No-one should qualify for ACC as a result of what happened in Chch. What happened was not an 'accident'. It was a deliberate act of evil by someone with a sick mind.
So people asked the question: “Why won’t you enforce the rules against parking on the verge?”
AT referred to a legal problem, while refusing to provide any details, and pointed people to the supposed need for a further law change, or additional signage everywhere.
Other councils didn’t require this change to take action. So when NZTA consulted about a change, many people rightly considered it unnecessary.
I have had a licensed vehicle parked and never moved outside my home for months. The Council can't do anything about it because it is licensed till September. I am thinking of checking with the police to see if it is reported stolen.
The streets are clogged with cars parked on the kerb, often because the owners can't be bothered maneouvring into their garages or car parks. At the kerb they sit, ready to go in seconds. Some have bigger vehicles than car parking provided. Some leave them there for days, then use them, returning to the same spot or nearby. Rarely is the street free of cars. When tradespeople, visitors want to park they have to search for a spot. It isn't satisfactory, and the streets are narrowed by cars on both sides. Some park out from the kerb by about 30 cm, which then reduces space for cyclists and cars using the space.
But cyclists don't mind really, they all use the footpath, swishing along behind you before you know they are there. Bells announce them so you can move out of their way. Does anyone think about them having to dismount and walk the bike round citizens using the path, for whom the paths were originally formed?
This fascinating documentary focuses primarily on the use of methamphetamines by the German military during World War II and Hitler's personal drug habits but it also mentions a fact I've found mentioned elsewhere, which is the allies (and Japan) preferred amphetamines which they gave to troops in millions of pills. Among those who were given them were allied troops in North Africa which would have included New Zealand soldiers. But I have never heard of any research etc into drug use among New Zealand soldiers during World War II. I wonder if New Zealand soldiers got addicted and if this might have contributed to alcoholism among New Zealand soldiers when they returned home (not having access to amphetamines). Amphetamine use by New Zealand soldiers during WWII would make interesting area for someone to research perhaps?
I'd heard about the USA giving LSD to airmen as it allowed them to undertake longer flights. (The doses would have to be carefully managed so they didn't forget that they were piloting a plane with a mission.)
LSD sounds odd (not a stimulant), but there was a case over Afghanistan where two US F16 pilots bombed and killed some Canadians. Part of their largely unsuccessful defense was that their amphetamine use for the mission made them more likely to identify unrelated actions as threats.
I remember a sequence in a Nicholas Monsarrat book (The Cruel Sea, probably) where the captain needed to out-wait a submerged Uboat so got the doctor to give him some uppers. The doctor kept them on a tight leash. Yes, fiction, but I mention it because Monsarrat is to WW2 convoy escort duty what Le Carre is to cold war esionage: a practitioner writing about what he knows.
The Alexander Skarsgård one? Yup, really well done.
Apparently Le Carre's written a brexit one – I'll be really interested to see the mix of tech and spycraft in that. So many ultra-modern spy things are gadgets beating gadgets rather than the human touch. Not to mention that they ignore the longer term goals for the immediate ones – e.g. Bond is just using a cover to stay undetected (even officially) long enough to kill someone, he never uses a cover for weeks or months.
Emergency rations for British soldiers in ww2 consisted of speed laced chocolate. It was an offence to consume them unless directed to by an officer. I would imagine, though of course I could be wrong, NZ, Aus and Canadian troops would have had similar provisions with the same level of control over their use.
The Wolves of War: Evidence of an Ancient Cult of Warrior Lycanthropy
"The legendary wine of Thrace was particularly potent through the addition of a psychoactive mushroom. The rituals of the women known as bacchants enacted the fantasies of root-cutters in commemoration of the deity in his persona that predated viticulture. This fungal persona represents the same intoxicant that was known to the Persians as haoma and represents the spread of an Indo-European sacrament into the Classical world, with its association of lycanthropy and the bonding of warriors into brotherhoods as packs of wolves, better known in its manifestation in late antiquity among the Nordic peoples as berserkers."
"According to Falk, Parsi-Zoroastrians use a variant of ephedra, usually Ephedra procera, imported from the Hari River valley in Afghanistan."
Haoma, soma… it's been a while and many interpretations of what the drug was. Some variations I think. From Vedic Hymns with recipes: poppies, weed, speed (Papaver, Cannabis, Ephedra). From other texts, fungi. I think they got folk shitfaced on whatever was convenient.
"There was a media frenzy when it was published at the dawn of the 1970s. This caused the publisher to apologize for issuing it and forced Allegro's resignation from his university position."
"In November 2009 The Sacred Mushroom and the Cross was reprinted in a 40th anniversary edition with 30-page addendum by Prof. Carl A. P. Ruck of Boston University." So could be that the time of conforming to orthodoxy in acadaemia is over, and we may actually see academics learning something new.
Why do we have a parliament and most here being climate change deniers ?
AS if actions really do speak about what people REALLY think then there would be some direct action, declaring an emergency is doing nothing. If we were really serious there would be an acceptance that the world pop. will have to reduce, living standards will decline. But perhaps the really macro effects are way too serious to contemplate about.
It's not nothing that's been done. The so called deniers you speak of reached bi-partisan consensus with James Shaw's work, diluted though it may be.
There is not nothing being done. You are concern trolling while ignoring facts.
Yes, you'd think more would be done… but if this lot are turfed out and Nats are back in we'd be in a considerably worse position right now. Don't forget there are a large portion of self-obsessed twats landlords in this country who think they're the only game in town. Give them power back we'll be truly fucked.
Not to mention the myriad of other problems the Coalition are currently trying to deal with.
For some people positive action is merely an excuse to start on the not enough mantra.
Count your blessings, positive change is occurring in an atmosphere of resistance and denial via media prostitutes. Those servicing that other mob that would crisp us for a buck.
Asking for more to be done is good and well. Claiming nothing is being done is bullshit.
The Labour and Green MP's most on this site, otherwise there would be strong demands to examine what NZ does. e.g. How do we promote tourism when the effects on the climate are so dramatic e.g air travel etc
Either this is a crisis that requires dramatic changes in everything we do on this planet or it is a nice to do as it makes "us" feel good.
WTH stopping oil exploration is great (What Crap ) if we then expect other countries to continue to supply us, nothing you have listed is dramatic., but it feels good.
With the changes that have been signalled e.g. many to become effective "after" the next election. The sea will be rising, who cares what the sky is doing 😜
I can be dramatic Herodotus. I can just get so depressed reading stuff from you and similar others that i can feel like killing myself.If you would not like even bringing that thought to anyone, then I suggest you don't come on here with your black mood and your allegations of nothing. I get blue, and sadder when I can't even see the Bill for euthanasia of people who are nearly dead get through. I would hope that I can give up one day soon, be resigned that I have achieved something small but worthwhile, and plan my passing ritual legally. But watching the meanness of so many rigid and uncaring is sad, and your approach makes it worse.
Tell us what YOU are doing and encourage us to take some specific action like you, protest, plant a tree etc. Whining and criticising is not going to get us where we need to go.
You could have a look at the vid at the bottom of the How to Get There last Sat post. It should be watched once a day by you to give you some hints about turning your negativity into something useful and supporting others trying to do good.
I do enough to feel that I am doing my bit. Visit a few Hauraki Gulf Islands or Hūnua ranges. Perhaps when you go behind a flax bush or a tree that was was planted by my hands, or you listen to the bird song perhaps I had a hand in the relocation or care.
Now I would like to hear what YOU are doing, many transfer their inaction by attacking others ?
Next time you hear the Greens or Labour spout off about what they are doing; feel good because that is all that the govt is doing and it feels SOOOOO good as long as you are not directly inconvenience.
Compared with Europe and the Americas plus India and much of the Northern hemisphere and Australia, we here in NZ surrounded by cooling heat absorbing ocean waters and the Antarctic to the south, though it's melting too, are not being affected in your face obviously except our glaciers are melting back and the Alps' snow pack is declining. Ignoring reality is a way to keep BAU going: we all do it me too! Earthquakes are a more frightening prospect for us e.g. Wellington central library is still closed for examination and repairs from the last Kaikoura shake.
Trotter's prescription for Labour: populism. He reckons "the really exciting thing is that a huge part of the campaign need not be visible. If Labour in New Zealand is not too proud to copy the extraordinary social-media campaigning techniques perfected by Nigel Farage’s Brexit Party in the recent European elections, then Jacinda should be able to avoid pretty much all of the blood-splatter."
Gabby suggested one of his supporters was. However I'm not convinced Nigel is a true patriot. He has twice failed to name his political parties Britain First. He hasn't even adopted Make Britain Great Again as his slogan.
Perhaps he wants to be a free spirit like the Don? Buzzing around creating frenzy. From what I have heard about Farage, he can be captured, bottled and held under glass. If so that would larn him to say the Right things.
Nope, that wasn't my intent. However, it's true that patriots have done that kind of thing for yonks (whenever they believe it's in the best interests of the nation)…
We already have a talented charismatic leader who is also the most popular politician in Australasia. And who has babies, gets the all-round guy, has a baby in office, and gets engaged.
2020 must surely be New Zealand Royal Wedding year.
If he were talking about the Labour Party of 2012 he would have a point.
To begin with, he knows the difference between Key's and Clark's former holidays and Ardern's trip to the Cook Islands. Key went to a gated community in Hawaii where privacy was guaranteed. Clark climbed faraway mountains and skied in faraway places like Norway. Her privacy was guaranteed by lack of access and distance. Jacinda and Clark have gone to a well known holiday spot where privacy is not guaranteed.
They also have their little girl whose privacy they rightly wish to protect.
And just to be sure we get his nasty message, he throws in a few jibes at the late David Lange.
I recommend the article as the latest reminder of the extent of right-wing vengeance when they don't get their own way – in this case political power and the money and prestige that flows from it for the media sycophants.
That might be true, but the value of the observation is somewhat diminished when it comes from someone who calls a politically motivated liar and calumniator a "hero".
It is from the NZ Herald whose spokeswoman heralded about the time they put up a paywall that the Herald is 'not a journal of record'. So apparently they don't have to try and live up to any standard of valuable reporting. Just drive-by jibes with a bit of gravitas for the business people about the most important matter of money – changing hands and the people in power that enable it.
"Why does Jacinda Ardern want to keep her holiday a secret?"
The PM has often talked about mental health in the country, the use of drugs and all sorts of prevalent maladies. Barry Soper shows the tragic state we've descended too.
A senior political journalist, an adult, a man who's kicked around planet earth for quite a few years getting precious about not knowing where Ardern's gone on holiday? Or that we, I, don't know?
Call an ambulance for Soper, not just for the fact that he was upset for not knowing where she was going, but for all the drivel he comes up with around his little episode.
I find it disturbing on the basis that someone paid him to write that utterly pointless garbage, not because I don’t think that the PM "can't handle" it – likely she just ignores it – or anything else that comes by way of her job. The uneasy feeling is that someone who was paid to write that and those with similar tendencies main intent would be to be the first with anything that remotely looks like "bad news" of some description and it is their fondest dream that that will happen. While they're not worth effort of considering how this is what some "journalism" has come to is really strange.
No of course I'm not surprised I couldn't bear listening to that or similar and can only say that radio via that awful magic talk has only become worse, a few were OK but now it is sickening. One "announcer" I heard referring to a "poll" they had run as relfecting their "listeners" and he was dead right and not I am no longer one of them.
I read the Soper piece as "I have to write something to get my money; I'm bored: I'll stir the pot – oh great, Ardern is in the Cook Islands and I did not know …" End of story -Soper style.
Here is a much more balanced item, IMO, probably much closer to the truth – Gayford is filming for his TV show Fish of the Day in the Cook Islands. Ardern and their daughter accompanied him for a short break – much deserved, and few and far between. Choice of destination boosts the local economy of one of our closest Pacifc neigbours, a former dependency with the main currency remaining NZ dollars, etc End of story – Reality.
'Corrections Association of New Zealand president Allan Whitley said a group of members asked the union to advocate for longer shifts about six years ago.'
Thank f**k, working 8-9 days straight is no joke (well it is a joke but its not a very funny one…)
'Waggott said more work was required before the revised system could be fully implemented and there was no finalised timeframe.'
Paula Bennett this morning talking about Labour Coalition climate change 'posturing'. What posture is this – I think it should become a recognisable badge of courage for those getting on with the mahi!
And then she condemns passing legislation relating to it by emergency. National didn't do this. We know Paula. And National only chose to do it when there was a real emergency – that would be when their funders became impatient to get their requested legislation passed enabling their desired business transactions.
Bennet was 'posturing' as a car-loving Westie, and a very poor imitation it was. She seemed completely unaware that vulgar selfishness doesn't make you look working class, it makes you look like a one-percenter.
Yes, she changes her persona according to the circumstances of the day. In the event of a leadership challenge, she's after the votes of the Blue Rinse Brigade?
Talking about posturing – if one is not careful then one might get eaten by a lion like young Albert. Paula had better stay away from the zoo in case she has not perfected her posture, from a lying-down lion's POV.
Its mid-year break for Parliament and politicians with a full three weeks between sittings of the House, Apart from the summer break (Christmas – late Jan/early Feb) the House sits in 2 to 3 week blocks with only 1 -2 week breaks in between.
The PM has also not been doing her usual weekly media stints so its not just Simon, and things should get back to usual next week when Cabinet/Caucus meetings and House sittings resume.
[On another subject, hope all is going well with the anti-bullying situation. ]
Not my car, Simon, I’d pay less for my car. Lots less. 🙂
Doing quite well, actually. Staying warm with the winter warmth payment as the sleety rain falls outside. Got a free repeat for my hearing aid batteries yesterday.
On Monday I get a free check for bladder cancer at three weeks notice from symptoms to specialist.
This government is working for us older citizens…….
The Human Rights Foundation issued a statement last week, calling for Minaj and other performers to pull out of the show. On Tuesday, the New York-based organization praised Minaj‘s decision to not perform at the concert.
“This is what leadership looks like. We are grateful to Nicki Minaj for her inspiring and thoughtful decision to reject the Saudi regime’s transparent attempt at using her for a public relations stunt,” said Thor Halvorssen, president of the Human Rights Foundation. “The July 18 festival in Saudi Arabia still shows Liam Payne as a performer. We hope that he follows Nicki Minaj’s lead. Minaj’s moral stance differs from celebrity performers like J-Lo and Mariah Carey, who in the past have chosen to line their pockets with millions of dollars and stand with dictatorial governments as opposed to with oppressed communities and imprisoned human rights activists.”
My cohort and I are labelled millennials because we came of age in the new millennium. We are also generation zero: the first generation that will live with the palpable effects of climate change throughout our adult lives. The generation invoked, at every business and climate change conference I attend, as the source of ingenuity that will help us deal with the current climate crisis. Yet few (if any) people under the age of 30 sit on the board of New Zealand’s biggest-emitting companies. Few of us are making significant decisions in politics or business. Looking to the next generation for solutions is just another delaying tactic. Instead of denialism, we now have delayism.
… The idea that we’re individually responsible for minimising plastic waste is the result of concerted lobbying, but manufacturers also played a key role in introducing plastic into the economy in the first place. Before corporate entities worked hard to replace existing arrangements, we had a circular economy for wrapping food or carrying liquids.
… If we frame the problem as one that individuals can solve, we ignore the fact that infrastructure, institutions and regulation continue to place real limits on what we can achieve, and work against our best efforts to live sustainably.
… Our dependence on fossil fuels and plastic has been constructed and reinforced by corporate interest and decades of lobbying that thwarted environmental regulation.
This is why racism should be challenged ,,, two ticks national is no excuse for encouraging our sicko's.
And how come no media in NZ …. apart from Nicky Hager ,,,, called out the blatant dishonesty and racism ,,, of the Brash Nats ' steal the beaches ' election propaganda,
I think Brash is still banging away at it …. … who would Hobson votes end up floating too
More pressure on Pharmac – they are damned if they do and damned if they don't
The Pharmac board was advised that the cost of funding OxyContin would be $1.2m by 2008 – it ended up being $3.5m and kept ballooning.
Doctors have told Stuff that after Pharmac agreed to fund OxyContin, Mundipharma began heavily promoting it, including for conditions such as arthritis.
Sales reps would visit GPs, and advertisements were placed in publications such as New Zealand Doctor.
Dr Alistair Dunn, a Whangarei addiction medicine specialist who was one of the first to raise concerns about OxyContin, says GPs would not previously have resorted to using morphine for arthritis.
It’s hard to help citizens who are dying to have addictions to various things. Lachlan Foote, 21, returned to his Blue Mountains home after celebrating New Year’s Eve in the early hours of 2018. He made himself a protein shake before bed, adding caffeine powder, and his parents found him dead on the bathroom floor the next morning.
This about what we are up against by opening up ourselves to the world business that is equivalent to drive-by smash and grab. Our government hasn't a chance in coping with sharp operators like this.
Such a nightmare scenario was not out of the ordinary for renters around the United States after Invitation Homes, a subsidiary of New York private equity firm Blackstone Group, began buying foreclosed homes on the cheap after the 2008 financial crisis. It quickly became the country’s largest owner of single-family homes. The firm soon earned a poor reputation as an absentee landlord that left houses in disrepair and ignored calls from tenants to fix pest infestations, electrical or plumbing problems, and other issues. Report after report by independent groups detail complaints about a lack of maintenance, swift evictions being carried out based on glitches or errors, and steep overcharging for rents….
Episodes like these are why there continues to be fierce debate about the merits of PE firms everywhere around the world – everywhere, seemingly, but in New Zealand. While the public and media remain fixated on the threat of foreign home buyers and property speculators, there has been comparatively little debate about the entrance of large, foreign PE firms into our economy.
According to the journalist and author Graeme Hunt, domestic intelligence and counter-subversion prior to the establishment of the SIS was primarily in the hands of the New Zealand Police Force (1919–1941; 1945–1949) and of the New Zealand Police Force Special Branch (1949–1956). Another predecessor to the SIS during the Second World War was the short-lived New Zealand Security Intelligence Bureau (SIB).[6] The SIB, modelled after the British MI5, was headed by Major Kenneth Folkes, a junior MI5 officer. The conman Syd Ross duped Major Folkes into believing that there was a "Nazi plot" in New Zealand. Due to this embarrassment, Prime Minister Peter Fraser dismissed Folkes in February 1943 and the SIB merged into the New Zealand Police. Following the end of World War II in 1945, the police force resumed responsibility for domestic intelligence.[7]
Being diagnosed early is vital to being cured, avoiding patient pain and suffering along with potential long term health costs in the process. MRI's are a vital diagnostic tool that should be GP referable and shouldn't require such long wait times.
"Is there any action being taken to address this?" [The Chairman @17]
Do you mean action to address the clinical decision not to offer Rachel Terrill an MRI scan? Both better clinical decision making, and more resources for publicly-funded MRI scans, would be one way to go.
Ministry of Health chief medical officer Andrew Simpson said national waiting times were carefully monitored.
"The performance indicator [or target] is that 90 per cent of people receive an MRI scan, within six weeks," he said.
"Capacity across the country has increased through improved efficiency and DHBs investing in new or additional machinery, and more scans are being performed now than in the past, but there are still challenges to be worked through," he said.
"The six week timeframe was introduced in 2012/13, based on advice from the National Radiology Advisory Group."
"In our region [Nelson Marlborough] we share MRI scanners with private healthcare providers which affects our capacity to scan and have plans this year to purchase a new MRI scanner for Nelson Hospital, solely for public healthcare use.
We acknowledge that waiting for a scan is not what people may want to do, but reassure people that this service is organised by order of priority – if you urgently need a scan you will get one quickly," Lexie O'Shea said.
I agree with The Chairman that, in general, public health funding should be prioritised over defense spending. Could there be bipartisan political action on this, once the National party has plugged its leaks?
Graeme Hunt, who died in 2010, was one of the most unpleasant right wing ideologues infecting public life in this country. He was a regular dark and pompous presence on Larry "Lackwit" Williams' joke of a show on NewstalkZzzzzB, where he made a point of bullying, ridiculing, and harassing lesser souls, like Tim Watkin and the ridiculous Josie Pagani.
Even worse than his radio performances was his writing. He wrote a substandard biography of Fintan Patrick Walsh, and this "history" Spies and Revolutionaries was another missed opportunity, muddying the waters for any serious journalist or academic who might have wished to write on the history of security in this country in the future.
In 2003 Hunt's crappy secret persona was outed on Google Groups, much to his mortification….
He would have been wiser and more principled to have made a clear call years ago, one way or the other. This frittering looks indecisive at best and cynically manipulative at worst.
Yet the report makes it evident that UK Labour have agreed to adopt a different position on the situation in campaigning for the next election. "In an interview with the BBC on Tuesday, he said there was no decision yet as to what Labour would argue for in a general election on Brexit. He said: “We will decide very quickly at the start of that campaign exactly what our position will be.”
"Pressed on whether Labour was now a party of leave or remain, Corbyn said: “We will give people the choice on this. That is something which is surely very important. We respect the result of the referendum. We’ve been through this whole long parliamentary process over the past three years and we’ve made it very clear we will do everything we can to take no deal off the table or stop a damaging deal of the sort Hunt and Johnson are proposing.”"
So it seems a nuanced principled position. No doubt spooked by the LibDem poll ratings, he's gotten agreement from his colleagues. I think he's done well.
That "nuance" has been a 15 point gift to the LibDems.
Corbyn needs to show he has to chops to actually pull back the voters he's lost to them. That is the measure of whether he's more than an idealistic maverick.
I do agree his lack of leadership has allowed the LibDems to get up past Labour. I was just pointing out that he secured a nicely-nuanced collective agreement from Labour in response. It encompasses a two-pronged strategy & seems coherent.
Getting consensus on both in a complex political context at the top level is a real accomplishment. We ought to acknowledge that. I've been critical of him several times the past few months but I feel he's redeemed himself somewhat.
Labour's political culture has been groupthink since the nineties, remember, here & in Oz as in Britain. Labour leaders only get tolerated if they genuinely represent group opinion. Thus hamstrung, it is rare for them to demonstrate individual flair or initiative. I think the evidence shows he has been successful in steering the groupthink to an appropriate result.
MAGA President Trump supporters are not sick of winning, there seems to be some consensus about among them.
Brexit supporters are….um……well……you know……errrr………still campaigning for their referendum, whatever that was about, of a few years back.
I'd say, to do it with any kind of momentum, & have it be momentous, it needs a no holds barred sack the cabinet, hard take it or leave it deal with the EU, proroguing the people's vote through parliament, strong solidarity with MAGA movement & President Trump on the world stage with an opening shot of a successful deal with the U.S.A.
Have you some recommendation – one or two – on what a forestry company can do for a quick ground cover on hills they have logged to prevent run-off when it rained heavily? I thought if they could fly over, perhaps with a drone, would dropping seed work well and enough come up even if the ground wasn't wet? This time of the year the dew is quite heavy.
If you let me know what you think would be viable for putting over quite a big area I could pass that on as there is concern about a logged area here and while it is being thought about, perhaps some sensible plan for fast growing beneficial weeds could be passed on and tried out (and then done as a regular sensible move. Fast and nitrogen fixing – would clover do it – chickweed?
I reckon forethought would go a long way. Damage control is harder.
You are looking for local fast growing legumes and ground covers that can handle the soil conditions left behind after pines. It might be you can aerial spray seeds but need to add lime. They could maybe get hold of the mountains of discarded oyster shells industry creates and crush and use them to facilitate things (if liming would help).
There's also the question of land use after harvest – another pine crop? A bush regeneration project? A fallow period?
For regeneration and even another crop of pines (why!) I'd be inclined to go in and innoculate stumps with oyster mushrooms, shitaake if they'll grow on pines, mulch down the slash and add Stropharia rugoso-annulata and other saprobes to generate some local crops/small business while turning the trunks and slash to topsoil.
If rapid ground cover is imperative you want something practically invasive to the conditions. Observation of the site will indicate which plants or close relatives of plants might work.
Driving back from the FFN the other day I was actually shocked to see entire hillsides covered with the stuff. Some large, but mostly it was plants of about 1.5 metres growing about 1 metre apart, covering entire hillsides.
I've pulled a few of these out from my place but it seems that they simply love to exploit bare land…too many trees at mine.
And strangely, while obviously it is the time of the year for spraying gorse…woolly nightshade growing alongside the sprayed and withering gorse was thriving.
Got me to thinking that perhaps we could grow the stuff to feed our bio diesel/ethanol plants.
Interesting Rosemary. Good observation. It is a prolific space invader right down to at least the Waikato. Noted as a pest plant, shade tolerance could be a problem where other pioneers typically do the nursery job then die back as other plants canopy forms over them.
Biofuels are impractical unless waste streams of crops/industry. We've gone that route (growing biofuel specifically) to the detriment of food security already. One day we might get the desired bacteria to live outside of certain insects guts but we're not there yet. Once we can crack lignin apart easily biofuels will lend a lot more energy for a lot less input.
Pretty shocking stuff Rosemary. Its spread indicates that some immediate ground cover plants are necessary to stop this relentless weed, and it is so nasty, bad for skin and smelly and the birds should be provided with a better weed that they can go to.
Medical cannabis needs to be accessed by sick people who need it.What I don't want to see is big companies getting a monopoly in the industry and charging the Papatuanuku for a product that people need to have a good life. I can see business manipulating the laws so that they can dominate the market.
What commercial operations is going to grow weed close to a school on the most expensive land not very wise they will grow it on farm land not in the city's????????????????????????????????.
I say that we will have the same problems that the United kingdom and other countries have. Our doctors are all elderly so they have a negative attitude and view on medical weed they will be very reluctant to prescribe it. The elderly have a very different view on our society's that the younger generations they have had it drummed into them over the years that alcohol is good and laughable that weed is bad.
Times are changing we have the internet now so we can find out the TRUTHS about our society the younger generation have a much clearer view on our society's problems.
This is a joke the billionaires get away with what ever they do to make money no matter the harm caused.
Facebook to be fined $5bn for Cambridge Analytica privacy violations – reports
The $5bn fine would be the largest ever levied by the Federal Trade Commission against a technology company
The FTC’s investigation was launched in March 2018 after the Guardian revealed that the political consultancy Cambridge Analytica had improperly obtained the private information of more than 50m Facebook users. Facebook had agreed under a 2012consent decree stemming from a previous FTC investigation into privacy concerns to better protect user privacy. The investigation centered on whether this decree .
Critics say the changes required of Facebook are not substantial enough, and the fine will hardly make a dent in Facebook’s bank account. The company had more than $15bn in revenue in the first three months of 2019.
“This isn’t a fine, it’s a favor to Facebook, a parking ticket which will clear them to conduct more illegal and invasive surveillance,” said Matt Stoller, a fellow at the Open Markets Institute who specializes in monopoly power. “Congress should start defunding the FTC and move the money to state enforcers like Karl Racine who believe in enforcing the law,” he added, referring to the attorney general of Washington DC, who is currently pursuing a lawsuit against Facebook over the Cambridge Analytica
David Cicilline, the Democratic congressman who chairs the House subcommittee on antitrust issues, reacted to the news on Twitter, saying: “The FTC just gave Facebook a Christmas present five months early. It’s very disappointing that such an enormously powerful company that engaged in such serious misconduct ka kite ano link below.
Eco Maori totally agrees with this Wahine view these guys think that they are leaders but NO they are just con artists fooling people that they put their te tangata best interests before their own wants YEA RIGHT.
Ruining a country near you soon: the beta males who think they’re alphas
What could be more insecure than a 55-year-old bragging about Latin, or a literal president tweeting his enemies on the bog
If the Tory leadership election unfolds as widely expected, the UK will basically be ruled by a Fathers4Injustice activist. Boris Johnson is the kind of guy who’d don Spider-Man pyjamas and scale a building in order to see less of his kids. Sorry, fewer. Even so, he remains a remarkably typical hero of our political times. “There are two kinds of women,” Harry explains at one point in When Harry Met Sally. “High maintenance and low maintenance.” “Which one am I?” Sally asks. “You’re the worst kind,” he says. “You’re high maintenance, but you think you’re low maintenance
See also gratefully submissive Donald Trump fanboy Nigel Farage, who has spent much of the past three years hanging wanly around Washington on the off-chance of a half-hour 6pm burger with the alpha male to his beta. And see also Donald Trump himself, the leader of the free world, who spent about 48 hours this week tweeting like some homicidal 11-year-old Justin Bieber fan about the leaked comments of the British ambassador. Who, apparently, we now let him pick. More on toxic insecurity’s poster boy shortly.
Great leaders show, rather than tell, their skills. Yet Johnson never lets up with telling people that he is not “defeatist”, that he will “put some lead in the collective pencil”, that “energy” is needed, that what the EU really fears is a big strong man like him. Mm. I hear they talk of little else in the 27 European capitals. “O Fates, please spare us the dreaded ‘positive energy’ of a guy internationally ridiculed as the worst foreign secretary in memory; and the unplayable charm of a surprisingly indifferent orator who knows the Latin for ‘can we just take out the backstop?’”
And Johnson does know Latin, as he never misses a chance to remind us. No one could accuse him of wearing his learning lightly – or, indeed, wearing any of it lightly. Witness his excruciating promise to reach out to something he pointedly referred to as “Oppidan Britain”. To which the increasingly despairing response has to be: YES YES! I KNOW WHAT SCHOOL YOU WENT TO! I KNOW WHAT HOUSE YOU WERE IN! I KNOW YOU GOT A SECOND CLASS CLASSICS DEGREE! I KNOW THIS SOMEHOW ENDS WITH YOU CONSIGNING OUR ENTIRE COUNTRY TO THE CATACOMBS THEN BEATING US TO DEATH WITH YOUR RELATIVELY MIDDLEBROW ACHIEVEMENTS! But mate: you are 55 – FIFTY-FIVE – years old. How, how can you possibly still be wanking on about any of this, in public, as though it was still the best thing you’ve ever done? Can it really be because it was? [Spoiler: yes ka kite ano link below.
Eco Maori thanks the wealthy US philanthropist for their tau toko of the Students Strikes and the extinction rebellion
A group of wealthy US philanthropists and investors have donated almost half a million pounds to support the grassroots movement Extinction Rebellion and school strike groups – with the promise of tens of millions more in the months ahead.
Trevor Neilson, an investor and philanthropist who has worked with some of the world’s richest families, has teamed up with Rory Kennedy – daughter of Robert Kennedy – and Aileen Getty, whose family wealth comes from the oil industry
Neilson said the three founders were using their contacts among the global mega-rich to get “a hundred times” more in the weeks and months ahead. “This might be the single best chance we have to stop the greatest emergency we have ever faced,” he told the Guardian.
The new fund has the author and environmentalist Bill McKibben, who set up 350.org, and David Wallace Wells, who wrote international best seller Uninhabitable Earth, on its advisory board.
Global heating: London to have climate similar to Barcelona by 2050
The money will initially be used to support school strike and Extinction Rebellion groups in the US, but will also be available to help “seed” similar groups around the world.
It offers tiers of funding to support different-sized groups, from teenage activists wanting money for leaflets and megaphones, to funding for salaries and offices for established groups in big cities. It has already committed some of the fund to support Extinction Rebellion groups in New York and Los Angeles Ka kite ano link below.
A big Hurricane is moving into the Mississippi river in America while the river is in flood cause trump climate change.
John haven't you been in that or around that type of organization. People like you only care about your own mana you are just sturing the Oranga tamariki stuff to use it to try and get the Auckland mayors job you don't care that you're moves could damage the government that does more for the common poor tangata than the last lot muppet Maori make up a large portion of them. You're backers are just using you to try and damage our humane Labour lead Government wake up fool.
I new a elderly couple who had a daughter on the Earabus flight.
That's a big explosion in Russia.
America sky lad 40 years today it crashed landed in the Australian outback the person describing the loud noise when it hit Papatuanuku Eco Maori knowns that feeling a meteor hit in Edgecome back in the day it was shaking the road the bank window in Opotiki was wobbling and a huge sonic boom .
Tiana turia why didn't you raise this problem about Oranga tamariki and sorte it out when you were in bed with NATIONAL they just stuffed up te tangata whenua.????????????????????. You were played by shonky and you are being played now fool
I have Already given my opinion of john tamahira in the above post.
Karen I oppose any Tangata whenua whenua being sold te Atua is not making anymore whenua they could have just used the whenua as security for a loan to do the development that they wanted in Papamore.
Ka pai to the Wahine who are getting bald heads to raise funds for housespice and the Rainbow community is a awesome cause.
I hit the justice department with a request for all the information that they have on Eco Maori to get JUSTICE. The muppets just stepped up their intimidation GAMES 10 fold lucky I'm Eco Maori I have others who have my Back
“Follow the money” is the classic directive to journalists trying to understand where power and influence lie in society. In terms of uncovering who influences various New Zealand political parties and governments, it therefore pays to look at who is funding them. The political parties are legally obliged to make ...
Rob MacCullough writes – Here is my subjective ranking on a “most-left” to “most-right” scale of most of our major NZ Universities, with some anecdotal (and at times amusing) evidence to back up the claim.Extreme Left Auckland University of TechnologyEvidenceThe ...
Eric Crampton writes – I hadn’t thought about this one until a helpful email showed up in my inbox.It’s pretty obvious that income tax thresholds should automatically index with inflation – whether to anchor the thresholds in percentiles of the income distribution, or to anchor against a real ...
Jacqui Van Der Kaay writes – Parliament’s speaker had no option but to refer Green MP Julie Anne Genter to the Privileges Committee for her behaviour in the House last Wednesday evening. The incident, in which she crossed the floor to wave a book and yell at National ...
Gary Judd writes – The Dean of the law school at the Auckland University of Technology is someone called Khylee Quince. I have been sent her social media posting in which she has, over the LawNews headline “Senior King’s Counsel files complaint about compulsory tikanga Maori studies for ...
Cleo Paskal writes – WASHINGTON, D.C.: ‘Many of us have received phone calls from [the opposing camp] telling them if they join the camp they will be given projects for their wards and $300,000 [around US$35,000] each’, says former Malaita Premier Daniel Suidani. The elections in Solomon Islands aren’t ...
With hindsight, it was inevitable that (a) Hamas would agree to the ceasefire deal brokered by Egypt and Qatar and that ( b) Israel would then immediately launch attacks on Rafah, regardless. We might have hoped the concessions made by Hamas would cause Israel to desist from slaughtering thousands more ...
Placards and mourners outside the Kilbirnie Mosque following the Christchurch terror attack: MSD has terminated the Kaiwhakaoranga service, which has been used by 415 families since the attacks. Photo: Lynn GrievesonTL;DR: The Government’s pledge to only cut ‘back office’ staff rather than ‘frontline’ services is on increasingly shaky ground, with ...
There’s been a few smaller public transport announcements over the last week or so that I thought I’d cover in a single post. Fareshare I’ve long called for Auckland Transport to offer a way to enable employer-subsidised public transport options. The need for this took on even more importance ...
Parliament’s speaker had no option but to refer Green MP Julie Anne Genter to the Privileges Committee for her behaviour in the House last Wednesday evening. The incident, in which she crossed the floor to wave a book and yell at National Minister Matt Doocey, reflects poorly on Genter and ...
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 ...
Who likes being sneered at? Nobody. Worse yet, when the sneerer has their facts all wrong, and might well be an idiot.The sneer in question is The adults are in charge now, and it is a sneer offered in retort to criticism of this new Government, no matter how well ...
When in government, Labour pushed to extend the Parliamentary term to four years, to reduce accountability and our ability to vote out a bad government. And now, they're trying to do it through the member's ballot, with a Four-Year Parliamentary Term Legislation Bill. The bill at least requires a referendum ...
A ballot for a single Member's Bill was held today, and the following bill was drawn: Public Works (Prohibition of Compulsory Acquisition of Māori Land) Amendment Bill (Hūhana Lyndon) The bill would prevent the government from stealing Māori land in breach of Te Tiriti o Waitangi. It ...
Simeon Brown, alongside Wayne Brown, is favouring a political figleaf now in exchange for loading up tens of millions in extra interest costs on Auckland ratepayers. Photo: Lynn GrievesonTL;DR: Ratings agency Standard & Poor’s is pushing back hard at suggestions from Local Government Minister Simeon Brown and Mayor Wayne Brown ...
Buzz from the Beehive One headline-grabber from the Beehive yesterday was the OECD’s advice that the government must bring the Budget deficit under control or face higher interest rates. Another was the announcement of a $1.9 billion “investment” in Corrections over the next four years. In the best interests of ...
Chris Trotter writes – Had Zheng He’s fleet sailed east, not west, in the early Fifteenth Century, how different our world would be. There is little reason to suppose that the sea-going junks of the Ming Dynasty, among the largest and most sophisticated sailing vessels ever constructed, would have failed ...
David Farrar writes – Two articles give a useful contrast in balance. Both seek to be neutral explainer articles. This one in the Herald on Social Investment covers the pros and cons nicely. It links to critical pieces and talks about aspects that failed and aspects that are more ...
The tikanga regulations will compel law students to be taught that a system which does not conform with the rule of law is nevertheless law which should be observed and applied…Gary Judd KC writes – I have made a complaint to Parliament’s Regulation ...
The future of Te Huia, the train between Hamilton and Auckland, has been getting a lot of attention recently as current funding for it is only in place till the end of June. The government initially agreed to a five year trial, through to April 2026, but that was subject ...
TL;DR: Hamas has just agreed to Israel’s ceasefire plan. Nelson hospital’s rebuild has been cut back to save money. The OECD suggests New Zealand break up network monopolies, including in electricity. PM Christopher Luxon’s news conference on a prison expansion announcement last night was his messiest yet.Here’s my top six ...
A homicide in Ponsonby, a manhunt with a killer on the run. The nation’s leader stands before a press conference reassuring a frightened nation that he’ll sort it out, he’ll keep them safe, he’ll build some new prison spaces.Sorry what? There’s a scary dude on the run with a gun ...
Hi,I know it’s been awhile since there’s been any Webworm merch — and today that all changes!Over the last four months, I’ve been working with New Zealand artist Jess Johnson to create a series of t-shirts, caps and stickers that are infused with Webworm DNA — and as of right ...
The OECD’s chief economist yesterday laid it on the line for the new Government: bring the deficit under control or face higher Reserve Bank interest rates for longer. And to bring the deficit under control, she meant not borrowing for tax cuts. But there was more. Without policy changes—introducing a ...
After a hiatus of over four months Selwyn Manning and I finally got it together to re-start the “A View from Afar” podcast series. We shall see how we go but aim to do 2 episodes per month if possible. … Continue reading → ...
In 2008, the UK Parliament passed the Climate Change Act 2008. The law established a system of targets, budgets, and plans, with inbuilt accountability mechanisms; the aim was to break the cycle of empty promises and replace it with actual progress towards emissions reduction. The law was passed with near-universal ...
Buzz from the Beehive Local Water Done Well – let’s be blunt – is a silly name, but the first big initiative to put it into practice has gone done well. This success is reflected in the headline on an RNZ report:District mayors welcome Auckland’s new water deal with ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate ConnectionsA farmworker cleans the solar panels of a solar water pump in the village of Jagadhri, Haryana Country, India. (Photo credit: Prashanth Vishwanathan/ IWMI) Decisions made in India over the next few years will play a key role in global ...
Lindsay Mitchell writes – The Children’s Minister, Karen Chhour, intends to repeal Section 7AA from the Oranga Tamariki Act 1989 because it creates conflict between claimed Crown Treaty obligations and the child’s best interests. In her words, “Oranga Tamariki’s governing principles and its act should be colour ...
Geoffrey Miller writes – The gloves are off. That might seem to be the undertone of surprisingly tough talk from New Zealand’s foreign and trade ministers. Winston Peters, the foreign minister, may be facing legal action after making allegations about former Australian foreign minister Bob Carr on Radio New Zealand. ...
Brian Easton writes – This is about the time that the Treasury will be locking up its economic forecasts to be published in the 2024 Budget Economic and Fiscal Update (BEFU) on budget day, 30 May. I am not privy to what they will be (I will report on them ...
TL;DR:Winston Peters is reported to have won a budget increase for MFAT. David Seymour wanted his Ministry of Regulation to be three times bigger than the Productivity Commission. Simeon Brown is appointing a Crown Monitor to Watercare to protect the Claytons Crown Guarantee he had to give ratings agencies ...
The gloves are off. That might seem to be the undertone of surprisingly tough talk from New Zealand’s foreign and trade ministers. Winston Peters, the foreign minister, may be facing legal action after making allegations about former Australian foreign minister Bob Carr on Radio New Zealand. Carr had made highly ...
I could be a florist'Round the corner from Rye LaneI'll be giving daisies to craziesBut, baby, I'll wrap you up real safe Oh, I can give you flowers At the end of every dayFor the center of your table, a rainbowIn case you have people 'round to stay Depending on ...
TL;DR: The six key events to watch in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy in the week to May 12 include:PM Christopher Luxon is scheduled to hold a post-Cabinet news conference at 4 pm today. Finance Minister Nicola Willis will give a pre-budget speech on Thursday.Parliament sits from Question Time at 2pm on ...
The price of the foreign affairs “reset” is now becoming apparent, with Defence set to get a funding boost in the Budget. Finance Minister Nicola Willis has confirmed that it will be one of the few votes, apart from Health and Education and possibly Police, which will get an increase ...
A listing of 26 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, April 28, 2024 thru Sat, May 4, 2024. Story of the week "It’s straight out of Big Tobacco’s playbook. In fact, research by John Cook and his colleagues ...
Yesterday I received come lovely feedback following my Star Wars themed newsletter. A few people mentioned they’d enjoyed reading the personal part at the beginning.I often begin newsletters with some memories, or general thoughts, before commencing the main topic. This hopefully sets the mood and provides some context in which ...
April 30 was going to be the day we’d be calling Mum from London to wish her a happy birthday. Then it became the day we would be going to St. Paul's at Evensong to remember her. The aim of the cathedral builders was to find a way to make their ...
Rob MacCulloch writes – Can’t remember the last book by a Kiwi author you read? Think the NZ government should spend less on the arts in favor of helping the homeless? If so, as far as Newsroom is concerned, you probably deserve to be called a cultural ignoramus ...
Eric Crampton writes – Grudges are bad. Better to move on. But it can be fun to keep a couple of really trivial ones, so you’re not tempted to have other ones. For example, because of the rootkit fiasco of 2005, no Sony products in our household. ...
A new report warns an estimated third of the adult population have unmet need for health care.Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāHere’s the six key things I learned about Aotaroa’s political economy this week around housing, climate and poverty:Politics - Three opinion polls confirmed support for PM Christopher Luxon ...
Today is May the fourth. Which was just a regular day when my mother took me to see the newly released Star Wars at the Odeon in Rotorua. The queue was right around the corner. Some years later this day became known as Star Wars Day, the date being a ...
Buzz from the Beehive Much more media attention is being paid to something Winston Peters said about former Australian Foreign Minister Bob Carr than to a speech he delivered to the New Zealand China Council. One word is missing from the speech: AUKUS. But AUKUS loomed large in his considerations ...
Is the economy in another long stagnation? If so, why?This is about the time that the Treasury will be locking up its economic forecasts to be published in the 2024 Budget Economic and Fiscal Update (BEFU) on budget day, 30 May. I am not privy to what they will be ...
The annual list of who's been bribing our politicians is out, and journalists will no doubt be poring over it to find the juiciest and dirtiest bribes. The government's fast-track invite list is likely to be a particular focus, and we already know of one company on the list which ...
In the weeks after the October 7 Hamas attacks on Southern Israel I wrote about the possible 2nd, 3rd and even 4th order effects of the conflict. These included new fronts being opened in the West Bank (with Hamas), Golan … Continue reading → ...
Peter Dunne writes – It is one of the oldest truisms that there is never a good time for MPs to get a pay rise. This week’s announcement of pay raises of around 2.8% backdated to last October could hardly have come at a worse time, with the ...
David Farrar writes – Newshub reports: Newshub can reveal a fresh allegation of intimidation against Green MP Julie-Anne Genter. Genter is subject to a disciplinary process for aggressively waving a book in the face of National Minister Matt Doocey in the House – but it’s not the first time ...
The Treasury has published a paper today on the global productivity slowdown and how it is playing out in New Zealand: The productivity slowdown: implications for the Treasury’s forecasts and projections. The Treasury Paper examines recent trends in productivity and the potential drivers of the slowdown. Productivity for the whole economy ...
Winston Peters’ comments about former Australian foreign minister look set to be an ongoing headache for both him and Luxon. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The podcast above of the weekly ‘hoon’ webinar for subscribers features co-hosts and , along with regular guests on Gaza and ...
These puppet strings don't pull themselvesYou're thinking thoughts from someone elseHow much time do you think you have?Are you prepared for what comes next?The debating chamber can be a trying place for an opposition MP. What with the person in charge, the speaker, typically being an MP from the governing ...
The land around Lyme Regis, where Meryl Streep once stood, in a hood, on the Cobb, is falling into the sea.MerylThe land around Lyme Regis, around the Cobb that made it rich, has always been falling slowly but surely into the sea. Read more ...
Buzz from the Beehive Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters was bound to win headlines when he set out his thinking about AUKUS in his speech to the New Zealand Institute of International Affairs. The headlines became bigger when – during an interview on RNZ’s Morning Report today – he criticised ...
The Post reports on how the government is refusing to release its advice on its corrupt Muldoonist fast-track law, instead using the "soon to be publicly available" refusal ground to hide it until after select committee submissions on the bill have closed. Fast-track Minister Chris Bishop's excuse? “It's not ...
As pressure on it grows, the livestock industry’s approach to the transition to Net Zero is increasingly being compared to that of fossil fuel interests. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / Getty ImagesTL;DR: Here’s the top five news items of note in climate news for Aotearoa-NZ this week, and a discussion above ...
The New Zealand Herald reports – Stats NZ has offered a voluntary redundancy scheme to all of its workers as a way to give staff some control over their “future” amidst widespread job losses in the public sector. In an update to staff this morning, seen by the Herald, Statistics New Zealand ...
On Werewolf/Scoop, I usually do two long form political columns a week. From now on, there will be an extra column each week about music and movies. But first, some late-breaking political events:The rise in unemployment numbers for the March quarter was bigger than expected – and especially sharp ...
David Farrar writes – The Herald reports: TVNZ says it is dealing with about 50 formal complaints over its coverage of the latest 1News-Verian political poll, with some viewers – as well as the Prime Minister and a former senior Labour MP – critical of the tone of the 6pm report. ...
Muriel Newman writes – When Meridian Energy was seeking resource consents for a West Coast hydro dam proposal in 2010, local Maori “strenuously” objected, claiming their mana was inextricably linked to ‘their’ river and could be damaged. After receiving a financial payment from the company, however, the Ngai Tahu ...
Alwyn Poole writes – “An SEP,’ he said, ‘is something that we can’t see, or don’t see, or our brain doesn’t let us see, because we think that it’s somebody else’s problem. That’s what SEP means. Somebody Else’s Problem. The brain just edits it out, it’s like a ...
Our trust in our political institutions is fast eroding, according to a Maxim Institute discussion paper, Shaky Foundations: Why our democracy needs trust. The paper – released today – raises concerns about declining trust in New Zealand’s political institutions and democratic processes, and the role that the overuse of Parliamentary urgency ...
This article was prepared for publication yesterday. More ministerial announcements have been posted on the government’s official website since it was written. We will report on these later today …. Buzz from the BeehiveThere we were, thinking the environment is in trouble, when along came Jones. Shane Jones. ...
New Zealand now has the fourth most depressed construction sector in the world behind China, Qatar and Hong Kong. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: These are the six things that stood out to me in news and commentary on Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy at 8:46am on Thursday, May 2:The Lead: ...
Hi,I am just going to state something very obvious: American police are fucking crazy.That was a photo gracing the New York Times this morning, showing New York City police “entering Columbia University last night after receiving a request from the school.”Apparently in America, protesting the deaths of tens of thousands ...
Winston Peters’ much anticipated foreign policy speech last night was a work of two halves. Much of it was a standard “boilerplate” Foreign Ministry overview of the state of the world. There was some hardening up of rhetoric with talk of “benign” becoming “malign” and old truths giving way to ...
Hon Willie Jackson has been invited by the Oxford Union to debate the motion “This House Believes British Museums are not Very British’ on May 23rd. ...
Green Party MP Hūhana Lyndon says her Public Works (Prohibition of Compulsory Acquisition of Māori Land) Amendment Bill is an opportunity to right some past wrongs around the alienation of Māori land. ...
A senior, highly respected King’s Counsel with decades of experience in our law courts, Gary Judd KC, has filed a complaint about compulsory tikanga Māori studies for law students - highlighting the utter depths of absurdity this woke cultural madness has taken our society. The tikanga regulations will compel law ...
The Government needs to be clear with the people of the Nelson Marlborough region about the changes it is considering for the Nelson Hospital rebuild, Labour health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall said. ...
Ministers must front up about which projects it will push through under its Fast Track Approvals legislation, Labour environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said today. ...
The Government is again adding to New Zealand’s growing unemployment, this time cutting jobs at the agencies responsible for urban development and growing much needed housing stock. ...
With Minister Karen Chhour indicating in the House today that she either doesn’t know or care about the frontline cuts she’s making to Oranga Tamariki, we risk seeing more and more of our children falling through the cracks. ...
The Labour Party is saddened to learn of the death of Sir Robert Martin, a globally renowned disability advocate who led the way for disability rights both in New Zealand and internationally. ...
Labour is calling for the Government to urgently rethink its coalition commitment to restart live animal exports, Labour animal welfare spokesperson Rachel Boyack said. ...
Today’s Financial Stability Report has once again highlighted that poverty and deep inequality are political choices - and this Government is choosing to make them worse. ...
The Green Party is calling on the Government to do more for our households in most need as unemployment rises and the cost of living crisis endures. ...
Unemployment is on the rise and it’s only going to get worse under this Government, Labour finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds said. Stats NZ figures show the unemployment rate grew to 4.3 percent in the March quarter from 4 percent in the December quarter. “This is the second rise in unemployment ...
The New Zealand Labour Party welcomes the entering into force of the European Union and New Zealand free trade agreement. This agreement opens the door for a huge increase in trade opportunities with a market of 450 million people who are high value discerning consumers of New Zealand goods and ...
The National-led Government continues its fiscal jiggery pokery with its Pharmac announcement today, Labour Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall says. “The government has increased Pharmac funding but conceded it will only make minimal increases in access to medicine”, said Ayesha Verrall “This is far from the bold promises made to fund ...
This afternoon’s interim Waitangi Tribunal report must be taken seriously as it affects our most vulnerable children, Labour children’s spokesperson Willow-Jean Prime. ...
Te Pāti Māori are demanding the New Zealand Government support an international independent investigation into mass graves that have been uncovered at two hospitals on the Gaza strip, following weeks of assault by Israeli troops. Among the 392 bodies that have been recovered, are children and elderly civilians. Many of ...
Our two-tiered system for veterans’ support is out of step with our closest partners, and all parties in Parliament should work together to fix it, Labour veterans’ affairs spokesperson Greg O’Connor said. ...
Stripping two Ministers of their portfolios just six months into the job shows Christopher Luxon’s management style is lacking, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said. ...
Tonight’s court decision to overturn the summons of the Children’s Minister has enabled the Crown to continue making decisions about Māori without evidence, says Te Pāti Māori spokesperson for Children, Mariameno Kapa-Kingi. “The judicial system has this evening told the nation that this government can do whatever they want when ...
It appears Nicola Willis is about to pull the rug out from under the feet of local communities still dealing with the aftermath of last year’s severe weather, and local councils relying on funding to build back from these disasters. ...
The Government is making short-sighted changes to the Resource Management Act (RMA) that will take away environmental protection in favour of short-term profits, Labour’s environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said today. ...
Labour welcomes the release of the report into the North Island weather events and looks forward to working with the Government to ensure that New Zealand is as prepared as it can be for the next natural disaster. ...
The Labour Party has called for the New Zealand Government to recognise Palestine, as a material step towards progressing the two-State solution needed to achieve a lasting peace in the region. ...
Some of our country’s most important work, stopping the sexual exploitation of children and violent extremism could go along with staff on the frontline at ports and airports. ...
The Government’s Fast Track Approvals Bill will give projects such as new coal mines a ‘get out of jail free’ card to wreak havoc on the environment, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said today. ...
The government's decision to reintroduce Three Strikes is a destructive and ineffective piece of law-making that will only exacerbate an inherently biased and racist criminal justice system, said Te Pāti Māori Justice Spokesperson, Tākuta Ferris, today. During the time Three Strikes was in place in Aotearoa, Māori and Pasifika received ...
Cuts to frontline hospital staff are not only a broken election promise, it shows the reckless tax cuts have well and truly hit the frontline of the health system, says Labour Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall. ...
The Green Party has joined the call for public submissions on the fast-track legislation to be extended after the Ombudsman forced the Government to release the list of organisations invited to apply just hours before submissions close. ...
New Zealand’s good work at reducing climate emissions for three years in a row will be undone by the National government’s lack of ambition and scrapping programmes that were making a difference, Labour Party climate spokesperson Megan Woods said today. ...
New research on the impacts of extreme weather on coastal marine habitats in Tairāwhiti and Hawke’s Bay will help fishery managers plan for and respond to any future events, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. A report released today on research by Niwa on behalf of Fisheries New Zealand ...
Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Winston Peters will lead a broad political delegation on a five-stop Pacific tour next week to strengthen New Zealand’s engagement with the region. The delegation will visit Solomon Islands, Papua New Guinea, Vanuatu, New Caledonia, and Tuvalu. “New Zealand has deep and ...
There has been a material decline in gas production according to figures released today by the Gas Industry Co. Figures released by the Gas Industry Company show that there was a 12.5 per cent reduction in gas production during 2023, and a 27.8 per cent reduction in gas production in the ...
Defence Minister Judith Collins tonight announced the recipients of the Minister of Defence Awards of Excellence for Industry, saying they all contribute to New Zealanders’ security and wellbeing. “Congratulations to this year’s recipients, whose innovative products and services play a critical role in the delivery of New Zealand’s defence capabilities, ...
Welcome to you all - it is a pleasure to be here this evening.I would like to start by thanking Greg Lowe, Chair of the New Zealand Defence Industry Advisory Council, for co-hosting this reception with me. This evening is about recognising businesses from across New Zealand and overseas who in ...
It is a pleasure to be speaking to you as the Minister for Digitising Government. I would like to thank Akolade for the invitation to address this Summit, and to acknowledge the great effort you are making to grow New Zealand’s digital future. Today, we stand at the cusp of ...
New Zealand is urging both Israel and Hamas to agree to an immediate ceasefire to avoid the further humanitarian catastrophe that military action in Rafah would unleash, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says. “The immense suffering in Gaza cannot be allowed to worsen further. Both sides have a responsibility to ...
A new online data dashboard released today as part of the Government’s school attendance action plan makes more timely daily attendance data available to the public and parents, says Associate Education Minister David Seymour. The interactive dashboard will be updated once a week to show a national average of how ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has announced Rosemary Banks will be New Zealand’s next Ambassador to the United States of America. “Our relationship with the United States is crucial for New Zealand in strategic, security and economic terms,” Mr Peters says. “New Zealand and the United States have a ...
The Government is considering creating a new tier of minerals permitting that will make it easier for hobby miners to prospect for gold. “New Zealand was built on gold, it’s in our DNA. Our gold deposits, particularly in regions such as Otago and the West Coast have always attracted fortune-hunters. ...
Minister for Trade Todd McClay today announced that New Zealand and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) will commence negotiations on a free trade agreement (FTA). Minister McClay met with his counterpart UAE Trade Minister Dr Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi in Dubai, where they announced the launch of negotiations on a ...
New Zealand Sign Language Week is an excellent opportunity for all Kiwis to give the language a go, Disabilities Issues Minister Louise Upston says. This week (May 6 to 12) is New Zealand Sign Language (NZSL) Week. The theme is “an Aotearoa where anyone can sign anywhere” and aims to ...
Six tertiary students have been selected to work on NASA projects in the US through a New Zealand Space Scholarship, Space Minister Judith Collins announced today. “This is a fantastic opportunity for these talented students. They will undertake internships at NASA’s Ames Research Center or its Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), where ...
New Zealanders will be safer because of a $1.9 billion investment in more frontline Corrections officers, more support for offenders to turn away from crime, and more prison capacity, Corrections Minister Mark Mitchell says. “Our Government said we would crack down on crime. We promised to restore law and order, ...
The OECD’s latest report on New Zealand reinforces the importance of bringing Government spending under control, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. The OECD conducts country surveys every two years to review its members’ economic policies. The 2024 New Zealand survey was presented in Wellington today by OECD Chief Economist Clare Lombardelli. ...
The Government has delivered on its election promise to provide a financially sustainable model for Auckland under its Local Water Done Well plan. The plan, which has been unanimously endorsed by Auckland Council’s Governing Body, will see Aucklanders avoid the previously projected 25.8 per cent water rates increases while retaining ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters discussed the need for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, and enhanced cooperation in the Pacific with German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock during her first official visit to New Zealand today. "New Zealand and Germany enjoy shared interests and values, including the rule of law, democracy, respect for the international system ...
The Minister Responsible for RMA Reform, Chris Bishop today released his decision on four recommendations referred to him by the Western Bay of Plenty District Council, opening the door to housing growth in the area. The Council’s Plan Change 92 allows more homes to be built in existing and new ...
Thank you, John McKinnon and the New Zealand China Council for the invitation to speak to you today. Thank you too, all members of the China Council. Your effort has played an essential role in helping to build, shape, and grow a balanced and resilient relationship between our two ...
The Government is modernising insurance law to better protect Kiwis and provide security in the event of a disaster, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly announced today. “These reforms are long overdue. New Zealand’s insurance law is complicated and dated, some of which is more than 100 years old. ...
The coalition Government is refreshing its approach to supporting pay equity claims as time-limited funding for the Pay Equity Taskforce comes to an end, Public Service Minister Nicola Willis says. “Three years ago, the then-government introduced changes to the Equal Pay Act to support pay equity bargaining. The changes were ...
Structured literacy will change the way New Zealand children learn to read - improving achievement and setting students up for success, Education Minister Erica Stanford says. “Being able to read and write is a fundamental life skill that too many young people are missing out on. Recent data shows that ...
Trade Minister Todd McClay says Canada’s refusal to comply in full with a CPTPP trade dispute ruling in our favour over dairy trade is cynical and New Zealand has no intention of backing down. Mr McClay said he has asked for urgent legal advice in respect of our ‘next move’ ...
The rights of our children and young people will be enhanced by changes the coalition Government will make to strengthen oversight of the Oranga Tamariki system, including restoring a single Children’s Commissioner. “The Government is committed to delivering better public services that care for our most at-risk young people and ...
The Government is making it easier for minor changes to be made to a building consent so building a home is easier and more affordable, Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk says. “The coalition Government is focused on making it easier and cheaper to build homes so we can ...
New Zealand lost a true legend when internationally renowned disability advocate Sir Robert Martin (KNZM) passed away at his home in Whanganui last night, Disabilities Issues Minister Louise Upston says. “Our Government’s thoughts are with his wife Lynda, family and community, those he has worked with, the disability community in ...
Good evening – Before discussing the challenges and opportunities facing New Zealand’s foreign policy, we’d like to first acknowledge the New Zealand Institute of International Affairs. You have contributed to debates about New Zealand foreign policy over a long period of time, and we thank you for hosting us. ...
From today, passengers travelling internationally from Auckland Airport will be able to keep laptops and liquids in their carry-on bags for security screening thanks to new technology, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Creating a more efficient and seamless travel experience is important for holidaymakers and businesses, enabling faster movement through ...
People with an interest in the health of Northland’s marine ecosystems are invited to a public meeting to discuss how to deal with kina barrens, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. Mr Jones will lead the discussion, which will take place on Friday, 10 May, at Awanui Hotel in ...
Kiwi exporters are $100 million better off today with the NZ EU FTA entering into force says Trade Minister Todd McClay. “This is all part of our plan to grow the economy. New Zealand's prosperity depends on international trade, making up 60 per cent of the country’s total economic activity. ...
There are heartening signs that the extractive sector is once again becoming an attractive prospect for investors and a source of economic prosperity for New Zealand, Resources Minister Shane Jones says. “The beginnings of a resurgence in extractive industries are apparent in media reports of the sector in the past ...
The return of the historic Ō-Rākau battle site to the descendants of those who fought there moved one step closer today with the first reading of Te Pire mō Ō-Rākau, Te Pae o Maumahara / The Ō-Rākau Remembrance Bill. The Bill will entrust the 9.7-hectare battle site, five kilometres west ...
Energy Minister Simeon Brown has announced 25 new high-speed EV charging hubs along key routes between major urban centres and outlined the Government’s plan to supercharge New Zealand’s EV infrastructure. The hubs will each have several chargers and be capable of charging at least four – and up to 10 ...
The coalition Government will not proceed with the previous Government’s plans to regulate residential property managers, Housing Minister Chris Bishop says. “I have written to the Chairperson of the Social Services and Community Committee to inform him that the Government does not intend to support the Residential Property Managers Bill ...
The Government has announced an independent review into the disability support system funded by the Ministry of Disabled People – Whaikaha. Disability Issues Minister Louise Upston says the review will look at what can be done to strengthen the long-term sustainability of Disability Support Services to provide disabled people and ...
Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith has attended the Universal Periodic Review in Geneva and outlined the Government’s plan to restore law and order. “Speaking to the United Nations Human Rights Council provided us with an opportunity to present New Zealand’s human rights progress, priorities, and challenges, while responding to issues and ...
The Government and Rotorua Lakes Council are committed to working closely together to end the use of contracted emergency housing motels in Rotorua. Associate Minister of Housing (Social Housing) Tama Potaka says the Government remains committed to ending the long-term use of contracted emergency housing motels in Rotorua by the ...
Trade Minister Todd McClay heads overseas today for high-level trade talks in the Gulf region, and a key OECD meeting in Paris. Mr McClay will travel to Riyadh to meet with counterparts from Saudi Arabia and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). “New Zealand’s goods and services exports to the Gulf region ...
Education Minister Erica Stanford has outlined six education priorities to deliver a world-leading education system that sets Kiwi kids up for future success. “I’m putting ambition, achievement and outcomes at the heart of our education system. I want every child to be inspired and engaged in their learning so they ...
The new NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) App is a secure ‘one stop shop’ to provide the services drivers need, Transport Minister Simeon Brown and Digitising Government Minister Judith Collins say. “The NZTA App will enable an easier way for Kiwis to pay for Vehicle Registration and Road User Charges (RUC). ...
Responding to an Auditor-General's report slamming failures in the administration of the 2023 General Election, Taxpayers’ Union Policy and Public Affairs Manager, James Ross, said: ...
The Taxpayers’ Union says the Beehive need to lead by example, following reports of more than $50,000 spent upgrading video conferencing equipment and furniture in the Prime Minister’s office. Taxpayers’ Union Campaign Manager, Connor Molloy, ...
An objective list of the 50 most powerful people in New Zealand, as judged by the Spinoff Editorial Board. It’s power list season, baby, and we want in on the action. Sure, there’s the rich list and the powerful “c-suite” list and the young people with power (hmmm) but here, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Thalia Anthony, Professor of Law, University of Technology Sydney ShutterstockThis article contains information on deaths in custody and the names of deceased people, and describes ongoing colonial violence towards Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. First Nations people in Australia ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Alex Simpson, Senior Lecturer in Criminology, Macquarie University Netflix Baby Reindeer’s phenomenal success has much to do with its writer and lead, Richard Gadd, who plays Donny in a tender semi-autobiographical account of sexual abuse, harassment and stalking. Gadd’s story has ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Clare Collins, Laureate Professor in Nutrition and Dietetics, University of Newcastle KarolinaGrabowska/Pexels If you didn’t have food allergies as a child, is it possible to develop them as an adult? The short answer is yes. But the reasons why are much ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Paul Moon, Professor of History, Auckland University of Technology Ans Westra, self-portrait, c. 1963. National Library ref AWM-0705-F They try but invariably fail – those writers who believe they are capable of encapsulating in prose or verse the essence of ...
Stewart Sowman-Lund looks at the growing concern around the world in this extract from The Bulletin. To receive The Bulletin in full each weekday, sign up here. What’s all this? When Covid-19 arrived on our shores in early 2020, some argued we were too slow, or crucially, ill-prepared for a pandemic. So ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Franco Montalto, Professor of Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering and Director, Sustainable Water Resource Engineering Laboratory, Drexel University Water runs into a storm drain in a Los Angeles alley on Aug. 19, 2023, during Tropical Storm Hilary.Citizen of the Planet/Universal Images ...
The inquest into the death of Gore toddler Lachlan Jones has turned up a new witness who says he saw two teenagers and a small child in a high vis vest in the area where the boy’s body was found the day he died. Lachie’s body was discovered face up ...
Stories from the tenancy trenches, featuring spider infestations, cupboard rats and same-sex discrimination. Lucy’s brother was living in a damp 1930s building in Mt Eden where “he had to tie the cupboard doors closed so the rats didn’t get in”. Although he shared custody of his six-year-old son, his property ...
Simeon Brown, Chris Luxon, and Wayne Brown climbed into a hole and announced a plan to solve Auckland’s water woes. This is how it’ll work. New Zealand’s pipes are munted. They’re cracked and leaking, and struggling to handle all the extra poos excreted by our rising population. It’s a big, ...
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Opinion: ‘Reference-class forecasting’ is at the heart of improving pricing a project and identifying the expected timeframe but it doesn’t appear to be in use here The post ‘Think fast and act slowly’ is failing big projects appeared first on Newsroom. ...
What do a sombrero in Argentina and cognitive driving tests have in common? Don’t worry, we’re not setting up a bad joke. Hinengaro Clinic dementia clinician Gregory Winkelman has the answer on today’s episode of The Detail. “We ask a patient’s spouse or son or daughter: If you went to ...
Wellington long jumper Phoebe Edwards is back and she’s having fun again. Until this year, Edwards, a top athlete in her teens, had never competed as a senior athlete in New Zealand. In March, the 26-year-old won a national long jump title in a lifetime best of 6.28m after ...
After replacing a fifth of their caucus in just four months, the Greens’ opportunity to reset, reshuffle and refocus on the Government is quickly slipping away The post Persistent Green Party scandals delay caucus reset appeared first on Newsroom. ...
I knew Taika Waititi quite well when he was a kid. His mother lived in a tall narrow house in Aro St, and my youngest sister had a similar house two doors along. They were both single mums, they each had a son aged seven. Taika and my nephew Stepan ...
Opinion: “As time passes, knowledge of the circumstances of the August 2016 outbreak will fade and its immediate impact will be lost.” This statement is from the 2017 report of the Official Inquiry into the Havelock North campylobacteriosis outbreak. The then National-led government established the inquiry after the outbreak left ...
Opinion: Nicholas Khoo looks at two key points in the high-stakes foreign policy pact debate – and asks if NZ can engage with as little drama as possible. The post Where to next for the Aukus ruckus? appeared first on Newsroom. ...
ANALYSIS:By Olli Hellmann, University of Waikato When New Zealanders commemorate Anzac Day today on April 25, it’s not only to honour the soldiers who lost their lives in World War I and subsequent conflicts, but also to mark a defining event for national identity. The battle of Gallipoli against ...
By Robin Martin, RNZ News reporter A New Zealand local authority, Whanganui District Council, has passed a motion calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, condemnation of all acts of violence and terror against civilians on both sides of the conflict and the immediate return of hostages. It comes as ...
Asia Pacific Report The Aotearoa chapter of the Women’s International league for Peace and Freedom (WILPF) has appealed to the New Zealand government to call out Israel over the “cruel and barbaric use of force” in Gaza and demand a permanent ceasefire. The league’s open letter was sent to Prime ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra The Albanese government will invest $566 million over a decade on data, maps and other tools to promote exploration and development in Australia’s resources industry. The project will fund “the first comprehensive map of what’s ...
Asia Pacific Report Following an open letter by Auckland University academics speaking out in support of their students’ right to protest against the genocidal Israeli war on Gaza, a group of academics at Otago University have today also called on New Zealand academic institutions to “repair colonial violence” and end ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Linda J. Graham, Professor and Director of the Centre for Inclusive Education, Queensland University of Technology Ryan Tauss/ Unsplash, CC BY Two male students have been expelled from a Melbourne private school for their involvement in a list ranking female students. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Peter Martin, Visiting Fellow, Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University The Reserve Bank is now assuming Australians will see no interest rate cuts this year – and quite possibly none before the next federal election, due next May. That’s ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By David Hayward, Emeritus Professor of Public Policy, RMIT University The Victorian budget offered more of the same on Tuesday, with the only change being how the budget papers were packaged. The usual shrink wrap was gone, hinting at savings in the pages ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra The Coalition is demanding extensive amendments to the government’s legislation targeting non-citizens who refuse to co-operate with their removal. In a dissenting report to the senate inquiry into the legislation, the Coalition says it ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Vanita Yadav, Senior Research Fellow, Urban Transformations Research Centre, Western Sydney University Brett Boardman/Belvoir The complex and grappling issue of violence against women takes centre stage in the soul-stirring solo dance drama Nayika: A Dancing Girl. During a dinner conversation ...
Disruption to patient care from a nationwide junior doctors strike is bordering on unsafe, a senior doctor claims, despite what health officials say. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sarah Diepstraten, Senior Research Officer, Blood Cells and Blood Cancer Division, Walter and Eliza Hall Institute Ground Picture/Shutterstock The anti-cancer drug abemaciclib (also known as Vernezio) has this month been added to the Australian Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) to treat certain ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Dominic McAfee, Postdoctoral researcher, marine ecology, University of Adelaide Robbie Porter, OzFish Unlimited Around Australia, hundreds of people are coming together to help a once-prized, but decimated and largely forgotten marine ecosystem. They’re busy restoring Australia’s native oyster and mussel reefs. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sara Webb, Lecturer, Centre for Astrophysics and Supercomputing, Swinburne University of Technology Austin Human/Unsplash How does Earth stop meteors from hitting Earth and hurting people? –Asher, 6 years 11 months, New South Wales Alright, let’s embark on a meteor ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Rory Mulcahy, Associate Professor of Marketing, University of the Sunshine Coast Professional sports organisations regularly promote and develop initiatives to support diversity, equity and inclusion. While sport has the power to change attitudes by sparking conversations about political issues and social ...
Comment: The weekly Monday post-Cabinet press conference is a useful forum for observing Christopher Luxon and how he is developing into the job of Prime Minister. He attempts to convey the impression of a man of action, speaking fast, delivering memorised National Party strategies in a connect-the-slogans kind of way, ...
Double votes, missing ballot boxes, tired tech and stressed staff: how tick-tallying went astray at last year’s election. Cast your mind back to November 2023, that bleary-eyed post-election period duringwhichwewaited, andwaited, for a coalition deal to be hammered out. A distraction from the hotel-hopping of our ...
International audiences are starting to discover what New Zealand already knew about After the Party.When After the Party aired in New Zealand last year, the response was fast and furious. In his preview for Rec Room, Duncan Greive said it was a “gritty, wrenching and highly confronting” series. By ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Shahram Akbarzadeh, Convenor of the Middle East Studies Forum (MESF), and Acting Director the Alfred Deakin Institute for Citizenship and Globalisation, Deakin University Iran’s leadership has been a direct beneficiary of the months-long war in Gaza. With every missile that Israel fires ...
Claire Mabey reviews the haunting and sexy debut novel from Sinéad Gleeson, who is about to touch down in Aotearoa for a string of live events.When Irish writer Sinéad Gleeson was in Aotearoa in 2018 with her spectacular collection of essays, Constellations, she told me she was working on ...
PNG Post-Courier Bougainville Affairs Minister Manasseh Makiba has described the Post-Courier’s front page story yesterday regarding a meeting between Bougainville and national government leaders as “sensationalised” and without substance. The Autonomous Bougainville Government (AGB) had warned it might use “other avenues to gain its independence” should the PNG government “continue ...
Where some saw the worst press conference given by the government to date, Anna Rawhiti-Connell recognised girl maths game.Nicola Willis, recently exasperated by comparisons to Ruth Richardson, said she was “a bit sick of being compared with every female finance minister that’s ever been out there.”Some think that’s ...
The March results are reported against forecasts based on the Half Year Economic and Fiscal Update 2023 (HYEFU 2023), published on 20 December 2023 and the results for the same period for the previous year. ...
Jamie Arbuckle, the district councillor who became an MP but decided to keep getting paid for both roles, will instead donate one salary to charity. ...
Adding gender to the Human Rights Act would simply make the implicit explicit. So why is it so controversial? Paul Thistoll explain. At present, Aotearoa’s 1993 Human Rights Act (HRA) includes sex, marital status, religious belief, ethical belief (meaning a lack of religious belief), colour, race, ethnicity or national origin, ...
As part of our series exploring how New Zealanders live and our relationship with money, an 18-year-old who’s studying and working in hospo shares their approach to spending and saving. Want to be part of The Cost of Being? Fill out the questionnaire here.Gender: Transmasc Age: 18 Ethnicity: Pākehā/Māori Role: Student, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jane Kelsey, Emeritus Professor of Law, University of Auckland, Waipapa Taumata Rau Getty Images Resources Minister Shane Jones has reportedly asked officials for advice on whether oil and gas companies could be offered “bonds” as compensation if drilling rights offered by ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kate Gleeson, Associate Professor of Law, Macquarie University Shutterstock The Albanese government is weighing up the costs of delivering an election promise to protect religious people from discrimination in Commonwealth law. Such protections were relatively uncontroversial when included in state anti-discrimination ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Yen Ying Lim, Associate Professor, Turner Institute for Brain and Mental Health, Monash University Pexels/Andrea Piacquadio Dementia is often described as “the long goodbye”. Although the person is still alive, dementia slowly and irreversibly chips away at their memories and the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Judy Bush, Senior Lecturer in Urban Planning, The University of Melbourne Adam Calaitzis/Shutterstock I met with a friend for a walk beside Merri Creek, in inner Melbourne. She had lived in the area for a few years, and as we walked ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By David Throsby, Distinguished Professor of Economics, Macquarie University Arts companies and individual artists in Australia are supported by government arts agencies, philanthropists, industry bodies, private donors and patrons. However, it is frequently overlooked that a major source of support for the arts ...
Harm Reduction Coalition Aotearoa, a new incorporated society dedicated to ending harmful drug policies, officially launched today, seeks a new fit-for-purpose drug law for Aotearoa New Zealand, rooted in science, experience and evidence. ...
The Corrections Minister admits he "muddied the water" after he and the Prime Minister repeatedly provided incorrect information about a $1.9 billion prison spend-up. ...
Well-written article about how our govt decided not to cover all people harmed by the Chch mosque terror attacks:
https://www.newsroom.co.nz/2019/07/09/674024/ministers-vetoed-acc-extension-for-terror-victims
No-one should qualify for ACC as a result of what happened in Chch. What happened was not an 'accident'. It was a deliberate act of evil by someone with a sick mind.
How Auckland Transport refuses to act against rogue car parking: https://www.greaterauckland.org.nz/2019/07/08/auckland-transports-parking-nonsense/
The core problem, that AT is probably aware of, that the law is largely unenforceable because there are more cars than carparks.
I have had a licensed vehicle parked and never moved outside my home for months. The Council can't do anything about it because it is licensed till September. I am thinking of checking with the police to see if it is reported stolen.
The streets are clogged with cars parked on the kerb, often because the owners can't be bothered maneouvring into their garages or car parks. At the kerb they sit, ready to go in seconds. Some have bigger vehicles than car parking provided. Some leave them there for days, then use them, returning to the same spot or nearby. Rarely is the street free of cars. When tradespeople, visitors want to park they have to search for a spot. It isn't satisfactory, and the streets are narrowed by cars on both sides. Some park out from the kerb by about 30 cm, which then reduces space for cyclists and cars using the space.
But cyclists don't mind really, they all use the footpath, swishing along behind you before you know they are there. Bells announce them so you can move out of their way. Does anyone think about them having to dismount and walk the bike round citizens using the path, for whom the paths were originally formed?
This fascinating documentary focuses primarily on the use of methamphetamines by the German military during World War II and Hitler's personal drug habits but it also mentions a fact I've found mentioned elsewhere, which is the allies (and Japan) preferred amphetamines which they gave to troops in millions of pills. Among those who were given them were allied troops in North Africa which would have included New Zealand soldiers. But I have never heard of any research etc into drug use among New Zealand soldiers during World War II. I wonder if New Zealand soldiers got addicted and if this might have contributed to alcoholism among New Zealand soldiers when they returned home (not having access to amphetamines). Amphetamine use by New Zealand soldiers during WWII would make interesting area for someone to research perhaps?
I'd heard about the USA giving LSD to airmen as it allowed them to undertake longer flights. (The doses would have to be carefully managed so they didn't forget that they were piloting a plane with a mission.)
Go pills are a thing.
LSD sounds odd (not a stimulant), but there was a case over Afghanistan where two US F16 pilots bombed and killed some Canadians. Part of their largely unsuccessful defense was that their amphetamine use for the mission made them more likely to identify unrelated actions as threats.
I remember a sequence in a Nicholas Monsarrat book (The Cruel Sea, probably) where the captain needed to out-wait a submerged Uboat so got the doctor to give him some uppers. The doctor kept them on a tight leash. Yes, fiction, but I mention it because Monsarrat is to WW2 convoy escort duty what Le Carre is to cold war esionage: a practitioner writing about what he knows.
LeCarre certainly captures all the tiniest details. Have you been watching the latest version of Little Drummer Girl on tv1?
The Alexander Skarsgård one? Yup, really well done.
Apparently Le Carre's written a brexit one – I'll be really interested to see the mix of tech and spycraft in that. So many ultra-modern spy things are gadgets beating gadgets rather than the human touch. Not to mention that they ignore the longer term goals for the immediate ones – e.g. Bond is just using a cover to stay undetected (even officially) long enough to kill someone, he never uses a cover for weeks or months.
Emergency rations for British soldiers in ww2 consisted of speed laced chocolate. It was an offence to consume them unless directed to by an officer. I would imagine, though of course I could be wrong, NZ, Aus and Canadian troops would have had similar provisions with the same level of control over their use.
The Wolves of War: Evidence of an Ancient Cult of Warrior Lycanthropy
"The legendary wine of Thrace was particularly potent through the addition of a psychoactive mushroom. The rituals of the women known as bacchants enacted the fantasies of root-cutters in commemoration of the deity in his persona that predated viticulture. This fungal persona represents the same intoxicant that was known to the Persians as haoma and represents the spread of an Indo-European sacrament into the Classical world, with its association of lycanthropy and the bonding of warriors into brotherhoods as packs of wolves, better known in its manifestation in late antiquity among the Nordic peoples as berserkers."
http://www.neuroquantology.com/index.php/journal/article/view/898
"According to Falk, Parsi-Zoroastrians use a variant of ephedra, usually Ephedra procera, imported from the Hari River valley in Afghanistan."
Haoma, soma… it's been a while and many interpretations of what the drug was. Some variations I think. From Vedic Hymns with recipes: poppies, weed, speed (Papaver, Cannabis, Ephedra). From other texts, fungi. I think they got folk shitfaced on whatever was convenient.
You bet. Percolated on down the millennia from paleolithic times. I remember the kerfuffle in the media when one of the Dead Sea Scrolls team of scholars broke ranks & advocated heresy: "cult practices, such as ingesting visionary plants to perceive the mind of God, persisted into the early Christian era". https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Sacred_Mushroom_and_the_Cross
"There was a media frenzy when it was published at the dawn of the 1970s. This caused the publisher to apologize for issuing it and forced Allegro's resignation from his university position."
"In November 2009 The Sacred Mushroom and the Cross was reprinted in a 40th anniversary edition with 30-page addendum by Prof. Carl A. P. Ruck of Boston University." So could be that the time of conforming to orthodoxy in acadaemia is over, and we may actually see academics learning something new.
Ethnobotany is helping. Also helping pharmaceutical companies to pillage as UNDRIP has no teeth.
Why do we have a parliament and most here being climate change deniers ?
AS if actions really do speak about what people REALLY think then there would be some direct action, declaring an emergency is doing nothing. If we were really serious there would be an acceptance that the world pop. will have to reduce, living standards will decline. But perhaps the really macro effects are way too serious to contemplate about.
So we say we agree but in reality we Deny.
Why do we have a parliament and most here being climate change deniers?
What do this relate to Herodotus? Who are 'most'…deniers?
It's not nothing that's been done. The so called deniers you speak of reached bi-partisan consensus with James Shaw's work, diluted though it may be.
There is not nothing being done. You are concern trolling while ignoring facts.
Yes, you'd think more would be done… but if this lot are turfed out and Nats are back in we'd be in a considerably worse position right now. Don't forget there are a large portion of self-obsessed
twatslandlords in this country who think they're the only game in town. Give them power back we'll be truly fucked.Not to mention the myriad of other problems the Coalition are currently trying to deal with.
For some people positive action is merely an excuse to start on the not enough mantra.
Count your blessings, positive change is occurring in an atmosphere of resistance and denial via media prostitutes. Those servicing that other mob that would crisp us for a buck.
Asking for more to be done is good and well. Claiming nothing is being done is bullshit.
The Labour and Green MP's most on this site, otherwise there would be strong demands to examine what NZ does. e.g. How do we promote tourism when the effects on the climate are so dramatic e.g air travel etc
Either this is a crisis that requires dramatic changes in everything we do on this planet or it is a nice to do as it makes "us" feel good.
WTH stopping oil exploration is great (What Crap ) if we then expect other countries to continue to supply us, nothing you have listed is dramatic., but it feels good.
"nothing you have listed is dramatic"
I see, you require drama.
Just go check out the Herald/Stuff/Shitpublication et. al. reactions to the above listed changes.
Apparently, the sky is falling.
With the changes that have been signalled e.g. many to become effective "after" the next election. The sea will be rising, who cares what the sky is doing 😜
I can be dramatic Herodotus. I can just get so depressed reading stuff from you and similar others that i can feel like killing myself.If you would not like even bringing that thought to anyone, then I suggest you don't come on here with your black mood and your allegations of nothing. I get blue, and sadder when I can't even see the Bill for euthanasia of people who are nearly dead get through. I would hope that I can give up one day soon, be resigned that I have achieved something small but worthwhile, and plan my passing ritual legally. But watching the meanness of so many rigid and uncaring is sad, and your approach makes it worse.
Tell us what YOU are doing and encourage us to take some specific action like you, protest, plant a tree etc. Whining and criticising is not going to get us where we need to go.
You could have a look at the vid at the bottom of the How to Get There last Sat post. It should be watched once a day by you to give you some hints about turning your negativity into something useful and supporting others trying to do good.
I do enough to feel that I am doing my bit. Visit a few Hauraki Gulf Islands or Hūnua ranges. Perhaps when you go behind a flax bush or a tree that was was planted by my hands, or you listen to the bird song perhaps I had a hand in the relocation or care.
Now I would like to hear what YOU are doing, many transfer their inaction by attacking others ?
Next time you hear the Greens or Labour spout off about what they are doing; feel good because that is all that the govt is doing and it feels SOOOOO good as long as you are not directly inconvenience.
So Herodotus, you have done as we have then? Did you vote wisely?
Yes, some changes are too slow. However, this Government knows that to move to fast is to alienate the voters.
When voters start to demand change and vote in large enough numbers for the proposed platform, Governments have a mandate.
At least this Government has made moves to improve our footprint where they have traction.
They are hoping for a greater mandate next time. We hope so as well!!
Compared with Europe and the Americas plus India and much of the Northern hemisphere and Australia, we here in NZ surrounded by cooling heat absorbing ocean waters and the Antarctic to the south, though it's melting too, are not being affected in your face obviously except our glaciers are melting back and the Alps' snow pack is declining. Ignoring reality is a way to keep BAU going: we all do it me too! Earthquakes are a more frightening prospect for us e.g. Wellington central library is still closed for examination and repairs from the last Kaikoura shake.
Trotter's prescription for Labour: populism. He reckons "the really exciting thing is that a huge part of the campaign need not be visible. If Labour in New Zealand is not too proud to copy the extraordinary social-media campaigning techniques perfected by Nigel Farage’s Brexit Party in the recent European elections, then Jacinda should be able to avoid pretty much all of the blood-splatter."
You think?? Labour as sophisticated political operatives? Pull the other leg, it's got bells on. http://bowalleyroad.blogspot.com/2019/07/can-jacinda-give-national-kiss-of.html
Did I read that someone thought of Nigel Farage being behind the leaking of the Brit diplomat's confidential notes?
Gabby suggested one of his supporters was. However I'm not convinced Nigel is a true patriot. He has twice failed to name his political parties Britain First. He hasn't even adopted Make Britain Great Again as his slogan.
Perhaps he wants to be a free spirit like the Don? Buzzing around creating frenzy. From what I have heard about Farage, he can be captured, bottled and held under glass. If so that would larn him to say the Right things.
Are you suggesting that only a True Patriot would steal and leak diplomatic notes franko?
Nope, that wasn't my intent. However, it's true that patriots have done that kind of thing for yonks (whenever they believe it's in the best interests of the nation)…
How much more populist does he want?
We already have a talented charismatic leader who is also the most popular politician in Australasia. And who has babies, gets the all-round guy, has a baby in office, and gets engaged.
2020 must surely be New Zealand Royal Wedding year.
If he were talking about the Labour Party of 2012 he would have a point.
Not with Ardern.
Trotsker's increasingly coming across as a bit of a tosser franko.
He's been a tosser for a long time, in fact….
https://morrisseybreen.blogspot.com/2018/01/chris-trotter-reckons-zimmerman-jury.html
Barry Soper is a slimy creep:
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=12248158
To begin with, he knows the difference between Key's and Clark's former holidays and Ardern's trip to the Cook Islands. Key went to a gated community in Hawaii where privacy was guaranteed. Clark climbed faraway mountains and skied in faraway places like Norway. Her privacy was guaranteed by lack of access and distance. Jacinda and Clark have gone to a well known holiday spot where privacy is not guaranteed.
They also have their little girl whose privacy they rightly wish to protect.
And just to be sure we get his nasty message, he throws in a few jibes at the late David Lange.
I recommend the article as the latest reminder of the extent of right-wing vengeance when they don't get their own way – in this case political power and the money and prestige that flows from it for the media sycophants.
yep nasty creep is a pretty nice description for that human imo
That might be true, but the value of the observation is somewhat diminished when it comes from someone who calls a politically motivated liar and calumniator a "hero".
It is from the NZ Herald whose spokeswoman heralded about the time they put up a paywall that the Herald is 'not a journal of record'. So apparently they don't have to try and live up to any standard of valuable reporting. Just drive-by jibes with a bit of gravitas for the business people about the most important matter of money – changing hands and the people in power that enable it.
breen = who?
That observation would be more valuable coming from someone who was lesspissey morpissey.
Quite possibly true, Baggers. Be that as it may, we both agree that the Soper-DuPlessis-Allen partnership is a match made in hell, right?
They might well be jerks, but their relationship is none of our business.
It's entertaining though—like another marriage of NewstalkZzzzzB regulars ….
https://morrisseybreen.blogspot.com/2019/07/bill-ralstons-wife-has-go-at-him-on-air.html
Whatever, dude.
His wife is just as awful.
https://morrisseybreen.blogspot.com/2018/01/campbell-lives-sorry-replacement-cannot.html
"Why does Jacinda Ardern want to keep her holiday a secret?"
The PM has often talked about mental health in the country, the use of drugs and all sorts of prevalent maladies. Barry Soper shows the tragic state we've descended too.
A senior political journalist, an adult, a man who's kicked around planet earth for quite a few years getting precious about not knowing where Ardern's gone on holiday? Or that we, I, don't know?
Call an ambulance for Soper, not just for the fact that he was upset for not knowing where she was going, but for all the drivel he comes up with around his little episode.
Why does Soapy want to know? So he can criticise her ostentation, or sneer at her cheapness?
I find it disturbing on the basis that someone paid him to write that utterly pointless garbage, not because I don’t think that the PM "can't handle" it – likely she just ignores it – or anything else that comes by way of her job. The uneasy feeling is that someone who was paid to write that and those with similar tendencies main intent would be to be the first with anything that remotely looks like "bad news" of some description and it is their fondest dream that that will happen. While they're not worth effort of considering how this is what some "journalism" has come to is really strange.
You're surprised? Have you not listened to his radio station at some point during the last twenty years?
No of course I'm not surprised I couldn't bear listening to that or similar and can only say that radio via that awful magic talk has only become worse, a few were OK but now it is sickening. One "announcer" I heard referring to a "poll" they had run as relfecting their "listeners" and he was dead right and not I am no longer one of them.
Keep an eye out for my rushed transcript of Peter Williams' show on Monday. It was, as you may have guessed, simply awful. In fact….
https://tenor.com/view/its-an-absolute-shitshow-shitshow-horrible-mess-problematic-gif-13065118
Miserable Barry is living proof of that great line by Yeats:
"An aged man is but a paltry thing / A tattered coat upon a stick / Unless soul clap its hands and sing…"
Soul-less, whiny, paltry little Barry. Ignore the half-wit.
I read the Soper piece as "I have to write something to get my money; I'm bored: I'll stir the pot – oh great, Ardern is in the Cook Islands and I did not know …" End of story -Soper style.
Here is a much more balanced item, IMO, probably much closer to the truth – Gayford is filming for his TV show Fish of the Day in the Cook Islands. Ardern and their daughter accompanied him for a short break – much deserved, and few and far between. Choice of destination boosts the local economy of one of our closest Pacifc neigbours, a former dependency with the main currency remaining NZ dollars, etc End of story – Reality.
https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/politics/2019/07/jacinda-ardern-spotted-holidaying-in-cook-islands-with-neve.amp.html
….just out of interest, a commercial flight or RNZAF private jet?
Teleportation.
amphibious limo with heated seats.
The RNZAF has private jets indinana?
I think you're on the money vv.
The sulky childishness of the article by a grown man is hard to believe. He belongs in Trumpland.
Anne, after working such unsociable hours, family time should be private and precious.
Soper never got over mucking up the flights to Britain when Jacinda and Clarke were such a hit. He is a sour sad man.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/113578935/prison-officers-will-work-12-hour-shifts-in-new-roster
Its been talked about for a long time…
'Corrections Association of New Zealand president Allan Whitley said a group of members asked the union to advocate for longer shifts about six years ago.'
Thank f**k, working 8-9 days straight is no joke (well it is a joke but its not a very funny one…)
'Waggott said more work was required before the revised system could be fully implemented and there was no finalised timeframe.'
D'oh!
Paula Bennett this morning talking about Labour Coalition climate change 'posturing'. What posture is this – I think it should become a recognisable badge of courage for those getting on with the mahi!
And then she condemns passing legislation relating to it by emergency. National didn't do this. We know Paula. And National only chose to do it when there was a real emergency – that would be when their funders became impatient to get their requested legislation passed enabling their desired business transactions.
Bennet was 'posturing' as a car-loving Westie, and a very poor imitation it was. She seemed completely unaware that vulgar selfishness doesn't make you look working class, it makes you look like a one-percenter.
Sounds like trying to have her cake and eat it too. That would be something that she would like to achieve, believing she has the talent.
Bennet was 'posturing' as a car-loving Westie, and a very poor imitation it was.
Her current posturing as a blue-rinse conservative is no more convincing.
Has Bennett had speech lessons to give her more gravitas? She certainly sounded different in that interview! More blue-rinse conservative maybe…..
Yes, she changes her persona according to the circumstances of the day. In the event of a leadership challenge, she's after the votes of the Blue Rinse Brigade?
Quite a change from her original persona
Talking about posturing – if one is not careful then one might get eaten by a lion like young Albert. Paula had better stay away from the zoo in case she has not perfected her posture, from a lying-down lion's POV.
He lay in a som-no-lent posture with his face close to the bars.
Just a light moment for those who like Stanley Holloway. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oaw-savyK0s
Prompted me to recall another cautionary tale about a lion (Ponto), a boy named Jim, and always keeping a-hold of nurse!
That's good. Stanley Holloway is still tops – his world-weary accent and cynical air are great.
Where is simon? That's two weeks in a row he hasn't given Wed morning interviews.
However he's active on the twitter today, and once again he's getting owned.
https://twitter.com/simonjbridges/status/1148705424801067008
Interesting. National Party policy must be to promote inefficient vehicles and build more roads.
National supports the polluters.
Its mid-year break for Parliament and politicians with a full three weeks between sittings of the House, Apart from the summer break (Christmas – late Jan/early Feb) the House sits in 2 to 3 week blocks with only 1 -2 week breaks in between.
The PM has also not been doing her usual weekly media stints so its not just Simon, and things should get back to usual next week when Cabinet/Caucus meetings and House sittings resume.
[On another subject, hope all is going well with the anti-bullying situation. ]
Not my car, Simon, I’d pay less for my car. Lots less. 🙂
Doing quite well, actually. Staying warm with the winter warmth payment as the sleety rain falls outside. Got a free repeat for my hearing aid batteries yesterday.
On Monday I get a free check for bladder cancer at three weeks notice from symptoms to specialist.
This government is working for us older citizens…….
Good one Nicki
actions speak louder than lyrics
Billy Blagg will no doubt be performing though?
God will punish you for that one
Actions do speak louder than lyrics, and credit where credit is due for her action on said topic.
However….. if she could be less skanky in her video's that would go a long way in helping females to not be objectified.
I'm not a fan of her personally – but I applaud her actions in rejecting this offer.
Do you buy firemen's calendars?
fantastic essay
This is why racism should be challenged ,,, two ticks national is no excuse for encouraging our sicko's.
And how come no media in NZ …. apart from Nicky Hager ,,,, called out the blatant dishonesty and racism ,,, of the Brash Nats ' steal the beaches ' election propaganda,
I think Brash is still banging away at it …. … who would Hobson votes end up floating too
More pressure on Pharmac – they are damned if they do and damned if they don't
The Pharmac board was advised that the cost of funding OxyContin would be $1.2m by 2008 – it ended up being $3.5m and kept ballooning.
Doctors have told Stuff that after Pharmac agreed to fund OxyContin, Mundipharma began heavily promoting it, including for conditions such as arthritis.
Sales reps would visit GPs, and advertisements were placed in publications such as New Zealand Doctor.
Dr Alistair Dunn, a Whangarei addiction medicine specialist who was one of the first to raise concerns about OxyContin, says GPs would not previously have resorted to using morphine for arthritis.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/health/111691539/pharmac-has-spent-tens-of-millions-on-oxycontin-blamed-for-americas-opioid-crisis
It’s hard to help citizens who are dying to have addictions to various things.
Lachlan Foote, 21, returned to his Blue Mountains home after celebrating New Year’s Eve in the early hours of 2018. He made himself a protein shake before bed, adding caffeine powder, and his parents found him dead on the bathroom floor the next morning.
A Coroner’s report has confirmed Lachlan died from caffeine toxicity when he included too much pure caffeine powder in his shake.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/world/australia/114118208/a-teaspoon-will-kill-you-grieving-australian-father-warns-of-caffeine-powder
He comes home from a party, had he been drinking?
He makes himself a protein drink and then adds a stimulant to it just when he is going to sleep?
We need to stop advertising medicines.
Yes Mcflock
Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson
Right, good stuff. I hadn't realised it was all about fox-hunting, but yes, ever so traditional and something any true conservative needs to excel at.
An old 2000 piece on CGT that might be of interest to some. By Robin Oliver then IRD General Manager
https://www.goodreturns.co.nz/article/976485506/capital-gains-tax-the-new-zealand-case.html
This about what we are up against by opening up ourselves to the world business that is equivalent to drive-by smash and grab. Our government hasn't a chance in coping with sharp operators like this.
https://www.noted.co.nz/money/business/what-are-private-equity-firms-really-doing-to-new-zealand/
This was from Branko Marcetic in 2017
Such a nightmare scenario was not out of the ordinary for renters around the United States after Invitation Homes, a subsidiary of New York private equity firm Blackstone Group, began buying foreclosed homes on the cheap after the 2008 financial crisis. It quickly became the country’s largest owner of single-family homes. The firm soon earned a poor reputation as an absentee landlord that left houses in disrepair and ignored calls from tenants to fix pest infestations, electrical or plumbing problems, and other issues. Report after report by independent groups detail complaints about a lack of maintenance, swift evictions being carried out based on glitches or errors, and steep overcharging for rents….
Episodes like these are why there continues to be fierce debate about the merits of PE firms everywhere around the world – everywhere, seemingly, but in New Zealand. While the public and media remain fixated on the threat of foreign home buyers and property speculators, there has been comparatively little debate about the entrance of large, foreign PE firms into our economy.
Yep. A recession is just a land grab to them.
A 'buyers market.'
Anathema to society.
Random Note: Reads like a thriller!
According to the journalist and author Graeme Hunt, domestic intelligence and counter-subversion prior to the establishment of the SIS was primarily in the hands of the New Zealand Police Force (1919–1941; 1945–1949) and of the New Zealand Police Force Special Branch (1949–1956). Another predecessor to the SIS during the Second World War was the short-lived New Zealand Security Intelligence Bureau (SIB).[6] The SIB, modelled after the British MI5, was headed by Major Kenneth Folkes, a junior MI5 officer. The conman Syd Ross duped Major Folkes into believing that there was a "Nazi plot" in New Zealand. Due to this embarrassment, Prime Minister Peter Fraser dismissed Folkes in February 1943 and the SIB merged into the New Zealand Police. Following the end of World War II in 1945, the police force resumed responsibility for domestic intelligence.[7]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Zealand_Security_Intelligence_Service
Cracker RNZ podcast about Syd Ross' escapades.
https://www.rnz.co.nz/programmes/black-sheep/story/201856357/nazi-hoax-the-story-of-syd-ross
https://thespinoff.co.nz/society/16-09-2017/nazi-hoax-the-story-of-syd-ross/
Thanx joe90 I've put it aside for pudding.
Unbelievable (read link below)
Big improvements required here.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/113542194/invercargill-nurse-collapses-in-australia-before-undergoing-surgery-to-remove-tumour.
Being diagnosed early is vital to being cured, avoiding patient pain and suffering along with potential long term health costs in the process. MRI's are a vital diagnostic tool that should be GP referable and shouldn't require such long wait times.
Is there any action being taken to address this?
"Is there any action being taken to address this?" [The Chairman @17]
Do you mean action to address the clinical decision not to offer Rachel Terrill an MRI scan? Both better clinical decision making, and more resources for publicly-funded MRI scans, would be one way to go.
I agree with The Chairman that, in general, public health funding should be prioritised over defense spending. Could there be bipartisan political action on this, once the National party has plugged its leaks?
Universal health funding does mean that the Defense Forces should be payed less. It means they are payed differently.
The ACC/Super funds could be used to build private radiologies and the government could focuse on building replacement hospital.
The ACC funds are meant to divest from sin stocks anyway and it's a lot of money just sitting there looking for a place in New Zealand.
Graeme Hunt, who died in 2010, was one of the most unpleasant right wing ideologues infecting public life in this country. He was a regular dark and pompous presence on Larry "Lackwit" Williams' joke of a show on NewstalkZzzzzB, where he made a point of bullying, ridiculing, and harassing lesser souls, like Tim Watkin and the ridiculous Josie Pagani.
Even worse than his radio performances was his writing. He wrote a substandard biography of Fintan Patrick Walsh, and this "history" Spies and Revolutionaries was another missed opportunity, muddying the waters for any serious journalist or academic who might have wished to write on the history of security in this country in the future.
In 2003 Hunt's crappy secret persona was outed on Google Groups, much to his mortification….
https://morrisseybreen.blogspot.com/2019/07/the-egregious-graeme-hunt-outed-on.html
I didnt know that – he got a good send off – used to edit NBR
Don't start me on NBR editors, Shark!
One of the worst of them was Nevil "Breivik" Gibson….
https://morrisseybreen.blogspot.com/2018/01/minecraft-chat-rooms-are-full-of-inane.html
I've read you hissing at that name.
UK Labour will now back remain if there's a further referendum:
https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2019/jul/09/corbyn-says-labour-would-back-remain-in-brexit-referendum
Couple of years too late and 20 polling points down the tubes, Corbyn extracts from being self-impaled sitting on the policy fence.
Too little and far too late.
He would have been wiser and more principled to have made a clear call years ago, one way or the other. This frittering looks indecisive at best and cynically manipulative at worst.
Yes to Ad and McFlock.
It looks like he didn't have the nous to make a stand one way or another. A big disappointment.
he was probably too busy looking out for brutus at his back.
Yet the report makes it evident that UK Labour have agreed to adopt a different position on the situation in campaigning for the next election. "In an interview with the BBC on Tuesday, he said there was no decision yet as to what Labour would argue for in a general election on Brexit. He said: “We will decide very quickly at the start of that campaign exactly what our position will be.”
"Pressed on whether Labour was now a party of leave or remain, Corbyn said: “We will give people the choice on this. That is something which is surely very important. We respect the result of the referendum. We’ve been through this whole long parliamentary process over the past three years and we’ve made it very clear we will do everything we can to take no deal off the table or stop a damaging deal of the sort Hunt and Johnson are proposing.”"
So it seems a nuanced principled position. No doubt spooked by the LibDem poll ratings, he's gotten agreement from his colleagues. I think he's done well.
That "nuance" has been a 15 point gift to the LibDems.
Corbyn needs to show he has to chops to actually pull back the voters he's lost to them. That is the measure of whether he's more than an idealistic maverick.
I do agree his lack of leadership has allowed the LibDems to get up past Labour. I was just pointing out that he secured a nicely-nuanced collective agreement from Labour in response. It encompasses a two-pronged strategy & seems coherent.
Getting consensus on both in a complex political context at the top level is a real accomplishment. We ought to acknowledge that. I've been critical of him several times the past few months but I feel he's redeemed himself somewhat.
Labour's political culture has been groupthink since the nineties, remember, here & in Oz as in Britain. Labour leaders only get tolerated if they genuinely represent group opinion. Thus hamstrung, it is rare for them to demonstrate individual flair or initiative. I think the evidence shows he has been successful in steering the groupthink to an appropriate result.
MAGA President Trump supporters are not sick of winning, there seems to be some consensus about among them.
Brexit supporters are….um……well……you know……errrr………still campaigning for their referendum, whatever that was about, of a few years back.
I'd say, to do it with any kind of momentum, & have it be momentous, it needs a no holds barred sack the cabinet, hard take it or leave it deal with the EU, proroguing the people's vote through parliament, strong solidarity with MAGA movement & President Trump on the world stage with an opening shot of a successful deal with the U.S.A.
A people's uprising Brexit another words.
Wethe Bleeple
Have you some recommendation – one or two – on what a forestry company can do for a quick ground cover on hills they have logged to prevent run-off when it rained heavily? I thought if they could fly over, perhaps with a drone, would dropping seed work well and enough come up even if the ground wasn't wet? This time of the year the dew is quite heavy.
If you let me know what you think would be viable for putting over quite a big area I could pass that on as there is concern about a logged area here and while it is being thought about, perhaps some sensible plan for fast growing beneficial weeds could be passed on and tried out (and then done as a regular sensible move. Fast and nitrogen fixing – would clover do it – chickweed?
I reckon forethought would go a long way. Damage control is harder.
You are looking for local fast growing legumes and ground covers that can handle the soil conditions left behind after pines. It might be you can aerial spray seeds but need to add lime. They could maybe get hold of the mountains of discarded oyster shells industry creates and crush and use them to facilitate things (if liming would help).
There's also the question of land use after harvest – another pine crop? A bush regeneration project? A fallow period?
For regeneration and even another crop of pines (why!) I'd be inclined to go in and innoculate stumps with oyster mushrooms, shitaake if they'll grow on pines, mulch down the slash and add Stropharia rugoso-annulata and other saprobes to generate some local crops/small business while turning the trunks and slash to topsoil.
If rapid ground cover is imperative you want something practically invasive to the conditions. Observation of the site will indicate which plants or close relatives of plants might work.
Seed balls.
Thanks Robert i notice some useful stuff on the internet about this.
Seed balling – Kenyans show us the way.
http://www.seedballskenya.com/throw-grow/4592995996
Don't know which part of the rohe you're in GWS but up North, anywhere between the FFN and the Waikato by far the very bestest and fastest growing ground cover for recently cleared land is this…https://www.doc.govt.nz/globalassets/documents/getting-involved/students-and-teachers/plant-pest-factsheets/woolly-nightshade-factsheet.pdf
Driving back from the FFN the other day I was actually shocked to see entire hillsides covered with the stuff. Some large, but mostly it was plants of about 1.5 metres growing about 1 metre apart, covering entire hillsides.
I've pulled a few of these out from my place but it seems that they simply love to exploit bare land…too many trees at mine.
And strangely, while obviously it is the time of the year for spraying gorse…woolly nightshade growing alongside the sprayed and withering gorse was thriving.
Got me to thinking that perhaps we could grow the stuff to feed our bio diesel/ethanol plants.
Interesting Rosemary. Good observation. It is a prolific space invader right down to at least the Waikato. Noted as a pest plant, shade tolerance could be a problem where other pioneers typically do the nursery job then die back as other plants canopy forms over them.
Biofuels are impractical unless waste streams of crops/industry. We've gone that route (growing biofuel specifically) to the detriment of food security already. One day we might get the desired bacteria to live outside of certain insects guts but we're not there yet. Once we can crack lignin apart easily biofuels will lend a lot more energy for a lot less input.
Thanks all for your interest. I'll see what I can do with this to take it further.
Pretty shocking stuff Rosemary. Its spread indicates that some immediate ground cover plants are necessary to stop this relentless weed, and it is so nasty, bad for skin and smelly and the birds should be provided with a better weed that they can go to.
Kia ora Newshub Nation.
Medical cannabis needs to be accessed by sick people who need it.What I don't want to see is big companies getting a monopoly in the industry and charging the Papatuanuku for a product that people need to have a good life. I can see business manipulating the laws so that they can dominate the market.
What commercial operations is going to grow weed close to a school on the most expensive land not very wise they will grow it on farm land not in the city's????????????????????????????????.
I say that we will have the same problems that the United kingdom and other countries have. Our doctors are all elderly so they have a negative attitude and view on medical weed they will be very reluctant to prescribe it. The elderly have a very different view on our society's that the younger generations they have had it drummed into them over the years that alcohol is good and laughable that weed is bad.
Times are changing we have the internet now so we can find out the TRUTHS about our society the younger generation have a much clearer view on our society's problems.
Ka kite ano
This is a joke the billionaires get away with what ever they do to make money no matter the harm caused.
Facebook to be fined $5bn for Cambridge Analytica privacy violations – reports
The $5bn fine would be the largest ever levied by the Federal Trade Commission against a technology company
The FTC’s investigation was launched in March 2018 after the Guardian revealed that the political consultancy Cambridge Analytica had improperly obtained the private information of more than 50m Facebook users. Facebook had agreed under a 2012 consent decree stemming from a previous FTC investigation into privacy concerns to better protect user privacy. The investigation centered on whether this decree .
Critics say the changes required of Facebook are not substantial enough, and the fine will hardly make a dent in Facebook’s bank account. The company had more than $15bn in revenue in the first three months of 2019.
“This isn’t a fine, it’s a favor to Facebook, a parking ticket which will clear them to conduct more illegal and invasive surveillance,” said Matt Stoller, a fellow at the Open Markets Institute who specializes in monopoly power. “Congress should start defunding the FTC and move the money to state enforcers like Karl Racine who believe in enforcing the law,” he added, referring to the attorney general of Washington DC, who is currently pursuing a lawsuit against Facebook over the Cambridge Analytica
David Cicilline, the Democratic congressman who chairs the House subcommittee on antitrust issues, reacted to the news on Twitter, saying: “The FTC just gave Facebook a Christmas present five months early. It’s very disappointing that such an enormously powerful company that engaged in such serious misconduct ka kite ano link below.
https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2019/jul/12/facebook-fine-ftc-privacy-violations
Eco Maori totally agrees with this Wahine view these guys think that they are leaders but NO they are just con artists fooling people that they put their te tangata best interests before their own wants YEA RIGHT.
Ruining a country near you soon: the beta males who think they’re alphas
What could be more insecure than a 55-year-old bragging about Latin, or a literal president tweeting his enemies on the bog
If the Tory leadership election unfolds as widely expected, the UK will basically be ruled by a Fathers4Injustice activist. Boris Johnson is the kind of guy who’d don Spider-Man pyjamas and scale a building in order to see less of his kids. Sorry, fewer. Even so, he remains a remarkably typical hero of our political times. “There are two kinds of women,” Harry explains at one point in When Harry Met Sally. “High maintenance and low maintenance.” “Which one am I?” Sally asks. “You’re the worst kind,” he says. “You’re high maintenance, but you think you’re low maintenance
See also gratefully submissive Donald Trump fanboy Nigel Farage, who has spent much of the past three years hanging wanly around Washington on the off-chance of a half-hour 6pm burger with the alpha male to his beta. And see also Donald Trump himself, the leader of the free world, who spent about 48 hours this week tweeting like some homicidal 11-year-old Justin Bieber fan about the leaked comments of the British ambassador. Who, apparently, we now let him pick. More on toxic insecurity’s poster boy shortly.
Great leaders show, rather than tell, their skills. Yet Johnson never lets up with telling people that he is not “defeatist”, that he will “put some lead in the collective pencil”, that “energy” is needed, that what the EU really fears is a big strong man like him. Mm. I hear they talk of little else in the 27 European capitals. “O Fates, please spare us the dreaded ‘positive energy’ of a guy internationally ridiculed as the worst foreign secretary in memory; and the unplayable charm of a surprisingly indifferent orator who knows the Latin for ‘can we just take out the backstop?’”
And Johnson does know Latin, as he never misses a chance to remind us. No one could accuse him of wearing his learning lightly – or, indeed, wearing any of it lightly. Witness his excruciating promise to reach out to something he pointedly referred to as “Oppidan Britain”. To which the increasingly despairing response has to be: YES YES! I KNOW WHAT SCHOOL YOU WENT TO! I KNOW WHAT HOUSE YOU WERE IN! I KNOW YOU GOT A SECOND CLASS CLASSICS DEGREE! I KNOW THIS SOMEHOW ENDS WITH YOU CONSIGNING OUR ENTIRE COUNTRY TO THE CATACOMBS THEN BEATING US TO DEATH WITH YOUR RELATIVELY MIDDLEBROW ACHIEVEMENTS! But mate: you are 55 – FIFTY-FIVE – years old. How, how can you possibly still be wanking on about any of this, in public, as though it was still the best thing you’ve ever done? Can it really be because it was? [Spoiler: yes ka kite ano link below.
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/jul/12/country-beta-males-alphas-latin-president-tweeting-enemies
Eco Maori thanks the wealthy US philanthropist for their tau toko of the Students Strikes and the extinction rebellion
A group of wealthy US philanthropists and investors have donated almost half a million pounds to support the grassroots movement Extinction Rebellion and school strike groups – with the promise of tens of millions more in the months ahead.
Trevor Neilson, an investor and philanthropist who has worked with some of the world’s richest families, has teamed up with Rory Kennedy – daughter of Robert Kennedy – and Aileen Getty, whose family wealth comes from the oil industry
Neilson said the three founders were using their contacts among the global mega-rich to get “a hundred times” more in the weeks and months ahead. “This might be the single best chance we have to stop the greatest emergency we have ever faced,” he told the Guardian.
The new fund has the author and environmentalist Bill McKibben, who set up 350.org, and David Wallace Wells, who wrote international best seller Uninhabitable Earth, on its advisory board.
Global heating: London to have climate similar to Barcelona by 2050
The money will initially be used to support school strike and Extinction Rebellion groups in the US, but will also be available to help “seed” similar groups around the world.
It offers tiers of funding to support different-sized groups, from teenage activists wanting money for leaflets and megaphones, to funding for salaries and offices for established groups in big cities. It has already committed some of the fund to support Extinction Rebellion groups in New York and Los Angeles Ka kite ano link below.
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/jul/12/us-philanthropists-vow-to-raise-millions-for-climate-activists
Kia ora Newshub.
A big Hurricane is moving into the Mississippi river in America while the river is in flood cause trump climate change.
John haven't you been in that or around that type of organization. People like you only care about your own mana you are just sturing the Oranga tamariki stuff to use it to try and get the Auckland mayors job you don't care that you're moves could damage the government that does more for the common poor tangata than the last lot muppet Maori make up a large portion of them. You're backers are just using you to try and damage our humane Labour lead Government wake up fool.
I new a elderly couple who had a daughter on the Earabus flight.
That's a big explosion in Russia.
America sky lad 40 years today it crashed landed in the Australian outback the person describing the loud noise when it hit Papatuanuku Eco Maori knowns that feeling a meteor hit in Edgecome back in the day it was shaking the road the bank window in Opotiki was wobbling and a huge sonic boom .
Ka kite ano
Kia ora te ao Maori news.
Tiana turia why didn't you raise this problem about Oranga tamariki and sorte it out when you were in bed with NATIONAL they just stuffed up te tangata whenua.????????????????????. You were played by shonky and you are being played now fool
I have Already given my opinion of john tamahira in the above post.
Karen I oppose any Tangata whenua whenua being sold te Atua is not making anymore whenua they could have just used the whenua as security for a loan to do the development that they wanted in Papamore.
Ka pai to the Wahine who are getting bald heads to raise funds for housespice and the Rainbow community is a awesome cause.
Ka kite ano.
https://youtu.be/qQfetkoGrpU
Some Eco Maori music for the minute.
https://youtu.be/wE4TpnYIsW4
I hit the justice department with a request for all the information that they have on Eco Maori to get JUSTICE. The muppets just stepped up their intimidation GAMES 10 fold lucky I'm Eco Maori I have others who have my Back
She made the mess and now she's blaming our Labour lead Coalition governments for the mess
https://youtu.be/a5peOzISOe0