Sadly, I knew that this poor young woman would be a murder victim right from the moment she went missing. Hopefully the guy who did this will plead guilty and spare her family the ordeal of a trial.
This has paralells with that young Japanese woman that met a similar fate in 1998. Though her killer has yet to be caught.
The meta informs us – the underlying unhealthy media obsession with attractive, young white upper class women is itself a demonstration of a whole kitbag of wider social and cultural issues around violence towards women.
Thank goodness the young woman has been found. But it is time for NZ to be recognised as a place with young men having a wild west attitude.
Uncontrolled minds and behaviour, pleasure-seeking and mendacious is am appropriate description.
But there is a deep vein of this that runs through the country, an indication of which is that we kept advertising ourselves as 100% Pure when we knew we had gone far from that. But we can always rationalise
away our ingrained lying.
True, I did think that it would be a Kiwi. It follows the pattern of other murders committed by Kiwis. But it may be a foreigner. The way we run our country probably encourages criminals to come here, as we enable them through various devious habits we adopt. Government likes to keep our visitor and immigrant numbers up which give the impression that we are making lots of foreign money that they bring to us, but less noticed is whether it stays here in NZ taxpayers’ pockets.
Name suppression for the moment is only by default while legal appeals are made to the judge’s decision to NOT grant name suppression. RNZ (and presumably other news outlets) are choosing to not disclose his name at this point.
” … The 26-year-old accused of murdering Ms Millane between 1 and 2 of December appeared this morning dressed in a blue boiler suit.
The court heard extensive submissions on interim name suppression, but Judge Thomas declined to grant it.
The accused’s lawyer Ian Brookie indicated he would appeal, prohibiting media from identifying the accused in the meantime.
As the accused was walked out of court, a person in the public gallery yelled “Scumbag”.
He has been remanded in custody until he appears in court in January. …”
This article also provides more on the red 2016 Toyota Corolla rental car I mentioned earlier above.
“Detective Inspector Scott Beard said the police investigation into Ms Millane’s death would continue for some time, as they pieced together what happened after she was last seen entering a central Auckland hotel more than a week ago.
They want to hear about any sightings of a 2016 red Toyota Corolla rental car last Monday morning in West Auckland.
The car was rented in central Auckland and was then found in Taupō.”
I’ve been emailing a friend in England over the last 24 hours and this awful event was mentioned. In his reply I received this morning the rather telling statement “One thinks of NZ as being relatively crime free too. Just awful.”
Similar sentiments on RNZ this morning- NZ being seen as a safe destination be Europeans for young solo travellers. Were we ever, has it got worse, are we no worse than any other Western country?
I’ve been alone in some big cities in Europe at night and felt safer than I ever have alone in Queen St after dark.
We are repeatedly told that there is a decline in murder in New Zealand. But I seriously doubt that is the case.
How many many babies are bashed by daddy into the walls of homes. How often does daddy escape punishment.
Rape is rampant in our country. I cringe every time Haka is performed by Maori and Pakeha – because it charges up the Adrenalin of sick young hoods – brought up on Alcohol and violence.
Dodgy Statistics – are not a solution. Men of all ages must be treated to heavy doses of responsibility.from a very young age.
Finally, Prison is about Punishment not about Pity.
Do you think that prisons should be more for punishment than pity Observer?
These young guys definitely need something, but what? There are plans for getting them onto better behaviour paths but it seems they are often underfunded. There is just the will needed by government, then the follow-through to provide settled housing for those who have been guilty of bad behaviour so they have a place to go when released, then opportunity to get into work etc
Under-funded too is the help for parents to go it alone without a partner if best (so many stepfathers are involved in dodgy ways, and real fathers
need training to do a good job or they can be bad role models to have around. The government is so busy being disapproving of behaviour that its moralistic attitude is perpetuating a cycle of bad and violent parenting which they are forcing on mothers, ‘for their own good’.)
Good theory observer.
But you haven’t observed that prison itself doesn’t teach them that crime does not pay. How simple minded. A lot of rich people around have got their by manipulating the law, either by sailing close to the wind, or changing the law so they can’t be called criminals any more.
What I want is efficiency!! Prisons don’t work to habilitate criminals. Your ideas are too costly and a waste of money. Be sensible and look for better ways that can be seen to work to reduce crime.
I want those who commit crimes to be forced to work their brains thoroughly learning what to do instead of crime, and how to deal with their problems without losing it and being violent. Thinking is a punishment to many people. We can notice the difficulties of doing the mahi right in this blog. The people who aren’t criminals, or who haven’t been caught yet, find it difficult to think around problems and get a grasp. Criminals who are forced to do so are going to feel really hard worked eh!
I want less crime, better childhoods and parents helped to be good role models, and better chances to have a good life. Crime would be something that only extreme nutters do then. And people would smile more, be happy and occupied doing useful stuff.
Observer
I agree with what you say.
There are three levels to tackle this as i see it.
1 Is bringing boys and girls up to have self-respect and respect for others in their family and society, and if they are being abused that the whole family should be put on notice that they all deserve better conditions, and they work out how to achieve that as a group, with further consequences if it doesn’t improve. And important is that parents are helped by being respected, and enabled to have jobs, homes and a sense of wellbeing for their family. Good and settled role models.
2 Helping teenagers get through their difficult growing stages.
Giving them a basic schooling, enabling them to stay or go into a job, or do work and school at the same time, like an apprentice. I have seen this done, probablyunder a Labour Party idea, and it worked. Don’t know if still happening.
After school, get them into a job and keep up the training so they can better themselves, good reading and writing and arguing skills. If a person can express their thoughts, talk their way to understanding and dealing with them, the build-up of stress is less likely to happen.
3 Give them suspended sentences when they get into crime, and send them to a different part of the country were they can adjust to life outside of their familiar territory and its temptations. Give them remedial help, reading, basic housing, a paid job.
4 When they are in jail, give them time away from gangs in a different setting or place, where they can do some study, learn about Maoritanga, philosophy, determine their own strengths and weaknesses, and go to a half-way farm and work, and then apply for parole.
5 The really bad buggers should spend their life enclosed in controlled conditions under supervision, and separated from being able to influence others. They can be classed as criminally insane and unable to live or be trusted in ordinary society.
You are asking someone to back up their assumptions after that tear you went on that other day about how all rich people cheat in their taxes and are thieves while providing no evidence?
“Have you got anything to back up these assumptions?”
You are asking someone to back up their assumptions after that tear you went on that other day about how all rich people cheat in their taxes and are thieves while providing no evidence?
It’s morality that you refuse to see.
If someone has income from someone else’s work then they are stealing from that other person.
Like I already told you, Draco. That isn’t the way everyone gets rich and I agree some are getting rich that way.
But not everyone. Does the artist? Does that famous musician? Does the famous writer? Thats THEIR own work.
You have nothing to back up your assumptions so stop accusing others because you look like a fucking hypocrite right now.
I said to you “Stephen King has sold 350 million copies of his work” which is more than enough to make him rich and you just made the assmption that he was getting unearned income from somewhere and therefor he was a thief. That’s just your own evidence free assumption. At least be honest with yourself
I simply cannot understand why you and your political friends want to build more and bigger Prisons, when at the same time you are telling us that there are far fewer criminals.
Time for NZ to toughen up on the gang culture and illicit drugs, normal people don’t commit these sorts of crimes unless they have mental health problems. I believe this person may have or have had a substance abuse problem ?
Why not use the time in prison wisely ? Reading + writing lessons / budgeting classes / getting work ready / maybe learn a trade. Anger and time management All these could take place in the prison. Prisoners should come out of prison better educated than when they went in.
Honest question though @ BM. Have you ever asked why it is that crime (all that macho shit that goes with it – the concept of ‘taxing’, turf wars, trying to get little prospects under their wing, etc., etc., etc.)……have you ever asked why that has become the easier option?
C’mon, crime has always been the easier option. I mean, what’s not to like about all the piss, pot, and pussy your heart desires, staying up all night, sleeping late, and if you’re unfortunate enough to be caught, it’s do the crime, do the time.
Actually, those who get to the top have finely honed their thuggery to the point that their reputation precedes them, and anyone who knows them is scared shitless by their violence.
well it is the easier option if you’re totally divorced from any concept of a society. actually a very lazy and thick as pigshit option in terms of sustainability.
I’m quite interested in gang criminality – having worked with the likes of Mr O’Riley and others, and having one or two distant relatives holding ‘rank’ on both sides of the Mungie/BP divide. I can agree with all that he (Denis) maintains as to why people join a gang (in a word a feeling of disenfranchisement. etc. – a desire for community, of mutual support, solidarity and all the buzz)
Except that take (say) the Mungies, and the BP, and others (Rebels maybe), and they all profess the same motivations and reasons for being in their ‘club’. That all falls apart though because of their turf wars and spats with each other.
In reality, they’ve just become the ultimate capitalists all aspiring towards some sort of supremacy.
It’s all just a wee bit pathetic really and a complete display of a collective of individuals that are a bit fucked up (albeit legends in their own minds)
They will at least commit smarter crimes according to BM. Then they will be able to join the in-crowd of the Natinal Party. Social mobility, that is what is needed there.
Have yopu heard Kim Workman on his book and life
OWT.
He’s another like Denis O’Reilly, a valuable potential waiting to be listened and followed.
But in the meantime, I kind of despair at the fucking stupidity of it all.
(I.e. on BOTH sides – crims/gangs and ‘authorities’ …… it is pig shittery at its worst – but I ‘spose it at least keeps people in employment on upper muddle class salaries)
PS sorry for being a bit lazy about Denis’ surname – kind of a Brambles versus NZ Freighters kind of thing
Don’t be sorry OwT. I have found I always enjoy reading your comments, and learn something no matter if there are typos. (I find my fingers are getting there and their mixed up,)
It appears that she met her killer on a dating app. I would wager that he killed her because she wouldnt sleep with him. Most male on female killings are sexually motivated.
Thanks for that info millsy. Women and men too need to be more wary of strangers, and also the type of people who are dodgy. Just because there are these fast ways of making contact with others, doesn’t mean that you can trust the people you meet.
There is a high level of trust being extended,ie couchsurfing with strangers, meeting unknowns through apps etc. It all involves risk.
Hitchhikers know this. When you are in a car it is hard to get out.
There were two women tourists who got a lift and who were brutally attacked, the man went onto Christchurch and attacked someone else.
I believe that level of behaviour should automatically cause the person to be regarded as criminally insane and never be let out again into public life. They have crossed the line for being a decent citizen with self control and morals and are likely to prey again on others. Ordinary citizens deserve to have safety and the predatory and vicious locked down.
Are you so dogmatic that you’re unable to view this tragedy except through the lens of a rigid left wing ideologue.
The insidious implication that arises from you’re comment is that because this young woman may have the characteristics you describe, that her murder is some how to be diminished.
It s a human tragedy first and foremost and this is the only lens that is appropriate regardless.
You Grantoc and a few others are misinterpreting Sanctuary’s comment.
He is correct. Because the woman is young, attractive, white and English (which is the country most of us have family and hereditary ties to) she is getting VIP media coverage both here and overseas. Had she been a woman who is young, attractive, black and from say…Kenya, the media coverage would be negligible in comparison.
That is the reality whether people like it or not, and it doesn’t detract one iota from feelings of empathy, sadness and outrage no matter who they are or where they come from.
The thing is Anne that as human beings we inevitably extend our strongest expressions of empathy and related feelings to those who are most like us – our family, and those who appear to live similar lives to us from similar ethnic, social and cultural backgrounds.
I, like most NZ’ers, have daughters who have travelled overseas on their OE and at times travelled by themselves. We (collectively) have experienced times when our daughters (and at times sons) have been out of contact and as parents we get anxious, naturally.
The events of Grace Mullane’s murder are easy to relate too. The family is like us, they could be us. And so naturally our reactions are as they are. You saw that demonstrated by the PM at her press conference this afternoon.
The death of a young Kenyan woman as per your example is too remote from us; both geographically, psychologically, culturally and economically. For better or for worse we don’t relate to such an example in the same way as we do to Grace Mullane.
What I am describing is the humam condition. No amount of left wing hand ringing over this will make any difference to where we place our empathy and feelings in these situations.
That is precisely what I was saying Grantoc. I am of English stock. I identify strongly with my inheritance. My response to this murder was as shocked and outraged as anyone else.
But that does not stop me from reflecting on the fact that we don’t show anything like the empathy to people of a different race and colour in similar circumstances – including Maori and Pacific Islanders – and it is something that should be acknowledged. This, I believe, is what Sanctuary was saying.
It has nothing to do with being Left or Right and those who suggest as much are the ones playing politics with a tragic occurrence.
And your reflections Anne are insightful and worth making.
Acknowledging our behaviour in these situations is a useful exercise because I think it does tell us something about ourselves as humans.
This is possibly where your thinking starts to sedge way with mine. I am of the opinion that even if we do make this acknowledgement, its a very rare human being who actually does something about it – and this is for the reasons I’ve referred to.
I think that as humans we are psychologically incapable of moving much beyond our own reference group in situations such as the Mullane case. As much as anything we psychologically crowd out other similar situations, such as the scenario you describe. Its almost like there is no capacity left for us to deal with it. I don’t think this is deliberate; its just a comment on our limitations.
Well, in turn I say that is a very thoughtful response Grantoc. In particular your last paragraph.
It is true that we identify far more with our own kind, but we should at least try and keep these awful events in proper perspective. We are a multicultural society now and it is our responsibility to learn to recognise that people among us from countries other than English speaking ones, suffer tragedy and loss in the same way we do.
I don’t think our thoughts are all that far apart.
That is a low blow Sanctuary – does everything have to be about woke left discourse and of course it will come out the ethnicity of the attacker shortly.
Will he be part of our 100% pure criminal campaign drive of the last 20 years?
I feel heart broken about the fate of the young backpacker.
Somehow it feels worse cause she is a tourist. There was also a 21year old male stabbed to death over the weekend. Both will effect their families and love ones for life……..
I probably pay attention more to the tourist cause she was missing initially and therefore in the news a lot. Also some maybe old fashion idea of hospitality and responsibility for someone visiting our country. It reflects on our country (was on bbc world news)…….it will make no difference to graces family, but I hope the perp is from overseas
1. Overall crime rates continue to decline. No-one can definitively say why; it could be anything from de-leading petrol, to dropping testosterone levels, to some unspecified social factors … but this is the good news.
2. Homicide remains rare; double digits per annum. Way lower than say the road toll. In any given year only one or two murders would committed by strangers. NZ is really a very, very safe place in public. At home it’s not such a good story, but still comparatively we’re doing quite well, so we can count this as good news too.
3. 62% of homicide victims are male. If we included suicide (as a form of self-inflicted homicide) the proportion would be even higher. Maori remain over-represented by a factor of two. Roughly two-thirds of people never experience a significant crime in their lives ever; while a small fraction around 4% are serial victims.
4. While IPV homicides understandably attract a lot of social attention, in say 2017 of the 48 homicides only 10 were classified as being related as a ‘couple’. Of that 10, 8 victims were female and 2 were male. (The 3 child victims were all male.)
It makes for an interesting and complex picture even if it is a snapshot of just one year. The pdf report is here:
My theory is that it’s to do with the Boomers. Crime was high when they were young and has decreased as they age. It’s not just that they are a large group, so influence all stats, but that they lower the density of young people who don’t rub up against each other as much and so don’t egg each other on to commit crime (plus the young are all gaming).
We agree that this Government need to open up fully with “transparency” now.
We hear this morning on RNZ news that Chis Hipkins has release details on Labour policy to have all their MP’s now release all the details on whom they have met during their activities of the term of their Governance of NZ, so this will assist us all to observe if our own “community NGO’s” public representatives who are speaking for us all also are properly receiving the same level of meetings with these same MP’s as the business interests are obviously receiving now.
Make it an “even balanced level of ‘consultation.”
“I think there’s increasing public interest in who senior politicians are meeting with. We’re seeing that through written parliamentary questions, through OIAs, through media questions
That’s because people are really starting to wonder where the government is getting its marching orders from as it certainly isn’t the people.
“There isn’t anything sinister about who politicians meet with, actually it shows that New Zealand government is very open.”
MPs meeting with lobbyists is sinister. It shows that the parliament is listening to those who don’t have the best interests of the country at heart.
so this will assist us all to observe if our own “community NGO’s” public representatives who are speaking for us all
Our Environmental NGO founded in 2001 speaks for the negative impacts to all people in regions it environmentally monitors continually on their loss of health and well being when they have no voice.
So we are a free community service that operates on a volunteer basis.
Please don’t knock those people who honestly and genuinely want to help others as we do with free services to monitor their environment since 2002.
You do realise that Clare Curran was used by the present government as an example as to why this needs to be brought in right? In the same article that I quoted.
Clare Curran was used by National as a tool for their agenda to rob RNZ and bed in all their own Natz clip-on’s right under her own nose; – and she could not see that when she had power to fix the RNZ right wing swing.
National also had there own man inside as the head of RNZ then.
Clare Curran should have had him removed but she lost any chance to take control of a now right wing trumpet for National.
A sad blow for the Opposition because if the records of meetings are published, what are they going to do to ferment suspicion and doubt about apparent secret dodgy meetings?
Why didn’t PM John Key tell NZ he was into Bilderberg?
List of Bilderberg participants 4
New Zealand
• John Key (2011-2012), Prime Minister of New Zealand
On behalf of all NZ taxpayers, we ask someone’s assistance to investigate this connection between a secretive global power hungry group and answers from PM John Key the following;
Why PM failed to tell us that he attended the Bilderberg Group as PM of NZ in 2011.
Why did not prior, inform us why he attended this most secretive powerful global elitist black ops organisation who plots to destabilise secretly sovereign countries around the world.
Is he being requested by Bilderberg or any other party to spy on our country and others for their information?
Why has he attended an highly secretive organisation who bans any media coverage of events?
Our belief;
We believe the global elite is causing all this degradation of our world “so called order”.
The capitalistic system is failing and these Bilderberg NAZI regenerated agenda plotters have invited Key to their 2011 annual conference so he is in it Don-key deep.
No Bilderberg meeting agenda has ever been made public. “It is the epitome of low-profile dark ops, a shadow government hidden in a doorway.” According to critics and close observers, it’s agenda is to weaken all world leadership but their own. It is also, according to a U.S. law called the Logan Act, [15] illegal:
I heard this this morning and I am heartened there may be a culture change I regards to lobbyists.
To have this followed up by the radical, obvious, fiscally responsible, co-operative idea of schools serving their wider community.
My day off got brighter.
Meanwhile the Hosk has three names (three wise men?) therefore Kiwibuild was conceived bad, born bad and is bad. The Hosk has obviously been listening to George Thorogood while doing dougnuts on his mobility scooter. No doubt his Christmas ham will be bad to the bone as well.
The Dorian Gray Husk purports to find it shocking that the new builds cost more than existing homes … thus buying doer uppers remains cheaper …
The radical next development of the KB design will be to allow landlords and existing homeowners to buy them – they will of course be at the standard required for rentals. The point is to build more houses and then sell them onto the market so the government can finance building more, it does not matter if they are not sold to first home buyers – the increased supply reduces the value of existing houses to make them more affordable to first home buyers.
Sounds like playing Pass the Parcel casino-wise. Once a lot of outside players can join in the game, the chances of special people included in the game with good odds for winning a housing opportunity are greatly reduced.
But timorous government can’t go directly to the most appropriate recipients and offer them a State house, they have to have this long linkage with ticket clippers along the way. In the end it will get so bad we’ll see someone prepared to sell a kidney or something, to raise enough deposit to get a stake in the Housing Lottery.
The thing is, where it costs more to buy a new build than an existing home – how many first home buyers can afford the Kiwibuild one?
There will come a point where after a few ballots where there are unsold homes, and if the government wants to release the cash to build more it will have to sell to other buyers.
National trying to cut Shane Jones tree planting value claims off to a stump.
They are more interested in Goldsmith being a spoiler for positive steps. What a bunch of sitabouts they are. Malign, and computer model sitters, but not doing
the country-building needed; just following predatory business asset-stripping
on a country of people that is the base for any business, then National is just a diseased group eating its own parent. Yerk.
Forest and Bird and Doc have combined to push out digging up iwi land up Northland. The people up there want to get some economic growth but it is to affect wetlands and I think take peat and kauri by Resin and Wax for export.
Got rung up on Friday night by Roy Morgan wanting to do a survey. My demographics eliminated me immediately and I asked the guy if it was a survey about politics,but he rang off as I am sure he was keen to call the next person……..
Interesting … Roy Morgan has not done a NZ political poll since Oct/Nov 2017 but they still do other types of surveys, eg marketing surveys, from time to time. For example back in May 2018 they did a survey on attitudes, satisfaction etc with the main banks.
I was contacted about a month ago saying they were from Roy Morgan, about a political poll. My answers were not allowed in the binary choices they offered, and I ended up removing myself from the process.
Again interesting, because there were rumours about the time of the last Colmar Brunton poll that another public poll was expected at about the same time and this did not eventuate. Or was it the Colmar Brunton poll before that??
The latest two Colmar Brunton polls have been conducted from Monday, 15 October to Friday 19 October, and from Sat 24 November to Weds 28 November.
Was your Roy Morgan call close to either of those periods?
I did end up exiting the interview. Tried to find my comment posted at the time, which would give a better indication of date, but ran out of interest in that level of accuracy… 🙂
Called me prior to 2014 election and my demographics eliminated me immediately and
I asked the guy and he said “we don’t need your age bracket thank you, but the strange thing was he said “we have another person listening to our conversation and was monitoring it??????
Actually, probably – older people answer the phone more, so will fill up their response quota more quickly. And are more likely to have landlines (although some pollsters do mobiles now as well).
They have people (potentially) listening in so that they can make sure the interviewer actually records the responses accurately and that they are from a real person. Interviewers often have some payment dependent of how many people they interview so there is a perverse incentive to make data up (as it’s quicker then interviewing real people).
He said National would like to work with the Government on getting an education system both parties could agree on, so it wouldn’t have to be changed every time there was a new Government.
Yeah, they don’t have to be changed every time there’s a new government – only after National has been at it and fucked things up through their ignorance and ideology.
https://www.tvnz.co.nz/shows/q-and-a https://www.labour.org.nz/kiwibuild
KiwiBuild homes will only be sold to first home buyers. To avoid buyers reaping windfall gains, a condition of sale will require them to hand back any capital gain if sold on within 5 years.
How easy our Minister can BREAK an Election promise and it means so little to keep one’s word !!! 10:40 “We decided…” ” Storm in a teacup”
‘Judith Collins, National’s housing and urban development spokeswoman, said this morning it was not good enough that Twyford would not answer questions about Barclay’s departure and she plans to put questions to him in Parliament tomorrow.’
Whatcha want, watcha want
Whatcha gonna do
When Judith Collins come for you
Tell me
Whatcha wanna do, whatcha gonna dooo
Yeaheah
Twyford, Twyford
Whatcha gonna do, whatcha gonna do
When Judith Collins comes for you
Oh @PR. I truly lerv you. Such a wit with an encyclopeadia of British humour and musical paraphernalia ready at short notice to display just how oh so clever you are. And most of the examples you are able to whip out at short notice are really ‘hip’.
As the yanks would say, you must be some ‘regular guy’ and the life of the party.
Do you take ‘your kid’ to any of those parties btw?
On Q&A last night Phil Twyford was asked over and over but refused to make any comment over this. No doubt Judith will make a big fuss tomorrow.
“KiwiBuild boss Stephen Barclay is in an employment dispute with the Government department overseeing the massive house construction scheme, the Herald understands.
Amidst growing calls for Housing Minister Phil Twyford to say why the KiwiBuild head has not been performing his duties since early last month, the new Ministry of Housing and Urban Development this afternoon issued a brief statement saying that Barclay had not resigned.”
..issues revolve around the transfer of KiwiBuild from the Ministry of Business, Innovation, and Employment to the new Ministry of Housing and Urban Development, headed by Crisp.”
Spare a thought for sad simon this christmas – it’s gonna be tough to have a relax when the main word associated with you is untrustworthy. Time for a real big think I think simon.
A word cloud, which UMR says was drawn from one-word answers given by a representative group, drawn from a sample size of 1000, gives a highly unflattering glimpse into perceptions of Bridges.
In a statement, National appeared to question the accuracy of UMR.
“You would never expect a Labour Party poll to be positive about the Leader of the Opposition. Labour’s polling consistently inflates Labour’s support. For example, UMR polling had Labour only 2 per cent behind in the Northcote by-election, yet National won by almost six points,” a spokesman for the National Party said.
And there you have it. Proof that National thinks that polls should be biased and that they don’t understand the difference between polling and an election.
Bryan Gould has some interesting things to say about television developments here. http://www.bryangould.com/public-television/ Despite the efforts of socially aware programme-makers such as Bryan Bruce, issues such as these scarcely receive the attention they need and deserve; the national debate is the poorer for their neglect.
The good news, however, is that “public” television is back on the agenda, courtesy of none other than Bryan Bruce himself. Bryan has established a new website, called New Zealand Public Television. The new site, which anyone can access for nothing at http://www.nzptv.org.nz, has a dual purpose.
First, it identifies programmes, from both New Zealand and around the world, that explore issues of interest to New Zealanders, whether living here or overseas, and makes them available to a Kiwi viewership. The site, although primarily provided for a domestic audience, will undoubtedly be of great value to ex-pat Kiwis and to those on holiday or living overseas who may miss programmes about issues that are making waves at home.
Why not use the time in prison wisely ? Reading + writing lessons / budgeting classes / getting work ready / maybe learn a trade. Anger and time management All these could take place in the prison. Prisoners should come out of prison better educated than when they went in.
[How about you take the rest of the night off, BM? I’ve got a feeling you’re a comment or two away from saying something really, really stoopid and I’m one of the few people here who’d miss you. TRP]
Ingrid Hipkiss grinned vacuously and called
Ruth Money a “victim’s advocate” this morning. a.m., Newshub, Tuesday 11 December 2018
Flashback to Manurewa, ten years ago….
Late one night in 2008, a man called Bruce Emery chases down a fifteen year old boy and stabs him repeatedly, killing him. Emery is Pākehā , his victim, Pihema Cameron, is Māori. What follows this killing will turn out to be one of the most vicious and disgraceful sagas of racist hatred in this country’s sordid history. Taking their lead from the Crown Prosecutor, who routinely dismisses the dead boy as “a tagger”, the media unleashes a seemingly non-stop tirade of abuse and belittlement against not the killer, but the victim. Perhaps most disgustingly of all, one of the loudest and most vociferous denouncers of the dead boy and his “useless” family is an organization called the “Sensible Sentencing Trust”. In a rare moment of moral decency, Noelle McCarthy memorably confronted that organization’s Grand Dragon about the affair three years later. [1]
Fast forward to a.m. News at 7:30 this morning…..
In a story related to the murder of British tourist Grace Millane, smiling but vacuous newsreader Ingrid Hipkiss refers to someone called Ruth Money as a “victim’s advocate.” In fact, contrary to that descriptor, Ruth Money is a disciple of Garth “The Knife” McSticker. Money parted from the S.S. Trust not because it was a bunch of racist knife enthusiasts, but because of a disagreement over political tactics. [2]
Now, anyone with an I.Q. in triple figures would know that; Ingrid Hipkiss, however, seems oblivious.
After the news, anchor Duncan Garner weighs in with a typically weighty, thoughtful observation:
“Y’know, f you were a visitor from Ma-a-a-aars, you’d think that the world was quite an evil place.”
Less than a minute later, Garner makes the following extraordinarily foolish contention:
“Chris Finlayson is the brightest person to ever serve in parliament. He’d have the biggest brain in parliament.”
Sports meathead Mark Richardson and Ingrid Hipkiss are reduced to a stunned, disbelieving silence. Remember, Hipkiss has just had the gall or the brass or the hide or (most likely) the naïveté to read out with a straight face that Ruth Money was “a victim’s advocate.” But even she is stunned at that pronouncement from Garner.
After the silence, Mark Richardson laughs: “How do you KNOW that?”
.
.
.
Garner did proffer an answer; I know that because I saw his lips moving. But his words were drowned out in a torrent of criticism from the crew at Chez Breen. I picked up the phrase “that stupid c**t” from Hector Stoop and “Oh my GOD! Ha ha ha ha ha!” from the lovely Serena Sopwith-Fotherington amidst the general hubbub.
Ele Ludemann writes – The Reserve Bank is advertising for a Diversity, Equity and Inclusion advisor. The Bank has one mandate – to keep inflation between one and three percent. It has failed in that and is only slowly getting inflation back down to the upper limit. Will it ...
Last week former National Party leader Simon Bridges was appointed by the Government as the new chair of the New Zealand Transport Agency Waka Kotahi (NZTA). You can read about the appointment in Thomas Coughlan’s article, Simon Bridges to become chair of NZ Transport Agency Waka KotahiThe fact that a ...
Bryce Edwards writes – Last week former National Party leader Simon Bridges was appointed by the Government as the new chair of the New Zealand Transport Agency Waka Kotahi (NZTA). You can read about the appointment in Thomas Coughlan’s article, Simon Bridges to become chair of NZ Transport Agency ...
TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read: Gavin Jacobson talks to Thomas Piketty 10 years on from Capital in the 21st CenturyThe SalvoLocal scoop: Green MP’s business being investigated over migrant exploitation claims StuffSteve KilgallonLocal deep-dive: The commercial contractors making money from School ...
It’s a home - but Kāinga Ora tenants accused of “abusing the privilege” may lose it. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The Government announced a crackdown on Kāinga Ora tenants who were unruly and/or behind on their rent, with Housing Minister Chris Bishop saying a place in a state ...
This is a guest post by Connor Sharp of Surface Light Rail Light rail in Auckland: A way forward sooner than you think With the coup de grâce of Auckland Light Rail (ALR) earlier this year, and the shift of the government’s priorities to roads, roads, and more roads, it ...
Note: As a paid-up Webworm member, I’ve recorded this Webworm as a mini-podcast for you as well. Some of you said you liked this option - so I aim to provide it when I get a chance to record! Read more ...
TL;DR: In my ‘six-stack’ of substacks at 6.06pm on Monday, March 18:IKEA is accused of planting big forests in New Zealand to green-wash; REDD-MonitorA City for People takes a well-deserved victory lap over Wellington’s pro-YIMBY District Plan votes; A City for PeopleSteven Anastasiou takes a close look at the sticky ...
Buzz from the Beehive Here’s hoping for a lively post-cabinet press conference when the PM and – perhaps – some of his ministers tell us what was discussed at their meeting today. Until then, Point of Order has precious little Beehive news to report after its latest monitoring of the ...
David Farrar writes – We now have almost all 2023 data in, which has allowed me to update my annual table of how labour went against its promises. This is basically their final report card. The promiseThe result Build 100,000 affordable homes over 10 ...
I’m a bit worried that I’ve started a previous newsletter with the words “just when you think they couldn’t get any worse…” Seems lately that I could begin pretty much every issue with that opening. Such is the nature of our coalition government that they seem to be outdoing each ...
Geoffrey Miller writes – Timing is everything. And from China’s perspective, this week’s visit by its foreign minister to New Zealand could be coming at just the right moment. The visit by Wang Yi to Wellington will be his first since 2017. Anniversaries are important to Beijing. ...
Depictions of Islam in Western popular culture have rarely been positive, even before 9/11. Five years on from the mosque shootings, this is one of the cultural headwinds that the Muslim community has to battle against. Whatever messages of tolerance and inclusion are offered in daylight, much of our culture ...
Last week Transport Minster Simeon Brown and Mayor Wayne Brown opened the new Auckland Rail Operations Centre. The new train control centre will see teams from KiwiRail, Auckland Transport and Auckland One Rail working more closely together to improve train services across the city. The Auckland Rail Operations Centre in ...
Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Retiring former Labour Finance Minister Grant Robertson said in an exit interview with Q+A yesterday the Government can and should sustain more debt to invest in infrastructure for future generations. Elsewhere in the news in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy at 6:36am: Read more ...
Timing is everything. And from China’s perspective, this week’s visit by its foreign minister to New Zealand could be coming at just the right moment. The visit by Wang Yi to Wellington will be his first since 2017. Anniversaries are important to Beijing. It is more than just a happy ...
TL;DR: The key events to watch in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy in the week to March 18 include:China’s Foreign Minister visiting Wellington today;A post-cabinet news conference this afternoon; the resumption of Parliament on Tuesday for two weeks before Easter;retiring former Labour Finance Minister Grant Robertson gives his valedictory speech in Parliament; ...
New Zealand First Leader Winston Peters’s state-of-the-nation speech on Sunday was really a state-of-Winston-First speech. He barely mentioned any of the Government’s key policies and could not even wholly endorse its signature income tax cuts. Instead, he rehearsed all of his complaints about the Ardern Government, including an extraordinary claim ...
A listing of 35 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, March 10, 2024 thru Sat, March 16, 2024. Story of the week This week we'll give you a little glimpse into how we collect links to share and ...
A listing of 35 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, March 10, 2024 thru Sat, March 16, 2024. Story of the week This week we'll give you a little glimpse into how we collect links to share and ...
“I’ve been internalising a really complicated situation in my head.”When they kept telling us we should wait until we get to know him, were they taking the piss? Was it a case of, if you think this is bad, wait till you get to know the real Christopher, after the ...
Happy fourth anniversary, Pandemic That Upended Bloody Everything. I have been observing it by enjoying my second bout of COVID. It’s 5.30 on Sunday morning and only now are lights turning back on for me.Allow me to copy and paste what I told reader Sara yesterday:Depleted, fogged and crappy. Resting, ...
Happy fourth anniversary, Pandemic That Upended Bloody Everything. I have been observing it by enjoying my second bout of COVID. It’s 5.30 on Sunday morning and only now are lights turning back on for me.Allow me to copy and paste what I told reader Sara yesterday:Depleted, fogged and crappy. Resting, ...
Happy fourth anniversary, Pandemic That Upended Bloody Everything. I have been observing it by enjoying my second bout of COVID. It’s 5.30 on Sunday morning and only now are lights turning back on for me.Allow me to copy and paste what I told reader Sara yesterday:Depleted, fogged and crappy. Resting, ...
.“$10 and a target that bleeds” - Bleeding Targets for Under $10!.Thanks for reading Frankly Speaking ! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.This government appears hell-bent on either scrapping life-saving legislation or reintroducing things that - frustrated critics insist - will be dangerous and likely ...
“It hardly strikes me as fair to criticise a government for doing exactly what it said it was going to do. For actually keeping its promises.”THUNDER WAS PLAYING TAG with lightning flashes amongst the distant peaks. Its rolling cadences interrupted by the here-I-come-here-I-go Doppler effect of the occasional passing car. ...
Subversive & Disruptive Technologies: Just as happened with that other great regulator of the masses, the Medieval Church, the advent of a new and hard-to-control technology – the Internet – is weakening the ties that bind. Then, and now, those who enjoy a monopoly on the dissemination of lies, cannot and will ...
Been Here Before: To find the precedents for what this Coalition Government is proposing, it is necessary to return to the “glory days” of Muldoonism.THE COALITION GOVERNMENT has celebrated its first 100 days in office by checking-off the last of its listed commitments. It remains, however, an angry government. It ...
Bob Edlin writes – And what is the world watching today…? The email newsletter from Associated Press which landed in our mailbox early this morning advised: In the news today: The father of a school shooter has been found guilty of involuntary manslaughter; prosecutors in Trump’s hush-money case ...
Bryce Edwards writes – Is another Green MP on their way out? And are the Greens severely tarnished by another integrity scandal? For the second time in three months, the Green Party has secretly suspended an MP over integrity issues. Mystery is surrounding the party’s decision to ...
For the last few years, the Green Party has been the party that has managed to avoid the plague of multiple scandals that have beleaguered other political parties. It appears that their luck has run out with a second scandal which, unfortunately for them, coincided with Golraz Ghahraman, the focus ...
TL;DR: The six newsey things that stood out to me as of 6:46am on Saturday, March 16.Andy Foster has accidentally allowed a Labour/Green amendment to cut road user chargers for plug-in hybrid vehicles, which the Government might accept; NZ HeraldThomas CoughlanSimeon Brown has rejected a plea from Westport ...
What seemed a booming success a couple of years ago has collapsed into fraud convictions.I looked at the crash of FTX (short for ‘Futures Exchange’) in November 2022 to see whether it would impact on the financial system as a whole. Fortunately there was barely a ripple, probably because it ...
Anybody following the situation in Ukraine and Russia would probably have been amused by a recent Tweet on X NATO seems to be putting in an awful lot of effort to influence what is, at least according to them, a sham election in an autocracy.When do the Ukrainians go to ...
TL;DR:Shaun Baker on Wynyard Quarter's transformation. Magdalene Taylor on the problem with smart phones. How private equity are now all over reinsurance. Dylan Cleaver on rugby and CTE. Emily Atkin on ‘Big Meat’ looking like ‘Big Oil’.Bernard’s six-stack of substacks at 6pm on March 15Photo by Jeppe Hove Jensen ...
Buzz from the Beehive Finance Minister Nicola Willis had plenty to say when addressing the Auckland Business Chamber on the economic growth that (she tells us) is flagging more than we thought. But the government intends to put new life into it: We want our country to be a ...
The Transport and Infrastructure Committee has reported back on the Road User Charges (Light Electric RUC Vehicles) Amendment Bill, basicly rubberstamping it. While there was widespread support among submitters for the principle that EV and PHEV drivers should pay their fair share for the roads, they also overwhelmingly disagreed with ...
Peter Dunne writes – This week’s government bailout – the fifth in the last eighteen months – of the financially troubled Ruapehu Alpine Lifts company would have pleased many in the central North Island ski industry. The government’s stated rationale for the $7 million funding was that it ...
See if you can spot the difference. An Iranian born female MP from a progressive party is accused of serial shoplifting. Her name is leaked to the media, which goes into a pack frenzy even before the Police launch an … Continue reading → ...
Ele Ludemann writes – The government is omitting general Treaty references from legislation : The growth of Treaty of Waitangi clauses in legislation caused so much worry that a special oversight group was set up by the last Government in a bid to get greater coherence in the public service on Treaty ...
What was that judge thinking?Peter Williams writes – That Golriz Ghahraman and District Court Judge Maria Pecotic were once lawyer colleagues is incontrovertible. There is published evidence that they took at least one case to the Court of Appeal together. There was a report on ...
TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read:Climate Scorpion – the sting is in the tail. Introducing planetary solvency. A paper via the University of Exeter’s Institute and Faculty of Actuaries.Local scoop:Kāinga Ora starts pulling out of its Auckland projects and selling land RNZ ...
Wellington’s massively upzoned District Plan adds the opportunity for tens of thousands of new homes not just in the central city (such as these Webb St new builds) but also close to the CBD and public transport links. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Wellington gave itself the chance of ...
It’s Friday and we’re halfway through March Madness. Here’s some of the things that caught our attention this week. This Week in Greater Auckland On Monday Matt asked how we can get better event trains and an option for grade separating Morningside Dr. On Tuesday Matt looked into ...
Something you might not know about me is that I’m quite a stubborn person. No, really. I don’t much care for criticism I think’s unfair or that I disagree with. Few of us do I suppose.Back when I was a drinker I’d sometimes respond defensively, even angrily. There are things ...
Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The five things that mattered in Aotearoa’s political economy that we wrote and spoke about via The Kākā and elsewhere for paying subscribers in the last week included:PM Christopher Luxon said the reversal of interest deductibility for landlords was done to help renters, who ...
It was not so much the Labour Party but really the Chris Hipkins party yesterday at Labour’s caucus retreat in Martinborough. The former Prime Minister was more or less consistent on wealth tax, which he was at best equivocal about, and social insurance, which he was not willing to revisit. ...
Buzz from the BeehiveThe text reproduced above appears on a page which records all the media statements and speeches posted on the government’s official website by Melissa Lee as Minister of Media and Communications and/or by Jenny Marcroft, her Parliamentary Under-secretary. It can be quickly analysed ...
For forty years, Robert Muldoon has been a dirty word in our politics. His style of government was so repulsive and authoritarian that the backlash to it helped set and entrench our constitutional norms. His pig-headedness over forcing through Think Big eventually gave us the RMA, with its participation and ...
Bryce Edwards writes – Is the new government reducing tax on rental properties to benefit landlords or to cut the cost of rents? That’s the big question this week, after Associate Finance Minister David Seymour announced on Sunday that the Government would be reversing the Labour Government’s removal ...
Saudi Arabia is rarely far from the international spotlight. The war in Gaza has brought new scrutiny to Saudi plans to normalise relations with Israel, while the fifth anniversary of the controversial killing of Jamal Khashoggi was marked shortly before the war began on October 7. And as the home ...
Questions need to be asked on both sides of the worldPeter Williams writes – The NRL Judiciary hands down an eight week suspension to Sydney Roosters forward Spencer Leniu , an Auckland-born Samoan, after he calls Ezra Mam, Sydney-orn but of Aboriginal and Torres Strait ...
Ele Ludemann writes – Contrary to what many headlines and news stories are saying, residential landlords are not getting a tax break. The government is simply restoring to them the tax deductibility of interest they had until the previous government removed it. There is no logical reason ...
I can't remember when it was goodMoments of happiness in bloomMaybe I just misunderstoodAll of the love we left behindWatching our flashbacks intertwineMemories I will never findIn spite of whatever you becomeForget that reckless thing turned onI think our lives have just begunI think our lives have just begunDoes anyone ...
Michael Bassett writes – At first reading, a front-page story in the New Zealand Herald on 13 March was bizarre. A group of severely intellectually limited teenagers, with little understanding of the law, have been pleading to the Justice Select Committee not to pass a bill dealing with ram ...
How much political capital is Christopher Luxon willing to burn through in order to deliver his $2.9 billion gift to landlords? Evidently, Luxon is: (a) unable to cost the policy accurately. As Anna Burns-Francis pointed out to him on Breakfast TV, the original ”rock solid” $2.1 billion cost he was ...
TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read:Jonathon Porritt calling bullshit in his own blog post on mainstream climate science as ‘The New Denialism’.Local scoop:The Wellington City Council’s list of proposed changes to the IHP recommendations to be debated later today was leaked this ...
TL;DR:Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said yesterday tenants should be grateful for the reinstatement of interest deductibility because landlords would pass on their lower tax costs in the form of lower rents. That would be true if landlords were regulated monopolies such as Transpower or Auckland Airport1, but they’re not, ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Tom Toro Tom Toro is a cartoonist and author. He has published over 200 cartoons in The New Yorker since 2010. His cartoons appear in Playboy, the Paris Review, the New York Times, American Bystander, and elsewhere. Related: What 10 EV lovers ...
The business section of the NZ Herald is full of opinion. Among the more opinionated of all is the ex-Minister of Transport, ex-Minister of Railways, ex MP for Auckland Central (1975-93, Labour), Wellington Central (1996-99, ACT, then list-2005), ex-leader of the ACT Party, uncle to actor Antonia, the veritable granddaddy ...
Hi,Just quickly — I’m blown away by the stories you’ve shared with me over the last week since I put out the ‘Gary’ podcast, where I told you about the time my friend’s flatmate killed the neighbour.And you keep telling me stories — in the comments section, and in my ...
The first season of Rings of Power was not awful. It was thoroughly underwhelming, yes, and left a lingering sense of disappointment, but it was more expensive mediocrity than catastrophe. I wrote at length about the series as it came out (see the Review section of the blog, and go ...
Buzz from the Beehive Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Brooke van Velden told Auckland Business Chamber members they were the first audience to hear her priorities as a minister in a government committed to cutting red tape and regulations. She brandished her liberalising credentials, saying Flexible labour markets are the ...
Chris Trotter writes – TO UNDERSTAND WHY NEWSHUB FAILED, it is necessary to understand how TVNZ changed. Up until 1989, the state broadcaster had been funded by a broadcasting licence fee, collected from every citizen in possession of a television set, supplemented by a relatively modest (compared ...
Bob Edlin writes – The Māori Party has been busy issuing a mix of warnings and threats as its expresses its opposition to interest deductibility for landlords and the plans of seabed miners. It remains to be seen whether they follow the example of indigenous litigants in Australia, ...
Every year, in the Budget, Parliament forks out money to government agencies to do certain things. And every year, as part of the annual review cycle, those agencies are meant to report on whether they have done the things Parliament gave them that money for. Agencies which consistently fail to ...
Mike Grimshaw writes – Recent events in American universities point to an underlying crisis of coherent thinking, an issue that increasingly affects the progressive left across the Western world. This of course is nothing new as anyone who can either remember or has read of the late ...
The thing about life’s little victories is that they can be followed by a defeat.Reader Darryl told me on Monday night:Test again Dave. My “head cold” last week became COVID within 24 hours, and is still with me. I hear the new variants take a bit longer to show up ...
TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read:Angus Deaton on rethinking his economics IMFLocal scoop: The people behind Tamarind, the firm that left a $500m cleanup bill for taxpayers at Taranaki’s Tui oil well, are back operating in Taranaki under a different company name. Jonathan ...
Normally when we talk about accessing public transport it’s about improving how easy it is to get to, such as how easy is it to cross roads in a station/stop’s walking catchment, is it possible to cycle to safely, do bus connections work, or even if are there new routes/connections ...
Politicians are not renowned for telling the truth. Some tell us things that are verifiably not true. They offer statements that omit critical pieces of information. Gloss over risks, preferring to offer the best case scenario.Some not truths are quite small, others amusing in their transparency. There are those repeated ...
The pressure is mounting on the Government as it finalises its Budget Policy Statement, but yet more predicted revenue ‘goes missing’. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The Climate Commission has delivered another funding blow to the National-ACT-NZ First coalition Government’s tax-cutting plans, potentially carving $1.4 billion off the ‘climate ...
The Government now faces the prospect of having to watch another tax raise the price of petrol when, only six days ago, it abolished the Auckland Regional Fuel tax. Prime Minister Christopher Luxon argued that the regional fuel tax imposed costs on lower-income people with less fuel-efficient vehicles and that ...
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 ...
Kicking the most vulnerable people out of state housing and pushing them towards homelessness will result in a proliferation of poverty and trauma across our most vulnerable communities. ...
Te Pāti Māori co-leader and MP for Waiariki, Rawiri Waititi has penned a letter asking MPs to support his members bill to remove GST from all food. The bill is expected to go through its first reading in parliament this Wednesday. “I’m calling on all political parties to support my ...
This year is about getting real with Kiwis and discussing the tough issues, as the National Government exacerbates inequality and divides New Zealand, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said ...
The Government adding Significant Natural Areas (SNAs) to its already roaring environmental policy bonfire is an assault on the future of wildlife that makes Aotearoa unique. ...
After 12 years of fighting to protect our moana we are finding ourselves back at square one and back at court. Today, the Environmental Protection Agency is sitting in Hawera to reconsider an application from Trans-Tasman Resources to dig up 50 million tonnes of the seabed in South Taranaki. This ...
Minister Shane Jones’ decision to step away from a seabed mining project is evidence of the murky waters surrounding the Government’s fast-track legislation. ...
The growth of Treaty of Waitangi clauses in legislation caused so much worry that a special oversight group was set up by the last government in a bid to get greater coherence in the publicservice on Treaty matters. When ministers first considered the need for tighter oversight in 2021, there ...
The growth of Treaty of Waitangi clauses in legislation caused so much worry that a special oversight group was set up by the last government in a bid to get greater coherence in the publicservice on Treaty matters. When ministers first considered the need for tighter oversight in 2021, there ...
The Coalition Government’s miscalculation saga continues as it has forgotten an eyewatering $90 million gap in its interest deductibility cost figures, say Labour Finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds and Revenue Spokesperson Deborah Russell. ...
He Pou a Rangi Climate Change Commission has today released advice that says if the Government doesn’t act now New Zealand is at risk of not meeting its climate goals. ...
The Coalition Government has today confirmed it is abandoning first home buyers who are struggling to get ahead, says Labour Finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds. ...
The New Zealand public voted for a change in direction at the 2023 general election and that is exactly what this coalition government has been delivering in its first 100 days. There was an immediate focus on the economy, easing the cost of living, cracking down on law and order ...
The Government has left the health system as an afterthought, announcing half-baked targets at the last minute of their 100-day plan, says Labour Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall. ...
Kiwis are still waiting for their promised cost of living support after 100 days of a National Government that is taking us backwards, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said today. ...
The National Government has spent its first 100 days stopping, cutting and reversing. They have scrapped stuff for stuff for the sake of it, without putting up any solutions of their own – and it’s hardworking New Zealanders who will pay for it. ...
100 days of National taking NZ backwardsThe National Government has spent its first 100 days stopping, cutting and reversing. They have scrapped stuff for stuff for the sake of it, without putting up any solutions of their own – and it’s hardworking New Zealanders who will pay for it. ...
The Government must commit to funding free and healthy school lunches, as thousands of people sign the petition to keep them, education spokesperson Jan Tinetti says. ...
If the Government was serious about moving families into public housing, they would build more houses so there is actually somewhere for people to go. ...
The free and healthy school lunches programme feeds our kids, helps them to learn, and saves families money – but it is at risk under this Government, education spokesperson Jan Tinetti said. ...
The Government’s proposed changes to Firearms Prohibition Orders (FPO) add almost nothing new and are merely an attempt to distract from its plans to loosen gun laws, police spokesperson Ginny Andersen and justice spokesperson Dr Duncan Webb said. ...
The great Victorian era English politician Lord Macauley stood in the British House of Parliament and said, "The gallery in which the reporters sit has become a fourth estate of the realm".He understood and outlined even way back then, the significant role and influence media have in a democracy. ...
The government’s attack on Māori health this week is committing tangata-whenua to a premature death, says Te Pāti Māori. “The government have begun their onslaught on Māori health with the abolishment of the Māori Health Authority and smokefree laws in the same day” said health spokesperson and co-leader, Debbie Ngarewa-Packer. ...
Today marks a tragic milestone for New Zealanders as the Coalition Government side with big tobacco to repeal the Smokefree Environments and Regulated Products (Smoked Tobacco) Amendment Act 2022, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins and Labour Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall said. ...
New Zealand’s social workers are qualified, experienced, and more representative of the communities they serve, Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston says. “I want to acknowledge and applaud New Zealand’s social workers for the hard work they do, providing invaluable support for our most vulnerable. “To coincide with World ...
Cabinet has agreed to a reduced road user charge (RUC) rate for plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs), Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. Owners of PHEVs will be eligible for a reduced rate of $38 per 1,000km once all light electric vehicles (EVs) move into the RUC system from 1 April. ...
Minister of Agriculture and Trade, Todd McClay, says that today’s opening of Riverland Foods manufacturing plant in Christchurch is a great example of how trade access to overseas markets creates jobs in New Zealand. Speaking at the official opening of this state-of-the-art pet food factory the Minister noted that exports ...
Minister of Foreign Affairs Winston Peters met with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Wellington today. “It was a pleasure to host Foreign Minister Wang Yi during his first official visit to New Zealand since 2017. Our discussions were wide-ranging and enabled engagement on many facets of New Zealand’s relationship with China, including trade, ...
Kāinga Ora – Homes & Communities has been instructed to end the Sustaining Tenancies Framework and take stronger measures against persistent antisocial behaviour by tenants, says Housing Minister Chris Bishop. “Earlier today Finance Minister Nicola Willis and I sent an interim Letter of Expectations to the Board of Kāinga Ora. ...
Tēna koutou katoa. Greetings everyone. Thank you to the Auckland Chamber of Commerce and the Honourable Simon Bridges for hosting this address today. I acknowledge the business leaders in this room, the leaders and governors, the employers, the entrepreneurs, the investors, and the wealth creators. The coalition Government shares your ...
Minister Winston Peters completed the final leg of his visit to South and South East Asia in Singapore today, where he focused on enhancing one of New Zealand’s indispensable strategic partnerships. “Singapore is our most important defence partner in South East Asia, our fourth-largest trading partner and a ...
Minister of Internal Affairs and Workplace Relations and Safety, Hon. Brooke van Velden, will travel to the Republic of Korea to represent New Zealand at the Third Summit for Democracy on 18 March. The summit, hosted by the Republic of Korea, was first convened by the United States in 2021, ...
ICNZ Speech 7 March 2024, Auckland Acknowledgements and opening Mōrena, ngā mihi nui. Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Nor Whanganui aho. Good morning, it’s a privilege to be here to open the ICNZ annual conference, thank you to Mark for the Mihi Whakatau My thanks to Tim Grafton for inviting me ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Lead Coordination Minister Judith Collins have expressed their deepest sympathy on the five-year anniversary of the Christchurch terror attacks. “March 15, 2019, was a day when families, communities and the country came together both in sorrow and solidarity,” Mr Luxon says. “Today we pay our respects to the 51 shuhada ...
Speech for Financial Advice NZ Conference 5 March 2024 Acknowledgements and opening Morena, Nga Mihi Nui. Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Nor Whanganui aho. Thanks Nate for your Mihi Whakatau Good morning. It’s a pleasure to formally open your conference this morning. What a lovely day in Wellington, What a great ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters held discussions in Jakarta today about the future of relations between New Zealand and South East Asia’s most populous country. “We are in Jakarta so early in our new government’s term to reflect the huge importance we place on our relationship with Indonesia and South ...
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Winston Peters has announced that the Foreign Minister of China, Wang Yi, will visit New Zealand next week. “We look forward to re-engaging with Foreign Minister Wang Yi and discussing the full breadth of the bilateral relationship, which is one of New Zealand’s ...
Transport Minister Simeon Brown has today opened the new Auckland Rail Operations Centre, which will bring together KiwiRail, Auckland Transport, and Auckland One Rail to improve service reliability for Aucklanders. “The recent train disruptions in Auckland have highlighted how important it is KiwiRail and Auckland’s rail agencies work together to ...
The Government is proud to support the 10th edition of Crankworx Rotorua as the Crankworx World Tour returns to Rotorua from 16-24 March 2024, says Minister for Economic Development Melissa Lee. “Over the past 10 years as Crankworx Rotorua has grown, so too have the economic and social benefits that ...
Legislation implementing coalition Government tax commitments and addressing long-standing tax anomalies will be progressed in Parliament next week, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. The legislation is contained in an Amendment Paper to the Taxation (Annual Rates for 2023–24, Multinational Tax, and Remedial Matters) Bill issued today. “The Amendment Paper represents ...
Associate Environment Minister Andrew Hoggard has today announced that the Government has agreed to suspend the requirement for councils to comply with the Significant Natural Areas (SNA) provisions of the National Policy Statement for Indigenous Biodiversity for three years, while it replaces the Resource Management Act (RMA).“As it stands, SNAs ...
Agriculture Minister Todd McClay has classified the drought conditions in the Marlborough, Tasman, and Nelson districts as a medium-scale adverse event, acknowledging the challenging conditions facing farmers and growers in the district. “Parts of Marlborough, Tasman, and Nelson districts are in the grip of an intense dry spell. I know ...
The Government is helping farmers eradicate the significant impact of facial eczema (FE) in pastoral animals, Agriculture Minister Todd McClay announced. “A $20 million partnership jointly funded by Beef + Lamb NZ, the Government, and the primary sector will save farmers an estimated NZD$332 million per year, and aims to ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has completed a successful visit to India, saying it was an important step in taking the relationship between the two countries to the next level. “We have laid a strong foundation for the Coalition Government’s priority of enhancing New Zealand-India relations to generate significant future benefit for both countries,” says Mr Peters, ...
Cabinet has agreed to provide $7 million to ensure the 2024 ski season can go ahead on the Whakapapa ski field in the central North Island but has told the operator Ruapehu Alpine Lifts it is the last financial support it will receive from taxpayers. Cabinet also agreed to provide ...
Health Minister Dr Shane Reti says the launch of a new mobile breast screening unit in Counties Manukau reinforces the coalition Government’s commitment to drive better cancer services for all New Zealanders. Speaking at the launch of the new mobile clinic, Dr Reti says it’s a great example of taking ...
Health Minister Dr Shane Reti says the launch of a new mobile breast screening unit in Counties Manukau reinforces the coalition Government’s commitment to drive better cancer services for all New Zealanders. Speaking at the launch of the new mobile clinic, Dr Reti says it’s a great example of taking ...
Unlocking economic growth and land for housing are critical elements of the Government’s plan for our transport network, and planned upgrades to State Highway 29 (SH29) near Tauriko will deliver strongly on those priorities, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “The SH29 upgrades near Tauriko will improve safety at the intersections ...
Unlocking economic growth and land for housing are critical elements of the Government’s plan for our transport network, and planned upgrades to State Highway 29 (SH29) near Tauriko will deliver strongly on those priorities, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “The SH29 upgrades near Tauriko will improve safety at the intersections ...
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Praise for DI Scott Beard and his team who have done their work competently and compassionately over the last week.
Sadly, I knew that this poor young woman would be a murder victim right from the moment she went missing. Hopefully the guy who did this will plead guilty and spare her family the ordeal of a trial.
This has paralells with that young Japanese woman that met a similar fate in 1998. Though her killer has yet to be caught.
It’s a bit like hearing a tramper is overdue in bad weather – one tends to expect the worst, and sadly is often correct.
I figured that as well. It doesn’t happen often here but always tragic when it does
I feel very much for the victim and my heart goes out to Grace Millane’s family.
But the MSM is suffering a very bad case of Missing White Woman Syndrome.
Really??
Yes, really.
The meta informs us – the underlying unhealthy media obsession with attractive, young white upper class women is itself a demonstration of a whole kitbag of wider social and cultural issues around violence towards women.
🙄
Thank goodness the young woman has been found. But it is time for NZ to be recognised as a place with young men having a wild west attitude.
Uncontrolled minds and behaviour, pleasure-seeking and mendacious is am appropriate description.
But there is a deep vein of this that runs through the country, an indication of which is that we kept advertising ourselves as 100% Pure when we knew we had gone far from that. But we can always rationalise
away our ingrained lying.
Hmmm… you’re making the assumption that the murderer is a Kiwi.
He was staying at a hostel, where most of the people staying there are foreigners.
Also RNZ has described the car involved, which NZ Police have been asking for information about its movements, was a 2016 Red Corolla -rental.
True, I did think that it would be a Kiwi. It follows the pattern of other murders committed by Kiwis. But it may be a foreigner. The way we run our country probably encourages criminals to come here, as we enable them through various devious habits we adopt. Government likes to keep our visitor and immigrant numbers up which give the impression that we are making lots of foreign money that they bring to us, but less noticed is whether it stays here in NZ taxpayers’ pockets.
…..and now has name suppression!
Name suppression for the moment is only by default while legal appeals are made to the judge’s decision to NOT grant name suppression. RNZ (and presumably other news outlets) are choosing to not disclose his name at this point.
https://www.radionz.co.nz/news/national/377883/backpacker-murder-judge-tells-millane-s-family-all-of-us-hope-that-justice-for-grace-is-fair
” … The 26-year-old accused of murdering Ms Millane between 1 and 2 of December appeared this morning dressed in a blue boiler suit.
The court heard extensive submissions on interim name suppression, but Judge Thomas declined to grant it.
The accused’s lawyer Ian Brookie indicated he would appeal, prohibiting media from identifying the accused in the meantime.
As the accused was walked out of court, a person in the public gallery yelled “Scumbag”.
He has been remanded in custody until he appears in court in January. …”
This article also provides more on the red 2016 Toyota Corolla rental car I mentioned earlier above.
“Detective Inspector Scott Beard said the police investigation into Ms Millane’s death would continue for some time, as they pieced together what happened after she was last seen entering a central Auckland hotel more than a week ago.
They want to hear about any sightings of a 2016 red Toyota Corolla rental car last Monday morning in West Auckland.
The car was rented in central Auckland and was then found in Taupō.”
“Hmmm… you’re making the assumption that the murderer is a Kiwi.”
One news says a 26 year old Kiwi has been charged.
I’ve been emailing a friend in England over the last 24 hours and this awful event was mentioned. In his reply I received this morning the rather telling statement “One thinks of NZ as being relatively crime free too. Just awful.”
Similar sentiments on RNZ this morning- NZ being seen as a safe destination be Europeans for young solo travellers. Were we ever, has it got worse, are we no worse than any other Western country?
I’ve been alone in some big cities in Europe at night and felt safer than I ever have alone in Queen St after dark.
Yes Greywarshark
We are repeatedly told that there is a decline in murder in New Zealand. But I seriously doubt that is the case.
How many many babies are bashed by daddy into the walls of homes. How often does daddy escape punishment.
Rape is rampant in our country. I cringe every time Haka is performed by Maori and Pakeha – because it charges up the Adrenalin of sick young hoods – brought up on Alcohol and violence.
Dodgy Statistics – are not a solution. Men of all ages must be treated to heavy doses of responsibility.from a very young age.
Finally, Prison is about Punishment not about Pity.
Do you think that prisons should be more for punishment than pity Observer?
These young guys definitely need something, but what? There are plans for getting them onto better behaviour paths but it seems they are often underfunded. There is just the will needed by government, then the follow-through to provide settled housing for those who have been guilty of bad behaviour so they have a place to go when released, then opportunity to get into work etc
Kim Workman has retired. He was tryuingto get more habilitation going but it is something that must be followed for decades, or as long as needed.
https://www.radionz.co.nz/national/programmes/ninetonoon/audio/2018673187/kim-workman-journey-towards-justice
Under-funded too is the help for parents to go it alone without a partner if best (so many stepfathers are involved in dodgy ways, and real fathers
need training to do a good job or they can be bad role models to have around. The government is so busy being disapproving of behaviour that its moralistic attitude is perpetuating a cycle of bad and violent parenting which they are forcing on mothers, ‘for their own good’.)
Hi Greywarshark
If we do not wish to punish Criminals then we should not put them in Prisons.
We should leave them in the community to do as they will.
But if we deem serious crime as a revolt against the Community then we should punish the Criminals until such time as they learn crime does not pay.
Good theory observer.
But you haven’t observed that prison itself doesn’t teach them that crime does not pay. How simple minded. A lot of rich people around have got their by manipulating the law, either by sailing close to the wind, or changing the law so they can’t be called criminals any more.
What I want is efficiency!! Prisons don’t work to habilitate criminals. Your ideas are too costly and a waste of money. Be sensible and look for better ways that can be seen to work to reduce crime.
I want those who commit crimes to be forced to work their brains thoroughly learning what to do instead of crime, and how to deal with their problems without losing it and being violent. Thinking is a punishment to many people. We can notice the difficulties of doing the mahi right in this blog. The people who aren’t criminals, or who haven’t been caught yet, find it difficult to think around problems and get a grasp. Criminals who are forced to do so are going to feel really hard worked eh!
I want less crime, better childhoods and parents helped to be good role models, and better chances to have a good life. Crime would be something that only extreme nutters do then. And people would smile more, be happy and occupied doing useful stuff.
Thanks Greywarshark
I respect your words. as you know.
I did say in a brief sentence : “Men of all ages must be treated with heavy doses of responsibility.from a very young age.”
Even as children, boys must be raised as responsible persons and accountable for their actions.
Boot camps have not worked. I don’t think rehabilitation has really reduced recidivism.
All of which, seems to say, raise and teach the Boy. At Home. Give him pride and achievement. Start it early.
It will still mean that Prison is for Punishment. For criminals who deserve it. For society is not a plaything for Criminals or Gangs.
Observer
I agree with what you say.
There are three levels to tackle this as i see it.
1 Is bringing boys and girls up to have self-respect and respect for others in their family and society, and if they are being abused that the whole family should be put on notice that they all deserve better conditions, and they work out how to achieve that as a group, with further consequences if it doesn’t improve. And important is that parents are helped by being respected, and enabled to have jobs, homes and a sense of wellbeing for their family. Good and settled role models.
2 Helping teenagers get through their difficult growing stages.
Giving them a basic schooling, enabling them to stay or go into a job, or do work and school at the same time, like an apprentice. I have seen this done, probablyunder a Labour Party idea, and it worked. Don’t know if still happening.
After school, get them into a job and keep up the training so they can better themselves, good reading and writing and arguing skills. If a person can express their thoughts, talk their way to understanding and dealing with them, the build-up of stress is less likely to happen.
3 Give them suspended sentences when they get into crime, and send them to a different part of the country were they can adjust to life outside of their familiar territory and its temptations. Give them remedial help, reading, basic housing, a paid job.
4 When they are in jail, give them time away from gangs in a different setting or place, where they can do some study, learn about Maoritanga, philosophy, determine their own strengths and weaknesses, and go to a half-way farm and work, and then apply for parole.
5 The really bad buggers should spend their life enclosed in controlled conditions under supervision, and separated from being able to influence others. They can be classed as criminally insane and unable to live or be trusted in ordinary society.
Why?
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/107415102/murder-rate-hits-a-40yearlow-police-say
You’re assuming a) that it was always daddy and b) that daddy then got away with murder
Have you got anything to back up these assumptions?
They’re a hell of a lot better than the anecdotes you seem to want to rely upon.
Hi Draco
So our Prisons are obviously nearly empty, if we have a forty year reduction in serious crime ?
Please advise me ?
I thought they want to build more and more prisons Draco to cope with the crime rate – which you say does not exist.
Yep, you’re still talking shit.
We were talking murder rate – not crime rate but that’s going down to.
Perhaps you should learn maths so that you understand how a crime rate can go down while there are more people in prison.
Really Draco? Really?
You are asking someone to back up their assumptions after that tear you went on that other day about how all rich people cheat in their taxes and are thieves while providing no evidence?
“Have you got anything to back up these assumptions?”
Have you?
Come on man, at least be consistent.
It’s morality that you refuse to see.
If someone has income from someone else’s work then they are stealing from that other person.
This is true for all rich people.
Like I already told you, Draco. That isn’t the way everyone gets rich and I agree some are getting rich that way.
But not everyone. Does the artist? Does that famous musician? Does the famous writer? Thats THEIR own work.
You have nothing to back up your assumptions so stop accusing others because you look like a fucking hypocrite right now.
I said to you “Stephen King has sold 350 million copies of his work” which is more than enough to make him rich and you just made the assmption that he was getting unearned income from somewhere and therefor he was a thief. That’s just your own evidence free assumption. At least be honest with yourself
Draco T
I agree I am not as intelligent as you.
I simply cannot understand why you and your political friends want to build more and bigger Prisons, when at the same time you are telling us that there are far fewer criminals.
Draco Houdini Bastard
please try and be helpful
Draco is incapable of admitting there are, or considering, other ideas that do not conform with his own POV.
That is the opposite of intelligent. Observer Tokoroa, you’re doing just fine
Time for NZ to toughen up on the gang culture and illicit drugs, normal people don’t commit these sorts of crimes unless they have mental health problems. I believe this person may have or have had a substance abuse problem ?
Why not use the time in prison wisely ? Reading + writing lessons / budgeting classes / getting work ready / maybe learn a trade. Anger and time management All these could take place in the prison. Prisoners should come out of prison better educated than when they went in.
Fuck sake, have you ever had any dealings with the underworld?
Crime is their trade.
Honest question though @ BM. Have you ever asked why it is that crime (all that macho shit that goes with it – the concept of ‘taxing’, turf wars, trying to get little prospects under their wing, etc., etc., etc.)……have you ever asked why that has become the easier option?
C’mon, crime has always been the easier option. I mean, what’s not to like about all the piss, pot, and pussy your heart desires, staying up all night, sleeping late, and if you’re unfortunate enough to be caught, it’s do the crime, do the time.
Crime is no different to any other trade/profession.
Those that have got to the top have worked hard and sacrificed a lot to get there.
Actually, those who get to the top have finely honed their thuggery to the point that their reputation precedes them, and anyone who knows them is scared shitless by their violence.
well it is the easier option if you’re totally divorced from any concept of a society. actually a very lazy and thick as pigshit option in terms of sustainability.
I’m quite interested in gang criminality – having worked with the likes of Mr O’Riley and others, and having one or two distant relatives holding ‘rank’ on both sides of the Mungie/BP divide. I can agree with all that he (Denis) maintains as to why people join a gang (in a word a feeling of disenfranchisement. etc. – a desire for community, of mutual support, solidarity and all the buzz)
Except that take (say) the Mungies, and the BP, and others (Rebels maybe), and they all profess the same motivations and reasons for being in their ‘club’. That all falls apart though because of their turf wars and spats with each other.
In reality, they’ve just become the ultimate capitalists all aspiring towards some sort of supremacy.
It’s all just a wee bit pathetic really and a complete display of a collective of individuals that are a bit fucked up (albeit legends in their own minds)
They will at least commit smarter crimes according to BM. Then they will be able to join the in-crowd of the Natinal Party. Social mobility, that is what is needed there.
Have yopu heard Kim Workman on his book and life
OWT.
He’s another like Denis O’Reilly, a valuable potential waiting to be listened and followed.
West Side Story for gangsd and turf wars!
https://www.radionz.co.nz/national/programmes/ninetonoon/audio/2018673187/kim-workman-journey-towards-justice
Yep I have @ grey, and I agree.
But in the meantime, I kind of despair at the fucking stupidity of it all.
(I.e. on BOTH sides – crims/gangs and ‘authorities’ …… it is pig shittery at its worst – but I ‘spose it at least keeps people in employment on upper muddle class salaries)
PS sorry for being a bit lazy about Denis’ surname – kind of a Brambles versus NZ Freighters kind of thing
Don’t be sorry OwT. I have found I always enjoy reading your comments, and learn something no matter if there are typos. (I find my fingers are getting there and their mixed up,)
It appears that she met her killer on a dating app. I would wager that he killed her because she wouldnt sleep with him. Most male on female killings are sexually motivated.
Thanks for that info millsy. Women and men too need to be more wary of strangers, and also the type of people who are dodgy. Just because there are these fast ways of making contact with others, doesn’t mean that you can trust the people you meet.
There is a high level of trust being extended,ie couchsurfing with strangers, meeting unknowns through apps etc. It all involves risk.
Hitchhikers know this. When you are in a car it is hard to get out.
There were two women tourists who got a lift and who were brutally attacked, the man went onto Christchurch and attacked someone else.
I believe that level of behaviour should automatically cause the person to be regarded as criminally insane and never be let out again into public life. They have crossed the line for being a decent citizen with self control and morals and are likely to prey again on others. Ordinary citizens deserve to have safety and the predatory and vicious locked down.
Does the meta talk to you sanky? Late at night, when it’s just you and the meta? Heavy meta.
Sanctuary
Are you so dogmatic that you’re unable to view this tragedy except through the lens of a rigid left wing ideologue.
The insidious implication that arises from you’re comment is that because this young woman may have the characteristics you describe, that her murder is some how to be diminished.
It s a human tragedy first and foremost and this is the only lens that is appropriate regardless.
You Grantoc and a few others are misinterpreting Sanctuary’s comment.
He is correct. Because the woman is young, attractive, white and English (which is the country most of us have family and hereditary ties to) she is getting VIP media coverage both here and overseas. Had she been a woman who is young, attractive, black and from say…Kenya, the media coverage would be negligible in comparison.
That is the reality whether people like it or not, and it doesn’t detract one iota from feelings of empathy, sadness and outrage no matter who they are or where they come from.
The thing is Anne that as human beings we inevitably extend our strongest expressions of empathy and related feelings to those who are most like us – our family, and those who appear to live similar lives to us from similar ethnic, social and cultural backgrounds.
I, like most NZ’ers, have daughters who have travelled overseas on their OE and at times travelled by themselves. We (collectively) have experienced times when our daughters (and at times sons) have been out of contact and as parents we get anxious, naturally.
The events of Grace Mullane’s murder are easy to relate too. The family is like us, they could be us. And so naturally our reactions are as they are. You saw that demonstrated by the PM at her press conference this afternoon.
The death of a young Kenyan woman as per your example is too remote from us; both geographically, psychologically, culturally and economically. For better or for worse we don’t relate to such an example in the same way as we do to Grace Mullane.
What I am describing is the humam condition. No amount of left wing hand ringing over this will make any difference to where we place our empathy and feelings in these situations.
That is precisely what I was saying Grantoc. I am of English stock. I identify strongly with my inheritance. My response to this murder was as shocked and outraged as anyone else.
But that does not stop me from reflecting on the fact that we don’t show anything like the empathy to people of a different race and colour in similar circumstances – including Maori and Pacific Islanders – and it is something that should be acknowledged. This, I believe, is what Sanctuary was saying.
It has nothing to do with being Left or Right and those who suggest as much are the ones playing politics with a tragic occurrence.
And your reflections Anne are insightful and worth making.
Acknowledging our behaviour in these situations is a useful exercise because I think it does tell us something about ourselves as humans.
This is possibly where your thinking starts to sedge way with mine. I am of the opinion that even if we do make this acknowledgement, its a very rare human being who actually does something about it – and this is for the reasons I’ve referred to.
I think that as humans we are psychologically incapable of moving much beyond our own reference group in situations such as the Mullane case. As much as anything we psychologically crowd out other similar situations, such as the scenario you describe. Its almost like there is no capacity left for us to deal with it. I don’t think this is deliberate; its just a comment on our limitations.
Well, in turn I say that is a very thoughtful response Grantoc. In particular your last paragraph.
It is true that we identify far more with our own kind, but we should at least try and keep these awful events in proper perspective. We are a multicultural society now and it is our responsibility to learn to recognise that people among us from countries other than English speaking ones, suffer tragedy and loss in the same way we do.
I don’t think our thoughts are all that far apart.
That is a low blow Sanctuary – does everything have to be about woke left discourse and of course it will come out the ethnicity of the attacker shortly.
Will he be part of our 100% pure criminal campaign drive of the last 20 years?
This is a tragic incident- it’s not a political football for anyone.
James for once I agree with you 100%
Don’t often agree with you James (2.2.1). However I absolutely concur with your sentiments here.
Missing White Women on the whole are A Bad Thing sanky.
I feel very sorry for the victim. What a tragedy for the family. I feel like the murderer should be put down, but that is not a good way to think.
I feel heart broken about the fate of the young backpacker.
Somehow it feels worse cause she is a tourist. There was also a 21year old male stabbed to death over the weekend. Both will effect their families and love ones for life……..
I probably pay attention more to the tourist cause she was missing initially and therefore in the news a lot. Also some maybe old fashion idea of hospitality and responsibility for someone visiting our country. It reflects on our country (was on bbc world news)…….it will make no difference to graces family, but I hope the perp is from overseas
There was also a 21year old male stabbed to death over the weekend.
Actually worth a read:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crime_in_New_Zealand
http://www.police.govt.nz/about-us/publication/homicide-victims-report-2017-and-historic-nz-murder-rate-report-1926-2017
Four points that frequently get lost:
1. Overall crime rates continue to decline. No-one can definitively say why; it could be anything from de-leading petrol, to dropping testosterone levels, to some unspecified social factors … but this is the good news.
2. Homicide remains rare; double digits per annum. Way lower than say the road toll. In any given year only one or two murders would committed by strangers. NZ is really a very, very safe place in public. At home it’s not such a good story, but still comparatively we’re doing quite well, so we can count this as good news too.
3. 62% of homicide victims are male. If we included suicide (as a form of self-inflicted homicide) the proportion would be even higher. Maori remain over-represented by a factor of two. Roughly two-thirds of people never experience a significant crime in their lives ever; while a small fraction around 4% are serial victims.
4. While IPV homicides understandably attract a lot of social attention, in say 2017 of the 48 homicides only 10 were classified as being related as a ‘couple’. Of that 10, 8 victims were female and 2 were male. (The 3 child victims were all male.)
It makes for an interesting and complex picture even if it is a snapshot of just one year. The pdf report is here:
http://www.police.govt.nz/sites/default/files/publications/homicide-victims-report-2017.pdf
My theory is that it’s to do with the Boomers. Crime was high when they were young and has decreased as they age. It’s not just that they are a large group, so influence all stats, but that they lower the density of young people who don’t rub up against each other as much and so don’t egg each other on to commit crime (plus the young are all gaming).
Chris Hipkins is finally doing some good here as RNZ released other policies Labour is ‘rolling out here.
https://www.radionz.co.nz/news/political/377885/government-ministers-meetings-to-be-made-public-from-next-year
https://thedailyblog.co.nz/2018/12/10/a-breath-of-fresh-spring-air-shows-the-way-out-of-a-dark-age-in-education/
We agree that this Government need to open up fully with “transparency” now.
We hear this morning on RNZ news that Chis Hipkins has release details on Labour policy to have all their MP’s now release all the details on whom they have met during their activities of the term of their Governance of NZ, so this will assist us all to observe if our own “community NGO’s” public representatives who are speaking for us all also are properly receiving the same level of meetings with these same MP’s as the business interests are obviously receiving now.
Make it an “even balanced level of ‘consultation.”
That’s because people are really starting to wonder where the government is getting its marching orders from as it certainly isn’t the people.
MPs meeting with lobbyists is sinister. It shows that the parliament is listening to those who don’t have the best interests of the country at heart.
Since when did NGOs speak for us all?
Draco;
Our Environmental NGO founded in 2001 speaks for the negative impacts to all people in regions it environmentally monitors continually on their loss of health and well being when they have no voice.
So we are a free community service that operates on a volunteer basis.
Please don’t knock those people who honestly and genuinely want to help others as we do with free services to monitor their environment since 2002.
1. Not all NGOs do moral work
2. If they haven’t asked all of us then they’re not speaking for all of us
““There isn’t anything sinister about who politicians meet with, actually it shows that New Zealand government is very open.”
Tell that to Claire Curran.
You do realise that Clare Curran was used by the present government as an example as to why this needs to be brought in right? In the same article that I quoted.
Yes James,
Clare Curran was used by National as a tool for their agenda to rob RNZ and bed in all their own Natz clip-on’s right under her own nose; – and she could not see that when she had power to fix the RNZ right wing swing.
National also had there own man inside as the head of RNZ then.
Clare Curran should have had him removed but she lost any chance to take control of a now right wing trumpet for National.
A sad blow for the Opposition because if the records of meetings are published, what are they going to do to ferment suspicion and doubt about apparent secret dodgy meetings?
Ianmac,
I am not sure if National are going to release all folks they met.
Especially with their doggy meetings with all ‘those crooks’ they cuddle up to all over the planet.
John Key even went to the high alter of global crooks at “The Bilderberg Group” in 2011/12.
These are just Criminal gangs that attend the following, to learn their trade,
http://twochurchesonly.com/supmat/03/most_influential/bilderberg_group/list_of_bilderberg_attendees.pdf
Why didn’t PM John Key tell NZ he was into Bilderberg?
List of Bilderberg participants 4
New Zealand
• John Key (2011-2012), Prime Minister of New Zealand
On behalf of all NZ taxpayers, we ask someone’s assistance to investigate this connection between a secretive global power hungry group and answers from PM John Key the following;
Why PM failed to tell us that he attended the Bilderberg Group as PM of NZ in 2011.
Why did not prior, inform us why he attended this most secretive powerful global elitist black ops organisation who plots to destabilise secretly sovereign countries around the world.
Is he being requested by Bilderberg or any other party to spy on our country and others for their information?
Why has he attended an highly secretive organisation who bans any media coverage of events?
Our belief;
We believe the global elite is causing all this degradation of our world “so called order”.
The capitalistic system is failing and these Bilderberg NAZI regenerated agenda plotters have invited Key to their 2011 annual conference so he is in it Don-key deep.
(Here is the full attendance list.) http://twochurchesonly.com/supmat/03/most_influential/bilderberg_group/list_of_bilderberg_attendees.pdf
Why didn’t PM John Key tell NZ he was into Bilderberg?
List of Bilderberg participants 4
New Zealand
• John Key (2011-2012), Prime Minister of New Zealand
According to this site it quotes; http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Bilderberg
No Bilderberg meeting agenda has ever been made public. “It is the epitome of low-profile dark ops, a shadow government hidden in a doorway.” According to critics and close observers, it’s agenda is to weaken all world leadership but their own. It is also, according to a U.S. law called the Logan Act, [15] illegal:
Yep. The publishing of meetings needs to apply to all of parliament and not just the parties in government.
One World Government
I heard this this morning and I am heartened there may be a culture change I regards to lobbyists.
To have this followed up by the radical, obvious, fiscally responsible, co-operative idea of schools serving their wider community.
My day off got brighter.
Meanwhile the Hosk has three names (three wise men?) therefore Kiwibuild was conceived bad, born bad and is bad. The Hosk has obviously been listening to George Thorogood while doing dougnuts on his mobility scooter. No doubt his Christmas ham will be bad to the bone as well.
The Dorian Gray Husk purports to find it shocking that the new builds cost more than existing homes … thus buying doer uppers remains cheaper …
The radical next development of the KB design will be to allow landlords and existing homeowners to buy them – they will of course be at the standard required for rentals. The point is to build more houses and then sell them onto the market so the government can finance building more, it does not matter if they are not sold to first home buyers – the increased supply reduces the value of existing houses to make them more affordable to first home buyers.
The Husk of Dorian Gray…
Sounds like playing Pass the Parcel casino-wise. Once a lot of outside players can join in the game, the chances of special people included in the game with good odds for winning a housing opportunity are greatly reduced.
But timorous government can’t go directly to the most appropriate recipients and offer them a State house, they have to have this long linkage with ticket clippers along the way. In the end it will get so bad we’ll see someone prepared to sell a kidney or something, to raise enough deposit to get a stake in the Housing Lottery.
The thing is, where it costs more to buy a new build than an existing home – how many first home buyers can afford the Kiwibuild one?
There will come a point where after a few ballots where there are unsold homes, and if the government wants to release the cash to build more it will have to sell to other buyers.
National trying to cut Shane Jones tree planting value claims off to a stump.
They are more interested in Goldsmith being a spoiler for positive steps. What a bunch of sitabouts they are. Malign, and computer model sitters, but not doing
the country-building needed; just following predatory business asset-stripping
on a country of people that is the base for any business, then National is just a diseased group eating its own parent. Yerk.
Forest and Bird and Doc have combined to push out digging up iwi land up Northland. The people up there want to get some economic growth but it is to affect wetlands and I think take peat and kauri by Resin and Wax for export.
Not sure I entirely 100% trust the Provincial Prince of Pomposity greysie.
ouch!!!!!!
Gabby I don’t trust anyone who expects 100% reliability of anyone, whether politicians or not.
Got rung up on Friday night by Roy Morgan wanting to do a survey. My demographics eliminated me immediately and I asked the guy if it was a survey about politics,but he rang off as I am sure he was keen to call the next person……..
Interesting … Roy Morgan has not done a NZ political poll since Oct/Nov 2017 but they still do other types of surveys, eg marketing surveys, from time to time. For example back in May 2018 they did a survey on attitudes, satisfaction etc with the main banks.
I was contacted about a month ago saying they were from Roy Morgan, about a political poll. My answers were not allowed in the binary choices they offered, and I ended up removing myself from the process.
Again interesting, because there were rumours about the time of the last Colmar Brunton poll that another public poll was expected at about the same time and this did not eventuate. Or was it the Colmar Brunton poll before that??
The latest two Colmar Brunton polls have been conducted from Monday, 15 October to Friday 19 October, and from Sat 24 November to Weds 28 November.
Was your Roy Morgan call close to either of those periods?
Probably the November one…
I did end up exiting the interview. Tried to find my comment posted at the time, which would give a better indication of date, but ran out of interest in that level of accuracy… 🙂
Roy Morgan = rigged polls.
Called me prior to 2014 election and my demographics eliminated me immediately and
I asked the guy and he said “we don’t need your age bracket thank you, but the strange thing was he said “we have another person listening to our conversation and was monitoring it??????
Creepy that was.
they might have had their fill of single issue old men.
heh
Actually, probably – older people answer the phone more, so will fill up their response quota more quickly. And are more likely to have landlines (although some pollsters do mobiles now as well).
Again – zero evidence of rigged polls – god you sound desperate when you keep pulling that one out.
It was almost 5 years ago, but you’d think it was yesterday the way he carries on…..
…#oldmanissues
I’ve instructed the woman to take me out the back and shoot me if I start displaying similar behaviours.
Self Defence Judge. Or I didn’t intend to kill him, I only wanted the relationship to get better. Or I found him dead, honest?
1:There’s rigged on purpose.
2:There’s rigged due to demographics.
1:There’s rigged due to propaganda on the voter.
So 1 might be calling in party strongholds.
So 2 might be calling an old white male, or possibly even only ladies.
So 3 is a constant.
Then you have fair voting.
MAGA.
They have people (potentially) listening in so that they can make sure the interviewer actually records the responses accurately and that they are from a real person. Interviewers often have some payment dependent of how many people they interview so there is a perverse incentive to make data up (as it’s quicker then interviewing real people).
Simon Bridges wants input into NCEA review
Yeah, they don’t have to be changed every time there’s a new government – only after National has been at it and fucked things up through their ignorance and ideology.
National have always been keen on bipartisanship after the fact.
Definitely didn’t see them looking for bipartisanship for National Standards or the RONs or pretty much anything really.
https://www.tvnz.co.nz/shows/q-and-a
https://www.labour.org.nz/kiwibuild
KiwiBuild homes will only be sold to first home buyers. To avoid buyers reaping windfall gains, a condition of sale will require them to hand back any capital gain if sold on within 5 years.
How easy our Minister can BREAK an Election promise and it means so little to keep one’s word !!! 10:40 “We decided…” ” Storm in a teacup”
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=12174085
‘Judith Collins, National’s housing and urban development spokeswoman, said this morning it was not good enough that Twyford would not answer questions about Barclay’s departure and she plans to put questions to him in Parliament tomorrow.’
Whatcha want, watcha want
Whatcha gonna do
When Judith Collins come for you
Tell me
Whatcha wanna do, whatcha gonna dooo
Yeaheah
Twyford, Twyford
Whatcha gonna do, whatcha gonna do
When Judith Collins comes for you
Wasn’t there another Barclay nobody wanted to answer questions about?
Todd Barclay was his name I think
https://tenor.com/view/david-mitchell-oh-you-shy-laugh-happy-gif-5934829
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mmo4VQCjoJ8
Not quite 🙂
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f4MRmEPNUxY
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w5MYbTbPF48
Best music video of all time
https://youtube.com/watch?v=94IdL3djJVU
Whip out a string of garlic cloves and a swamp kauri stake puckers.
Not good being attacked by a wild kunikuni ?
Oh @PR. I truly lerv you. Such a wit with an encyclopeadia of British humour and musical paraphernalia ready at short notice to display just how oh so clever you are. And most of the examples you are able to whip out at short notice are really ‘hip’.
As the yanks would say, you must be some ‘regular guy’ and the life of the party.
Do you take ‘your kid’ to any of those parties btw?
Hooray! James had two goes at baiting and failed to score any dollars. Well done people. (Remember he gets $10 for each response to his baits.)
On Q&A last night Phil Twyford was asked over and over but refused to make any comment over this. No doubt Judith will make a big fuss tomorrow.
“KiwiBuild boss Stephen Barclay is in an employment dispute with the Government department overseeing the massive house construction scheme, the Herald understands.
Amidst growing calls for Housing Minister Phil Twyford to say why the KiwiBuild head has not been performing his duties since early last month, the new Ministry of Housing and Urban Development this afternoon issued a brief statement saying that Barclay had not resigned.”
..issues revolve around the transfer of KiwiBuild from the Ministry of Business, Innovation, and Employment to the new Ministry of Housing and Urban Development, headed by Crisp.”
Yes Ianmac,
Anything inside MBIE is a total balls up as it’s inventor (Steven Joyce) the $11 million dollar man was!!!!!
No one cares about $11m. Trifling amounts. Wouldn’t even fund…. 1/10th of the Napier to Gisborne rail line
Spare a thought for sad simon this christmas – it’s gonna be tough to have a relax when the main word associated with you is untrustworthy. Time for a real big think I think simon.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/109229941/what-the-public-is-saying-about-simon-bridges-according-to-labours-pollsters
Must be the negative half surely. No way everybody thinks he’s a shifty little wanker.
Na, the positive words are in there, just they are really small
And there you have it. Proof that National thinks that polls should be biased and that they don’t understand the difference between polling and an election.
UMR is just telling Labour what it want’s to hear.
Left wingers are so disconnected from reality and full of their own self-importance they’d probably fire a polling company for returning bad results.
Because obviously, they’re doing it wrong, as we’re so fucking amazing and everyone loves what we’re doing
They’d tell Labour that 99% of New Zealanders think Ardern walks on water if it keeps them the polling contract
She makes Jesus look like an amateur, they all love her.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=njos57IJf-0
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8yis7GzlXNM
BM;
And you obstinate NatZ are ‘pure as driven snow???
I see Nat supporters are full retard because apparently the PM made some comment about the Auckland murder.
Let’s see, she says something like that shouldn’t happen in New Zealand so she should resign?
Whether the poll numbers are 41 or 46, add them together you’d exceed their IQs.
Pete, 100% there.
These arrogant Natz are certainly becoming sad today as if something has hit a raw nerve with them.
Come on you sad sack NatZ, – tell us your story didums.
Boohoo!!
Bryan Gould has some interesting things to say about television developments here.
http://www.bryangould.com/public-television/
Despite the efforts of socially aware programme-makers such as Bryan Bruce, issues such as these scarcely receive the attention they need and deserve; the national debate is the poorer for their neglect.
The good news, however, is that “public” television is back on the agenda, courtesy of none other than Bryan Bruce himself. Bryan has established a new website, called New Zealand Public Television. The new site, which anyone can access for nothing at http://www.nzptv.org.nz, has a dual purpose.
First, it identifies programmes, from both New Zealand and around the world, that explore issues of interest to New Zealanders, whether living here or overseas, and makes them available to a Kiwi viewership. The site, although primarily provided for a domestic audience, will undoubtedly be of great value to ex-pat Kiwis and to those on holiday or living overseas who may miss programmes about issues that are making waves at home.
Why not use the time in prison wisely ? Reading + writing lessons / budgeting classes / getting work ready / maybe learn a trade. Anger and time management All these could take place in the prison. Prisoners should come out of prison better educated than when they went in.
They should but how do you make someone learn when they don’t want to
How old are you Patricia?
Are you just sick BM or sick of old people?
You seem to have Tuppence Shrewsbury disease!! – are you one and the same?
That is showing a real sickness you troll.
Say something constructive you twerp.
Suck my balls, you whiny old fuck.
[How about you take the rest of the night off, BM? I’ve got a feeling you’re a comment or two away from saying something really, really stoopid and I’m one of the few people here who’d miss you. TRP]
Not the time nor the place to come on to an older man like that.
Ha Ha, that made me laugh.
Hi Patricia
I get called a shit head by some chap who calls himself “Draco T Bastard”. But I know that his foul language means i have hit a nerve.
But I am appalled That BM has been allowed to attempt to insult you. Your entry above is excellent.
Men who use foul language are always drunkards. Useless bums.
Ingrid Hipkiss grinned vacuously and called
Ruth Money a “victim’s advocate” this morning.
a.m., Newshub, Tuesday 11 December 2018
Flashback to Manurewa, ten years ago….
Late one night in 2008, a man called Bruce Emery chases down a fifteen year old boy and stabs him repeatedly, killing him. Emery is Pākehā , his victim, Pihema Cameron, is Māori. What follows this killing will turn out to be one of the most vicious and disgraceful sagas of racist hatred in this country’s sordid history. Taking their lead from the Crown Prosecutor, who routinely dismisses the dead boy as “a tagger”, the media unleashes a seemingly non-stop tirade of abuse and belittlement against not the killer, but the victim. Perhaps most disgustingly of all, one of the loudest and most vociferous denouncers of the dead boy and his “useless” family is an organization called the “Sensible Sentencing Trust”. In a rare moment of moral decency, Noelle McCarthy memorably confronted that organization’s Grand Dragon about the affair three years later. [1]
Fast forward to a.m. News at 7:30 this morning…..
In a story related to the murder of British tourist Grace Millane, smiling but vacuous newsreader Ingrid Hipkiss refers to someone called Ruth Money as a “victim’s advocate.” In fact, contrary to that descriptor, Ruth Money is a disciple of Garth “The Knife” McSticker. Money parted from the S.S. Trust not because it was a bunch of racist knife enthusiasts, but because of a disagreement over political tactics. [2]
Now, anyone with an I.Q. in triple figures would know that; Ingrid Hipkiss, however, seems oblivious.
After the news, anchor Duncan Garner weighs in with a typically weighty, thoughtful observation:
Less than a minute later, Garner makes the following extraordinarily foolish contention:
Sports meathead Mark Richardson and Ingrid Hipkiss are reduced to a stunned, disbelieving silence. Remember, Hipkiss has just had the gall or the brass or the hide or (most likely) the naïveté to read out with a straight face that Ruth Money was “a victim’s advocate.” But even she is stunned at that pronouncement from Garner.
After the silence, Mark Richardson laughs: “How do you KNOW that?”
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Garner did proffer an answer; I know that because I saw his lips moving. But his words were drowned out in a torrent of criticism from the crew at Chez Breen. I picked up the phrase “that stupid c**t” from Hector Stoop and “Oh my GOD! Ha ha ha ha ha!” from the lovely Serena Sopwith-Fotherington amidst the general hubbub.
[1] https://morrisseybreen.blogspot.com/2018/01/noelle-mccarthy-swallowed-vomit-for-15.html
[2] https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/64746950/Sensible-Sentencing-Trust-Garth-McVicars-election-bid-cause-of-division