I guess it’s too soon to say there is a rise in these tragedies, or if it is an indication of a rise in suicide generally. What surprised me was that ordinary police shot him dead, not armed offenders. If this is the case, are police informally armed these days and are these officers fully trained in negotiations with unstable, suicidal individuals with guns?
I would guess that in a situation like the one in the Hutt that the police’s first priority was the safety of the ‘innocent bystanders’. In a situation like this they don’t have much ‘wiggle room’.
I always understood that many police cars carried guns in the glovebox and have for a long time
The media describe the victim as weilding a high-powered rifle, I’d like to know what a high-powered rifle is or is it merely the media trying to make the story sound even more dramatic…which probably just answers my own question
I googled the difference between high powered and low powered and there does seem to be specific reasons to call a rifle high powered but how the media could tell from some grainy pics is beyond me but then controversy creates cash i suppose
I’m guessing they’re meaning a hunting rifle (the bangs sounded very loud on the news anyway). I don’t know much about firearms but like a .303, not a .22 which you’d use to hunt rabbits.
I think with the number of witnesses that there were it’s hard to fault the police response. However the Police Association spokesman is using this to counter the government and the police’s own stats on the reduction in violent crime which I find objectionable, scaremongering and calling for a constantly armed police force.
Well more like someones opinion they were going to put the gun down unfortunatel which means he was probably still holding the rifle in a threatening manner
They released helicopter footage last night of “efforts to save gunman’s life”, the video only shows them performing CPR after the shooting, not the moments leading up to the shooting. Funny they’re happy to release video that gives a positive image, rather than the controversial stuff..
If he was lowering his weapon before he was shot (which an eye witness clearly claims) it raises some serious questions for the police.
The fact you believe the police probably did the right thing is merely your opinion. But it’s not based on what was reported as you incorrectly claimed.
Reports are conflicting, thus can’t be used to substantiate the assertion being made. Which is the point being being made and my contention with Undecided’s initial comment.
in such a highly volatile situation it’s only natural to assume he would respond in kind.
To someone who thought that walking into a public area and starting shooting with a high powered rifle was a ‘natural’ thing to do, then it might also seem ‘natural’ that continuing to shoot when the Police are very obviously trying to stop you was going to improve your outcomes.
But for me, it sounds completely nuts.
On the other hand, given the number of potential victims directly in the immediate line of fire of someone who was actively shooting, I would have thought it completely ‘natural’ for the Police to try and resolve that threat as rapidly as possible….
So he was lowering his rifle at the same time as he was shooting at the police dog that was about to bite his leg, sounds like bollocks to me. The only person that I feel sorry for is the police officer that shot him.
He might have been about to give up to the woman, but the police only knew that he was firing shots down the street and inside a building with a lot of people around. I think it could have ended up with no loss of life, but hard to blame the police for acting.
Irrespective of the law, it should be common knowledge that brandishing a firearm (or what is perceived to be a firearm) is likely to lead to one being shot.
There has been lots of cases of people carrying and showing imitation firearms in public and not getting shot. Armed Offenders get called and try to diffuse the situation. I think it depends on the attitude of the offender on whether the police shoot or not, are they being threatening or relinquishing. In this case it appears the guy was doing both at times.
I’m glad our police aren’t trigger happy like in the US, because we shouldn’t be killing people unnecessarily and I think our police show good judgement on when to use force or not.
And there have been cases of people being shot. There was one some years back where a metal pipe was mistaken for a firearm.
There was also the baseball bat incident.
The police are people just like the rest of us, therefore, you can’t blame them for not wanting to take the risk, thus the public need to take this into account.
Sure, although over the years I’ve heard many more news stories of people showing BB guns and firing in public and AOS being called out without firing, rather than offender shot dead armed with BB gun.
In this case, the offender was a danger to the public early on and it appears to have been a highly volatile situation. I think it would be hard for the police to switch from that mindset to one of him not being a threat unless he was face down on the road with his hands behind his head. Just my take.
When human nature is removed, the police are meant to act professionally and within the law.
An evaluation of the threat should have been (thus most likely would have been) taken at the time of the shooting. What the genuine threat level was at the time of the shooting is yet to be established, thus to early to point blame.
Pretty stark hearing Sharon Zollner from ANZ talking (National Radio this morning) about the “Truckometer” stalling for 6 quarters in a row. (The “truckometer” is a measure of freight movements, and is a pretty good approximation of economic activity).
Her view was that the economy is stalling, that we are exceedingly vulnerable to the Chinese slowdown, and that GDP growth down to 0-2% increase makes our economy far more vulnerable to changes in sentiment.
Here in Auckland it is incredibly easy to see the number of cranes on the horizon, hot new waterfront deals for luxury hotels, and think this is such a wonderful bubble we live in here.
And – apart from what you don’t see in the rest of the country – the story of the economy for me is the number of people homeless and begging on our streets, squashed in garages, in our hospitals, doing labouring but preferring to live in a car (as seen in the Western Leader this week).
When 6% unemployed goes to 7 and 8%, nothing will save Key.
Key has no rabbits to pull out of the hat anymore.
He has no Lord of the Rings extravaganzas, Rugby World Cups, the Sky City development won’t show in the construction stats for ages, Christchurch rebuild has peaked, dairy is fucked for years while farmers recover, tax take is low, TPPA died. He’s got nothing (except the hope that Auckland’s real estate market is actually immortal).
As for National vs Green-Labour coalition economic management trust, after 9 years it’s never about the alternative government, it’s about whether in the voters mind there is something so outstanding in a government that despite economic stagnation, they remain convinced the current lot are not stale and in need, as Michael Cullen said, of “Someone else’s turn to bat.”
That is, as Sharon Zollner said above, 0-2% growth makes everyone far too vulnerable to sentiment.
@BM
Key only has a 61-60 majority even where he was able to spin (lie) at the election that all was rosy in the economy. As more and more people see through Key and the economy tanks steadily towards 2017 Key and his revolting front bench will be in real trouble.
I see his resignation in Autumn 2016-he hates losing.
“And – apart from what you don’t see in the rest of the country – the story of the economy for me is the number of people homeless and begging on our streets, squashed in garages, in our hospitals, doing labouring but preferring to live in a car”
Yes, we do see it Ad. The rise in begging and homelessness in Wellington has been heartbreaking to witness. Any Wellingtonian can tell you how much this has risen in the last couple of years.
I had a chat with a woman who was begging. You see her all the time down Lambton Quay. I was struck by her sense of dignity, her friendliness, her articulate speech, and wondered how the f*ck such a regular person who probably once had a job and a life ended up spending her days begging for food on the footpath.
Not many people seem to care though. Perhaps exposing the stories of the the disappearing wealth and increasing debt of of the former middle classes, might be a factor in unseating Key.
It seems so many people, perhaps excluding comfortable financially well insulated baby boomers and the very wealthy, regardless of their generation, have all been kicked down a rung in the last decade.
I’m not sure what she’s advocating from that. She’s calling for a stronger response but the article doesn’t actually say what sort of response. That could be on purpose if the MSM is looking to build a case for war.
Is jonkey nactional and his mates trying to undermine and create a crisis in the public health system in Christchurch….and create a climate for the vultures of privatisation of health to worm their way into Christchurch’s superb, caring, expert, efficient public hospital and state run health system?…SHAME!
Annette King is a very good opposition spokesperson on Health!
Is jonkey nactional and his mates trying to undermine and create a crisis in the public health system in Christchurch
He’s National so the answer to that question is: Yes, most definitely. National understands that the easiest way to get permanent super-profits is to get the government to pay the private sector to do what the government actually does best.
Israel should be forced back to the 1948 borders and Amerikkka plus bankers and the military-industrial elite should stop sending them money and arms. It’s only because the neon-CONs want an outpost in the middle east to stir up trouble with the arabs! Israel out of Palestinian land!!!
Overcrowding in New Zealand. Some questions for the government here about infrastructure, health spending, tenancy laws, and adequate regulation and monitoring.
In the above Stuff article, a landlord gets $140 per week each for 14 residents. One bathroom provided.
http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/regional/283650/squalid-rentals-in-millionaires‘-resort. In this article on National radio this morning we learn about Queenstown, where up to thirty people are regularly living in one house, four to a room. Meantime, one third of luxury houses stand empty, as they are holiday homes.
I sent a post idea to the gmail address a while ago but never heard anything back, to I sent it through to your geek address yesterday (using my slightly dumb smart phone, which couldn’t handle an explanatory note using the keypad). Did you get it ok?
Usual problem. Just very busy at work, spent the weekend with my parents (mother has been very sick), and I’m not getting enough sleep. Lyn caught that damn coughing cold that has been floating around and that laid me out for weeks.
I have three guest posts that I need to look through. But they are down the list after doing basics like running moderation.
I usually moderate (as do others) every day. That isn’t to say that I don’t miss some. But I’d seldom drop below seeing 85% of all comments.
What does happen is there is a shift in the depth when I don’t have time. I usually go draconian and start handing out bans like confetti. It becomes less work (for me) to get rid of people acting up for significiant periods of time than it is waste time to educate them about behavioral boundaries.
When I have the time, I tend to be a whole lot ‘nicer’ and tolerant. People often view that as being being little or no moderation.
But much of the time what people regard as things that should be moderated are simply people being impolite, offensive, curt or abrupt. None of which are commonly of interest to me as a moderator. I’m only really interested in things that constrain debate, lose authors and moderators, or otherwise affect the site. Peoples feelings are the least of my interests…
But I usually sweep through several times during the day. Typically about 4 times. Generally there is little or nothing for me to do.
a guest post, this sounds exciting. I’m kind of hoping it’s about the worship of Dionysis, and I’m really hoping it’s not about vaccination, but I’m sure it’s neither and I can’t think what it might be. Are you going to give us a clue?
A description of a pseudo-Weberian model of leadership and its application to political tactics.
rather banal, sadly. But I let it gestate for a while after writing, and it has a point that still seems vaguely constructive, so I figure why not.
My first attempt was a fairly ranty post following on from the Assange debate at its height a few years back, and it either got missed or simply filed in the round filing cabinet. Probably for the best. So I’ll be thinking many times before writing a post on vaccination, cyclists, or smoking – I know I’m right, but to what good? 🙂
Do you notice how insecure companies change their logos and liveries more often than confident ones do? Do you notice how they use flashy look-at-me images instead of clean and enduring ones?
Flashiness, fun, and novelty may attract customers, but only simplicity and reliability retains them. Which message do you want to put forth about your transit system, or your country?
Cameron Slater today again on his blog site not being able to write “NZ Herald.” Attributes an article to one of their writers and instead of ‘Herald’ puts ‘A newspaper’.
It reminds me of kid putting his hands over his eyes in front of everyone and says, “I can see you but you can’t see me!” 😊
It’s over in under two minutes, with a minimum of noise and fuss. Call me urbanist geeky, but I get a kick out of this. But I’ve been looking into this lately and I’ve found out that there are 240 of these systems in Denmark, sucking garbage from 27,000 flats. Not surprisingly, most of them are in the densely-populated cities.
Many of the systems suck garbage from multiple backyards at once, from much farther distances than ours. Be still my urbanist heart. The advantages are many. I assume it’s more cost-efficient to do this rather than have garbage men traipse in and out of countless backyards dragging wheeled containers behind them. I certainly don’t miss the early morning noise waking me prematurely up. Eliminating smells is certainly a bonus. We have a big problem with rats in Copenhagen, so this kind of system separates them from the garbage, too.
Interestingly enough, this is pretty much the same system that the Venus Project for not only getting rid of the garbage but also delivery of the groceries.
The rather large shortcomings of stored solar electricity (eg electric cars) and why I see green tech as an interim not a true sustainability solution,
It’s one of the reasons why I hold that batteries for storing solar power should be illegal. Use the power generated to keep our dams full and our rivers flowing.
But that requires that we act cooperatively and the RWNJs don’t like that idea as it means that they can’t become rich bludgers.
And here’s the thing: I don’t really consider that hole in the ground to be an environmental catastrophe – it’s just a hole in the ground. How it was dug was, the poisons that leech into the ground from the processing of the extracted earth is but the actual hole in the ground not so much.
I probably would have said that is the way we need to go not so long ago. But now I think following any sort of world economic crisis this sort of new technology is the first that is going to go bankrupt. Then we’ve got dwindling oil supplies to deal with, so everyone having one of these in their home is a pipe dream.
Not sure what the answer is, maybe people can fashion together old car batteries if they want storage capacity.
Another commentary on the flag. My bold, doesn’t sound too hard, does it?
We should have learnt from the process South Africa went through to find a new flag that a divided country had not only accepted, but has got behind as a symbol of a new era.
When Nelson Mandela was released from prison in 1990 and South Africa began the process of ending apartheid, the nation’s flag became part of the negotiations about what post-apartheid South Africa might look like.
In 1993, the National Symbols Commission held a nationwide public competition, which received over 7,000 designs. Six designs were shortlisted and presented to the public and the Negotiating Council. None were popular, so they tried again. The Commission asked several design studios to submit designs, but again, none were popular.
In early 1994, the chief negotiators for the African National Congress and the government were tasked with resolving the flag issue. Getting the public to design a flag didn’t work. Even getting designers to design a flag didn’t work. So they went to Frederick Brownell, a flag designer (or ‘vexillographer’) who had also designed the Namibian flag.
With the elections nearing, Brownell designed the South African flag as an interim measure, but the flag became so popular, it stuck.
( when I watched I couldn’t help thinking about jonkey’s new New Zealand flag at $26 million)
SAY NO!
…and to the TPPA!
…and to privatisation of social welfare and State housing
…and selling off of State Assets…
…and to foreign buy up of New Zealand !….SAY NO !
The number of households struggling with problem debt grew by a quarter between 2012 and last year, as stagnating wages forced a growing number to borrow to get by, according to the TUC.
By 2014, 3.2 million families were spending at least 25% of their gross monthly pay on servicing unsecured debts, the definition of problem debt. The figure for 2012 was 2.5 million, according to research commissioned by the TUC and Unison.
Young people, the self-employed and low-income families recorded the biggest increases in debt.
Although that’s about the UK I’m pretty sure that the same holds true for NZ. Increasing debt is, IMO, the only thing that keeping the economy going and the only place it can go is down.
As the saying goes: Debt that can’t be repaid won’t be repaid.
Logical analysis will show, that Jabhat Al Nusra and allied forces will win the war in Syria, leaving the US and the west to shame, and after all Osama Bin Laden will have won HIS war and Israel is next to fall. The West and Russia will all be screwed.
I ran across a recent essay from The Brothers Krynn, which attempts to map common horror monsters onto the Seven Deadly Sins: https://canadianculturecorner.substack.com/p/horror-monsters-and-vice My interest, however, is not in the meat of the piece, but rather the opening paragraph: It is an interesting fact that in recent decades, Vampires have ...
Buzz from the Beehive Transport Minister Simeon Brown dutifully issued advice to all road users to keep safe on our roads during the Easter weekend. He encouraged them to stay safe, plan their journeys ahead of time, and be patient with other drivers while travelling around this Easter long weekend. ...
Oliver Hartwich writes – New Zealanders recently learned about a new feature film. It will be about former Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern – and taxpayers will subsidise it to the tune of NZ$800,000. Ardern had nothing personally to do with either the film or the subsidy. But her government’s ...
TL;DR: Here’s the top six news items of note in climate news for Aotearoa-NZ this week, and a discussion above that was recorded yesterday afternoon above between and The Kākā’s climate correspondent : An independent review panel into the emergency response to Cyclone Gabrielle in Hawkes Bayconcluded “that ...
There are now only a few days left to give feedback on the Draft Government Policy Statement (GPS) on Land Transport 2024-34 (see our earlier post this week on GPS submission guides). As we’ve reported, the GPS is a disaster for Local Government, so we were particularly interested to hear ...
Willis has pledged to go ahead with the debt-funded tax cuts, despite growing opposition from her own supporters worried about appearing fiscally irresponsible. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The five things that mattered in Aotearoa’s political economy that we wrote and spoke about via The Kākā and elsewhere for ...
Open access notables A survey of interventions to actively conserve the frozen North, van Wijngaarden et al., Climatic Change:The frozen elements of the high North are thawing as the region warms much faster than the global mean. The dangers of sea level rise due to melting glacier ice, increased ...
Bryce Edwards writes – New Zealand’s biggest-ever political donations scandal is finally at an end. But what is the conclusion? No one can really be sure. The Court of Appeal released its judgement on Tuesday about the Serious Fraud Office case against the NZ First Foundation. On ...
In 2015, then-Prime Minister John Key announced plans for a huge ocean sanctuary around the Kermadec Islands, banning fishing and mining from 15% of Aotearoa's EEZ. It was bold, it was ambitious, and it suggested that National might actually care about the environment. Except they fucked it up: Key failed ...
1. Who has just been given the accolade New Zealander of the Year?a. The Kokakob. The Cook Strait Ferryc. Fair God. Dr Jim Salinger 2. Which of these is an affront to decent society?a. Dame Edna Everageb. Mrs Doubtfire c. Dr. Frank-N-Furterd. Brian 3. Who is Penny Simmonds?a. The aspiring actress in Big ...
New Zealand’s biggest-ever political donations scandal is finally at an end. But what is the conclusion? No one can really be sure.The Court of Appeal released its judgement on Tuesday about the Serious Fraud Office case against the NZ First Foundation. On the face of it, the court found ...
Buzz from the Beehive Waves of rain are set to lash much of the North Island during Easter Weekend as a low-pressure system forms east of New Zealand, according to a weather forecast published in the past day or so. Niwa was warning of a “moisture-laden” long weekend, with rain expected ...
Look around us…Nicola Willis’ promises of balancing the books, of cutting spending without reducing services, and of delivering game changing tax cuts are disappearing before her eyes.Everyday we see stories of violent crime ending in horrific injuries, or worse. The cost of living worsens, whereas the PM claimed renters would ...
TL;DR: My top six news of note on the morning of Thursday, March 28 include:The Government will have to borrow between $10 billion to $15 billion more than previously expected in order to make up for a slowing economy and to pay for $14.9 billion of tax cuts, according to ...
This story by Naveena Sadasivam and Kate Yoder was originally published by Grist and is part of Covering Climate Now, a global journalism collaboration strengthening coverage of the climate story. The long-awaited jobs board for the American Climate Corps, promised early in the Biden administration, will open next month, according to details shared exclusively ...
Should landlords be able to deduct the interest on the loans they take out to bankroll their property speculation? The US Senate Budget Committee and Bloomberg News don’t think this is a good idea, for reasons set out below. Regardless, our coalition government has been burning through a ton of ...
Treasury’s first report on the economy since the change of government presents a damning indictment of Labour’s economic management. The problem for National is that it is so damning that logically, coupled with a rapidly slowing economy, Finance Minister Nicola Willis should respond to it by postponing or even cancelling ...
Budget tensions are becoming evident within the Coalition Government. Winston Peters made numerous political points in his speech to the NZF annual conference. But the attack on his own government’s fiscal policies raised issues of substance. ‘Today in the Sunday Star Times, journalist and former advisor to the Labour ...
Buzz from the Beehive The media – sure enough – have been binging on Finance Minister Nicola Willis’ release of the Budget Policy Statement and a statement headed Government announces Budget priorities This assures us – or rather, this parrots the Luxon team mantra – that the Budget “will deliver ...
The Ides of March brought me COVID followed by a bereavement. No wonder they tell you to be careful of them.I’m home now and have resumed the interrupted recuperation. Very much looking forward to getting back to regular things. Meanwhile, some thoughts…OneThis new Prime Minister guy just keeps getting more dire. ...
News that the Chinese ATP 40 cyber-hacking unit penetrated parliamentary internet networks in 2021 has renewed concerns about the PRC’s malign intentions in Aotearoa. But is the hack that significant given the length of time that has passed since its … Continue reading → ...
When Parliament passed the Intelligence and security Act in 2017, they assured us all that it was full of safeguards. Any intrusive surveillance of New Zealanders would be subject to a "triple lock", requiring the approval of the Minister and (supposedly independent) Commissioner of Intelligence Warrants, as well as post-facto ...
Eric Crampton writes – Richard Harman’s Politik newsletter provides a bit of the context that ought to have been showing up in other media reports on potential reductions in public service staffing. Media has been reporting on staffing cuts on the order of about 7%. Is that ...
Mike Grimshaw writes – It’s becoming increasingly apparent that many perceive free speech to have become the preserve of the politically right wing, the religiously conservative, the libertarian fringe, the anti-trans, the anti-Māori and…. well, just fill in with whatever groups or individuals you don’t like and don’t ...
Don Brash writes – As everybody who is not blind and deaf is aware, there is a huge political preoccupation with climate change at the moment, a widespread (though by no means unanimous) belief that global temperatures are rising mainly as a result of the greenhouse gases created ...
TL;DR: My six things to note in Aotearoa’s political economy on Wednesday, March 27 include:Chris Bishop laid out his vision for filling Aotearoa-NZ’s $100 billion infrastructure deficit in a speech yesterday, emphasising user pays and private funding, but failed to say how to achieve bipartisanship on population, public borrowing and ...
Bryce Edwards writes – Former Finance Minister Grant Robertson and former Prime Minister Chris Hipkins have been conveying how unhappy they are with the tax system. Last week in his valedictory speech, Robertson called for the introduction of a wealth or capital gains tax. And this week Hipkins ...
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 ...
Buzz from the Beehive China has loomed large in Beehive considerations over the past 24 hours, largely because of that country’s mischief-making in the cyber espionage department. Two media statements emerged on that subject hard on the heels of the PM baulking at questions put to him on RNZ’s Morning ...
Chris Trotter writes – WHY IS THE NATIONAL PARTY doing so much for landlords, property developers, trucking, and construction companies, and so little for everybody who isn’t already pretty well-off? It’s as if protecting landlords’ investments and building apartments and roads now constitute the whole of National’s ...
Bryce Edwards writes – When she was campaigning to be Minister of Finance last year, Nicola Willis pledged that she would resign from the job if she failed to deliver tax cuts in her first Budget. Now, it’s that pledge, along with Prime Minister Christopher Luxon’s ...
Robert MacCulloch writes – The Reserve Bank has doubled staff numbers in five years to 510, with personnel costs rising to $80 million in 2023 from $32 million in 2018 – up by a whopping 150%. I guess when you print $50 billion and flood markets with liquidity, ...
The furore. In case you didn’t notice there was a controversy in the weekend involving dolphins in a little town off the South Island. Don’t panic, they haven’t declared independence and resumed whaling, this was simply a sailing event.The problem began when racing was cancelled on the opening day of ...
For 20 years or more, the case for a meaningful capital tax gains has been mulled over and analysed to death, including by the tax working group chaired by Sir Michael Cullen. More than once, the International Monetary Fund has said a CGT would be a good idea for New ...
TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read: The Public Health Communications Centre (PHCC) call for urgent preventive action and a risk assessment survey of long covid in this briefing noteLocal scoop: NZ road deaths surpass OECD rates, so why is the govt reversing safety plans? ...
This story was originally published by Grist and is part of Covering Climate Now, a global journalism collaboration strengthening coverage of the climate story. This story is part of a collaboration with Grist and WABE to demystify the Georgia Public Service Commission, the small but powerful state-elected board that makes critical decisions about everything from raising ...
This is a guest post from Robert McLachlan Global warming is accelerating; 2023 was off the charts. We need to stop burning fossil fuels. In New Zealand, transport accounts for half of all fossil fuels burnt. In the Emissions Reduction Plan, transport emissions fall 41% by 2035. As the ...
Labour productivity has been receding rapidly over the past two years, reversing a post-lockdown rise. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: My six things to note in Aotearoa’s political economy as at 6:26am on Tuesday, March 26 include:Workers have been treading water in output per hour worked for 12 years, ...
TL;DR: The key events to watch in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy in the week to April 2 include:Today, Parliament resumes sitting at 2pm for the second week of a two-week session. Officials for SIS and GCSB report their annual reviews in public to the Intelligence and Security Select Committee from 5.10pm.Tomorrow, ...
Faced with a barrage of criticism over the promised tax cuts from usually supportive commentators, Finance Minister Nicola Willis yesterday reaffirmed her intention to include them in this year’s Budget. The Government is up against it over the cuts just about every way it turns. Commentators like Fran O’Sullivan, Matthew ...
Here’s my pick of today’s substack posts as of 6:26pm on Monday, March 25: writes via his substack that Market-rate housing will make your city cheaper writes via his substack about the problems talking to double-cab ute (truck) drivers about their vehicles. today about moments of radicalisation in ...
Buzz from the Beehive Just before Christmas, Finance Minister Nicola Willis delivered something that was pitched as a mini-budget and brayed about the decisive action being taken to repair the Government books and support income tax relief in Budget 2024. In a statement headed Fiscal repair job underway. she introduced ...
My sister Belinda asked Dad yesterday what one word would describe Mum best. He said: vivacious.If you only knew her from the photos on the slideshow we've made for today,you might wonder about that, because the camera tended to lie with Mum.If ever she saw a camera pointed at her, she ...
There are two major public consultations closing in the next week, Auckland Council’s Long Term Plan (LTP), and the draft Government Policy Statement on Land Transport (GPS). Closing dates and times: LTP closes Thursday 28 February, at 11.59pm – a minute to midnight! GPS closes Tuesday 2 April, at 12pm noon – note that’s ...
From Kiwiblog’s David Farrar – Bryce Wilkinson writes: Senior Fellow Bryce Wilkinson’s analysis reveals that since March 2009, New Zealand has spent $158 billion more overseas than it has earned, but its NIIP has only fallen by $32 billion.Statistics New Zealand shows that receipts from overseas reinsurers have ...
Is she hinting that the Coalition Government will have to back down on key promises it made in Opposition? Brian Easton writes – The Minister of Finance, Nicola Willis, is telling an evolving story about her fiscal challenges. In Opposition she was confident that she could ...
Dear Nicola Willis,Right now you’ve probably got lots of competing demands coming at you. Ministers who’ve inherited quite a mess, or so you’ve told us, looking for money in the budget to improve things. I imagine that’s why they came to parliament - to make things better.You’ll have to make ...
The Local Government, Transport and Auckland Minister hasthreatened councils with intervention if they don’t merge water assets to take them off balance sheet, just as the now-repealed Three Waters plan directed. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: My six things of note this morning for Monday, March 25 include:Simeon ...
A listing of 36 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, March 17, 2024 thru Sat, March 23, 2024. Story of the week Thanks to John Mason having the stamina to sit down to watch "Climate - the Movie" ...
This morning the Q&A programme had Simeon Brown on to talk about National’s replacement for Three Waters. In case anyone’s forgotten the three are - drinking water, waste water, and sewerage. It’s quite important not to get them mixed up. In much the same way that you wouldn’t want to ...
Today’s newsletter comes with a mini-podcast conversation between me and my buddy Liv Tennet, talking about her time as a child actor in Lord of the Rings. It’s a conversation with a lot of giggles as she talks about falling off a horse, and becoming a meme. Read ...
The Desmog Climate Disinformation Database documents, "individuals and organisations that have helped to delay and distract the public and our elected leaders from taking needed action to reduce greenhouse gas pollution and fight global warming." It's a who's who of the organised climate change denial movement, in other words. In ...
Bob Edlin writes – A High Court judge has decided miscreants who have mana – or who claim to have mana – should be treated differently from miscreants who have none. It’s a ruling that suggests indigenous law-breakers have a better chance of securing a discharge without conviction ...
Welcome to the first, and possibly last, edition of Brickbats, Bouquets and Bull’s Wool. In which I’ll take a look at the events of the last week or so, and rate them.In such ratings the numbers usually have more to do with the opinions of the reviewer, than the actual ...
Roger Partridge writes – My earlier column this month, New Zealand’s highest court could be facing a turning point, prompted a flood of feedback from business readers and lawyers alike. A common query was what Parliament can do to restrain an overreaching judiciary. This week I discuss two steps Parliament ...
TL;DR: In today’s ‘six-stack’ of substacks at 6.16pm on Friday, March 22: writes about New Zealand's Building Boom—And What the World Must Learn From It over at his substack. challenges the Auckland Council’s use of a 3.8 degrees of warming forecast to oppose a wave-park and data centre project ...
Is she hinting that the Coalition Government will have to back down on key promises it made in Opposition?The Minister of Finance, Nicola Willis, is telling an evolving story about her fiscal challenges. In Opposition she was confident that she could deliver her promised income tax cuts. Appointed minister, she ...
Buzz from the Beehive Ministers of the Crown have drawn attention to one sector of the science sector which is unlikely to be subjected to heavy spending cuts, a state-funded broadcaster which is doing nicely, thank you, and a sporting event that had $5.4 million from the public purse puffed ...
Abbott’s Freestyle Libre sensors allow continuous glucose monitoring (CGM). The sensor is applied to the back of the patient’s arm, with a thin filament under the skin measuring glucose levels constantly. But it costs around $100 per sensor and must be replaced once every 14 days. Photo by BSIP/Universal Images ...
The Inspector General of Intelligence and Security (IGIS) recently released a report in which he exposes the existence of a foreign intelligence partner-controlled technological “capability” inside the headquarters of the GCSB, NZ’s 5 Eyes-affiliated signals intelligence collection and analysis agency. … Continue reading → ...
Peter Dunne writes – Nearly three decades after the introduction of MMP and multiparty governments there should be a greater level of understanding about their finer points than often appears to be the case. The reaction to the despicable outburst from the Deputy Prime Minister at the weekend highlights ...
The sweet kisses from fruit of summerHave slowly been turning dullerYou say, "those times"And "remember the daysWhen we went outside and there still was the shade?"Taking no reason into play…Autumn. Clear, blue days shortening to longer nights, growing colder. Aotearoa.That’s us. The temperature dropping, the looming car crash - so ...
Bryce Edwards writes – “It is often said that behind every great man is a great woman”. This is the pitch by the National Party Botany electorate branch to attend their “Ladies Afternoon Tea with Amanda Luxon”. For $110 including GST, you can turn up on Saturday 20 April ...
David Farrar writes – The Electoral Commission has published the expense returns for political parties for the 2023 election. I’ve put them in a table with how many votes a party got so we can see the spend per vote. National only spent $3.34 for every vote they got, almost ...
Winston Peters’ headline-making actions over the past week may have been a show of political power intended to strengthen his hand in Budget negotiations. It was no accident that his State of the Nation speech was as it was. He made it as New Zealand First Leader, not as Deputy ...
Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The five things that mattered in Aotearoa’s political economy that we wrote and spoke about via The Kākā and elsewhere for paying subscribers in the last week included:Former Labour Finance Minister Grant Robertson bowed out of politics this week, giving a series of exit ...
Graham Adams writes — If you love the law or sausages, as the saying goes, best not to look too closely at how they are made. And after watching the orgy of self-pity when Newshub’s closure was announced on February 28, television journalism should definitely be added to the list of those ...
Venerable New Zealand political commentator, Chris Trotter (https://bowalleyroad.blogspot.com/), is a sad creature these days. Once one of the most reliable Leftist writers out there – Economic Left at that – Trotter seems to have absorbed the worldview of Auckland culture-war obsessives. It is not for me to categorise what he ...
The Coalition Government’s plan to ‘get Auckland moving’ is a cuts cover-up that will ultimately cost Aucklanders more to move around the city, says Labour Auckland Issues spokesperson Shanan Halbert. ...
Slashing the Ministry of Pacific Peoples by 40% will have a devastating impact on pacific communities and further highlights how little this government cares about anything other than cutting taxes for the wealthiest few. ...
Labour has proposed an urgent inquiry to investigate the ever-increasing profits of supermarkets, aiming to lower costs for shoppers and food producers alike, says Labour Spokesperson for Commerce and Consumer Affairs Arena Williams and Primary Production Spokesperson Cushla Tangaere-Manuel. ...
With 14% of jobs on the line at the Ministry for Ethnic Communities, the responsible Minister Melissa Lee is failing to stand up for the very communities she’s meant to be representing. ...
COURT OF APPEAL: TRIFECTA OF VICTORY FOR NZ FIRST, TRIFECTA OF FAILURE FOR OPPONENTS For the third time since April 2020, New Zealand First has defeated the Serious Fraud Office and all those complicit in a malicious attack against a political party going about its lawful business in a lawful ...
The Green Party stands with people who live in public housing, people in dire housing need, experts and advocates in demanding better than the Government’s archaic approach to housing those who need our support the most. ...
New Zealand has recently lost the hosting rights of some major international sporting events including the America’s Cup, the Rugby Championship, Netball World Cup, and the Wellington Sevens. We are now at a huge risk of losing SailGP as well. And it won’t stop there. The recent issues with SailGP ...
A Member’s Bill drawn this week would modernise insurance law and make things fairer and more transparent for consumers, Christchurch Central MP Duncan Webb said. ...
The Minister for Disability Issues has confirmed she was aware of funding issues in mid-December and did nothing to stop it. On 14 March, she signed off on changes that were announced and implemented on 18 March without any consultation with disability communities. ...
Green Party MP Julie Anne Genter says her members' bill is an opportunity for the coalition government to plug the gap in electric vehicle incentives. ...
The National Government continues to talk about irresponsible tax cuts that will only drive up inflation, despite the country entering a technical recession. ...
The Minister for Disability Issues must act urgently to reinstate flexibility around the funding for disability support and apologise to disabled carers. ...
This story has been initiated by a leftie shill reporter who proactively sought to call a member of a former band, which disbanded twelve years ago, give their biased appraisal of what was said in my speech, and concocted a ham-fisted attempt at a story that does nothing but show ...
The Government has accepted Labour’s change to the Road User Charge (RUC) discount for hybrid vehicles, meaning there will still be some incentive for people to buy greener vehicles. ...
Many in the mainstream media have taken what was said in New Zealand First’s State of the Nation Speech in Palmerston North on Sunday and deliberately, deceitfully, and ignorantly misrepresented what I said and why I said it. The headlines and commentary on the news stated that I compared ‘co-governance ...
Kicking the most vulnerable people out of state housing and pushing them towards homelessness will result in a proliferation of poverty and trauma across our most vulnerable communities. ...
Te Pāti Māori co-leader and MP for Waiariki, Rawiri Waititi has penned a letter asking MPs to support his members bill to remove GST from all food. The bill is expected to go through its first reading in parliament this Wednesday. “I’m calling on all political parties to support my ...
Good afternoon. Thank you for, in your very busy lives, turning up to this meeting today. On October 14th last year New Zealanders overwhelmingly voted for change. That is exactly what this new government is bringing. New Zealand First campaigned to ‘take back our country’ and stop the disastrous economic ...
This year is about getting real with Kiwis and discussing the tough issues, as the National Government exacerbates inequality and divides New Zealand, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said ...
The Government adding Significant Natural Areas (SNAs) to its already roaring environmental policy bonfire is an assault on the future of wildlife that makes Aotearoa unique. ...
After 12 years of fighting to protect our moana we are finding ourselves back at square one and back at court. Today, the Environmental Protection Agency is sitting in Hawera to reconsider an application from Trans-Tasman Resources to dig up 50 million tonnes of the seabed in South Taranaki. This ...
Minister Shane Jones’ decision to step away from a seabed mining project is evidence of the murky waters surrounding the Government’s fast-track legislation. ...
The growth of Treaty of Waitangi clauses in legislation caused so much worry that a special oversight group was set up by the last government in a bid to get greater coherence in the publicservice on Treaty matters. When ministers first considered the need for tighter oversight in 2021, there ...
The growth of Treaty of Waitangi clauses in legislation caused so much worry that a special oversight group was set up by the last government in a bid to get greater coherence in the publicservice on Treaty matters. When ministers first considered the need for tighter oversight in 2021, there ...
The Coalition Government’s miscalculation saga continues as it has forgotten an eyewatering $90 million gap in its interest deductibility cost figures, say Labour Finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds and Revenue Spokesperson Deborah Russell. ...
He Pou a Rangi Climate Change Commission has today released advice that says if the Government doesn’t act now New Zealand is at risk of not meeting its climate goals. ...
The Coalition Government has today confirmed it is abandoning first home buyers who are struggling to get ahead, says Labour Finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds. ...
Transport Minister Simeon Brown has welcomed the passing of legislation to move light electric vehicles (EVs) and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) into the road user charges system from 1 April. “It was always intended that EVs and PHEVs would be exempt from road user charges until they reached two ...
New Zealand is strengthening its ability to combat illegal fishing outside its domestic waters and beef up regulation for its own commercial fishers in international waters through a Bill which had its first reading in Parliament today. The Fisheries (International Fishing and Other Matters) Amendment Bill 2023 sets out stronger ...
Economists Carl Hansen and Professor Prasanna Gai have been appointed to the Reserve Bank Monetary Policy Committee, Finance Minister Nicola Willis announced today. The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) is the independent decision-making body that sets the Official Cash Rate which determines interest rates. Carl Hansen, the executive director of Capital ...
Apartment owners and buyers will soon have greater protections as further changes to the law on unit titles come into effect, Housing Minister Chris Bishop says. “The Unit Titles (Strengthening Body Corporate Governance and Other Matters) Amendment Act had already introduced some changes in December 2022 and May 2023, and ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters will travel to Egypt and Europe from this weekend. “This travel will focus on a range of New Zealand’s traditional diplomatic and security partnerships while enabling broad engagement on the urgent situation in Gaza,” Mr Peters says. Mr Peters will attend the NATO Foreign ...
Transport Minister Simeon Brown is encouraging all road users to stay safe, plan their journeys ahead of time, and be patient with other drivers while travelling around this Easter long weekend. “Road safety is a responsibility we all share, and with increased traffic on our roads expected this Easter we ...
About 1.4 million New Zealanders will receive cost of living relief through increased government assistance from April 1 909,000 pensioners get a boost to Superannuation, including 5000 veterans 371,000 working-age beneficiaries will get higher payments 45,000 students will see an increase in their allowance Over a quarter of New Zealanders ...
Ensuring social housing is being provided to those with the greatest needs is front of mind as the Government restarts social housing tenancy reviews, Associate Housing Minister Tama Potaka says. “Our relentless focus on building a strong economy is to ensure we can deliver better public services such as social ...
The Kermadec Ocean Sanctuary will not go ahead, with Cabinet deciding to stop work on the proposed reserve and remove the Bill that would have established it from Parliament’s order paper. “The Kermadec Ocean Sanctuary Bill would have created a 620,000 sq km economic no-go zone,” Oceans and Fisheries Minister ...
Dam safety regulations are being amended so that smaller dams won’t be subject to excessive compliance costs, Minister for Building and Construction Chris Penk says. “The coalition Government is focused on reducing costs and removing unnecessary red tape so we can get the economy back on track. “Dam safety regulations ...
The coalition Government is expanding the medium-scale adverse event classification to parts of the North Island as dry weather conditions persist, Agriculture Minister Todd McClay announced today. “I have made the decision to expand the medium-scale adverse event classification already in place for parts of the South Island to also cover the ...
The passing of legislation giving effect to coalition Government tax commitments has been welcomed by Finance Minister Nicola Willis. “The Taxation (Annual Rates for 2023–24, Multinational Tax, and Remedial Matters) Bill will help place New Zealand on a more secure economic footing, improve outcomes for New Zealanders, and make our tax system ...
Science, Innovation and Technology Minister Judith Collins and Tertiary Education and Skills Minister Penny Simmonds today announced plans to transform our science and university sectors to boost the economy. Two advisory groups, chaired by Professor Sir Peter Gluckman, will advise the Government on how these sectors can play a greater ...
The Budget will deliver urgently-needed tax relief to hard-working New Zealanders while putting the government’s finances back on a sustainable track, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. The Finance Minister made the comments at the release of the Budget Policy Statement setting out the Government’s Budget objectives. “The coalition Government intends ...
The coalition Government will look at options to address a zoning issue that limits how much financial support Queenstown residents can get for accommodation. Cabinet has agreed on a response to the Petitions Committee, which had recommended the geographic information MSD uses to determine how much accommodation supplement can be ...
Cabinet has agreed to a short extension to the final reporting timeframe for the Royal Commission into Abuse in Care from 28 March 2024 to 26 June 2024, Internal Affairs Minister Brooke van Velden says. “The Royal Commission wrote to me on 16 February 2024, requesting that I consider an ...
The coalition Government is delivering an $18 million boost to New Zealanders needing to travel for specialist health treatment, Health Minister Dr Shane Reti says. “These changes are long overdue – the National Travel Assistance (NTA) scheme saw its last increase to mileage and accommodation rates way back in 2009. ...
The Government is recognising the innovative and rising talent in New Zealand’s growing space sector, with the Prime Minister and Space Minister Judith Collins announcing the new Prime Minister’s Prizes for Space today. “New Zealand has a growing reputation as a high-value partner for space missions and research. I am ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has confirmed New Zealand’s concerns about cyber activity have been conveyed directly to the Chinese Government. “The Prime Minister and Minister Collins have expressed concerns today about malicious cyber activity, attributed to groups sponsored by the Chinese Government, targeting democratic institutions in both New ...
Independent Reviewers appointed for School Property Inquiry Education Minister Erica Stanford today announced the appointment of three independent reviewers to lead the Ministerial Inquiry into the Ministry of Education’s School Property Function. The Inquiry will be led by former Minister of Foreign Affairs Murray McCully. “There is a clear need ...
State Highway 1 across the Brynderwyns will be open for Easter weekend, with work currently underway to ensure the resilience of this critical route being paused for Easter Weekend to allow holiday makers to travel north, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Today I visited the Brynderwyn Hills construction site, where ...
Introduction Good morning to you all, and thanks for having me bright and early today. I am absolutely delighted to be the Minister for Infrastructure alongside the Minister of Housing and Resource Management Reform. I know the Prime Minister sees the three roles as closely connected and he wants me ...
New Zealand stands with the United Kingdom in its condemnation of People’s Republic of China (PRC) state-backed malicious cyber activity impacting its Electoral Commission and targeting Members of the UK Parliament. “The use of cyber-enabled espionage operations to interfere with democratic institutions and processes anywhere is unacceptable,” Minister Responsible for ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters and Defence Minister Judith Collins today announced New Zealand will provide logistics support for the upcoming Solomon Islands election. “We’re sending a team of New Zealand Defence Force personnel and two NH90 helicopters to provide logistics support for the election on 17 April, at the request ...
The European Union Free Trade Agreement Legislation Amendment Bill received Royal Assent today, completing the process for New Zealand’s ratification of its free trade agreement with the European Union. “I am pleased to announce that today, in a small ceremony at the Beehive, New Zealand notified the European Union ...
Public consultation on the terms of reference for the Royal Commission into COVID-19 Lessons has concluded, Internal Affairs Minister Hon Brooke van Velden says. “I have been advised that there were over 11,000 submissions made through the Royal Commission’s online consultation portal.” Expanding the scope of the Royal Commission of ...
Hardworking families are set to benefit from a new credit to help them meet their early childcare education (ECE) costs, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. From 1 July, parents and caregivers of young children will be supported to manage the rising cost of living with a partial reimbursement of their ...
A specialised Independent Technical Advisory Group (ITAG) tasked with preparing and publishing independent non-binding advice on the design of a "green" (sustainable finance) taxonomy rulebook is being established, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. “Comprising experts and market participants, the ITAG's primary goal is to deliver comprehensive recommendations to the ...
Defence Minister Judith Collins has thanked the Chief of Army, Major General John Boswell, DSD, for his service as he leaves the Army after 40 years. “I would like to thank Major General Boswell for his contribution to the Army and the wider New Zealand Defence Force, undertaking many different ...
25 March 2024 Minister to meet Australian counterparts and Manufacturing Industry Leaders Small Business, Manufacturing, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly will travel to Australia for a series of bi-lateral meetings and manufacturing visits. During the visit, Minister Bayly will meet with his Australian counterparts, Senator Tim Ayres, Ed ...
Government commits almost $3 million for period products in schools The Coalition Government has committed $2.9 million to ensure intermediate and secondary schools continue providing period products to those who need them, Minister of Education Erica Stanford announced today. “This is an issue of dignity and ensuring young women don’t ...
Good morning, it’s great to be here. First, I would like to acknowledge the New Zealand Institute of Building Surveyors and thank you for the opportunity to be here this morning. I would like to use this opportunity to outline the Government’s ambitious plan and what we hope to ...
Minister for Pacific Peoples Dr Shane Reti has announced the Government’s commitment to the Auckland Secondary Schools Māori and Pacific Islands Cultural Festival, more commonly known as Polyfest. “The Ministry for Pacific Peoples is a longtime supporter of Polyfest and, as it celebrates 49 years in 2024, I’m proud to ...
Before moving onto the substance of today’s address, I want to recognise the very significant and ongoing contribution the Breast Cancer Foundation makes to support the lives of New Zealand women and their families living with breast cancer. I very much enjoy working with you. I also want to recognise ...
New Zealand has notched up a first with the launch of University of Canterbury research to the International Space Station, Science, Innovation and Technology and Space Minister Judith Collins says. The hardware, developed by Dr Sarah Kessans, is designed to operate autonomously in orbit, allowing scientists on Earth to study ...
Introduction Thank you for inviting me to speak with you today and I’m sorry I can’t be there in person. Yesterday I started in Wellington for Breakfast TV, spoke to a property conference in Auckland, and finished the day speaking to local government in Christchurch, so it would have been ...
The Coalition Government is contributing more than $1 million to support the establishment of an emergency multi-agency coordination centre in Northland. Emergency Management and Recovery Minister Mark Mitchell announced the contribution today during a visit of the Whangārei site where the facility will be constructed. “Northland has faced a number ...
New Zealanders have enjoyed a broader range of voices telling the story of Aotearoa thanks to the creation of Whakaata Māori 20 years ago, says Māori Development Minister Tama Potaka. The minister spoke at a celebration marking the national indigenous media organisation’s 20th anniversary at their studio in Auckland on ...
Commercial catch limits for some fisheries have been increased following a review showing stocks are healthy and abundant, Ocean and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. The changes, along with some other catch limit changes and management settings, begin coming into effect from 1 April 2024. "Regular biannual reviews of fish ...
COMMENTARY:By Ronny Kareni Since the atrocious footage of the suffering of an indigenous Papuan man reverberates in the heart of Puncak by the brute force of Indonesia’s army in early February, shocking tactics deployed by those in power to silence critics has been unfolding. Nowhere is this more evident ...
Analysis - Nicola Willis is holding firm on tax cuts despite the economic outlook being worse than forecast and critics urging her to wait, writes Peter Wilson for The Week In Politics. ...
Opposition MPs and unions are criticising a proposal by New Zealand’s Ministry of Pacific Peoples to cut staff by 40 percent. The country’s largest trade union — The Public Service Association — says the ministry has informed staff that it is looking to shed 63 of 156 positions. Opposition MPs ...
A poem by Poetry Aotearoa Yearbook 2024 featured poet Carin Smeaton. Daughtr of the 90s when she gets promoted to usherette a baby blu eel carries her all the way up to mothership she’s hovering high she lets the underaged in to see keanu reeves she lets the only lonely ...
Analysis by Keith Rankin. Keith Rankin, trained as an economic historian, is a retired lecturer in Economics and Statistics. He lives in Auckland, New Zealand. My earlier article – Can ‘Good’ be the Greater Evil? – looked at the issue of how wars should end, and how Good versus Evil ...
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 AMMA by Saraid de Silva (Moa Press, $38)A stunning debut novel reviewed by Brannavan ...
From Steve Martin to Ricky Stanicky, a pick’n’mix of things worth watching and listening to this long weekend. This is an excerpt from our weekly pop culture newsletter Rec Room. Sign up here. If you’re at a loss for something to occupy yourself with this Easter, don’t panic: The Spinoff’s got ...
Jesus had dinner with his 12 disciples right before he died. Noted historian Madeleine Chapman finds out who really deserved to be there.First published in 2018 but let’s be honest, the subject is timeless. As you sit on your couch this Easter Sunday, eating a chocolate egg you know ...
The newly-promoted Northern League club is on a mission to return to the National League for the first time in two decades. Plenty about domestic football in New Zealand has changed in that time – but the sense that this amateur competition is not an entirely level playing field remains. ...
Comment: Every year on February 2, a dozen men in tuxedos and top hats approach the burrow of a groundhog in Gobbler’s Knob, Pennsylvania and entice the beaver-like rodent to emerge and predict the weather. If the groundhog, named Punxsutawney Phil, sees its own shadow when it is summoned, legend ...
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Auckland Council has put a deadline on new weather-impacted property owners applying for categorisation as government funding looks set to run out. Councillors have voted to support a deadline of September 30 for property owners who haven’t accessed support to come forward and engage with the council’s recovery office. It ...
NONFICTION 1 BBQ Economics by Liam Dann (Penguin Random House, $40) “It’s official,” wrote Dann nine days ago in the Herald, where he works as business editor at large, “we’re in recession.” Yeah, great. He delivered the bad stats: “GDP fell 0.1 percent in the December 2023 quarter, compared with ...
By Anneke Smith, RNZ News political reporter A petition urging the New Zealand government to provide urgent humanitarian assistance to the Palestinian people has been tabled in the House. More than 200 people gathered on Parliament’s forecourt today and they were met by MPs from Labour, the Greens and Te ...
Pacific Media Watch The Paris-based global media freedom watchdog RSF (Reporters Without Borders) has appealed for information about the “disappearance” of Palestinian journalist Bayan Abusultan. She was reportedly last seen on March 19 among people “sequestered” in this week’s raid and siege of Al Shifa hospital by Israeli troops in ...
EDITORIAL:The Jakarta Post It happens again and again; indigenous Papuans fall victim to Indonesian soldiers. This time, we have photographic evidence for the brutality, with videos on social media showing a Papuan man being tortured by a group of plainclothes men alleged to be the Indonesian Military (TNI) members. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Robyn J. Whitaker, Director of the Wesley Centre for Theology, Ethics, and Public Policy & Associate Professor, New Testament, Pilgrim Theological College, University of Divinity A strange and eclectic range of activities takes place across these few weeks of the year. Some ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Panizza Allmark, Professor Visual & Cultural Studies, Edith Cowan University It’s Easter weekend, which means many of us will be kicking back with the greatest hits on repeat. But whether you’re a boomer, or an ‘80s or ’90s kid, you might be ...
RNZ Pacific Fiji’s Acting Public Prosecutor has filed an appeal against the sentences of former prime minister Voreqe Bainimarama and suspended police chief Sitiveni Qiliho in their corruption case. Bainimarama was granted an absolute discharge for attempting to pervert the course of justice while Qiliho received a conditional discharge with ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Arosha Weerakoon, Senior Lecturer and General Dentist, School of Dentistry, The University of Queensland Casezy idea/Shutterstock How does toothpaste work? What did people use before toothpaste was invented? – Amelia, age 7, Meanjin (Brisbane) Thanks for your ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Brett Hallam, Associate professor, UNSW Sydney IM Imagery/Shutterstock Solar SunShot is well named. The Australian government announced today it would plough A$1 billion into bringing back solar manufacturing to Australia, boosting energy security, swapping coal and gas jobs for those ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Clare Dix, Research Fellow in Nutrition & Dietetics, The University of Queensland Easter is the time for chocolate. The shops are full of fantastically packaged and shiny chocolates in all shapes and sizes, making trips to the supermarket with children more challenging ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Emma Felton, Adjunct Senior Researcher, University of South Australia Even in a stubborn cost-of-living crisis, it seems there’s one luxury most Australians won’t sacrifice – their daily cup of coffee. Coffee sales have largely remained stable, even as financial pressures have ...
Mining company Trans-Tasman Resources has unexpectedly withdrawn its application for a consent to suck the valuable metals vanadium and titanium from the Taranaki seafloor, as it apparently wagers on the Government’s new fast-track process. It had spent two-and-a-half days putting its case to the Environmental Protection Agency’s decision-making committee, at ...
Contrary to the Associate Minister of Education’s claims, analysis of Healthy School Lunches Programme - Ka Ora, Ka Ako assessments has revealed it provides excellent value for the taxpayer dollar, as a groundswell of public opposition to Government ...
Greenpeace says wannabe Taranaki seabed miner Trans-Tasman Resources is likely banking on Christopher Luxon’s fast-track process to side-step proper scrutiny of its Taranaki seabed mining proposal by bailing out of the Environmental Protection Agency hearing ...
Kiwis Against Seabed mining today slammed Australian owned would-be seabed miner Trans Tasman Resources (TTR) for abandoning its application to the Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) to mine the seabed of the South Taranaki Bight. The company ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Katie Attwell, Associate Professor, School of Social Sciences, The University of Western Australia Ground Picture/Shutterstock Months after COVID vaccines were introduced in 2021, governments and private organisations mandated them for various groups. Health and aged care workers were among the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Andrew Dzurak, Scientia Professor Andrew Dzurak, CEO and Founder of Diraq, UNSW Sydney Diraq For decades, the pursuit of quantum computing has struggled with the need for extremely low temperatures, mere fractions of a degree above absolute zero (0 Kelvin or ...
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 A national Essential poll, conducted March 20–24 from a sample of 1,150, gave the Coalition a 50–44 lead including undecided, a reversal ...
The Taxpayers’ Union has today made a formal request under the Regulations of the People’s Republic of China on Open Government Information () for information held about how New Zealand Members of Parliament are spending taxpayer ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Robert Nelson, Honorary Principal Fellow, The University of Melbourne A Byzantine depiction of the Eucharist in Saint Sophia Cathedral, Kyiv.Jacek555/Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA A nasty quarrel arose in the 11th century over what kind of bread should be used in holy ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Patrick Hesp, Professor, Flinders University Patrick Hesp In some parts of Australia, coastal dunes are retreating from the ocean at an alarming rate, as waves carve up the beach and wind blows the sand inland. But coastal communities are largely ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Luke Heemsbergen, Senior Lecturer, Digital, Political, Media, Deakin University With an impressive 60% of the US smartphone market, Apple is undeniably big, but not a clear monopoly. Yet, years of innovation by Apple have effectively given the company its own exclusive ...
Whether you’re facing layoffs or are just an emotional junior staffer, it’s always a good idea to scout out a good crying place before you need it. It’s an incredibly hard time for Wellington. Across the city, thousands of public servants are hearing tough news about redundancies and layoffs. Government ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By James Miller-Jones, Professor, Curtin University Nuclear explosions on a neutron star feed its jets. Danielle Futselaar and Nathalie Degenaar, Anton Pannekoek Institute, University of Amsterdam, CC BY-SA How fast can a neutron star drive powerful jets into space? The answer, it ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Daryl Adair, Associate Professor of Sport Management, University of Technology Sydney Earlier this week, independent MP Andrew Wilkie accused the AFL of conducting “off the books” illicit drug testing to identify players using substances of abuse, then inappropriately withdrawing them from matches ...
The Government’s announcement that it will scrap plans for a vast marine sanctuary around the Kermadec Islands is ‘shameful’ and will make it impossible for Aotearoa New Zealand to meet its international commitments, says the World Wide Fund for Nature ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By John Quiggin, Professor, School of Economics, The University of Queensland Shutterstock The federal government has bowed to pressure from the car industry, announcing it will relax proposed emissions rules for utes and vans and delay enforcement of the new standards ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Suzanne Rutland, Professor Emerita, University of Sydney In his latest book, Jewish Life in Medieval Spain, Jonathan Ray focuses on the tumult of the 14th century in Spain – a time of the plague, civil strife and war between the two largest ...
While creating a slate of world-class shows, Whakaata Māori also developed a generation of world-class creatives. Television is an odd word. It mixes the Ancient Greek and Latin languages, and its most literal meaning is “far-off sight”. In the contemporary and living language of te reo Māori, “whakaata” as a ...
Yesterday the UN Security Council passed a resolution demanding an immediate ceasefire in Israel’s war on Gaza. This significant step and the deteriorating humanitarian situation in Gaza prompted an urgent debate in the New Zealand Parliament. Leader ...
The Government’s decision to reduce access to continuous glucose monitors (CGM) not only threatens the lives of children with type 1 diabetes and increases the potential for ‘Dead in Bed’ syndrome, but also threatens the health of their parents an ...
Apples are available year-round, but the wide variety on offer involves intensive scientific research – and large-scale commercialisation. What’s beautiful, red, sweet and crunchy? Tony Martin’s favourite kind of apple: Sassy. The CEO of apple and pear breeding organisation Prevar, Martin’s fondness for Sassy represents professional success as well as ...
Family violence specialist service Shine is calling on employers to stop asking for proof of domestic violence in order for employees to access domestic violence leave. The call comes five years after the introduction of the Domestic Violence ...
The Deputy Chairperson of the Finance and Expenditure Committee is calling for public submissions on the Budget Policy Statement 2024. The Budget Policy Statement 2024 (BPS) sets out the Government's priorities for the 2024 Budget. It explains the approach ...
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Another Suicide by police?
I guess it’s too soon to say there is a rise in these tragedies, or if it is an indication of a rise in suicide generally. What surprised me was that ordinary police shot him dead, not armed offenders. If this is the case, are police informally armed these days and are these officers fully trained in negotiations with unstable, suicidal individuals with guns?
I would guess that in a situation like the one in the Hutt that the police’s first priority was the safety of the ‘innocent bystanders’. In a situation like this they don’t have much ‘wiggle room’.
I always understood that many police cars carried guns in the glovebox and have for a long time
On the front page of compost it shows a cop with a fire arm that is not a pistol.- Certainly no a hand gun from the police car.
Oops Dompost
hi dv,
no, you were right first time.
Haha
I guess the police don’t keep their Bushmaster rifle in the glovebox, probably the boot.
JanM
That was my understanding also.
Apparently some cars have carried Glock pistols and Bushmaster rifles since 2011
“The project will see existing stocks of Glock pistols and Bushmaster rifles moved from storage in police stations to response vehicles”
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/5782719/Guns-to-be-stored-in-police-cars
If events unfolded as reported by the media (and thats a big if) then the police did the right thing in stopping this person when they did
I think an onlooker took video of it, so they’ll have to tell all
The media describe the victim as weilding a high-powered rifle, I’d like to know what a high-powered rifle is or is it merely the media trying to make the story sound even more dramatic…which probably just answers my own question
I’d say that it was the MSM trying to make it all sound more dramatic. 99% of people wouldn’t know the difference between a 0.22 and a .308
I googled the difference between high powered and low powered and there does seem to be specific reasons to call a rifle high powered but how the media could tell from some grainy pics is beyond me but then controversy creates cash i suppose
That’s just the media isn’t it making things more dramatic but at close range even a .22 will do the job.
I’m guessing they’re meaning a hunting rifle (the bangs sounded very loud on the news anyway). I don’t know much about firearms but like a .303, not a .22 which you’d use to hunt rabbits.
I think with the number of witnesses that there were it’s hard to fault the police response. However the Police Association spokesman is using this to counter the government and the police’s own stats on the reduction in violent crime which I find objectionable, scaremongering and calling for a constantly armed police force.
Yet, Undecided, it was reported he was about to put the gun down but then he was shot.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/dominion-post/news/71872891/upper-hutt-shooting-man-was-close-to-giving-himself-up
Well more like someones opinion they were going to put the gun down unfortunatel which means he was probably still holding the rifle in a threatening manner
Your logic escapes me.
A witness within meters from the gunman claimed he was about to put the gun down and you automatically assume otherwise?
Holding a rifle in a threatening manner is not the same as beginning to place it down.
It will be interesting to see what any recorded footage shows.
They released helicopter footage last night of “efforts to save gunman’s life”, the video only shows them performing CPR after the shooting, not the moments leading up to the shooting. Funny they’re happy to release video that gives a positive image, rather than the controversial stuff..
Well my logic is that the witnesses are stating opinion not facts ie
The gunman killed by police was close to giving himself up before he was shot, a witness says.
How do they know he wasn’t about to continue shooting indiscriminately
“He said there was another staff member outside talking to the gunman, so I called her. She felt he was ready to give it up.”
Thats opinion
“He was about to put the gun down but then he was shot. They were doing resuscitation right outside the shop.”
He was about to put the gun down (maybe he was maybe he wasn’t) which means he was still holding it
But really its more the media twisting stories for their own benefit
A witness sighting him lowering his weapon is not the same as their opinion on his intentions, which, in this case, coincides with what they saw.
Unfortuantely for the victim he didn’t lower the weapon earlier in which case he would still be alive today
On the face of it the police proably did the right thing but hopefully the ensuing investigation will shed more light on the matter
If he was lowering his weapon before he was shot (which an eye witness clearly claims) it raises some serious questions for the police.
The fact you believe the police probably did the right thing is merely your opinion. But it’s not based on what was reported as you incorrectly claimed.
This doesn’t sound much like giving up to me….
“Philipson said a group of those who escaped went to the other side of the road and watched events unfold.
“He stood out there in the middle of the road there with his rifle … One of the police with a dog came at him and he had a shot at the dog.”
The police dog managed to reach the man and bit onto his leg, Philipson said.
As the man tried to fire at the dog, police fired a single shot at him, which brought him to the ground. “He went down.”
@ Lost Sheep
Reports are conflicting, thus can’t be used to substantiate the assertion being made. Which is the point being being made and my contention with Undecided’s initial comment.
@ Lost Sheep
Additionally, setting a police dog upon him is not considered a negotiation tactic. It’s an attack.
Therefore, in such a highly volatile situation it’s only natural to assume he would respond in kind.
in such a highly volatile situation it’s only natural to assume he would respond in kind.
To someone who thought that walking into a public area and starting shooting with a high powered rifle was a ‘natural’ thing to do, then it might also seem ‘natural’ that continuing to shoot when the Police are very obviously trying to stop you was going to improve your outcomes.
But for me, it sounds completely nuts.
On the other hand, given the number of potential victims directly in the immediate line of fire of someone who was actively shooting, I would have thought it completely ‘natural’ for the Police to try and resolve that threat as rapidly as possible….
@ Lost Sheep
Clearly walking into a public area and firing a firearm was a indication he was unbalanced, not natural. Nice attempted twist though.
Therefore, it’s only natural to assume that further provoking him would result in him responding in kind.
It’s yet to be established if lives were in further danger, especially if he was lowering his weapon as a witness claims.
So he was lowering his rifle at the same time as he was shooting at the police dog that was about to bite his leg, sounds like bollocks to me. The only person that I feel sorry for is the police officer that shot him.
He may have been lowering it before the dog was set upon him.
He might have been about to give up to the woman, but the police only knew that he was firing shots down the street and inside a building with a lot of people around. I think it could have ended up with no loss of life, but hard to blame the police for acting.
Irrespective of the law, it should be common knowledge that brandishing a firearm (or what is perceived to be a firearm) is likely to lead to one being shot.
It is common knowledge?
Not the first time by any means that has been demonstrated to be the case?
Exactly. Though I’m not sure why you question marked it? Typo perhaps?
Apologies. I misinterpreted the ‘should be’ to imply that it currently was not.
Apology accepted.
There has been lots of cases of people carrying and showing imitation firearms in public and not getting shot. Armed Offenders get called and try to diffuse the situation. I think it depends on the attitude of the offender on whether the police shoot or not, are they being threatening or relinquishing. In this case it appears the guy was doing both at times.
I’m glad our police aren’t trigger happy like in the US, because we shouldn’t be killing people unnecessarily and I think our police show good judgement on when to use force or not.
And there have been cases of people being shot. There was one some years back where a metal pipe was mistaken for a firearm.
There was also the baseball bat incident.
The police are people just like the rest of us, therefore, you can’t blame them for not wanting to take the risk, thus the public need to take this into account.
Furthermore, police often warn of the dangers (people may actually end up being shot) of brandishing imitation firearms.
Sure, although over the years I’ve heard many more news stories of people showing BB guns and firing in public and AOS being called out without firing, rather than offender shot dead armed with BB gun.
In this case, the offender was a danger to the public early on and it appears to have been a highly volatile situation. I think it would be hard for the police to switch from that mindset to one of him not being a threat unless he was face down on the road with his hands behind his head. Just my take.
When human nature is removed, the police are meant to act professionally and within the law.
An evaluation of the threat should have been (thus most likely would have been) taken at the time of the shooting. What the genuine threat level was at the time of the shooting is yet to be established, thus to early to point blame.
Pretty stark hearing Sharon Zollner from ANZ talking (National Radio this morning) about the “Truckometer” stalling for 6 quarters in a row. (The “truckometer” is a measure of freight movements, and is a pretty good approximation of economic activity).
Her view was that the economy is stalling, that we are exceedingly vulnerable to the Chinese slowdown, and that GDP growth down to 0-2% increase makes our economy far more vulnerable to changes in sentiment.
Here in Auckland it is incredibly easy to see the number of cranes on the horizon, hot new waterfront deals for luxury hotels, and think this is such a wonderful bubble we live in here.
And – apart from what you don’t see in the rest of the country – the story of the economy for me is the number of people homeless and begging on our streets, squashed in garages, in our hospitals, doing labouring but preferring to live in a car (as seen in the Western Leader this week).
When 6% unemployed goes to 7 and 8%, nothing will save Key.
Luckily for National there is no competition.
Key wins by default.
Key’s political competition is the economy, and he is losing.
Far more people trust Key with the economy than the Labour/Greens/NZ first combo.
The economy could crash and burn and Key would still be first choice.
Key has no rabbits to pull out of the hat anymore.
He has no Lord of the Rings extravaganzas, Rugby World Cups, the Sky City development won’t show in the construction stats for ages, Christchurch rebuild has peaked, dairy is fucked for years while farmers recover, tax take is low, TPPA died. He’s got nothing (except the hope that Auckland’s real estate market is actually immortal).
As for National vs Green-Labour coalition economic management trust, after 9 years it’s never about the alternative government, it’s about whether in the voters mind there is something so outstanding in a government that despite economic stagnation, they remain convinced the current lot are not stale and in need, as Michael Cullen said, of “Someone else’s turn to bat.”
That is, as Sharon Zollner said above, 0-2% growth makes everyone far too vulnerable to sentiment.
Actually it’s about credibility, which is Labours problem, they have none.
The way Labour has acted over the last 7 years has been abysmal, changing leaders and policy every 5 mins has destroyed the voters trust.
They just don’t look like a party who has what it takes to successfully run a country anymore.
Do you really believe all this BS, BM, or are you just bored and stirring for the fun of it?
I sense the latter.
BM current debt clock
NZ$ 106,592,057,833
And in June 92,496,090,302
Thus an INCREASE of 14 billion in 3 months
NOTE an INCREASE of 14 billion in 3 mths!!!!!!!
@BM
Key only has a 61-60 majority even where he was able to spin (lie) at the election that all was rosy in the economy. As more and more people see through Key and the economy tanks steadily towards 2017 Key and his revolting front bench will be in real trouble.
I see his resignation in Autumn 2016-he hates losing.
“And – apart from what you don’t see in the rest of the country – the story of the economy for me is the number of people homeless and begging on our streets, squashed in garages, in our hospitals, doing labouring but preferring to live in a car”
Yes, we do see it Ad. The rise in begging and homelessness in Wellington has been heartbreaking to witness. Any Wellingtonian can tell you how much this has risen in the last couple of years.
I had a chat with a woman who was begging. You see her all the time down Lambton Quay. I was struck by her sense of dignity, her friendliness, her articulate speech, and wondered how the f*ck such a regular person who probably once had a job and a life ended up spending her days begging for food on the footpath.
Not many people seem to care though. Perhaps exposing the stories of the the disappearing wealth and increasing debt of of the former middle classes, might be a factor in unseating Key.
It seems so many people, perhaps excluding comfortable financially well insulated baby boomers and the very wealthy, regardless of their generation, have all been kicked down a rung in the last decade.
Somethings gotta give.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/world/news/article.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=11510029
Is Angelina Jolie advocating war? I did not see that coming at all.
I’m not sure what she’s advocating from that. She’s calling for a stronger response but the article doesn’t actually say what sort of response. That could be on purpose if the MSM is looking to build a case for war.
Yeah true thats my assumption I’m curious as to what sort of response shes talking about though
Is jonkey nactional and his mates trying to undermine and create a crisis in the public health system in Christchurch….and create a climate for the vultures of privatisation of health to worm their way into Christchurch’s superb, caring, expert, efficient public hospital and state run health system?…SHAME!
Annette King is a very good opposition spokesperson on Health!
…GO Labour!
http://www.radionz.co.nz/national/programmes/morningreport/audio/201769896/fresh-allegations-of-bad-behaviour-by-health-officials
He’s National so the answer to that question is: Yes, most definitely. National understands that the easiest way to get permanent super-profits is to get the government to pay the private sector to do what the government actually does best.
Israel refuses to take refugees but tries to create more refugees
‘13,000 Palestinian buildings to be demolished in West Bank – UN report’
http://www.rt.com/news/314682-palestinian-buildings-demolition-israel/
‘Israel destroys EU-funded West Bank shelter for Palestinians while expanding settlements’
http://www.rt.com/news/240009-israel-eu-building-demolished/
‘Israeli court makes way for demolition of Palestinian village’
http://www.rt.com/news/255933-israel-court-demolition-village/
Israel should be forced back to the 1948 borders and Amerikkka plus bankers and the military-industrial elite should stop sending them money and arms. It’s only because the neon-CONs want an outpost in the middle east to stir up trouble with the arabs! Israel out of Palestinian land!!!
Overcrowding in New Zealand. Some questions for the government here about infrastructure, health spending, tenancy laws, and adequate regulation and monitoring.
Questions also for the landlord class.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/southland-times/71825542/slumlike-conditions-anxiety-emerging-in-queenstown-amid-housing-crisis
In the above Stuff article, a landlord gets $140 per week each for 14 residents. One bathroom provided.
http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/regional/283650/squalid-rentals-in-millionaires‘-resort. In this article on National radio this morning we learn about Queenstown, where up to thirty people are regularly living in one house, four to a room. Meantime, one third of luxury houses stand empty, as they are holiday homes.
http://www.3news.co.nz/nznews/study-links-overcrowding-and-antibiotic-use-2015070313#axzz3lBTuvsHK
Surprise, surprise. Housing has an effect on people’s health.
And the ODT tells us that overcrowded hospitals kill some 400 patients a year, similar to the road toll.
http://www.odt.co.nz/news/national/21330/overcrowding-killing-patients
Hi lprent,
I sent a post idea to the gmail address a while ago but never heard anything back, to I sent it through to your geek address yesterday (using my slightly dumb smart phone, which couldn’t handle an explanatory note using the keypad). Did you get it ok?
Usual problem. Just very busy at work, spent the weekend with my parents (mother has been very sick), and I’m not getting enough sleep. Lyn caught that damn coughing cold that has been floating around and that laid me out for weeks.
I have three guest posts that I need to look through. But they are down the list after doing basics like running moderation.
Put vicks on her feet
Doesn’t work for every one but when the woman was coughing her lungs out and hadn’t slept for days, I came across this.
http://www.peoplespharmacy.com/2012/12/20/ridiculous-vicks-remedy-actually-cured-cough/
I do not lie when I say the coughing literally disappeared within 5 minutes and she coughed maybe once during the night.
Instead of thick socks we put freezer bags on her feet and covered them with a pair of light socks.
I will suggest it 🙂
Which would explain the lack of moderation the other day.
*sniff*
Own it, weasel.
I usually moderate (as do others) every day. That isn’t to say that I don’t miss some. But I’d seldom drop below seeing 85% of all comments.
What does happen is there is a shift in the depth when I don’t have time. I usually go draconian and start handing out bans like confetti. It becomes less work (for me) to get rid of people acting up for significiant periods of time than it is waste time to educate them about behavioral boundaries.
When I have the time, I tend to be a whole lot ‘nicer’ and tolerant. People often view that as being being little or no moderation.
But much of the time what people regard as things that should be moderated are simply people being impolite, offensive, curt or abrupt. None of which are commonly of interest to me as a moderator. I’m only really interested in things that constrain debate, lose authors and moderators, or otherwise affect the site. Peoples feelings are the least of my interests…
But I usually sweep through several times during the day. Typically about 4 times. Generally there is little or nothing for me to do.
Cheers, thanks for that – just making sure you got it.
You your loved ones get better soon.
a guest post, this sounds exciting. I’m kind of hoping it’s about the worship of Dionysis, and I’m really hoping it’s not about vaccination, but I’m sure it’s neither and I can’t think what it might be. Are you going to give us a clue?
A description of a pseudo-Weberian model of leadership and its application to political tactics.
rather banal, sadly. But I let it gestate for a while after writing, and it has a point that still seems vaguely constructive, so I figure why not.
My first attempt was a fairly ranty post following on from the Assange debate at its height a few years back, and it either got missed or simply filed in the round filing cabinet. Probably for the best. So I’ll be thinking many times before writing a post on vaccination, cyclists, or smoking – I know I’m right, but to what good? 🙂
And now to throw a spanner in the flag debate:
Something that put a smile on my face:
Cameron Slater today again on his blog site not being able to write “NZ Herald.” Attributes an article to one of their writers and instead of ‘Herald’ puts ‘A newspaper’.
It reminds me of kid putting his hands over his eyes in front of everyone and says, “I can see you but you can’t see me!” 😊
My City Sucks and it’s Great
Interestingly enough, this is pretty much the same system that the Venus Project for not only getting rid of the garbage but also delivery of the groceries.
10 years on from Katrina, and I have to say this is the best analysis I’ve seen so far.
Oh and I laughed too.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1zL_Ek2RuZ8
I wonder if ‘heck-of-a -job’ Brownie was at the festivities?
Good, funny and sad video.
Call for submissions on the EPA. Submissions close tomorrow.
The rather large shortcomings of stored solar electricity (eg electric cars) and why I see green tech as an interim not a true sustainability solution,
https://twitter.com/deepgreenresist/status/641416116640813056
It’s one of the reasons why I hold that batteries for storing solar power should be illegal. Use the power generated to keep our dams full and our rivers flowing.
But that requires that we act cooperatively and the RWNJs don’t like that idea as it means that they can’t become rich bludgers.
And here’s the thing: I don’t really consider that hole in the ground to be an environmental catastrophe – it’s just a hole in the ground. How it was dug was, the poisons that leech into the ground from the processing of the extracted earth is but the actual hole in the ground not so much.
I probably would have said that is the way we need to go not so long ago. But now I think following any sort of world economic crisis this sort of new technology is the first that is going to go bankrupt. Then we’ve got dwindling oil supplies to deal with, so everyone having one of these in their home is a pipe dream.
Not sure what the answer is, maybe people can fashion together old car batteries if they want storage capacity.
Another commentary on the flag. My bold, doesn’t sound too hard, does it?
http://idealog.co.nz/design/2015/09/seeing-red-peak
that sounds sensible, eventually. Did you read the Metro article about Absurdistan?
It fits this government, to a “T”.
Which brings me to the excellent article in the Metro by Graham Adams titled:
How bizarre: Is New Zealand becoming the Absurdistan of the South Pacific?
well worth the read…
http://www.metromag.co.nz/current-affairs/how-bizarre/
“Say No”…fabulous music from the Wairoa whanau re- amalgamation
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ceiQQW2Daw&feature=youtu.be
( when I watched I couldn’t help thinking about jonkey’s new New Zealand flag at $26 million)
SAY NO!
…and to the TPPA!
…and to privatisation of social welfare and State housing
…and selling off of State Assets…
…and to foreign buy up of New Zealand !….SAY NO !
Lessons from a crashed economy NOT learned:
Although that’s about the UK I’m pretty sure that the same holds true for NZ. Increasing debt is, IMO, the only thing that keeping the economy going and the only place it can go is down.
As the saying goes: Debt that can’t be repaid won’t be repaid.
Abby Martin is back. Her new show. Woohoo.
http://therealnews.com/t2/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=31&Itemid=74&jumival=14663
Those that are day dreaming ones that think “negotiating” peace in Syria is possible, you are idiots, you have a choice between the following if you believe that:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZQAc8dO3Ib0
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=seMM7is9Hgo
One or the other will win, or at least play a major role,
So where do “progressives” stand, FFS?
Logical analysis will show, that Jabhat Al Nusra and allied forces will win the war in Syria, leaving the US and the west to shame, and after all Osama Bin Laden will have won HIS war and Israel is next to fall. The West and Russia will all be screwed.