‘In her first formal speech to the House following the State Opening on Wednesday, Ardern told Opposition leader Bill English she understood the desire to defend their record.
“I would simply remind them, that in defending their record they must also defend record homelessness. They must also defend dirty rivers and lakes. They must also defend inequality and yes, child poverty.
“So by all means defend the record of the last nine years, while we get on with fixing it,” she said.
Amy Adams was the liar of the day for me. Arguing that their pay equity bill would achieve/enhance pay equity. After years of spending our money fighting equal pay for care workers and losing, the Nats sought to ensure it was triply hard for others to follow suit.
Again, the media airtime these people are getting is astonishing. Perhaps it is cos the election was September instead of November? When the later there is less time til summer close down?
Jesus Antoine. You’re a bag of surprises at times – even if you think that femme fatale polly has a nice smile but worry your fat arse might not live up to her expectations
Agreed vto. If we can sneer at white coloured people without being termed racist then we can sneer at any other coloured person with the same immunity. Best we sneer at nobody because of the colour of their skin.
It’s shorthand for Pakeha male dominated fora which, lacking diversity, are poorly informed. Sooooo, dumb honky yobs? Arrogant EuroTrash – ooops, taken. Pasty Blokey Jokies? Oh wait, you can tweet 280 characters now. We can surely debate at length 😉
People need to start understanding the privilege that is attached to being White and White and Male, which differentiates them from being oppressed as such in the way that brown or female or disable or or or are. I am all for articulate discussion rather than easy memes (which substitute for genuine facts as “politically correct” does.
So, former Act MP Donna Awatere Huata & her cousin the prominent wealthy & powerful Maori lawyer Donna Hall – married to former High Court judge & Waitangi Tribunal chairman Sir Edward Durie – (her legal fees from several years of high-profile Treaty of Waitangi claims was one reason she was chosen for the National Business Review’s 2000 rich list, which claimed she could have earned about $10 million) = “oppressed”
White Male working-class, minimum wage, beneficiary = “privileged”
Interesting isn’t it, Whitey white males also suffer racism.
Try being a whitey in an east coast pub.
In fact non whites are extremely racist against whitey whites in my experience.
I have, often. Awesome bonhomie, comedy, amusement and a touch of sadness with a cast of memorable characters and, remembering discretion is the better part, invites to the best parties after chucking out time.
I see that the Natzi’s newest little lap-boy Chris Bishop has been on the Spinoff trumpeting their 10 most wonderful achievements of the last 9 years. He has drunk the Kool Aid big time. I read words like ‘financial’, ‘productive’, ‘competitive’ – all good Nat Party words related to money and business, which of course is all those blue suited bastards care about. Then he has the unmitigated gall to reflect on (as he sees it) reduced child poverty, reforms to welfare, better electricity provision and (worst of all) higher achievement in education!!
This a prime example of the delusional and arrogant manner with which Natzis see themselves. They even think they’ve done a good job with Christchurch, for god’s sake.
It is so heartening to see the relentless positivity of the new government, even in the face of junky political moves by the sore losers. All the crap they are creating in the house is nothing but sour grapes and does nothing to advance the plight of those who need mature, focused and empathetic government. They play self-aggrandising games while L/GP/NZF try to move the country forward. It’s pathetic and sickening.
Monty Python member Terry Jones wrote a great kids book I’ve always loved called Fairy Tales. One story I recall is called Simple Peter’s Mirror where a farm boy is gifted a magic mirror which allows the user to see themselves as others see them.
Just imagine if the mirror was given to the National Party and English, Bennett, Collins, Brownlee, Adams, Bridges, Barry, Joyce, Kaye, Coleman, Tolley etc looked into it.
They wouldn’t care. They really don’t care when their ravings are shown to be lies or unsubstantiated garbage. Isn’t that right Wayne?
That’s the really scary thing. Typical psychopathic tendencies.
Wasn’t there a story about a painting that showed the person’s true self and because they didn’t like what it showed the person boxed it in a small room?
Yeah, the nats would hide such a mirror in the small room.
The Prime Minister needs to continue with her relentless positivity. Someone on the front bench needs to be the bad cop to her good cop. Otherwise the opposition will continue to get all the anti government press.
methinks the press coverage would be the same whether she were positive or not, or she had a bad cop. The press is the issue not the Labour Mps. Cast back tot he election campaign…
she got good coverage on Stuff today….a “strong” speech…respect for hitting back at Englishes inane criticisms….the Nats problem is they have the boring tainted liar English against a new exciting good communicator. English should resign.
Some wanker that owns a garage in putaruru is drilibritly taking 2 weeks to fix my mokos VAN Doing a job that would take me 2 hours and you mite think well this is the way of the world. But this is not the first time this wanker has done this to my Daughter this is the 3rd time and you no who is instergating this A. They cannot even leave my moko out of this Kai kaha
“The House GOP whip might lose to a socialist Marine veteran? Is that actually happening?”
It was indeed. Democrat Lee Carter, a red-haired, 30-year-old Marine veteran from Manassas, won a remarkable nine-point victory to oust Delegate Jackson Miller, a deep-pocketed Republican incumbent who serves as House Majority Whip. Carter ran openly as a socialist—he and his supporters crooned the union anthem “Solidarity Forever” after their victory—and he won with almost no institutional support from the state Democratic Party. The Richmond Times-Dispatch’s Patrick Wilson reported last month that party leaders “abandoned” Carter after he declined to report campaign metrics like the number of doors he’d knocked and the amount of money he’d raised. Carter told Wilson he “ceased reporting to the House caucus after multiple information security lapses in which confidential information that we reported to the House caucus was leaked outside of the party infrastructure.” But he also said the party leaders “wanted a bit more editorial control over my messaging than I was comfortable with.” Wilson wrote that “Democratic Party leaders were not eager to discuss Carter, preferring to promote other candidates.” In fact, Wilson called Carter “the kind of rogue candidate that gives an apparatus like the Democratic Party of Virginia a fit.”
The left celebrates the election of Transgender Danica Roem defeating a traditional Christian candidate who tried to pass a law to protect children from crossdressing men in public toilets. #VirginiaElection#maga#HuffPo God save the USA. pic.twitter.com/CVpKoij3TT— Mutha Jones (@HibernoDiaspora) November 8, 2017
Her opponent used male pronouns to describe her. He refused to debate her. But last night, Danica Roem made history https://t.co/XuDH72ntfI— Washington Post (@washingtonpost) November 8, 2017
Danica Roem’s “I don’t attack my constituents. Bob is my constituent now.” is one of the all time great political responses.— Franklin Leonard (@franklinleonard) November 8, 2017
For anyone who was not watching Parliament at about 9.30pm last night (yes I was that bad a political tragic!) this exchange between Jami-Lee Ross and Anne Tolley in her new role as Deputy Speaker is well worth a couple of minutes.
I have never had much time for Ms Tolley, but I was quite impressed with her handling of her new role earlier in the session. Then I was really impressed with her handling of JLR and his absolute arrogance and disdain for her authority – and that of the Clerk of the House.
What an obnoxious prat. Jami-Lee Ross. I thought it was a woman and find a burly bully on screen. He is trying the broken record style of dominating a discussion, which is to repeat a point until others are forced to give him or her precedence. But there are Parliamentary Rules that are like traffic rules, and people must proceed in their proper order. He is the Senior National Whip FGS.
Watch out for him on the road. Perhaps there could be a jlr traffic compliance surveillance group to make sure that he doesn’t run over cyclists or pedestrians unwary enough to venture onto pedestrian crossings, or try to move between lanes or pavements, requiring a little tolerance from drivers.
Did anyone else in passing see that Paula Bennett video contribution in a vehicle (presumably ‘going forward’)?
Couldn’t one of ‘the gals’ at least have told her she’d been misreading the label?
I guess not, but Paula, Dear, Sweatie!
It’s one every twelve hours, not twelve every 1 hour
I don’t usually watch Parliament Q & A on Thursday, but decided to do so today.
It has been an hour of laughs and well worth watching.
Mallard as Speaker is great and has set the scene for the future. National won’t be thinking that, though, in particular “Stephen” Bridges. He will be spitting tacks. (As well as Jami-Lee Ross after last night’s slap down – see 10 above.)
If you watch nothing else watch Question 9, but there are snippets throughout the entire hour. Pure Theatre at times, and I suspect planned as such.
PS – Don’t judge the answers to questions to the PM given by Kelvin Davis (as Acting PM while both Ardern and Peters are overseas) on first impressions. I suspect that it was planned that the answers should be as non-committal as they are for the final effect. LOL
@ veuto
Ditto Me.
But if you chose to stay with PTV, I hope you saw The Jude’s efforts.
If ever there was a ‘positioning’ for a knife in the back style bid for leadership – there you had it.
Dressed in grey, covering a lovely floral number, there went Jude hard out with raspy voice, delivering her gNatzi message. (btw – not entirely based on evidence)
If there were to be a putsch – odds on.
I’m now left wondering amongst the gNatzis – who is the most running scared.
I’ll let you know ( after considering their past efforts, and not that anyone should consider me part of any ‘incrowd’ bubble)
Good. Be even better if they dropped the first two words as this is a terrestrial pragmatic meeting of ideas and decisions. MPs should own it and forget it being a god’s will!
That's the only way to describe the government's plans for a Parliamentary Budget Office to allow opposition parties to get an independent costing of their policies. When the idea was first floated back in 2016 as an office within Treasury, I thought that wasn't independent enough and argued that it ...
Today is a Member's day, and after the third reading of Hamish Walker's KiwiSaver (Oranga Tamariki Guardians) Amendment Bill, Parliament will be continuing the committee stage of David Seymour's End of Life Choice Bill. The bigots have put up another pile of amendments in an effort to delay or wreck ...
Television advertising has a huge impact on our lives. Even if we don’t recognise that, we know it has to be true, since otherwise why would advertisers spend so much on it? Its significance, however, is greater than simply the influence it has on what we purchase and consume. It ...
by Jan Rivers More than 30 years ago a Commission of Inquiry was held in New Zealand to investigate, amongst other things, whether women with cervical cancer were aware that they had been part of a research project and whether they were properly informed of the treatment options ...
Everyone Wants To Be Fuhrer: When fascist groups are discussed, the image conjured-up in the minds of most New Zealanders is one of pathetic misfits. This negative impression is reinforced by the latter’s idiotic embrace of the swastika. Even in the second decade of the twenty-first century, the baleful legacy ...
by Philip Ferguson This weekend just past marks the 50th anniversary of Woodstock, the most famous of the great 1960s music festivals. It was held over the weekend (Friday-Monday) of August 15-18, 1969. Woodstock was a highpoint of the US ‘counter-culture’, and also the beginning of its end. When exploring the ...
It looks like the government has won over the public on its vehicle feebate scheme:A feebate scheme that would transfer hundreds of millions of dollars from buyers of higher-emission cars into the pockets of people buying EVs and other more fuel-efficient vehicles has been winning favour with submitters, the Government ...
When people suggest lowering the voting age, others argue that the young are too uneducated or silly to exercise the duties of citizenship. Australian John Quiggin has just blown that argument out of the water:Looking at the array of ignorant and vindictive old men attacking Greta Thunberg and other young ...
In the previous two posts, I laid out the context and set the theoretical framework to answer a question: whether indigenous economies should take the LEAP. This final part outlines ways to conceive of practicing mana motuhake within the existing legal system by carving out special jurisdictions that enable Indigenous ...
Fully Informed? Labour’s 2017 promises raised expectations that were little short of revolutionary. Unfortunately, they were never adequately shaken through the fiscal sieve. The hard economic work was not done – and it shows. Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern’s critics have long complained that her grasp of the way the New ...
You cannot expect to pound communities into the ground day after day, year after year, decade after decade and just expect them to take it lying down. There’s a point at which the place will explode. And we’re faced with some very big ructions on both sides of the Atlantic ...
Back in May, Destiny Church leaders Brian and Hannah Tamaki launched another political party. Despite consisting entirely of followers of their religion, they grandly called it "Coalition New Zealand", in a vain effort to suggest it was something broader. But when they applied for registration, submitters opposed the name, as ...
The following article is excerpted and translated from two articles in recent issues of Lutte de Classe (Class Struggle), the magazine of Lutte Ouvrière (Workers Struggle), the revolutionary workers group active in France. We don’t necessarily agree with everything in it – for instance, the 1956-62 war for independence involved rather more revolutionary forces than ...
The Pacific is on the front line of climate change, and if we don't cut emissions quickly, some countries are literally going to be underwater. Because of this, small Pacific states had tried to use this week's Pacific Islands Forum meeting to get Pacific countries to agree to ending coal ...
To Limit Another's Rights Is To Limit One's Own: Is it too much to expect senior members of our Government to be capable of explaining that we protect the rights of human-beings precisely because not even the most depraved act can cancel-out the fact that its perpetrator is also a ...
Going Down? Once truth and propaganda become fused in the minds of one’s followers, debate and discussion become redundant. If one’s opponents are all outrageous liars, then engaging with them in any way is pointless. Rather than waste its time, a political party should, instead, target all its messages at ...
This section builds on Part 1 of this series to provide a theoretical basis for the final instalment (part 3 – to come). Self-determination: law or resurgence — or both? International law promotes the principal of equal treatment and self-determination, which includes peoples’ rights to freely pursue their social, cultural and ...
Everyone was outraged yesterday to learn that the Christchurch shooting accused had been able to send mail from prison to his Nazi fans, apparently pushing more hate. "How could this possibly happen", people asked. Simple: because New Zealand is a civilised country, and so we let prisoners send and receive ...
If we are to avoid dangerous anthropogenic climate change, we need to rapidly decarbonise our transport fleet. The good news: its starting to happen:The number of electric vehicles on New Zealand's roads have nearly tripled in the past two years. There are currently 15,453 registered electric vehicles (EVs), up ...
We need to fundamentally reframe our systems settings to address the drivers causing and underpinning inequality; structural change in systems especially financial. The Equality Network Hui was held in Wellington on 27 June 2019. The hui covered important topics such as child poverty; a living wage; taxation; public health; mental ...
The views-per-page for some of my recent postings:Depressing, isn't it? Provide thoughtful and wise commentary on the mainstream of British politics and no-one notices. Make a passing reference to Tommy DICKHEAD Robinson in a thread title and you get hundreds of views. Write something about anti-Semitism and you get another ...
The government has announced plans to move the Treaty of Waitangi and other taonga to a new site. Great news! So where are they going? Right next to the old one:The new plan will see a new 22,000-square-metre archive built on the former site of Defence House - the former ...
Back in June, StatsNZ went public about a project to track population data on an hourly level by using people's cellphones. It wasn't as bad as it initially looked - they were receiving no individual data, only counts by suburb - but there was still a huge consent problem, so ...
Most economists agree that a currently slowing economy could do with some stimulus – and they would also agree that there is no shortage of infrastructure projects which could be brought to productive fruition with help from that stimulus. In view of the current practice of sub-contracting economic policy decisions ...
I did an interview on the TVNZ Breakfast Show about the situation in Hong Kong. I tried to frame the issue as a collective action problem between two sides with very different end games. The video is here. Because of time constraints we could not discuss the fact that the ...
Image Credit: Wild Rose College A new study reporting the ranges of values for kidney and liver parameters in a healthy population is being actively misrepresented by anti-fluoride campaigners. The Fluoride Action Network’s (FAN) latest ...
Image Credit: Wild Rose College A new study reporting the ranges of values for kidney and liver parameters in a healthy population is being actively misrepresented by anti-fluoride campaigners. The Fluoride Action Network’s (FAN) latest ...
AN OPEN LETTER FOR SIGN ON BY ORGANISATIONS AND MOVEMENTS ACROSS THE WORLD, ALLIED IN THE FIGHT AGAINST INEQUALITY. This letter was released at the UN Political Forum on 9 July, where the Sustainable Development Goal on inequality was reviewed. The purpose of the letter is to call out the ...
We asked a young gay science student and critic of trans ideology and the trans activists’ assault on women’s and gay rights to outline his views on Redline. Thanks to him for his article. by Cian Ó Catháin Gender identity ideology (Gender ID) is ripping through western society at full ...
The Environment Committee is currently hearing submissions on the Zero Carbon Bill, and Stuff is reporting on the submissions. Today, they're covering yesterday they heard from "NZ" Steel:NZ Steel has told MPs it may be forced to close with the loss of thousands of jobs if changes aren't made to ...
Students are striking against climate change on September 27. And this time, they're asking everyone to join them:Students are taking to the streets, beaches and parks on 27 September, and we're inviting everyone to join us. That's right, this is an intergenerational issue, and you're all invited to put pressure ...
Peter McKenzie has a piece on Newsroom this morning about how local body politics is awash with property developer cash. 70% of all the donations in the 2016 Wellington mayoral election came from property developers. And its pretty obvious what they want in exchange:That’s particularly important in local government, according ...
Source: Unknown, twitter user Recently, I wrote a (relatively) short paper titled as above, to explore what self-determination could like in a practical sense. Maybe I’m a bit of an international trade truther or something, but I absolutely believe trade is at the heart of achieving peace and self-determination. Since ...
In the 1960s, after I had graduated with a first-class Oxford postgraduate law degree, I joined the British Foreign Office as the top entrant of my year. There, I worked for a couple of years on European affairs and was eventually posted to the Embassy in Brussels. After this exposure ...
Alone, Alone. All, All Alone: Will it be a good or a bad thing, when humanity’s bright blue spacecraft is stricken by the civilisation-destroying problem of Climate Change, that no Huston Control will be standing-by to rescue the crew?“WE HAVE A PROBLEM, HUSTON.” These were the words used by the ...
I heard a 45 minute interview with Monica Lewinsky talking to TED’s Chris Anderson on BBC Radio 4 over the weekend, and have listened to it another two times out walking. I recommend it. Highly. Man, I am so impressed with how this woman has integrated her life experiences and ...
Jonathan Haidt and Greg Lukianoff, The Coddling of the American Mind: how good intentions and bad ideas are setting up a generation for failure, London, Penguin, 2019, 352pp; reviewed by Gearóid Ó Loingsigh Jonathan Haidt and Greg Lukianoff’s book The Coddling of the American Mind is a timely book, whose ...
When the Justice Committee reported back on the Administration of Justice (Reform of Contempt of Court) Bill, free speech advocates breathed a sigh of relief. As originally introduced, the Bill reitered the ancient offence of "scandalising the court" - basicly, a special sedition law protecting judges from criticism. The select ...
Eighteen months ago, the government promised to strengthen the Bill of Rights Act, by explicitly affirming the power of the courts to issue declarations of inconsistency and requiring Parliament to formally respond to them. Since then - crickets. Which raises the obvious question: are they actually going to do this, ...
Back in March, the Ministry of Justice conducted a public consultation exercise on whether to hold a review of the Official Information Act. 285 people submitted on it. Now, Stuff has trawled through those submissions, and the case for reform is strong:The Justice Ministry asked Kiwis what they thought was ...
National's prisoner voting ban has gone down as one of the worst laws in New Zealand history. Passed after a farcical debate (including this farcial speech from ACT MP Hilary Calvert), it has subsequently been found to be inconsistent with the Bill of Rights Act by the High Court, Court ...
Divided Loyalties: Can the Prime Minister, Jacinda Ardern, be relied upon? That’s what the boys and girls at Foggy Bottom and the Pentagon needed to be reassured about. Because, from the perspective of Washington, it’s looking more and more like Jacinda Ardern and her Labour Party comrades are getting ready ...
This handy Queer Theory Glossary is from thetranswidow.com In case you’ve had trouble keeping up with the spate of new queer theory terms, here’s a handy glossary for your reference. Queer – A straight person with an interesting haircut. Non-binary/genderqueer – A chubby young female, typically 16-28, who has ...
by Daphna Whitmore US social psychologist and author Jonathan Haidt spoke on 1 August in Auckland to a crowd of around one thousand people. He is best known for his bookThe Coddling of the American Mind which examines the new climate of trigger warnings and acute sensitivity of Gen Z. ...
What an extraordinarily depressing experience it is to be compelled to watch, at 12,000 miles distance, the contortions and machinations of the British political class as they set about their determined attempt to overturn the decision taken by the British people that they wish to leave the European Union. The ...
The winter grazing issue is becoming a highly sensitised one that I hope will not become so politicised that it delays solutions and results in the suicides of some very stressed farmers.Winter grazing has hit the headlines after a determined campaign, including the release of a video of some very ...
by Don Franks Way back when British guitar virtuoso Joe Brown was a beginning session guy he got to back a visiting American artist. Young Joe was an able technician but had yet to learn some points of professionalism. Part way through “Five foot high and rising” Joe tired of ...
Since scientists started studying climate change, they have warned that it will reduce food production. And now, its happening:The climate crisis is damaging the ability of the land to sustain humanity, with cascading risks becoming increasingly severe as global temperatures rise, according to a landmark UN report compiled by some ...
The Abortion Legislation Bill just passed its first reading, 94-23. Its a far bigger margin than I expected, even allowing for the Winston factor, and it reflects the overwhelming support there is in this country for reform. but that support isn't a new thing - it has existed for literally ...
The Justice Committee has called for submissions on the Referendums Framework Bill. The Bill does what it says on the label - establishes a framework for referenda. Things you may want to address in your submission: Whether the bill should apply only at the 2020 election, or whether it should ...
The Thompson and Clark / MBIE spying scandal continues to result in fallout, this time in the form of a report on the implementation of MBIE's "Operation Exploration", its internal operation to enforce the infamous Anadarko Amendment which criminalised protests against the oil industry. MBIE's enforcement operation was tainted by ...
So, Winston Peters is defending his last-minute demand for a referendum on abortion by claiming he was "blindsided" by the bill. Really? The bill is a government bill. It has been working through the cabinet approval process since December last year. As part of that process, NZ First was consulted, ...
The Green Part has been accused of lack of transparency in two recent situations. The first was the claimed media lockdown during Green's annual conference and the second was Julie Ann Genter's refusal to release a letter she had sent to Phil Twyford.I do get frustrated when journalist's succumb to ...
The Green Part has been accused of lack of transparency in two recent situations. The first was the claimed media lockdown during Green's annual conference and the second was Julie Ann Genter's refusal to release a letter she had sent to Phil Twyford.I do get frustrated when journalist's succumb to ...
Last week, the ongoing democracy protests in Hong Kong saw a pro-Hong Kong student assaulted at the University of Auckland. The Chinese consulate in Auckland followed this up with a press release "express[ing] its appreciation to the students for their spontaneous patriotism" - effectively condoning the assault and inciting further ...
Only those who close their eyes and minds to the evidence can still be in any doubt that we are facing a climate change crisis. The evidence is conclusive that the world is not only getting inexorably hotter, but also that the rising temperatures are creating a number of other ...
Rural communities are wailing about forestry conversions "taking land out of production" and putting it into locking up carbon. Its driven purely by economics: there's more money and lower costs in carbon than in sheep or beef, and if carbon prices rise, there'll be more net money than dairy even. ...
This week, the government introduced its (underwhelming) Abortion Legislation Bill. And despite having negotiated the text of the bill through the coalition process, Winston Peters is now suggesting that he will demand a referendum on it:NZ First leader Winston Peters has hinted that his party may only support the Government's ...
Blowing-Up The House: Is Winston Peters planning to put himself at the head of all those New Zealanders who refuse to countenance the Coalition Government caving-in to the Ihumatao protesters? The most effective way of doing this would be to issue Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern with an ultimatum. If she ...
Last night the police dramatically incresed their numbers at Ihumātao, shoving over protestors and threatening them with arrest. Despite police talk about the need to maintain "public order" and prevent a "breach of the peace", there appeared to be absolutely no justification for this: the protest camp is, was, and ...
A Cult, that many actors, politicians, and those with a low IQ are joining is sweeping across civilisation, with one main intention – ending humans reign on Earth. Starting as a well meaning though deeply flawed theory, that the Earth was warming due to mankind emitting greenhouse gasses, it was ...
Today's abortion reform announcement is just the latest in a long line of disappointing decisions or outright failures from the Labour government. The 90-day law. KiwiBuild. A capital gains tax. Climate change. Every time they make one of those decisions, we hope for better next time. No repeal of the ...
The Greens used their party conference over the weekend to push for a rent-to-own scheme, where people would be able to work towards home ownership by renting from the government. Its a sensible policy, and one which could make a real difference to home ownership rates. But its also basicly ...
Opportunities to dodge tax are shrinking with the completion of a new tax agreement with Switzerland, Revenue Minister Stuart Nash announced today. Mr Nash and the Swiss Ambassador David Vogelsanger have today signed documents to update the double tax agreement (DTA). The previous DTA was signed in 1980. “Double tax ...
Small Business Minister Stuart Nash says the report of the Small Business Council will help maintain the momentum for innovation and improvements in the sector. Mr Nash has thanked the members of the Small Business Council (SBC) who this week handed over their report, Empowering small businesses to aspire, succeed ...
Jordan Williams, a spokesman for the Auckland Ratepayers’ Alliance and its nationwide sister group the New Zealand Taxpayers’ Union is slamming Auckland Mayor Phil Goff for his comments today that John Tamihere would need the Government’s support to ...
A ‘one size fits all’, inflexible and punitive regulatory regime for water quality just gets backs - and costs - up and most importantly will not work, Federated Farmers says. ...
Mediation yesterday between secondary principals and the government has resulted in a deal that the principals' negotiating team is recommending to its members. ...
Clubs New Zealand welcomes the decision of Justice Minister Andrew Little to put forward a bill amending the Sale and Supply of Alcohol Act to allow all licensed premises to remain open for Rugby World Cup matches. ...
The Australia and New Zealand Ministerial Forum on Food Regulation has ordered a review looking at labelling of added sugars in food and drinks. An option under investigation is ‘a pictorial approach applied to sugary beverages / sugar-sweetened beverages’ ...
Labour market data released by Statistics New Zealand today indicates that a gender pay gap persists in New Zealand, despite improvement in some areas. ...
In the midst of the 6th Great Extinction Event the coalition, STOP Trashing Our Planet is urging voters to take full responsibility for the legacy we are leaving our children. ...
LGNZ will carefully consider the proposed National Policy Statement on Urban Development (NPS-UD) to assess if it meets the Government’s aim of enabling urban development or simply adds more red tape to the planning process. ...
Statistics out today from the Government show that the gender wage imbalance, or gap, in the average wage is 11.9%, a strong 2 percentage point improvement from 13.9% last year. The gender pay imbalance in the median wage is 9.3%. ...
Newstalk ZB Drive host and Herald on Sunday columnist Heather du Plessis-Allan is taking on the challenge of keeping 2019 Auckland Mayoral contenders Phil Goff and John Tamihere in line and on point in tonight’s live NZ Herald Newstalk ZB debate. ...
After twenty years Napier residents have endured heavy sleep and health disruptive noise and air pollution from freight trucks gridlock operations to and from the Napier port and other regions. ...
The EMA says much is riding on the board and chief executive of the new National Infrastructure Commission (NIC) announced by Infrastructure Minister Hon Shane Jones today, with a difficult task ahead to deliver on its purpose. ...
The Public Service Association welcomes the introduction of workplace standards by the State Services Commission that make it clear public services should expect positive and safe workplaces. ...
The Financial Services Federation (FSF) - the voice of responsible lenders and leasing companies - and FinCap - working with consumers facing financial hardship - are signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) this Thursday 22 August in Auckland. It will ...
Wellington, 20 August 2019 — Lawyers for Vulnerable New Zealanders (LVNZ) has lent its support to the amendments proposed by MP Chris Penk to better protect vulnerable people from being coerced to end their lives under the End of Life Choice Bill, currently ...
The Government’s decision to establish and independent Parliamentary Budget Office, outside of Treasury, is a taxpayer victory and will improve democracy, says the New Zealand Taxpayers' Union . Taxpayers' Union spokesman Louis Houlbrooke says, “It's ...
The Taxpayers’ Union can reveal that the cost-benefit analysis prepared by Ministry of Transport and used to advise Ministers on the Government’s Clean Car Standard and ‘Feebate’ policies has serious flaws which undermine justifications for the ...
The Aotearoa New Zealand Association of Social Workers (ANZASW) welcomes new proposals for prison reform put forward by the Minister of Corrections and non-government organisations recently. ...
The New Zealand Maori Council has called on the nation to address all forms of racism and not to shy away from an honest conversation about where it’s taking hold. The call comes after the Nelson Club decided to keep a member after his comments became ...
Wellington (20 August 2019): The New Zealand Initiative enthusiastically welcomes the Coalition Government’s announcement of an Independent Parliamentary Budget Office. Finance Minister Grant Robertson and Associate Finance Minister James Shaw ...
Drs Say No agree with Chris Penk’s amendment to protect vulnerable patients from coercion, although the organisation still maintains that no safe euthanasia legislation can ever be drafted and continues to urge MPs to defeat the End of Life Choice Bill. ...
The Chief Ombudsman Peter Boshier says the Northland Regional Corrections Facility is persisting with policies that are preventing it from achieving its full potential. ...
The second national hui in the Māori-led Inquiry into Oranga Tamariki concluded yesterday ahead of schedule after a capacity audience formally ratified the terms of reference that determines the scope and purpose of the independent investigation ...
Forest & Bird says WWF-NZ's plan for protecting Māui dolphins is based on testing unproven methods on a species that is almost extinct, and is urging the Government to reject the proposal. ...
Primary and intermediate school principals have voted to accept a new settlement from the Ministry of Education, which includes entrenched pay parity with secondary principals. ...
Police acknowledge the findings of the Independent Police Conduct Authority (IPCA) report into the 2014 search of a property belonging to Nicky Hager. ...
The Independent Police Conduct Authority has found that the Police's unlawful search of Nicky Hager's property in October 2014 resulted from an unwitting neglect of duty and did not amount to misconduct by any individual officer. Police policy at the ...
Tuesday, August 20: Greenpeace has labeled an overnight announcement by fishing company Sanford as a danger to Māui and Hector’s dolphins, and is calling on the Government to reject the ‘Sanford Plan’ immediately. ...
World Animal Protection describes an overnight announcement (19 August, embargoed until 6am 20 August), by fishing company Sanford as a cynical move to undermine growing support for full habitat protection for Māui and Hector’s dolphins. They called ...
When the combined tax on fuel hits over 50 percent in some parts of the country, it is hypocritical for the Government to blame corporates, says the New Zealand Taxpayers' Union . ...
A leading expert in suicide prevention has urged MPs not to confuse suicide with assisted dying as they consider the second reading of the End of Life Choice Bill. ...
Over the weekend Māoridom arrived in the Waikato for the annual Koroneihana Celebrations. Yesterday almost 300 attended a Hui in Hamilton to continue the Oranga Tamariki Review led by an independent Māori panel to coincide with the Koroneihana. The Hui confirmed ...
The Council of Licenced Firearm Owners (COLFO) says the newly issued ‘price list’ for compensation of banned firearms reveals that haste in preparing the ban has led to an underestimation of the number of affected firearms and their value. ...
Corrections Minister Kelvin Davis has admitted parts of the prison system are “extremely racist” and says that’s why the Government is asking Māori to work with it to make changes. ...
Ongoing drug-test sanctions contradicts Government’s rhetoric on drugs Reports that two-thirds of beneficiaries who fail drug tests are still having their benefit sanctioned contradicts the Government’s so-called health approach to drugs. Auckland ...
An Auckland Homelessness Collective is optimistic extra government support for sustaining tenancies signals a commitment to a multi-pronged approach to tackling homelessness. ...
Wanaka-based trust ONE New Zealand will be hosting six days of talks, workshops and hands-on activities with local and national experts to educate, inspire and enable grassroots action towards a sustainable future. ...
In last week’s episode of Politics in Full Sentences, David, Brooke and Ruwan discussed why Jacinda Ardern has been lecturing our friends overseas, why Andrew Little called ACT's three strikes law “fascism”, whether he will give prisoners the right to ...
“Community safety must be the paramount consideration when releasing an offender, and the only way for that to be achieved is for the offender to acknowledge their crimes.” ...
“District Health Boards are failing to foster a culture of distributed clinical leadership, despite its demonstrated benefits to the sector,” says Ian Powell, Executive Director of the Association of Salaried Medical Specialists (ASMS). ...
Ratepayers around Auckland were spitting out their morning coffees listening to Phil Goff’s incredible claims on breakfast radio today that this election is about ‘honesty’ and that Aucklanders can trust him on his promises. Auckland Ratepayers’ ...
By Michael Andrew Journalists across Papua New Guinea have spoken out in support of EMTV news director Neville Choi after his “unacceptable” termination from a role he had held for six years. A public statement released on Monday listed the reasons for his termination, one of which was his ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Camellia Webb-Gannon, Lecturer, University of Wollongong Last weekend, the Indonesian police took 43 West Papuan students into custody for allegedly disrespecting the Indonesian flag during an independence day celebration (an allegation the students deny). Police stormed the students’ dorm and used teargas ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Natalie Klein, Professor, UNSW Prime Minister Scott Morrison has confirmed that Australia will lend military support to protect shipping in the Middle East. The commitment has been long expected, with Australia sending a frigate, an aircraft and some headquarters staff as part ...
By Johnny Blades of RNZ Pacific Protests are spreading in Indonesia-ruled West Papua in response to harassment of Papuans during explosive incidents in Javanese cities last week. Indonesia’s president has urged calm after some of the protests turned violent, but he’s been criticised for not directly addressing a festering ...
This year marks the 15th anniversary of the karaoke game that introduced an entire generation to the horrors of ‘Downtown’ by Petula Clark. Jordan Hamel ranks all 30 songs from SingStar v1, from worst to best.Before my generation was old enough to get smashed on reasonably priced Merlot and wander ...
After a decade of making music, Sons of Zion are still refusing to settle into a genre. They sit down to talk about the joys of pop music and te reo Māori, and why a “reggae” band can do both.In 2009 Sons of Zion released their debut album, a self-titled ...
The government is directing councils to loosen up their planning rules, allowing cities to grow both up and out, in a bid to solve the housing crisis. ...
New Zealand’s largest construction company and controversial owner of the disputed Ihumātao land near Auckland airport has made a $164m profit, a big turnaround from its losses last year. Business editor Maria Slade analyses what it all means.What has Fletcher Building announced?The construction and building products company with operations on ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra Australia will commit a frigate, an aircraft and some headquarters staff to an American-led freedom of navigation operation in the Middle East. Scott Morrison, announcing the long-expected commitment at a Canberra news conference on Wednesday, ...
The local sharemarket has taken an unexpected beating this morning driven by investor disappointment about the performance of the top stock - A2 Milk. ...
Sometimes, less is more. Even when it comes to Quentin Tarantino (Warning: Contains mild spoilers).Once Upon a Time in Hollywood is an impressive film. It’s got great acting, stunning visuals, and a twist ending, all laced with the sort of attention to detail you’d expect from the nuttiest of film ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Mark Beeson, Professor of International Politics, University of Western Australia Populism and environmentalism are words seldom seen in the same sentence. One is associated predominantly with nationalists and charismatic leaders of “real people”, the other with broadly-based collective action to address the ...
Who makes up the royal ‘we’? Lana Lopesi reviews a massive show at ST PAUL St Gallery in Auckland that investigates questions of community, culture and conflict.How to Live Together at ST PAUL St Gallery could hardly have been better timed, opening just days before the protection of Ihumātao in ...
The first week of Celebrity Treasure Island had it all – mud, vomit and coconut brassieres. Alex Casey ranks the celebrity contestants vying to win $100,000 for their chosen charity. It’s 2019 and mostly everything is bad, so I am choosing to focus on the positives of Celebrity Treasure Island NZ. ...
The government is directing councils to loosen up their planning rules, allowing cities to grow both up and out, in a bid to solve the housing crisis. ...
Australia's big banks may have to make do with less money from their New Zealand operations, as Australia's banking regulator moves to improve their financial strength. ...
The anti-1080 lobby has made a martyr out of kea, but that ignores another salient fact: kea survival in large part depends on pest control. Dave Hansford explores on the challenge to balance pest control with conservation.In April this year, Zero Invasive Predators (ZIP) announced that two kea had died ...
Fletcher Building has posted a solid full year profit but continues to be dogged by a weak Australian housing market and underperformance in some of its businesses there. ...
Work obsessed drone Alex Braae assesses whether shutting himself up in a dark room will allow some semblance of normality on a day off.It is a sad fact of life that many of us spend alarmingly large chunks of it working. The relationship is like quicksand: as we spend more ...
Inspired by the ethos of food-rescue organisation Kaibosh, chef Kelda Hains looked to the past to champion unloved ingredients and showcase clever waste-minimising techniques at her All Taste, No Waste dinner during Visa Wellington On a Plate. Ever glanced at those supermarket bags of pre-cut broccoli florets and wondered what happens ...
Dr Bryce EdwardsCould the most interesting aspect of the current local government elections turn out to be generational change? At the moment, there is a surge of media and activist focus on younger candidates standing for office. It suddenly seems to be “cool” again to want to be a ...
Editor’s Note: Here below is a list of the main issues currently under discussion in New Zealand and links to media coverage.New Zealand Parliament Buildings, Wellington, New Zealand.Today’s content by Dr Bryce Edwards.Petrol prices Tom Pullar-Strecker (Stuff): Don’t be surprised if petrol study ends in a deal, ...
Jacinda Ardern’s election campaign was high on hope but this Government should remember that those who encourage what cannot be achieved are quickly found out. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Professor Tim Bentley, Director of Research, professor of Work and Organisation, Massey University According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), the workplace can be a positive force for improving mental health. But many workers are exposed to work environments that are damaging ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Denis Muller, Senior Research Fellow in the Centre for Advancing Journalism, University of Melbourne Alan Jones’s political power is to a large extent based on a self-fulfilling prophecy: politicians believe he can shift votes, so they pay homage to him, which adds ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Rosemary Stanton, Visiting Fellow, School of Medical Sciences, UNSW Research Checks interrogate newly published studies and how they’re reported in the media. The analysis is undertaken by one or more academics not involved with the study, and reviewed by another, to make ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Associate Professor Ralph Brougham Chapman, Director, Environmental Studies, Victoria University of Wellington CC BY-NDClimate Explained is a collaboration between The Conversation, Stuff and the New Zealand Science Media Centre to answer your questions about climate change.If you have a question you’d ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Salvatore Babones, Associate Professor, University of Sydney Australia’s leading universities are now looking to India in search of new sources of international students. This comes amid worries they may have reached a “China max” – no more room for growth in Chinese ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jen Couch, Senior Lecturer – Youth Work and International Development, Australian Catholic University One of the biggest challenges young people of refugee background face in their new country is finding safe, affordable and appropriate housing. Yet this is central to social inclusion ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Christopher Sheil, Visiting Senior Fellow in History, UNSW The results of the latest Australian Bureau of Statistics biennial survey of income and wealth met have met with an uneven response, perhaps in part due to a slipshod press release. Released with the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Christina Lee, Senior Lecturer in Literary and Cultural Studies, Curtin University This story contains spoilers for Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. While promoting Once Upon a Time in Hollywood at the Cannes Film Festival, filmmaker Quentin Tarantino was asked why Margot ...
Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: National cries foul over parliamentary costing unit idea, Ngawha Prison heavily criticised in report, and fuel market study confirms prices are high.The government have announced a recommendation to create an official, independent parliamentary costing unit, reports the NZ Herald.The aim is to ...
Phil Goff and John Tamihere are into round 10 of 23 debates planned before the mayoral election in October, and they're punching hard, not resting on the ropes or pulling eachother into dull political clinches. ...
Open Mike 09/11/2017 
That's the only way to describe the government's plans for a Parliamentary Budget Office to allow opposition parties to get an independent costing of their policies. When the idea was first floated back in 2016 as an office within Treasury, I thought that wasn't independent enough and argued that it ...12 hours ago
Television advertising has a huge impact on our lives. Even if we don’t recognise that, we know it has to be true, since otherwise why would advertisers spend so much on it? Its significance, however, is greater than simply the influence it has on what we purchase and consume. It ...18 hours ago
by Jan Rivers More than 30 years ago a Commission of Inquiry was held in New Zealand to investigate, amongst other things, whether women with cervical cancer were aware that they had been part of a research project and whether they were properly informed of the treatment options ...1 day ago
Everyone Wants To Be Fuhrer: When fascist groups are discussed, the image conjured-up in the minds of most New Zealanders is one of pathetic misfits. This negative impression is reinforced by the latter’s idiotic embrace of the swastika. Even in the second decade of the twenty-first century, the baleful legacy ...2 days ago
In the previous two posts, I laid out the context and set the theoretical framework to answer a question: whether indigenous economies should take the LEAP. This final part outlines ways to conceive of practicing mana motuhake within the existing legal system by carving out special jurisdictions that enable Indigenous ...3 days ago
Fully Informed? Labour’s 2017 promises raised expectations that were little short of revolutionary. Unfortunately, they were never adequately shaken through the fiscal sieve. The hard economic work was not done – and it shows. Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern’s critics have long complained that her grasp of the way the New ...4 days ago
You cannot expect to pound communities into the ground day after day, year after year, decade after decade and just expect them to take it lying down. There’s a point at which the place will explode. And we’re faced with some very big ructions on both sides of the Atlantic ...5 days ago
6 days ago
Going Down? Once truth and propaganda become fused in the minds of one’s followers, debate and discussion become redundant. If one’s opponents are all outrageous liars, then engaging with them in any way is pointless. Rather than waste its time, a political party should, instead, target all its messages at ...6 days ago
We need to fundamentally reframe our systems settings to address the drivers causing and underpinning inequality; structural change in systems especially financial. The Equality Network Hui was held in Wellington on 27 June 2019. The hui covered important topics such as child poverty; a living wage; taxation; public health; mental ...1 week ago
The views-per-page for some of my recent postings:Depressing, isn't it? Provide thoughtful and wise commentary on the mainstream of British politics and no-one notices. Make a passing reference to Tommy DICKHEAD Robinson in a thread title and you get hundreds of views. Write something about anti-Semitism and you get another ...1 week ago
The government has announced plans to move the Treaty of Waitangi and other taonga to a new site. Great news! So where are they going? Right next to the old one:The new plan will see a new 22,000-square-metre archive built on the former site of Defence House - the former ...1 week ago
Back in June, StatsNZ went public about a project to track population data on an hourly level by using people's cellphones. It wasn't as bad as it initially looked - they were receiving no individual data, only counts by suburb - but there was still a huge consent problem, so ...1 week ago
I did an interview on the TVNZ Breakfast Show about the situation in Hong Kong. I tried to frame the issue as a collective action problem between two sides with very different end games. The video is here. Because of time constraints we could not discuss the fact that the ...1 week ago
Image Credit: Wild Rose College A new study reporting the ranges of values for kidney and liver parameters in a healthy population is being actively misrepresented by anti-fluoride campaigners. The Fluoride Action Network’s (FAN) latest ... 1 week ago
Alone, Alone. All, All Alone: Will it be a good or a bad thing, when humanity’s bright blue spacecraft is stricken by the civilisation-destroying problem of Climate Change, that no Huston Control will be standing-by to rescue the crew?“WE HAVE A PROBLEM, HUSTON.” These were the words used by the ...1 week ago
Divided Loyalties: Can the Prime Minister, Jacinda Ardern, be relied upon? That’s what the boys and girls at Foggy Bottom and the Pentagon needed to be reassured about. Because, from the perspective of Washington, it’s looking more and more like Jacinda Ardern and her Labour Party comrades are getting ready ...1 week ago
This handy Queer Theory Glossary is from thetranswidow.com In case you’ve had trouble keeping up with the spate of new queer theory terms, here’s a handy glossary for your reference. Queer – A straight person with an interesting haircut. Non-binary/genderqueer – A chubby young female, typically 16-28, who has ...2 weeks ago
The winter grazing issue is becoming a highly sensitised one that I hope will not become so politicised that it delays solutions and results in the suicides of some very stressed farmers.Winter grazing has hit the headlines after a determined campaign, including the release of a video of some very ...2 weeks ago
The Green Part has been accused of lack of transparency in two recent situations. The first was the claimed media lockdown during Green's annual conference and the second was Julie Ann Genter's refusal to release a letter she had sent to Phil Twyford.I do get frustrated when journalist's succumb to ...2 weeks ago
Blowing-Up The House: Is Winston Peters planning to put himself at the head of all those New Zealanders who refuse to countenance the Coalition Government caving-in to the Ihumatao protesters? The most effective way of doing this would be to issue Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern with an ultimatum. If she ...2 weeks ago
A Cult, that many actors, politicians, and those with a low IQ are joining is sweeping across civilisation, with one main intention – ending humans reign on Earth. Starting as a well meaning though deeply flawed theory, that the Earth was warming due to mankind emitting greenhouse gasses, it was ...2 weeks ago
Opportunities to dodge tax are shrinking with the completion of a new tax agreement with Switzerland, Revenue Minister Stuart Nash announced today. Mr Nash and the Swiss Ambassador David Vogelsanger have today signed documents to update the double tax agreement (DTA). The previous DTA was signed in 1980. “Double tax ...2 weeks ago
Jordan Williams, a spokesman for the Auckland Ratepayers’ Alliance and its nationwide sister group the New Zealand Taxpayers’ Union is slamming Auckland Mayor Phil Goff for his comments today that John Tamihere would need the Government’s support to ...9 hours ago
By Michael Andrew Journalists across Papua New Guinea have spoken out in support of EMTV news director Neville Choi after his “unacceptable” termination from a role he had held for six years. A public statement released on Monday listed the reasons for his termination, one of which was his ...4 hours ago
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Camellia Webb-Gannon, Lecturer, University of Wollongong Last weekend, the Indonesian police took 43 West Papuan students into custody for allegedly disrespecting the Indonesian flag during an independence day celebration (an allegation the students deny). Police stormed the students’ dorm and used teargas ...6 hours ago
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Natalie Klein, Professor, UNSW Prime Minister Scott Morrison has confirmed that Australia will lend military support to protect shipping in the Middle East. The commitment has been long expected, with Australia sending a frigate, an aircraft and some headquarters staff as part ...7 hours ago
Under the government's proposal, councils - particularly in the six high growth centres - will be given a clear direction to loosen their rules. ...7 hours ago
The Government's new urban development initiative will do nothing if councils don't receive more funding, mayors say. ...7 hours ago
By Johnny Blades of RNZ Pacific Protests are spreading in Indonesia-ruled West Papua in response to harassment of Papuans during explosive incidents in Javanese cities last week. Indonesia’s president has urged calm after some of the protests turned violent, but he’s been criticised for not directly addressing a festering ...8 hours ago
This year marks the 15th anniversary of the karaoke game that introduced an entire generation to the horrors of ‘Downtown’ by Petula Clark. Jordan Hamel ranks all 30 songs from SingStar v1, from worst to best.Before my generation was old enough to get smashed on reasonably priced Merlot and wander ...9 hours ago
DoC is using cloud-based tools to manage rare native birds, but has agreed to keep the kākāpō genome in NZ, reports Eloise Gibson from Canberra. ...10 hours ago
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Melanie J Woodfield, Clinical Psychologist and Health Research Council Foxley Fellow, University of Auckland Parenting young children is one of the most stressful times in a parent’s life. Toddlers and preschoolers are learning how to independently regulate their emotions. And parents are ...10 hours ago
The government is directing councils to loosen up their planning rules, allowing cities to grow both up and out, in a bid to solve the housing crisis. ...11 hours ago
The troubled KiwiBuild programme is losing another top boss with Helen O'Sullivan leaving at the end of the month. ...11 hours ago
The local sharemarket has taken an unexpected beating this morning driven by investor disappointment about the performance of the top stock - A2 Milk. ...12 hours ago
Sometimes, less is more. Even when it comes to Quentin Tarantino (Warning: Contains mild spoilers).Once Upon a Time in Hollywood is an impressive film. It’s got great acting, stunning visuals, and a twist ending, all laced with the sort of attention to detail you’d expect from the nuttiest of film ...13 hours ago
Who makes up the royal ‘we’? Lana Lopesi reviews a massive show at ST PAUL St Gallery in Auckland that investigates questions of community, culture and conflict.How to Live Together at ST PAUL St Gallery could hardly have been better timed, opening just days before the protection of Ihumātao in ...14 hours ago
The first week of Celebrity Treasure Island had it all – mud, vomit and coconut brassieres. Alex Casey ranks the celebrity contestants vying to win $100,000 for their chosen charity. It’s 2019 and mostly everything is bad, so I am choosing to focus on the positives of Celebrity Treasure Island NZ. ...14 hours ago
Specialty dairy company A2 Milk has stormed to a record profit on the back of surging demand for its infant formula. ...14 hours ago
Dairy prices have fallen fractionally in the latest fortnightly auction. ...15 hours ago
Australia's big banks may have to make do with less money from their New Zealand operations, as Australia's banking regulator moves to improve their financial strength. ...15 hours ago
Fletcher Building has posted a solid full year profit but continues to be dogged by a weak Australian housing market and underperformance in some of its businesses there. ...15 hours ago
Inspired by the ethos of food-rescue organisation Kaibosh, chef Kelda Hains looked to the past to champion unloved ingredients and showcase clever waste-minimising techniques at her All Taste, No Waste dinner during Visa Wellington On a Plate. Ever glanced at those supermarket bags of pre-cut broccoli florets and wondered what happens ...16 hours ago
17 hours ago
Jacinda Ardern’s election campaign was high on hope but this Government should remember that those who encourage what cannot be achieved are quickly found out. ...17 hours ago
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Rosemary Stanton, Visiting Fellow, School of Medical Sciences, UNSW Research Checks interrogate newly published studies and how they’re reported in the media. The analysis is undertaken by one or more academics not involved with the study, and reviewed by another, to make ...18 hours ago
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Associate Professor Ralph Brougham Chapman, Director, Environmental Studies, Victoria University of Wellington CC BY-NDClimate Explained is a collaboration between The Conversation, Stuff and the New Zealand Science Media Centre to answer your questions about climate change. If you have a question you’d ...18 hours ago
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Christopher Sheil, Visiting Senior Fellow in History, UNSW The results of the latest Australian Bureau of Statistics biennial survey of income and wealth met have met with an uneven response, perhaps in part due to a slipshod press release. Released with the ...18 hours ago
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Christina Lee, Senior Lecturer in Literary and Cultural Studies, Curtin University This story contains spoilers for Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. While promoting Once Upon a Time in Hollywood at the Cannes Film Festival, filmmaker Quentin Tarantino was asked why Margot ...18 hours ago
Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: National cries foul over parliamentary costing unit idea, Ngawha Prison heavily criticised in report, and fuel market study confirms prices are high.The government have announced a recommendation to create an official, independent parliamentary costing unit, reports the NZ Herald. The aim is to ...19 hours ago
Phil Goff and John Tamihere are into round 10 of 23 debates planned before the mayoral election in October, and they're punching hard, not resting on the ropes or pulling eachother into dull political clinches. ...20 hours ago
An environmental group floats ideas for protecting the Mackenzie Basin’s landscapes. ...20 hours ago
Jacinda owned English in Parliament yesterday.
‘In her first formal speech to the House following the State Opening on Wednesday, Ardern told Opposition leader Bill English she understood the desire to defend their record.
“I would simply remind them, that in defending their record they must also defend record homelessness. They must also defend dirty rivers and lakes. They must also defend inequality and yes, child poverty.
“So by all means defend the record of the last nine years, while we get on with fixing it,” she said.
https://i.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/98687260/it-was-the-pms-turn-to-strike–and-she-did-not-hold-back
Amy Adams was the liar of the day for me. Arguing that their pay equity bill would achieve/enhance pay equity. After years of spending our money fighting equal pay for care workers and losing, the Nats sought to ensure it was triply hard for others to follow suit.
Again, the media airtime these people are getting is astonishing. Perhaps it is cos the election was September instead of November? When the later there is less time til summer close down?
Coal-fired plant shifted $1bn offshore while pocketing $117m from Australian taxpayers
Payment to owner of Loy Yang B – one of country’s dirtiest plants – was compensation for short-lived carbon tax
https://www.theguardian.com/news/2017/nov/08/coal-fired-plant-shifted-1bn-offshore-while-pocketing-117m-from-australian-taxpayers
People need to stop using the term “pale stale male”. It is offensive.
Andrew Little has been labelled this.
Imagine if Metiria was referred to as “round brown clown” or some such
meme ca plus
[TheStandard: A moderator moved this comment to Open Mike as being off topic or irrelevant in the post it was made in. Be more careful in future.]
+1
This kind of talk really annoys conservatives. Then they decide to annoy you back. Then they outvote you. Then it’s ‘Hello, President Trump…’
A.
Jesus Antoine. You’re a bag of surprises at times – even if you think that femme fatale polly has a nice smile but worry your fat arse might not live up to her expectations
> You’re a bag of surprises at times
So are we all
A.
Agreed vto. If we can sneer at white coloured people without being termed racist then we can sneer at any other coloured person with the same immunity. Best we sneer at nobody because of the colour of their skin.
It’s shorthand for Pakeha male dominated fora which, lacking diversity, are poorly informed. Sooooo, dumb honky yobs? Arrogant EuroTrash – ooops, taken. Pasty Blokey Jokies? Oh wait, you can tweet 280 characters now. We can surely debate at length 😉
Sneering is not nice but neither is not recognising a privilege.
+100%
People need to start understanding the privilege that is attached to being White and White and Male, which differentiates them from being oppressed as such in the way that brown or female or disable or or or are. I am all for articulate discussion rather than easy memes (which substitute for genuine facts as “politically correct” does.
So, former Act MP Donna Awatere Huata & her cousin the prominent wealthy & powerful Maori lawyer Donna Hall – married to former High Court judge & Waitangi Tribunal chairman Sir Edward Durie – (her legal fees from several years of high-profile Treaty of Waitangi claims was one reason she was chosen for the National Business Review’s 2000 rich list, which claimed she could have earned about $10 million) = “oppressed”
White Male working-class, minimum wage, beneficiary = “privileged”
I see
Citing outliers is beneath you, surely 🙂
Everybody’s an outlier, blokie. Surely (smirkimoji).
Some are born at the apex of the bell curve, others find their way there by chance, and some have it thrust upon them by statisticians.
You clearly do not see if you think wealth makes you immune to the privilege of white people/men and their systems.
You reckon none of those people you listed never suffered from racism?
Wrong comparisons. Try these,
White Male working-class, minimum wage, beneficiary compared to Māori woman working-class, minimum wage, beneficiary.
Or,
Māori woman lawyer compared to white male lawyer, both from the same class background.
These are not difficult concepts.
The class in question to which vto was referring is MSM journalism btw.
Interesting isn’t it, Whitey white males also suffer racism.
Try being a whitey in an east coast pub.
In fact non whites are extremely racist against whitey whites in my experience.
Racism and privilege are different things.
Yes but perception of majority says race and wealth are entwined.
Perception, and statistics too.
Being scared due to stereotyping is not the same as suffering oppression or inequity.
Can you give some examples of how white peoples relationships, career prospects health etc are hindered by brown people?
That’s not new – there have always been some pubs that Maori feel better in when pakeha are not there.
I have, often. Awesome bonhomie, comedy, amusement and a touch of sadness with a cast of memorable characters and, remembering discretion is the better part, invites to the best parties after chucking out time.
I see that the Natzi’s newest little lap-boy Chris Bishop has been on the Spinoff trumpeting their 10 most wonderful achievements of the last 9 years. He has drunk the Kool Aid big time. I read words like ‘financial’, ‘productive’, ‘competitive’ – all good Nat Party words related to money and business, which of course is all those blue suited bastards care about. Then he has the unmitigated gall to reflect on (as he sees it) reduced child poverty, reforms to welfare, better electricity provision and (worst of all) higher achievement in education!!
This a prime example of the delusional and arrogant manner with which Natzis see themselves. They even think they’ve done a good job with Christchurch, for god’s sake.
It is so heartening to see the relentless positivity of the new government, even in the face of junky political moves by the sore losers. All the crap they are creating in the house is nothing but sour grapes and does nothing to advance the plight of those who need mature, focused and empathetic government. They play self-aggrandising games while L/GP/NZF try to move the country forward. It’s pathetic and sickening.
Monty Python member Terry Jones wrote a great kids book I’ve always loved called Fairy Tales. One story I recall is called Simple Peter’s Mirror where a farm boy is gifted a magic mirror which allows the user to see themselves as others see them.
Just imagine if the mirror was given to the National Party and English, Bennett, Collins, Brownlee, Adams, Bridges, Barry, Joyce, Kaye, Coleman, Tolley etc looked into it.
They wouldn’t care. They really don’t care when their ravings are shown to be lies or unsubstantiated garbage. Isn’t that right Wayne?
That’s the really scary thing. Typical psychopathic tendencies.
At least now they can do less harm.
Wasn’t there a story about a painting that showed the person’s true self and because they didn’t like what it showed the person boxed it in a small room?
Yeah, the nats would hide such a mirror in the small room.
I don’t think for a minute it would make any difference but I would enjoy the theatre as each saw their true selves.
😈
The Picture of Dorian Gray?
Yeah, that one.
The Portrait of Dorian Gray. Oscar Wilde.
Ten Reasons We Got Rid of National
No. 5: Bill “Double Dipper” English
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/2711246/Bill-English-defends-taxpayer-cash-for-house
http://www.radionz.co.nz/national/programmes/checkpoint/audio/201856404/pm-s-claim-homelessness-in-hamilton-all-but-eliminated-disputed
The Prime Minister needs to continue with her relentless positivity. Someone on the front bench needs to be the bad cop to her good cop. Otherwise the opposition will continue to get all the anti government press.
“Someone on the front bench needs to be the bad cop to her good cop”
Good call – how about Ron Marks?
He is a good speaker and scrapper too, and very well liked in his region.
methinks the press coverage would be the same whether she were positive or not, or she had a bad cop. The press is the issue not the Labour Mps. Cast back tot he election campaign…
she got good coverage on Stuff today….a “strong” speech…respect for hitting back at Englishes inane criticisms….the Nats problem is they have the boring tainted liar English against a new exciting good communicator. English should resign.
Ron Mark did a good speech yesterday too.
Kiwiblog continues its descent into the alt-right sewer:
https://www.kiwiblog.co.nz/2017/11/guest_post_pasifika_is_bollocks.html
One bit struck a chord with me – the author says there is a bell curve of traits in all races. “In all races there are dumb ones,” he wrote.
I’m pleased he’s taken up part of that trait allocated to my race.
Yeah, I followed that and well done for schooling the nasty we shit Garrett.
Some wanker that owns a garage in putaruru is drilibritly taking 2 weeks to fix my mokos VAN Doing a job that would take me 2 hours and you mite think well this is the way of the world. But this is not the first time this wanker has done this to my Daughter this is the 3rd time and you no who is instergating this A. They cannot even leave my moko out of this Kai kaha
Eh?
So why didn’t you do the job for her?
Could it be that it isn’t a ‘cashie’ job?
Turning tide.
“The House GOP whip might lose to a socialist Marine veteran? Is that actually happening?”
It was indeed. Democrat Lee Carter, a red-haired, 30-year-old Marine veteran from Manassas, won a remarkable nine-point victory to oust Delegate Jackson Miller, a deep-pocketed Republican incumbent who serves as House Majority Whip. Carter ran openly as a socialist—he and his supporters crooned the union anthem “Solidarity Forever” after their victory—and he won with almost no institutional support from the state Democratic Party. The Richmond Times-Dispatch’s Patrick Wilson reported last month that party leaders “abandoned” Carter after he declined to report campaign metrics like the number of doors he’d knocked and the amount of money he’d raised. Carter told Wilson he “ceased reporting to the House caucus after multiple information security lapses in which confidential information that we reported to the House caucus was leaked outside of the party infrastructure.” But he also said the party leaders “wanted a bit more editorial control over my messaging than I was comfortable with.” Wilson wrote that “Democratic Party leaders were not eager to discuss Carter, preferring to promote other candidates.” In fact, Wilson called Carter “the kind of rogue candidate that gives an apparatus like the Democratic Party of Virginia a fit.”
https://newrepublic.com/article/145727/socialist-beat-one-virginias-powerful-republicans
Some of the other interesting new faces.
https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/democratic-victories-firsts-election-day_us_5a026c51e4b092053058cf38?ncid=inblnkushpmg00000009
Before the chorus begins.
https://newrepublic.com/article/145277/bernie-sanders-isnt-winning-local-elections-left
edit: change from within
https://www.rawstory.com/2017/11/black-live-matter-activist-braxton-winston-wins-charlotte-city-council-seat/
Class trumps bigotry.
#danica roem
For anyone who was not watching Parliament at about 9.30pm last night (yes I was that bad a political tragic!) this exchange between Jami-Lee Ross and Anne Tolley in her new role as Deputy Speaker is well worth a couple of minutes.
I have never had much time for Ms Tolley, but I was quite impressed with her handling of her new role earlier in the session. Then I was really impressed with her handling of JLR and his absolute arrogance and disdain for her authority – and that of the Clerk of the House.
https://www.parliament.nz/en/watch-parliament/ondemand?itemId=196972
Thanks for that veuotviper. Maybe he was nervous but JLR did come across to me as smirking and behaving as though Tolley was an irrelevance?
Thanking you Veutoviper, that was well worth watching.
Tolley appears to be rather good in her new role.
jlr has an overinflated ego and a bizzare sense of self importance, bitter from the election loss.
jlr (lowercase letters for a reason lolololz!)
What an obnoxious prat. Jami-Lee Ross. I thought it was a woman and find a burly bully on screen. He is trying the broken record style of dominating a discussion, which is to repeat a point until others are forced to give him or her precedence. But there are Parliamentary Rules that are like traffic rules, and people must proceed in their proper order. He is the Senior National Whip FGS.
Watch out for him on the road. Perhaps there could be a jlr traffic compliance surveillance group to make sure that he doesn’t run over cyclists or pedestrians unwary enough to venture onto pedestrian crossings, or try to move between lanes or pavements, requiring a little tolerance from drivers.
Weird clip eh? jlr was one of those catapaulted into government by some dodgy manourvering wasn’t he?
A four letter word for him, “Prat.”
Did anyone else in passing see that Paula Bennett video contribution in a vehicle (presumably ‘going forward’)?
Couldn’t one of ‘the gals’ at least have told her she’d been misreading the label?
I guess not, but Paula, Dear, Sweatie!
It’s one every twelve hours, not twelve every 1 hour
I don’t usually watch Parliament Q & A on Thursday, but decided to do so today.
It has been an hour of laughs and well worth watching.
Mallard as Speaker is great and has set the scene for the future. National won’t be thinking that, though, in particular “Stephen” Bridges. He will be spitting tacks. (As well as Jami-Lee Ross after last night’s slap down – see 10 above.)
If you watch nothing else watch Question 9, but there are snippets throughout the entire hour. Pure Theatre at times, and I suspect planned as such.
Online and On Demand on the Parliament website.
https://www.parliament.nz/en/watch-parliament/ondemand
PS – Don’t judge the answers to questions to the PM given by Kelvin Davis (as Acting PM while both Ardern and Peters are overseas) on first impressions. I suspect that it was planned that the answers should be as non-committal as they are for the final effect. LOL
@ veuto
Ditto Me.
But if you chose to stay with PTV, I hope you saw The Jude’s efforts.
If ever there was a ‘positioning’ for a knife in the back style bid for leadership – there you had it.
Dressed in grey, covering a lovely floral number, there went Jude hard out with raspy voice, delivering her gNatzi message. (btw – not entirely based on evidence)
If there were to be a putsch – odds on.
I’m now left wondering amongst the gNatzis – who is the most running scared.
I’ll let you know ( after considering their past efforts, and not that anyone should consider me part of any ‘incrowd’ bubble)
I watched some of it today and was fascinated. Now next Tuesday…
Read this today on the RNZ Website – I’ve been wondering if and when it would happen with the change of government. About time too and I say this as an albeit nominal Christian. http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/political/343421/jesus-queen-dropped-from-parliament-prayer
Good. Be even better if they dropped the first two words as this is a terrestrial pragmatic meeting of ideas and decisions. MPs should own it and forget it being a god’s will!
Can’t disagree with that Ianmac. At least it’s a start though. Waiting for the howls of complaints from the Nats.
Jenny Marcroft; – A new NZF list MP just concluded her maiden speech in parliament today,
A very moving good speech Jenny. 5.20pm 9/11/17.
Welcome to Parliament.
Found this tonight on news.com http://www.news.com.au/technology/environment/natural-wonders/nasa-study-suggests-an-antarctic-supervolcano-could-make-the-ice-sheet-vulnerable/news-story/14ee668fa018e7f7d861ccbe63a3cd2f as per usual the ockers forgot the about Taupo and Hauraki Rift Zones.