy of ITDP) Public transportation riders in Pune, India, love the city’s new electric buses so much they will actually skip an older diesel bus that ...
The infrastructure industry yesterday issued a “hurry up” message to the Government, telling it to get cracking on developing a pipeline of infrastructure projects.The hiatus around the change of Government has seen some major projects cancelled and others delayed, and there is uncertainty about what will happen with the new ...
Hi,Over the weekend I revisited a podcast I really adore, Dead Eyes. It’s about a guy who got fired from Band of Brothers over two decades ago because Tom Hanks said he had “dead eyes”.If you don’t recall — 2001’s Band of Brothers was part of the emerging trend of ...
Buzz from the Beehive The 180 or so recipients of letters from the Government telling them how to submit infrastructure projects for “fast track” consideration includes some whose project applications previously have been rejected by the courts. News media were quick to feature these in their reports after RMA Reform Minister Chris ...
It would not be a desirable way to start your holiday by breaking your back, your head, or your wrist, but on our first hour in Singapore I gave it a try.We were chatting, last week, before we started a meeting of Hazel’s Enviro Trust, about the things that can ...
Calling all journalists, academics, planners, lawyers, political activists, environmentalists, and other members of the public who believe that the relationships between vested interests and politicians need to be scrutinised. We need to work together to make sure that the new Fast-Track Approvals Bill – currently being pushed through by the ...
Feel worried. Shane Jones and a couple of his Cabinet colleagues are about to be granted the power to override any and all objections to projects like dams, mines, roads etc even if: said projects will harm biodiversity, increase global warming and cause other environmental harms, and even if ...
Bryce Edwards writes- The ability of the private sector to quickly establish major new projects making use of the urban and natural environment is to be supercharged by the new National-led Government. Yesterday it introduced to Parliament one of its most significant reforms, the Fast Track Approvals Bill. ...
Michael Bassett writes – If you think there is a move afoot by the radical Maori fringe of New Zealand society to create a parallel system of government to the one that we elect at our triennial elections, you aren’t wrong. Over the last few days we have ...
Without a corresponding drop in interest rates, it’s doubtful any changes to the CCCFA will unleash a massive rush of home buyers. Photo: Lynn GrievesonTL;DR: The six things that stood out to me in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, poverty and climate on Monday, April 22 included:The Government making a ...
Sunday was a lazy day. I started watching Jack Tame on Q&A, the interviews are usually good for something to write about. Saying the things that the politicians won’t, but are quite possibly thinking. Things that are true and need to be extracted from between the lines.As you might know ...
In our Weekly Roundup last week we covered news from Auckland Transport that the WX1 Western Express is going to get an upgrade next year with double decker electric buses. As part of the announcement, AT also said “Since we introduced the WX1 Western Express last November we have seen ...
TL;DR: The six key events to watch in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy in the week to April 29 include:PM Christopher Luxon is scheduled to hold a post-Cabinet news conference at 4 pm today. Stats NZ releases its statutory report on Census 2023 tomorrow.Finance Minister Nicola Willis delivers a pre-Budget speech at ...
A listing of 29 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, April 14, 2024 thru Sat, April 20, 2024. Story of the week Our story of the week hinges on these words from the abstract of a fresh academic ...
The ability of the private sector to quickly establish major new projects making use of the urban and natural environment is to be supercharged by the new National-led Government. Yesterday it introduced to Parliament one of its most significant reforms, the Fast Track Approvals Bill. The Government says this will ...
This is a column to say thank you. So many of have been in touch since Mum died to say so many kind and thoughtful things. You’re wonderful, all of you. You’ve asked how we’re doing, how Dad’s doing. A little more realisation each day, of the irretrievable finality of ...
Identifying the engine type in your car is crucial for various reasons, including maintenance, repairs, and performance upgrades. Knowing the specific engine model allows you to access detailed technical information, locate compatible parts, and make informed decisions about modifications. This comprehensive guide will provide you with a step-by-step approach to ...
Introduction: The allure of racing is undeniable. The thrill of speed, the roar of engines, and the exhilaration of competition all contribute to the allure of this adrenaline-driven sport. For those who yearn to experience the pinnacle of racing, becoming a race car driver is the ultimate dream. However, the ...
Introduction Automobiles have become ubiquitous in modern society, serving as a primary mode of transportation and a symbol of economic growth and personal mobility. With countless vehicles traversing roads and highways worldwide, it begs the question: how many cars are there in the world? Determining the precise number is a ...
Maintaining a safe and reliable vehicle requires regular inspections. Whether it’s a routine maintenance checkup or a safety inspection, knowing how long the process will take can help you plan your day accordingly. This article delves into the factors that influence the duration of a car inspection and provides an ...
Mazda Motor Corporation, commonly known as Mazda, is a Japanese multinational automaker headquartered in Fuchu, Aki District, Hiroshima Prefecture, Japan. The company was founded in 1920 as the Toyo Cork Kogyo Co., Ltd., and began producing vehicles in 1931. Mazda is primarily known for its production of passenger cars, but ...
Your car battery is an essential component that provides power to start your engine, operate your electrical systems, and store energy. Over time, batteries can weaken and lose their ability to hold a charge, which can lead to starting problems, power failures, and other issues. Replacing your battery before it ...
In most states, you cannot register a car without a valid driver’s license. However, there are a few exceptions to this rule. Exceptions to the RuleIf you are under 18 years old: In some states, you can register a car in your name even if you do not ...
Mazda, a Japanese automotive manufacturer with a rich history of innovation and engineering excellence, has emerged as a formidable player in the global car market. Known for its reputation of producing high-quality, fuel-efficient, and driver-oriented vehicles, Mazda has consistently garnered praise from industry experts and consumers alike. In this article, ...
Struts are an essential part of a car’s suspension system. They are responsible for supporting the weight of the car and damping the oscillations of the springs. Struts are typically made of steel or aluminum and are filled with hydraulic fluid. How Do Struts Work? Struts work by transferring the ...
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. ...
A significant milestone has been reached in the fight to strike an anti-Pasifika and unfair law from the country’s books after Teanau Tuiono’s members’ bill passed its first reading. ...
New Zealand has today missed the opportunity to uphold the right to a clean, healthy, and sustainable environment, says James Shaw after his member’s bill was voted down in its first reading. ...
Today’s advice from the Climate Change Commission paints a sobering reality of the challenge we face in combating climate change, especially in light of recent Government policy announcements. ...
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 ...
The Government is today releasing a list of organisations who received letters about the Fast-track applications process, says RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop. “Recently Ministers and agencies have received a series of OIA requests for a list of organisations to whom I wrote with information on applying to have a ...
Attorney-General Judith Collins today announced the appointment of Wellington Barrister David Jonathan Boldt as a Judge of the High Court, and the Honourable Justice Matthew Palmer as a Judge of the Court of Appeal. Justice Boldt graduated with an LLB from Victoria University of Wellington in 1990, and also holds ...
Education Minister Erica Stanford will lead the New Zealand delegation at the 2024 International Summit on the Teaching Profession (ISTP) held in Singapore. The delegation includes representatives from the Post Primary Teachers’ Association (PPTA) Te Wehengarua and the New Zealand Educational Institute (NZEI) Te Riu Roa. The summit is co-hosted ...
A stopbank upgrade project in Tairawhiti partly funded by the Government has increased flood resilience for around 7000ha of residential and horticultural land so far, Regional Development Minister Shane Jones says. Mr Jones today attended a dawn service in Gisborne to mark the end of the first stage of the ...
Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters will represent the Government at Anzac Day commemorations on the Gallipoli Peninsula next week and engage with senior representatives of the Turkish government in Istanbul. “The Gallipoli campaign is a defining event in our history. It will be a privilege to share the occasion ...
Science, Innovation and Technology and Defence Minister Judith Collins will next week attend the OECD Science and Technology Ministerial conference in Paris and Anzac Day commemorations in Belgium. “Science, innovation and technology have a major role to play in rebuilding our economy and achieving better health, environmental and social outcomes ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon held a bilateral meeting today with the President of the Philippines, Ferdinand Marcos Jr. The Prime Minister was accompanied by MP Paulo Garcia, the first Filipino to be elected to a legislature outside the Philippines. During today’s meeting, Prime Minister Luxon and President Marcos Jr discussed opportunities to ...
The Government has announced that $20 million in funding will be made available to Westport to fund much needed flood protection around the town. This measure will significantly improve the resilience of the community, says Local Government Minister Simeon Brown. “The Westport community has already been allocated almost $3 million ...
The Government is proud to support the first ever Repco Supercars Championship event in Taupō as up to 70,000 motorsport fans attend the Taupō International Motorsport Park this weekend, says Economic Development Minister Melissa Lee. “Anticipation for the ITM Taupō Super400 is huge, with tickets and accommodation selling out weeks ...
Local Government Minister Simeon Brown has announced an increase to the Rates Rebate Scheme, putting money back into the pockets of low-income homeowners. “The coalition Government is committed to bringing down the cost of living for New Zealanders. That includes targeted support for those Kiwis who are doing things tough, such ...
The Coalition Government is investing in a project to boost survival rates of New Zealand mussels and grow the industry, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones has announced. “This project seeks to increase the resilience of our mussels and significantly boost the sector’s productivity,” Mr Jones says. “The project - ...
Benefit figures released today underscore the importance of the Government’s plan to rebuild the economy and have 50,000 fewer people on Jobseeker Support, Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston says. “Benefit numbers are still significantly higher than when National was last in government, when there was about 70,000 fewer ...
The Government’s commitment to doubling New Zealand’s renewable energy capacity is backed by new data showing that clean energy has helped the country reach its lowest annual gross emissions since 1999, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. New Zealand’s latest Greenhouse Gas Inventory (1990-2022) published today, shows gross emissions fell ...
The Government is bringing the earthquake-prone building review forward, with work to start immediately, and extending the deadline for remediations by four years, Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk says. “Our Government is focused on rebuilding the economy. A key part of our plan is to cut red tape that ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and his Thai counterpart, Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin, have today agreed that New Zealand and the Kingdom of Thailand will upgrade the bilateral relationship to a Strategic Partnership by 2026. “New Zealand and Thailand have a lot to offer each other. We have a strong mutual desire to build ...
RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop and Transport Minister Simeon Brown have today announced the Coalition Government’s intention to extend port coastal permits for a further 20 years, providing port operators with certainty to continue their operations. “The introduction of the Resource Management Act in 1991 required ports to obtain coastal ...
NZCTU President Richard Wagstaff is calling on all political parties to support the new Member’s Bill from Labour’s workplace relations and safety spokesperson Camilla Belich MP that would ensure negligent companies are held accountable when their employees ...
A historian with an uncanny track record of predicting US election winners tells RNZ's Sunday Morning that President Biden looks to be on track for another term, but things could still go very wrong for him. ...
Ngaio Marsh House is one of Christchurch’s best kept secrets – and contains more than a few mysteries of its own.Trust Ngaio Marsh to leave more than a few mysteries scattered through her house long after her departure. For a start, there’s the curious concrete portal in the garden, ...
Appointment viewing has been lost to the mists of time, but memories of Montana Sunday Theatre can still be conjured by hitting play on a particular piece of classical music. “You’re not going to be able to sell it.” Over 30 years on, Karen Bieleski still recalls how the task ...
Performance Review King Luxon sat behind His massive polished oak desk. It is Performance Review time. There is a knock on the door. “Enter!” says the King. In steps Minister of Disabilities and Carer Pedicures, Penny Simmonds. “I can explain everything …” she begins. “Fine,” says King Luxon, pressing the ...
The pair opened their first fully collaborative exhibition, Nina for Flowers, last Saturday. Gabi Lardies visited their studio to find out who Nina is and what working together was like.‘It didn’t start out like, ‘This is a show about Nina,’” says Josephine Jelicich, gripping a thermos of peppermint tea. ...
Thank you, Dr Maximilian Oskar Bircher-Benner, for your brilliant invention. I’m another mid-20s Kiwi who had an OE last year. I hopped on my bicycle where France meets the Atlantic and cycled east. I pedalled through the Loire Valley, down rivers lined with willows and ancient wisteria-draped chateaus. I relished ...
Asia Pacific Report From France to Australia, university pro-Palestine protests in the United States have now spread to several countries with students pitching on-campus camps. And students at Columbia and other US universities remain defiant as campuses have witnessed the biggest protests since the anti-Vietnam war and anti-apartheid eras in ...
Analysis by Dr Bryce Edwards, Democracy Project (https://democracyproject.nz)New Zealand Government’s Fast Track legislation. 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 ...
Tara Ward talks to presenter Naomi Toilalo about the new TV show that turns food waste into a three course feast. Naomi Toilalo is standing in the warehouse at Good Neighbour Tauranga, helping unpack the two-and-a-half tonnes of rejected food that will arrive at the community support hub that day. ...
Scout is our latest Dog of the Month. This feature was offered as a reward during our What’s Eating Aotearoa PledgeMe campaign. Thank you to Scout’s human, Avril, for her support. Dog name: Scout (named after the little girl in To Kill a Mockingbird – she inherited the independent spirit ...
Megan Alatini takes us through her life in TV, including ‘terrible’ daytime TV, the class of Carol Hirschfeld and her most embarrassing TrueBliss moment. When she responded to a vague newspaper ad asking “do you have what it takes to be a popstar?” 25 years ago, Megan Alatini never guessed ...
A new exhibition in Wellington showcases the faces behind your local goods and services. Back in 1977, when I was a fine arts student at the University of Canterbury, I took a series of photographs of Christchurch shopkeepers. The photos were for a calendar – a project for my end ...
Toomaj and his resistance to tyranny through his songs have become an icon for the youth of Iran, so his sentence has hit the nation hard. Toomaj Salehi is not the first artist to pay the price for standing with the people. ...
My cousin Dylan and I spotted these big eels under the bridge that summer. We watched them lounging under the dark weed, facing into the flow of water, their mouths frozen open. Dylan and I couldn’t stop thinking about those eels. The night we went down to the creek, we ...
Newsroom, home of satire. My long-running weekly satirical series The Secret Diary has moved to Newsroom and will appear every Saturday, with Victor Billot’s wildly popular satirical Odes continuing to appear every Sunday. Diaries, Odes – while serious political columnists toil at meaningful opinions and stroke their chins to an ...
Tara Ward unravels the many nuanced layers of a cartoon about talking dogs.This is an excerpt from our weekly pop culture newsletter Rec Room. Sign up here. It’s not often an episode of a children’s cartoon has adults sobbing into their sleeves, but that’s exactly what happened this week when ...
Working as a doctor in developing countries to help communities achieve better health outcomes is nothing short of a life goal for Jessica Tater. The University of Otago medical student has her sights firmly set on joining the international humanitarian organisation Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) when she qualifies ...
There’s an island in the far reaches of Auckland’s territory, sitting off the tip of the Coromandel Peninsula, 30 minutes by air from the city or four hours on the slow boat. Aotea Great Barrier is off-grid, it has a population of fewer than a thousand people … and most ...
Asia Pacific Report An Australian author and advocate, Jim Aubrey, today led a national symbolic one minute’s silence to mark the “blood debt” owed to Papuan allies during the Second World War indigenous resistance against the invading Japanese forces. “A promise to most people is a promise,” Aubrey said in ...
Asia Pacific Report The Freedom Flotilla is ready to sail to Gaza, reports Kia Ora Gaza. All the required paperwork has been submitted to the port authority, and the cargo has been loaded and prepared for the humanitarian trip to the besieged enclave. However, organisers received word of an “administrative ...
Pacific Media Watch Palestine solidarity protesters today demonstrated at the Auckland headquarters of Television New Zealand, accusing the country’s major TV network of broadcasting “propaganda” backing Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza. About 50 protesters targeted the main entrance to the TVNZ building near Sky Tower and also picketed a side ...
Opinion by Lynley Hood. Forty years on from my 1985 Fulbright Grant, my disquiet over the war in Gaza evoked some troubling questions. The answer to my first question – What is the primary purpose of the Fulbright Programme? – was on the Fulbright NZ website. It says: US Senator, ...
The ministers responsible for green-lighting major projects need to be open about potential conflicts of interest, says Transparency International. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Anastasia Powell, Professor, Family and Sexual Violence, RMIT University It has been a particularly distressing start to the year. There is little that can ease the current grief of individuals, families and communities who have needlessly lost a loved one to men’s ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Gregory Moore, Senior Research Associate, School of Ecosystem and Forest Sciences, The University of Melbourne Lichen, the first described example of symbiosis.AdeJ Artventure/Shutterstock Once known only to those studying biology, the word symbiosis is now widely used. Symbiosis is the intimate ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kim Hemsley, Head, Childhood Dementia Research Group, Flinders Health and Medical Research Institute, College of Medicine and Public Health, Flinders University Olena Ivanova/Shutterstock “Childhood” and “dementia” are two words we wish we didn’t have to use together. But sadly, around 1,400 ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Peter Whiteford, Professor, Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University The government’s Economic Inclusion Advisory Committee has just published its second report. It was set up by Treasurer Jim Chalmers and Minister for Social Services Amanda Rishworth in 2022 to provide: ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Adrian Beaumont, Election Analyst (Psephologist) at The Conversation; and Honorary Associate, School of Mathematics and Statistics, The University of Melbourne The Queensland state election will be held in October. A YouGov poll for The Courier Mail, conducted April 9–17 from a sample ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Amin Naeni, PhD candidate at Alfred Deakin Institute for Citizenship and Globalisation, Deakin University There’s been much talk in recent months about what a possible second Donald Trump presidency in the United States could mean for Europe, Russia’s war in Ukraine, the ...
A brief round-up of submissions on the controversial proposed law. This is an excerpt from our weekly environmental newsletter Future Proof. Sign up here. Last week, submissions on the controversial Fast-track Approvals Bill closed just hours after the government released a list of stakeholder organisations who were sent letters advising how they could ...
A poem from Robin Peace’s new collection Detritus of Empire: feather / grass / rock. Cereal giving I see a woman’s hands, see her curious hands break a stalk as she walks through the tall prairie, the savannah, the steppe, wherever it was. See her idly bite the grass that ...
The only published and available best-selling indie book chart in New Zealand is the top 10 sales list recorded every week at Unity Books’ stores in High St, Auckland, and Willis St, Wellington.AUCKLAND1 Hemingway’s Goblet by Dermot Ross (Mary Egan Publishing, $38)A handsomely produced (debossed cover, lovely ...
The Commissioner's decision validates the longstanding efforts of the local community and ensures that Awataha Marae will be managed to serve the needs of the local community, particularly for hosting tangihanga. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Tristan Salles, Associate professor, University of Sydney Examples of Australian landscapes.Unsplash Seventy thousand years ago, the sea level was much lower than today. Australia, along with New Guinea and Tasmania, formed a connected landmass known as Sahul. Around this time – ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Felicity Castagna, Lecturer, Creative Writing, Western Sydney University Day Day Market, ParramattaPhoto: Garry Trinh I live on the edge of Parramatta, Australia’s fastest-growing city, on the kind of old-fashioned suburban street that has 1950s fibros constructed in the post-war housing boom, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michael Ryan, Teaching Fellow in Economics, University of Waikato GettyImagesfatido/Getty Images There is an ongoing global debate over whether the high inflation seen in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic can be lowered without a recession. New Zealand is not ...
The ‘Wicked Game’ heartthrob is in his late 60s now. That didn’t stop him putting on a lively, goofy and very sparkly show. Apart from ‘Wicked Game’, which graces a sultry playlist of mine simply called 💋, my last sustained Chris Isaak listening session took place when I was about ...
Analysis - Two ministers were stripped of portfolios in a warning to Cabinet, drama broke out at the Waitangi Tribunal, and the gang patch ban bill ran into opposition. ...
Tara Ward makes an impassioned plea for some vital pop culture merch. In April 1999, I became obsessed with a new reality television show called Popstars. Every Tuesday night, five strangers transformed into music royalty before my very eyes as Joe, Keri, Carly, Erika and Megan were chosen to form ...
PNG Post-Courier In the early hours of ANZAC Day, aerial photographs captured an impressive gathering of Australians and Papua New Guineans at Isurava in the Northern (Oro) Province. The solemn dawn service yesterday was held at a site steeped in history, where some of the fiercest battles of World War ...
The PSA is shocked that Oranga Tamariki has used the cost cutting drive to downgrade its commitment to Te Ao Māori and remove many specialist Māori roles. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ian Kemish, Adjunct Professor, School of Historical and Philosophical Inquiry, The University of Queensland There can be no more powerful symbol of the relationship between Australia and Papua New Guinea than the prime ministers of these neighbouring countries walking together on the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sharon Robinson, Distinguished Professor and Deputy Director of ARC Securing Antarctica’s Environmental Future (SAEF), University of Wollongong, University of Wollongong Andrew Netherwood Over the last 25 years, the ozone hole which forming over Antarctica each spring has started to shrink. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Viktoria Kahui, Senior Lecturer in Environmental Economics, University of Otago Getty Images/Amy Toensing Biodiversity is declining at rates unprecedented in human history. This suggests the ways we currently use to manage our natural environment are failing. One emerging concept focuses on ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Timothy Colin Bednall, Associate Professor in Management, Swinburne University of Technology marvent/Shutterstock Finding the best person to fill a position can be tough, from drafting a job ad to producing a shortlist of top interview candidates. Employers typically consider information from ...
Wondering where to host your next BYO? Whether its a small gathering or a massive party, we’ve got some recommendations. I was first introduced to the concept of BYOs at Dunedin’s India Gardens, a legendary but sadly defunct establishment, which purveyed enormous quantities of mango chicken to Aotearoa’s drunkest future ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Julien Cooper, Honorary Lecturer, Department of History and Archaeology, Macquarie University Julien Cooper The hyper-arid desert of Eastern Sudan, the Atbai Desert, seems like an unlikely place to find evidence of ancient cattle herders. But in this dry environment, my new ...
The sector says it’s hopeful her replacement Paul Goldsmith will be able to throw it a lifeline, after six months with a minister deemed missing in action, writes Catherine McGregor in this excerpt from The Bulletin, The Spinoff’s morning news round-up. To receive The Bulletin in full each weekday, sign ...
The government can't just rely on axing public sector jobs and has to do more to cut spending, says the chief economist at a free market think tank. ...
Rock The Vote NZ, known for its advocacy for minor party unity and its role within the Freedoms NZ Coalition during the 2023 General Election, celebrates this merger as a strategic enhancement of its operational strength and outreach. ...
Nearly everyone has experienced the frustration of something you use breaking and being difficult or expensive to fix. Proposed legislation could change that. It’s been raining on and off all Sunday afternoon but people are lining up outside a building in a corner of Gribblehirst Park in Sandringham, Auckland. In ...
What does a forever relationship look like when you don’t believe in marriage? And how do you celebrate it? This essay is part of our Sunday Essay series, made possible thanks to the support of Creative New Zealand.I’m going to do it, right now. I’m going to say ...
FICTION 1 Take Two by Danielle Hawkins (Allen & Unwin, $36.99) There’s commercial fiction, like this book, and then there’s quality fiction, quality writers, quality literature; the forthcoming Auckland Writers Festival is full of quality, and ReadingRoom has two tickets to give away to the following events: Paul Lynch (Dublin ...
Loading…(function(i,s,o,g,r,a,m){var ql=document.querySelectorAll('A,DIV,A[data-quiz],DIV[data-quiz]'); if(ql){if(ql.length){for(var k=0;k<ql.length;k++){ql[k].id='quiz-embed-'+k;ql[k].href="javascript:var i=document.getElementById('quiz-embed-"+k+"');try{qz.startQuiz(i)}catch(e){i.start=1;i.style.cursor='wait';i.style.opacity='0.5'};void(0);"}}};i['QP']=r;i[r]=i[r]||function(){(i[r].q=i[r].q||[]).push(arguments)},i[r].l=1*new Date();a=s.createElement(o),m=s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];a.async=1;a.src=g;m.parentNode.insertBefore(a,m)})(window,document,'script','https://take.quiz-maker.com/3012/CDN/quiz-embed-v1.js','qp'); Got a good quiz question?Send Newsroom your questions. The post Newsroom daily quiz, Friday 26 April appeared first on Newsroom. ...
I’d suggest to the Greens (and others) that they’ll get more support if, rather than playing rich against poor,, they argued on the merits of a Capital Gains Tax rationally rather than pandering to envy emotion.
SS, go chomp on some nuts. Your moaning is no more effectual than a spoilt child who knew only of Automatic Dishwashers being told they must now use soap and water in the kitchen sink.
This site has been debating the merits of the CGT for the past few days. Didn’t you notice?
LOLZWUT
Languaging in Right Wing terms of envy and greed now?
Maybe you don’t think that the massive wealth and income inequity this country suffers from should be a factor in the discussions around a CGT but you would be wrong.
Wow – John Roughan likes CGT and Labour.. Read and weep Mr Key. This is gettting very interesting
I feel exhilarated but worried that he is thinking of voting Labour …
Why ? If you take the article at face value it suggests he votes for policies not because he belongs to a tribe who votes for the same team regardless of how crap they are.
Well, friends of mine reckoned that the moment they realised the 4th labour government was irretrievably sold to the dark side was when the ODT started editorialising in favour of it…
Roughan’s last three paragraphs are spot on.
I see your John Roughan and raise you a Fran O’Sullivan:
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/politics/news/article.cfm?c_id=280&objectid=10737284
You’re not raising much with Fran O’Sullivan (certainly not standards)
She was ok in her time and has lost her shine and been more of a yesterday’s commentator.
Not bothered to read her pieces these days.
THE TRADER (from Songs Of Expedience)
By William Blank
Trader! Trader! polling bright
In the bullpen of the right,
What opposing gal or guy
Could front thy frank expediency?
In what Hawaiian deeps or skies
Burst the framing of thine lies?
On what cycleway dare he perspire?
Will the left dare face the liar?
And what Textor, & false start
Could twist the media to thy heart?
And will thy Banksy get a seat,
What right hand? are ACT dead meat?
What the capital? tax the gain?
In what furnace was thy train?
What the angle? what fiscal grasp
Dare its policy errors clasp?
When the Maori threw down their spears,
And watered cows replaced the shears,
Did he smile their work to see?
Will he who defended Rog defeat thee?
Trader! Trader! polling bright
In the bullpen of the right,
What opposing gal or guy
Dare front thy frank expediency?
And over at http://www.billenglish.co.nz 61% of nearly 5,700 votes support the CGT. Epic social media fail!
I’d say that was social media win 😀
Kudos to the lefties for (finally) learning from and implementing ideas from the VRWC
Welcome to the dark side
(Seriously Bill what were you thinking putting an internet based poll up on your site…)
On line poll, must be accurate. In light of these results, lets just call the election off and put labour in.
Seems he might have learnt something. The poll currently asks:
“Do you support Govt steps to improve NZ’s infrastructure?”
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/5258992/PMs-wife-the-medias-new-darling
I am sure Collins and Bennett will love reading this,
” It’s a handy way of reaching out to women who would be otherwise put off by the bolshier characters in the party such as Judith Collins and Paula Bennett.”
Does Andrea Vance know that the Pm’s wife is not actually a Member of Parliament? On that note,
is Bronagh actually a member of the Party at all?
The article in Woman’s Day was sickly sweet – the Bronagh (rhymes with Mona in case you didn’t know – are Woman’s Day readers that tick?) and John show had nearly as many pictures of the smiling assasin, cooking, ironing and being a new age man – as if!
Seriously, the charm offensive needs nailing, we cannot have another three years of this won by virtue of Woman’s Day et. al.
Ratigan, a finance talking head, Eliot Spitzer the former Wall street sheriff who like Dominic Strauss Kahn was caught with his pants down and thrown out of his job just before he planned to march down Wall street with his posse to start cleaning the town up and comedian Sherrod Small play a game of credit rating theatre.
This is how John Key made his money.
Watch this little video and spread it around and while your at it here is Max Keiser about the Greek collapse and Professor Michael Hudson tells you why John Key with his huge financial interest in BoA has a vested interest in keeping the corrupt banking system going and that means the looting of every Nation in the world and that includes New Zealand
BMB
The country stands with Dunedin today at 1pm for their Kiwirail rally. Best wishes.
http://www.odt.co.nz/news/dunedin/168440/speakers-ready-support-hillside
Save Hillside jobs:
http://www.odt.co.nz/news/dunedin/168455/hillside-protest-sends-strong-message
Ok this is scary.
Jane Young writing in Pundit
Are the Tea Party deliberately trying to force the US to default so they can get power!!
http://pundit.co.nz/content/americas-ugly-ideological-hostage-takers
It’s pretty obvious the US is going to have to default or hyper-inflate their currency to get out of the mess they’re in. The only question is when that’s going to happen.
Civil war, they could manipulate that in various ways, Mexican immigrants, race riots, etc.
‘
Such are the screaming headlines from a huge paid advertisement by the ACT Party in the New Zealand Herald today.
Typically such advertisements cost thousands of dollars.
Well well, for a party that claims to have the economic answers for the country, it is very telling that ACT choose to run their electoral campaign on an emotive race issue.
The real message of this advertising campaign is that we at ACT have no answers but we will give you a scape goat instead.
We cynically hope to divert all your disillusionment with the economy onto Maori, while the banksters and financiers who wrecked the economy and who gave us the money for this sick racist electoral campaign, are left alone, to continue quietly plundering the economy and the country.
We have to say that ACT wins first prize for playing the politics of envy and hate.
“FED UP WITH PANDERING TO MAORI RADICALS” ?
Nope. Fed up with the pandering to ‘free market’ radicals.
http://www.scribd.com/doc/59632488/MaoriRadicals in case anyone wants to read their drivel
Damn! Should check the Jackals emails a bit more often. BBC asked me to talk on their World have your Say program about the recent dismissal of Alasdair Thompson. They had read the article I wrote about the asshole!
Cool…
Both Goff and Key fronted up to a question session with Family First. According to the Herald in “Goff, Key reveal core beliefs” on the moral issues that concerned Mr McCoskrie, they were “surprisingly akin”.
On euthanasia Mr Key said:
Mr Goff said:
There’s a topic on this on Kiwiblog, and I’ve written on my recent experience in detail.
Being closely involved with an extended death can be harrowing for the person who dies and their family. There has to be a better way, in limited situations, where comfort and dignity are given much more priority than archaic law.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/5090982/Case-weak-for-selling-assets
I particularly liked the comments, especially No 3, but the info in No 2 disappointed me for two reasons;
One – if the Chinese agreement includes them being treated to ‘national’ equality are all profits kept in New Zealand and used in New Zealand for New Zealanders? Is the money being spent on rail coaches (being built in China, at the expense of our economy and our workers’ employment) staying in New Zealand and the Chinese spending that money in New Zealand for New Zealanders? Obviously not, but that is what ‘national equality’ should be about.
Surely when a country’s workers are unemployed that must take precedence over impersonal and greedy business transactions. The Dunedin debacle where workers lost their jobs and this New Zealand government led by America’s men Key and his PR man Joyce rejected its own people’s welfare was a reprehensible decision made purely for profit over people.
Tenders never have to be about the cheapest price, so Key/Joyce had an opt out choice.
Two – If the Chinese do not allow ownership in their land/assets then that is not ‘national’ equality of treatment if we are selling ours to them and this government, via Bill -in denial- English’s visit to China with the knowledge that the Chinese government have $6 billion put aside to buy our assets, is preparing to sell us off. They’ve already spent over $6 million on preparation work for something there is no mandate for, not to mention cooking their budget books with the $6 billion from asset sales. Key’s behaviour in signing off on English’s un-mandated budget is outrageous.
This NActMU government is allowing China to take us over; they have the money, we will have less because we will have less dividends coming in because they will soon own all our productive assets if NActMU gets in on 26 November. There is no way we can compete with global low wages, and nor should we; hopefully we have more respect for our workers.
So with low wages which would rightfully never be lower than China’s, no productive assets, no dividends, a widening gulf between rich and poor for income and health (both emotional and physical) New Zealand will become the fifth rate country this fifth rate government wants it to be, ripe for takeover and plundering by the American-driven Trans Pacific Partnership Agreement and any New Zealander who thinks that is a good result is scum.
In the 2008 election the scum content of New Zealand was higher than the egalitarian reasoning of the thinking Kiwi. Pre-election 2008 there was more than enough evidence that National was lying in its intentions; dead fish – swallow… I do hope that situation reverses on 26 November and I can be a proud New Zealander once again.
Scum = greedy and selfish aggrandisement at the expense of all our children’s futures, for the benefit of the few. Not to mention stupidity in the majority of these NActMU voters imagining the ‘few’ will invite them in to enjoy the plunder.
Jum,
Probably a little bit off the point, but there will be a time when the Chinese will put away their chequebooks and use bombs and machine guns instead.
The NACToids and their pro-Chinese
quislingssupporters, such as Hooten and Shipley may become part of a Vichy government here, but us plebs wont be so lucky..Not quite.
The Chinese don’t like to use bombs and guns directly on a foreign populace. What they sometimes do is install (or help keep in power) a rump government and supply them with the money and weapons needed to tame their own people.
When Eddie of The Standard described the Maori Party leadership as ‘kupapa’, was he insulting Sharples and Turia, or nineteenth century rangatira like Waka Nene? Is it historically appropriate and politically useful to use the word ‘kupapa’ in a derogatory way?
http://readingthemaps.blogspot.com/2011/07/should-kupapa-be-swear-word.html
Veterans made do as minister basked in luxury
New Zealand war heroes in their 90s ended up paying to attend commemorations in Europe while the taxpayer funded the Defence Minister’s luxury travel, personal assistant and top hotels.
The treatment of the veterans on the 70th anniversary of the Battle of Crete shocked observers, who had expected to see them treated as the centrepiece of the New Zealand contingent.
Defence Minister Wayne Mapp spent more than $26,000 on flights and top hotels for himself and a secretary, in luxurious suites overlooking the Bay of Chania.
But New Zealand’s war heroes were forced to pay out of their own pockets, arrange their own itineraries and stay in modest accommodation, with just $2000 Government support – less than a return airfare.
Australian veterans were flown over by their Government and cared for by provided doctors. They stayed at the same upmarket lodgings as Australia’s defence and government officials.
Crete veteran Malcolm Coughlan said he had travelled on his own savings, and the Government grant only covered about 15 per cent of his expenses.
…
The Australian party had arranged everything for its veterans and their families to attend, and at ceremonies Australian officials stood behind the old troops, he said.
“All the focus was clearly on the veterans. Meanwhile, it seemed like the New Zealand top brass and minister were sitting safely in their seats and the New Zealand veterans had to make do.”
…
He said the attitude of Australian officials towards their veterans was “whatever they want, our pleasure to provide”.
“With New Zealanders there was just no recognition – no deference paid them for what they went through.”
…
Source:
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/politics/news/article.cfm?c_id=280&objectid=10737384
(Wow the Hearld does occasionally have good articles!)
Wow. Nothing to moderate for the entire day… No warnings. A few bad tempered comments, but nothing of concern…..
Country Calendar tonight, so inspirational – 60yo Maori woman single handedly running a northland farm. Has more understanding of the issues with our agriculturual industry than the entire fed farmers/National govt rolled together..
She just made an interesting comment on modern grasses – it won’t re-seed itself, so if it dies off in a drought you have to sow more seed (ie buy more) or weeds will be all that comes back.
Older grasses keep producing their own seed.
Gotta love Monsanto
And Agria.
GE grass?
Not so much the GE aspect DtB but the possibility that countries major supplier of grass seed could have China Inc as a controlling share holder.
Some worrying news emerging from Malaysia, a country with which we have a free trade agreement.
http://news.google.co.nz/news?edchanged=1&ned=en_my
What is the NZ Government’s public response to the Malaysia Government?
“Good on ya mate”
Hero of the Week Award – The Dominion Post
Today, the Act Party ran a racist and divisive advertisement in the New Zealand Herald. The advertisement is headed Fed up with pandering to Maori radicals? Act’s assumptions are completely ludicrous to anybody with half a brain…
From our friends at Vote for Change….
and
I didn’t realise I was associating (albeit electronically) with such nasty people!
If you want to join me in asking them questions and not getting any answers they are at https://www.facebook.com/voteforchangenz
They are rather lost in the past. In no particular order..
lprent = Lynn Prentice
Mike Smith
Ben Clark
Anthony Robins = r0b
rocky = Rochelle Rees
I guess that they are too stupid to make the jump from a pseudonym to a real name. But personally I couldn’t care less if it is a pseudonym or a real name, and neither does the law. It is really only if you want to pursue extra-legal attacks that it becomes an issue.
I don’t think you can escape the reality that real names have more credibility.
If you post under a real name you remove most speculation about associations and motives. I acknowledge there can be good reasons for using a pseudonym, especially for commenters.
But I think your chances of being taken seriously as a blog poster are enhanced considerably by being open and transparent about your identity. Especially in politics.
You have weird ideas on why people blog. At least you do from the view of someone who has participated in online discussion for most of my life through BBS’es to usenet and now to blogs.
I don’t care one way or the other for other people’s opinion of how I or others write. Most people around blogging are not writing for effect – they are writing to express themselves on topics that they feel are important about why they feel they are important. This can be anything from politics to cars. Readers can take from it what they will and comment on it how they know or feel. The interactions and conflicts of commentary are just fun. But isn’t hard to find blogs with excellent posts and no comments or readers where people are writing for them for the sheer joy of expression.
Sure it has a wider influence, as do the comments. But personalities and knowlege express regardless of if it is on arbitrary label or another. Someone’s name is just an arbitrary label, and has very little to do with who they are.
So as I said, wanting to know who someone is in real life is pretty much a sign of someone who doesn’t understand the world of blogging / usenet / bbs. People who insist on it in my opinion usually have online symptoms of being a bully, or a gossip, or a narcissist.
Of course there is an exception to that generalization. Journalists have this creed of real names – largely as far as I can see for litigation reasons. So people with aspirations towards being a journalist or something similar tend to assume that bloggers should be the same. But that is simply a pile of hogwash.
So where on those axes do you see you yourself.
I think the strengths of journalism and blogging are best combined, it’s become a mega media mix. Both have to keep adapting to a rapidly changing medium.
It’s possible your long history of blogging clouds your view of how the wider world may see it. Most people probably don’t care about identities if they are prattling and entertaining themselves.
But when it comes to politics most people want openness and honesty, things badly and sadly lacking in politics.
Some parties may prefer to keep things undercover, that won’t improve public perceptions of deviousness and deceit.
Well this site isn’t run by a party. Most political parties have problems finding their arse with any hands when it comes to online presences. Quite simply the only reason that kiwiblog and the standard got so dominant in the political debate online is because the parties were so late and incompetent. Frogblog is pretty good, but for a party that is off the mainstream. Red Alert is a bit constrained. The Nats and Act are just pathetic.
That is much the same as internationally.
But I suspect that you simply don’t understand the social dynamics of online. But just look around at what works. The social experiment has been in full swing for decades and what you think theoretically is a lot less interesting than just observing happens in practice.
The journos have their own blogs. Look at something like pundit or the comments off nzherald. They have this one basic trait – they tend towards the boring, and people don’t argue with each other enough to shake anything loose. The social dynamic doesn’t work.
The blogs that have very high participation rates all allow pseudonyms in the comments – which is where most of the writing goes. Some blogs have authors who use pseudonyms, some do not, and some have pseudonyms where the identities are also known. It does not appear to make any difference apart from people like yourself who try to use it as a hammer.
Perhaps you should look at online as is rather than blathering on about how you’d like it to be – ie being a critic. if you want to try something different then just do it and see how well it works – that is the way that the net tests theories.
I’m not disputing the need to allow anonymous posts, that’s essential. I’m talking about the blog posters. What are the three most viewed political blogs? Kiwiblog, The Standard and The Dim-Post?
How many of those operate under the blogger’s name? The “theories” have already been tested.
Each blog can obviously do things however it likes. I only expressed my opinion that I think posts with an identifiable author usually have more credibility. I don’t think that’s blathering on.
Read open parachute listings you are a little short, and you missed public address
But out of the three ones you’ve mentioned. My rough count says… There are four authors using their own names – three of them here. Three using pseudonyms with known names (like myself) attached – two here. Remainder (all here as the other two sites are effectively single person blogs) are pseudonyms only
So what exactly are you waffling about? How you are unobservant?
Quite simply what you are blathering about is simply your opinion. A not very well informed opinion, one that doesn’t have anything to back it up, and one that clearly has never exercised their brain to think about what is going on at a social level.
It is an opinion you’re putting up against that of someone who has been studying and participating in the type of social media we’re discussing for decades, and who is helping to run a successful example.
The tens of thousands of readers and commentators on this site have been voting with their fingers. They’re using what they read and discuss here out in the communities where politics actually happens. The journo’s come here to read and pick up ideas – but they are merely doing their job. The site isn’t run for them, they are just parasitical on it.
The participants, authors, commentators, and readers come here to just have fun playing with ideas and words.
And meanwhile you’re busy touting some theoretical model of how such social media should operate. You’re as pathetic as that polsci lecturer from Canterbury that John Drinnan was quoting. Understanding why people participate in these sites is really the key to them. And the people who participate really don’t give a crap if a author or a commentator is a name or a pseudonym. It is a meaningless distinction if they cannot contribute, and they certainly cannot contribute if they trade on their name because the usual reason to do it is to shut down debate.
Those few who have an anal reaction of the sphincter clenching when they deal with pseudonyms can always find somewhere boring that doesn’t offend them. Basically they are almost by definition too boring to be around people who like to argue because they always want to appeal to some kind of ‘authority’ which really doesn’t exist. If they were any good then they’d just point to supporting material and convince others.
Had to come back to this – got called away. I was insufficiently sarcastic in the first draft.
“But when it comes to politics most people want openness and honesty, things badly and sadly lacking in politics.’
Most people have know idea what they really want SS, they’re just following the crowd and the latest fashions, until we start practicing what we preach, there will be no openness in politics, expecting our poly’s to do what we have no intention of doing ourselves is a bit rich, don’t you think.
The individual generally sees little advantage in openness and honesty, instead we copyright and patent still, until people come to understand, that our poly’s are just a projection of ourselves, following the crowd, while doing whatever is popular (fashion) to stay in power. Little will change until it is forced upon us.